8/9/2019 Chronology Circumcision
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CHURCH CHURCH
'prophets and teachers ' (13I) : we hear nothing of itselders or
other officers. When, however, Paul and
l,. Barnabas, going forth from the church inchurches. Antioch,
founded communities in variouscities of Asia Minor, they appointed,
we are
expressly told, elders to administer them (1423) . Inthis they
probably reproduced an institution alreadyknown at Antioch, with
which both of them had togetherbeen brought into contact in
Jerusalem (1130).
As Paul travelled farther west, and Christian societies
sprang up in a more purely Greek soil, the Church'sindependence
of Judaism became continually clearer ;and we might reasonably
expect to find elements ofGreek social life exerting an influence
upon the develop-ment of Christian organisation. At the same timewe
must bear in mind that Paul himself was a Jew, thatto the Jews in
every place he made his first appeal,that his epistles indicate
that there was a considerableJewish element among those to whom he
wrote, andthat we have clear evidence that, at first, at any
rate,his organisation of administration was based upon aJewish
precedent. In his earliest letters to a Europeanchurch Paul urges
the recognition and esteem of ' thosewho labour among you and
preside over you in theLord, and admonish you,' thus implying a
localadministration, though not further defining it ( I Thess.512);
but at the same time he demands absoluteobedience to the
injunctions which he sends them inthe joint names of himself and
Silvanus and Timotheus
If we try to draw from the study of Paul's epistles apicture
ofaChristian society in a Greek city, we may startby observing that
the members of it are distinguishedone from another mainly by their
spiritual ' gifts '( X U ~ ~ L T ~ U T U ) .Of these the highest is
prophecy, whichis freely and sometimes distractingly exercised, by
anywho possess it, in the ordinary meetings of the society.Other
gifts too, such as those of healing, give a certainnatural
pre-eminence to their possessors. Over all werecognise the
undefined but overshadowing authority ofthe apostolic founder. Such
is the most elementarystage, and we cannot sharply distinguish it
from thatwhich immediately follows. Leading men fall intoclasses,
with obvious divisions (not in any sensestereotyped orders)
separating them from the generalmass : apostles, prophets,
teachers-clear grades ofspiritual prestige, though by no means
marked offas ahierarchy. Th e teachers are mainly local in the
exerciseof their functions ; the prophets are local to someextent,
but moving from church to church, and recog-nised everywhere in
virtue of their gift ; the apostlesare not local, but essentially
itinerant, belonging to thewhole Church.
This ministry expresses the more distinctly spiritualside of the
Church's activities. But the communityneeds, besides, to be
governed ; and discipline must beexercised in the case of unworthy
members. It musthave representatives who can formally act on its
behalf,either in dealing with individuals or in carrying on
com-munications with sister communities.
Again, there are other functions of the Church's lifewhich call
for executive officers. The care of the sickand the poor was a
primary duty ; so, too, was the exer-cise of the Chcrch's
hospitality to travelling brethren.These duties involved an
administration ofthe commonfunds collected for such pnrposes, and
generally ofcorporate property. Servants of the Church were
thuscalled for to perform these humble but necessaryfunctions, and
responsible superintendents to see that
they were duly performed. This class of executiveministers we
find in the ' bishops and deacons' ( 6 d -CKOTOL K U ~ L ~ K O Y O
L )whom Paul greets in the openingwords of his epistle to the
Philippians ; and the qualifi-cations demanded of them in the
Pastoral Epistlesafford valuable indications of the nature oftheir
service.
All these elements of moral or formal authority would
z Thess. 314).
825
be more or less distinctly present in every community,expressing
the activity and life of'-the community itselfin various forms. In
different localities developmentwould proceed at different rates of
progress ; but in all,the same general needs would have to be met,
and inter-commnnication would help towards a comparativelyuniform
result. Th e earlier and the more rapidlydeveloping societies would
serve as a natural modelto the rest.
I n speaking thus we do not lose sight of the control-
ling inspiration of the divine Spirit promised by Jesusto be the
Church's guide. We rather recognise thepresence of a continuous
inspiration, developing fromwithin the growth ofa living organism,
not promulgatinga code of rules to be imposed from without upon
eachcommunity at its foundation.
Th e scanty and scattered notices of church organisa-tion in the
NT need, for their interpretation, a ll thelight that can be thrown
upon them by the'*. The ,practice of Christian communities, so far
as'Didache' it can be ascertained from the remains of
their earliest literature. . Here again, however, theevidence is
still sparse and incidental, though of lateyears it has been
increased, especially by the recovery(1883)of the Teach i xg of the
Apostles. The date ofthis book is quite uncertain. It is of a
composite natureand preserves very early documents in a modified
form.There is no agreement among scholars as to the localityto
which it belongs. It may represent a communitylying oiitside the
general stream of development and
preserving, even to the middle of the second century, aprimitive
condition which had elsewhere, for the mostpart , passed away. This
view does not materially lessenits value as an illustration ofan
early stage of Christianlife; but we must be careful not to
generalise hastilyfrom its statements when they lack confirmation
fromother quarters.
In the Teaching (chaps.78),then, we have instruc-tions relating
to BAPTISM (q.u. ,5 3), fasting, and theEUCHARIST (4.v. . The
following chapters introduce ustoppostles and prophets ; they
provide tests for theirgenuineness, and instroctiom as to the
honour to hepaid to them. The apostles travel from place to
place,making but the briefest stay ; the prophets appear to bethe
most prominent persons in the community in whichthey reside (see
PROPHET). In comparison with them,bishops and deacons seem to hold
but a secondaryplace. The community is charged to appoint fit
personsto these offices, and not to despise them ; ' for they
toominister the ministry of the prophets and teachers.'
There is no mention whatever of presbyters. In all thiswe seem
to be on the verge ofa transition. Th e ministryof extraordinary
gifts is still dominant ; but the abusesto which it is liable a re
keenly felt : the humbler localministry, though despised by
comparison, has the futurebefore it.l
Other illustrations from the early literature will befound under
BISHOP ( 5 14f.). It must suffice here to19. End of say in
conclusion that, before the close ofznd cent. the second century,
the long process of
development had issued in a threefoldministry-a bishop,
presbyters, and deacons-being atlength generally recognised in all
Christian churches.In point of time, as well as of method, we have
anexact parallel to this development both in the settlementof the
canon and in the formulation of the ApostolicCreed. Th e more
abundant literature of the end of thesecond century shows us a
generally accepted standardof ministry, of canon, and of creed. In
each case the
need of definiteness and of general uniformity hadgradually made
itself felt, and the Christian con-sciousness, guided and expressed
by eminent leaders,had slowly solved the problems presented to it.
Ineach case we have evidence of that growth which is the
1 Cp Harnack on 3 Jn., St.KY.15.826
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