Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	new_a	testament_n	write_v	6,542	5	5.9777	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61596	Scripture and tradition compared in a sermon preached at Guild-Hall Chapel, Novemb. 27, 1687 / by Edward Stillingfleet ...	Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699.	1688 (1688)	Wing S5632; ESTC R14282	19,664	34

it necessary then that those things which concerned the Life and Doctrine of Christ should be put into Writing that they might be more certainly convey'd and that while they had the Testimony of those who were eye-witnesses and Ministers of the Word 2. And so I come to the second Rule of discerning the Primitive Doctrine of Christ viz. The Writings of the Apostles when matters of Doctrine came to be contested were the Infallible Rule whereby they were to judge which was the true and genuine Doctrine of Christ. There are some who pretend that the Apostles Writings were meerly Accidental and Occasional things but that the main design was to lodge the great Assurance of the Doctrine of Christ in Tradition from one to another and what they wrote was not to make any Rule of Faith but only to give some good Advice to those Churches they wrote to But I shall now prove that the Writings of the Apostles were intended by the Holy Ghost to be a standing Rule whereby the Church was to judge which was the true and genuine Doctrine of Christ. 1. From the Reasons and Occasions of writing the Books of the New Testament 1. As to the Gospels we must distinguish the General Reason of writing them from the particular Occasions as to the several Gospels The General Reason is to be drawn from the Divine Wisdom which inspired and guided them the particular Occasions relate to the circumstances of writing them The General Reason is that which Irenaeus gives viz. That the Gospel which they had first preached was by the Will of God put into Writing that it might be a Foundation and Pillar of our Faith. Not meerly to keep up the Remembrance of it which Fevardentius yields and thereby overthrows the Infallibility of Oral Tradition but that so it may be a certain Rule of Faith to all Ages The Evangelists saith St. Augustin were but Christs Hands which himself as the Head directed in writing the Gospels and therefore we are to look on the Gospels as his own Hand-writing The Holy Ghost saith he directed the Minds of the Evangelists as to the order and manner of their Writing Which varied according to the particular Occasions but yet were all subservient to the General Reason St. Matthew wrote the first Gospel saith Eusebius to the Jews to whom he had preached because going into other parts he would supply the want of his Presence among them by his Writing What need this if Tradition were a certain and infallible way of conveying the Doctrine of Christ St. Chrysostom saith the Jewish Christians desired him to put into Writing what they had heard him Preach Did not they understand the force of Tradition better Or why should St. Matthew put them out of an Infallible Way The Authority of the Imperfect Work on St. Matthew saith they desired him to write his Gospel that where ever they went they might carry an Account of their Faith with them Clemens Alexandrinus saith the occasion of writing St. Marks Gospel was that the people were not satisfied with an unwritten delivery of the Holy Doctrine and therefore importuned Mark who was the Disciple of St. Peter that he would leave a Monument of his Doctrine in Writing which St. Peter understanding by Revelation approved and confirmed his Gospel for the use of the Churches Origen saith he wrote it according to St. Peters directions Epiphanius saith by his Authority Athanasius saith it was dictated by him at Rome It seems that Peter himself did not think fit to leave the Doctrine of Christ to an Oral Tradition even at Rome but Irenaeus thinks it was written after St. Peters decease who therein differs from the rest and shews how uncertain meer Tradition is Tertullian saith St. Marks Gospel was attributed to St. Peter and St. Lukes to St. Paul. St. Ierom mentions the Opinion of some that when St. Paul saith according to my Gospel he means that of St. Luke But St. Luke himself plainly gives an Account of the occasion of his Writing St. Ambrose thinks by those who had taken in hand to write of those things which were firmly believed among us he means the Authors of the counterfeit Gospels as that of the Twelve Apostles and St. Matthias But we have no evidence that these were older than St. Luke his meaning is that in those parts where he was there were some who did undertake to give an Account of the Life and Actions of Christ who wanted the Advantages which he had having had great opportunities of knowing circumstances from the Eye-witnesses and therefore he set himself to give an exact Relation of them that not only Theophilus but every one that answers his name might know the certainty of those things wherein they had been instructed But did not they know the certainty of these things by the Apostles Preaching Yes but the things they heard might slip out of their Memories and to prevent this saith Theophylact St. Luke wrote his Gospel that they might retain these things with greater certainty And words that are only spoken are more easily misunderstood which Maldonat assigns as one great Reason of the Evangelists writing their several Gospels St. Iohn likewise gives an account himself of the Reason of his Writing and that the greatest imaginable But these are written that ye might believe that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his Name Why written that ye might believe Did the Apostle in his old Age mistrust the understandings or the Memories of Christians Was not the Apostles Teaching sufficient to keep up the Principles of the Christian Faith in the hearts of the people no not while St. Iohn himself was yet living He had certainly a very mean Opinion of Tradition that thought it necessary for him to write that they might believe that Iesus is the Son of God. For there was no point of Faith more necessary than this which was required of all Persons to be owned before Baptism Yet for all this and whatever else can be said St. Iohn thought it necessary that these things be written that they might believe He lived the longest of any of the Apostles and therefore saw how little Tradition was to be trusted for it was already corrupted in so weighty a point as the Divinity of Christ. Cerinthus and his Followers allow'd the general Tradition of the Church that Iesus was the Son of God but then they gave their own sense of it by extraordinary Favour and Adoption And from hence the Fathers agree that St. Iohn took occasion to write his Divine Gospel to clear this Fundamental point of the Christian Faith. And withal observing that the other Evangelists insisted chiefly on the Actions of Christ for one year viz. after Johns Imprisonment he resumes the whole matter and adds those things which were omitted by the rest that so