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SUBJECT OF
THE
TREATISE.
XVII
the
gospel
in his
name.
But
such
a
claim
to
universal power
was
equivalent to
an
assertion of
his
deity.
It
was
a
power which
none
but
God could
possess
or
exercise,a
power which
he
could
not
possibly
transmit
to any creature, for no creature
was
capable of
sharing
it
with him,
the
gift of his
Father's
love,
and the
pecu-
liar purchase of his
own
blood
:
"
HIM
hath
God
highly
exalted,
and given him
a name
which
is above every
name,
that at the
name
of
Jesus
every
knee might
bow,
and
every
tongue
confess,
of
things
in
heaven,
and things in earth, and things
under the earth."
Such
was
the authority
of
Christ;
and had
it
been delegated to
the
apostles,
unto them
every
knee must
have
bowed,
and
every
tongue
con-
fessed,
not
only
in earth
and
under the
earth,
but
also
in
heaven!
Nay,
they must
have been " heads
over
all things to the church,"
which would be "
their
body,
the
fulness of
him
that
filleth all
in
all!"
Nay, farther,
the
saints and angels
of
heaven
must
have
in-
cluded
them in
their
doxologies, saying,
" Worthy
are
the
apostles
of
the
Lamb to
receive power,
and
riches,
and
wisdom,
and strength,
and
honour,
and
glory,
and blessing!"
Can
we
imagine
that
the
lowly
apostles ever aspired
to
such honours?
No! glorying
only
in
the
cross
of
their
Master,
they
never dreamt of
wielding his sceptre
or wearing his
crown.
" The
crown
of
glory"
which
they anticipated
was
that
due to
the
good
and
faithful servant after his work
and
warfare upon
earth; but the
idea
of governing
in
conjunction
with
Christ
in the
church below
they
would have
repudiated with
as
much
horror
as
they treated with
contempt
the
idea
of "
reigning
as
kings"
with
some conceited
members of
the
church
:
" Ye have
reigned
as
kings without us: and
I
would to God ye
did reign,
that
we also
might reign
with
you."
(1
Cor.
iv. 8.)
The
promise given
to
them
of
"
sitting upon twelve
thrones,
judging
the
twelve tribes of
Israel," in
whatever
sense
it
may have been understood by them,
they
certainly never expected to
see
realized
in any earthly enthro-
nization.
Of
this,
at
least, we
are certain,
that
the
idea
of
their
par-
ticipating in
the
mediatorial honours
of
their
Master
was
no
sooner
mooted,
in
the
rash petition
of
Zebedee's children,
than
it
was
put
down,
amidst
the
indignation
of
the
rest, by
the
calm
and
decided
sentence of
Christ:
"Ye
know
that
the
princes
of the
Gentiles
exercise dominion over
them, and they
that
are great
exercise
autho-
rity
upon
them
;
BUT
IT
SHALL
NOT
BE
SO AMONG
YOU."
(Matt.
xx. 25, 26.)
Here,
however,
it
may be necessary to
advert to another
source
of
the
fallacy,
in a
strange
confusion of
thought,
not
peculiar to
the
Romanist party, arising
from confounding
the
government of
the
VOL
L
B