Major. Whomsoever Jesus Christ hath made the immediate receptacle or first subject of proper formal power for governing of his Church, to them this power is conveyed by some authentic grant or commission.
Minor. But the community of the faithful, or body of the people, have not this power conveyed unto them by any authentic grant or commission.
Conclusion. Therefore Jesus Christ our Mediator hath not made the community of the faithful, or body of the people, the immediate receptacle or first subject of proper formal power for governing of his Church.
The major proposition is evident in itself: For, 1. The power of church government in this or that subject is not natural, but positive; and cast upon man, not by natural, but by positive law, positive grant: men are not bred, but made the first subject of such power; therefore all such power claimed or exercised, without such positive grant, is merely without any due title, imaginary, usurped, unwarrantable, in very fact null and void. 2. All power of church government is radically and fundamentally in Christ, Isa. ix. 6; Matt, xxviii. 18; John v. 22. And how shall any part of it be derived from Christ to man, but by some fit intervening mean betwixt Christ and man? And what mean of conveyance betwixt Christ and man can suffice, if it do not amount to an authentic grant or commission for such power? 3. This is evidently Christ's way to confer power by authentic commission immediately upon his church officers, the apostles and their successors, to the world's end. "Thou art Peter; and I give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," &c., Matt. xvi. 18, 19. "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth," &c., Matt, xviii. 19, 20. "As my Father sent me, so send I you; go, disciple ye all nations; whose sins ye remit, they are remitted—and lo, I am with you always to the end of the world," John xx. 21, 23; Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. "Our power, which the Lord hath given us for edification," 2 Cor. x. 8, and xiii. 10: so that we may conclude them that have such commission to be the first subject and immediate receptacle of power from Christ, as will after more fully appear. 4. If no such commission be needful to distinguish those that have such power from those that have none, why may not all without exception, young and old, wise and foolish, men and women, Christian and heathen, &c., equally lay claim to this power of church government? If not, what hinders? If so, how absurd!
The minor proposition, viz: But the community of the faithful, or body of the people, have not this power conveyed to them by any authentic grant or commission, is firm. For whence had they it? When was it given to them? What is the power committed to them? Or in what sense is such power committed to them?
1. Whence had they it? From heaven or of men? If from men, then it is a human ordinance and invention; a plant which the heavenly Father hath not planted; and therefore shall he plucked up. Matt. xv. 13. If from heaven, then from Christ; for all power is given to him, Matt, xxviii. 18, &c.; Isa. ix. 6. If it be derived from Christ, then it is derived from him by some positive law of Christ as his grant or charter. A positive grant of such power to select persons, viz. church officers, the Scripture mentions, as was evidenced in the proof of the major proposition. But touching any such grant or commission to the community of the faithful, the Scripture is silent. And let those that are for the popular power produce, if they can, any clear scripture that expressly, or by infallible consequence, contains any such commission.
2. When was any such power committed by Christ to the multitude of the faithful, either in the first planting and beginning of the Church, or in the after establishment and growth of the Church under the apostles' ministry? Not the first; for then the apostles themselves should have derived their power from the community of the faithful: now this is palpably inconsistent with the Scriptures, Which tell us that the apostles had both their apostleship itself, and their qualifications with gifts and graces for it, yea, and the very designation of all their particular persons unto that calling, all of them immediately from Christ himself. For the first, see Gal. i. 1: "Paul, an apostle, not of men, nor by man, but by Jesus Christ," Matt, xxviii. 18-20. For the second, see John xx. 22, 23: "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them," &c. For the third, see Luke vi. 13, &c.: "And when it was day he called to him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon—" Matt. x. 5-7, &c.: "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying." And after his resurrection he enlarges their commission, Mark xvi. 15, 16: "Go ye into all the world;" and, "As my Father hath sent me, so send I you," John xx. 21. See also how the Lord cast the lot upon Matthias, Acts i. 24-26. Nor the second; for if such power be committed to the community of the faithful after the apostles had established the churches, then let those that so think show where Christ committed this power first to the apostles, and after to the community of the faithful, and by them or with them to their ordinary officers, for execution thereof. But no such thing hath any foundation in Scripture; for the ordinary Church guides, though they may have a designation to their office by the church, yet they have the donation, or derivation of their office and its authority only from Christ: their office is from Christ, Ephes. iv. 8, 11; 1 Cor. xii. 28; Acts xx. 28, 29. Their power from Christ, Matt. xvi. 19, and xxviii. 18, 19; John xx. 21, 23. "Our power which the Lord hath given us," 2 Cor. viii. 10. They are Christ's ministers, stewards, ambassadors, 1 Cor. iv. 1; 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. They are to act and officiate in his name, Matt, xviii. 19; 1 Cor. v. 4, 5; and to Christ they must give an account. Heb. xiii. 17, 18; Luke xii. 41, 42. Now if the ordinary officers have (as well as the apostles their apostleship) their offices of pastor, teacher, &c., from Christ, and are therein the successors of the apostles to continue to the world's end, (Matt, xxviii. 18-20,) then they have their power and authority in their offices immediately from Christ, as the first receptacles thereof themselves, and not from the Church as the first receptacle of it herself. A successor hath jurisdiction from him from whom the predecessor had his; otherwise he doth not truly succeed him. Consequently the Church or community of the faithful cannot possibly be the first receptacle of the power of church government from Christ.
