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SUBJECT: Council of
Nicaea
QUESTION: What is the Council of Nicaea and what
does it have to do with the true church of God?
ANSWER:
Following are excerpts from our booklets on the subject:
From our booklet, "Europe and America in Prophecy"
https://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/europe-and-america-in-prophecy/
How the False Church Gained
Control
From the very beginning of
the New Testament church which Christ founded (Matthew
16:18), elements from both within and without (Acts
20:28-31) sought to rid God’s true church of everything
remotely "Jewish."
This came about as a result of massive numbers of
Gentiles joyously embracing Christianity many of them
wanting to cling to ancient, pagan traditions.
The New Testament, particularly Paul’s writings and the
"letters to the churches" in Revelation 2 and 3, is a story
of the erosion of the original faith; of attacks from
Judaizers, who could not seem to shake the concept of
circumcision, and who wished to impose the principles of
Judaism, not Christianity, on new converts (1 Corinthians
7:18-19).
Continually, the fledgling New Testament church is seen
struggling against persecutions from government; from the
leaders of the Jewish religious sects; from apostasies
within and from attacks without.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians marvels at how soon they
had listened to "another Gospel," and heard about "another
Jesus" (Galatians 1:6-8). He rebukes the Corinthians, who,
reverting to their pagan customs, had turned the Passover
into a Bacchian night of revelry; who tolerated incest
within their ranks. He continually defends himself against
"false apostles" who parade their "Jewishness" to the people
(2 Corinthians 11-12).
Jude, the next to the last book of the New Testament,
appeals to true Christians to get back to the "faith once
delivered," showing how far the apostasy had progressed.
Jude is a clear warning against false teachers who reverted
to the pagan mysteries; used gluttony, revelry, sexual
promiscuity in their religious services, exactly as heathen
priestesses functioned as "temple prostitutes," claiming
that such activities were symbolic of concourse with the
deity.
By the time John wrote the book of Revelation, probably
about 91 or 92 AD, the apostasy was nearly complete.
In the second and third chapters, in the letters to the
churches, you will see the churches plagued with false
doctrines, false religious leaders, false practices a church
shot through with paganism!
Acts 8 and other scriptures identify a man who may have
risen to become the first major leader of this apostasy; a
man who may well have masqueraded as the "Peter" of Rome,
Simon the Magus, or Simon the Magician. His story would
require book-length investigation. However, he passed into
history, and is not relevant today, except as a forerunner
of the final false prophet.
Paul wrote of the budding apostasy, and made it clear
that a false prophet will rise in the last days just prior
to the Second Coming of Christ!
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall
not come [the Second
Coming of Christ],
except there come a falling away [apostasy!]
first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition;
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth
in the temple of God [a
temple which is yet to be constructed in Jerusalem!],
shewing himself [claiming]
that he is God.
"...And now ye know what witholdeth [withstands;
resists. Paul is speaking of himself, as one who was
"holding back" this growing apostasy]
that he might be revealed in his time.
"For the mystery of iniquity [it
was a "mystery" religion; one which condoned sin, or
"iniquity"] doth
already work; only he who now letteth [restrains]
will let [continue to
restrain], until he be
taken out of the way" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-7).
Here we see a human religious leader who will ensconce
himself inside the temple in Jerusalem and actually claim to
be divine! claim to be God!
The expression, "be taken out of the way" is the subject
of some contention. The Greek verb is ginomai, which carries
the connotation "become to be." The preferred reading may
well be, "until he ‘become to be,’" or "become evident for
who he is," rather than a reference to Paul, as one who
would be removed by death, or "taken out of the way." Either
way, the meaning is clear that Paul was one of the last
restraining influences against virtual total apostasy in the
early church; that following his death there would be no one
left in the eastern world who withstood it.
Yet, Paul’s writing was also prophetic, for he referred
to the end time, and not just the few years following his
death.
Gradually, the visible church of the first and second
centuries dramatically changed. Little by little purely
pagan customs were adopted. Pagans coming into the church
carried with them their superstitions, their various
holidays and observances.
