you are taught and shall be so taught of God that no man or Angel shall be able to unteach you again 2. It is an inward teaching though by the outward Word reaching to the inward soul and spirit to the hidden man of the heart 3. It is a successeful teaching he so teaches as men learn he that hath heard and learned of my Father hearing and learning go together he teaches faith and we beleeve humility and we are humble patience and we endure c. But I cannot enlarge any farther in this point It followes And great shall be the peace of thy children That is when men are taught of God then there is nothing but peace among them when God comes and teacheth thee and me and another and many then we all agree because we are all taught of God and see all things by the same light and apprehend all things by the same knowledge and perceive all things by the same spirit because all have the same teaching And so they that are taught of God though one come out of the East and another out of the West and another out of the South and never had any former communion together yet they all agree in the same truth and think and speak the same things and so there is love and amity and peace and unity among them because they are all taught of God and have learned the truth not as it is in this or that man or assembly of men but as it is in Jesus And truly this is the true ground of all the differences and dissentions and heats that are in the Kingdom at this time to wit because some are taught of God and some are not taught of God but men onely the carnal Church is onely taught of men and goes no higher but the spiritual Church is truely taught of God Now they that are taught of God and they that are taught of men see the same truths with a great deal of difference and hereupon arises the Controversie and Quarrel for one will have the truth as he sees it in the light of God another will have it as he apprehends it in his own fancy and the carnal man will not yeeld to the spiritual and the spiritual man cannot yeeld to the carnal Saith one this is the minde of God and I have learned it from his own teaching saith another this is not the mind of God for such a learned Minister or Ministers taught me otherwise and so I apprehend it and thus as the flesh and spirit are contrary so are their teachings and hence our divisions and troubles But when men are all taught of God then they are all at peace one with another and all do agree in the substance of the truth of the Gospel and if some do not know the same things they do they can wait with patience till God also reveal that unto them for they know with all their hearts that they themselves could never have known those things except God had taught them and so they cannot be angry at others whom the Lord as yet hath not vouchsafed to teach and so they are meek and gentle towards all as beseems the spirit as well as at peace among themselves All thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children For they know that no man is higher or lower then another in the Kingdom of God but all are equall in Jesus Christ they know that no man can challenge Christ more to himself then another but all have equal interest in him and Christ is alike neer to all in whom he dwels yea they all as willingly communicate their own things to the brethren as they themselves do partake of Christs things and so there is nothing but peace When men know that no man is any thing in himself but every one is all that he is in Christ and when men love Christ meerly for himself and where they see most of Christ there love most and if Christ be more in another then himself can love such a one more then himself not for his own sake but for Christs sake then there is nothing but peace Great shall be the peace of thy children Vers 14. In righteousness shalt thou be established c. This spiritual Church had need of establishment for when God hath done all this for it when he hath built it and taught it himself it shall not want trouble and opposition and contradiction and persecution in the world and therefore it stands in great need of establishment But how shall this be done Why saith he In righteousness shalt thou be established That is not by any outward power or force or armies or fortifications or factions or confederacies all these are but a staffe of reed but in righteousness and that is both in the righteousness of Christ received by us and working in us the first is the righteousness of justification the second is the righteousness of sanctification and our establishment lies in both 1. In the righteousness of Justification which is called the righteousness of faith or Christs own righteousness received into us and in this sence it is said Except ye believe ye shall never be established for by faith we partake of the righteousness of God through Christ and this is an infinite and everlasting righteousness that hath neither spot nor blemish in it this is able to establish us for ever and ever so that the Church hath no more establishment then it hath of the righteousness of Christ by faith and as the Church goes from faith to faith so it goes from establishment to establishment 2. Our establishment lies in the righteousness of our sanctification which is nothing but Christ working in us as the former was Christ dwelling in us for the same Christ that is the righteousness of our justification is the righteousness of our sanctification Now the establishment of the Church is when we let the righteousness of Christ worke all in us and we work all in the righteousness of Christ then are we established mightily and invincibly indeed and how much Christians swerve from this Rule so much they become weak and unsetled sometimes Christians will be living out of Christ in themselves and they will be moving and acting and working according to humane wisdom and prudence and the counsels and devices of flesh and blood but in all this they have no establishment at all And therefore ye that are faithful see to it that ye turn aside neither to the right hand nor to the left through any worldly hopes or fears but do ye live and act in the righteousness of Christ and as the Lord lives though you have Kingdoms and Nations for your enemies you shall not be moved but shall be established more firmly then the earth And therefore I pray consider your establishment where it lies and that is in righteousness and in righteousness only Some trust to this strength and some
