John Gill: “…churches, which are religious societies, have a right to choose and ordain their own officers, and which are ordained, αυτοις, ‘for them,’ and for them ‘only;’ that is, for each particular church, and not another (Acts 14:23).”
John Gill believed that “He must be a member of a church, to whom he is to be ordained as a pastor.” He adds further, “His qualifications, such as before observed, must be known by the members of a church, and must be proved and approved of by them; yea, they must be satisfied that he has gifts for ‘their’ edification; for a man may have gifts for the edification of one church, which are not for the edification of another; and this should be known, previous to their choice and call of him.”
A Body of Practical Divinity, Of the Officers of a Church
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