Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	bishop_n	pastor_n	presbyter_n	5,642	5	10.0950	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14005	A theological discourse of the gracious and blessed coniunction of Christ and a sincere Christian. By Tho: Tuke Preacher of Gods word. The blessed virgin Mary brought foorth Christ, and the Catholique Church brings foorth all true Christians	Tuke, Thomas, d. 1657.	1617 (1617)	STC 24315; ESTC S101279	63,242	166

the Body a compleate bodie without the head But being both vnited and no part wanting they become one entire and perfit body Euen so Christ and his Church instructed with all her true parts and members make together one compleate body or as it were one perfit spirituall man It pleaseth him in his mercy to count himselfe incompleat and maimed without his Church which is his Body the Fulnesse of him that filleth all in all And we for our parts are most certaine that without him we are iust nothing but that we all receiue of his fulnesse because hee is Iustification to vs and is also in vs as a most free mouing and working cause whence many blessed effects doe come all of them tending to eternall life and glory as all waters vnto the Maine I say Christ is the head the sole head of the catholique church which is his onely body For the Father hath put all things vnder his feete and hath giuen him to be the Head ouer all things to the Church So by way of supereminencie and praedominancie he is our Head alone There is no other man but this man Christ Iesus who is head and Husband to the Church which is his and his alone Truely saith Saint Gregorie Peter the Apostle is the chiefest member of the the Holy Catholique Church Paul Andrew and Iohn what are they else but heads of seuerall or particular people But yet they are all members of the Church vnder one Head Hee saith S. Ambrose is the Bridegroome that hath the Bride that is Hee alone is the Churches Husband The Apostles and other Pastors of the Church Bishops and Presbyters are the seruants or friends of the Bridegroome but none of them haue her for their Spouse none of them is her Husband Saint Bernard thus speakes to Pope Eugenius If thou beest saith he the friend of the Bridegroome doe not call his Beloued thy Princesse but Princesse challenging nothing for thine in her saue onely that thou oughtest to giue thy life for her if it were behoouefull Wee doe therefore all of vs say with Saint Paul Wee preach not our selues but Christ Iesus the Lord and our selues your seruants for Iesus sake Weacknowledge Christ for our Lord and our selues his seruants called and sent by him to wait vpon his Church and children to prepare them for Christ as a Virgin for her Husband to giue them all their portion of meat in due season and to present euery man in Christ Iesus This is our proper office this is our strife and study and this is the voice of vs all all all I say further that the Catholique Church alone is the mysticall Body of Christ The Saints before the Law saith Saint Gregorie the Saints vnder the Law and the Saints vnder Grace All these perfecting the Lords Body are members of the Church Not some of the members but all that are constituent and essentiall venerable Beda speakes the like when he saith All Churches throughout the world make one Catholique This Catholique and mysticall Body of Christ consists of true beleeuers and such as are truely sanctified For the Church of Christ and all her proper members are made clean and holy not hauing spot or wrinkle The Church of Christ is Christs Doue and Faire one but Doues are not Kytes Crowes Vultures Snakes Adders Dragons Lions Beares Leopards His Church is faire and beautifull washed with Water and annointed with Oyle and is very beautifull and perfect through the beauty which God hath put vpon her Yes She is the fairest among Women And therefore neyther shee nor any of her naturall and louing children ought to be reputed foule vile and vgly The members of the Church are Christs sheepe and he is their carefull and good Sheepheard who maketh them to rest in greene Pastures and leadeth them by the still Waters But Sheepe are not Wolues and Foxes Goates and Tygers Dogges Swine nor fatte Buls of Basan To make any such to be members of the Catholicke Church were to make Christ a Neateheard which were a transcendent indignity but let vs heare the Fathers and Doctors of the Church which shined like Lampes in the house of God in ages long agoe They saith Saint Origen which haue not spot or wrinckle or any such thing about them are the true Church And in another place hee shewes the reason why the Church is said to be holy without spot namely because she is reputed pure and sincere In the Church saith S. Chrysostome there is no earthen or wodden vessell but all are of siluer and gold For there is the body of Christ a chast Virgin not hauing spot or wrinckle When we say the Church faith S. Cyrill of Alexandria we meane the most holy multitude of the godly The Church saith Saint Ambrose is the mother of those that are aliue Surely the good Father neuer thought then that men dead in sinnes and inwardly vicious and irreformed though they should make a faire outward profession were to be reputed true members of the Catholique Church The Church of Christ saith S. Hierome is glorious not hauing spot or wrinckle nor any such therefore he which is a sinner or defiled with any filthinesse cannot bee sayd to bee of the Church of Christ nor subiect vnto Christ Prosper accordingly saith that the Catholique Church consists in the Elect foreknowne of God the children of the promise the members of Christs body Rupertus in like manner affirmeth that the vniuersall Church is cleansed in the bloud of Christ from all fault And Bernard What is the Spouse but the congregation of iust ones And what is this congregation but the generation of them that seeke the Lord of them that seeke the face of the bridegroome As for haeretiques hypocrites and other wicked and vngodly men they pertaine not to the holy Church of God as Saint Augustine speaketh although they may seeme to be within it But as Christ is the Head of the Church which is his Body and shall raigne with him in euerlasting glory euen so the Deuill is the Head and Heards-man of the wicked who are after a sort his Bodie as the said holy Father sheweth who shall be punished with him in aternall fire As concerning these three points of Popery to wit That the Bishop of Rome is the Head of the Vniuersall Church on earth to whom euery soule of man must be subiect or else he cannot but be damned Secondiy that the Church of Rome is the vniuersall Church of Christ the onely Catholique Church of Christ. Thirdly that no inward vertue is required to make a part of the Catholique Church but onely an exteriour profession of the faith and followship in Sacraments These three points of Doctrin haue in these latter times crept out of the Alpes like Mise or Rats Rome hath set