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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	apostle_n	new_a	testament_n	4,132	5	8.0648	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51155	An enquiry into the new opinions, chiefly propagated by the Presbyterians of Scotland together with some animadversions on a late book, entitled, A defence of The vindication of the kirk : in a letter to a friend at Edinburgh / by A.M., D.D.	Monro, Alexander, d. 1715?	1696 (1696)	Wing M2439; ESTC R7	25,403	65

these Considerations I say we may easily perceive that the Argument pleaded against Episcopacy founded upon such Dichotomies is not only weak but very Foolish and Extravagant Yet Blondel Salmasius and Daille Men of great Learning and Reputation imploy'd much Reading and Artifice to support their New Hypothesis by this Argument and to wrest so many places of the Fathers to promote an Opinion which was never heard of before the Days of Aerius thô it must be confess'd that Men of extraordinary Learning have been impos'd upon by the same fallacies particularly our Country-man Sir Thomas Craig in his Book de Success Reg. Angl. But if he had read the ancient Monuments of Ecclesiastical Antiquity with that accurate Attention wherewith he perus'd the vast Volums of Civilians Canonists and Historians he had certainly been of another Mind So visible is the Confusion of Names in the New Testament that Apostle Bishop and Presbyter are sometimes mentioned without any remarkable Distinction yet so as the Government of one amongst many is particularly Demonstrated Our Saviour himself is call'd an Apostle Heb. 3.1 sometimes the Word seems to be restrain'd to the Number of Twelve and Matthias upon the Apostacy of Judas is chosen to fill up the Number of the Twelve Apostles but in the same Apostolical Writings the Name of an Apostle is bestow'd upon several others besides the Twelve as S. S. Barnabas Paul Andronicus Junias Epaphroditus and others Our Saviour is call'd a Bishop 1 Pet. 2. 25. Again the Government of the Apostles is called their Episcopacy 1 Act. 20. sometimes the Name of Bishop is attributed to such Priests as were of the first Order invested with Apostolical Power and Jurisdiction 1 Tim. chap. 3. Tit. 1. 7. these places are so understood by all the Fathers Again the Bishops mentioned 1. Philip. 1 are understood by St. Chrysostom Oecumenius Theophilact and Theodoret to be the Priests of the second Order for they concluded Epaphroditus to have been then Bishop of Philippi as may be reasonably collected from Philip. 2. 25. Our English Version follows Beza and understands it as if Epaphroditus had been a Messenger sent by the Philippians to S. Paul but Salmasius is much more ingenuous and acknowledges That the Word Apostle in the sacred Scriptures never signifies any other than legatum Dei ad homines And this is very agreeable to the Opinion of Theodoret who thought that when the Bishops were named in the Apostolic Age so as to be distinguished from subordinate Priests they were then called Apostles thô upon other occasions they were promiscuously Named without any distinction I only mention this transiently not insisting upon it My business at present is to prove that the Community of Names was so familiar in the Language of the Apostolical Age that no Man can conclude from thence a Community of Offices St. Peter calls himself a Presbyter so St. John the Apostle and the Presbytery mentioned in the first of Timothy 4. 14. was a Senate compos'd of Apostles and other Presbyters whether of the first or second Rank is not certain but that S. Paul himself was one of them is evident from the second Epist to Timothy 1. 6. In the first Timothy is exhorted not to neglect the Gift which was given him with the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery In the last he is put in mind to stir up the same Gift which he received by the laying on of St. Paul's Hands And in the beginning of Christianity as S. Chrysostom Witnesseth both Bishops and Presbyters were sometimes call'd Deacons which may be justly concluded from Coloss 4. 17. and the Apostles themselves are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in the first of the Acts their Apostolical Ministry to which Matthias was assumed is called their Deaconship 1 Act. 17. Now I take it for granted that if any Man pretend to infer a Community of Offices from the Community of Names which we meet with in the Holy Scriptures he must needs confound the highest Order of the Church even the Apostolical Dignity with the lowest Rank of Ecclesiastical Officers Yet this is certain that the several Offices were carefully separated in those Days thô the Humility of such as were uppermost taught them not to be very forward to distinguish themselves from their subordinate Brethren by Titles of Eminence and Jurisdiction and the Bishops in the second Century transcribed the same Copy in their Behaviour who thô they were careful to preserve the necessary Distinction between the Priests of the first and second Order yet they studied the most modest Expressions of Humility and Condescension as may be seen from the forecited Inscription of S. Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians that Apostolic Martyr and Prince of the Asiatick Church I have consider'd this Argument the more carefully in that I find it over and over again in all the Writings of our Ecclesiastic Levellers as their first and last Refuge to which they flee to and yet there is not any thing more Frivolous and Trifling for the Names of the lowest Officers in the Christian Church were frequently assum'd by the highest and distinction of Offices is rather inferr'd from their Practices Peculiar Ministries and Acts of Jurisdiction than from any Names that we can fix upon Thirdly If they cannot establish their New Doctrine of Parity neither upon the express Commandment of our Saviour nor upon the Consequences they manage a confusione nominum they endeavour to support it by some Testimonies of the Primitive Fathers When the Government and Revenues of the Church were sacrilegiously invaded by Atheists and Enthusiasts under Oliver Cromwel the Learned Blondel employed all his skill to make the Ancients contradict themselves and all contemporary Records When his Book appeared the Presbyterians concluded before ever they Read it that all was Pure and Undeniable Demonstration and our Country-men think they need return no other answer to any thing that is written against them than to say that Episcopacy and all that may be said in its defence is quite Ruin'd and Destroyed by Monsieur Blondel and Salmasius And thô there are but very few of them that ever read them and that every Line of their Writings that hath the least colour of Argument was frequently Answered and Expos'd yet such is the Power of Prejudice and Partiality that they shut their Eyes against the clearest Evidences that are produc'd by their Adversaries It 's enough for them to say that Blondel hath written a Book in their Defence of 549 pages and this in their Opinion may bar all Disputations of that Nature When we bid them name the place that they think proves their New Doctrine most plausibly they refuse any such close Engagement they will tell you that Jerome was of their Opinion and that their Learned Champion Blondel has sufficiently prov'd that this antient Monk was a Presbyterian I must not transscribe the Accurate and unanswerable Dissertations of several Learned

drives Men against Light and Conviction and darkens all their Intellectuals in defiance of common Sense and Reason A third Witness alledg'd by Blondel is Hermas I only name some few of those that are nearest to the Apostles I do not now enquire into the Authority of this Book It is most probable that it was written towards the end of the Apostolical Age and some of the Ancients of great Authority make him to be the same that is mention'd by S. Paul Rom. 16. 14. It is without all Controversie a Book of great Antiquity as appears by the Citations out of him still preserv'd in some Authentick Monuments particularly Irenaeus Clemens Alexandrinus Tertullian and Origen There are two palpable evidences that Episcopacy was the Ecclesiastical Government that obtain'd in the Christian Church when this Book was written The first is from the second Vision of the first Book where the sending of the Encyclical Epistle in exteras civitates is insinuated to be the peculiar Priviledge of S. Clement then Bishop of Rome The other insinuation is from the second Book and 12th Mandat Paragr 2. where he reproves the preposterous Ambition of such as would thrust themselves into the highest dignities contrary to the Evangelical Methods of Humility and self-denial exaltat enim se vult primam Cathedram habere If there be no Power there can be no Abuse of it and therefore he reproves that insatiable thirst of Preferment that puts some amongst them upon Projects and Designs contrary to the command of our Saviour who taught us that he that deserv'd the Ecclesiastical Promotion was to be the Servant of all and therefore many of the Primitive Bishops fled and hid themselves upon the first Motion of their being nam'd to the Episcopal Dignity And the other Citation from Book the third Similitud 8. insinuates the very same thing that I intend viz. a Principatus then established as the fixt Government of the Church which some were too too hasty to grasp 2 Tim. 4. 3 4. Vid. Dickson in Matt. and Answer to the Irenicum by G. R. vid. Bez. in 〈◊〉 Vid. Smectim Jus divin Minister Anglican The Unbishoping Timothy and Titus Altare Damascen Durh. Dissert on the Revel v. Cotel Not. inpriorem Epist S. Clem. p. 96. in quibus fus● solide dem●nstratur argumentum a confusione nominum nequaquam Jurisdictionem Authoritatem Episcoporum supra Presbyteros labefactare posse V. Doctiss Bevereg cod canon Eccles primit lib. 2 c. 11. Vid. Clariss Dodwell dissert Cypr. p. 205. Walo Mess Tertul. de Baptismo Stromat Lib. 6. Pastor Herma * Apud clariss Dodwell disertat Cyprian p. 205 ● Cotel in prie● Epist Clemen ad Corinth 1 Cor. 15. 7. W●●● M●● * Aplog prosenten Hieronym Amstol 1646. Vind. St. Ignat. Adversus Hereses lib. 3. cap. 3. V. Doctiss Cav Hist liter p. 18. Blondel Apolog p. 9. Plerique Latinorum Hieronymo teste secundumpost Petrum fuisse putaverunt ut ante annum Domini 65 ad Romanae Ecclesiae clavum sedissenecesse sit Apol. pro sent Hier. p. 9. page 9. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. doctiss Bevereg cod Can. Eccles Prim. lib. 2. p. 314. 1 Cor. 3. 5. 2. Cor. 3. 6. Acts. 6. 4. Coloss 4. 7. 1 Thess 3. 2. Coloss 4. 17. Vid. etiam Bevereg ubi supra Pag. mihi 40 41. Pag. 10. Edit Jun. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 P● mihi 52 53. V. Cotel Not. in Pr. S. Clemen Epist col 95. Apud Jun. Not. in Clemen p. 12. * Iren. lib. 3. cap. 3. Polycarpus aut●●●non solum ab Apostolis edoctus conversatus cum multis excis qui dominum nostrum viderunt sed etiam ab Apostolis in Asia in ea quae est Smyrnis Ecclesia constitututs Episcopus qurm nos vidimus in prima nostra aetate * Catalog ●pt Eccles Apol. p. I● Vid. Test Veterum ad frontem editionis Oxon