A still more emphatic commission was given by Christ to St. Peter (Mt W\ and to ' the disciples' (18^*). Whatever may be the exact meaning of these words, it is difficult to give them any inter- pretation which does not include the idea of juris- diction. At all events the words in Jn 20--- -* relate directly to discipline, and are of the most unquali- fied character. If the historical character of these Sassages is admitted, there can be no doubt that a isciplinary commission was given. There have been, however, differences of opinion as to the persons to whom it was given. The chief views held on this point may be roughly classed under four heads.
(«) It has been held that the position of St. Peter was different in liind from that of the other Apostles, and that jurisdiction was given directly to him alone, and to the other Apostles through him, and that the same holds g;ood of his successors. (^) That jurisdiction was given directly to all the Apostles, and is inherent in their office and in that of their successors, but that it can be legitimately exercised only by those who preserve the unity of the Church by being in union with St. Peter and his successors, (.y) That jurisdiction was given equally to all the Apostles and their successors as the Divniely appointed organs of the Church, and that only a primacy of honour belonged to St. Peter or is due to his successors. ' All the Apostles \vere equal in mission, equal in commission, equal in power, equal in honour, equal in all things, except priority of order, without which no society can well subsist' (Bramhall). (I) That the Apostles received no gift of jurisdiction from Christ Himself, and that any powers which they or their successors exercised were gradually conferred upon them by the act of the Church or of parts of it.
Closely connected with directly disciplinary functions are those general powers of direction and administration which must be exercised in a society by some persons appointed for the purpose. That they were used by the Apostles, even with regard to secular matters, is plain from the Acts and Epistles. The Apostolic backgiound is every- where present in the former book, and St. Paul assumes such powers throughout (e.g. 1 Co IP'). It is by the exercise of such powers of discipline and government that the Church participates in the kingly office of Christ.
We may therefore conclude that the Church may be called Apostolic in so far as it has held fast to the teaching, worship, and discipline of the Church as intrusted by Christ to the Apostles, and according to the order established by them.
jVo7'F— r/i''"nivf -'<•/>»>•.•;.• 1)1-; :<i-> >.»•/«.— The word 'church' i- iMiiii.l ill :i r. Ml ' ,ni. 1 1 . i i. .rm . iii the Teutonic and Slavonic
1 111. nil-.. . ,- !|., , ,, I I ,-«j:V<o-/«, which has passed
nil. l.iiiii III. I lii i.. 1.1 . 111.1 Celtic languages. There
330
CHURCH
CIRCUMCISION
ttx beiny understood. The deriva- 'j.y.0^ is not free from philological sutHcient historical explanation of common Greek word should have
\x^-,' "thcr
thederi\atbiii "I tin- word 'chl The word isueA^o-iot is commoi of an assembly of the people (!«««>.!»/) bv the ■ ' theLXX
; there
the :
1 betv
words, and in the later books .li the (IT tVAdA almost disap- pears, and knh(il or ixxX-niriic combines both shades of meaninj;. There is little or no evidence as to the precise contemporary ideas which would have been conveyed to a Jew of our Lord's time bv the use of these words, but they could not fail to recall the thought of Israel as the congregation of God, and to suggest the idea of a Divine society.
It has often been supposed that the word ixxi.r,irix was in- tended to convey the idea of a people or a number of persons called out of the world for the special service of God. The chosen people and the idea of the special
election and vocatii tures, but they ne'
to the assemhl\ , w disappears, and th'
f Christians occur constantly in the Scrij ■ appear to be connected with the words 1 both these words the idea of the summons ■iginal significance, practically ■ ■ •• ■■•'-», or
Church- The fact that he two passa;::-' o suppose tha
f >und in the Gospels only in ■ y > J I ; ilfady discussed, has led some iiic.^.^ l.„^^.i_^^ are later insertions into the ■, made at a time when the idea of the Christkan society had been developed, and when it was desired to ad<l authoritv to the idea by a reference to the teaching of Christ. If, however, the view taken aliovc nf the ^'.-mral tcnrlency of
Christ's work and te.achiii.- i-i r. rr- ■', }V< - '--"i with the
Church does not depend ui. .u li; -■ ; - . i ,--i^ - .■nl\. and there would be much dilli , , hit this
t«rra and no other was nn ^- > ' ii-.^tian
society from the time of thi \ih>-i',., ,-,.\ i I-, iil. -- it were the natural equivalent of Aratn.iic l^nn^ u^^.a i.> c i.ti^i Himself. LiTER.\TURB.— The number of books which deal with the sub- ject of the Church from exactly the point of view taken in this article may not be very large, but the literature which bears more or less upon the original constitution and characteristics of the Church is of stupendous extent ; and the most that can be done here is to mention a very few specimens of different classes of books which relate to '■* In the first place, most comnienl exegesis of the pa-^-a-^es which 1