Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	apostle_n	church_n	word_n	980	5	3.9234	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94862	Triple episcopacie or, a three-fold order of bishops : one of God, another of men, and another of the divell; the two later must be pluckt up, the former only must continue, and the reasons why. With a declaration of certaine other weighty points concerning the discipline and government of the church		1641 (1641)	Wing T2287; Thomason E178_1; ESTC R212674	11,795	16

TRIPLE EPISCOPACIE OR A THREE-FOLD ORDER OF BISHOPS One of GOD another of MEN and another of the DIVELL the two later must be pluckt up the former only must continue and the Reasons why With a declaration of certaine other weighty points concerning the Discipline and Government of the Church Matth. 15. 13. Every plant which mine heavenly Father hath not planted should be rooted up Of God bible Of Man Seruice book Of the Divell Sup●●sticion Loe here are three men standing in degree The least of these the greatest ought to be The other two of men and of the Devill Ought to be rooted out for ere as evill Printed and are to be sold by SAMVEL SATTERTHVVAIT at his house 〈…〉 A three-fold Episcopacie We must needs make three Bishops 1. Of God 2. Of MAN 3. Of the DIVELL BIshops ordained of God or set up by the Law of God doth declare nothing else but their calling which by another more speciall name are called Pastors whom saith Luke the holy Ghost hath appointed Bishops to feed the Church of God And either of these names of Pastor or of Bishop is proper to them in the new Testament whereby the Apostle doth distinguish them from Apostles Prophets and Euangelists which were callings to endure for a time Ephes 4. 11. and from Deacons 1 Tim. 3. Phil. 1. 1. for otherwise they are every where called Elders and Paul doth call his Apostleship a Deaconship Rom. 11. 13. But they are called Bishops in regard of the sheepe committed unto them as though a man should call them Watchmen of overseers These now were one alone as where any Church but one Pastor or more if the Church had more than one And the meeting of them together joyntly with their Elders whom Paul calls Governours of the other common name called was the eldership Their duty was to attend on the Word and Prayer both publiquely and privately and in common to governe the Church as appeareth by many places of Scripture That the same were subject to Magistrates though prophane appeareth not onely by the example of Christ the high Priest and of the Apostles but also by the expresse words of Paul 1 Tim. 2. and Luke 12. 13. Of the Bishop that is of Men. THe Bishop that is of Men that is to say brought into the Church by the alone wisedome of man besides the expresse Word of God is a certain power given to one certaine Pastor above his other fellowes yet limited with certaine orders or rules provided against tyranny They which did beare this office of Bishop are called Bishops in regard of their fellow Elders and the whole Clergie as watchmen set over the Clergie That this calling was not brought in by the Word it is manifest by that that there is not to be found in the new Testament so much as one syllable whereby there may be the least surmise of any such thing For although we doubt not but all things ought to be done orderly in the Lords house and therefore that some one should be president in every assembly whom John in the Revelation seemeth to call the Angel of the Churches And Austin calleth the moderator Proestota yet this moderator of actions of the Church saving this one thing that he was the first in order in the company had no authority over his fellowes neither did hee exercise any higher office Therefore the author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes as Hierome noteth doth call the whole company of the Elders Governours not any one certaine man Such a one was Peter many times in the very assembly of the Apostles of a great authority surely amongst the Apostles who were all otherwise equall and yet he himselfe one of the company of the Apostles sent by his companions to Samaria with John Acts. 8. 14. and in the assembly giving an account of his Ministery to those that were of the Circumcision Acts 11. 2. But if any such Bishop like authority of any one above the rest as there was afterwards had been then surely the Apostles would have set down their names even at that time in their letters which they sent from one to another especially seeing Paul in his Epist to the Philippians doth name Bishops in the plurall number and Deacons or there should have beene at least some peculiar mention made of them Which seeing it is not done it appeareth that amongst these Governors there was none in degree above their companions and fellow Bishops but as occasion served the Churches were governed by a fellow-like and equall authority among the fellow Elders in their Elder-ships he onely going before the rest whose godlinesse and authority the company did most allow of Epiphanius against the Arrians defending the contrary opinion namely the Bishop ordained by man as ordained by God doth bring forth three Reasons to the contrary Two as it were out of the Word of God the third out of the History of those times The first place is 1 Tim. 5. 1. Rebuke not an Elder c. whereby he gathereth that Timothy had some authority over the Elders that is the Pastors of the Church of Ephesus But be it spoken with the favour of so worthy a man he should have marked that here an Elder is called he that is such by age not he that is a Pastor which is declared by the opposition next following of young men Another place is out of the same Epistle Receive not an occusation against an Elder 1 Tim. 5. 19. Whereby he gathereth that the Elders were subject to the Bishops and tribunall seat But who will grant him that Timothy was Bishop of Ephesus For the history will easily refell that which the Fathers doe report as certaine for no man can deny that Timothy was one that accompanied Paul and therefore no Bishop assigned to any one certaine place who was sent one while to this place another while to that for the establishing of the Churches And finally that he was an Euangelist and not a Bishop of any one certaine flocke I have desired thee saith he to abide at Ephesus whilest I went into Macedonia And why so namely to looke to the Church which he had begun to establish untill he were called for againe which he doth in the other Epistle What and did the Apostle rob the Ephesians of their Bishop without asking their Church at the least Surely when hee went last to Jerusalem never minding to returne to Ephesians either he would have restored Timothy unto them or the Ephesians would have required him againe of the Apostle when hee put them in minde of so great danger at hand or if any other were to be put into his roome he would have made expresse mention in that his divine Sermon But he is said to have sent for the Elders onely and to have warned them of the duty belonging to them all Yet it need not seeme strange to any that the Euangelist Timothy a man indued with so many and so great

