Selected quad for the lemma: head_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	body_n	member_n	mystical_a	10,421	5	11.0632	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61101	A Protestants account of his orthodox holding in matters of religion at this present in difference in the church, and for his own and others better confirmation or rectification in the points treated on : humbly submitted to the censure of the Church of England.	Spelman, Henry, Sir, 1564?-1641.; Spelman, John, Sir, 1594-1643.	1642 (1642)	Wing S4940; ESTC R12772	24,078	35

from the concurrent Judgement of all the Prophets of that Church to which they ought to submit their judgements so ought the concurrent Judgement of all the Prophets of every particular Church to be received of that Church untill it appear that it is contrary to the Judgement of the Church Universall But then as the Universall Church must be heard before the particular so must the Universality of the particular before any particulars of that particular Church for God saith Saint Paul is not the author of confusion And therefore he not onely obiects against the refractory particulars of Corinth We that is the Church of Corinth have no such Custome But lest they should alleadge errour also in that particular Church he justifies their practise by the practice of the Universall Neither saith he have the Churches of God By which it appears private men are tyed to submit to the judgement of their particular Church and that unto the judgement of the Universall But if any ask what is the Catholique Church when and how is her judgement to be had The Catholique Church properly so called is the whole number of Christians in all places Universally professing Christ And this since the Apostles times never was nor can be assembled into one to give sentence upon any thing But as in the Politique Body of Civill States the reall assembling of all the Members personally being unnecessary inconvenient and almost impossible some persons representative of the whole being by intimation of the superiours from all parts delegate to give the common suffrage of the whole do by the Laws of God and man give the binding sentence of the whole Body Universall So in the mysticall Body of the Church the Ecclesiasticks which are the onely authorized Members for discerning and judging matters that depend upon the Word of God because that to them and to them alone were the promises of the holy Ghosts assistance made they I say either all assembling themselves together or at least in their severall Diocesses chosing and delegating from among themselves trusty men to do the office of the Clergy in that point do truely and properly give the entire Vote of the whole Catholique Church And in this way we have many sentences and Decrees thereof remaining to us which being from age to age successively received do stand in force and speak unto this very present against which whosoever shall in practice or doctrine attempt any thing to the prejudice of what is so established shall apparantly declare himself an insolent and schismaticall exalter of himself and of his own private judgement against the judgement of the whole Catholique Church and in the same way that the Church Catholique speaketh in the same also if need be speaketh every particular Church This being the extraordinary way wherein the Church speaketh not but upon extraordinary occasions she hath also for ordinary occasions a continuall constant voyce in an ordinary way The Church considered in it self is not nor cannot be lesse than the whole Body of it but considered in the actions of it any part by which it duely worketh as to that work onely which it so intendeth is truely and properly enough called the Church If we speak of a man as of his being as that he lives is in health young lusty c. we mean by the man no lesse than the whole man with all his members but if we speak of the particular actions of the man as that he did hear see speak take c. we do not then intend that every distinct member of his body did actually hear see speak take c. but that the man performed those actions by the proper members respectively ordained for the doing of them and that neverthelesse the office of each member so ministring was the proper act of the whole man so that though the eyes of the man onely saw his ears heard his tongue spake and his hands handled yet is the whole man said truely to hear see speak and handle As then in the body naturall so in the Body mysticall the Church though the Church in her being comprehend all members as well Lay as Clergie yet in her work and actions she worketh not promiscuously by all but by her proper and ordained members for if every one were an eye to see a head to judge or a mouth to give sentence then were they all but one equipotent member and where then were the body saith S. Paul therefore though in the question of circumcising the believing Gentiles the letters of Ordinance went in the name of the Apostles Elders and Brethren yet plainly the Brethren had no vote in the decision of the question but as the Apostles and Elders are onely said to have come together to consider of the matter so the debate and decision there is onely theirs and the Decrees thereupon are in the 16 Chapter called onely the Decrees that were ordained of the Apostles and Elders and if we will have the Brethren to have been named in the Apostles Letters to shew that Lay-men have authority to vote in matters of Religion then must we also confesse that Lay-men aswell as the Man of God have authority to judge in matters of Doctrine also for they that writ the Letters say of the point of Doctrine We gave no such Commandment Therefore plainly the judgement of the Apostles and Elders was in that matter the judgement of the Brethren and of the whole Church there by their unanimous submission and agreement unto them And when all is done the voting of Apostles Elders and Brethren together is a thing farre differing from the voting of Lay-men onely and from Lay-mens choosing of the votes In the same manner the voyce of the ordayned Governours and Ministers in every particular Church in those things that are committed to their Care and Charge is the voice of the Church it self and the voyce of that particular Church not being repugnant to faith nor the declared judgement of the Catholique Church is as to the Members of that Church the voice of the whole Church Catholique so that he that refuseth to hear the voice of the Governours of his particular Church refuseth to hear his particular Church and not that Church onely but the whole Church Catholique Again as in the body the most usefull members thereof the eyes the ears the tongue the hands the feet would not onely be uselesse but make a confused deformity if they were every one annexed immediately to the grosse of the body and not joyned by the mediation of some noble limb the eyes the ears and tongue by the head the hands by the arms and the feet by the legs so would it be in the Church Catholique if every particular Member should hold it self immediately to depend on it and not on the noble and mediating limb of his particular Church that so by a usefull and decent subordination of the Members under the head The

