thereby pledged to mutual love;
but every one who acted in such a way as to bring reproach upon the
Christian name, was no longer admitted to the sacred table. Paul,
doubtless, refers to exclusion from this ordinance, as well as from
intimate civil intercourse, when he says to the Corinthians--"I have
written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." [222:3]

In the synagogue all cases of discipline were decided by the bench of
elders; [222:4] and it is plain, from the New Testament, that those who
occupied a corresponding position in the Christian Church, also
exercised similar authority. They are described as having the oversight
of the flock, [222:5] as bearing rule, [223:1] as watching for souls,
[223:2] and as taking care of the Church of God. [223:3] They are
instructed how to deal with offenders, [223:4] and they are said to be
entitled to obedience. [223:5] Such representations obviously imply that
they were intrusted with the administration of ecclesiastical
discipline.

This account of the functions of the spiritual rulers has been supposed
by some to be inconsistent with several statements in the apostolic
epistles. It has been alleged that, according to these letters, the
administration of discipline was vested in the whole body of the people;
and that originally the members of the Church, in their collective
capacity, exercised the right of excommunication. The language of Paul,
in reference to a case of scandal which had occurred among the
Christians of Corinth, has been often quoted in proof of the democratic
character of their ecclesiastical constitution. "It is reported
commonly," says the apostle, "that there is fornication, among you, and
such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one
should have his father's wife..... Therefore _put away from among
yourselves that wicked person_." [223:6] The admonition was obeyed, and
the application of discipline seems to have produced a most salutary
impression upon the mind of the offender. In his next letter the apostle
accordingly alludes to this circumstance, and observes--"Sufficient to
such a man is this punishment, which was _inflicted of many_." [223:7]
These words have been frequently adduced to shew that the government of
the Corinthian Church was administered by the whole body of