1A.00. An Inquiry into the Organization and Government of the Apostolic Church
An Inquiry into the Organization and Government of the Apostolic Church By Albert Barnes Table of Contents (abbreviated)
Preface 1. Reasons why the argument on the constitution of the church should be confined to the Scriptures 2. The claims which are advanced by Episcopacy 3. Examination of the particular claims of Episcopacy 4. The constitution of the church as established by the Saviour and the apostles Full table of Contents THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH, AN INQUIRY INTO ITS ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT, PARTICULARLY WITH REFERENCE TO THE CLAIMS OF EPISCOPACY. By ALBERT BARNES.
PHILADELPHIA :
PRESBYTERIAN PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, 1334 CHESTNUT STREET.
NEW YORK : A. D. F. RANDOLPH, 770 BROADWAY.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
ALBERT BARNES, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
STEREOTYPED BV L. JOHNSON A CO.
Preface This volume is designed to be a Manual that may be put into the hands of those who are led to inquire into the organization of the Christian church. It is not intended to be controversial, or of such a character as to provoke reply; and it is hoped that it will not be construed as an attach on the Episcopal Church. It is submitted to the public because it is believed that there is no book on this subject that is precisely what is needed, in regard to size and character, to put into the hands of those in the churches who are interested in this inquiry. There are many persons who are interested in the inquiry who have not the time or the means to examine it very extensively. Most of the works, also, which have been written on this subject, instead of confining the investigation to the Bible, are mainlv occunied with an examination of the antiquities of the church, and the customs and sentiments of the " Fathers." The claims of Episcopacy, also, are often urged with great zeal, and pressed, sometimes in such a manner as to create embarrassment, on those who have been trained in non-episcopal churches; and there is no convenient "manual" accessible to which they can at once be referred as showing precisely how this matter stands in the New Testament. The argument here presented is wholly scriptural. The characteristic of the volume is, that it is an appeal to the Bible, as the only authority in the case, and as a sufficient authority to settle the question. It is presumed that in a revelation given to mankind, God has made it possible to ascertain what was the original organization of the church, and that the evidence thus furnished is such that it can be understood and appreciated by the mass of mankind. It is assumed in this argument that nothing but the testimony of the Bible on the subject can be binding on the conscience, and that the whole matter must be, and may safely be, left there. It is not intended to be conceded, however, that the argument from history and from the " Fathers" would be in favour of Episcopacy, but that point is not referred to ; for, whatever may be the truth in -regard to that, it can have no authority in determining what was the constitution of the church as established by the Saviour. The foundation of the argument here presented was embodied in two reviews of the tract entitled " Episcopacy Tested by Scripture/’ by the Right Rev. Dr. H. U. Onderdonk, Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Those reviews were first published in the Quarterly Christian Spectator, of New Haven, in 1834 and 1835, and subsequently in a small volume, without material alteration. They were afterward /mostly rewritten, and were cast into the form of a consecutive argument; and in this form they were again published in this country in 1843, and were soon after -republished in London. The work has again been revised for the present edition, with the design, mainly, of removing from it its controversial aspect, and making it, as its title indicates, "An Inquiry into the Organization and Government of the Apostolic Church." It has been necessary, of course, to examine with freedom the arguments in favour of Episcopacy, so far as they are derived from the Scriptures; and for this purpose, the reference to the tract of Dr. Onderdonk is, in some places, retained. This has been done the more freely because the tract has been published by the "Protestant Episcopal Tract Society/’* and because it would be impossible to find, in the writings in defence of Episcopacy, a more full, candid, and able reference to the proof from Scripture texts relied on by Episcopalians, than is to be found in this tract of Dr. Onderdonk. An examination of the reasons there assigned for Episcopacy is, therefore, an examination of the reasons on which the Episcopal argument rests ; and the tract has^ been referred to in the edition of this work now published, in the same manner as other Episcopal authorities. This work has but one* claim to public attention. It is that of being an examination of all that can be found in the New Testament that bears on the organization of the church. Much is gained in the inquiry into the organization and government of the church, if the investigation can be confined wholly to the Scriptures. There all who are not Episcopalians are willing to leave the * Printed at the Protestant Episcopal Press, 1835. inquiry; and by that authority alone the question must be ultimately determined. It is perilous for Episcopacy to make its appeal solely to the Bible, and much is gained in the argument when there is a willingness to leave the question there. This work, which is now again submitted to the public, contains nothing, it is believed,which can pain the feelings of any friend of Episcopacy, or which can be construed into a want of respect for the Episcopal Church. For the favourable regards of the public, few men have more occasion for gratitude than I have ; and now, after so many years have passed away since the argument was first penned, whatever may be the value of my opinion, early or matured, on this subject, I desire that this work should go forth in this permanent form as expressing my conviction — the result of all my study of the Bible — in regard to the organization and government of the apostolic church.
