Christ Page 35 II. That the whole Reformation even Calvin Beza and those of their Communion were zealous Asserters of Episcopacy Page 58 A DISCOURSE Shewing who they are that are now qualify'd to Administer BAPTISM and the LORD's SUPPER SECT I. The Necessity of an Outward Commission to the Ministers of the Gospel SOme Quakers having perus'd my Discourse of Baptism think the Quaker Arguments against it sufficiently Answered And they have but one Difficulty remaining that is who they are among the various Pretenders that are duly Qualify'd to Administer it And if satisfaction can be given to them herein they promise a perfect Compliance to that Holy Institution The Chief thing they seem to stand upon is the Personal Holyness of the Administrator thinking that the spiritual Effects of Baptism cannot be convey'd by the means of an Unsanctify'd Instrument But yet they Confess that there is something else Necessary besides the Personal Holiness of the Administrator Otherwise they wou'd think themselves as much Qualify'd to Administer it as any others because I presume they suppose themselves to have as great a Measure of the Spirit as other Men. This Requisit which they want is that of Lawful Ordination But the Presbyterians Independents and Baptists do pretend to this Therefore their Title to it is to be Examin'd And that we may proceed the more clearly in this Matter with Respect still to that Difficulty upon which the Quakers lay the stress we will Inquire concerning those Qualifications which are Requisit in any Person that shall take upon him to Administer the Sacraments of Christ's Institution And These Qualifications are of two sorts Personal or Sacerdotal I. Personal The Holiness of the Administrator And though this is a great Qualification to Fit and Prepare a Man for such an Holy Administration yet this Alone does not sufficiently Qualifie any Man to take upon him such an Administration II. But there is moreover requir'd 2ly A Sacerdotal Qualification that is an Outward Commission to Authorize a Man to execute any Sacerdotal or Ministerial Act of Religion For This Honour no Man taketh unto himself but he that is called of God Heb. v. 4. as was Aaron so also Christ glorify'd not himself to be made an High-Priest But he that said unto him thou art my Son Thou art a Priest c. Accordingly we find that Christ did not take upon Him the Office of a Preacher till after that Outward Commission given to Him by a Voice from Heaven at His Baptism for it is written Matth. iv 17. From that time Jesus began to Preach Then He Began and He was then about Thirty Years of Age Luke iii. 23. Now no Man can doubt of Christ's Qualifications before that time as to Holiness Sufficiency and all Personal Endowments And if all these were not sufficient to Christ Himself without an Outward Commission what other Man can pretend to it upon the Account of any Personal Excellencies in Himself without an outward Commission III. And as Christ was outwardly Commissionated by His Father so did not He leave it to His Disciples every ones Opinion of his own sufficiency to thrust himself into the Vineyard but Chose Twelve Apostles by Name and after them Seventy others of an Inferior Order whom He sent to Preach IV. And as Christ gave outward Commissions while He was upon the Earth Act. xiv 23. so we find that His Apostles did Proceed in the same Method after His Ascension They ordained them Elders in every Church V. But had they who were thus Ordained by the Apostles Power to Ordain others Yes Tit. 1.5 1 Tim. v 22. For this cause left I thee in Crete that thou shouldest Ordain Elders in every City Lay hands suddenly on no Man c. St. Clement in his first Epistle to the Corinthians writing concerning the Schism which was then risen up amongst them says Parag. 44. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That the Apostles fore-knowing there wou'd be Contests concerning the Episcopal Name or Office did themselves appoint the Persons And not only so lest that might be said to be of force only during their time But that they afterwards established an Order how when those whom they had Ordained shou'd Die others fit and approved Men shou'd succeed them in their Ministry Par. 43. that they who were intrusted with this Work by God in Christ did Constitute these Officers But this Matter depends not upon the Testimony of him or many more that might be produced It is such a Publick Matter of Fact That I might as well go about to quote particular Authors to prove that there were Emperors in Rome as that the Ministers of the Church of Christ were Ordained to succeed one another and that they did so succeed SECT II. The Deduction of this Commission is continu'd in the Succession of Bishops and not of Presbyters BUT here is a Dispute whether this Succession was preserv'd in the Order of Bishops or Presbyters or whether both are not the same I. Answ 1. This is the Contest betwixt the Presbyterians