to the E P H E S 1A N S. fentences are called Aphorifins. .And in this Refpect our Apo!Ue is called a cho-. fen Vell'el to bear his name, thans, a ch01ce Vellel for the purpofe, Ac7s 9· 15 . And thus the Election of rhe Twelve at firfi, IS as exprdly afcnbed to Chrifl's Will as here this is. So Mar. 3. 1 3• He called to h1m whom he would, a11d he •rdamed Twelve; and this out of meer Grace and the good pleafure of his Will fointhe fame Gal. I. I). ltp!e<l(edhim, &c. And that is one reafon; why'he mentions it bere, even to mind his own heart of the Original of tl!is his great Dignity, wholly to have been the W1ll and Grace of God, andnothwg m himlelf, c21ling it therefore elfcwhere, Grace mrd Apojltejh1p, Rom, r, S'. that is the Grace of Apofllelhip; yea, he reckoning this as great a mercy wel!– n{gh as his Salvation, for fo that great and folemn Thanfgiving of his, 1Tim, ri from the 1r. to the 18. (where he relates his Converfion) cloth imply, it being chiefly for putting him into the Mimfiry, verj. 12. Oj God.] This imports, J'econdry,Theimmediatenefs of his Call, in diflin– ction from other Officers. And hkewtfe for thetr Dtrect10n , whither to go, and what to do; they were fubordinate to none other: And this lat– ter was peculiar to this Office. Eva11geiJjls, though extraordinary Mini!lers1 yet were fent out bytheApoflles, asTit.u 2Cor.12.18, andfoTimotb)·, but Apoflles, they immediately by God; thus Gal. r. r. (which place Interprets this) Pau!atJApojlte, faieshe, 1Jotofmm, 11either6yma11, btttbyJe(iu Ghrift andGod the Father, who rmfed himfrom the 'Dead. To Interpret the words; Firfl, Pat<la1l Apof/le, 1101 of men) that is,my Office is not a human Office, which men have inllituted,and invented,It u,faith he,of 'Divittt il1f/itutio11. And this is common to all Miniflerial Offices in Churches.And this he fpake in diflinCl:ion fro~ Offices in Common-wealths.In a Common-wealth the Offices thereof are (as the Apofile calls themby way of diflinction from thofe in the Churc\1) d,~l'""'"' •11.-.t Hnman CreatiotJS(we Tranflatc it,Ht~mmt Ordi11ances)whereas all Church Offices are Divine, andnot ofmen inPaul's fenfe: But yet becaufe this firft requifire [11ot of mm J was common to all Offices of the Church~swell as Apofilelhip ; there– fore, J'eco11dry, he adds by way of further d1fltnct1on from them alfo, Nrither by man. The ordinary Office~ in. the Church, although they are not of men; i. e, there ought to be an mflttuuon for every one of the Offices themfelves ; ' yet, the man, the perfon, is ufually put into theOffice by men, though guided. in it by the Hory Ghojl, Ac7s ~o. By mm, that IS the particular defignation of• the p~;rfon, that is by men, ( though according to fuch rules in the Word as are, to guide their choice) (and that is the difference of thofe two phrafes of men, and by men,) But ( faith he) this my Office of Apofilelhip is neither of mm; nor 6y mm, but as the Text here faith, 6y the Will of G•d, that is, by God's immediate defignation of my perfon to it, fo it alfo there to the Ga!atimu fol– lows, but 6y 1ef.u Chrifl imdGodthe Father. And which was yet further, a more peculiar prerogative above other AP.oflles, this our Apofile_was called into it by Jefus Chrill, as Ri{e11 from the 'lJet~d, and afcmded into Heavm; other Apofiles were called by Chri!l: living here in the Flelh, but I waJ bom ollt of timr, faith he, and fo had like to have miffed of being capable of this Office; (whereof one requifite was to have feen Chrifi) but to make up that requifit~ alfo, Chrifi deferred the calling of me unto it, until himfelf came again; Chri!l: rofe again and converted me himfelffrom Heaven, wbm lafl of afThe wqs /m: of~'· 1 Cor. 'i· . And this difference ofhimfelf from other Apofi!es, he f.:;em~ to tnfinuate, verj. u. of that Gat. •· That he neithtr rectived the Gojjut from mm, as Eva11gelij/s did, 2 Tim. r. q , '4· and as ordinary Teacher.s dp, 2 Tlm. 2, 2.. nor was taught it namely by Chri!l: in the Flelh in the way ofi ou.r~ ward teachmg, as the other Apofiles were by Chrifi himfelf: but meerly, ang wholly bymwardmidimmediate Revelatiott, and this made him (as was ob– ferved) _fo much excel all the other Apofiles, his gifts were anf\yerable to his Call, .whtch :-vas fo extraordinary. . . If tt be obJected, That he was ordained an Apo!l:le by laying qn of h~l)ds o.£ .(111a11JM, Acts 9• And again by the Teachers of An,tioch,Mls r~. The ~nfwer IS, Ftrj/, That he was ordained an Apo!l:l@ b.efore at his CqnverliO}J by Chr~fi>him• felf; 4CfS26, 16, 17, r8. Blltrifej/atJdupotJthyfut, for I have app~aredmuo th~e for thu p11rpoje, to make thee a MitJij/er a11d aWi/tl{js 4gtp of tbe[e thi11gs . - - - ~- which
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=