Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	covenant_n	sacrament_n	seal_n	5,151	5	9.5245	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96932	Private-men no pulpit-men: or, A modest examination of lay-mens preaching. Discovering it to be neither warranted by the Word of God; nor allowed by the judgement, or practise, of the Churches of Christ in New-England. / Written by Giles Workman, M.A. and master of the Colledge School in Gloucester. In answer to a writing published by John Knowls.	Workman, Giles, 1604 or 5-1665.	1646 (1646)	Wing W3583; Thomason E354_9; ESTC R201096	26,327	32

they were no longer private persons but authorized for the work and so no president for Lay-men to preach 2. Grant that these preaching Christians had no Commission from the Apostles to preach yet might they be put out of the condition of private persons by an Immediate Call from Jesus Christ such as the Apostles had Evangelists and Prophets as they were extraordinary Officers as the Apostles themselves and had extraordinary gifts so might their Call to the work be either in part or whole as the Apostles was Gal. 1. 1. not by man but by Jesus Christ though they were moved in an inferiour Orbe to and by the Apostles for they did go and come as the Apostles did send them And it is apparent that some men were thus called by the immediate voice of Christ Gal. 1. 23. from heaven Saul afterwards Paul was called to preach the faith when he was going to destroy the faith and this Call he had by the immediate voice of Christ from heaven when he was going on the high Priests cursed Arrand to Act 9 4. V. 1. 2. bring bound to Jerusalem the Disciples of the Lord. And this Paul often mentions as to exalt the grace of God towards him so to make good his Calling of Apostle-ship against those who questioned his Calling to preach that so they might work in people a light esteeme of that Doctrine he did preach His a Gal. 1. 16. calling to preach was by Revelation The b Gal. 1. 11 12 Eph. 3. 3. Gospel which he preached he had by Revelation he c Gal. 2. 2. went to Jerusalem by Revelation Thus was his Calling by Revelation from heaven And it is as apparent that some of these men in this very Chapter as Philip by name was ordered what to do by the immediate direction of the Lord himself by his Spirit and Angels who did speak to him and in a miraculous way carry Act. 8. 26. 29 39. him from place to place And can it be proved that the rest did not preach by the like direction And if so then none can argue for Lay-mens preaching from this place unlesse they have the like Call by immediate inspiration and by the voice of the holy Spirit and Angels as Philip had Simile Suppose all the Officers of this Garrison were to stay in and the common Souldiers to depart out of the Town and these we finde in the Countrey gathering Companies and doing those things that belong to a Captains or Colonels office and that in so doing they do well this we must suppose too for The hand of the Lord was with them Act. 11. 21. neither of us question but these primitive Christians did well and their duty in preaching what could hence be concluded one of these two things Either that these common Souldiers had Commission from the Governor at or from the Lord Generall after their leaving the Town to do what they did Or else that it is lawfull for common souldiers without any Commission of their own authority to raise Companies and do the offices of Captains and Colonels Would any conclude thus Yet thus our Writer concludes We find these primitive Christians preaching therefore say we they had authority from the Apostles or from God himself by immediate Revelation because preaching belongs to Officers which have their commission from Christ for this work Epbes 4. 11. But because we find these Christians preaching and they were not the Apostles therefore it is lawfull for private persons without any other authority than their own gifts to preach thus our Writer concludes And thus he produceth a new way of authorizing Preachers The old wayes the Apostle acquaints Tit. 1. 5. Act. 14. 23. us with Gal. 1. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Jesus Christ viz. immediately so the Apostles and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by man so ordinary Preachers are called This Writer adds a third way of making a Preacher and that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by himself A way that Christ himself nor no man else may be called by as St. Paul saith Heb. 5. 4 5. Thirdly and lastly Tell me were all these dispersed Christians private persons or onely some If onely some then other some of them were out of the Condition of private persons and how then prove you that any did preach besides those that were out of the Condition of private persons He saith All of them did preach but the text saith not so And if all of them did preach and were all private persons then private persons may baptize too For some of these in this Chap. v. 12. 13. Philip by name did baptize the Samaritanes men and women and Simon Magus too And what here Philip did the rest did unlesse you will say that which I think you will not having taken notice what the Scripture saith of them Act. 11. 21. that the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number beleeved and turned to the Lord viz by their Ministery that they which had such power to preach and convert had not power to baptize beleevers converted And if they had power to baptize also then hence you may as well conclude that private persons may baptize as that they may preach One conclusion is as good as the other If you be of that opinion let us know And then by good consequence it will follow that women also Eliam soeminas in extremâ necessitate posse baptizare Bellar. de sacr bapt ca. 7. ●● 3. Midwives if need be may baptize And here Bellarmine will help in the proof For you hold Gifts a sufficient Call to preach yet deny a woman whatsoever gifts she hath to exercise them in preaching because she is forbidden but where is she forbidden to baptize And if you say a woman may not speak in the Church we may expound that as you do she may not preach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not speak as Doctors Thus you had need you see take heed how you break the bounds Christ hath set otherwise no stay till you come on the shelves In this Point also hear Mr. Cotton We do beleeve that they to Way of the Chu of Christ in N. Engl. c. 4. S. 2. Certè eosdem constituit Evangelii praecones baptismi administros A Christo enim haec conjunct a esse ostendo Evangelii praedicationem baptizandi ministerium ex Mat. 28. 19. Cal Tract Theol. p. 350. whom the preaching or dispensing of the Gospet or Covenant of Grace unto the Church is committed to them also is committed the dispensing of the Seals of the Covenant He brings this as an argument to prove that Teachers may administer the Sacraments as well as Pastors because they have power to preach as well as the Pastors have So you say Lay-men have power to preach as well as Ministers therefore if Mr. Cottons argument be good they may baptize as well as Ministers In his judgement they may do

