through Christ with such an office have appointed the above-
EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS
fully assured through the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as confirmed in faith by the word of God, they went forth, equipped with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to preach the good news that the Kingdom of God was close at hand. 4 From land to land, accordingly, and from city to city ** they preached, and from among their earliest converts appointed men whom they had tested by the Spirit to act as bishops and deacons for the future believers. 5 And this was no innovation, for, a long time before the Scripture had spoken about bishops and deacons; for somewhere it says: *"
I will establish their overseers in observance of the law and their ministers in fidelity.
43. What wonder, pray, if those entrusted by God through Christ with such an office have appointed the abovementioned officials, seeing that also the blessed Moses, the faithful servant in all the house, *** has recorded in the sacred books all the injunctions given him; and the other Prophets followed his example and joined him in bearing testimony to the laws given by him. 2 For, when*" the priesthood had become an object of jealousy and the tribes were quarrelling as to which of them had been honored with that glorious dignity, he ordered the leaders of the twelve tribes to bring him each a rod with the name of his tribe written upon it; and he took the rods and bound them together and sealed them with the rings of the tribe leaders, and then deposited them on the table of God in the Tabernacle of 'Testimony.
3 He then shut the Tabernacle and sealed the keys just as he had done the rods, 4 and said to them: " Brethren, God has chosen for His priestly service that tribe the rod of which will bud." 5 When day broke, he called a meeting of all
Israel, six hundred thousand men in all, showed the seals to the leaders of the tribes, opened the Tabernacle and produced