And I saw a star.—John Wesley became a star in the Anglican heavens in 1728, at which time he was ordained a priest by Bishop Potter.
Fall from heaven unto the earth.—For many years Wesley had no thought of forming a sect; and yet, unconsciously, he began to do so from the time he was ordained. He was then in Oxford University, where “the completeness of his self‐devotion to the service of God, combined with his rare moral courage and superior strength of character, caused him to be recognized as the leader of a group of under‐graduates which was nicknamed the ‘Holy Club’ by the ungodly of the University, who derided its members for their rigid rules and charitable practices by calling them ‘Methodists.’ ” (McC.) “He fully accepted the recognized teaching of the Church of England, and publicly appealed to the Prayer‐Book and the Thirty‐nine articles in justification of the doctrines he preached. Methodism began in a revival of personal religion, and it professed to have but one aim, to spread Scriptural holiness over the land. Its doctrines were in no sense new.” (Brit.) The work in the Western World, particularly in the United States, grew to vast proportions. “The preachers in the South determined upon administration of the sacraments, and a committee was chosen who ordained themselves and others. The Northern preachers opposed this step and for several years the Connexion was on the verge of disruption. Wesley perceived that the Society would disintegrate unless effective measures were speedily taken, and, aided by two presbyters of the Church of England, (one of whom was James Creighton) early in 1784 he ordained Thomas Coke, a presbyter of that Church, as Superintendent.”—Brit.
His brother Charles heartily disapproved of this and wrote the following (which does not, however, appear with his other hymns in the Methodist hymnal):
“So easily are bishops made By man or woman’s whim; Wesley his hands on Coke hath laid, But who laid hands on _him_?”
In 1787 the American Conference changed Mr. Coke’s title to “Bishop.” Mr. Coke tried to introduce this title into the English Conference of which he was president, but the English Brethren could not accept it, despite his great earnestness in the cause. It must have been a strange sight to see a bright man like Wesley engaging those two presbyters of the Church of England to help him ordain somebody to a higher office than any of _them_ had ever held. But _the plan worked_. All Methodists believe that Bishop Coke, the first Bishop of the Methodist Church received some “apostolic succession” from the original line described in comments on Rev. 2:13. These brethren have grieved that Pastor Russell did not get his ordination from the same source.