Jackson on Article XXIII: Of Ministering in the Congregation

This Article, which is taken from the Augsburg Confession, deals with the appointment of ministers. It asserts, first, that ministers must “« be lawfully called and sent ’’; second, that this means that they must be “ chosen and called ’’ by men duly authorised to do so. There is a dis- tinction between the calling and, sending of a minister. The former corresponds to what we speak of as his ordination, the latter to the licence given him by the Bishop to minister in a par- ticular sphere. ‘‘ Chosen and called ’’ (lit.. ap- proved, Latin co-optati et asciti) introduces a further thought. The former word implies the choice of a new member by other members of the society or order; the latter implies the ap- proval of that choice by one in authority in the society or order. This seems to correspond to the account of the appointment of ‘‘ the Seven ’’ in Acts vi., and to what St. Paul says about the ordination of Timothy in 1 Tim. iv., 14, and 2 Tim. i., 6. The Article does not touch on the inward call to the ministry, which is dealt with in the Ordinal. Its one purpose is to safeguard the appointment of ministers against the loose doc- trine of the Anabaptists that anyone, thinking himself illuminated by the Spirit, had the right to exercise the office of the ministry regardless of external authority.

ArTicLE XXIV. Or SPEAKING IN THE Con-