Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	bishop_n	church_n	pastor_n	4,835	5	9.0511	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61101	A Protestants account of his orthodox holding in matters of religion at this present in difference in the church, and for his own and others better confirmation or rectification in the points treated on : humbly submitted to the censure of the Church of England.	Spelman, Henry, Sir, 1564?-1641.; Spelman, John, Sir, 1594-1643.	1642 (1642)	Wing S4940; ESTC R12772	24,078	35

spirituall man can nothing more avail him in that point than if he were not so And for this last cause it nothing also avails though the Clergie themselves actually vote amongst seculars for where the carriage of matters cannot certainly follow the votes of the Clergie but be subject to the votes of the Seculars their votes so given cannot have the authority of Ecclesiastique votes but of Lay. And both for the peace of private consciences and also for the peace of the Church it would advisedly be examined whether the votes of Clergy-men chosen by the Seculars say by the Body representative of a whole State be of more authority for deciding matters of Religion in question than the votes of the Seculars themselves that chose them be for when by the expresse Word of God The spirits of the Prophets are to be subject to the Prophets the Prophets must either all of them together hear and determine or all of them freely make choice of such of their Brethren as shall do it for them lest if the secular power assume the choice of the men they by assuming the choice of those that shall give the Clergies vote assume the giving of their vote and upon the matter reject the vote and judgement of the Clergie for the few men that so be chosen have no authority of themselves to judge by themselves but have the authority of those onely that made the fiduciary commitment of power to them and if they that committed the authority be Seculars then is the judgement and executing of the spirit of Seculars only And it would further be taker into consideration Whether as the Bishop of Romes usurpation of the authority of the universall Church manifested him to be the great spirit of Antichrist so in every particular Church any usurping or undue assuming of the authority thereof will not amount to an inferiour exercise of the same spirit Now whereas it is conceived that Forms of Government Ecclesiastique are not tyed to the Judgement of the Clergie but are arbitrary as the State shall judge expedient it is not denyed but that Church-Government may be accommodate to the occasions of the State but then those cautions are to be observed 1 That as the State is Judge what form of Church-Government will be most commodious for the well-fare thereof so the Clergie be Judges whether the form desired be safe for the Church and agreeable to the Word of God otherwise the one may be oppressed while the other is accommodate Therfore we see that upon every change and remove of the Camp not onely the taking down and folding up of the Tabernacle and all things belonging to it was committed to the Priests but even the utmost act of carrying of it when all was disposed and ordered by the Priests was given in charge to those onely that were Levites And whereunto are helps in Government reckoned among Apostles Prophets Teachers and other Members which Christ hath set in his Church if the Government of the Church be to be managed by those that are not to be numbred among them And if among Pastors which God hath set in his Church he hath ordained some to be helps in Government how dangerous a matter will it be for those that are not of their calling to iustifie them out of their authority and in that point usurp their Function Moses hath long since put terrour in the case when with a Propheticall spirit praying for Levi he saith Smite thorow the loyns of them that rise up against him And the Prophet likewise where speaking of the Church he saith No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every tongue that crieth against thee in Judgement thou shalt condemn And our Saviour himself where he saith to his Apostles What ye binde on earth shall be bound in Heaven Another Caution to be observed is That in accommodating Church-Government to the frame and occasion of the State nothing be disestablished or unsetled that seems to have been setled by any authority of the Scripture Therefore whereas we see there the Government of the Church first setled in the hands of Bishops that is of Pastors that had authority over Pastors To rebuke with all authority Not to suffer themselves to be despised a To ordain Elders b To receive accusation against them c To charge some to preach no other Doctrine d To step the mouthes of unruly deceivers e To set in order things that are wanting c. And we finde not any other form of Church-Government neither in the Scripture nor in the practice of the Universall Church as well where the Pope never ruled as where he did that therefore men make not such an accommoda●ing as by an entire rejecting of the Ordinance set on foot by the Apostles themselves so appearing in the Scripture and Universally so followed by the Church they reiect both the Judgement of the Universall Church and also of the Spirit of God revealed in the Scripture For as in the change of the Sabbath from the Saturday to the Lords Day the Church hath clearly shown that she had power to make such a change but that change being once made for important causes the like whereof hereafter can never happen that power of hers once lawfully used can never lawfully come to be used again because there can no more such ground and cause to do it come again to passe So it is likewise in point of Episcopall Government though the whole form and frame of it is not so expressely prescribed but that the Church may in many things have power of making therein accommodations to the times and exigence of State yet may not those acts of accommodation amount to such a height as to subvert or abolish the Government which by the iudgement of her Members than infallible was set on foot because no judgement of her present Members now can come in any competition with her first And if any State shall so accommodate it self the accommodators may perhaps be found fighters against the Spirit of God manifested both in the Scripture and in the Judgement and practice of the Universall Church of God One further particular depending upon these points and necessary for every one to have his conscience clear and well assured is the lawfulnesse of the Liturgie of our Church concerning which these considerations present themselves The Church being freed from the tyranny of the Heathen persecutors and setled in peace it was necessary that God that had done so great things for her should be honored not onely by the private devotion of her single Members but also with the publike service of her greatest Congregation And seeing that in the Church Jerusalem ever since Christianity becoming inhabited without walls occasions the making of as many places of Worship as there are places of severall cohabitation it was necessary both for observing decency and order for avoiding confusion and for

