The Right Of The People To A

That The Apostolic Office Is Temporary, Is A Plain Historical Fact.

If All Church Power Vests In The Clergy, Then The People Are Practically Bound To Passive Obedience In All Matters Of Faith And Practice; For All Right Of Private Judgment Is Then Denied.

It Is A Thoroughly Anti-christian Doctrine That The Spirit Of God, And Therefore The Life And Governing Power Of The Church, Resides In The Ministry, To The Exclusion Of The People.

There Can, Therefore, Be No Doubt That Presbyterians Do Carry Out The Principle That Church Power Vests In The Church Itself, And That The People Have A Right To A Substantive Part In Its Discipline And Government.

So Too, In Forming A Constitution, Or In Enacting Rules Of Procedure, Or Making Canons, The People Do Not Merely Passively Assent, But Actively Cooperate. They Have, In All These Matters, The Same Authority As The Clergy.