powers which afterwards became the special prerogatives of the episcopate. That the position in which Timothy and Titus were thus placed in reference to the presbyters of Ephesus and Crete deserves our serious attention is fully admitted; but it does not seem sufficient, in the absence of any express declaration of the Apostle to that effect, to enable us to pronounce them to have been invested with a new and permanent office. But this further evidence of the Apostle's intention is not forthcoming. For aught that appears in the epistles to the contrary, the commissions of Timothy and Titus may have been but temporary ones, and intended to meet a special emergency. Two favoured associates of St. Paul are despatched by him to Ephesus and Crete, for the purpose of "setting in order the things that were wanting," correcting certain disorders which had crept in among the Christians of those places, and ordaining elders where they were needed. This is the sum total of the fact with which we have to deal. That the Apostle thereby intended to create in the persons of Timothy and Titus a new office in the Church is not told us. We must even, in candour, admit that it is very improbable that either Timothy or Titus were, at that time, permanently invested with the government of the Ephesian or Cretan churches. On a reader, who should succeed in dismissing from his mind the bias produced by the testimony of history, which there is no reason to disbelieve, that Timothy and Titus afterwards became Bishops of Ephesus and Crete respectively, the impression produced by the pastoral epistles would probably be, that in neither case was the commission given to these disciples other than temporary, and for a special purpose. St. Paul and Timothy had been, as we learn from 1 Tim. i. 3., labouring conjointly in the Ephesian church, when the Apostle was compelled to take his departure into Macedonia. In his first epistle to Timothy, he beseeches him to abide at Ephesus, while he (Paul) was absent, in order that the work in which they had both been engaged might not be interrupted. The epistle thus addressed to Timothy would serve as credentials of his commission, and of the authority with which he was invested, in case any "man should despise his youth." He was charged to maintain sound doctrine in opposition to all false teaching; and to see that none but properly qualified persons were selected for the offices of presbyter and deacon. Over these inferior ministers his authority extended; for he was not to receive an accusation against an elder but before two or three witnesses;" which proves that he exercised some kind of jurisdiction over elders.* The same remarks apply to the case of Titus. He, like Timothy, had been a fellow-labourer of St. Paul in Crete; and when the Apostle, from causes unknown to us, was compelled to quit the island before the organization of its Christian societies had been completed, Titus was left behind with a charge in all respects similar to that given to Timothy: — "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee." Now there is no question but that Timothy and Titus here appear as the representatives of St. Paul himself: the Apostolic power was delegated to them for the time being: they claimed the obedience of the Ephesian and Cretan presbyters in the name of St. Paul. Not only, however, is there no positive evidence in all this that St. Paul intended to create in the persons of Timothy and Titus a new ecclesiastical office, but there appear to be, in the epistles themselves, express intimations that their commission was but a temporary one; that it was to terminate either when St. Paul should rejoin them, or should direct them to go elsewhere. Such, at least, is the impression conveyed by such passages as the following:-"These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry, that thou mightest know how to behave thyself in the house of God," &c.; "Till I come, give attendance to reading," &c. The Apostle, apparently, was not able to fulfil his intention of rejoining them; and accordingly, adopting the other alternative, he urges both Timothy (in the 2nd epistle) and Titus to despatch as quickly as possible what remained to be done, and to repair, the former to Rome, the latter to Nicopolis: "Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me; for Demas.... is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia:" "When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis." § From the former of these passages we incidentally gather that Titus's stay in Crete was, in fact, but short; for the second epistle to Timothy having been written either a little after or at the same time as that to Titus, it should seem that the latter had, according to the Apostle's direction, joined him where he was residing, and by him In the passage in 1 Tim. v. 1.-"Rebuke not an elder," &c.- usually cited to prove that Timothy was invested with disciplinary authority over presbyters, the word "elder" most probably means, not an ecclesiastical officer, but any elderly person, for it is opposed to the "younger men" who are mentioned immediately afterwards, by whom clearly are meant the younger members of the society in general. + Tit. i. 5. 2 Tim. iv. 9, 10.; Tit. iii. 12. 1 Tim. iii. 14, 15.; iv. 13. had been despatched on another mission,-viz. to Dalmatia. With respect to this second epistle to Timothy, written, according to the most probable hypothesis, about a year after the first, and in the immediate prospect of martyrdom, it is to be observed that there is no mention whatever in it of Timothy's being permanent bishop of Ephesus, or, indeed, of his being in any way connected with that church. That he was at Ephesus when the epistle was addressed to him, we gather only from the probabilities of the case, and from the mention of Hymenæus and Alexander (c. ii. 17., iv. 14.), who seem to be the same persons against whom Timothy is warned in the first epistle (c. i. 20.). This evidence of the temporary nature of the commissions of Timothy and Titus, furnished by the epistles themselves, would perhaps be by itself not very conclusive; but it receives a strong confirmation from the peculiar relation in which these apostolical men stood to St. Paul, a