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1. Appointment of the apostles.

(1.) And first, of the twelve appointed immediately by Christ himself.

The following circumstantial account of the call of Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael, will show the manner in which Christ chose his disciples and followers, out of whom he afterward selected his ministers: "Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, VOL. X.-April, 1839.

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For the Methodist Magazine and Quarterly Review.
ORDINATION TO THE MINISTRY.

BY REV. CHARLES ELLIOTT, D. D.

[Continued from page 22.]

V. Instances of ordination or ministerial appointment in the New Testament.

In order to ascertain the true Scriptural ordinal, our best plan will be, we think, to examine those instances of appointment to the ministry which are furnished in the New Testament. Here we will find what kind of persons were selected for the ministry, what were their qualifications, how they were appointed, and what were their duties. We have the appointment of the apostles, both of the original twelve, and of Matthias and Paul, furnishing three instances or cases of appointment to the apostolate; and as these were the principal ministers, we must certainly look for some directions in their cases to regulate our conduct. We have the appointment of the seventy disciples or evangelists, as well as the appointment of elders and deacons, from which we can collect the mode of appointment to the ministry. We have also particular directions given by St. Paul concerning the selection of bishops or pastors. From all these we certainly can collect a Scriptural mode of introducing men into the ministry. We will first notice the appointment of the apostles in the three instances furnished by the New Testament.

1. Appointment of the apostles.

(1.) And first, of the twelve appointed immediately by Christ himself.

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The following circumstantial account of the call of Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael, will show the manner in which Christ chose his disciples and followers, out of whom he afterward selected his ministers: Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, VOL. X.-April, 1839,

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and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, a stone. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man," John i, 35-51. To this very simple and natural account of their call we will add that given by Matthew, collating it with Mark and Luke: "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him," Matt. iv, 18-22. See also Mark i, 16-20; Luke v, 1–11.

The following is the account given by the evangelists of the commission and choice of the twelve apostles. We give the account of Matthew, adding any thing material from the other evangelists: "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." ["And he ordained,” or appointed, "twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach," Mark iii, 14; "And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two,” Mark vi, 7; “And when it was day he called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles," Luke vi, 13.] "Now the names of the twelve apostles are these- These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver, nor

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