creep in unawares that they despise dominion and speak evill of dignities that they speak evill of those things they understand not that they go the wayes of Cain and runne greedily after the errour of Balam for reward and perish in the gain saying of Core as much as to say men of unbrotherlike affections seekers of their own gain and disobedient to their Superiours further that they are murmurers complainers walking after their own lusts speaking swelling words having mens persons in admiration for advantage And lastly That they be they that seperate themselves What have we in this but an entire description of the whole practice of the spirit of errour and of adversation to Christianity which the Scripture calleth Antichrists By which sinne that through the light of the Gospel was subdued and deprived of his first and naturall Empire consisting in the viciousnesse of corrupt nature turning himself unto his Artes like the divell into an Angel of light does now with refined and mysterious falsities such as resemble Piety and true Religion renew his onsets in a warfare of a more dangerous consequence so various and in apparance so contrary often to sinne as puts the strongest Christian to the use of all his Armour of righteousnesse as well on the right hand as on the left to be able to withstand him This Antichristianisme is here represented to us in a twofold form The first an Empire of mysterious sinne A body of members well united together under one head or Soveraigne set forth one while by the names of the Man of sinne The sonne of perdition The wicked one Another while by the name of Babylon the great The mother of fornications The greatwhore c. The description of which Empire is in such Characters as marveilously sureth with the Roman Papacy The other form of mysterious wickednesse is of a quite contrary nature A loose Anarchy of singulars of men by themselves not united together in one by any common Bond of true Communion but like quicksands cast together by the working of the Sea and from time to time shifted and changed with it so they as judgements private ends or affections do concur are brought accidentally to a concurrence among themselves but without any ground or sollid principle of uniting For though they seem to put on the Yoak of Christ yet every one keeps the Bonds of the yoak in his own hands and is the Soveraign Arbiter of his own obedience Notwithstanding which contrariety of theirs to the Roman Church who abuses obedience as these do liberty they are no other then derivatives of the same spirit of errour begot by way of opposition on her that is the mother of fornications Who having against the manifest Word of God usurped a tyrannicall soveraignty both over Gods Word his Church and all the Princes of his Church and being beaten from it the divell instead of quitting the rule that he held by her Monarchall tyranny changes only his vicegerent and continues the same usurpation in a popular and Anarchall way that is by the hands of every particular man or number of men who abusing the example of rejection of her usurped authority shall invade and reject all authority how lawfully soever established in the Church Both are opposers of Christs Doctrine both usurpers of the authority of his Church both hiding their usurpation under a form of godlinesse they differ but in this Men in the one partake only of the iniquity by influence from the head but in the other every distinct member is the originall Author of it to himself We finding then such an alarme in the Scripture blown against perverse and self-led professors of Religion set forth unto us by such Characters as Wolves Foll●wers of Cain Balaam and Corah cursed children and the like Notwithstanding that they have sheeps cloathing forms of godlinesse and fained words to cover them It remains that we strictly examine what fruits or works have passed our hands which in their common and naturall acceptation are evill though brought forth for good ends and that we utterly relinquish them that we take heed of wayes of singularity that lead to false accusation trayterousnesse headynesse high-mindednesse and denying of the power of godlinesse That we take heed of the doctrines of those that draw disciples after them That creep into houses That go out from the fellowship of the Apostles and continue not with them That follow the wayes of Cains uncharitablenesse of Balaams prophesying for lucre or of Corabs disobedience That we take heed of those that despise Government Are presumptuous self-willed not afraid to speak evill of dignities that despise dominion have mens persons in admiration because of advantage That heap to themselves Teachers That separate themselves And lastly That while we justly hate Popery we do not in any thing partake of that sinne of the Popes which made him that hatefull Apostate and mysticall enemy of the Church namely That we do not by assuming into a wrong hand any power or authority which God hath by his Word committed to the Body of the Pastors of his Church onely rob him of his rightfull Jurisdiction as they that have invaded his Tythes and Offerings robbed him of his rightfull Possessions FINIS 2 Pet. 1. 20. 1 Tim. 3. 15. Matth. 28. 20. Luk. 10. 16. Ioh. 16. 13. 1 Cor. 14. 32 33. 1 Cor 11. 16. 1 Cor. 12. 12. 1 Cor. 12. 19. Acts 15. 23. Acts 16. 4 Coloss. 2. 19. Matth. 18. 17. 1 Cor. 14. 32. ● Tim. 3 2. Deut. 12. 8. Heb 5. 8. Mala. 2. 7. 1 Tim. 3. 15. 1 Cor. 1 Pet. 2 13 Gen. 17. 6. 1 Sam. 15. 23. Hos. 4. 4. Num. 16. 3 Act. 19. 14 1 Cor. 14. 32. Numb. 4. 15. 1 Cor 12. 28. Deut. 33. 11. Isa. 54. 17. Tit. 2. 15. 1 Tim. 4. 12. a Tit. 1. 5. b 1 Tim. 5. 19 c 1 Tim. 13 d Tit. 1. 11. e Tit. 1. 5. Psal. 111. 4 Isa. 5. 20. 1 Ioh 2. 22. 2 Thessal 2. 4. 1 Cor. 14. 40. Viz. Two in the Psalmes two in the old Testament two in the new and two out of the Epistles and Gospels 1 Cor. 10. 21. Psal. 23. Io. 9. 7. Isai. 8. 5. 1 Cor. 1. 11. Act. 29. 30 2 Thessal 2. 3. 1 Tim 3 2 2 Tim 3. 2. 2 Pet. 2. 10. 1 Ioh. 2. 19 Ep. Iude 4. 2 Thes. 2. 3 and 8. 1 Pet. 2. 15 Ep. Iude 11. Mal. 3. 8.