Liberal clergymen, ever desirous of more money and
power, of larger followings, permitted these pagan customs,
dressing them up in "Christian" trappings. Some of these
power-hungry leaders gained control of the physical
properties of the church through exercising autocratic
authority over the people. John wrote of one "Diotrephes,"
who coveted power, and who "put out" from that local
congregation the true believers, retaining only those who
had prostituted themselves, spiritually, to corrupt human
power (3 John).
Easter finally replaced the Passover. Sunday replaced
the Sabbath. Christmas obscured the time of Christ’s
conception. By the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD,
true Christians were solemnly warned against "Judaizing" by
continuing to obey God in observing His Sabbaths, or
following Christ’s example of observing the Passover on the
14th of Nisan; instead, they were commanded to observe the
purely pagan "Ishtar" festival, in honor of the pagan
goddess of fecundity and sex; a springtime celebration
featuring rapidly-reproducing rabbits, the symbols of eggs,
and other "mystical" paraphernalia.
From that time to this, the professing "Christian" world
has followed the great apostate church. Millions observe
"Ishtar" (pronounced
"Easter," today) with
bunnies and eggs; facing the rising sun in the east, and
eating "hot cross buns" (from
bous, or boun, meaning the symbol of Taurus, the bull
Tammuz, or Nimrod),
and reveling in a pagan celebration which has been dressed
up in "Christian" clothing.
Eventually, the millions of adherents to this pagan
"mystery" religion, now masquerading as "Christian," would
bring about the requirement for kings and emperors to
acknowledge the power of the church, or suffer the
consequences the sure loss of rulership, and perhaps the
loss of their lives!
---end of excerpt---
This next excerpt is from our
booklet, "Mark of the beast---What Is It?"
http://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/pubs/markof.htm
How the Image
of the Beast Was Formed
The BEAST of prophecy will soon
loom up in Europe! It is to comprise TEN NATIONS (Revelation
17:3, 12), most likely a reunified Germany, at the head of a
"United States of Europe" possessing its own nuclear
arsenal, along with chemical and biological weapons, and the
means to deliver them anywhere in the world. Like a
Frankenstein MONSTER which will STAGGER its own builders, a
new, ultra-right Germany will eventually emerge, and, in
close cooperation with many other Central European nations,
form a ten-nation political union.
Notice that the world WORSHIPS
this supranational, powerful economic, political, military
union: "...and all the world wondered after the beast. And
they worshiped the dragon [SATAN!
Revelation 12:9] which
gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast,
saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war
with him?" (Revelation 13:3, 4).
The beast John saw was a
counterfeit Christ-like creation. It APPEARED like Christ!
Yet, it spoke like SATAN! Let's continue: "And he exerciseth
all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the
earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first
beast [Rome! And the
successive revivals of the so-called "Holy Roman Empire"
down through history]
before him, and causeth the earth and them that dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was
healed" (Revelation 13:11, 12).
The "deadly wound" was received
when Rome fell, in A.D. 476. It was "healed" when Emperor
Justinian sent General Belisarius to Carthage, and later to
Rome, to overthrow the Ostrogothic king, in A.D. 543. The
"little horn" (Daniel 7:8, 20) which had "plucked up three
horns by the roots" was the growing universal church, in the
person of Justinian, as well as successive "holy" Roman
emperors. Three lesser rulers were ejected from Rome over a
long period—the Vandals, Ostrogoths (by
Justinian and Belisarius),
and the Heruli.
Now, notice: "And he [this
"lamb-like" beast, which spoke as a dragon, Satan]
doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them
that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which
he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them
that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to
the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. [Rome!]
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,
that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause
that as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed" (Revelation 13:11-15).
From the beginning, the Roman
Catholic Church was organized along the pattern of the Roman
Empire! It was a hierarchy, which, at the absolute pinnacle
of power, was worshiped, as if divine. The ancient Roman
emperors proclaimed themselves "gods," and were commonly
addressed as "divinity," a BLASPHEMOUS assertion attached to
some of the most obscenely depraved, demented, degenerate,
cruel human beings who have ever lived!