one as well as the other that is neither And saith he that the administration of the Seals is annexed to the preaching of the Word is plain from Matth. 28. 19 20. Go make Disciples and baptize them Reys of the King cap. 5. p. 20. Obj. If you distinguish between Pastorall preaching and preaching by vertue of a Gift and say Lay-men may not administer the Sacraments because they do not preach Pastorally Sol. A learned Divine hath shaped a good Answer to this Rutherf Due Right of Presbyt c. 5. S. 1. p. 277. The same distinction saith he may as well hold that there is a pastorall administration of the Sacraments and a common administration of them by vertue of a gift The former way Pastors and Teachers onely may baptize the latter way Lay-men may baptize too And why may we not lead on the distinction farther and say there is a ruling by office and so Rulers and Magistrates do lay censures taxes and punishments on offenders and there is a ruling by Gift and so private men may lay censures taxes and punishments on others Apage●●…gas away with such fooleries But let us suppose that these of the scatrered Church who preached were private persons this will nothing at all help our Writer to justifie that practise of preaching which he defends unlesse he could prove that these private men did preach at Jerusalem too where all the Apostles were For this his proof these private men being scattered among those who had no Ministery nor ever heard of Christ did preach therefore there a private man may preach and that ordinarily for that is the practise where a Ministery a faithfull Ministery is or may be had Doth this follow Yet A positive law may yeild in case of necessitie Matth. 12. 4. thus our whole Discourse is to be understood Whether a private person coming into such a Countrey among such a people who never had the sound of the Gospel among them may preach is quite without the bounds of our Question Let our Writer therefore prove that these Christians did preach at Jerusalem where the Apostles were and then there is some consequence that private men may preach where Preachers by Office are else not Now of the last place alledged by John Knowls to prove Lay-men may preach it is 1 Cor. 14. the onely place and yet he slips over it with slender proof and as slight answer to that which was laid in his way in the Ministers Reasons the sound of the words being more for him than the sense This whole Chapter runs upon extraordinary gifts And I take prophesying here to be prophesying by the Spirit by Revelation and good Reasons may be produced I think to prove it if John Knowls will deny it See his proof Kno. It is Gods Ordinance viz. that Lay-men do preach this doth appear in that the Apostle commands the Church to desire it and he exhorts all to desire to prophesie and tels them that they may all prophesie Answ To this he shall have my Answer after Mr. Cottons who makes this Objection Obj. If saith he it be objected Private members may all Keys of the Kingd of heaven c. 5. of them prophesie publickly 1 Cor. 14. 31. and therefore also baptize and so this act of authority viz. to preach and baptize is not peculiar to Preaching Elders To this objection he returns this Answer Answ The place in the Corinths doth not speak of ordinary private members but of men furnished with extraordinary That you may receive the miraculous gift of Gods Spirit Diodat in 1 Cor. 14. gifts Kings at the time of their Coronation give many extraordinary large gifts which they do not daily poure out in like sort in their ordinary government Christ soon after his Ascension poured out a larger measure of his Spirit then in times succeeding The members of the Church of Corinth as of many other in those primitive times were inriched with all knowledge and in all utterance 1 Cor. 1. 5. and the same persons that had the gift of prophesie in the Church of Corinth had also the gift of Tongues which put upon the Apostle a necessity to take them off from their frequent speaking with tongues by preferring prophesie before it 1 Cor. 14. 2. to 24. so that though all they might prophesie as having extraordinary gifts for it yet the like liberty is not allowed to them that want the like gifts In the Church of Israel none besides the Priests and Levites did ordinarily prophesie either in the Temple or in the Synagogues unlesse they were either furnished with extraordinary gifts of prophesie as the Prophets of Israel or were set apart and trained to prepare for such a calling as the sons of the Prophets When Amos was forbidden by the high Priest of Bethel to prohesie at Bethel Amos doth not alledge nor plead the liberty of any Israelite to prophesie in the holy assemblies but alledgeth onely his extraordinarie calling Amos 7. 14 15. It appeareth also that the sons of the Prophets that is men set apart and trained up to prepare for that calling were allowed the like liberty 1 Sam. 19. 20. This is Mr. Cottons Answer and 't is so full that for brevities sake I will spare mine here which I gave to the same purpose formerly He tels us these were not ordinary private men but such as had extraordinary gifts the gift of Tongues and the like liberty of Preaching is not allowed them that want the like gifts c. Therefore it is not Gods ordinance but crosseth Gods ordinance that private men should preach the Word if Mr. Cottons judgement be right who tels us that the preaching of Keys of the Kingd of heav c. 5. the Word is the first and principall part of the Key of Authority or Rule which Christ hath given to the Officers of the Church and not to all Officers neither but t is peculiar to preaching Elders Who are they then that the Apostle commands and exhorts to prophesie Those that were desirers of spirituall gifts What gifts did they desire and what gifts did they most use 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 12. Tongues as it is evident for the Apostles scope is in this chap. to take them off from their frequent speaking with Tongues as Mr. Cotton And the Apostle exhorts and commands these to desire and use these gifts Tongues but rather to prophesie Loc. cit Well then our Lay-men are exhorted and commanded by the Apostle in this place to preach so are they then exhorted and commanded to speak with Tongues for beside v. 1. 12. see what he saith v. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will that ye all speak with Tongues So I read it as it is in the originall Hence then we will argue as he doth as we must argue thus that it is Gods ordinance and the Apostles will that all Lay-men or all private persons do speak with Tongues And what is the gift