Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	canon_n	council_n	nice_a	2,852	5	10.4936	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45419	Of fundamentals in a notion referring to practise by H. Hammond.	Hammond, Henry, 1605-1660.	1654 (1654)	Wing H554; ESTC R18462	96,424	252

the earth and of the Nations brought their glory to the Lamb Rev. 21.24 26. and to the same purpose Rev. 17.14 19.6 and as among the Jewes so all the world over those that received not the commands of Christ and his doctrines of purity and perseverance were signally destroyed and they that did were preserved as a peculiar people unto him to live and continue in his obedience § 13. And this great successe on both sides among Jewes and Gentiles over all the world part of it historically true at the compiling of these articles and part of it prophetically true then and fulfilled afterward the subduing them either by the word of his mouth the preaching of the Gospel or by the word of his power the destructions which he sent among them was a most effectual argument a soveraign method to give authority to this faith which was thus prevailing and becomes the greatest instance of reproach to all libertine professors that they should not purifie their hearts by the faith when the most impure Idolaters were wrought on to doe so and a sad certain aboad to all such after the example of obstinate Infidels and impure Gnosticks of both present and future destructions § 14. The sixt and last stone in this foundation is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his being received up in or with or into glory Christ's ascension or assumption to heaven being an irrefragable argument of conviction to the world that he died an innocent person Joh. 16.10 and consequently that what he taught was the will of God and 2 truth of heaven to which he was assumed after his testification of it To which when these two circumstances are superadded first that his assumption being in the sight of many was also solemnized by the presence of Angels and a voice from heaven Act. 1.9 10 11. and so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in or with glory after a glorious manner and secondly that it was attended with the exercise of divine power both in the Church by the hands of the Apostles and their successors whom Christ had authorized to succeed him on the earth and in the world by executing visible judgments on his crucifiers c. and so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into glory or regal power this will be an article of great energie for the planting of Christian faith and purity in the world CHAP. VII The Faith in Baptisme § 1. WHat hath thus been set down as so many branches of fundamental belief and so of the mysterie of Godliness the ground of initiating or entring men into Christian life is more summarily compriz'd in the form of baptism the ceremony of this initiation instituted by Christ wherein all that were to be baptized were if of age first instructed in the doctrine and then received In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Which are the abbreviature of the larger Catalogue of doctrinals formerly taught and explained by the Catechist and those on which they that administred baptisme are commanded to superstruct all the duties of Christian life Mat. 28.20 teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you the authority of all and each the persons of the Trinity being purposely engaged on this one great interest and the gathering disciples and receiving of Proselytes over the world being design'd to this one grand end of introducing the practise of Christian virtues among men who doe therefore in baptisme sacramentally and federally i. e. under oath and solemnest vow as they believe any thing of these fundamental doctrines of God the Father Son and holy Ghost undertake the performance thereof and if they fail therein are the most faithlesse perjured persons in the world And certainly this method is in the designe as probable how improsperous soever the wickedness of men hath rendred the successe of it as any could have been invented to this end CHAP. VIII Of the Creeds in general and first of the Apostles Creed § 1. THE method now leads from the more compendious to the larger and fuller view of this foundation as it is set down in the Creeds of the Church and first in that which is called symbolum Apostolicum the Apostolick badge or mark a tessera or token of the Apostles having planted the Faith in any Church the known summarie of that belief which had been received from the Apostles § 2. For although in their Epistles which were all written to them which were Christians already there is not to be expected any complete Catalogue of those articles which they had every where taught because they were supposed by them to be sufficiently known and might briefly be referred to as such without any perfect enumeration yet in any city or region where the Apostles came to plant the faith it is the affirmation of the first writers of the Church as frequently appears in Tertullian Irenaeus c. and there is no reason of doubt of the truth of it that all those articles which were thought fit to be laid as the foundation of Christian life were by them distinctly delivered And this being a matter of fact of which as of the Canon of scripture or of this or that book in it only the records and stories of the first times are competent judges that Creed which is delivered down to us by the Antient Churches thus planted I mean those of the first three hundred years and by them entituled to the name the Apostles and expounded in the homilies of the Fathers some extant others mentioned by Ruffinus illustres tractatores which had gone before him in that work is in all reason to be deemed the summe of that Foundation Of this if any farther evidence be necessary it will be thus easily made up § 3. The time of forming the Nicene Creed and the occasion of it by way of opposition to those heresies which had then broken into the Church is known to every man Now before this was formed it is certain that all the Churches of the world both Eastern and Western had a form of confession of Faith which they had received from their immediate ancestors and they from the Apostles themselves § 4. And of this there is no place of doubting but that it was the very same which we now call the Apostles Creed not only because there was never any other assigned by any or affirmed to have had that general reception but because the testimonies of the Antients are expresly for this Ruffinus and Vigilius cont Eutychen testifie clearly for the Western Church and Ruffinus again and Cyrill of Jerusalem for the Eastern § 5. And Marcellus Bishop of Ancyra in the Great Councel of Nice a famous supporter of the true Faith and a great sufferer for it against the Arians at his taking his leave of Pope Julius leaves behinde him the Confession of his faith which saith he he had received 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from his predecessors in