Albert Barnes.
Philadelphia, Aug. 21, 1855.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. Reasons why the Argument ox the Constitution of the Church should be confined to the Scriptures (1.) The whole subject one of mere revelation, (2.) No authority has been given to the Fathers to determine the question, (3.) Evidence in the New Testament that the appeal should be confined to the Scriptures, (4.) The Fathers of the church were not in circumstances so favourable to give the proper information as the Apostles, (5.) It is impossible to settle the question by an appeal to the Fathers, (6.) The point conceded by Episcopalians themselves, CHAPTER II. The Claims which are advanced by Episcopacy...
CHAPTER III. Examination of the Particular Claims of Episcopacy
Sec. 1.— The Exclusive Claim of the "Bishop" to the Right of Ordination. — The question whether the apostles alone had this right, The peculiarity of the apostolic office. — The apostles were originally appointed to be " witnesses" of the resurrection of Christ, This confirmed by the election of Matthias, by the statements of the apostles, by the case of Paul, The inquiry whether there was any arrangement for continuing the " succession of the apostles," The burden of proof on Episcopalians,
(1.) There is no express statement that the " succession" was to be continued,(2.) There is no arrangement which shows that it was designed that it should be continued. Examination of the alleged proofs : — the argument from the case of Matthias, of Barnabas, of James, of Andronicus and Junia, from the charge of Paul to the elders of Ephesus, from the case of Timothy, of Titus, of the "angel" of the churches in Revelation 2:1-29, Revelation 3:1-22]. The point practically conceded by Episcopalians, the impossibility of establishing the " succession" — case of the ordination of English "bishops" by Scotch presbyters, testimony of Hooker, concession and argument of Archbishop Whately, Sec. 2.— The Rite of Confirmation
What understood by it, claimed to be of divine authority, The use of the word "confirm" in the New Testament, The laying on of hands urged in support of the claim shown to be connected with imparting the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, Examination of the passage in Hebrews 6:1-2, The Saviour appointed no such rite, Objections to the rite, Sec. 3.— The Claims of the "Bishop" to the Right of Supervision and Discipline The two cases of discipline appealed to hy Episcopalians examined : that in Corinth, that in Ephesus, CHAPTER IV. The Constitution* of the Church as established by the Saviour axd the Apostles Sec. 1.— The Officers of the Church I. Those which were designed to be temporary :
(1.) The Apostles, (2.) The Seventy Disciples, (3.) Prophets, (4.) Deaconesses,
II. Permanent officers mentioned in the organization of the church in the New Testament: (1.) Those appointed to the office of Ministers, under the names of (a) preachers, (6) bishops or overseers, (c) pastors, (d) teachers, (e) evangelists, (2.) Rulers, (3.) Deacons, (4.) Evidence that the permanent pastoral relation was intended, Sec. 2. — The actual Organization and Government of the Church as described in the New Testament
(1.) Presbyters had the right of ordaining, aeq. Proof from 1 Tim. to. 14, pp. (2.) The churches were intrusted with the right of administering discipline. Proof from Acts 20:17, Acts 20:28, from 1 Peter 5:2-3, from Hebrews 13:7; from 1 Thessalonians 5:12,
Sec. 3. — The Primitive Churches were organized without a Prelate, and without three " Orders of Clergy"
Sec. 4. — Conclusion