and us But either way it operates against the Quakers who allow of no Succession deriv'd by outward Ordination II. Answ 2. But because the Design of this Discourse is to shew the Succession from the Apostles I answer that this Succession is preserv'd and deriv'd only in the Bishops As the continuance of any Society is deduc'd in the Succession of the Chief Governors of the Society not of the Inferior Officers Thus in Kingdoms we reckon by the Succession of the Kings not of Sheriffs or Constables and in Corporations by the Succession of the Mayors or other Chief Officers not of the Inferiour Bailiffs or Serjeants So the Succession of the Churches is Computed in the Succession of the Bishops who are the Chief Governours of the Churches and not of Presbyters who are but Inferiour Officers under the Bishops III. And in this the Matter of Fact is as Clear and Evident as the Succession of any Kings or Corporations in the World To begin with the Apostles we find not only that they Constituted Timothy Bishop of Ephesus and Titus of Crete as in the Subscriptions of St. Paul's Epistles to them But in Eusebius and other Ecclesiastical Historians you have the Bishops Nam'd who were Constituted by the Apostles themselves over the then famous Churches of Jerusalem Antioch Rome and Alexandria and many other Churches and the Succession of them down all along St. Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna was Disciple to St. John the Apostle and St. Irenaeus who was Disciple to St. Polycarp was Constituted Bishop of Lyons in France I mention this because it is so near us for in all other Churches throughout the whole World where ever Christianity was Planted Episcopacy was every where Establish'd without one Exception as is Evident from all their Records And so it was with us in England whither it is generally suppos'd and with very good Grounds that St. Paul first brought the
St. Paul to the Corinthians and Two to them from St. Clement then Bishop of Rome which are preserv'd and handed down to us It was this same occasion of Schism which so early began to Corrupt the Church that led the Holy Ignatius who flourish'd in that same Age to press so Earnestly in all his Epistles to the several Churches to whom he wrote the Indispensable obligation of a strict Obedience to their Respective Bishops That the Laity shou'd submit themselves to the Presbyters and Deacons as to the Apostolical College under Christ and that the Presbyters and Deacons as well as the Laity shou'd Obey their Bishop as Christ Himself whose Person he did Represent That therefore whoever kept not Outward Communion with his Bishop did forfeit his Inward Communion with Christ That no Sacraments were Valid or Acceptable to God which were not celebrated in Communion with the Bishop That nothing in the Church shou'd be done nor any Marriage Contracted without the Bishop's Consent c. As you will see hereafter These clear Testimonies fore'd the Presbyterians because they were not in a Temper to be Convinc'd to deny these Epistles of St. Ignatius to be Genuine But they have been so fully Vindicated particularly by the most Learned Bishop of Chester Dr. Pearson as to silence that Cavil and leave no Pretence remaining against Episcopacy in that Primitive and Apostolical Age. SECT III. Objection from the Times of Popery in this Kingdom as if that did Un-Church and consequently break the Succession of our Bishops I must now Account for an Objection which with some seems a mighty one even enough to overthrow all that I have said concerning the Succession of our Bishops And that is the long Mid-night of Popery which has in old Time Darken'd these Nations Well The Succession of which I have been speaking was no Part of that Darkness and we have by God's Blessing recover'd our selves in a great Measure from that Darkness But that Darkness was such as with some to Destroy the Episcopal Succession because as they say such great Errors especially that of Idolatry does quite Un-church a People and consequently must break their Succession I. This by the way is a Popish Argument tho' they that now make it are not a ware of it For the Church of Rome argues thus That Idolatry does Un-church and therefore if she was Idolatrous for so long a time as we charge upon her it will follow that for so many Ages there was no Visible Church at least in these Western Parts of the World And Arianism which is Idolatry having broke in several times upon the Church if Idolatry did quite Un-church and Break the Succession ther wou'd not be a Christian Church hardly left in the World The Consequence of which wou'd be as fatal to the Church of Rome as to us Therefore let her look to that Position which she has advanced against us that Idolatry does Un-church II. But that it does not Un-church I have this to offer against those Papists Quakers and Others who make the Objection I. If it does quite Un-church then cou'd no Christian be an