Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1833 edition. Excerpt: ...he himself was but a fieshly minister, and was not able to command discipline in the church, but that I was a spiritual minister, speaking by the Spirit of God--this word in my mouth was as fire, and they had all seen the effect; and added, that so would it be when the full power of this ministry was come in, that discipline would be enforced. At this service also another exercise of the power occurred, on the baptism of an infant, which requires some explanatory introduction. From the time of my first public exercise of the power, it will be observed, from what has been before detailed, how strongly the distinction was taken between my ministrations and the ministrations of commonly ordained ministers--mine being called the spiritual ministry, theirs the fleshly ministry. The same distinction was carried through the church also----the church receiving the ministry of the prophets speaking by the utterance of the spirit, was called the spiritual church, in contradistinction to the visible church. In the casting off the visible church, and cutting short the fleshly ministry, by cancelling the ordination by laying on of hands, as before declared, was shown God's rejection of the visible; and in the gifts of the utterance, and the sending prophets and ministers endowed with such utterance, was shown, as we regarded it, the bringing out of the spiritual church. This broad line of distinction was continually kept in view in all the utterances. The visible was considered as dis carded, and the seduction of the enemy was turned towards the discarding of the visible elements in baptism and the Lord's Supper. It was first declared in utterance, that when the fulness of power was come in, the spiritual ministers would baptize with the...