relation which renders it most improbable that they exercised, during the Apostle's lifetime, any fixed episcopal functions. In fact, Timothy and Titus belonged to a class of persons occupying a conspicuous place in St. Paul's epistles, who may be called Apostolic delegates, or commissioners; who, from the resemblance which their functions bore in some particulars to those of a bishop, and probably from the fact that the first bishops were chosen from their number, were by a later age easily mistaken for formal bishops. The origin of these Apostolic delegates is easily explained. As the field of St. Paul's missionary labours extended itself, and the number of churches standing in a peculiar relation towards him as their founder increased, it became more and more difficult for him to carry on the oversight of these churches in person. The only method of supplying his unavoida ble absences, was to do through others what he could not do in propriâ personâ. Accordingly, he seems, at an early period of his ministry, to have selected from the general body of believers certain persons, eminent for their natural and spiritual endowments, whom he attached to his person, and some of whom commonly accompanied him in his journeys. As soon as they had, by familiar and constant intercourse with the Apostle, become fully imbued with his sentiments, and had proved themselves fit to be entrusted with authority, they were by him despatched to different parts of the Christian world, or that portion of it which St. Paul claimed as his own peculiar sphere of labour, as need seemed to require. Sometimes they were sent to check one or more of the many heretical tendencies which even in that early age had begun to manifest themselves; sometimes to correct practical abuses, or to assist in organizing a Christian society. Wherever they appeared, they were understood to come clothed with St. Paul's authority, empowered by Him to supply what was wanting, to "reprove, rebuke and exhort with all authority and doctrine." But (and herein lay the peculiarity of their office) they, like the Apostles themselves, were never permanently fixed in any one place. As soon as they had finished the business upon which they had been sent to any particular church, they returned to the Apostle, who either retained them in attendance upon himself, or sent them forth on a mission to some other church needing their supervision. St. Paul in his epistles generally appears attended by one or more of these Apostolic delegates; and, by a comparison of those compositions, we can ascertain, with a high degree of probability, many of their names. Thus the names associated with St. Paul's own in the introductory salutations of his epistles - among which we find Silvanus, Sosthenes, and, more frequently than any other, Timothy were doubtless those of persons belonging to this class. The following passages contain the names of several of these Apostolic commissioners, and also explain the nature of their office:"Timotheus my work-fellow, and Lucius, &c., salute you." * "If Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, even as I do." + "God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus, when he told us your earnest desire, &c., towards me:" "And his" (Titus) "inward affection is more abundant towards you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him." "We have sent with him (Titus) the brother whose praise is in all the churches."§ "We have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you: or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers (únóorolo) of the churches." "Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother."¶ "That ye may also know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known unto you all things: whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose.' 11** "I Rom. xvi. 21. † 2 Cor. vii. vv. 6-15. Ibid. viii. 22, 23. ** Ephes. vi. 21. † 1 Cor. xvi. 10. See v. 11. Ibid. viii. 18. T Ibid. xii. 17, 18. supposed it necessary to send unto you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger (arhorolor), and he that ministered to my wants." "Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, touching whom ye have received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him."+ "We thought it good to be left at Athens alone; and sent Timotheus, our brother, &c., to establish you, and comfort you concerning your faith." "Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus." "When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me." "There salute you Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus; Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers." It is to this class of Apostolic delegates that Timothy and Titus, as we see from the frequent mention of their names, belonged; both, but especially the former, being among the most confidential and eminent of those whom St. Paul thus employed. This being so, it is, obviously, very unlikely that the Apostle would, in his lifetime, have attached them permanently to any particular church. A consideration which, coupled with the plain statements of the pastoral epistles, may well lead us to conclude that the position of Timothy at Ephesus and of Titus in Crete was not, at that time, a formal episcopate. These two cases are those upon which the Scriptural evidence for episcopacy mainly rests, for to the others which have been adduced so much uncertainty confessedly attaches that but little stress can be laid upon them. Thus that St. James, the brother of our Lord, exercised some kind of presidency, and that a permanent one, in the Church of Jerusalem is manifest from the way in which he is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles; but what the nature of it was, and whether it was official, or simply personal, is not told us. History, indeed, informs us that he became bishop of Jerusalem, and its testimony on this point may be accepted; but what we are now concerned with is the evidence for episcopacy which Scripture by itself furnishes. As regards the Apocalyptic angels, the character of the book in general, and the evidently metaphorical titles which they bear, prevent us from * Phil. ii. 25. 1 Thess. iii. 1, 2. | Tit. iii. 12. + Col. iv. 10. 21 Tim. iv. 11, 12. |