802 PART IV. Ch. m. — the second advent.
preaching the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. Their simple duty was to teach ; their commission was, " Go teach all nations.'' One of the great elements of the Papal apostasy was the idea derived from paganism, that the main design of the Church is " cultus," worship, and not instruction. The Apostles, as Peter teaches (Acts i. 22), and as is everywhere else taught in Scripture, were to be witnesses of Christ ; to bear testimony to his doctrines, to the facts of his life, to his death, and especially to his resurrection, on which everything else depended. As, however, of themselves they could do nothing, they were required to attempt nothing, but to abide in Jerusalem, until they were imbued with power from on high. When thus imbued they began at once to declare the wonderful works of God to " Par- thians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopota- mia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, Phry- gia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians ; " thus making the first proclamation of the Gospel after the resurrection of Christ typical of its design and destiny as the religion of the whole world.
The Apostles accordingly " went everywhere ; " and every- where taught (1.) That God is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles ; that He is rich in mercy towards all who call upon him, justifying the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith. (2.) That the Gospel, therefore, was designed and adapted for the whole world ; for all classes of men ; not only for Jews and Gentiles, but also for the learned and unlearned, the young and the old, for the wicked and the righteous. It is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth. (3.) Being thus suited to all men, it should be preached to all men. " How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?" (Rom. x. 14, 15.) Paul glorified his office : he thanked God for giving him the grace to be the Apostle of the Gentiles. He said that he was under obligation to preach the Gospel both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise. He devotes no small portion of his Epistle to the Romans and the greater portion of the doctrinal part of that to the Ephesians, to setting forth the purpose of God to bring the Gentiles into his Church, and to make them equally with the Jews partakers of