or mediately through man standing connected with them and recognized by them, was this gospel to be proclaimed, and the Church community which was founded upon this gospel to be organized and established. 3. They were gifted with an accumulation of miraculous powers, which both were their credentials as Ohrist's delegates, and enabled them for the discharo-e 0 of their function. 4. They were the only human beings statedly empowered to impart miraculous gifts to other men. 5. They alone of men wielded the rarely exercised miraculous power of inflicting the discipline of bodily suffering, which apparently on one occasion (Acts v.) included the infliction of death. To them, in short, was assigned an altogether unique position in the kingdom of God-a position which Christ mystically described as a "kingship," in the exercise of which they sat upon thrones, judging the mystical twelve tribes of Israel ; and which, in another form of symbol, constituted them the" foundation" on which the Church was built-the" twelve foundations" of the city" New Jerusalem." In no other persons were these great characteristics seen united as they were united in them : "none dared to join him.self unto them," as possessing like supereminent prerogatives. Portions of the offices and of the supernatural gifts which were clustered together in their persons were, it is true, by the Holy Spirit distributed "according to his will" among members of the Church, for its primary establishment and for its permanent life and regulation; and the apostolic function, elevated as it was, was still homogeneous with the character nnd function of the entire Christian community: nevertheless, the " glorious company •of the apostles" stand in the ~history of the Church unique and alone. Having been "'given" for the one specific purpose of founding the Church and fixing the faith which was then "once for all delivered unto the saints," their function, after the analogy of the earthly work of Christ himself, neither needed nor was designed to be perpetuated through successors, whether in one line or in several. In its very idea the apostolate was essentially provisional and iiitransmissible. • ~poseles delegated by the Church. Passing on for the present from that higher appli- cation of the term "apostle," in which it was used to denote one who received his apostolic commission direct from Christ himself without any human intermediation, we have to consider another application of the term which was in vogue in the Christian Church; for we have to observe that, among Christians, the word was frequently applied to messengers proceeding upon some religious errand with credentials of a public mission from this or that Church. Use of the word "apostle" in 2 Oor. viii. 23; Phil. ii. 25. This fact is disguised in the Authorized Version by the word ,i,,.,!.,.,..o;\os being twice rendered "messengers" (2 Cor. viii. 23; Phil. ii. 25)-a rendering which removes from the eyes of the English reader an application of the term " apostle" which supplies a valuable clue for the deter- mination of several questions relative to this subject. The apostles Andronicus and Junias. With the two passages last referred to, in respect to both of which there can be no manner of doubt as to the import of the term, we have probably to group some others. In approaching the consideration of these, however, we are confessedly proceeding to ground more or less open to debate. In Rom. xvi. 7 St. Paul writes, " Salute Andronicus and J unias [ or, 'J unia '], my kinsmen [i.e. most probably,' my fellow-Israelites'] and my fellow-prisoners, men such as are of note among the apostles (of Twls eicrw l,r/<fT/µ.01 111 Tois d,rocrTo;\ois), who also were in Cl1ri~t before I was." The noun "Junias" mny with probability be taken as a xxv:i 'l'HE EPIS'I'L.E ,;r'.0 THE. ~ALATIANS.
contraction of" J unianus." If the nominative of the proper no11-n ~s "Juni!'," ae some suppose, then the two persons me.y be conceived of as bearing a similar relation to each other and to the Church, to that borne by Aquila,and Priscilla, just before mentioned by St. Paul. , 1 . .