The Roman Catholic Church
developed over centuries, and was never a cohesive, unified
church under one pope until the time of Constantine, in A.D.
325. There were periods in history where there were two or
more popes, each excommunicating each other! Malachi Martin
has documented a great deal concerning the Roman Catholic
Church not commonly known. (Books
written by Malachi Martin include: Rich Church, Poor Church
[subtitle] The Catholic Church and its Money; The Decline
and Fall of the Roman Church; The Final Conclave.)
Another author has documented the incredible chicanery,
power politics, and strife that has characterized the
succession of prelates of the Roman Catholic Church. One
book, In God's Name, An Investigation into the murder of
Pope John Paul I, by David A. Yallop, alleges that Pope
John Paul I was assassinated. It includes much documentation
and thirty-two pages of photographs to substantiate its
claim.
History proves that the church
which emerges from the dark shroud of the second century (during
which there is comparatively little written information
available) is in most
respects TOTALLY DIFFERENT from the church of the apostles.
Remember, the church Jesus Christ
said He would build (Matthew 16:18) was the "assembly" (Greek:
ekklesia) of the early
apostles, including Paul, who described himself as "one
begotten out of due season," Barnabas and others, besides
the original eleven, together with Matthias, who replaced
Judas Iscariot. They continued to observe the WEEKLY
SABBATH, for which there is absolute, incontrovertible PROOF
in the New Testament Scriptures. They continued to observe
the ANNUAL SABBATHS, such as Pentecost (the
"birthday" of the New Testament Church—Acts 2),
the Days of Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5) and the
Passover (1 Corinthians 11). Luke mentions the "fast" (Day
of Atonement—Acts 27:9)
in about A.D. 55-56, long after the Ascension of Christ.
They observed the Passover
exactly as did Christ on the 14th of Nisan, or Abib, the
first month of the sacred calendar. But thousands of
gentiles were coming into the ranks of the church over the
centuries. They were attracted to a church which was
increasingly "accommodating," and which easily adapted to
various gentile customs and practices.
The story of Simon Magus (the
"Magus," from the "Magi," Acts 8)
and his rival movement is a subject for a complete book, and
cannot be treated here. However, there was a "Simon the
Pethor" or the "Pater" (Latin:
"father") in Rome who
was NOT Simon Peter! There is no connection whatsoever
between "Peter" (Greek:
Petros: a pebble, or rock)
and "Pater" (Latin:
"father").
Study the book of Romans
carefully! Paul addresses the large church at Rome in the
50s, A.D. Yet, Peter is never mentioned in the book! Peter
is not mentioned in the salutation, or in the body of the
text, or in the many personal salutations at the close,
which include references to more than twenty-seven persons
by name! WHY? Because Peter was in Babylon, where there was
a colony of Jews. Peter was the apostle to the
"circumcision," while Paul was the apostle to the gentiles!
(see 1 Peter 5:13).
By the time the curtain raises
over church history in the beginning of the second century,
a completely different church begins to emerge. Paul spoke
of what was happening to the Thessalonians. He said: "Let no
man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin
be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped;
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).
Simon Magus was called "that
great power of God," and had the power to produce miracles!
It is likely Paul had him in mind when he spoke of a man of
sin, a "son of perdition" who exalted himself above "...all
that is called God, or that is worshiped." Yet, Paul was
writing a prophecy for our time, something that is to occur
in the final years prior to Christ's return!
Paul said he was "withholding"
(verses 6-11) the emergence of this insidious power within
the church. He called it "THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY" [meaning
sin, or lawlessness]
and said that it "doth already work: only he who restrains
it [true meaning]
will continue to restrain it, until it arise in the midst."
This meant that the man of sin, the individual espousing the
MYSTERY religion, would "become evident for who he was" or
would "arise in the midst."
Remember, God had warned, through
Paul, "Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking
perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts
20:30).
