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The Heresy of a Professional One-Man Ministry, and a Claim for the Priesthood of Believers and the Free Exercise of Spiritual Gifts
The Heresy of a Professional OneMan Ministry and a Claim for the Priesthood of Believers and the Free Exercise of Spiritual Gifts Author:George Bush General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1866 Original Publisher: W. Irwin Description: Title of first edition, Philadelphia, 1857: Priesthood and clergy unknown to Christianity, etc. - Publisher's note, p. [3]. Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos... more » or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: § 3. Explication of Scriptural Terms relative to Ministry. In the New Testament "ministry," except when predicated of Christ himself, Rom. xv. 8, Matt. xx. 28, Heb. viii. 6, is used to denote any service of the saints to God and to his Church, though in our English translation the meaning of the term is occasionally weakened or perverted. The English word " ministry" occurs in the New Testament eighteen times, in all which instances, except two, it is a translation of the Greek word diakonia. In the following passages ministry is given as the translation of leitourgia, otherwise rendered service: -- " But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry (leitourgia), by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant." (Heb. viii. 6.) " Moreover, he sprinkled likewise with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry (leitourgia)." (ix. 21.) These two instances are the only exceptions. There are, however, several instances in which diakonia is translated by some other word than "ministry;" and this fact may at once enable us to understand how much confusion of thought may be introduced by a capricious translation, influenced by clerical notions. But in order to present the whole subject in its clearest light it will doubtless be expedient to array before the reader the entire list of passages where the original terms for to minister, ministry,« less