Christ and the more we receive of Christ the more we receive of the spirit in Christ For faith doth not apprehend bare Christ but Christ with his Spirit because these are inseparable Now alwayes according to the measure of Christ in us is the measure of the spirit and according to the measure of faith is the measure of Christ in us 3. To be much in prayer For the prayer of the spirit increases the spirit The more we have the spirit the more we pray and the more we pray the more we receive the spirit So that when we have the spirit in truth we shall have daily a greater and greater increase of it till we be filled with the spirit For the spirit comes from Christ in whom is the fulness of the spirit and carries us back again to Christ that we may receive still more of the spirit And so by the spirit that is in our hearts we lay hold on the spirit that is in Christ and receive more and more of it 4. To turn our selves daily from the creature to God For the more we inlarge our hearts towards the creature the less capable are we of the Spirit of God For to live much upon the creature is to live much according to the flesh and this quenches and straitens the spirit in us And therefore we must live abstractedly from the creatures and so use them as if we did not use them and so minde them as if we did not minde them and abandon the contents and satisfactions of flesh and blood and wean our selves from all things but the necessities of nature And the more free and loose we are from the creature the more capable are we of Gods spirit and the operations of it He that lives at greatest distance from the world and hath least communion with the things of it hath alwayes the greatest proportion of Gods spirit For as the Apostle saith If any man love the world the love of the Father that is the Holy Spirit is not in him so if any man love the Father the love of the world is not in him now the more any one loves the Father the less he loves the world and the less he loves the world the more the spirit dwels in him 5. To cease daily from our own works The more we act our selves the less doth the Spirit act in us And therefore we must must from day to day cease from our own works from the operations of our own minds and understandings and wils and affections and must not be the Authors of our own actions For we being flesh our selves what ever we do is fleshly seeing the effect cannot be better then the cause And if we mingle the works of our flesh with the works of Gods Spirit he will cease from working in us But the less we act in our selves according to the principles of our corrupt nature the more will the spirit act in us according to the principles of the divine nature But our own works are alwayes a mighty impediment to the operations of the Spirit 6. To encrease the spirit in us we must give up our selves to the Spirit that he only may work in us without the least opposition and resistance from us That as the soul acts all in the body and the body doth nothing of it self but is subject to the soul in all things so the spirit may do all in us and we may do nothing of our selves without the Spirit but be subject to the Spirit in all its operations For the Spirit of God cannot work excellently in us except it work all in all in us And in such a man in whom the Spirit hath full power the Spirit works many wonderful things that he according to humane sense is ignorant of For as the soul doth secretly nourish and cherish and refresh the body and disperses life and spirits through it even when the body is asleep and neither feels it nor knows it so the Holy Spirit dwelling in the soul by a secret kinde of operation works many things in it for the quickning and renewing it whilst it oftentimes for the present is not so much as sensible of it 7. The seventh means to encrease the spirit is to attribute the works of the spirit to the spirit and not to our selves For if we attribute to the flesh the works of the Spirit and take from the Spirit the glory of his own works he will work no longer in us Wherefore we must ascribe unto the Spirit the whole glory of his own works and acknowledge that we our selves are nothing and can do nothing and that it is he only that is all in all and works all in all and we our selves among all the excellent works of the Spirit in us must so remain as if we were and wrought nothing at all that so all that is of flesh and blood may be laid low in us and the Spirit alone may be exalted first to do all in us and then to have all the glory of all that is done And thus you see the means to encrease the Spirit and so consequently strength as well as to get it And by the daily use and improvement of these means we may attain to a great degree of spiritual strength that we may walk and not be weary and may run and not faint and may mount up as Eagles yea and may walk as Angels among men and as the powers of heaven upon earth to his praise and honour who first communicates to us his own strength and then by that strength of his own works all our works in us And thus is he glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe FINIS Uniformity Examined Whether it be found in the GOSPEL OR In the PRACTICE of the Churches OF CHRIST By WIL. DELL Minister of the Gospel 2 Cor. 4. 13. We having the same spirit of Faith according as it is written I believed and therefore have I spoken we also believe and therefore speak Published according to Order London Printed 1651. Vniformity Examined OBserving that our Brethren of Scotland together with the Assembly of Divines and the rest of the Presbyterian judgement do often both in their Discourse and writings exceedingly press for Vniformity I have been urged in my spirit to think upon the matter and to consider whether there could be any such thing found in the Word of the New Testament or in the practice of the Churches of Christ And for my part I ingenuously profess I cannot yet discover it and would be glad if any would instruct me further in this particular so he do it from the Word Now Vniformity what is it but an unity of form and the form they mean no doubt is outward for the inward form as it cannot be known by the outward senses so neither can it be accomplished by outward power And therefore till I know their meaning better I conceive that by uniformity they understand an unity
of outward form in the Churches of God yea some of them do declare so much calling the thing they would have External Vniformity Now such a thing as this after so much meditation and recollection as my other imployments and the many distractions that necessarily attend my present condition will permit me I cannot discern in the Word of the Gospel For Christ speaking of the Church of the New Testament saith Joh. 4. 23. The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and Truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and Truth In which words it is most evident that the worship of God in the time of the New Testament is inward and spiritual consisting in faith hope love and in prayer which is the operation of the three former c. And so is so far from Vniformity as it hath been explicated and as they understand it that it is not at all capable of it And therefore I cannot but wonder at the strange workings of darkness in the minds of men who would have an exernal Vniformity in a worship that is inward and spiritual and of which the outward form is no part at all but is meerly accidental and so absolutely various Again as I finde not this Vniformity in the doctrine of the Gospel so neither in the practice of the Saints who had the spirit of the Gospel as that practice is represented to us in the Word In Acts 1. 14. I read how the Apostles being together with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus and his brethren continued 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with one accord or mind in prayer and supplication and Acts 2. v. 44. 