Chapter 55.—67. A minister, therefore, that is a dispenser of the word and sacrament of the gospel, if he is a good man, becomes a fellow-partner in the working of the gospel; but if he is a bad man, he does not therefore cease to be a dispenser of the gospel. For if he is good, he does it of his own free will; but if he is a bad man,—that is, one who seeks his own and not the things of Jesus Christ,—he does it unwillingly, for the
sake of other things which he is seeking after. See, however, what the same apostle has said: "For if I do this thing willingly," he says, "I have a reward; but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me;"2451
as though he were to say, If I, being good,
announce what is good, I attain unto it also myself; but if, being
evil, I
announce it, yet I
announce what is good. For has he in any way said, If I do it against my will, then shall I not be a dispenser of the
gospel? Peter and the other
disciples announce the good tidings, as being good themselves.
Judas did it against his will, but yet, when he was sent, he
announced it in common with the
rest. They have a
reward; to him
a dispensation of the
gospel was
committed. But they who received the
gospel at the mouth of all those witnesses, could not be cleansed and justified by him that
planted, or by him that watered, but by Him alone that gives the increase. For neither are we going to say that
Judas did not
baptize, seeing that he was still among the
disciples when that which is written was being accomplished, "
Jesus Himself
baptized not, but His
disciples."
2452
Are we to suppose that, because he had not
betrayed Christ, therefore he who had the
bag, and bare what was put therein,
2453
was still enabled to dispense
grace without prejudice to those who received it, though he could not be an upright
guardian of the
money entrusted to his care? Or if he did not
baptize, at any rate we must acknowledge that he
preached the
gospel. But if you consider this a trifling function, and of no importance, see what you must think of the
Apostle Paul himself, who said, "For
Christ sent me not to
baptize, but to
preach the
gospel."
2454
To this we may add, that according to this,
Apollos begins to be more important, who watered by
baptizing, than
Paul, who
planted by
preaching the
gospel, though
Paul claims to himself the relation of
father towards the Corinthians in
virtue of this very act, and does not grant this title to those who came to them after him. For he says, "Though ye have ten
thousand instructors in
Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in
Christ Jesus I have
begotten you through the
gospel."
2455
He says, "I have begotten you" to the same men to whom he says in another place, "I thank
God that I
baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, and I
baptized also the household of Stephanus."
2456
He had begotten them, therefore, not through himself, but through the
gospel. And even though he had been seeking his own, and not the things of
Jesus Christ, and had been doing this unwillingly, so as to receive no
reward for himself, yet he would have been dispensing the treasure of the Lord; and this, though evil himself, he would not have been making evil or useless to those who received it well.
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