By the time of Constantine, there
were many struggling, disagreeing factions within the
growing universal church. The office of bishop had evolved
to "metropolitan" in the case of the major cities, like
Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Rome.
There were large numbers who insisted the weekly SABBATH
should still be kept, that Christ kept it, as did the
apostles. Many insisted that the Passover should be observed
on the 14th of Nisan. Later, they were called
"quartodecimans," a Latin term for "the fourteenth," or
those who insisted the Passover should be observed as it had
always been; exactly as God had commanded, on the fourteenth
of Nisan. But many new factions had emerged who wished to
accommodate the growing numbers of the heathen who were
being baptized, and who worshiped the symbols of Baal, of
Isis and Osirus, of Chemosh and Milcom; symbols of the sun,
and moon, and the seasons.
The famous Council of Nicaea (A.D.
325) was called by
Constantine to settle many of the factional differences
which were causing confusion in the universal church. It
lasted forty days, and was attended by three hundred and
seventeen bishops, several metropolitans, as well as by
Constantine himself. It went down in history as the first
attempted ecumenical council, dealing, as it did, with
Arianism, Donatism, and other schisms which were causing
dissension in the growing universal church.
At a later council, this one in
Laodicea, many of the steps taken in Nicaea were broadened.
More stringent edicts were issued concerning the weekly
Sabbath and the annual holy days, particularly the Passover!
Important among its canons were those concerning the
observance of Easter; the proscriptions against those who
"Judaized" by observing the Passover on the fourteenth, as
had Christ Himself, the early apostles, and the Christian
church of the first century.
By this time, the observance of
the "first day of the week" as "the Lord's Day" was becoming
more and more the accepted standard of the church. Though
there were thousands scattered throughout the Roman Empire
who continued to observe the holy Sabbath day; who continued
to observe God's annual Sabbaths—like the quartodecimans—the
growing might of the Roman church gradually overwhelmed
them. Most disappeared from history. Through the centuries,
we find only fragmentary information concerning those who
continued to resist the spread of the Baylonish mystery
system of religion: the Bogomils, the Petrobrusians, the
Arnoldists, the Waldensians, the Vaudois; groups in numerous
European nations who clung to the earliest truths expounded
by the apostles, refusing to accept Sunday-worship, "Ishtar"
(pronounced
"Easter"), and the
pagan "Saturnalia" celebrated on December 25th, with its
symbols of Nimrod and Semiramus; the little tree, the yule
log, the holly wreath, mistletoe, round orbs and bulbs
symbolizing sex and fecundity.
But the majority went the way of
least resistance. Those who were fearful of martyrdom
readily "recanted" any further observance of God's Sabbaths
and holy days, and accepted the Church-sanctioned customs of
Sunday, Christmas, and Easter. The masses of heretofore
"unconverted" coming into the mystery religion were pagan.
It was but a small step for these heathen sun-worshiping
peoples to embrace the mysteries of the Catholic religion,
for the trappings of the religion bore strong resemblance to
the paganism from whence these new adherents had only so
recently emerged.
An outstanding example of this is
in Mexico City, where the national museum contains an
ancient "baptismal" font (a
contradiction in terms, since "baptizo" means "to immerse"),
which features, as its pedestal, a huge serpent wound around
and around to form the entire stone font. The serpent is in
the form of "Quetzalcoatl" (Indian
for "winged, flying serpent"),
which was the god of the Aztecs and many other Mexican,
Central and South American savages. For these illiterate
savages to approach a "priest" who would sprinkle them with
"holy water" from a font which looked exactly like their
serpent god was no major step for them—especially when armed
soldiers insisted upon it.
This was nothing more than an
adaptation of the same tactics used by the ancient Roman
Empire: "In a word, the Roman government was not only
wonderfully organized ... everyone was required to join in
the worship of the emperor because he stood for the majesty
and glory of the dominion ... all were obliged, as good
citizens, to join in the official sacrifices to the head of
the state, as a god" (Medieval
and Modern Times;
chapter 1, page 7, emphasis mine).