46. how all that believed were together and continued daily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with one minde in the Temple and did break bread from house to house c. And in all this there was Vnity but no external Vniformity neither name nor thing Again Acts 4. 23. Peter and John being let go by the Magistrates went to their own company which many of our Clergy would term a Conventicle and reported all that the chief Priests and Elders had said to them and when they heard it they lift up their voice to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with one mind and prayed Here was inward Vnity in faith and love and joy and spiritual prayer but no external Vniformity and vers 32. The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul Vnity still but nothing of external Vniformity Further we read Acts chap. 7. and chap. 8. that Stephen and Philip who by the Church were ordained Deacons and were to serve only for the Ministery of the Table yet by vertue of the anointing preached the Word of God freely and powerfully and how all the Members of the Church of Jerusalem who were neither Ministers not Deacons being scattered abroad by Persecution went Preaching the Word everywhere where they came in that case of necessity the unction of the Spirit of which all Believers partake alike being one fundamental ground of such Ministery where there are no Believers to call to the Office and in this though there was unity of faith spirit and doctrine yet I am sure they will say there was no such uniformity as they would have Again Acts 20. Paul the first day of the Week preached to the Disciples of Macedonia from the Evening till Midnight which Dr. Pocklington in a printed Sermon saith was out of order that is out of Prelatical order or Presbyterial Vniformity and after brake bread and did eat and talked with them a long while till break of day and going from thence he arrived at Ephesus and there called the Elders of the Chuch together and appeals to them after what manner he had been with them to wit serving the Lord with all humility of minde and with many tears and temptations c. and how he had held back nothing profitable for them but had taught them publikely and from house to house which I wish were more in use now-a-dayes if it might obtain so much leave from Vniformity and had preached to them Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ our chief work towards God since our fall and corruption being Repentance which is the change of the creature towards God through Gods own work in the creature and this is not done without the sorrow of the flesh and our chief work towards Christ who is given to us as a head being Faith or Union And in the end exhorts the Presbyters to take heed to themselves who according to the Church principles of this age want no admonition themselves seeing they are become a peremptory rule to all others and to the flocks over which the holy Spirit and not Patrons had made them Over-seers to feed the Church of God which he had purchased with his own blood c. But in all this neither practices himself nor preaches to them nor commands them to preach to others or impose upon others any such kind of thing as external uniformity And so surely they that so vehemently urge this thing that they make it all in all in their Reformation have some other teacher then the Apostle who being taught of Christ as Christ was taught of God yet knew no such thing at all in the worship of God as Vniformity And yet further that the world if it be possible may be the more convinced observe a little more seriously the practice of Christ and the Saints in reference to this point and you shall see nothing less then external Vniformity See this in the prayer of Christ Prayer for the duty it self being nothing but so much spiritual worship as being the voyce of the Spirit in the flesh both in head members This Christ sometimes performed with his eyes lifted up to Heaven sometimes being prostrate with his body on the Earth and so several times several wayes and as he so the Saints have some prayed standing lifting up their hands as Moses some kneeling and lifting up their hands as Solomon some standing and not lifting up their eyes as the Publican c. And what external Vniformity in all this And as for Praying so for Preaching Christ sometimes preached in a ship sometimes on the shoar sometimes in the City Jerusalem sometimes in the Temple sometimes in the Desart sometimes early sometimes late as if he intended on purpose to witness against that piece of the Mystery of Iniquity which in after Ages should be called Vniformity So Paul preached sometimes on the Jews Sabbath sometimes on the first day of the week sometimes each day of the week sometimes in the day sometimes in the night sometimes prayed in the house sometimes on the shoar he circumcised Timothy among the weak refused to circumcise Titus among the perverse became as a Jew to the Jews as a
What wild and woful work do men make when they will undertake to be building the Church by their own humane wisdom and prudence and counsel when they think we will have the Church of God thus and thus and we will make it up of such and such men and we will govern it by such and such Laws and we will get the power of the Magistrate to back ours and then what we cannot do by the power of the Word and Spirit we will do by the power of flesh and blood Poor men that think that these new Heavens wherein the Lord will dwell must be the work of their own fingers or that the new Jerusalem must of necessity come out of the Assembly which is to come down from God out of Heaven or that they can build the house of God all of precious stones whereas this must be Gods own work and his own doing and no State or Councel in the World can bring this about and after much tryal and paines and weariness the Lord will at last teach his own that the gathering and laying these pretious stones together must be the Lords own doing even his own doing When the building of the Church is left to men how wofully is it mannaged why saith one we must needs admit such an one he is the chief man in the Parish or he is a man of good esteem in the world or he is a Noble man or he is my neer kinsman or is thus and thus related to me or he is a good civil fair dealing man and we must needs admit him and thus will flesh and blood be ever making a carnal temple for God to dwell in but Gods true habitation can never be framed but by the Spirit And therefore for the building of the Church let us look higher then the highest instruments for it must be the Lords own work by the word and Spirit and though every man be against it and oppose it yet the Lord will do it when there are no hands to build it up he will build it up without hands I will lay thy stones with c. It follows Ver. 13. And thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children See here how the prophet by the Spirit carries up the Saints above all visible and sensible things even as high as God himself God saith he to the Church shall build thee and God shall teach thee all thy children shall be taught of the Lord. The note is this That all the true and genuine children of the Church have Gods own teaching in all the things of God they have the Father and the Son to teach them by the Spirit This truth Christ himself confirmes where he saith It is written that they shall be all taught of God he therefore that heard and learned of my father commeth to me And again the spirit when he is come he shall lead you into all truth Which doctrine John after preached thus 1 Joh. 2. 