In Matthew, chapter 10, commencing with the first verse, we have this statement: "And when He had called unto Him His Twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the Twelve apostles are these;" then follows the name of each of the Twelve. Mark gives more detail as to when and where they were called, as follows: "And He goeth up into a mountain and called unto Him whom He would; and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve," etc. (Mark iii:13, 14.) Luke records the calling of the Twelve in the sixth chapter of his book, beginning with the twelfth verse: "And it came to pass in those days that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles." Paul says in I. Cor. xii:28: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles;" and again in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 11: "And He gave some apostles." From the statements of four New Testament writers, it is plain that the first officers placed in the Church of Christ were apostles. Jesus delegated unto Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that whatsoever he should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, as recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, thus delegating to the apostleship all authority essential to the preaching of the Gospel, and administering in all the ordinances thereof, at home and abroad, for the salvation of all who would render obedience. It is apparent that other men such as Paul and Barnabas received the apostleship, but while this was the case it is evident that the Twelve apostles constituted a quorum. When Judas fell, one was chosen to take his place in that quorum, as written in the Acts of the Apostles, first chapter, 23-26 verses. It would appear from the reading of the Scriptures that while these twelve still lived, Paul and probably others received the holy apostleship, but did not become members of that council. The work of preaching the Gospel to all the world, to every creature, was undoubtedly too extensive for the accomplishment personally of twelve men, so Jesus chose others to assist them. "After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come." (Luke x:1.) As He conferred upon them similar powers and gave them a similar calling to preach the Gospel, they were undoubtedly the next associates of the Twelve in preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. Some think by the language used by Luke, "other seventy," that He had chosen one quorum of seventies before this one, but this is not necessarily correct, as it will apply in meaning to "other" than the Twelve apostles.