3. What power is it that is committed to the body of the Church or multitude of the faithful? Either it must be the power of order, or the power of jurisdiction. But neither of these is allowed to the multitude of the faithful by the Scriptures, (but appointed and appropriated to select persons.) Not the power of order; for the whole multitude, and everyone therein, neither can nor ought to intermeddle with any branches of that power. 1. Not with preaching; all are not apt to teach, 1 Tim. iii. 2, nor able to exhort and convince gainsayers, Tit. i. 9; all are not gifted and duly qualified. Some are expressly prohibited speaking in the church, 1 Cor. xiv. 34, 35, 1 Tim. ii. 12, Rev. ii. 20, and none are to preach, unless they be sent, Rom. x. 15, nor to take such honor unto themselves unless they be called, &c., Heb. v. 4, 5. Are all and every one of the multitude of the faithful able to teach, exhort, and convince? are they all sent to preach? are they all called of God? &c. Nay, hath not Christ laid this task of authoritative preaching only upon his own officers? Matt, xxviii. 18, 19. 2. Not with administration of the sacraments; this and preaching are by one and the same commission given to officers only, Matt, xxviii. 18-20; 1 Cor. xi. 23. 3. Nor to ordain presbyters, or other officers. They may choose; but extraordinary officers, or the presbytery of ordinary officers, ordain. Acts vi. 3, 5, 6: "Look ye out men—whom we may appoint." Compare also Acts xiv. 23; 1 Tim. iv. 14, and v. 22; Tit. iii. 5. So that the people's bare election and approbation is no sufficient Scripture ordination of officers. Nor is there one often thousand among the people that is in all points able to try and judge of the sufficiency of preaching presbyters, for tongues, arts, and soundness of judgment in divinity. Nor is the power of jurisdiction in public admonition, excommunication, and absolution, &c., allowed to the multitude. For all and every one of the multitude of the faithful, 1. Never had any such power given to them from Christ; this key as well as the key of knowledge being given to the officers of the Church only, Matt. xvi. 19, and xviii. 18-20. Tell the church, there, must needs be meant of the ruling church only.[38] 2 Cor. viii. 10; John xx. 21-23. 2. Never acted or executed any such power, that we can find in Scripture. As for that which is primarily urged of the church of Corinth, that the whole church did excommunicate the incestuous person, 1 Cor. v. 4, &c., many things may be answered to evince the contrary. 1st, The whole multitude could not do it; for children could not judge, and women must not speak in the Church. 2d, It is not said, Sufficient to such an one is the rebuke inflicted of all; but of many, 2 Cor. ii. 6, viz. of the presbytery, which consisted of many officers. 3d, The church of Corinth, wherein this censure was inflicted, was not a congregational, but a presbyterial church, having divers particular congregations in it, (as is hereafter cleared in Chap. XXIII.,) and therefore the whole multitude of the church of Corinth could not meet together in one place for this censure, but only the presbytery of that great church. Again, never did the whole multitude receive from Christ due gifts and qualifications for the exercise of church government and jurisdiction; nor any promise from Christ to be with them therein, as officers have, Matt, xxviii. 18-20. And the absurdities of such popular government are intolerable, as after will appear.
4. Finally, in what sense can it be imagined that any such power should be committed from Christ to the community of the faithful, the whole body of the Church? For this power is given them equally with the church-guides, or unequally. If equally, then,.1. The church-guides have power and authority, as primarily and immediately committed to them, as the Church herself hath; and then they need not derive or borrow any power from the body of the faithful, having a power equal to theirs. 2. How vainly is that power equally given as to the officers, so to the whole multitude, when the whole multitude have no equal gifts and abilities to execute the same! If unequally, then this power is derived to the church-guides, either more or less than to the multitude of the faithful. If less, then how improperly were all those names of rule and government imposed upon officers, which nowhere are given by Scripture to the multitude! as Pastors, Eph. iv. 8, 11. Elders, 1 Tim. v. 17. Overseers, Acts xx. 28. Guides, Heb. xiii. 7, 17, 22. In this last verse they are contradistinguished from the saints; church-guides, and saints guided, make up a visible organical church. Rulers in the Lord, 1 Thes. v. 12; Rom. xii. 8: and well-ruling Elders, 1 Tim. v. 17. Governments, 1 Cor. xii. 28. Stewards, 1 Cor. iv. 1,2; Luke xii. 42, &c. And all these titles have power and rule engraven in their very foreheads; and they of right belonged rather to the multitude than to the officers, if the officers derive their power from the multitude of the people. If more, then church-guides, having more power than the Church, need not derive any from the Church, being themselves better furnished.
Thus, what way soever we look, it cannot be evinced, that the multitude and body of the people, with or without eldership, are the first subject of power, or have any authoritative public official power at all, from any grant, mandate, or commission of Christ. From all which we may strongly conclude,