Eventually, an "image" of the
Beast had been created! Now, a great universal CHURCH was
emerging. It had the Roman Curia, the "College of
Cardinals," like the old Roman "Collegia," and it ruled
according to the principal of the ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY OF ONE
MAN—a hierarchy ruled from the top down, with NO checks and
balances. History is replete with the gross abuses of many
such leaders, a subject so vast it could fill a whole set of
encyclopedias. This "image" of the old Roman Empire
appeared, to ignorant, uninformed people, "Christ-like,"
like a lamb. But its message was satanic, the voice of the
dragon! In place of God's Sabbath day, it substituted the
day of the sun god, Sunday. In place of God's Passover and
Days of Unleavened Bread came "Lent," [mentioned
nowhere in the Bible]
and "Easter." In place of the Feast of Trumpets—the official
"New Year's Day" of the Israelites, since it fell on the
first day of the seventh month, the beginning of the civil
year—came "New Years's Day," in the middle of a dead winter.
"Hallowe'en," or the evening of "all saints," was adopted,
and with it the symbols of Satan's hell, goblins, witches,
black cats, Jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, orgiastic feasts,
carousing; the colors of death and darkness, and belief that
"Samhain," the "Lord of the Dead" (Druidic
beliefs) reassigned
the "souls" of the dead on that fateful evening. Gradually,
the world's so-called "Christian" populaces began
celebrating wholly pagan festivals, as does the great
universal church and her protesting daughters today
(Revelation 17:5).
God's Sabbaths were forgotten by
the massive majority. Those who kept it could easily be
IDENTIFIED, for their entire life was filled with
difficulties and persecution as a result. Children in
school, wage earners searching for jobs—all were (and
are) rendered
extremely difficult for Sabbath-keepers in a
Sunday-observing world.
---end of excerpt---
This third and last excerpt is
from our booklet, "The Church and the New World Order":
https://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/the-church-and-the-new-world-order/
One True Church Built On A
Rock
Jesus Christ did not build two
churches, or three, or five. He built one true church. He
said, "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter [Greek:
Petros, a pebble, or stone],
and upon this ROCK [Greek:
Petra, a large rock] I
will build my church; and the gates of hell [Greek:
hades, the grave]
shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).
As you will read later on, Jesus
called Simon by this "nickname" only twice in all the
Gospels. The name was not a lofty title connoting great
strength, but a name placed in opposition to the ROCK which
was Christ; a name meaning "little pebble" by
comparison; a name connoting weakness, not strength.
This one verse is easily the
subject of a very thick book. Millions believe Christ was
building His church on Peter as the first pope, the
"chief apostle."
Millions more know better. The
Rock upon which Christ was to build His church was
Jesus Christ Himself Jesus Christ is the living Head of
His church, and not any man.
Jesus Christ was set at the right
hand of God the Father, "Far above all principality, and
power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him
to be the Head over all things to the church, Which
is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all"
(Ephesians 1:21-23).
Paul wrote to the Colossians,
"And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist
[study John 1 with
Hebrews 1]. And He is
the Head of the body, the church: Who is the
beginning, the Firstborn from the dead; that in all
things He might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1: 17,18).
Peter did not have the preeminence, and was not the head of
the church. Jesus Christ constituted His church, and has
always been, as He is today, at this moment, the true Head
of that church!
The "Rock" of which Jesus spoke
was Himself, not Peter. The word He used for "Peter" is
Petros, which means a pebble, or a stone, like one might
pick up along a stream bed. Because Peter was to become
one of the chiefest (not
the chief!)
apostles; because he had dynamic personality, and was a
leader among the three leading apostles, Jesus Christ
endowed him with an affectionate "nickname," Petros.
His given name was Simon.
The Greek language has masculine
and feminine gender, as do the Romance languages. In
Spanish, "a table" is feminine, la mesa, introduced
by the feminine la, and ending in the letter a. "The roof"
is masculine, el techo, introduced by the masculine
el, and ending in o.
Petra,
in Greek, means a very large
rock, a mountain of rock, or even a mountain range,
whereas Petros means "pebble."