creep in unawares that they despise dominion and speak evill of dignities that they speak evill of those things they understand not that they go the wayes of Cain and runne greedily after the errour of Balam for reward and perish in the gain saying of Core as much as to say men of unbrotherlike affections seekers of their own gain and disobedient to their Superiours further that they are murmurers complainers walking after their own lusts speaking swelling words having mens persons in admiration for advantage And lastly That they be they that seperate themselves What have we in this but an entire description of the whole practice of the spirit of errour and of adversation to Christianity which the Scripture calleth Antichrists By which sinne that through the light of the Gospel was subdued and deprived of his first and naturall Empire consisting in the viciousnesse of corrupt nature turning himself unto his Artes like the divell into an Angel of light does now with refined and mysterious falsities such as resemble Piety and true Religion renew his onsets in a warfare of a more dangerous consequence so various and in apparance so contrary often to sinne as puts the strongest Christian to the use of all his Armour of righteousnesse as well on the right hand as on the left to be able to withstand him This Antichristianisme is here represented to us in a twofold form The first an Empire of mysterious sinne A body of members well united together under one head or Soveraigne set forth one while by the names of the Man of sinne The sonne of perdition The wicked one Another while by the name of Babylon the great The mother of fornications The greatwhore c. The description of which Empire is in such Characters as marveilously sureth with the Roman Papacy The other form of mysterious wickednesse is of a quite contrary nature A loose Anarchy of singulars of men by themselves not united together in one by any common Bond of true Communion but like quicksands cast together by the working of the Sea and from time to time shifted and changed with it so they as judgements private ends or affections do concur are brought accidentally to a concurrence among themselves but without any ground or sollid principle of uniting For though they seem to put on the Yoak of Christ yet every one keeps the Bonds of the yoak in his own hands and is the Soveraign Arbiter of his own obedience Notwithstanding which contrariety of theirs to the Roman Church who abuses obedience as these do liberty they are no other then derivatives of the same spirit of errour begot by way of opposition on her that is the mother of fornications Who having against the manifest Word of God usurped a tyrannicall soveraignty both over Gods Word his Church and all the Princes of his Church and being beaten from it the divell instead of quitting the rule that he held by her Monarchall tyranny changes only his vicegerent and continues the same usurpation in a popular and Anarchall way that is by the hands of every particular man or number of men who abusing the example of rejection of her usurped authority shall invade and reject all authority how lawfully soever established in the Church Both are opposers of Christs Doctrine both usurpers of the authority of his Church both hiding their usurpation under a form of godlinesse they differ but in this Men in the one partake only of the iniquity by influence from the head but in the other every distinct member is the originall Author of it to himself We finding then such an alarme in the Scripture blown against perverse and self-led professors of Religion set forth unto us by such Characters as Wolves Foll●wers of Cain Balaam and Corah cursed children and the like Notwithstanding that they have sheeps cloathing forms of godlinesse and fained words to cover them It remains that we strictly examine what fruits or works have passed our hands which in their common and naturall acceptation are evill though brought forth for good ends and that we utterly relinquish them that we take heed of wayes of singularity that lead to false accusation trayterousnesse headynesse high-mindednesse and denying of the power of godlinesse That we take heed of the doctrines of those that draw disciples after them That creep into houses That go out from the fellowship of the Apostles and continue not with them That follow the wayes of Cains uncharitablenesse of Balaams prophesying for lucre or of Corabs disobedience That we take heed of those that despise Government Are presumptuous self-willed not afraid to speak evill of dignities that despise dominion have mens persons in admiration because of advantage That heap to themselves Teachers That separate themselves And lastly That while we justly hate Popery we do not in any thing partake of that sinne of the Popes which made him that hatefull Apostate and mysticall enemy of the Church namely That we do not by assuming into a wrong hand any power or authority which God hath by his Word committed to the Body of the Pastors of his Church onely rob him of his rightfull Jurisdiction as they that have invaded his Tythes and Offerings robbed him of his rightfull Possessions FINIS 2 Pet. 1. 20. 1 Tim. 3. 15. Matth. 28. 20. Luk. 10. 16. Ioh. 16. 13. 1 Cor. 14. 32 33. 1 Cor 11. 16. 1 Cor. 12. 12. 1 Cor. 12. 19. Acts 15. 23. Acts 16. 4 Coloss. 2. 19. Matth. 18. 17. 1 Cor. 14. 32. ● Tim. 3 2. Deut. 12. 8. Heb 5. 8. Mala. 2. 7. 1 Tim. 3. 15. 1 Cor. 1 Pet. 2 13 Gen. 17. 6. 1 Sam. 15. 23. Hos. 4. 4. Num. 16. 3 Act. 19. 14 1 Cor. 14. 32. Numb. 4. 15. 1 Cor 12. 28. Deut. 33. 11. Isa. 54. 17. Tit. 2. 15. 1 Tim. 4. 12. a Tit. 1. 5. b 1 Tim. 5. 19 c 1 Tim. 13 d Tit. 1. 11. e Tit. 1. 5. Psal. 111. 4 Isa. 5. 20. 1 Ioh 2. 22. 2 Thessal 2. 4. 1 Cor. 14. 40. Viz. Two in the Psalmes two in the old Testament two in the new and two out of the Epistles and Gospels 1 Cor. 10. 21. Psal. 23. Io. 9. 7. Isai. 8. 5. 1 Cor. 1. 11. Act. 29. 30 2 Thessal 2. 3. 1 Tim 3 2 2 Tim 3. 2. 2 Pet. 2. 10. 1 Ioh. 2. 19 Ep. Iude 4. 2 Thes. 2. 3 and 8. 1 Pet. 2. 15 Ep. Iude 11. Mal. 3. 8.