We come to the second deliberative assembly. "The twelve called the multitude of the disciples together." It was not the summons of a Primate. They said, "Look ye out among you seven men whom we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministering of the word." And they chose St. Stephen and the others named, whom they set before the Apostles, "and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them." There is no hint or act of Primacy here, but if there were such Primacy, it must have shown itself. Here begins the story of St. Paul. St. Barnabas takes him and brings him, not to a Primate, but to the Apostles; he reports, not to St. Peter, but to them. St. Peter baptizes the Gentile Cornelius, and the Apostles assert their authority over St. Peter by calling him to account. He defends himself before them. They, not he, pronounced the decision-"Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” This was the third deliberative assembly. In the first and second no trace of authority in St. Peter appears. In the third he is shown as distinctly. subject to authority. And here even the Primacy of honor for St. Peter, the primacy of willing and tolerated forwardness absolutely disappears. St. James the Great is killed by the sword, and St. Peter is put in prison. Released, he goes to the

door of the house where some brethren are at prayer, bids them "go tell these things to James and to the brethren," and himself passes almost out of sight and notice. There is only one more mention of him in all the remaining record of the Acts of the Apostles, and that is in the story of the Council where, St. James presiding and pronouncing the decision, St. Peter is reported only as one of the speakers. And both the time and the tone of his speech are remarkable. He was not, as in so many earlier instances, the first speaker. It was only "after much disputing" that he expressed his opinion. Nor did he, as chief in authority, have the last word. He was followed by St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who gave their experience and opinion just as St. Peter had given his and in the same manner. And then, in entirely different tone and manner, as the last to speak, and in form and words of authority, St. James gave his decision. "My sentence is" is the translation of the accepted version. The revised version has it "My judgment is." The Greek is yo xpivo, "I decide." If there could be doubt as to its force and meaning, St. Chrysostom, who thought, wrote and preached in Greek as his mother tongue, will set us right. He says in his sermon on this scene, "There was no arrogance in the Church. After Peter, Paul speaks. James waits patiently and does not start

up. Great the orderliness. No word speaks John here, no word the other Apostles, but held their peace, for James was invested with the chief rule. Peter indeed spake more strongly, but James here more mildly, for thus it behooves one in high authority to leave what is unpleasant for others to say, while he himself appears in milder part." "And he speaks well with authority, yo xpivo, I decide." We may trust St. Chrysostom, I

think.

And most remarkable is it that, after this scene, where one is so plainly his superior, St. Peter absolutely vanishes from the inspired record of Apostolic acts; and in all allusions to him in the Epistles, instead of the priority, the forwardness on his own part and the acceptance of that forwardness by others and their own deference to it, he appears in submissive and obedient position and defers to others. He accepts the rebuke of St. Paul as at least his equal. It is no longer "Peter and the Eleven," but "James and the Brethren." St. Paul goes to Jerusalem, and St. Luke says, "the next day Paul went in with us unto James." St. Peter seems to receive instruction and direction from St. James and to obey it. He had been eating with the Gentiles; but when certain "came to him from James" (the words plainly indicate messengers and a message,) "he withdrew himself." When St. Paul names the

three who seemed to be pillars, he puts St. James first "James, Cephas and John."

But if we find St. Peter thus surrendering to St. James as Bishop of the great Mother Church, the priority of honor and forwardness which his brethren had tacitly recognized, we find, as if prepared by divine foresight, in the story of St. Paul, the claim, the exercise and the acceptance by the churches, of St. Paul's absolute authority in the Apostleship, uncontrolled by man, and accountable only to God Himself. How utterly he waves aside all human superiority, as he declares himself to be an Apostle, "not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father." How he claims infallibility in his Gospel teaching; "The Gospel which was preached of me is not of men; for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ"; how he makes, not St. Peter's gospel nor the Apostles', but his own gospel, the standard; "If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached, let him be anathema." Again and again he denies any human authority superior to his own apostleship. When first called to apostleship, he says: "Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither vent I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me." It was not till after three years that he went up to see Peter and James. Then after

fourteen years he went up again; and how careful he is to tell us he was not summoned; it was "by revelation" he went up, "and communicated to the chief apostles, them which were of reputation," the Gospel which he preached; and how careful to say that it was not in council or court, but privately; a voluntary act. And in that conference he declares that he received nothing. "Of those who seemed to be somewhat" [and note the bold claim of equality in his parenthesis] "whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to me; God accepteth no man's person;) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added

nothing to me. But contrariwise." They recognized his full equality with St. Peter and the others in the work of the Gospel, and gave to him, not declaration of authority, but the token of that full equality, "the right hand of fellowship. Twice afterwards he declares himself "not a whit behind the very chiefest of the apostles."

And who can read his Epistles and fail to note the wonderful way in which he claims every Church to which he writes as his own, as under his pastoral loving care and subject to his authority; takes no others into partnership in that authority and knows no power between himself and the Lord? How utterly ignorant he seems of any presence or work of another Apostle at Rome! With what unquestioned confidence and absolute