ere lay governors? Surely I think not.[57]

_Ans_. This exception hath a confident flourish of words, but they are
but words. It may be replied, 1. By way of concession, that to argue
indeed from a general to a special, is no solid reasoning; as, This is a
kingdom, therefore it is England; this is a city, therefore it is
London; the apostle mentions government in the primitive Church,
therefore they are ruling elders: this were an absurd kind of reasoning.
2. By way of negation. Our reasoning from this text for the ruling
elder, is not from the general to a special affirmatively--there are
governments in the Church, therefore ruling elders: but this is our
arguing--these governments here mentioned in 1 Cor. xii. 28, are a
special kind of governing officers, set of God in the Church of Christ
now under the New Testament, and distinct from all other church
officers, whether extraordinary or ordinary: and therefore they are the
ruling elders which we seek after, and that by divine right. So that we
argue from the enumeration of several kinds of church officers
affirmatively: here is an enumeration or roll of divers kinds of church
officers of divine right; governments are one kind in the roll, distinct
from the rest; therefore governments are of divine right, consequently
ruling elders; for none but they can be these governments, as hath been
proved in the assumption. If the apostle had here mentioned governments
only, and none other kind of officers with them, there had been some
color for this exception, and some probability that the apostle had
meant governors in general and not in special: but when the apostle sets
himself to enumerate so many special kinds of officers, apostles,
prophets, teachers, &c., how far from reason is it to think that in the
midst of all these specials, governments only should be a general. 3. As
for Dr. Field's scoffing term of lay governors or lay elders, which he
seems in scorn to give to ruling elders; it seems to be grounded upon
that groundless distinction of the ministry and people into clergy and
laity; which is justly rejected by sound orthodox writers[58], as not
only without but against the warrant of Scripture, clergy being nowhere
appropriated to the ministry only, but commonly attributed to the whole
church, 1 Pet. v. 2, 3. The Scripture term given to these officers is
_ruling elders_, 1 Tim. v. 17; and so far as such, (though they be
elected from among the people,) they are eccle