Ordination of Paul and Barnabas
27
could not clearly discern to the end of that which was abolished by the
Son of God. The work was now to be prosecuted with vigor among
the Gentiles, and was to result in strengthening the church by a great
[43]
ingathering of souls.
The apostles, in this their special work, were to be exposed to
suspicion, prejudice, and jealousy. As a natural consequence of their
departure from the exclusiveness of the Jews, their doctrine and views
would be subject to the charge of heresy; and their credentials as min-
isters of the gospel would be questioned by many zealous, believing
Jews. God foresaw all these difficulties which his servants would
undergo, and, in his wise providence, caused them to be invested with
unquestionable authority from the established church of God, that their
work should be above challenge.
The brethren in Jerusalem and in Antioch were made thoroughly
acquainted with all the particulars of this divine appointment, and
the specific work of teaching the Gentiles, which the Lord had given
to these apostles. Their ordination was an open recognition of their
divine mission, as messengers specially chosen by the Holy Ghost for
a special work. Paul witnesses in his Epistle to the Romans, that he
considered this sacred appointment as a new and important epoch in
his life; he names himself, “a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an
apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.”
The ordination by the laying on of hands, was, at a later date,
greatly abused; unwarrantable importance was attached to the act as
though a power came at once upon those who received such ordination,
which immediately qualified them for any and all ministerial work,
as though virtue lay in the act of laying on of hands. We have, in the
history of these two apostles, only a simple record of the laying on
[44]
of hands, and its bearing upon their work. Both Paul and Barnabas
had already received their commission from God himself; and the
ceremony of the laying on of hands added no new grace or virtual
qualification. It was merely setting the seal of the church upon the
work of God—an acknowledged form of designation to an appointed
office.
This form was a significant one to the Jews. When a Jewish father
blessed his children, he laid his hands reverently upon their heads.
When an animal was devoted to sacrifice, the hand of the one invested
with priestly authority was laid upon the head of the victim. Therefore,