27. The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and ye â—ceed not that any man should teach you but as the same anointing teacheth you all things Hereby now we perceive how few true children of the Church there be among those who are commonly called Christians for among all these how few are there who have the teaching of God but most have their teaching only from men and no higher Consider therefore I pray whether the knowledge you have be from the teaching of God or the teaching of man you all pretend to know that Christ is the Son of the living God and that redemption and salvation is by him alone but how came ye by this knowledge did you read it in the letter or did some body tell you so or hath God himself taught you this For no man knows the Son but the Father and he to whom the Father will reveal him and therefore when Peter said thou art Christ the Son of the living God Christ answered flesh and blood hath not taught thee this but my Father which is in heaven And so though all of you profess your selves Christians yet none of you know Christ truly but only such as are taught of the Father And this holds in all other points as touching calling and faith and union and justification and sanctification and the gift and sealing of the Spirit touching the spiritual Kingdom of Christ and the Government of it oh consider whether you have the teaching of God in these things or no and if you have not the teaching of God you are none of the children of the Church what ever truth thou knowest from the letter if thou hast not the teaching of the Spirit it will do thee no good thou knowest not any thing spiritually and savingly wherein thou hast not the teaching of God All thy children shall be taught of the Lord. And therefore what a sad thing is it when men look for their teaching no farther then men they onely look to the Minister or to such an able learned Orthodox man as they phrase it or at the highest to the Assembly and what they shall teach them they are resolved to stand by it and build upon it for their foundation in the mean time never regarding in truth the teaching of God but say what can so many grave learned godly men err and shall not we believe what they determine why now these are none of the children of the spiritual Church for they neither have Gods teaching nor care for it but the spiritual Church is all taught of God Object But you will say doth God teach without means Answ I answer no God teacheth but it is by the Word and that chiefly in the Ministery of it and he that pretends to be taught of God without the Word is not taught of God but of the Devil And therefore no man is to despise the Ministery of the Word which is Gods own Ordinance and to depend upon I know not what revelations and inspeakings without the word seeing God teacheth all his children by the word and none without it And therefore it is not the Prophets meaning when he saith all thy children shall be taught of the Lord that they should neglect and despise the Word and the Ministery of it but that we ought so to use the Word and the means as not to look for our teaching from them but from God himself in and through them and when you come to hear not to think I will hear what Mr. such an one or Mr. such one will say but with the Psalmist I will hear what the Lord God will say And truly I would not care to hear what any man in the world would say in whom Christ himself did not speak Now much more might be said of this teaching of God but that I intend brevity in all as namely that this teaching 1. Is a clear and evident teaching that you shall have certainty in what
1. To whom the keyes of the church are given 2. What they are 3. What is the extent of this power 190 4. What is the outward instrument of it ibid. 5. What the true church can do by virtue of it And this comprehends these particulars 1. It can gather it self together 192 2. It can appoint its own Orders 193 What rules it is to observe herein 194 3. It can choose its own Officers 196 And here 1. What Officers are to be chosen 197 2. Out of whom ibid. 1. By whom 198 What the true church as the case now stands is to do in point of chusing officers p. 199 And if need be can Reform them p. 200 Or depose them p. 201 4. It can call its own Councels if it need any ibid. Certain reasons why the church may now well want Councels p. 202 And if it will have any what rules it is to observe touching them p. 204 5 It can judge of all Doctrines both of its Officers and Councels p. 205 And thus the judgement of beleevers is to be rectified in these things for the preserving peace among themselves 2. The practice of the true church is to be rectified in other things The practical Rules that are more absolute and general in the way of peace are these 1 That the true Church keep it self distinct from the world p. 206 2. That the true Church content it self with its own power for its own affairs p 207 3. That the true church do not fetch or force men unto it against their wils 209 4. That the true church make void the distinction of Clergy and Laity among Christians p. 211 5. That the true church keep equality between Christians and Churches p. 212 6. That the true church keep the Officers of the church in subordination to the Community p. 213 7. That all true Christians and Churches do take Christ alike for their Head and do not set up visible heads or Ring-leaders to themselves of men no not of the best men p. 214 8. That the true Church keep out all error in doctrine p 215 5 Wayes by which this may be effectually done without the help of the Magistrate p. 216 The great Question touching the Magistrates power to keep out error answered p. 224 9. That the true church do not inforce Uniformity in outward orders and discipline p. 225 Practical rules for peace more special and occasional in point of difference among the faithful Here the weight of things is to be first considered If the things wherein beleevers differ be circumstantial and ceremonial only then there are 5 Rules to be observed for the preserving peace p. 233 If the things wherein they differ be points of Doctrine yet such are not absolutely necessary to salvation then there are 7 Rules to be observed for the preserving of peace p. 235 If the Doctrine wherein the difference lies is such as is absolutely inconsistent with true faith and salvation yet then 1. The person is to be heard p. 237 2. If after full hearing it is manifest to be a Doctrine contrary to the faith of Gods Elect then the true Church ought 1 To condemn the Doctrine p. 241 2 To excommunicate the person ibid. And this is the last punishment the true Church can inflict p. 242 The conclusion of all ibid. THE Way of true Peace and Vnity in the true Church of CHRIST HAving now for a long time time together observed with a said heart and troubled spirit the grievous