Act 6:6 | Abbott | STEP | They laid their hands on them; ordained them by that ceremony. Joshua was inducted into office in the same way by Moses, ( , ,) which shows it to have been a very ancient custom among the Jews. The laying on of hands, even in the apostles' time, was not the peculiar and distinctive ceremony of ordination, as it is now; for it was used on almost any occasion of religious solemnity. ( , , .) This account of the appointment and ordination of deacons has given rise to a great deal of speculation and discussion among those of all denominations who look to the practices of the early Christians for models of church organization and government, binding on the followers of the Savior in all subsequent times. Various systems have been deduced from this narrative, each made out by the help of many inferences and much conjecture. But, in fact, the appointment of these officers, made to meet an emergency so peculiarly local and temporary, seems too narrow a foundation for such a superstructure as a system of ecclesiastical polity of permanent and universal obligation. It would seem that, if the apostles had intended to found an order of ministry which was to continue through all ages, and remain permanently the same among all the nations of the earth,—under every degree of civilization, and every variety of political condition,—instead of ingrafting their plan upon an incident like this, they would have formed it expressly and deliberately, and would have laid down its regulations in comprehensive and general terms.

Acts 6:6

They laid their hands on them; ordained them by that ceremony. Joshua was inducted into office in the same way by Moses, (Num. 27:23, Deut. 34:9,) which shows it to have been a very ancient custom among the Jews. The laying on of hands, even in the apostles' time, was not the peculiar and distinctive ceremony of ordination, as it is now; for it was used on almost any occasion of religious solemnity. (Acts 8:17, 9:17, 28:8.) This account of the appointment and ordination of deacons has given rise to a great deal of speculation and discussion among those of all denominations who look to the practices of the early Christians for models of church organization and government, binding on the followers of the Savior in all subsequent times. Various systems have been deduced from this narrative, each made out by the help of many inferences and much conjecture. But, in fact, the appointment of these officers, made to meet an emergency so peculiarly local and temporary, seems too narrow a foundation for such a superstructure as a system of ecclesiastical polity of permanent and universal obligation. It would seem that, if the apostles had intended to found an order of ministry which was to continue through all ages, and remain permanently the same among all the nations of the earth,—under every degree of civilization, and every variety of political condition,—instead of ingrafting their plan upon an incident like this, they would have formed it expressly and deliberately, and would have laid down its regulations in comprehensive and general terms.