Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	apostle_n	church_n	elder_n	5,779	5	10.2377	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A73049	Englands pvrginge fire Conteyninge two petitions, the one to the Kinges most excellent Majesty, the other to the High Courte of Parliament held at this tyme in England. Shewinge in diverse perticulers, how the Church in England might be ordered, yet more conformably to the Will of God reveiled in his worde then at this day it is. Herewithall is declared, the evell and lamentable effects of our vnable and negligent ministers: and the happy fruict of our learned and painefull pastors. A worke most needefull for theise tymes, as servinge to turne away the wrath and iudgements of God from this lande, through the removinge, (accordinge to the advertisements herein given) such disorders and evells, as for which the wrath of God may be, and is, kindled against this Land, and the church therein.	Proctor, Thomas, fl. 1621.	1621 (1621)	STC 20408.5; ESTC S124597	53,590	98

ignorance And indeede we fyndinge in Scripture that Deacons remayninge Deacons were Preachers Acts 6 8 and 8 5 vve may vvell say that Deacons as Deacons have right to Preach But here vve fynde Governours who are not to be Teachers therefore theise cannot claime the Priviledge of Cleargy as may Deacons I conclvde therefore that seing Gods Cleargy is as his Lot to be maintayned at the Charge of his People and seing the Apostle claimes this for Preachinge the vvord therefore theise Governours not being to be Teachers have no right to be of the Cleargy but are to be Lay Elders Againe some may say But must such be in every Parrish Church I answer yes For Acts 14 23. we reade thus And when they had ordeyned them Elders by Election in every Church they commended them to the Lord in whom they Beleeved if then in every Church there were ordeyned a plurality of Elders safest it is to have many Elders in every Church Moreover seinge here it is said that Elders implyinge many were ordeyned in every Church and seing vve have before proved that in those tymes there were in the Church Elders who onely Ruled and taught not and seing it is not likely that the Apostle would so soone Charge every Church with many Cleargy therefore most likely it is that theise Elders vvere many being parte Cleargy for Rulinge and Teachinge parte Lay Elders serving so Rule onely And indeede seing the Apostle commended the Churches to the Lord it argues that he had furnished them with such Elders as in those tymes vvere ordeyned by God to be in the Church but I have before proved that God ordeyned Governours who were not Teachers aswell as Teachers who also Governed therefore we may not thinke that the Apostle left theise Churches defective in either of theise Furthermore seing every Congregation is necessarily to have a Teaching Elder for should a flock be without a Shephearde every Congregation is likewise to have such Ecclesiasticall Officers as are under Teachers for though every Congregation be not to have those Offices above Teachers and which are set over Teachers such as are Bishops and Arch-Bishops yet such Offices as are under Teachers every Congregation is necessarily to have To conclude seinge a Parrish Church cannot be denied to be a church therefore necessarily it ought to have in it as Elders to Teach so Elders to Rule onely for the defect in either of theise would surely produce a defect in the Governinge of the same For this cause we may not content our selvs with our Civill Lavvyers onely seinge they are not in every Church but onely in the whole church of a Bishopdome and in the Bishops courte onely Neither may we take our Church vvardens and Side Men for theise Governours seinge they have not Power of Iudgement and Punishment vvhereas Goverment is lame of one hand if it have not this Power Surely therefore accordinge to Gods Ordinance every church which hath any Elders in it is to have a Goverment by Elders but Governinge implies power of Iudginge and Punishinge therefore every church is to have this power in it as it vvill not be defective in its Goverment Verily if we looke upon our people in England observinge their life and conversation in every Parrish vve may well say that here vvants the Goverment in overy Parrish which here we see the Lord ordeined For our people for the most parte contentinge themselves to come to church onely and satisfye the Lawe by hearinge Divine Service and the vvorde Preached never make conscience of livinge also thereafter and this for vvant of feeling neere them the Power of this Parishionall Goverment For vvhilst at home in their Parrish they may use unchristian Liberty in their actions and Talks so long as they keepe themselvs from so offendinge as that the Lawe takes hold of them our people are mervailous careless of observinge in their speach the holy restreinte of the Ghospell But if they sawe neere them in their owne Parrish a Teacher and a Deacon for Cleargy and some of their Neighbours of the Laiety havinge Power to call the disorderly to Accoumptes and to Punish them who live not as the Ghospell requires then what with the neereness of the observinge eyes of these Governours and what with the sence of their power to Iudge Punish them if they observe not the Ghospell in their life and Conversation a holy Awe would fall upon Gods people in every Parrish causinge an abstayninge from unseemely Acts and Conversation And this much the rather because theise Governours dwellinge here and there among them they are neere in every quarter of the Parrish to have knowledge of such as make no conscience to live and converse as beseemeth Christians Therefore aswell for the utility to Gods people which vvould arise by the havinge in every Parrish diverse of the Antient godly and honest of the Laiety to Governe in the Parrish as for this evidence from Scripture that such vvere ordeined in every Church we should be moved to receave willingely the ordeyning of such in every Parrish Church If it be obiected that here every City not every Church is meant then I answere That in those tymes it is likely that some Cityes had but one Congregation and beinge so then to say of them every City or every Church is to one effect neither truly is it likely that so soone every City affoorded many Churches Moreover seinge it was Churches not Cityes that were to be thus ordered we are rather to understande every Church then every City for theise reasons I conclude that it is safest and most proffitable that every Parrish-Church have ordeyned in it Lay Elders to Governe onely aswell as Cleargy Elders who both are to Teach and Governe If it be said that every Parrish-Church havinge Cleargy Elders as a Teacher or Pastor and a Deacon then thus Scripture makes nothinge for Lay Elders then to this I answere That seinge there is evidence that in those tymes there were Elders which Ruled and Taught and Elders which Ruled onely and taught not therefore fittest it is that here we understande not a plurality of Cleargy Elders onely but rather parte Cleargy part Laiety Againe some may say How many must they be in Number I answere seinge we reade of Elders ordeyned without readinge also any set Number therefore the Church is not bounde to observe any set or certaine Number As the Parrish therefore is more or less in circuit of grounde or quantety of people so theise Governours may be more or sewer for where a Parrish is narrow of boundes though it conteyn much people yet three or fower of theise Governours may serve seinge they are neere in neighbourhood to every one of the Parrish whereas where the Parrishe is large of circuit there it is needefull that they be seven or eight to the end that their dwellinge may be here and there to be neere to those of the Parrish in every quarter