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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39224	Communion of churches, or, The divine management of gospel-churches by the ordinance of councils constituted in order according to the Scriptures as also the way of bringing all Christian parishes to be particular Reforming Congregationall Churches, humbly proposed as ... a means of uniting those two holy and eminent parties the Presbyterians and the Congregationals ... / written by John Eliot.	Eliot, John, 1604-1690.	1665 (1665)	Wing E508; ESTC R24949	30,563	42

Synod both by themselves and by chusing such as may further promote the same in a National Council c. V. The Time of this Election is to be in that Session of the first Councils which doth immediately precede the stated Quarterly time of the Provincial Councils Meeting VI. The Order and Manner of this Election may be this The Moderator of that Session may first put this to vote whether they will send bu●… one or more then one Teaching Elders for by the good Providence and rich Grace of Christ there may be s●…ndry able and eminent Lights in one first Council and such as that it were a publick injury and detriment to the Cause of Christ if they be not sent This provided That according to the Number of Teaching Elders a like Number of Ruling Elders be also sent with them The Manner of Election may be by Papers if they see meet which the Moderator and Notary are to take and number and manifest who are chosen and such as are chosen are by the Notary to be recorded VII The National Council doth consist of the most choice ●…oly able and eminent Lights in all the Provincial Councils by whom they are chosen and sent forth with their prayers and blessing Every Provincial Council chusing the most holy and able Elders both Teaching and Ruling that they have among them to constitute a National Council and to carry on the Ordinance of Counsel in that high and holy service of Christ and of all the Churches in the Nation ye●… and among other Nations if need be and when there is a calling thereunto VIII The Time of this Election is to be in that Session of the Provincial Councils which doth immediately precede the stated time of the Annual Session of the National Council The Order and Manner of their Election may be in all respects according to the forementioned Election in the Provincial Synod IX An Oecumenical Council is to consist of the most holy and eminent Lights in all the National Councils combined in this holy Ordinance of Mutual Counsel and may readily be ordered by this standard when the Lord shall in the riches of his grace give opportunity to exercise the same Touching the Duration of these Councils X. Every one of these Councils doth continue in being until according to Order a new Election be made the new Election doth antiquate the old Hence as the Primitive Church had Apostles alwayes in being for their help So there be at least three Orders of Ecclesiastical Councils ever in being in every populous Christian Nation who must at the stated Times and may at any ●…it time meet when the affairs of Christ and of any of the Churches do need and duely call for the same And when Christian Nations shall be thus combined there will be an Oecumenical Council ever in being yea and when all the World shall be combined there will be a great Oecumenical Council ever in being to order all ecclesiastical affaires in unity holiness and peace all the World over XI A principal objection ariseth against this fixing and stating of Councils viz. That although pro-renascent Councils are a divine remedy when troubles arise as it was at Antioch who also then finished the Council when the present work was finished but of fixed stated and permanent Councils we have no example nor doth there appear any ground i●… Scripture to bottom them upon Ans. The Primitive Churches had a stated and perm●…nent way of counsel eminently and more then our stated and permanent Councils can be for they had the Apostles and Evangelists constantly among them And though they had fixed Elders in every Church yet they did need the visitations and frequently made use of the counsel of the Apostles and Evangelists who were the permanent Councils of the Primitive Churches And though it hath pleased the wisdome of our great Lawgiver to give us but one Example of an ordinary Council and that he hath done to be our perpetual guide in our ordinary way yet there be many examples of the Churches need of and frequent use of the Apostles and Evangelists counsel whom they had alwayes with them or knew when and where to repair unto them for their help And we finde by much and long experience that our Reforming Churches do stand in as much if not more need of constant and stated Councils as the primitive Churches did of the constant presence of the Apostles and Evangelists alwayes for their directive and often for their corrective ●…elp We finde by experience that our Churches do oftener need the directive help of Councils then the corrective and in both respects together we need them to be always in being Many good works for the promotion of the Gospel and Kingdom of Jesus Christ do stick long in the birth and languish yea oft miscarry and vanish for want of the help of Councils Sundry Churches also and remote places ly long in the dark without food and help for want of the orderly care of setled Councils Every bodies work is no-bodies But when all Churches are in order all know where their work lyeth Disorders likewise and insuperable distempers by long ●…retting and burning in the bosom of sundry Churches to the great dishonour of God and scandal to the Saints for want of stated Councils some or other refusing in the time of their temptations to submit themselves unto the remedy especially having that advantage that without their consent a pro-renascent Council may not be called or if called by some onely they have the less opportunity of doing good and are in the more danger of doing hurt Nor can it be said that there is no example nor ground of stated and permanent Councils in the holy Scriptures seeing the Apostles and Evangelists were so and more unto the Primitive Churches Hence also it was enough to give us one p●…tern of an ordinary Council there was no need for the continuation thereof whilst the Apostles and Evangelists did survive Object But doth not this strengthen the Argument for Bishops and such like Superintendents over the Churches for so they a gue Ans. Were there a like example in an ordinary way set down in Scripture for this work to be done by any one Man not extraordinarily called as there is for a Council then their Argument would have force with it but such ●… pattern or precept for it is not to be found And the way of Councils which is clearly instituted is sufficient to attain the end as we have found by pracious and pienteous experience though we are still defective in that we have not our Councils stated and we do finde great inconvenience by reason of that defect XII These Councils in the time of their duration may multiply or cut short their Sessions as need may require according as the business of the Churches and affairs of Christ may be more or less pressing and urgent XIII There be two sorts of their Meetings Sta●…ed Occasional The

