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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:THE MINISTRY.'OST earnestly do Brethren protest, that while they deny a one-man ministry, or a man-made ministry, they respect the office, and those whom God appoints to it. They hold that, while all have a right to minister, there are some specially endowed and entitled to special recognition ; but they deny that such ought either to be chosen or ordained by men, and that if paid, it ought not to be in the form of stipulated salary.I. As to open ministry, or the liberty of all to teach.From a tract entitled " The Brethren," attributed to the pen of Mr Kelly, we read : " All believers are, it is affirmed, true spiritual priests, capacitated for worship (Heb. x. 19- 25), and any who possess the qualifications from the Lord are authorised to evangelise the world or instruct the Church : and such have not alone the liberty, but also an obligation to employ whatever gift may be entrusted to their keeping. Hence, in their assemblies Brethren have no pre-appointed person to conduct their proceedings : all is open to the guidance of the Holy Ghost at the time, so that he who believes himself to be so led of the Spirit may address the meeting," etc.We equally readily admit that " all believers are true spiritual priests." But we deny the inference, that this entitles all believers to assume the ministerial office. The priesthood of believers has no bearing upon the questionbefore us. "Are all teachers?" asks the apostle (1 Cor. xii. 29), a question that need not to have been asked, if all were. " Stop, stop," says Mr Kelly, " only those who possess the qualifications from the Lord, are authorised to evangelise the world or instruct the Church." But, pray, who is to be judge of these qualifications ? The party possessing them or the Church? The Church undoubtedly, e... ... Read more