A confession of faith made by common consent of divers reformed churches beyond the…A confession of fayth made by common consent of diuers reformed churches beyonde the…

He therefore alone remaineth a priest forever, from whom least we withdraw any thing, that is proper to him, we call no minister by the name of priest. For our Lord himself ordained not, ¹any priests of the news Testament in his Church, who being authorized of the Suffragan, might offer daily ⟨image 106⟩Sacrifice, I mean the very flesh and blood of the Lord, for the quick and the dead: But he ordained such as should teach the people, and minister his Sacraments. For Paul simply and briefly declaring, what we ought to think of the ministers of the new Testament, or of the Christian church, and how we ought to esteem them, sayeth: Let men so think of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and disposers of the secretes of God. Therefore ²the Apostle would, that we judge of ministers none otherwise, then as of ministers. He verily hath called ministers underrowers, who have eye only to the shipmaster, & men not living to please them selves, and to do what them list, but appointed to pleasure others, that is to say, their masters, at whose commandment only they be. For a minister of the church, in all things belonging to his office, is bid not to please his own fantasy, but to do that only, which his master commandeth him. And in the ⟨p. 61⟩said Chapter, it is expressed: Who ³is the Lord or master, even Christ, to whom ministers are bound as servants, to do all business belonging to the ministry: be addeth further, to declare more plainly, what the ministry is, that they are bailiffs or disposers of gods mysteries: Which mysteries are called in many places) chiefly Ephe. iij) the gospel of Christ, as in old time. Christ his Sacraments, ⁴were called mysteries: wherefore they are named ministers of the Church, because they should preach the Gospel of Christ to the faithful, and minister the Sacraments. In an other place ⁵of the Gospel we read, of a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord appointed overseer of his household, to give meat to them in due season. Again we read, that a man taking his journey into a far country, committed the government of his house, to his servants, and gave them authority to oversee his goods, and appointed every man his work.