6 An Expojition of the Epit1le ~which tho11 hafl Jem, aizd of thoje thi11gs i11 the whuh I wi/J appear zmto thee, Serm. T. delivering therfrom tb< people, a11d from the Gmtzle~, u11to whom11ow I fend ~ ther. To opmthdr eyes artdturlt them from darknejs to lzgbt, a11d from the powrr of Satmz tmto God, &c. Secondly_; T.hat AnrmiM laymg on of hands~as to Minifter the Holy Ghojl, and fill htm wnh It, Arts g. Tbzrtt!)•, That whtch was done at Amioch by man, was for a bleiling on the work and exercife of his Apoftlelhip and of the Office of Apoftlc!hip it felf, which was to fpend his· labour and ~ndeavour upon the Gentzlfs, among whom they fent him. Fourth– ly•, That, even that was firft appointed and declared by the Holy Ghofi, Stpa– tate me Paul and Bamabas to thr work I havecalled"them, The Holy G"hofl (who is God) did immediately fay this e're they layed their hands on him with Failing and Prayer. NoApofiks I hear there are Apoftles abroad, at lcafi thofe that fay there are to be Apo- ~~:/;;,:h< files frill in the Church, and to the end of the World ; and thofe that affirm it, ~re not of the Romifb Party only (who make the Popedom a perpetual Apofile– fuip in the Church ) but of' thofe who would be in all other things moft contrary unto the Pope. To refute whom, this here is fufficient that the Apoftles Call is to be (by the (immediate) Wi/J of God) as bath been opened in Afls r. you read that when J"das was dead, all the Eleven Apol\les could not have chofen another Apofile ;. yea, they would never have thought of adding another, had not God by a Prophecy faid, let another take hi< Bijhoprick (and he guoteth a Pj'alm to warrant it, Pjal, 6g.) that is, hu Office of Apojllejbzp i and he there mentions a qualification that was to be in him that lhould be chofen to that Office, which I am lure bath not been found in any man thefe fifteen hundred years, and he ruts a neceility upon it, that he that was to be chofen lhould be fo qualified, a [ ~ J a [ m11jl J upon If, verf. 21, 2. of thofe men that have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jefus went m and out among us, beginniag from the Baptifm of .1oh11 unto the fame day that he was taken up, [ mujl J one (if any) be ordained to be a witnefs with us of his RefurreCl:ion : And though they named two, for God to pick one to fuew that God's immediate Call was re– quifite to Authorize a~ Apoftle (that it might n?t _be by mmz but God) they by PrayercaftLots, andafellupon Matthuu; andtttsGod alone, who by an im– mediate hand, doth difpofe the Lot, as Solom01z tells us: For Apoftles were to be by the Will of God immediately. But this is not a new Impofiure, this very Church of Epbej11s he wmes to, had thofe that came among them with this claim; for Rev. 2. 2. it is made one of their chiefeft commendations, That thry had triedthem that j'aid, they were Apojl!es and were not, mzd had fotmd them Liars. If therefore any be foimpudent and prefumptuous againft Chrift and his Church, as to·arrogate the Dignity and write themfelves fo, they may be tried, you fee, and that by t~e marks of an Apoftle, as our true Ajioftte fpeaks, 2 Cor. r2. ti. Let u• examme thefe men, Have you the figns ol an Apofile l .Have you feen ~hrift in the Flelh? That is one fign of an Apoftte, I Cor. 9· I. Yea, where are the Miracles, Wonders; and mighty Deeds that confirm your Preaching, which are made figns to prove your Apofileihip, as 2 Cor. I2. I2? · I would fain fee the man that dares fay he is an Apoftle, he will be found a Liar, as thofe at our Ephefus were. The fecond Head, The perfons to whom he writes: . To the Saints which are at Eph<jiu, mzdto thefaithful i11 Chrifl."fefus, Here is a double appellation,Sai11ts,andFa#hfi•l, or Believers, as I iball ibew by and by: Thefe two are {eldom both thus joined together in the Infcriptions ofhis Epiftles,(though fingly elfewhere; fometimes he ililing them whom he writes to Saints,fometimes Believers)only in that parallel, Ep, Co/,,.2. you haveit in like manner joined, To the Saints and faitiJfztl Brethren in <':hrift. The fcopein whichwords is to fuew two difiinCl: qualifications in thofe Brethren at Colofs, that they we•e both Saints, and alfo Believers and Faithful. Now in this here he placeth hiswords a little otherwife, To the Sai11ts which are at Epheftu, and the faitl,ful inCbrif/, infomuch a~ Ta little confidered, whether his fcope were riot to infcribe thhEpiftle not to the Saintsat Ephejiu only, but to others, even all the fai~hful in Chrift elfewhere in the World ; as if the particle [ '!) J or [ mzdJ fuould 1mport all other believing perfons belides thefe 'Ephr(i1111s to have been - · - written
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