Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	apostle_n	speak_v	word_n	1,386	5	3.9429	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26184	Three letters to Dr. Sherlock concerning church-communion wherein 'tis enquired whether the doctor's notion of church communion be not too narrow and uncharitable, both to dissenters, and men of larger principles / by a lay-man of the Church of England ...	Atwood, William, d. 1705?; Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1683 (1683)	Wing A4183; ESTC R11681	18,335	41

a Man has a right to be of a particular Church as he is a Christian that is I should think a true Member of the Catholick Church or becomes a Christian only as receiv'd into a particular Church I take it Infants are received with us by virtue of the federal right in the Parents and as the Apostle says The believing Wife sanctifies the unbelieving Husband else were the Children unclean Nor I conceive doth our Church receive any adult Person whom it does not believe to be a true Christian before But to make your Fallacy the more evident you tell us The Divine Spirit confines his Influences and Operations to the Unity of the Church as the same Apostle tells us That there is but one Body and one Spirit which plainly signifies that the Operations of this one Spirit are appropriated to this one Body as the Soul is to the Body it animates I would fain know what need any Man has to deny this for avoiding the Consequence that therefore 't is an improper way for edification to forsake Communion with a National sound Church where he lives for the Apostle makes it as plain as words can make it that he speaks of the Invisible as well as Visible Church For the Passage you cite Ephes. 4. 4. is but a continuation of what the Apostle taught in the foregoing Chapter where he says For this cause I bow my Knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom the whole Family in Heaven and in Earth is named This which is there called a Family is elsewhere the whole Body of which Christ is the Head the increase and edifying of which Body in love is ascribed to his Influence If I should enter my self of another Family not owned by Christ I thereby should renounce all claim to the Promises of the Gospel But admit several parts of this great Family live by different Customs and Rules not owning each others Members for their own in which case you will have them separate Churches as well as upon the account of Doctrine Government or Worship provided the things wherein they differ and for which they make distinct Communions are not destructive of common Christianity doth he put himself out of Christ's Family who can and actually doth comply with the Rules and Customs of both One would think that a Member of the Church of England communicating with Presbyterians here does not thereby enter into a state of Separation even from this Particular Church because he does not thereby so much as virtually renounce the Communion of our Church being nothing is required of him to capacitate him for Communion with them which is not required in our Church much less any thing contrary to it and perhaps the Independents may come within the last circumstance But to be sure neither of them forsake our Church in what essentially constitutes it a Church of Christ and therefore it does yet remain a Question whether this can be a separation from the Communion of Catholick Church that happy Family above-mentioned You know even in the Primitive Times about the end of the second Century there fell out a Division between the Latin and Asian Churches and that upon what one would think were neither Matter of Doctrine of Government nor of Worship for it was only about the Time of keeping Easter Holy-day Victor the Bishop of the Latin Church in a Council or as some will have it a full representative of that Church excommunicates the poor Asians for a little mistake in Arithmetick each Church was far from owning the others Members as its own Here was a Schism perhaps on both sides especially on theirs who were so peremptory in imposing their own computation for Catholick But what should the poor Lay Christians do in this divided state could they not Communicate with both or either without danger of Schism themselves or was it as necessary to know which was in the right as to know which is the True Religion 'T was not enough in such case to know which of these divided Communions was a true and sound Member of the Catholick Church which when known they were bound to communicate with for here both were sound Members at least they might be notwithstanding this Difference And yet according to you they who communicated with both these were contrary to themselves and on one side or other went sure to be Schismaticks and if you please you may say the Prayers and Sacraments in those Churches were not Acts of Christian Communion but of Schismatical Combinations But secondly I must desire you to consider whether you do not enforce the necessity of communicating with the National Church from Arguments which prove no more than that Men ought to serve God in publick in distinct Congregations as well as in private and so apply that to a National Church which belongs to the Church in a more limited sense But this is no wonder since you manifestly go upon the Supposition that there can be no True Church which is not National at least which is not the only true Church within the Nation or City where one resides Upon which Ground you affirm That Actual Communion during our residence in any certain place must be confined to that particular Church in which we live if it be a sound part of the Christian Church or as you elsewhere vary it the sound and orthodox Part of the Catholick Church which he finds in that place Now if there be a possibility that there should be several sound and orthodox Parts in the same place be it the same City or same Nation all your building here falls to the Ground Wherefore I desire you to consider whether it is not possible that at Aleppo for the purpose or any other place where the National Religion is Ethnick there may be several sound parts of the Catholick Church as the Greek or the French Protestants and the English Churches with either of which one may communicate as sound parts of the Catholick But to come back to your method of bringing all into the National you tell us that you suppose no Man will deny but that every Christian is bound to worship God according to our Saviour's Institution and what that is we cannot learn better than from the Example of the Primitive Christians of whom St. Luke gives us this account They continued stedfast in the Apostles Doctrine and Worship and in breaking of Bread According to your own Argument here would it not seem that the only Church of our Saviour's instituting is such an one as is described 1 Cor. 14. 23. where 't is said If therefore the whole Church be come together into one place and all speak with Tongues and there come in those that are unlearned or unbelievers will they not say that ye are mad Pray Sir is it absurd to suppose that there should be several such Churches in a City