differences and dissentions among the faithful and Churches of Christ and perceiving also that there is yet no healing of this error many or most of them not clearly understanding wherein their true peace and unity ought to consist and so are still prosecuting former with later mistakes till their wound is become almost incurable I found my heart inclined and engaged by God to propound to others that way of Peace which my self have learned from the Word And this I desire to do not that I might seem to be something or be accounted of any more then the meanest of all Gods people being indeed unworthy to minister so much as a cup of cold water to the Church the Spouse of Christ much less â—o incomparable a treasure as the word of God is in comparison of which all the world is not to be mentioned but meerly out of love and compassion to the infirmities of my brethren whom I see walking in the light of their own 〈◊〉 and in the sparks which they themselves do kindle whereby they are in great danger to lie down in sorrow whilst in the mean time they neglect the true light which alone is to shine in the Kingdom of God till all ignorance and darkness be done away And aâ— my end and scope is to bring all men from all humane doctrines and conceptions of carnal wisdom and prudence to the Word of God so I desire all men that are spiritual and able to judge to allow of no more in this Discourse then they shall finde agreeable to this word and what ever the Word of God in the true sense and meaning of it shall disapprove or condemn so far let them also disapprove and condemn with it as I my self also do knowing well that no Word ought to have any place in the Church of God but the Word of God which alone carries light life righteousness wisdom and power sufficient and enough in it self to do the whole minde and work of God in his Church Wherefore what I have freely learned I shall freely communicate desiring every one to regard his own salvation seeing now after so clear a discovery of truth he can have no cloak nor the least excuse for his sin Now that he that reads may understand it is necessary for me speaking of the unity and peace of the Church to tell you now at first that I intend not to propound any way of peace either between the Church and the World or else between the carnal and spiritual children of the Church as having learned no such thing out of the word of God First Not between the Church and the world for the Lord never intended any reconciliation and agreement between these in the spiritual and eternal things of the Kingdom of God for these are two distinct seeds and sorts of people the one from beneath the other from above the one the seed of the woman the other the seed of the Serpent and between these two God hath put such an emnity that no man can take away Wherefore they who never minding these two different seeds between whom God hath put such irreconciliable enmity would make all the people of one or moe whole Kingdoms a Church at once and would reconcile all of them together in the things of God and in the ways of his worship according to devices and methods of their own these men know not what they do for they walk in the darkness of their own hearts
Christ speaking in me which to you wards is not weak but mighty who ever is the instrument Christ is the only Preacher of the New Testament and that which is the true Gospel is the ministration of the Spirit for holy men spake as they were moved by the holy Spirit and were first anointed with the Spirit before they preached Judas who preached the word and was not anointed with the Spirit proved a traitor to Christ and who ever preach the word without the Spirit are the successors of Judas and also traitors to Christ 11. The Churches of men have the government of them laid on mens shoulders whether single persons as Pope or Archbishop or combined as the General Councel or a National Assembly but the true Church hath its government laid only on Christs shoulders as the Prophet fore-told Isa 9. Vnto us a child is born a Son is given and the government shall lie on his shoulders and Zech. 6. 12. He shall build the temple of the Lord c. and he shall sit and rule upon his throne for none can rule the true Church but he that built it For if the Church be gathered together in Christ as the true Church is Christ is alwaies in the midst of them and if Christ is ever present with them his own self how cometh it to pass that Christ may not reign immediately over them Wherefore the true Church reckons it sufficient authority that they have Christ and his Word for the ground of their practice and what ever they finde in the word they presently set upon the practice of it and never ask leave either of civil or ecclesiastical powers but the Churches of men will do nothing without the authority of the Magistrate or Assembly though it be never so clear in the word of God For in their Religion they regard the authority of men more then the authority of God 12. The Churches of men are still setting themselves one above another but the assemblies of the true Church are all equal having Christ and the Spirit equally present with them and in them and therefore the believers of one congregation cannot say they have power over the believers of another congregation seeing all congregations have Christ and his Spirit alike among them and Christ hath not anywhere promised that he will be more with one then with another And so Christ and the Spirit in one congregation do not subjected neither are subject to Christ and the Spirit in another congregation as if Christ and the Spirit in several places should be above and under themselves But Christ in each assembly of the faithful is their head and this head they dare not leave and set up a fleshly head to themselves whether it consist of one or many men seeing Antichrist doth as strongly invade Christs headship in many as in one man in a Councel as in a Pope Lastly The churches of men the gates of hell which are sin and death shall certainly prevail against but the true church of Christ though the gates of hell do always fight against it yet they shall never prevail against it as Christ hath promised Mat. 16. 18. Vpon this rock I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it In these things among other the true Church of Christ differs from the churches of men By which we may clearly see that the true Church is not an outward and visible society or corporation neither can it be pointed out by the finger loe here or loe there seeing it is not confined to any certain place time or person but it is wholly a spiritual and invisible society as I have said that is assembled in the Son and in the Father who are the true pale and circumference of this Church and out of whom no part of it is to be found Now hereupon it will presently be said if the true Church be invisible as you have affirmed then 1. How shall we know it 2. How can we joyn our selves to it To both which I hope I shall return a clear answer And first to this Question How shall we know the true Church seeing it is invisible I answer Just so as Christ the head is known is the church his body known and no other way now Christ is known 1. By the revelation of the Father when Peter confessed Christ to be the Son of the living God Christ told him that flesh and blood had not revealed it to him but his Father now the members of Christ can no more be known without this revelation of the Father then Christ the head of these members seeing the Apostle hath said that as he is so are we in this world so that he had need of other eyes then the world sees withal that would discern the true Church and of another Revelation then any that flesh and blood can make 2. Christ was known by the Spirits resting on him Joh. 1. 