according to this Type Rev. 7. 4. the whole Visible Church is ordered multiplied and ●…ealed in this Number And Rev. 21. 12 14. the Twelve Tribes are the Twelve Gates and the Twelve Apostles are the Twelve Foundations of the New Ierusalem ●…hat glorious visible gospel-Gospel-Church Ezek●…8 ●…8 which is called Iehovah-Shamniah is ordered by the Number Twelve according to the Twelve Tribes of Israel as the Typicall and of Canaan was IV. In the perfect Pattern f●…r the Word is a perfect Rule which the holy Ghost hath left us Acts 15. as there is a ground work for the least of Councils in the Two Churches so of compleat Councils in the Twelve Apostles For though Herod had killed Iames with the sword Acts●… ●… ●… his Martyrdome did not remove him out of the Foundation but rather six him in it And the Apostles were most of them killed for the Testimony of Iesus before Iohn had his Revelation and yet we finde them all written in the Foundation of the New Ierusalem And therefore what should hinder but that in the ordering of Compleat Councils we should lay our foundation in the Number Twelve and all the Orders of Councils should be raised and compacted by that Number even from the bottom to the top V. And unto this Order and Number we may the ●…ather be induced because here will be the Twenty four Elder●… who do wait upon and worship the holy Majesty of God in all the Churches upon earth as he hath pleased to reveal himself Rev. 4. where the presence of God among the Churches is reve●…led First with his glorious Angels next him represented by the four living Creatures according to Ezek. 1. 10. And secondly with the Communion of Churches about him represented by the Twenty four Elders who do represent all the Churches on earth in Communion as will anon appear VI. For when Twelve Churches are combined to hold Communion together the least Number that one Church must by Institution send forth to that first Council must be one Teaching Elder and one Ruling Elder and then this Society of Churches is represented by twenty four Elders strictly And when Twelve of these first Councils shall with consent of the particular Churches elect and send forth one Teaching and one Ruling Elder the ablest and fittest among them to constitute a Provincial Council that Council will be strictly the Twenty four Elders representing all the Churches in that Province concurring in the Election And when Twelve Provincial Councils shall with like consent send forth from each of them one Teaching and one Ruling Elder the most holy and able among them to constitute a National Council they will still be strictly the Twenty four Elders representing the whole Nation in their Ecclesiastical state before the Lord. And when Twelve National Councils shall send forth in like manner from each of them one Teaching and one Ruling Elder the most holy and fit among them to constitute a●… Oecumenic●…l Council or by what other less term it may be thought meet to call it they will still be strictly the Twenty four Elders representing before the Lord all the Churches in all those Nations concurring in the Election And why may not this ascent and representation of all before the Lord be part of the meaning of that Text Rev. 5. 8 9 11 12 14 VII And this point is the more to be ●…eeded because Gods visible respect unto and acceptation of any people is according to the good aspect and condition of their Representatives There may be much drose in a Parish a Province a Nation and in the world yet if they have good Representatives before the Lord and if they carry the Lords matters well in his sight that doth obtain through Christ a favourable acceptation of and dispensation towards all that are so represented And he hath instituted Representatives of the Church on earth Aaron represented all Israel on his breast before the Lord Exod. 28. 29. And a Council consisting of Messengers of Churches the glory of Christ do represent the Churches who send and constitute that Council Acts 15. Oh! how happy were it for any people to be in such visible instituted Order on earth as that they may be through Christ acceptably represented before the Lord For God is so well pleased to see his people in Order as that he will dwell in that place and call it by his own Name Iehovah-Shamniah especially when they are Civilly as well as Ecclesiastically in good order represented before Him VIII Furthermore this is to be considered that though the Twenty four Elders are so called by the least Number that they can be by this Constitution yet according as the riches of Gods grace is more abundantly poured out they may be more in Number though under this constituting denomination For one Church may send forth ●…ing Elders as Antioch sent forth Paul and Barnabas and Ruling Elders or Brethren proportionably So likewise upon the same ground when there be more Eminent Lights in any of the Councils as through grace it is like often to be they may send more then one to the Provincial or National or Oecumenical Councils but still they are the Twenty four Elders because that is the Foundation Number IX What if I should illustrate this Point by that of the Apostles who are often in Scripture called the Twelve Apostles and yet there were more Apostles then Twelve for who doubteth but that Paul who was none of the Twelve yet he was an Apostle and a chief Apostle a great Foundation and Barnabas was an Apostle also Acts 14 14. and 1 Cor. ●… 9. But Twelve is the Foundation Number and therefore they are so denominated X. Again though Twelve Churches be the lowest Number of the first Combination yet they may be more then Twelve when the pourings out of Gods grace shall be inlarged yea they may be any Number under Twenty four Churches If then Twenty three Churches should be in a Combination their Messengers sent to the first Council will be a great Number but still they are the Twenty four Elders before the Lord by their fundamental Constitution So a like Number of Provincial Councils and a like Number of National Councils though their Messengers are many yet they are still the Twenty four Elders growing up through grace and increasing unto more Orders of Councils for the greater glory of Christ. And when through grace there shall be Twenty four Churches or first Councils or Provincial or National Councils then they must be compacted into two Orders of those Councils because Twelve is the Foundation Number by which they are multiplied and compacted And when this is done they are reduced to be Twenty four Elders strictly the Foundation Number As in the Order of that Civill Government set up by Moses the Orders of Ten and of fifty c. are denominated b●… the least and constituting Number though those Orders may consist when they are full of people and