Are all apostles? The common priesthood of every Christian (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9) no more precludes the existence of special offices of authority in the Christian Church than the common priesthood of the Jewish people (Exodus 19:6) precluded the existence of a special order of men appointed to minister to God in holy things. The Apostle appeals to it as a notorious fact that allwere not apostles or prophets, but only those who were called to those offices. Accordingly there is scarcely any sect of Christians which has not set apart a body of men to minister in holy things and to expound the word of God. "Were all teachers," says Estius, "where were the learners?" The question here, however, is, rather of giftsthan of the officesto which those gifts lead.

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