33. And I knew him not said John Baptist but he that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me Vpon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit and I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God After the same manner the Church of Christ is known to wit by the Spirits comming and remaining on it So that whatever people have received the Spirit of Christ of what sort or condition soever they be they are the Church of Christ and they that are destitute of this Spirit are not of the Church 3. Christ was known by the works he did Joh. 10. 37. If I do not the works of my Father believe me not but if I do though you believe not me believe the works that ye may know that the Father is in me and I in him And thus also is the true Church known by doing the works of Christ seeing Christ hath said He that believes in me the works that I do shall he do c. And thus the body of Christ is known by its living the life of the head which is the life of faith and love and the members of Christ are known by their doing the works of the head Thus then you see that though the true Church be spiritual and cannot be known by our outward senses yet we have certain tokens of her spiritual presence whereby we may reckon that in this or that place there be certain of her members As by a natural example though the soul of man in it self be spiritual and invisible and cannot be discerned by any of our senses yet may we have sure tokens of its presence by the effects and operations of the soul in that body wherein it dwels as the exercise of reason understanding discourse c. so likewise the true Church which is invisible in it self may yet be known by some certain signs as by the word of faith which sounds no where but in
thoughts of his own heart to speak the Dreams and Visions of his own head But when he knows the Word of God is not come to him only but to others also and that they have wisdom and spirit to speak in the Church as well as he this will both keep down his pride and make him careful what he speaks when he knows there are those present in the Congregation that are able to reprove his darkness by light And this prophesying is a strong bit and bridle in the jaws of Error that it cannot run that race in the Church it doth desire 2. When one man only speaks and the doctrine he preaches proves to be erroneous as it is ordinarily in the common Ministry of the Kingdom it comes to pass that Error is not onely preached but also goes away uncontrouled and no way is left for the restraining Error proportionable to that of propagating it no body being permitted to speak to keep the people from the poison of it And thus whilst the liberty of publike speaking is permitted onely to one man in a Congregation and to onesort of men in the Kingdom any Error may suddenly be spread over the whole Kingdom as we see by daily experience without any sufficient and proportionable remedy to prevent it But now when the right or power of prophesying is allowed to the whole Church the Minister can no sooner vent any Error but there is some believer or other whose heart God shall move ready to convince it by the word of God And so Error is as soon discovered and detected as it is published and as soon destroyed as it is detected the word of God though from a private Christian being more mighty to destroy Error then Error can be to uphold it self against the word 3. Prophesying is a most useful means to keep out Error in this regard because it gives the Church light how to chuse faithful Teachers out of its own children when it stands in need of any supply in this kinde Seeing through the exercise of prophesying the Church knows and discerns which of its members are most spiritual and most clearly taught of God in divine things and who have received the most excellent gifts from Christ and so are most fit and able to hold forth the word of life in most evidence and power of the Spirit that so the Church may be supplied with Pastors of her own Sons and not seek oâ— after unknown persons nor be constrained to use mercenary men who have been brought up to preaching as their trade to live by whereupon but few of them can be expected to be other then hirelings who will make their Ministry serve their own advantage and frame the Scripture to sound such doctrine as may best serve their own turns And in these three regards the use of prophesying helps the Church to keep out Error Now if any shall object against this That it may seem very rash and absurd after an able learned man hath spoken in the Church for an unlearned Mechanick presenly to rise up and speak I return this answer That the true people of God are all taught of God and the true Church is a Kingdom of Prophets through the anointing of the Spirit and so they esteem not that to be learning in the Church which is from man but onely that which is heard and learned from the Father and so they neither reckon him that hath humane learning to be learned here nor him that is destitute of it to be ignorant Yea farther in this society God will have him who is most unlearned according to humane literature to speak that the vertues of Christ may the more evidently appear in the Saints and the knowledge of heavenly and divine truths may not be attributed to gifts parts learning or studies but onely to his Spirit which can even in a moment teach the ignorant and make the simple wise and open the mouthes of babes and sucklings yea and of the very dumb to perfect his praise by Whereas when a man of great parts and learning speaks with wisdom and knowledge in the Church this is commonly attributed to his wit and study and so God loses all or most of his praise but if a plain ignorant man shall speak spiritually and divinely and hold forth the mystery of the Gospel in a clear light then men must needs acknowledge God to be the Author of such grace and say God is in him of a truth and so God is acknowledged the Author of his own giâ—ts and he himself is admired in his Saints It will be again objected Yea but if every one have liberty to speak in the Church will not this breed great confusion and disturbance I answer no not in the true Church which are a people met in the name of Christ and who have Christ himself present in the midst of them and so every one demeans himself answerably to the presence of Christ that is in the wisdom meekness and modesty of the Spirit And there also every one speaks not after the rashness of his own brain but according to the revelation of Gâ—d as it is written If any thing be revealed to another let the first hold his peace So that no man is to speak here but by