Tract No. 15
When Churchmen in England maintain the Apostolical Commission of their Ministers, they are sometimes met with the objection, that they cannot prove it without tracing their orders back to the Church of Rome; a position, indeed, which in a certain sense is true. And hence it is argued, that they are reduced to the dilemma, either of acknowledging they had no right to separate from the Pope, or, on the other hand, of giving up the Ministerial Succession altogether, and resting the claims of their pastors on some other ground; in other words, that they are inconsistent in reprobating Popery, while they draw a line between their Ministers and those of Dissenting Communions.
It is intended, in the pages that follow, to reply to this supposed difficulty; but first, a few words shall be said, by way of preface, on the doctrine itself, which we Churchmen advocate.
The Christian Church is a body consisting of Clergy and Laity; this is generally agreed upon, and may here be assumed. Now, what we say is, that these two classes are distinguished from each other, and united to each other, by the commandment of God Himself; that the Clergy have a commission from God Almighty through regular succession from the Apostles, to preach the Gospel, administer the Sacraments, and guide the Church; and, again, that in consequence the people are bound to hear them with attention, receive the Sacrament from their hands, and pay them all dutiful obedience. I shall not prove this at length, for it has been done by others, and indeed the common sense and understanding of men, if left to themselves, would be quite sufficient in this case. I do but lay before the reader the following considerations.
1. We hold, with the Church in all ages, that, when our Lord, after His resurrection, breathed on His Apostles, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost,—as My Father hath sent Me, so send I you;” He gave them the power of sending others with a divine commission, who in like manner should have the power of sending others, and so on even unto the end; and that our Lord promised His continual assistance to these successors of the Apostles in this and all other respects, when He said, “Lo, I am with you,” (that is, with you, and those who shall represent and succeed you,) “alway, even unto the end of the world.”
And, if it is plain that the Apostles left successors after them, it is equally plain that the Bishops are these Successors. For it is only the Bishops who have ever been called by the title of Successors; and there has been actually a perpetual succession of these Bishops in the Church, who alone were always esteemed to have the power of sending other Ministers to preach and administer the Sacraments. So that the proof of the doctrine seems to lie in a very small space.
2. But, perhaps it may be as well to look at it in another point of view. I suppose no man of common sense thinks himself entitled to set about teaching religion, administering Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, and taking care of the souls of other people, unless he has in some way been called to undertake the office. Now, as religion is a business between every man’s own conscience and God Almighty, no one can have any right to interfere in the religious concerns of another with the authority of a teacher, unless he is able to show, that it is God that has in some way called and sent him to do so. It is true, that men may as friends encourage and instruct each other with consent of both parties; but this is something very different from the office of a Minister of religion, who is entitled and called to “exhort, rebuke, and” “rule,” “with all authority,” as well as love and humility.
You may observe that our Lord Himself did not teach the Gospel, without proving most plainly that His Father had sent Him. He and His Apostles proved their divine commission by miracles. As miracles, however, have long ago come to an end, there must be some other way for a man to prove his right to be a Minister of religion. And what other way can there possibly be, except a regular call and ordination by those who have succeeded to the Apostles?
3. Further, you will observe, that all sects think it necessary that their Ministers should be ordained by other Ministers. Now, if this be the case, then the validity of ordination, even with them, rests on a succession; and is it not plain that they ought to trace that succession to the Apostles? Else, why are they ordained at all? And, any how, if their Ministers have a commission, who derive it from private men, much more do the Ministers of our Church, who actually do derive it from the Apostles. Surely those who dissent from the Church have invented an ordinance, as they themselves must allow; whereas Churchmen, whether rightly or wrongly, still maintain their succession not to be an invention, but to be God’s ordinance. If Dissenters say, that order requires there should be some such succession, this is true, indeed, but still it is only a testimony to the mercy of Christ, in having, as Churchmen maintain, given us such a succession. And this is all it shows; it does nothing for them; for, their succession, not professing to come from God, has no power to restrain any fanatic from setting up to preach of his own will, and a people with itching ears choosing for themselves a teacher. It does but witness to a need, without supplying it.