Idolater because by that he wou'd ipso facto cease to be a Member of the Christian Church But the Scripture does suppose that a Christian may be an Idolater Therefore Idolatry does not Un-church The Minor is prov'd 1 Cor. v. 11. If any Man that is called a Brother that is a Christian be a Fornicator or Covetous or an Idolater Nay Eph. v. 5. a covetous man is call'd an Idolater and Col. iii. 5. Covetousness is Idolatry So that by this Argument Covetousness does Un-church If it be said that Covetousness is call'd Idolatry only by Allusion but that it is not Formal Idolatry I know no Ground for that Distinction The Scripture calls it Idolatry and makes no Distinction But 2dly In the first Text quoted 1 Cor. v. 11. both Covetousness and Idolatry are Nam'd so that you have both Material and Formal or what other sort of Idolatry you please to fansie I grant that in one sense Idolatry does Un-church that is while we continue in it it renders us Obnoxious to the Wrath of God and forfeits our Title to the Promises which are made to the Church in the Gospel But so does Fornication Covetousness and every other Sin till we Repent and Return from it But none of these Sins do so Un-church us as to Exclude our Returning to the Fold by sincere Repentance or to need a second Baptism or Admission into the Church Neither does Idolatry Do I then put Idolatry upon the level with other common Sins No far from it Every Scab is not a Leprosie yet a Leper is a Man and may Recover his Health Idolatry is a fearful Leprosie but it does not therefore quite Un-church nor throw us out of the Covenant For if it did then wou'd not Repentance heal it because Repentance is a great Part of the Covenant And therefore since none deny Repentance to an Idolater it follows that he is not yet quite out of the Covenant Some of the Ancients have deny'd Repentance to Apostacy yet granted it to Idolatry which shews that they did not look upon Idolatry to be an absolute Apostacy for every Sin is an Apostacy in a Limited sense 2. Let us in this Disquisition follow the Example before mention'd of the Apostles and most Primitive Fathers to measure the Christian Church with its exact Type the Church under the Law which are not Two Churches but Two States of the same Church for it is the same Christian Church from the first Promise of Christ Gen. iii. 15. to the End of the World And therefore it is said Heb. iv 2. That the Gospel was Preached unto Them as well as unto Us. And these two States of the Church before and after Christ do Answer like a pair of Indentures to one another the one being to an Iota fulfilled in the other Matth. v. 18. Now we find frequent Lapses to Idolatry in the Church of the Jews Yet did not this Un-church them no nor deprive them of a competent measure of God's Holy Spirit as it is written Neh. ix 18 20. Yea when they had made them a molten calf and said this is thy God yet thou in thy manifold Mercies forsookest them not Thou gavest thy good spirit to instruct them c. And let it be here observ'd That tho' God sent many Prophets to Reprove the great Wickedness and Idolatry as well of their Priests as People yet none of these Holy Prophets did separate Communion from the Wicked Priests They wou'd not joyn in their Idolatrous Worship but in all other Parts they joyn'd with them and set up no opposit Priesthood to them So little did the Prophets think that their Idolatry had either Un-church'd them or broke the Succession of their Priests or that it was Lawful for any how Holy soever to usurp upon their Priesthood and supply the Deficiencies of it
his Dependance upon his Bishop and Overseer V. As under the Term of Priest the High-Priest was Included without Destroying his Supremacy over the other Priests Against which Korah and his Presbyters or Inferiour Priests arose And if the Presbyterians will take his word whom of all the Fathers they most Admire and Quote often on their side that is St. Jerom he will tell them in that very Epistle ad Evagr. which they Boast favours them so much That what Aaron and his Sons and the Levites were in the Temple that same are Bishop Presbyter and Deacon in the Church And long before him Clemens Romanus in his 1 Epist to the Corinthians makes frequent Allusion to the Episcopacy of the Levitical Priesthood and argues from thence to that of the Christian Church Thus Paragraph 40. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To the High-Priest says he were allotted his proper Offices to the Priests their proper place was assigned and to the Levites their services were appointed and the Lay-men were Restrain'd within the precepts to Lay-men And Paragraph 42. he applies that Scripture Isa LX. 17. to the Officers of the Christian Church and renders it thus I will Constitute their Bishops in Righteousness and their Deacons in Faith The Greek Translation of the LXX has it thus I will give thee Rulers or Princes in Peace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thy Bishops in Righteousness It was the frequent Method of these Primitive Fathers to Reason thus from the Parallel 'twixt the Law and the Gospel the one being an Exact Type of the other and therefore being fulfill'd in the other And in this they follow'd the Example of Christ and the Apostles who argu'd in the same manner as you may see Matth. v. 1 Cor. x. the whole Epistle to the Hebrews and many other Places of the New Testament VI. Now the Presbyterians are desir'd to shew any one Disparity betwixt their Case and that of Korah who was a Priest of the second Order that is a Presbyter and withdrew his Obedience from the High-Priest with other Mutinous Levites For ther was no matter of Doctrine or Worship betwixt them and Aaron nor any other Dispute but that of Church-Government And by the Parallel betwixt the Old Testament and the New Korah was a Presbyterian who Rose up against the Episcopacy of Aaron But this Case is brought yet nearer home for we are told Jude xi of those under the Gospel who perish in the gain-saying of Korah And in the Epist. of Clem. Rom. to the Corinthians before Quoted Paragraph 43. He plainly applys this Case of Korah to the state of the Christian Church shewing at large that as Moses by the Command of God Determin'd the Pretensions of the Twelve Tribes to the Glory of the Priesthood by the Miraculous Budding of Aaron's Rod which was after the Schism and Punishment of Korah and his Company So likewise he says the Apostles sore-knowing by Christ that Dissentions wou'd arise also in the Christian Church by various Pretenders to the Evangelical Priesthood did Settle and Establish not only the Persons themselves But gave Rules and Orders for continuing the Succession after their Deaths as I have before Quoted his Words So that it is plain from hence That the Evangelical Priesthood is as Positively and Certainly Establish'd and Determin'd in the Succession of Ecclesiastical Ordination as the Levitical was in the Succession of Aaron And consequently that the Rebellion of Presbyters from under the Government of their Bishops is the same Case as the Rebellion for so it is call'd Numb xvii 10. of Korah and his Levites against Aaron who had as good a Pretence against him from the word Levite which was Common to the whole Tribe as the Presbyterians have against Bishops from the Name Bishop and Presbyter being us'd sometimes promiscuously and apply'd to the Clergy in General which is a Term that Includes all the Orders of the Church as Levite did among the Jews VII But to leave the fruitless Contest about Words let this Matter be Determin'd as other Matters of Fact are If I pretend to succeed any Man in an Honour or Estate I must name him who had such an Estate or Honour before me and the Man who had it before him and who had it before him and so up all the way to him who first had it and from whom all the rest do derive and how it was lawfully deduc'd from one to another This the Bishops have done as I have shewn and can name all the way backward as far as History goes from the Present Bishop of London for example to the first Plantation of Christianity in this Kingdom So from the present Bishop of Lyons up to Irenaeus the Disciple of St. Polycarp as before is told The Records are yet more certain in the Great Bishopricks of Rome Antioch Alexandria and others while they lasted in the World And tho' the Records may not be Extant of every small Bishoprick which was less taken notice of as the Names of many Kings are lost in obscure Nations of many Mayors or Sheriffs who notwithstanding have as certainly Succeeded one another as where the Records are Preserv'd I say tho' every Bishop in the World cannot tell the Names of all his Predecessors up to the Apostles yet their Succession is certain And in most Christian Nations there are Bishops who can do it which is a sufficient Proof for the rest all standing upon the same Bottom and being Deriv'd in the same Manner Now to Ballance this it is Desir'd that the Presbyterians wou'd shew the Succession of any one Presbyter in the World who was not likewise a Bishop in our acceptation of the Word in the like manner from the Apostles Till when their small Criticisms upon the Etymology of the Words Bishop or Presbyter is as poor a Plea as if I shou'd pretend to be Heir to an Estate from the likeness of my Name to somebody who once had it And here I cannot choose but apply the Complaint of our Saviour John v. 43. If any come in the Name of Christ that is by a Commission from Him deriv'd down all the way by Regular Ordination him ye will not Receive Nay tho' he be otherwise a Man without Exception either as to his Life and Conversation or as to his Gifts and Sufficiency for the Ministry you make this his Commission an Objection against him For that Reason alone you will not accept him But if another come in his own Name that is with no Commission but what he has from himself his own Opinion of his own Worthiness giving out that himself is some Great One Act. viii 9. him ye will Receive and Follow and Admire him Heaping to your selves Teachers having Itching Ears as it was Prophesy'd of these most degenerate Times 2 Tim. iv 3. But as to those well-dispos'd Quakers for whose Information Chiefly I have wrote this Discourse I must suppose that their Inquiry is wholly concerning the