of the Father referring to the several hypostases in the one eternal indivisible divine nature and the eternity of the Sons generation and his coeternity and consubstantiality with the Father when he came down from heaven and was incarnate c. for us men peculiarly not for Angels and for our salvation and lastly the perpetuity of his kingdome added in the close all these are assertions equivalent to those which had been before comprised in the antient more simple uncompounded article but were usefull to be thus enlarged and explicated when the Arians opposed the Apostolick tradition and by corrupting detorted the words of scripture to their sense § 6. This is elswhere more largely shewed in the note on 1 Joh. 5.7 And all that will opportunely here be added is onely this that they which according to the Apostles depositum or doctrine in every Church believed the descent and incarnation of the eternal God on purpose to rescue mankinde from all impurities to reveal the whole divine will for the regulating mens lives to attest it by his death and evidence it by his resurrection c. and at last to come to judge the world according to this determinate rule had all those branches of Christian faith which were required to qualifie mankinde to submit to Christ's reformation And 't is the wilfull opposing these more explicite articles the resisting them when they are competently proposed from the definition of the Church and not the not-believing them thus explicitly when either they are not revealed or not with that conviction against which he cannot blamelesly and without pertinacy of his will hold out that will bring danger of ruine on any § 7. That which is added of the holy Ghost the Lord and giver of life who proceedeth from the Father and the Son supposing with the Western Church that the Filióque was found in the first copies and acts of that Councel who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified who spake by the Prophets is in like manner an enlargement and explication of the more brief Apostolick form and the substance thereof was comprised formerly in that uncompounded style fitter then for the belief and memory of all but was afterward prudently enlarged for the repelling and preventing the poyson of heretical invaders the Montanists and Macedonians c. § 8. And so likewise that addition of the one Baptisme prefixt to the Remission of sins was on purpose design'd against the Novatians whose pretensions were considered and condemned in the Councel of Nice The practises of the Churches in receiving those that had fallen into gross sins after baptisme had been somewhat different in some parts milder as in the Church of Rome in others more rigid The Church of Rome had given some liberty for the great offenders murtherers adulterers and such as had fallen to Idol-worship in time of persecution viz that after many years penance they might be restored to the Communion and peace of the Church without any new baptisme such as was used in admitting heathens only by imposition of hands or absolution extending the virtue of baptisme formerly received to the washing away of these sins committed after baptism in case of sincere repentance and forsaking of them This the Novatians disliked and thereupon brake off and made a schisme in the Church And the Councel of Nice taking cognizance of the matter judged against Novatus and his followers that there was place for a second repentance and not only for that first before Baptisme as appears by the Canons of that Councel And this was it that was referred to in this more enlarged passage of their Creed and the use of it thought very considerable for the reducing of lapst Christians as the Apostolical article of remission of sins indefinitely had been for the attracting heathens And this and all the former additions being thus setled by the Vniversal Church were and still are in all reason without disputing to be received and embraced by the present Church and every meek member thereof with that Reverence that is due to Apostolick truths that thankfulness which is our meet tribute to those sacred champions for their seasonable and provident propugning of our faith with such timely and necessary application to practise that the holy Ghost speaking to us now under the times of the New Testament by the Governours of the Christian Churches Christ's mediate successors in the Prophetick Pastoral Episcopal office as he had formerly spoken by the Prophets of the Old Testament sent immediately by him may finde a cheerful audience and receive all uniform submission from us § 9. And this is all that is here necessary to be said of this second Creed CHAP. X. Of the Athanasian Creed § 1. OF the Athanasian Creed as it is usually called two things will be briefly considerable 1. The doctrine of it 2. The curses and damnation denounced against those who doe not entirely maintain it without the corruptions and mixtures of the hereticks § 2. The Doctrine is well-nigh all of it the asserting the Vnity of the Divine nature and the Trinity of hypostases whether subsistences as the Greek Church called it or as the Latine personae persons in it and that in opposition to several novel propositions which had by hereticks been introduced in the Church and so as the vices of men suggest lawes occasioned such explications and enlargements And of these again much more then of the Nicene superadditions it may be reasonably affirmed that being the explications of a Father of the Church and not of a whole Vniversal Councel or of the Church representative they were neither necessary to be explicitly acknowledged before they were convincingly revealed nor simply and absolutely imposeable on any particular man any farther then he was a member of some Church which had actually received Athanasius's explication as it is apparent the Western Churches did or then it appeared concordant with the more authentick Vniversal Confessions as every doctrinal proposition of it will be found to doe § 3. As for the Censures annext 1. in the beginning that except a man keep the Catholick faith of which this is set down not as the entire form but an explication or interpretation of some parts of it whole and undefiled he shall doubtless perish everlastingly 2dly in the middle he that will be saved must thus think and it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly in the incarnation c. and 3dly in the end this is the Catholick Faith which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved I suppose they must be interpreted by their opposition to those heresies that had invaded the Church which were acts of carnality in them that broached and maintained them against the Apostolick Doctrine and contradictory to that foundation which had been resolved on as necessary to bring the world to the obedience of Christ and were therefore to be anathematized after