Revelation or an inward teaching and discovery of God And where men speak thus as the true Church is to speak there can be no confusion but most excellent order and decency Yea God himself who is not the Author of confusion but of peace in all the Churches of the Saints he hath appointed and commanded Prophesying as the way of peace and therefore do not thou dare to say it is the way of confusion seeing God knows better how to order the affairs of his own Church then thou doest Wherefore seeing Prophesying is Gods Ordinance in the Churh for the peace of it if any sort of men shall notwithstanding what hath been said still attribute to themselves a proper and incommunicable Ministry or the onely power to speak in the Church I shall but use the Apostles words to them and so pass on from this thing What came the word of God onely unto you and is it to come out onely from you Nay it is come to every believer as well as to you and it is also to come forth from all them unto whom it is come seeing they cannot but speak what they do believe 5. The last means I shall name whereby the true Church may keep errour out of it self is To exercise its power in judging Doctrines as Paul commandeth 1 Cor. 14. 29. Let the Prophets speak two or three and let the rest judge If they that publish Doctrine should also be judges of it and the people be bound to subscribe to their judgement error would not only by this means have opportunity to be vented but would also be established and confirmed without the least contradiction But now God hath appointed it
pretending the tradition of John kept another After this Victor Bishop of Rome rose up a great stickler in the controversy of Easter and would needs have excommunicated the Churches of Asia for not yielding to his judgement to whom Iraeneus writing touching the diversity of outward things used by the Primitive Christians hath these words Notwithstanding the variety of ceremonies among the former Christians they all kept peace among themselves and we saith he still retain it and the difference of our fasting commends the unity of our faith And thus the Doctrine of Christian liberty remained sound and entire till this Victors time which was ann 200. And he earnestly endeavoured to draw or rather inforce the Churches of Asia to his opinion And then began the Vniformity of keeping that Feast to be first required as a thing necessary and all they to be accounted as Heretickes and Schismatikes who dissented from the judgement of the Bishop of Rome Now against this judgement of Victor Polycrates and many other Bishops and brethren of Asia declared and the matter had burst out into a great flame had not some godly men of those times brought forth the word of God to quench it Among whom Iraeneus as Eusebius relates speaks to this effect That the variety and difference of ceremonies is no strange matter in the Church of Christ when as this variety is not onely in the day of Easter but also in the manner of fasting and in divers other usages among the Christians For some fast one some two dayes some more and others counting 40. hours both day and night reckon that for their full fast day And this so divers fashion of fasting in the Church began not in our time but in theirs who lived before us And yet notwithstanding they with all this diversity were in unity amongst themselves and so be we Neither doth this difference of ceremonies any thing hinder but rather commend the agreement of our faith And he bringeth forth the examples of the Fathers of Telesphorus Pius Anicetus Soter Eleutherius and such others who neither observed the same usage themselves nor prescribed it to others and yet notwithstanding kept Christian charity with such as came to communicate with them though not observing the same form of things which they observed as well appeared by Polycarpus and Anicetus who although they agreed not in one uniform custom of rites Communionem tamen inter se habuerunt yet had communion with one another And thus Iraeneus in his practice answering his name perswaded the peace of the Church notwithstanding diversity of forms and rites And so Christian liberty was still preserved in the Church against the tyranny of Vniformity till the Nicene Councel And farther Socrates the Writer of the Ecclesiastical History who lived after the dayes of Theodosius speaking of the fasting before Easter saith The Christians that dwell at Rome fast three weeks continually before Easter besides the Sabbath and the Sunday but those that dwell in Illyria and all Greece and Alexandria fast six weekes before Easter And speaking of the severall sorts of fasting in severall Churches saith And because no can bring forth any Commandment written of this matter it is plain that the Apostles left this fast free to every mans minde and will that no man might be compelled by fear and necessity to do that which is good And in the same Chapter he relates many several forms and usages in several Christian Churches and concludes that matter thus But saith he to commit to writing all the rites of Churches that are used in each City and Country as it would be very troublesome so hardly could it be done And yet further I finde that Austin who was sent into England by Pope Gregory ann 598. among other questions to the Pope propounds this as one That seeing there is but one faith how it should happen that the customes and ceremonies of Churches should be so divers And Gregory returns this answer The custom of the Church of Rome what it is you know wherein you have been brought up from your youth but rather it pleaseth me better that whether it be in the Church of Rome or in any French Church where ye finde any thing that seemeth better to the service and pleasing of God that ye choose the same and so infer and bring into the English Church which is yet new in the faith the best and pickedst things chosen out of many Churches For things are not to be beloved for the place sake but the place is to be beloved for the things that be good Wherefore such things as be good godly and religious those choose out of all Churches and induce to your people that they may take root in the minds of English men So that yet you see the Church was not enslaved by any enforced Vniformity but kept its own Christian freedom till Antichrist grew up to more heighth and got the secular power of Princes to do what he listed in the Church and then he and his Clergy made laws of all that seemed good in their own eyes and enforced men to them against their wills And thus he reigned for many hundred yeers together till the determinate time of the Apostacy began to be fulfilled and then God poured forth his Spirit upon some chosen servants of his to oppose Antichrist as in other parts of the mystery of iniquity so in this also of Uniformity Among others who after the general falling away opposed this Vniformity was John Gerson Chancellor of Paris who lived about an 100. yeers before Luther and in many things received much clear light from God he in his Sermon before the King of France in the name of the Vniversity of Paris pro pace unione Graecorum in his 7 th consideration speaks thus Men ought not generally to be bound by the positive determinations of Popes and it will as well hold of all others who arrogate to themselves an Ecclesiastical Supremacy whether they be Councels or Assemblies to hold and believe one and the same manner of Government in things that doe not immediately concern the truth of our Faith or of the Evangelical Law And he saith this consideration well taken and understood would be the principal key to open a door of peace between the Greeks and Latines who differ in many outward Forms and Rules as in Baptisme the Latine Church saith I baptize thee the Greek Baptizetur servus Christi Let this servant of Christ be baptized And in the Supper the Latine Church used unleavened the Greek leavened bread c. And herein he spake as a Christian that said Quaelibet provincia abundet sensu suo Let every Province abound in its own sense Note also saith he that a good Prince permits divers Laws and Customs of divers of his Subjects so they be not evidently against the Law of Nature And not to do so would often be the destruction of