gifts remaining at Ephesus did governe all things by his direction as one in degree above the Elders and by the Apostles authority appointed there for a time But let us grant Epiphanius more than this that Timothy had the authority of the laying on of hands out of these words of the Apostle Lay not hands suddenly upon any Let us grant this too that these duties belonged to the Governours yet we deny that Timothy could have had any authority therefore over the Elders of Ephesus except he had been an Euangelist For Paul himselfe Tim. 4. 14. doth shew sufficiently that the laying on of the hands was done in the name of the Eldership it selfe not by the authority of any superior Now the Reasons of the same Epiphanius are these Bishops saith he beget the Fathers of the Church but Elders the sonnes in as much as Bishops and not Elders ordained Bishops But what is this else than to aske to have that which is in question for it may be and ought to be answered that the Bishops tooke that authority upon them without warrant of the Word of God and that the rule is false which concerning this matter doth attribute it to the Apostles which may be shewed by the ordaining of Timothy by the Eldership Againe for as much as election is the chiefe ground of Church-offices which dependeth of the voyces of the whole company and not of the laying on of hands which made not Bishops but sent them into their possessions after they had made them we may more truly affirme with the Apostle that the holy Ghost by the voyces of the childrem themselves made the Fathers and not the Bishops Another of his Reasons is a depraving of places alleged out of Paul that the Church being new borne Bishops could not be so established every where at the first as is to be seene in the election of Deacons Whom yet can Epiphanius perswade that it was for want of fit men only that there were many Bishops in every Church For that which not only Hierome but Epiphanius against the Miletians also reporteth concerning them of Alexandria that is Alexandria never had two Bishops as the other cities upon what ground the men of Alexandria did it and followed not the examples of other Churches let them see to it Finally that this kinde of Bishop which who so beareth it is not the first in order amongst his fellow-Elders but in degree above them being the onely man in his diocesse is not ordained by the Word of God but by custome amongst the Fathers Hierome witnesseth as very many others long since have observed For these are his words in his Epistle to Euagrius The Apostle saith he doth teach plainly that Elders and Bishops are all one c. And whereas one after was chosen to be set over the rest that saith he was a remedy found out for a remedy of schisme that every one drawing Christ unto himselfe might not rend the Church in sunder For at Alexandria also from the time of Marke the Euangelist to the time of Heraclea and Dionyfius the Bishop the Elders placed one in a high degree or place chosen by themselves whom they called a Bishop Moreover upon the first to Titus An Elder and a Bishop saith he is all one and before by the instigation of the Divell there was partaking in Religion it was said amongst the people I am of Paul of Apollos and of Cephas the Churches were governed by the common advice of the Elders But after that every one imagined that those whom hee baptised were his owne and not Christs it was decreed throughout the whole world that one chosen of the Elders should be set above the rest unto whom all the care of the Church might appertaine to the taking away of the seeds of contentions And a little after as the Elders know that they are subject by the custome of the Church to the Bishop that is set over them so let the Bishops know that they are greater than the Elders rather by custome then by any vertue of the Lords appointment Yea and Augustine also in his 19. Epistle saith that according to the titles of honour which the use of the Church hath gotten the office of a Bishop is greater than the office of an Elder Chrysostome also witnesseth upon 1 Tim. cap. 3. that the Bishops differ from the Elders only in ordination that is as Theophylact speaks more plainly in the onely Ceremony of consecration Theodoret writing upon the same place saith That in the old time they called the same men Elders Bishops as though for sooth the thing it selfe had then beene onely called by another name and goeth about to prove that because Paul calleth Epaphroditus the Apostle of the Philippians This is of no weight at all The names which are given of fellow-labourer and fellow-soldier doe declare that hee was no Bishop in this kind of Bishop but an Euangelist tied to no one City much lesse to a Diocesse of the number of those whom the Apostles did keepe to send to and fro at the motion of the Spirit of God The Councell of Nice also disputing about the degrees of Bishops allegeth ancient customes whereof we mind to speake anon And whereas Cyprian not in one place calleth the Bishops successors of the Apostle whose authority is from God and if wee take it so as though by the very commandement of God these Bishops are the same that in time past the Apostles the thing it self doth refute that seeing there was alwayes a certain portion assigned to every Bishop But the Apostles by direction of the Spirit of God though not confusedly did exercise their Ministery throughout the whole world But if this be true there should have beene more Bishops in the Church of Rome it selfe namely Peter and Paul which yet afterwards was accounted peculiar to one And surely there cannot be more the chiefe in one and the same company at one time And whereas the name of Bishops is said of the Apostleship Acts 1. 20. It maketh nothing to the matter except a man by a like reason would have the Deacons to have beene Apostles because Paul calleth his Apostleship a Deaconship or Ministery But wee are to looke into that also that Hierome might seeme to be of the mind that this kinde of Bishop begun then when as schismes arose up in the Church That this is not so we may gather out of Paul himselfe who of purpose writing to the Corinthians about the same matter doth not onely passe over this remedy but also as foreseeing such a matter doth in the title of the Epistle joyne unto himselfe Sosthenes to teach by his example how carefully this Primacie is to be avoided in assemblies of the Church who it is evident were not onely the first in order next unto Chist but also highest in degree did execute their Ministery in common VVherefore no not the same Paul alone would excommunicate the incestuous persons