Jesus was saying, "You [Peter,
or Petros]
are a stone; but
upon this ROCK [Myself!
Petra] I will
build my church!"
Christ is the Rock, not Peter.
"He is the Rock, His work
is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth
and without iniquity, just and right is He" (Deuteronomy
32:4).
"Of the Rock that begat
thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed
thee" (verse 18).
David wrote, "The Eternal is my
Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my
Strength, in whom I will trust" (Psalm 18:2). Later, in the
same chapter, "For who is God save the Eternal? or who is a
Rock save our God?" (verse 31).
David refers to the Divine
Sovereign God as His Rock more than fifteen times
throughout the Psalms.
He wrote, "He only is my Rock
and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be
greatly moved" (Psalm 62:2).
When God caused Israel to trek
through the wilderness for a testing period of forty years,
He performed awesome miracles to feed them, and provide them
drink. He brought water out of a rock for them. Paul
wrote, "Moreover, brethren. I would not that ye should be
ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and
all passed through the sea; And were baptized unto Moses and
in the cloud and in the sea [this is spiritual metaphor, a
type]; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all
drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that
spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ"
(1 Corinthians 10: 1-4).
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the
"Rock" upon which He built His church. No human being has
ever been given headship over the true church. Halley's
Bible Handbook, speaking of the Catholic claim of
Peter's "primacy," says, "The Roman Catholic tradition that
Peter was the First Pope is Fiction pure and simple. There
is no New Testament hint, and no historical evidence
whatever, that Peter was at any time Bishop of Rome. Nor did
he ever claim for himself such Authority as the Popes have
claimed for themselves. It seems that Peter had a divine
foreboding that his 'successors' would be mainly concerned
with 'Lording it over God's flock, rather than showing
themselves Examples to the flock' (1 Peter 5:3)" (Halley's
Bible Handbook, P. 768).
Church history proves that
many centuries passed before any claim was made that one
man was head of the church. "Silvester I (314-335)
was Bishop of Rome when, under Constantine, Christianity was
virtually made the State Religion of the Roman Empire. The
Church immediately became an institution of vast importance
in World Politics. Constantine regarded himself as
Head of the Church. He called the Council of Nicaea (A.D.
325), and presided
over it, the First World Council of the Church. This Council
accorded the Bishops of Alexandria and Antioch full
jurisdiction over their Provinces, as the Roman Bishop had
over his, with NOT EVEN A HINT that they were subject to
Rome" (ibid., p. 769).
Peter was never the head
of God's true church. Paul, who was the apostle to the
gentiles, wrote to the church in Rome. The book of
Romans makes no mention whatever of Peter; his name
is not included in the lengthy personal greetings
Paul includes in the sixteenth chapter.
Paul insisted that he was in
every way Peter's equal! He wrote, "For I suppose I
was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles [note
the plural!]" (2
Corinthians 11:5). He said, "I am become a fool in glorying;
ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of
you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles,
though I be nothing" (2 Corinthians 12:11).
Who were the "very chiefest"
apostles" They were James, Peter, and John. It was these
three who were allowed to see the Transfiguration. James
made the final decision at the Jerusalem conference
about circumcision (Acts 15:13-19).
Peter was an apostle among
equals, as the Bible makes clear. Notice how, when
Philip preached the gospel in Samaria, and great miracles
occurred, word reached Jerusalem. "Now when the apostles [note
the plural!] which
were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word
of God, THEY SENT unto them Peter and John: Who, when they
were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the
Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:14,15).
Notice who was sent. Peter
and John were sent to Samaria. By whom? By other apostles
who were at Jerusalem, without doubt including James,
who was Jesus' half brother. Peter did not do the
sending. He was not the "chief apostle" at all. He was
sent by others.
The word apostle is not a
lofty title. It connotes no special authority, or "rank." It
is a very humble word which connotes a function of
service, not an "office." The word merely means one
sent." Bear this in mind when remembering the commission
Jesus Christ gave to His disciples. He SENT them into
all the world to preach the gospel.
---end of excerpt---
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