aid to
have been one church, Acts viii. 1: so those at Antioch, Acts xiii. 1:
so those at Ephesus, Acts xx. 17: and those also at Corinth, 1 Cor. i.
2. Now the question is, How were the different congregations in each of
these places ONE CHURCH? Not merely in union to Christ and mutual
affection one to another; for in this respect all the saints are ONE,
whether in heaven or in earth. And therefore they are one church in
virtue of conjunct government under ONE PRESBYTERY. And in difficult
cases, or where a single congregation is so divided into parties that it
cannot act impartially; where the difference is between the pastor and
the people, a superior court is necessary to obtain material justice.

_Quest_. Where is the divine warrant for an ecclesiastical synod?

_Ans_. In Acts xv. and xvi., where we have a cause referred; the proper
members of a synod convened; the ordinary and equal power exercised by
all those members; the ordinary method of procedure in such courts; and
the judicial decrees given by the synod; together with the effect which
their judgment, in this matter, had upon the churches.

_Quest_. What was the cause referred to this synod?

_Ans_. False doctrine propagated by some Judaizing teachers, who had
gone down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and maintained that circumcision
and the observance of other branches of the ceremonial law continued
necessary for salvation, whereby they subverted some, and troubled other
members of the churches there. After much unsuccessful disputing, Paul,
Barnabas, and others were delegated to go up to Jerusalem to the
apostles and elders about this matter.

_Quest_. Who were the proper members of the synod convened here?

_Ans_. The apostles and elders at Jerusalem; Paul, Barnabas, and others,
from Antioch; and other commissioners from the troubled churches to whom
the decrees were sent.

_Quest_. Are not the brethren, the church, the whole church, mentioned
here as well as the apostles and elders?

_Ans_. But none of these expressions can mean, that all the members of
the church of Jerusalem either were present or judged in that synod; for
women, real members of the church, of the whole church, are expressly
forbid to speak in the church, 1 Cor. xiv. 34. Church sometimes
signifies only a small part of the church, either as delegates or
commissioners, and in this sense it is used in verse 3, where the
commissioners from Antioch are said to be brought on their way by