2.03.01. Peter, an apostle

PETER, AN APOSTLE “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” — 1 Peter 1:1. ON OCCASIONS for critical remarks may occur here and there as we proceed, but I do not propose to introduce any general discussion of cognate subjects as a preface to my work. There is not time nor space for that. It suits my purpose better to plunge at once into the matter of the Divine Word. We do not assume here the position of Israel when first the manna fell — that of the questioner, “What is it?” We assume at once the position of the people after they had tasted it. Being hungry, and seeing the bread from heaven spread out around our tents, we propose to gather and eat — eat, and live thereby. If, through the blessing of God, any gainsayer should be convinced by these expositions, the effect would be incidental: our direct aim is gently to lead inquirers through the open gate into life, to instruct the little ones of the family, and to edify strong men into a still stronger faith. This letter, like those of Paul and ancient letters generally, throws into its forefront the writer’s name and office. The reader desires to know who his correspondent is; and the practice of placing that information at the beginning seems more convenient as well as more natural than our modem method This man is not now ashamed of his name, nor of the cause which it supports. He will not undertake to vindicate all his antecedents; but now he knows hLs position and bearings. The latter end is peace.

Peter! the Galilean fisherman; the forcible yet fickle disciple; the cowardly denier, yet the ardent lover and heroic confessor of the Lord! A number of different and even opposite qualities go to constitute this man’s history and character. Two kings and two kingdoms strove against each other for the mastery in the fisherman’s capacious breast. Ishmael, or the world power, had first possession, and had grpwn into strength before Isaac, the child of promise, was born. The son of the strange woman lorded it long over the heir in Peter’s history, as* in Abraham’s house; but in the end, the child of promise prevailed, and possessed all. At the date of this letter, Peter, with all his force and fire, is on the Lord’s side.

“ Peter, an apostle.” Ah, Peter, is this another piece of cowardice? An apostle, and no more: are you not the prince of the apostles? Are you not the representative of God on earth, and the infallible interpreter of his will? Are you not the head of the Church, before whose word Paul and all the rest must humbly bow on pain of perdition?

Mark: if Peter ever possessed these prerogatives, he possessed them then. He received no subsequent advancement from the Divine Head. If Peter were infallible, what of Paul who withstood him to the face? Oh the silliness as well as the wickedness of men! I suspect, however, that people will never be argued out of Papal Infallibility, they were not reasoned into it, and we need not expect that they can be reasoned out of it. The human mind is voluntarily crushed in order to let that dogma in, and therefore it has no power to arise and cast the intruder out again. It is not that men are convinced that the blasphemous pretension is true; it is that they are given over to believe a lie. The title which Peter assumes is at once dignified and modest. He assumes all the authority he possessed — all that his Master gave him. If he had a right to more, he should have claimed it, in order to add weight to his word.

He was bound to keep nothing back. Yet, according to Romish teaching, Peter and all his successors have from that day to this possessed a divine power of infallible knowledge intrusted to them for the good of the world, and especially for settling all controversies in religion; and they have never told that they possessed the precious treasure, — never known that they possessed it, for that matter, — till now I “ Fie on*t, oh, fie; it smells rank.” The Greek term apostle, and the Latin term missionary, mean the same thing, — “ one sent out.” Those ministers who dwell at home at ease, however useful they may be in their own place, have no peculiar claim to be accounted the successors of the apostles. The men to whom the Master gave that office thought it needful to offer an apology for remaining in one place a whole year. If any class of ministers more than another had a claim to this distinction, it would have been foreign missionaries.

Moses was a missionary. The I Am, from the midst of the burning bush, first drew him near and then sent him out, — “Come; I will send thee.” From the embrace of the suffering Saviour, in the old time, Moses was sent into Egypt to lead the exodus. From the embrace of the Saviour more fully manifested apostles were sent out in the fulness of time to win the world. From that glow of divine love Peter issued all on &e — a messenger sent out to seek his Lord’s lost and lead them back to his Lord. By special providence Peter’s case has been left on record as a type of the manner in which real apostles are made.

Behold the Master (John 21:15) bending over him, at once healing the old backsliding and kindling the flame of a new love: Lovest thou me? lovest thou me? lovest thou me? There is some smoke yet in that bundle of flax over which he is tenderly bending: methinks I hear the thrice repeated gentle breathings, — not energetic blasts that might have quenched the feeble spark, but breathings to cherish the dull heat into a flashing flame. Out from this furnace sprang an apostle ready-made, who needed now but to gefc his specific commission: “ Feed my sheep; feed my lambs.”