Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	faith_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	4,321	5	9.3984	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61645	A stock of divine knowledge, being a lively description of the divine nature, or, The divine essence, attributes, and Trinity particularly explaned [sic] and profitably applied the first, shewing us what God is : the second, what we ought to be / by the late learned and laborious preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Richard Stock ...	Stock, Richard, 1569?-1626.	1641 (1641)	Wing S5693; ESTC R34616	191,839	352

Church cannot giue authority unto it The second Use serves to admonish us to receive the Scriptures for themselves for their owne authority and not for any mans authority whatsoever not for any mans person nor upon the authority of the Church for if we doe so we cannot have true saving faith Every man ought to receive the Scripture for its owne authority not that any man should condemn the authority of the Church but he may not depend onely upon it no not upon Saint Paul himselfe but must search the Scriptures to see whether it be so or no we ought not to receive the testimony of any Church in the world except it be grounded upon the Scripture we will use that which Aquinas saith of the woman of Samaria we may use the helpe of an enemy when she told them what things Christ did they beleeved but when they came to Christ himselfe they beleeved not for her saying but because they heard him themselves so we use the authority of the Church as a meanes to come to beleeve but when we beleeve let us not beleeve for the saying of the Church but for the Scriptures themselves Vse 3. This is to admonish every man when he hath received the Word to know it is the truth of God and therefore to labour to make it the Cannon of his faith for the authority it hath in it selfe we ought to examine our selves by this Word Hast thou done any thing that hath not this ground repent of it and for the time to come labour to make this the Cannon of thy life and the rule of thy obedience Art thou tempted by thy owne corruptions or by any other aske them Is there any such Word that will give leave if not thou must beleeve and hold to this for this is the Cannon by which thou oughtest to do all things Hierome complaines of some in his time who did wrest the Law to their owne wils and not their wils to the Law but we must be farre from this for whosoever walks after this rule Gal. 6. mercy and peace shall be to him but if he walke not after this rule he shall have judgement mercilesse Quest The next question is what is the sufficiencie of this Word Answ The answer is that it is that by which it is perfected concerning all things necessary to salvation that place which the Apostle hath 2 Tim. 3.17 doth prove this it is able to make the man of God wise unto salvation and therefore it is sufficient so Deut. 12.32 Thou shalt keepe all these Commandements thou shalt adde naught thereto nor take ought therefrom and therefore it must needs be perfect that to which nothing can be added and from which nothing can be taken must needs be perfect also Psal 19.7 the Law of the Lord is perfect Revel 22. Whosoever shall adde unto this booke God shall adde unto them the plagues that are written in this booke Thus the Word testifies of it selfe and therefore seeing the Word is true it must needs be a perfect rule Quest What Reason doe you shew for further proofe of this Answ First because it was the written Will and testimony of God Secondly Because after the Lord had given the Law in writing the Jewes were never guided by any unwritten word Thirdly Because Christ and his Apostles never proved their Doctrine by any unwritten word To explane these First It is the written Will and testimony of God therefore we call these the old and new Testament a mans will after it is confirmed no estate will admit to be altred therefore if we may not alter mans will much lesse may we alter Gods Secondly It is sufficient because that after the Lord had given his Law in writing the Jewes were never guided by traditions before the giving of the Law the truth went from hand to hand but after that God had written the Law they never came to him but upon some especiall occasion as for the Blasphemer c. Bellarmine confesseth this that there are some Catholiques speake with great probability that the Jewes after God had written the Law had no traditions Austin saith in the old Testament the Gospell was hid but in the new Testament it was made more plaine If God would teach the Jewes by nothing but by the written Word when it was more obscure much lesse us who have it more cleare Thirdly Because whatsoever Christ and his Apostles taught they proved by the written Word thus saith a Prophet and thus saith the Psalmes nay certainly Christ opposed traditions when he found that their authority corrupted the Law Mat. 5. but I say unto you rejecting those traditions the true word of God is this therefore the conclusion is that the Scriptures are a perfect rule containing all things to be beleeved and done Vse 1. The first Use teacheth us that then must fall to the ground all unwritten traditions the ground of all which is said to be the insufficiency of the Scriptures but if the Scriptures be sufficient then traditions have nothing to leane upon but it is blasphemie to thinke that God would not perfect that Word he began and therefore traditions are nothing Oh! say they the Scriptures doe not containe all fundamentall points for faith To this I answer If they had said the Scriptures doe not containe all the fundamentall points of their faith I would willingly subscribe to it the word of God no where speakes of Saint Peters successours the word no where speakes of invocation of Saints prayer for the dead indulgences and pardons these things the Scripture doth not containe but these are all of them contrary to the foundation but we beleeve nothing as necessary to salvation besides the Scripture We doe not doubt but that the Saints kept many excellent speeches and sayings of Christ as that in the Acts as the Lord said it is a more blessed thing to give then to receive but if there be any such tradition that is not for substance to be found in the word that we reject because the Scriptures are sufficient for the conclusion we will end with a speech of St. Austin I seek in the Gospell if I finde it not there where shall I finde it so may I say if we find not traditions in the word where shall we find them Vse 2. This teacheth the Ministers of God that they must prove the Doctrine they teach unto the people where shall they have that light no where but from the word they must not follow the vision of any man but only the word wherein God hath comprized every thing that he will have his people taught as it was in the creation the light was at large before the Sunne was created but after that was created God inclosed all light in the Sun so some time the word of God was taught from hand to hand God informed some and they taught others but after that God had written the Scriptures all were to receive their light

