No. 5.  
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
 
The ordinances of the Gospel referred to in previous tracts of this series, cannot be effectually administered without divine authority. That authority does not and cannot originate in man. It may be assumed, it is true, and presumptuous men may claim to be called of God without communication from Him. But their performances will be without avail and will not be recognized in heaven, either in time or in eternity. When there is no revelation from God there can be no divine authority on earth. Baptism, even if solemnized according to the form and pattern followed by the Savior and his appointed servants, will be of no avail and will not bring remission of sins, unless the officiating minister has received authority from Deity to act in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Men may lay their hands on the baptized believer in the form of confirmation, but if they have not been divinely appointed to do so, the Holy Ghost will not flow to the convert, and the performance will be void in the sight of heaven. Those who have the temerity to act in that manner will be counted guilty of taking the name of the Lord in vain. No council, convocation, conference, synod, or presbytery, composed of any number of learned, devout, and venerable persons, without divine communication can confer the smallest amount of divine authority. Their power is only human, their decisions, their commissions and their creeds are equally valueless in the plan of salvation.
 
Whenever the Almighty desired to communicate with man on earth, he selected His own representatives and endowed them with authority to speak and act in His name. What they uttered by the power of the Holy Ghost, and what they administered as He directed, was recognized by Him as if performed and spoken by Deity in person. When He gave them authority to call and ordain others to the same duties, their administrations were also accepted by the Lord, and were fully efficacious. This divine authority was called the Holy {223} Priesthood. It was bestowed in the earliest ages. It existed among the Patriarchs, was exercised in the Mosaic dispensation, was held by many of the Prophets, and was established in the Christian Church by the Savior himself. There were two orders or branches, of that Priesthood.
 
The higher, which includes the lower, came to be known as the Melchisedek Priesthood. This was because Melchisedek, the King of Salem, who lived in the time of Abraham and from whom, "the father of the faithful" received his blessing, obtained a great power in that Priesthood. It is referred to in the Epistle to the Hebrews, 7th chapter. Much controversy has arisen over the meaning of the third verse, which says: "Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a Priest continually." The difficulty has arisen through the application of these remarks to the individual instead of to the Priesthood which he held. The higher, or Melchisedek Priesthood was not limited, as the Levitical Order subsequently was, to a special lineage. It did not depend upon parentage or descent, and it was an eternal Priesthood, those who possessed it worthily retaining it through life, and being Kings and priests unto God forever.
 
The Lesser Priesthood was held notably by Aaron and his sons, in the line of the first born, and has therefore been called by his name. It had authority to administer in the lesser ordinances and in temporal affairs, but not in the higher and more spiritual concerns of the Kingdom of God. But no man could take this honor unto himself. He must be called of God as Aaron was, or he could not hold that Priesthood. (Heb. V; 4.) Aaron was called by revelation through Moses the Prophet, and ordained under his hands.
 
This being so, as a matter of course, no man can take unto himself the higher, or Melchisedek Priesthood. Unless called of God by revelation and properly ordained, he could not obtain that authority. Even Jesus of Nazareth, though he was the Son of God, did not assume that Priesthood. He was "called of God, a High Priest after the order of Melchisedek." It is written further: "So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a High Priest but He that said unto him thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." (Heb. V; 3, 10.)
 
It has been erroneously taught among the Christian sects of the present age that this Priesthood, in both of its branches or orders, was done away in Christ. That it has not been on earth for several centuries may be true, and therefore the {224} authority to administer in the name of the Lord has not been enjoyed among men. But the authority held by Jesus Christ as "a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedek" was conferred by him upon his Apostles, to whom he gave the keys of that power and authority, so that what they sealed on earth should be sealed in heaven, and what they loosed on earth should be loosed in heaven. (Matt. XVIII; 18.) He said to them: "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." (John XX; 21.) Again he said: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you; that ye should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain." (John XV; 16.) The Apostles thus authorized had power to call others to this Priesthood and ministry, when directed by the Holy Ghost, as Moses called and ordained his brother Aaron.
 
The law of carnal commandments in which the lesser or Levitical Priesthood administered was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but the Priesthood or authority to administer in the name of the Lord was not then abolished, the higher, or Melchisedek Priesthood was restored. That was the change in the Priesthood referred to in Heb. VII; 12: "For the Priesthood being changed there is made of necessity a change also of the law." From this it is evident that the Priesthood was not abolished, but the law of the Gospel being introduced by Christ in place of the Mosaic Code, the higher Priesthood was also............