Apostles receiv'd great Benefit by it 1 Cor. x. 16. c. xi 29. To some it is the savour of Life even the Communion of Christ's Body and Blood to others of Condemnation who discern not the Lord's Body in it but receive it as a common thing Therefore we are commanded to examine our selves v. 28. to prepare our Hearts for the worthy Receiving of it But some say as the Jews to Christ shew us a sign They wou'd have some Miraculous Effects immediately to appear These are Ignorant of the Operations of the Spirit and to these I say in the words of Christ Joh. iii. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth so is every one that is born of the Spirit It works silently but powerfully and its Progress like the growing of our Bodies is not all at once but by Degrees whose motion is Imperceptible to humane Eyes The true use that is to be made of this Objection that so few and yet they are not few who receive the Inestimable Benefits which are convey'd in the Sacraments of Christ's Institution is this To take the greater Care and the more Earnestly to beg the Assistance of God's Grace to fit and prepare us for the worthy Receiving of them but by no means to neglect them For those who refused to come to the Supper were Rejected as well as he who came without a Wedding Garment A SUPPLEMENT THE stress of this Discourse being Founded upon Episcopacy and long Quotations being improper in so short a method of Argument as I have taken to supply that Defect and at the same time to make it easier to the Reader I have added by way of Supplement a short Index or Collection of Authorities in the first 450 Years after Christ for Episcopacy with respect to the Presbyterian Pretences of making a Bishop all one with a Presbyter at least with one of their Moderators And in the next place I have shewn the sense of the Reformation as to Episcopacy Take them as follows Some Authorities for Episcopacy as distinct from and Superior to Presbytery taken out of the Fathers and Councils in the first Four Hundred and Fifty Years after Christ Anno Domini 70. St. Clement Bishop of Rome and Martyr of whom mention is made Phil. iv 3. in his 1st Epist to the Corinthians N. 42. p. 89. of the Edition at Oxford 1677. The Apostles having Preached the Gospel thro' Regions and Cities did Constitute the first Fruits of them having prov'd them by the Spirit to be Bishops and Deacons of those who shou'd believe and this not as a new thing for many Ages before it was written concerning Bishops and Deacons for thus saith the Scripture Isa Lx 17. in a certain place I will constitute their Bishops in Righteousness and their Deacons in Faith What wonder is it then that those who were Intrusted by God in Christ with this Commission shou'd Constitute those before spoke of ibid. n. 44. And the Apostles knew by the Lord Jesus Christ that Contests wou'd arise concerning the Episcopal Name or Order and for this Cause having perfect fore knowledge of these things they did Ordain those whom we have mention'd before and moreover did Establish the Constitution that other approved Men shou'd succeed those who Dy'd in their Office and Ministry Therefore those that were Constituted by Them or afterwards by other approved Men with the Consent of all the Church and have Administred to the Block of Christ unblamably with Humility and Quietness without all stain of filth or naughtiness and have carry'd a good Report of a long time from all Men I think cannot without great Injustice be turn'd out of their Office For it will be no small sin to us if we thrust those from their Bishopricks who haves Holily and without Blame offer'd our Gists and Praiers to God Blessed are those Priests who are happily Dead for they are not afraid of being Ejected out of the Places in which they are Constituted For I understand that you have Depriv'd some from their Ministry who behaved themselves un-re-provable amongst you Par. 40. To the High-Priest his proper Offices were appeinted the Priests had their proper Order and the Levites their peculiar Services or Deaconships and the Lay-men what was proper ser Lay-men This as before shewn St. Clement apply'd to the Distribution of Orders in the Christian Church Bishops Priests and Deacons And the Office of the Levites is here cali'd by the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. the Office of Deacons A.D. 71. St. Ignatius a Glorious Martyr of Christ was Constituted by the Apostles Bishop of Antioch and did there by think that he succeeded them as all other Bishops do in their full Apostolical