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Show If theh the Church have received,as well 'as the ApojlleJ, the fame Commillion ofC/mrch-Power, ( fofarre as it is of perpecuall ufe) that though the Church then prefented their Officers cho!m by them, to receive o .. dhtation from the Apojllu, yet whe~ the Apo-filcs are cealed, and no other fucce!fors left ·in their roome, from whom their Officers might n:ceive ordination, but from the Pref bytcry of their own 'chmch, then where fuch a Pmhytery is yet wanting, and their power is now to be executed, the Church hath fnll power to give ordination co them themfelvcs, by the impofi· tion of their hands. S E C To VI II, Obje£1. vv· Hen the Apofl/eJ ceafed, Bifhops were left as fuccef· . · fors in their roome ; As 'titrWtby in Ephefm, md Tltuf in C1•ete, to ordaim Elder! in every Church, Tit. I.~· Anfw. Ti'rl<othy and Titw were not left to ordaine Elder1 as Bi., jhopi,but as Ewngelijh, whofe office was ali~ extraordinary in the Church, as that of Apojllu and P,.,pbeu, (Eph+ II.) Their work being to follow the Apofiles, and fo Cet forward the work which the Avo!Ues had,begun, wh~reto the Apo!Ucs called them forth, :md directed them ; . And _not to keepe fe_tled refidence in any one Churc~,as Eltftr 1 doc, or 111 any one Natzon of C~urches,as Bijhops doe: T:~thy IS expreOy ~ommanded todo:thework.of an Evange· lifr, 2 T1~1. 4· ~. And T:~m was not ordamed a Bifhop at Crete, but left m Crete, as. havx~g travelled up and downe with P au!, Gal. <2. 3. and commmg to Crete was left to direct the Cretian be· leevers in their'Churc~-affaires, after Pauls departure: afterwards h~ departed co_ Dalma~ia, 2 :rin:_. 4· IO. Sbmerimes paul appointed hm:_ to meet hm1 at N~eopolu, Tit. 3· 12. Sometimes he Cent him to Cor:nth,zCor.xz. x8. And commends him (ashispartnerand fdlow-helper )co the Clum::h of Cnrinth : And at 'troaJ P a~tl found no refi in his fpirit, becaufe he found not 'Iitm his Brother z Cor. 2. I3· And in MacuLmia he found much.comfort becaufe h; found '!itm there, 2 Cor. 7. 5, 6. Which argueth hi's ~llina was not Ep!fc~pall to reft in a certaine charge, but to travellup and downe wuh the Apofiles, or after them, or whither the Holy Ghofi fhould lead them forth to help forward the work of Chri{\, and the Apofrles. . ' i Objet1. . Ob~eEl. But in t~e Subfcriptim~! of rhe EpUUcs ~f f 311~ to ,clJ,cp.r, TttMlS called the p rfl "rd.;uud B:(bop of aU tbe c~m.;m:: And Tirr.o-tb) thc_fi•'JI ordJincd Bijhop of the ChwciHfJipJ"jiu. , •. h· . , Anjw. The Sub{crip1io1JJ of P~ul1 Epiltl~fi ~ lllltP ' thof~ ·~ud the re!'t, are no part of Canonicall Scriptttr~, Q~> /l.popyph.:~, not written by th~ Apolllcs thctn\clves,_ but by ·{o!\jc Sc~ibes that <;opied - them out m aftet: ages, as IS ob!erved by n\aJJY learned bP,th Protefta~ ts and P~p1~s: In p.uticular this Subfi-riptio[l in the Epiftle ~o Tm_u contamct_ll an apparcn t mifiake;for the S11bjcription laith the.Epi.JIIe ~.11 '!'mtw f rom Nicopolit to , M~ccdoni;J ; as if P ailj , had be~ nt NtcopJlu when he wrote this Epill:lc: whk_l;l conreit hi the Scnbe fprang from a mifiake of Pauls words, Tit+ 12· wlu:re Paul bids Titm be diligent to come to mte to Nicopolii ,for I have determined tb!re to winter; but Paul doth not G.y, 1 have determined here to ~nter, (as if he were there already in Nicopolii) but I have deterlll! ned there to winter, to wit, as. intending to goe thither ~or to Winter. The Subfcription of the Epifrle to Timotl>y, fiiling him the fir{/ ordained Bif.ap of tbe EpheftanJ, will not fiand with the A.po• fifes charge to him in the fame Epifile, ( 2 Tim. 4· ~.) doe the work._. of an Evangelifr. For a Bifbnp was .Co attend with perfonall refidenoeupon bis x:harge, AE1. 20. 1.~·. But an Eu~ngdij! was to cravellup andd'Owne with the Apoilles, orafu:r ,thcm; to 1=ome ar;)d' goe anheir appointment: As Paul there doth command Timotl!J to be Jitigent to c•me to bim, 2 Tim. 4· 9· 21·. Againc when P a:tl ad· dre!fech himCelfe togoeto :Rome (from wh.encc tbit Subfcription telltth w this Epij!le wa.r written) he intending to.pallC by Macedonia to ~me, (.1\Et. 19.2:1.) befo>tght 1im?thy 191•&bi~e jliU at Ephefm, I T:m. 1. 3· Eut if Timothy had ·beer~· the Bijbop,.ordained of theEph< ftum, his dtttie wmeld !Jave bound !Jim to abide there, and !):,oulcl not have needed P ~It imreaty Co to doc. Befides when Fa,.Zin that journey came to Milet!ff, he called for the Eltlm ~f Eph~f-;u, Act.:J.O. 17. whom alfo .he n;uned Bi~ jhop1 ;. forfo the Greek word is, which is tranUated overfeerJ, v.z8. and then P au/ acknowledged no li1ch fingular ordination 'Of anyto a tranfcendmt Epifcop.JC), but what wai common to all the EldetJ rfEpheflff : But that it may furthe t· appe:1re, that it was not the mtent of Paul, or of the othCJ.·r·Ql.fi!cs, to direct the Churches tofcnd the Elders whom they {,~~-'chofcn, unto any 1ranfcendent (or- |