stians in Jerusalem, and other
churches, could not possibly meet all together in one single
congregation, inasmuch as they had no public temples, or capacious
places for worship and partaking of all ordinances, (as we now have,)
but private places, _houses, chambers_, or _upper rooms_, (as the
unsettled state of the Church and troublesomeness of those times would
permit,) which in all probability were of no great extent, nor any way
able to contain in them so many thousand believers at once, as there
were: "They met from house to house, to break bread," Acts ii. 46. "In
an upper room the apostles with the women and brethren continued in
prayer and supplication," Acts i. 12-14. We read of their meetings in
the _house of Mary_, Acts xii. 12. In the school _of one Tyrannus_, Acts
xix. 9. In an _upper chamber at Troas_, Acts xx. 8. In _Paul's own hired
house_ at Rome, Acts xxviii. 30, 31. In the _house of Aquila and
Priscilla_, where the church met, therefore called the _church in his
house_, Rom. xvi. 5; 1 Cor. xvi. 19. In the _house of Nimphas_, Col. iv.
15, and in the _house of Archippus_, Philem. 2. This was their manner of
public meetings in the apostles' times: which also continued in the next
ages, as saith Eusebius,[111] till, by indulgence of succeeding
emperors, they had large churches, houses of public meeting erected for
them.

To sum up all: 1. There were in the church at Jerusalem greater numbers
of believers than could possibly meet at once to partake of all Christ's
ordinances. 2. There were more church officers than one single
congregation could need, or than could be fully employed therein, unless
we will say, that they preached but seldom. 3. There was such diversity
of languages among them, that they must needs rank themselves into
several congregations, according to their languages, else he that spoke
in one language to hearers of many several languages, would be a
barbarian to them, and they to him. 4. Finally, their places of ordinary
meeting were private, of small extent, incapable of containing so many
thousands at once as there were believers; and by all these, how evident
is it, that there must needs be granted that there were more
congregations than one in this one church of Jerusalem!

II. The church of Antioch, in Syria, consisted also of more
congregations than one. This appears,

1. From the multitude of believers at Antioch. For, 1. After the
dispersion upon Saul's persecution, _the Lord