25- Assigned To Them The Authority To Teach And To Baptise

The assignment to baptise and to teach was given to the apostles and not to everyone.

He also said:

(Luke 10:16) "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." The commission was not for the congregation.

[20] Saint Peter Confirms That Such Authority Is Not For The Congregation But For The Apostles

(Acts 10:41-42) "not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. {42} "And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

How remarkable is the expression ("not to all the people), for not every one is permitted for the service of spreading the Word of God. Such matters are reserved for a special rank of people entrusted by the Lord. As for the rest of the congregation, they should abide with the scriptural utterance:

(Rom 10:15) And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

We will detail this point later on when we deal with the topic of priesthood and teaching.

The ministry of baptism was also a specific command to the apostles and their successors and not for everyone.