Office Thence he salutes the Church of the Trallâ—ans in the Fulness of the Apostolical Character and in his Epistle he says to them Be subject to your Bishop as to the Lord And to the Presbyters as to the Apostles of Christ Likewise the Deacons also being Ministers of the Mysteries of Christ ought to please in all things Without these ther is no Church of the Elect-He is without who does any thing without the Bishop and Preslyters and Deacons and such an one is Desiled in his Conscience In his Epâ—st to the Magnesians he tells them That they ought not to despise their Bishop for his youth but to pay him all manner of Reverence according to the Commandment of God the Father And as I know that your Holy Presbyters do Therefore as Christ did nothing without the Father so neither do ye whether Presbyter Deacon or Laick any thing without the Bishop Some indeed call him Bishop yet do all things without him but these seem not to me to have a good Conscience but rather to be Hypocrites and Scorners I Exhort you to do all things in the same mind of God the Bishop Presiding in the Place of God and the Presbyters in room of the College of the Apostles and the Deacons most beloved to me who are intrusted with the Ministry of Jesus Christ He directs his Epistle to the Church at Philadelphia to those who were in Unity with their Bishop and Presbyters and Deacons And says to them in his Epistle That as many as are of Christ these are with the Bishop and those who shall Repent and Return to the Unity of the Church being made worthy of Jesus Christ shall partake of Eternal Salvation in the Kingdom of Christ My Brethren be not deceived if any shall follow himthat makes a Schism he shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God I Exhort you to partake of the one Eucharist for ther is one Body of the Lord Jesus and one Blood of His which was shed for us and one Cup and one Altar so ther is one Bishop with his Presbytery and the Deacons my Fellow Servants Give heed to the Bishop and to the Presbytery
and to the Deacons Without the Bishop do nothing In his Epistle to the Smyrneans he says Flee Divisions as the beginning of Evils All of them follow their Bishops as Jesus Christ the Father and the Presbyters as the Apostles and Reverence the Deacons as the Institution of God Let no man do any thing of what appertains to the Church without the Bishop Let that Sacrament be judg'd Effectual and Firm which is Dispenced by the Bishop or him to whom the Bishop has Commited it Where-ever the Bishop is there let the People be as where Christ is there the Heavenly Host is gathered together It is not lawful without the Bishop either to Baptize or celebrate the Offices But what He approves of according to the good Pleasure of God that is firm and safe and so we do every thing securely I salute your most worthy Bishop your venerable Presbytery and the Deacons my Fellow Servants Anno Domini 70. St. Clement Bishop of Rome and Martyr of whom mention is made Phil. iv 3. in his 1st Epist to the Corinthians N. 42. p. 89. of the Edition at Oxford 1677. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In his Epistle to St. Policarp Bishop of Smyrna and Martyr who together with himself was Disciple to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist He gives these Directions If any can remain in Chastity to the glory of the Body of the Lord let him remain without Boasting if he Boast he Perishes and if he pretends to know more than the Bishop he is corrupted It is theduty both of Men and Women that Marry to be joyn'd together by the Approbation of the Bish that the Muriage may be in the Lord and not according to our own Lusts Let all things be done to the Glory of God Give heed to your Bishop that God may Harken unto you My Soul for theirs who subject themselves under the Obedience of their Bishop Presbyters and Deacons and let me take my Lot with them in the Lord. And he says to Bishop Policarp Let nothing be done without thy sentence and approbation In his Epistle to St. Policarp Bishop of Smyrna and Martyr who together with himself was Disciple to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist He gives these Directions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A.D. 180. St. Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons in France who was Disciple of St. Polycarp he flourish'd about the year of Christ 180. We can reckon those Bishops who have been Constituted by the Apostles and their Successors all the way to our times And if the Apostles knew hidden Mysteries they wou'd certainly deliver them chiefly to those to whom they committed the Churches themselves and whom they left their own Successors and in the same Place of Government as themselves We have the Successions of the Bishops to whom the Apostolick Church in every place was committed All these Hereticks are much later than the Bishops to whom the Apostles did deliver the Churches The true Knowledge is the Doctrin of the Apostles and the Ancient State of the Church â—hrough the whole World and the Character of the Body of Christ according to the Succession of the Bishops to whom they committed the Church that is in every Place and which has Descended even unto us A.D. 180. St. Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons in France who was Disciple of St. Polycarp he flourish'd about the year of Christ 180. Advers Haereses l. 3. c. 3. Habemus muncrare qui ab Aposolis Instituti sunt Episcopi in Ecclesiis successores corum usque ad nos Et si Recondita mysteria Scissent Apostoli vel his maxime traderent ea quibus etiam ipsas Ecclesias committebant quos successores relinquebant suum ipsorum locum Magisterii tradentes lib. 4. c. 63. Habemus successiones Episcoporum quibus Apostolicam quae in unoquoque loco est Ecclesiam tradiderunt l. 5. c. 20. Omnes enim ii Haeretici valde Posteriores sunt quam Episcopi quibus Apostoli tradiderunt Ecclesias L. 4. c. 6. Agnitio vera est Apastolorum Doctrina Antiquus Ecclesia status in universo Mundo Character Corporis Christi secundam successiones Episcoporum quibús illi eam quae in unoquoque lico est Ecclesiam tradiderunt quae pervenit usque ad nos Tertullian A.D. 203. of the Prescription of Hereticks A.D. 203. c. 32. Let them produce the Original of their Churches let them shew the Order of their Bishops that by their Succession deduc'd from the beginning we may see whether their first Bishop had any of the Apostles or Apostolical Men who did likewise persevere with the Apostles for his Founder and Predecessor For thus the Apostolical Churches do derive their Succession As the Church of Smyrna from Polycarp whom John the Apostle placed there The Church of Rome from Clement who was in like manner ordain'd by Peter And so the other Churches can produce those Constituted in their Bishopricks by the Aposiles c. 36. Reckon over the Apostolical Churches where the very Chairs of the Apostles do yet Preside in their own Places At Corinth Philippi Ephesus Thessalonica c. Of Baptism c. 17. The High-Priest who is the Bishop has the Power of conferring Baptism and under him the Presbyters and Deacons but not without the Authority of the Bishop Origen Names the distinct Orders of Bishop Presbyter and Deacon Such a Bishop says he speaking of one who sought vain Glory c. doth not desire a good Work and the same is to be said of Presbyters and Deacons The Bishops and Presbyters who have the Chief Place among the People The Bishop is called Prince in the Churches And speaking of the Irreligious Clergy he directs it to them whether Bishops Presbyters or Deacons Tertullian A.D. 203. of the Prescription of Hereticks Edant ergo Origines Ecclesiarum suarum evolvant ordinem Episcoporum suâ—rum ita ut per successiones ab initio decurrentem ut primus ille Episcopus aliquem ex Apostolis vel Apostolicis viris qui tamen cum Apostolis perseveraverit habuerit Auctorem Antecessorem Hoc emm modo Ecclesiae Aposlolicae census suos deferunt sicut Smyrneorum Ecclesia Polycarpum ab Johanne conlocatum refert sicut Romanorum Clementem à Petro ordinatum itidem Perinde utique Ceterae exhibent quos ab Apostolis in Episcopatum Conslitutes Apostolici
he bestow'd upon them but rather that their Names were written in Heaven Luke x. 20. which supposes that they might have such Gifts and yet their Names not be written in Heaven And when He taught them how to Pray He added no Petition for such Gifts but only for the Remission of their Sins and the Sanctifying Graces of the Holy Spirit which are as most Preâ—itable to Us so most Precious in the sight of God Now some who had these Miraculous Gifts made ill use of them and occasion'd a great Schism the first in the Christian Church at Corinth They were Exalted above Measure in their own Gifts and therefore Refus'd to submit themselves to those who were their Superiors in the Church who perhaps had not such Gifts as they had but set up for themselves and drew Parties after them who were Charm'd with their Extraordinary Gifts thinking that the Participation of the saving Graces of the Holy Spirit must there Chiefly be Communicated where God had bestow'd such wonderful Gifts And they laid more stress upon the Personal Qualifications of these Ministers of God than upon the observance of that Order and Constitution which He had Commanded which was in Effect preferring Men to God and trusting to the Instruments rather than to the Author of their Religion as if thro' the Power and Holiness of the Administrators of God's Institutions and not from Him alone the Graces which were Promis'd to the due Observance of them were convey'd Act. iii. 12. And this as it turn'd Men from God to Trust in Man so as a necessary Consequence of it it begot great Emulations among the People for one Teacher against another even sometimes when it was not the Fault of the Teachers For People being once let loose from Government and Order