bee spoken of viz. The dignity of the Word which hath two parts the first the Authority of it the second the Sufficiencie of it because wee are to build on it and to rest upon it as the ground and rule of Faith and these are the two things which wee will handle at this time For the former of these Quest What is the authority of the written word Answ It is that by which it is authenticall and worthy of credit in it selfe being the divine and onely Canon and Rule for all things to bee beleeved and done That the Word of God hath this authority this verse which I have read doth prove So also Isa 8.20 To the Law and to the Testimonies if they speake not according to this word it is because there is no light in them if questions be asked about the dead To the Law and to the Testimonies whatsoever others say reject it this hath authority of it selfe to this is added 2 Pet. 1.19 Wee have also a more sure Word to these I add Gal. 6.16 As many men as walk after this rule peace be on them this is the rule of all things Joh. 2.16 If any man bring any other Doctrine bid him not to thy house where the word sheweth that there is no other word of any authority but this Word thus the Word witnesseth of it selfe therefore it must be true John 10.35 the Word cannot be broken therefore it must bee of that authority worthy of credit in it selfe and being divine wee must beleeve it and it must bee the Rule and Canon by which all things must bee done And this is the proofe of the first point Quest What ground have you for this that the Scriptures are thus authenticall Ans There are these First because they are Gods word to whom it belongs to appoint every one a cannon and rule that must give them direction to all things to be beleeved and done Secondly Because God hath written them for this end that they might be such a rule that might be alwayes in the Church that men should not dare to swerve from it Thirdly Because this Word is the first divine truth of God himself To explane these first they are Gods word c. This is manifest of it self that it belongs to God to appoint a rule and a cannon we further confirme this thus Deut. 7.11 Keepe my commandements my statutes and my judgements why so because they are my statutes I command you the Word is a lanterne to my feet saith David Psal 119.105 Thou shalt keepe my statutes so that if we enquire into the ground what the reason of the authority of the Scripture is it is manifest it is authenticall because it is the word of God who should teach me saith Saint Ambrose the things that appertaine to heaven God and not man Who can better teach me concerning God then God All other Divine things had need of testimony saith Salvian but onely these things spoken by God need no more testimony while therefore it is God that hath wrote this and he onely hath Divine authority therefore this must needs be of Divine authority The second answer was thus much because that this was written by God to that end that the Church might alway have a rule from which it should not dare to swerve Deut. 5.32 Take heed to my statutes turne not to the right hand nor to the left and that Rom. 15.4 These things were written that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope therefore from hence it is manifest that they are written to be a rule Thirdly because that this is the first divine trueth of God himselfe therefore it hath this name Ephes 1.13 Iohn 17.17 thy Word is truth with an emphasis that there is no truth but this so Ephes 2.20 it is the foundation of the Church it is builded upon the Apostles and Prophets we say it is the first truth of God himselfe because it must be first beleeved before we can beleeve by a divine faith any thing that is revealed in it faith doth first spring out of it and is last of all resolved into it and so it is the first truth This is the principle of principles and though it be not beleeved yet it hath the same authority gold is gold though no man have it the Sunne in the first day it was created was to rule the day and measure time though there was neither man nor beast to take notice of it In the Gnomen of a diall the shadow of it shewes the houres of the day though men sleepe principles in all Arts are to be granted are not denied without grosse absurdities Here are our first principles that there is a God that God hath a Word that the Scripture is the Word of God these are and ought to be assented unto by whosoever would be called Christian the denying of any one of these is to open the gate to Atheisme and all prophanesse so then this is manifest that this Word of God is of Divine authority The first Use then teacheth us that then fals to the ground the Doctrine of Popery that tels us that the Scriptures have no authority but from the Church some have spoken very blasphemously of the Word of God one for all the President of the Councell of Trent saith that the Scriptures have no more authority then Esops Fables without authority from the Church of Rome and others say they have no more authority then any other prophane books others more moderate say they have no more authority in them then they receive from the Church the question is not what authority the Church doth give to the Scriptures but what authority they have in themselves the Church can but declare their authority the Scriptures have it in themselves I had not beleeved the Scripture saith Austin We never denied that the Church hath excellent Offices concerning the Scriptures as first it is to keep them and preserve them therefore the Church is compared to a publique Notary like to the Court of Rowles the Master of the Roles gives no authority to Records but keepes them Secondly the Church is to publish the Scriptures therefore she is compared to a crier and this is the fidelity of the crier to publish the speech of the Prince and the Churches duty is to publish the Law of God The third office it hath is to discern the true Scriptures from forgeries and apocryphall It cannot make that which is Apocrypha Canonicall but it hath a power in discerning which are Apocryphall which Canonicall as it is in a City the Magistrates receiving a letter as from the Prince out of their experience are able to discerne whether it be the Princes letter or not so they that are Gods Ministers can do nothing but discerne the Word they cannot give any authority to it we conclude the Scripture hath authority in it selfe Ephe. 2.20 It is the foundation of the Church then the