Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	call_v	church_n	congregation_n	1,735	5	9.2238	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00748	The epiphanie of the church gathered out of the Holy Scriptures, declaring and plainly shevving, both the church that cannot but erre, and also the church that cannot erre : vvith so evident notes and manifest signes of either of them, that no man reading it, needeth be in doubt which he should beleue / written by R.P. in the yeare of our Lord God 1550 ; and now published in this yeare 1590 for the benefite of all such as desire the trueth concerning the church.	Finch, Richard, minister of East Ham.	1590 (1590)	STC 10877.5; ESTC S4676	36,955	52

congregate togither Of this we read that the people spake to Moyses saying Why haue you brought the Church of the Lord vnto this wildernesse that both wee and our cattell should die in it And Church betokeneth the elect people of God onely whereof the wise man sayth The children of wisedome are the Church of the righteous and their exercise is obedience and loue Holy Paul speaking of this Church saith Ye husbandes loue your wiues euen as Christ also loued the Church and gaue himselfe for it to sanctifie it and clensed it in the fountaine of water thorow the word to make it vnto himself a glorious congregation without spot or wrinckle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blame Also there is a congregation of the wicked called by the name of Churche which for that they outwardly professe the same religion pretend to haue the same gospel and to vse the same sacramentes with the Church be called in Scripture Church whome God permitteth sometimes to rule ouer the people for their sinnes For the vngodlinesse of the people doth God make an hypocrite to raigne ouer them Wherefore they that crie so much the Churche the Church and affirme stiffely that the Church cannot erre and doe not declare what Church they doe meane doe but cast a mist before the simple vnlearned peoples eyes to blind them withall to the end themselues might the cleaner conuey their iugling castes Let them therefore in Gods holy name shew vnto vs plainly in simple wordes what Church they doe speake of whether of the Churche of Christ or else of the Churche of Antichrist So doing men will be out of doubt the sooner trueth will come to light and brawling will cease for verie Christians loue not contention The Church of Antichrist which is worthily called the Church malignant or the congregation of the wicked and may be called the man of sinne childe of perdition hypocrite c. cannot but erre what fayre shewe soeuer they make The Church of Iesus Christ which is his onely doue and spowse sticking vnto the word of trueth vnseparable and gouerned by his holy spirite cannot erre damnably although she be trode downe vnder feete of the world and seeme to be out of countenance These two be contrarie the one to the other betweene whome there is as much difference as is betweene sower and sweete darkenesse and light euill and good Notwithstanding the world not able to perceaue the difference nor make distinction betweene them but blinded with euil custome and the multitude taketh them for the other because here in this life they be mingled togither as the good fishes are mixt with the bad the goates with the sherpe and the chaffe with the corne so that they be not openly known vnto men at the first sight No maruaile for Sathan himselfe is changed into the Angel of light and his ministers fashion themselues as though they were the ministers of righteousnesse Also woolues clothe themselues in Sheepes clothing Yet is Sathan a deuill still and hys ministers are deceiptfull workers and a woolfe a deuourer of sheepe which at length bewrateth himselfe by his taile and bloudshedding Whereas the bloud of Iesus Christ is knowne by the spirite of trueth and by paciently suffering for his word Which spirit word be the sure anchors guids and rule of the same and not Rome nor Peter though Sathan pretendeth neuer so antient a title If Christ had appoynted his Churche to anie place or creature for the establishing of matters of Religion should Paul that elect vessell of God which was rapt vp into the third heauen and into paradise and heart secret wordes which no man can vtter haue bene ignorant thereof Paul knewe well that Christ had left his Church vnto his holy spirite and word his word to be an infallible rule both of their life and doctrine and his spirite to be a readie interpreter of the same Therefore when hee should depart from them he said Nowe brethren I commend you to God and vnto the word of his grace which is able to build further and to giue you an inheritance amongest all them that are sanctified These wordes are without guile and sophisticall craft they are simple and playne and Gods Scriptures We must therefore beleue them They send vs vnto the port of safegard and touchstone that cannot deceiue vs we must needes therefore stick vnto thē otherwise we cannot know the trueth be saued Wherein first let vs consider why Paul did send vs vnto God the holy Ghost For he saith Nowe brethren I commend you to God Hee commendeth vs not vnto Iohn Peter Andrew or any other of the Apostles much lesse vnto Rome the Pope or Antichristian Bishops but vnto God the holy Ghost Why Because hee knew well that Christ himselfe had so appointed before For when Christ should depart from the church he promised to send them the same holy Ghost saying The comforter which is the holy Ghost whome my father will send in my name hee shall teache you all thinges and bring all thinges vnto your remembrance whatsoeuer I haue said vnto you He comforted them also vvith the same spirite Commaunded them to tarrie in the citie of Hierusalem vntill he had performed the same his promise which indeede he saythfully kept and fulfilled for they were all filled with the holy Ghost euen the spirite of trueth whiche could not but teach them all trueth whatsoeuer he had said vnto them that was all one and the same trueth Secondly let vs note that Paul commended the Church vnto the word of grace what is this word of grace Forsooth the same trueth which the holy Ghost taught is the word of grace euen that word which God the father commanded to be heard at the m●uth of his son Iesus Christ saying This is my welbeloued sonne in whome I am well pleased heare him And whosoeuer will not harken vnto the wordes which hee shall speake in my name I will require it of him I will be reuenged of him saith God Of this witnesseth Peter also laying The time will come Paul saith Behold nowe is the time that euerie soule which vvill not heare him shalbe destroyed from amongest the people It standeth vs then in hand to searche diligently and knowe that thing that God requireth so straightly of vs which is to heare his sonne Iesus Christ The neglecting whereof is no lesse then damnation But what shall we heare verily his holy Gospel confirmed for vs by his holy spirite for the same purpose which Gospell is the worde of grace vndefiled conuerting soules giuing wisedome vnto babes making glad harts giuing light vnto the eies a lantorn vnto the feet and a light vnto the pathes proued by the fire tryed more pure then siluer vii times purged more to be desired