4. Apostolicity. — It has already been pointed out tliat Clirist selected twelve of His followers to stand in a specially close relaticm to Iliiii'-elf, and to be charged with a -]]i( ial iiii^-ion. In what is probably the earlir-t aicMmt ..i tli.ii- aiipoint- ment iMk" .•?"). it i- -ai.l tlioy xveiv to -lie with liini,' ami that He wi.til.l ■ -i-iid them forth.' Hence tliey were ealle.i Aj.o.tle- i l,k 6'3). The nature of this relation and tiiis inission must now be ex- amined in order to ascertain the sense in which the
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Church may be called Apostolic. It may first be noticed that a sharp distinction has sometimes been drawn between the position of the Twelve as representative disciples, that is, as standing in a specially close relationship to Christ, of the same kind, however, as that of other disciples, and their position as Apostles, that is, as men sent forth on a special mission. No such sharp distinction is drawn in the NT, nor does it appear to be neces- sary. The two things are spoken of in the passage of St. Mark just referred to as two sides of the same fact, not as two separable things. The close discipleship was necessary 'to fit the Apostles for their mission, and it therefore formed part of it.
The nature of this Apostolic mission is stated in the most comprehensive ternis in Jn 20'-' ' As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you ' ; that is to say, it was the task of carrying on upon earth the work of Christ Himself. It seems to be of little or no consequence to our estimate of the nature of the Apostolic functions whether others besides the Twelve were present upon the occasion when these particular words were spoken. The Twelve are frequently called ' the disciples,' especi- ally in the Fourth Gospel. And the mission of the Apostles is not a separate thing from the mission of the Church. If, as St. Paul so constantly teaches, the Church is one body with many members, the acts of the organs of the body are the acts of the body itself. St. Paul insists equally strongly upon the unity of the whole and the differentiation of function within the whole. And so the point to be considered is not whether a separate mission was given to the Apostles apart from that of the whole Church, but rather what special functions of the Church were committed to the Apostles to be performed, by themselves or under their direction, on the Church's behalf.
(n) One principal object with which the Apostles were sent out in the first instance was undoubtedly that they might teach (Mk 3"). And it is equally clear that this was not merely a temporary, but a permanent function. Even the special directions given to them on their first sending out (Mt 10) are not intelligible unless a continuance of the work of teaching be understood. And the Twelve were specially trained by close and continual inter- course with Christ for the work of being ^vitnesses to Him (Ac 1"), and it is clear that they considered this as one of their special functions (\^ 2^ 3'= 4^ etc.). And although this personal witness to the actions and words of Christ was necessarily confined to those who had been with Him, the transmission of the witness and the function of teaching in general are permanent. The eonnnission given by Christ to the Twelve to make disciples of all the nations (Mt 28'"-=") is one which was not, and could not be, accomplished by themselves in person, and it implies the continuance of the teaching office of the Church until this end is accomplished. So it IS recognized as one of the special duties of those who were appointed by the Apostles to take part in their work {I Ti 3'-'- « 5>' 6-'», 2 Ti 1'^ 2=, Tit 2i5 etc.). It IS this teaching work of the Church which corre- sponds to the prophetical office of Christ Himself.
(h)Thc worship of the C/(«,r/i '—The Saor.iments, which were especially cciiiiiiiitlcl to I lie Apostles, have been spoken of .-is -,„.;,! ;,,(, ,„, ,.--,irv to the existence and cohcsidn .t i lir Cliuivli .'ik a visible society. They .-nr ,-il-, , iii.;ni- li\- ul.irh tlif
relation of the C1mi<li i., i,,.,l ,~ .■•ni ,-,{ -n,,!
channels by wliici I lli,- m.liv i,lii;, I i,.,ci\.. Huii,,. grace. The wcii-^lii|, ,.f 11,,^ ( Imirli .runv- ;iii,| culminates in the Ku.li.ii isi I h.- snccL-ilh- .ii.iM.iiii,'.! action by which the Clunch t;ikes part in the sacri- fice offered by Christ. It makes a memorial of that part of His sacrificial ^ ork which has been accomplished in. time (Lk 22-», 1 Co 11»), and it
unites itself with Him in His present mediatorial work of pleading that sacrifice in heaven (He T^-"^). So the whole Church, as the Body of Christ, takes part in His priestly work (1 P 2', Rev 5»- "), and this has always been emphasized by the language of all the liturgies. See artt. LoRD'.s Supper, Sacraments.
(c) Discipline. — A visible society could hardly exist, or at least continue to exist, without some form of discipline. Christ sanctioned for His followers (Mt 18"), not only individual remon- strance, which may be considered as the gentlest form in which discipline can be administered (cf. 1 Th 5»), but also, in the case of the failure of this, the collective censure of the community (cf. 1 Ti 2-"', Gal 2"), and in the last resort the exercise of the natural right of a society to expel one of its members (cf. 1 Co 5', 2 Co 2'>-'»). These last pas- sages alone would suffice to show, what is certain enough, that the power of excommunication was recognized and practised in the Church from the earliest times.