$ 14.] Other Senses of Ecclesia in the N. T. 375 formed were affiliated with the city communities, and thus what we may call dioceses were formed, all however acting in harmony with the directions which emanated from the Apostolic body at Jerusalem. When this venerable city was destroyed, the local centre of unity vanished; at the same time the Apostles and their coadjutors passed away; but they left their writings behind, and these letters and authorised narratives of our Lord's history were received as the utterances of the Spirit of Christ, and took the same place in the Christian system which the Scriptures of the Old Testament had occupied in the Jewish Church. How, in the lapse of ages, Rome gradually assumed to itself both the authority of the Apostles and the local dignity which originally belonged to Jerusalem, is a matter of history which need not here be touched upon. It may be observed, however, that all schisms in the various Churches, or from them, arose partly from the fact that, as generations passed away, the Churches lost something of that vital hold of simple Apostolic truth which they originally possessed, and partly because it does not seem, humanly speaking, possible that there should be upon earth anything approaching to a perfect Church. There have always been offences, heresies, false teachers, and false professors, and there will be to the end of this dispensation. Every attempt to form a new community on the Apostolic model has ended in the same way. A root of bitterness has sprung up in spite of all precautions; and men have learnt over and over again by sad experience that they must be content to put up with an imperfect organisation and with indifferent teachers, whilst they have been also led to see that, amidst all human imperfections, the true Head of the Church remains the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever,' ministering grace to all that love Him in sincerity and truth. § 14. The word ecclesia is used in other senses besides that now discussed, in a few passages of the N. T. Thus, in Acts 19. 32, 39, 41, a civil assembly is called by this name. In 1 Cor. 14., the ecclesia appears to be the assembly of Christians for Divine worship, answering to one of the senses of ovvaywyn noted above. In Heb. 12. 23, we read of the KKλnola of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. Reference is here made perhaps to the true Israel of the old dispensation, to those of the congregation' or ecclesia in the wilderness with whom God was pleased, to those who did not bow the knee to Baal, and to those who feared the Lord,' and 'spake often one to another.' Others suppose that the ecclesia of Christ is here referred to; they hold that the Church is a representative body, and that the world at large will reap the fruit of the faith and love of the spiritual firstborn. Acts 7. 38. The A. V. here most unfortunately renders KKλσíα church, instead of congregation. 1 Heb. 3. 16, ‘Some did provoke . . . but not all.' There was a Church within a Church, Jews who were Jews inwardly, Israelites indeed, remnants according to the election of grace. Rom. 2. 29, 11. 4, 5; Mal. 3. 16. Israel is called God's firstborn in Ex. 4. 22. $ 1.] Human Agency in Revelation. 377 CHAPTER XX. PROPHET, PRIEST, ELDER, MINISTER. § 1. Human instruments used to accomplish the Divine purposes.— § 2. Hebrew names for a Prophet.-§ 3. Chozeh, or the Seer.-§ 4. Prophecy, according to the N. T.—§ 5. Cohen, or the Priest.-§ 6. The Priest, according to the N. T.-§ 7. Zacén, or the Elder.-§ 8. The 'Ancients.'-§ 9. Christian Presbyters.-§ 10. Shereth, or the Minister. - 11. The Minister, according to the N. T.-§ 12. 'Eved, or the Servant. § 13. The same in the N. T. § 1. Ir has always been part of the system of the Divine government to employ men as instruments for the conveyance of heavenly truth and blessing to the world at large. Whether it be as the announcers of the Revealed Message, as the writers of the inspired Scripture, as the official representatives of God in matters relating to the atonement, or as teachers and guides of the people, human instruments have been employed, human voices have been heard, the pen of a man' has been used, the agent has been taken from among men,' the treasure has been conveyed in 'earthen vessels.' There has been a constant tendency in those that have been selected for these important services to constitute themselves into a caste, and to assume to themselves powers and rights which God never gave them; and by a natural reaction, many persons, resenting such claims, have thrown discredit on sacred offices, and have sought to break through the distinctions which God Himself has marked out. The practical advantages of a settled order of ministry are denied by comparatively few; but how many there are who differ, and that hotly, concerning the names, relative positions, and spiritual powers of the ministry! Metaphysical questions have here intruded themselves, to add to the entanglement. Not only has the nature of the special prophetic gifts of the Old and New Testament been earnestly investigated, but such points as the following are raised :— -Does the grace of God's Spirit come direct to each member of the Church, or only through certain privileged persons? Does the spiritual efficacy of baptism and the Lord's Supper depend upon the presence and superintendence of a person who has received special gifts by the laying on of hands? Are the gifts referred to in the New Testament transmitted through Episcopal consecration? or are they vested in the Holy Catholic Church as a body, to be exercised through such representatives as may be appointed from time to time by the Christians of each locality? Is a threefold order of ministry-bishops, presbyters, and deacons-essential to the exercise of such gifts? Is hereditary succession from the Apostles' days, by a continuous laying on of hands, necessary in order to constitute a true Bishop? The animosity raised by such questions is endless, and we need over and over again to be reminded that the great object of the ministry is not that men should set themselves up as a privileged caste, but that they should lead others to Christ; whilst the object of Christ in dispensing His gifts to men is to make them conformable to the will of God. Whatever helps forward that conformity, whether it be the faithful use of the Lord's Supper, the reading and meditating on Scripture, public prayer and preaching, or private spiritual intercourse between man and man, that is to be regarded as a gift, and as a means whereby the life of God penetrates the soul. § 2. The general name for a prophet in the O. T. is Nabi The original meaning of this word is uncertain; .(נביא) $ 2.] Hebrew names for a Prophet. 379 some connect it with nabath, to behold; but it is generally supposed to signify the bubbling-up of the Divine message, as water issues from a hidden fountain. It is used both of prediction, properly so called, and of the announcement of a Divine message with regard to the past or present. It is sometimes applied to the utterance of songs of praise, to those who professed to be messengers of false gods (e.g. 'the prophets of Baal'), and also a man who acts as the mouthpiece of another, as when the Lord says to Moses, Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.' The prophet, then, was the representative of God, the proclaimer of His will and purposes. The first passage in which the word occurs is Gen. 20. 7, where it is used of Abraham. In Deut. 18. 15, 18, the title is applied to the Messiah, who was to have God's words in His mouth, and who thus became the Mediator of the New Covenant, taking a position analogous in some respects to that of Moses. The LXX almost always adopts the rendering προφητεύω and προφήτης for Nabi. In Micah 2. 6, 11, the word nathaph (), to drop, is used. Some commentators suppose that it is adopted as a word of contempt. It is used, however, of a discourse distilling in drops in the following passages:-Job 29. 22, ‘My speech dropped upon them'; Prov. 5. 3, The lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb'; Cant. 4. 11, Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb'; 5. 13, ‘His lips, like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh'; Ez. 20. 46, Drop thy word towards the south'; 21. 2, 'Drop thy word towards the holy places'; Am. 7. 16, Drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.' The word Masa (sv), a burden, is used in Prov. 30. 1 and 31. 1, where the A. V. renders it 'prophecy.' By a burden we are to understand the message laid upon the mind of the prophet, and by him pressed on the attention of |