Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	apostle_n	apostolical_a	church_n	2,422	5	4.5288	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B22780	Englands deplorable condition shewing the common-wealths malady, by [brace] sacriledge, and want of duty in the people, contention, want of charity in the ministery, perjury, and want of truth in both : and its remedy by [brace] the peoples obedience and liberality, the ministers love and unity, both their repentance and fidelity : briefly declar'd in three treatises of [brace] the ministers patrimony and peoples duty, proposals to reconcile such as are for lordly episcopacy and un-ordain'd presbytery, for popular independancy and upstart antipædobaptistry, and against perjury : also, a petition for the Jews.	E. F.	1659 (1659)	Wing F18	72,509	69

without his Clergy and therefore in the fourth Councel of Carthage it was concluded as Orthodox that every Church should have his Presbyters or Elders without whose Counsel nought should be done in the Church u Concil Carth 4 Ignatius long before affirms the Presbyters to be as the Court of God and combination of the Apostles Ignat. Epist w Tert. Apols adu Gent. cap● 39 ad Tral also Tertullian affirms that the approved Elders sat as Presidents in their Assemblies u so likewise Origen and Ambrose informs us that there was nothing done in the Churches without y Celsum Ambr Com in Tit. chap. 5. 1 See the Appendix to Ius Divinum ministerii propos 7 their Counsel although in Ambrose his time the custom began to be obsolete by the sloth or negligence or rather pride of some Presbyters x Origen C●nt who would alone seem to be somewhat which made way for Antichrist to come in for it s conceived by some learned men that the exaltation of one Bishop above another was and hath been a chief means of setling Antichrist in his Throne a Greg. M Ep. ad Patriarch Const Iohan Epist ad Maur. Imp. Fox Acts and Mon. part 1 page 108. Zanch Annot in 2 Thes 2 Musc com Loc Ius Divin Mi● append page 118 119 and the want of these ordained Elders in each Church hath caused the Discipline of Christ to cease and the inventions of men to be setled in its stead in many places whereby Christs vine wanting a fence is exposed to the wild Bore of the Wood and crafty Foxes of the Field who pull off and devou● many of he● tender Grapes by means whereof Sects and Schisms are multiplyed Blasphemous and monstrous Opinions are hatched and defended without shame to the heart grief of Gods people to the dishonor of God and scandal of the Reformed Religion which we p●ofess for those of the Reformed Religion here amongst us are grown into four great Factions some are for Prelacy and Lordly Episcopacy others for strict and Aristocratical Presbytery others for pure and popular Independency others for refined and upstart Antipaedobatistry and Anabaptistry Therefore for Gods glory the Churches edification for reconciling our unhappy differences for the composing our distractions the re-uniting of these four Factions and preservation of love unity and peace among us I humbly offer these Proposals to your consideration First It seems convenient if not necessary that the three Nations though they stil● reta●n their Parochial bounds for civil ends as now should be divided into several Congregational Churches according to the ancient constitution of the Churches in the Primitive times and Apostles dayes as the supream Authority of the Nations shall think fit in every Market-Town and in some great Villages also where Believers are many and the Towns few and inconveniently placed as the Churches were at first planted by the Apostles and Apostolical men at Ierusalem Samaria Antioch Lystra Iconium Derbe Troas Rome Corinth Philippi Coloss Ephesus Smyrna c. as the Scriptures testifie and Saint Paul left Titus at Creet to ordain Elders in every City b Tit 1. 5 7 and so much Ecclesiastical History abundantly testifies c Clem. Epist ad Cor p 54 Ignat ad Tral Polycarp ad Phillip Epist Eusebius Eccl Secratet Theodo●et and o●hers thus in Judea of old there were Synagogues in the Towns and cities among the Jews the Villages belonging to these Towns belonged to the Elders of the Towns Now the places where Christians assemble are by the Apostle called Synagogues Iames 2. 2. and there were many Synagogues in Ierusalem no less than four hundred Schools and Synagogues d Ainsw Annot in Lev cap 26 31 and so much Saint Luke intimates e Acts ●5 21 and 24. 12 so at Ierusalem under the Gospel though the Christians there were but one Church f Acts 15. 4 yet questionless they had Synagogues or distinct places of meeting each from other which the twelve Apostles joyntly for a time did govern together with the Elders and Deacons ordained by them g Acts 15. 6 22. for all the Apostles spake tog●ther and the Deacons served at the Table and Ministred for the Churches good and the Elders assembled in Counsel with the Apostles to consider of matters in Doctrine or manners after when the Church of Ierusalem multiplyed to some m●llions h Acts 21 20. each of the Apostles went to his place and Iames with the Elders guided that Church as all Ecclesiastical Writers affi●m 2. It seems fit that in each of these Churches whereunto the Congregation are to resort for Ecclesiastical Discipline there be joyned all the Elders of that City or Town together with the Elders of the Villages belonging or adjoyning unto the said City or Town to be the Bishops Elders or Guides of that Church to feed and rule the same i Acts 13. 1 20. 17 Phil 1. 1 Heb. 13. 7. 17 Titus 1. 5 and let no un-ordained Elder be joyned with them the Deacons being first approved l 1 Tim. 3. 10 and elected yea and ordained by Prayer and imposition of hands of the Presbytery before they were thought fit to execute in the office m Acts 6. 3 6 nor read we in the Scripture of any one un-ordained Elder that ruled in the Church those Ruling Elders mentioned 1 Tim. 5. 17. being such as did tread out the corn of the Word verse 17. and so worthy of Reward for if the inferior Officer the Deacon was to be ordained much more ought the Superior which is the Elder as its plain they were n Ordination giving both name and being unto a Church-Officer as a Commission doth to a Judge in civil affairs as the Reverend Ministers of London prove n Acts 14. 23 1 Tim. 4. 14 Titus 1. 5 Ius divin minist cap 11 3. It seemeth fit that there be in each Congregation or Church at least two or three of these ordained Elders to gather together in Christs name for the administration of Discipline as Christ and his Apostles teach o Mat. 18. 20 1 Cor. 5. 4 promising to them his special presence where two or three of them are gathered together in his name as there were three in the least Ecclesiastical Courts in Israel where Believers are many and the Parishes thick there may be twenty three as there were in each City amongst them wherein were one hundred and twenty men housholders p Ainsw●rth Annot on Deut. 16 Goodwins Iew●sh Antiq. lib 5. cap 1. 14 yea in our greatest Cities there may be more as there was in Ierusalem the Sanhedrim which consi●ted of seventy two persons l and let these by common consent rule in each Congregation as they did in the Primitive times untill Cyprians dayes q Cypr Epist 39. yea till Saint Ambrose time who flourished about Anno 374. for then the Churches had their Elders as well as their