to follow the Imaginations of their own Brain will run farther than their first Seducers did Intend and will Carve for themselves Thus in the Schism of the Church at Corinth one was for Paul another for Apollos another for Cephas c. much against the Minds of these good Apostles but having been once unsettl'd by the Pride and Ambition of Seducers they Heaped to themselves Teachers having itching Ears and made Divisions among themselves Pretendingly in behalf of Christ and His Apostles but in Effect tending to Divide Christ and His Apostles as all Schisms do Against these St. Paul Disputes with wonderful force of Reason and Eloquence particularly in the xii Chap. of his first Epistle to these same Corinthians wherein from the Parallel of the Unity of Members in the same Body he admirably Illustrates That the many Different and Miraculous Gifts which were then Dispensed all from the same Spirit cou'd be no more an Argumeut for any to Advance himself beyond his own Station in the Church than for one Member of the Body tho' an Eye or a Hand the most Useful or Beautiful to Glory it self against the Inferior Members who are all Actuated by the same Soul or not to be Content with its Office and Station in the Body and due Subordination to the Head Thence the Apostle goes on and makes the Application in the xiiith Chap. That the most Exalted Spiritual or even Miraculous Gifts cou'd not only not Excuse any Schism to be made in the Body that is the Church But that if any who had such Gifts did not employ them for the Preservation of the Unity of the Church which is very properly Express'd by Charity i.e. Love for the whole Body such Gifts wou'd Profit him Nothing loose all their Vertue and Efficacy as to the Possessor and be rather an Aggravation against him than any Excuse for him to withdraw his Obedience from his lawful Superiors and Usurp the Office of the Head and so make a Schism in the Body upon the account of his Gifts which tho' they were as great as to speak with the Tongues of Men and Angels to understand all Mysteries and all Knowledge to have all Faith even to Remove Mountains and such a Zeal as to give all his Goods to the Poor and his very Body to be Burned yet if it be done in Schism out of that Love and Charity which is due to the Body and to its Unity all is Nothing will profit him nothing at all And no wonder when all that Heavenly Glory in which Lucifer was Created cou'd avail him nothing Jude 6. when he kept not his first Principality but Aspir'd Higher and made a Schism in the Hierarchy of Heaven How then shall they who have as St. Jude expresses it left their own Habitation or Station in the Church and advanc'd themselves above their Bishops their lawful Superiors the Heads and Principles of Unity next and immediately under Christ in their Respective Churches upon pretence of their own Personal Gifts and Qualifications and thereby make a Schism in the Terrestrial Hierarchy of the Church which is the Body of Christ Eph. 1.23 the Fulness of him who Filleth all in all How shall they be Excus'd for this whose pretended Gifts are in nothing Extraordinary except in a Furious Zeal without Knowledge and a Volubility of Tongue which proceeds from a Habit of Speaking without Thinking and an Assurance that is never out of Countenance for Ten Thousand Blunders which wou'd Dash and Confound any Man of Sense or Modesty or that consider'd the Presence of God in which he spoke If those truly Miraculous Gifts which were made a Pretence for the Schism at Corinth were not sufficient to justifie that Schism How Ridiculous and much more wicked is the Pretence of our Modern Gifted-men who have pleaded their Delicate Gifts as a sufficient Ground for all that Schism and Rebellion which they have Rais'd up amongst us If the real Gifts and Inspirations of the Holy Spirit were Stinted and Limited by the Governors of the Church to avaid Schism and Confusion in the Church If the Prophets were Confin'd as to their Number 1 Cor. xiv from v. 26. to Two or at the most Three at a time some ordered to hold their Peace to give place to others others to keep silence for want of an Interpreter and the Women tho' Gifted or Inspir'd as many then were totally silenc'd in the Church 1 Tim. 11.12 or Publick Assemblies What Spirit has Possess'd our Modern Pretenders to Gifts that will not be subject to the Prophets nor to the Church nor to any Institutions whether Divine or Humane But if their Superiors pretend to Direct them in any thing they cry out what will you stint the Spirit And think this a sufficient Cause to break quite loose from their Authority and set up an open Schism against them upon Pretence of their wonderful Gifts forsooth That first Schism in the Church of these Corinthians was vigorously oppos'd by the Apostles and Bishops of the Church at that time They like good Watch-men wou'd not give way to it knowing the fatal Consequences of it This produc'd Two Epistles from