heard and convinced by the word and not presently to be silenced and subdued by force Now secondly if upon hearing and debating things by the word it shall clearly appear that our adversaries hold such things which are so false and erroneous that they cannot be reckoned believers and members of Christ that hold them nor can retain those Doctrines without unvoidable damnation then in this case the true Church hath Authority from the word to do these things 1. To condemn the doctrine 2. To excommunicate their persons 1. The Church ought to condemn the doctrine as contrary to the Gospel and to that eternal and unchangeable and most clear and certain truth which Christ hath heard from the Father and delivered to his Church which is the faith once given to the Saints and never to be altered And so to tell the people what Doctrine it is even such as carries in it an utter enmity to Christ and his Spirit and so consequently death and damnation and that therefore they are to take heed of it as they love eternall life and would void eternall death And thus Christ condemned the Doctrine of the Scribes and of the Pharisees and of the Sadduces and bid his Disciples Beware of them and Paul the Doctrine of Hymeneus and Philetus which did eat as a canker c. 2. The Church in this case may also excommunicate the Person yea though he should be silent and not seduce others seeing believers can have no true communion with such an one who is in enmity to the word of life in which all the true communion of the faithfull stands Wherefore such persons may justly be cut off from the Society of the faithfull But herein also these Rules are to be observed to wit 1. That this censure be not proceeded to for every varying from the truth as is already said but for denying such truths or holding such errors as make a man incapable of salvation 2. That this be not done till all other wayes have been tryed to reclaim him 3. That this be done not by two or three persons but by the whole Church or communion 4. That it be done not by their own but by Christs Authority who is alwayes present in his Church as the Head of that body and that it be done not by any humane Passion or violence but by the efficacy of the holy Spirit who is alwayes present among believers as the Spirit of those members And this Excommunication thus regulated is the last punishment the Church can inflict by the warrant and authority of Christ and it cannot imprison any or banish them or fine them or put them to death for we must not expound that place of Paul Haereticum hominem devita as Hugo Charensis did to take a Heretike out of his life but him that is a Heretike we must avoid we must not kill the former being Christs rule the latter Antichrists Now these things have I spoken and propounded to the faithfull and Churches of Christ wherever the providence of God shall cast this Book which may travel farther on this errand then weak flesh can do and I so propound them all as being most ready my self to hear from any what they can propound in more light and evidence of the word And I do humbly and earnestly intreate all faithfull Christians that whatever they shall conceive of my judgement in these matters they will yet take in good part my care to recover and preserve Peace and Vnity in the true Church of Christ The desire of which through Gods goodness is much stronger in my heart then any private interest or respect of mine own FINIS Ephes 4. 11 12 13. Esai 25 7. 8. Acts 16. 2 Tim. 3. 5. Esa 2. 12. 13. Esa 14. 9. Gen 49 5. Gen 49. 10. 11. Num. 12. 14. Es 37. 12. Revel 20. 9. Es 9. 5. Acts 13. 32. Dan. 2. 31. Gal. 6. Psalm 148. vers 13. 14. a John 4 19. b John 13. 1. The summ of Christs discourse with his Disciples after his Resurrection till his Ascension (a) Psal 2. 8. (b) Dan. 7. 14. (c) Psal 72. 8. Quest Answ 1. General Doctrine Melius est nullum habere quam sacrilegum impium sceleratum ministrum qui non venit nisi ut mactet perdat sicut fur latro Luth. de instit Ministr Eccl. 2. General Doctrine 3. General Doctrine The particular handling of the words The Doctr. The Spirit is Power two wayes 1. Essentially in it self 2. Operatively in us By being in us 1. A Spirit of Knowledge 2. A Spirit of Power 3. A Spirit of Wisdom 2 Cor. 1. 10. 4. A spirit of Faith Ephes 1. 19. The power of faith inables us 1. to do the same things Christ himself did Phil. 4. 13. 2. To suffer the same things that Christ himself suffered Phil. 3. 10. Cant. 8. 5 6. 5. A spirit of Righteousness 1. Mortifying sin 2. Imparting grace 6 A spirit of the fear of the Lord. Isa 8. 13. 7. A spirit of love and Vnity Isa 41. 15. 1. Vse A necessary for Ministers to have the power of the Spirit 1. Otherwise they have no power at all 2. Without this they are insufficient for the work of the Ministry 1. They are unable to preach the Word 2. Unable to preach it powerfully 1. The Ministery cold without this power 2 Weak Acts 6. 10. 3 Unable to hold out in the Ministery Acts 4. 17. 18. Acts 4. 19. 4. Unable to reprove the world 5. Unable to wrestle with and overcome the devil 6 Unable to suffer persecution for the Word * Mihi vero qui vocatus sum decretum certum est ingredi urbem in nomine Domini nostri Iesu Christi etiamsi scirem tot diabolos mihi oppositos quot sunt tegulae in omnibus totius urbis tectis * Verum quid faciam urgent me causae inevitabiles Deus cogit vocat hic nulli creaturae tergiversandum est Age fiat igitur in nomine Iesu Christi qui est Dominus vitae mortis Nihil habeo quod possim perdere Domini ego sum si perdor Domino perdor id est invenior Alium ergo quaere quem terreas Verum ego scio certus sum Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum vivere regnare qua scientia fiducia inflatus non timebo etiam multa millia Paparum Major est enim qui in nobis quam qui in mundo est Quid si me occidat Papa aut damnel ultra Tartara Occisum non suscitabit ut bis iterum occidat damnatum vero ego voâ—â—ut nunquam absolvat Confido enim instare diem illum quo deâ—â—ruetur regnum illud abominationis perditionis Vtinam nos primi digni simus vel exuri vel occidi ab eo quò sanguis noster magis clamet urgeat judicium illius accelerari Sed si digni non sumus sanguine testificari hanc