Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	gospel_n	heaven_n	key_n	1,914	5	10.0076	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02990	A friendly triall of the grounds tending to separation in a plain and modest dispute touching the lawfulnesse of a stinted liturgie and set form of prayer, Communion in mixed assemblies, and the primitive subject and first receptacle of the power of the Keyes: tending to satisfie the doubtfull, recall the wandering, and to strengthen the weak: by John Ball.	Ball, John, 1585-1640.	1640 (1640)	STC 1313; ESTC S122227	213,948	338

but authority and power onely to apply that power to him whom they chuse The power of the Imperiall dignity is not in the electours of the Emperours nor the power of that office and authority whereunto a minister is elected in the church who chuseth him to that office If we consider what men give or give not universally it must be denyed that any men can make ministers because they do not give the office gifts or authority which is from Christ alone And therefore as they receive their office and graces from God so they execute their office in the name of Christ and not of the church whereas if the church did virtually and out of power make an officer he should execute his office in her name as we see with those whom the king maketh in the common-wealth But the church dealeth in the election of ministers in a steward-like manner ministring to the sole Lord and Master of the house and receiveth them into the house not in her own but in the Lords name and to do their office not in her name but in the name of their Lord and Master who onely out of power did conferre that office upon them Whence it followeth that ordinary power of the keyes with the execution thereof is not given to the communitie of the faithfull or the whole multitude much lesse to two or three knit together in covenant The keyes of the kingdome of heaven were promised and given to Peter as to a faithfull man and so to all the faithfull or to the communitie of the faithfull By the keyes is meant the Gospel of Christ opening a way by him and his merits as the doore into the kingdome and we must take heed of this deep delusion of Antichrist in imagining that this power of binding or loosing sinnes is held to any office or order in the church Whereupon it followeth necessarily that one faithfull man yea or woman either may as truly and effectually loose or bind both in heaven and earth as all the ministers in the world Either this is not to the purpose or the power of the keyes and so all communicated power ecclesiasticall with the execution thereof is committed to every faithfull man and woman as truly as to the Apostles That private Christians yea women and children may exhort rebuke or comfort ex officio charitat is generali out of the generall office of charity we confesse that by such exhortations people have been brought to the faith we also believe But that power to preach per modum legationis by way of embassage or power of the keyes hath been committed to them we never find rather this power was proper to the ministers ex Divino instituto speciali by speciall Divine institution and established upon speciall promise Unto Peter making confession was the promise of the keyes made but not to him as a confessour but to him and the rest as they should be Apostles sent forth with authoritie and commission to preach the Gospel plant churches bind and loose c. Otherwise not onely the communitie of the faithfull but every faithfull man or woman might excercise those acts of feeding binding and loosing and ruling implyed in the power of the keyes In phrase of speech to deliver the keyes unto a man is to make him an officer steward or dispenser in the house under his lord and master to give him authority to open and shut bind and loose When our Saviour said to his Disciples Whose sinnes ye remit they are remitted As my Father sent me so send I you Go teach all nations Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven doth he not appoint them to chief offices in his house and what doth he give them more then the keyes of the kingdome A legate or messenger is not sent without authority power and jurisdiction nor the keyes of the house committed to his trust and care who is not in office The keyes of the kingdome import not onely authority and jurisdiction but power of exercising and for that reason some have thought Peter to be a sociall type of the whole church because the church doth exercise the keyes But the community of the faithfull are not officers in the house to exercise the power of the keyes to open and to shut And if Peter received the keyes from Christ as a faithfull man then the Apostles and their successours received their order and jurisdiction their authority and power of exercising from the faithfull and not from Christ immediately Thus Protestant Divines dispute against the Papists If Bishops receive their authority and power of exercising immediately from Christ by mandate mission and commission then they derive it not from the Pope And by the same reason if the power of the keyes be the immediate gift of God to the Apostles and their successours then they derive not their power and authority from the people or faithfull in covenant There is a key of supreme Authority proper to God alone a key of Excellency given to Christ and proper to him a key of Ministery given to the Apostles and their successours and if any be pleased so to call it a key of Charity given to all the faithfull who are able to exhort rebuke comfort and instruct For every Christian may admonish rebuke comfort exhort and so convert a sinner from the errour of his way and cover a multitude of sinnes but this is onely an act of love and charity an office or duty which by right of brotherhood every one oweth unto his neighbour without any speciall calling or authority Whereas the matter we speak of is the spirituall power which Christ hath given for the preservation and government of his church the exercise whereof consisteth in acts of order office ministery or function whereunto they are in speciall designed and called And so if the matter of the exhortation rebuke or admonition be one for substance the order function authority commission power of exercising and calling to exercise is not the same And therefore the power of the keyes promised to Peter which doth note power and authority of function was not promised nor given to the communitie of the faithfull much lesse to every faithfull man or woman The power of the keyes given to the Apostles was given to the church intuitu ejusdem tanquam finis totius The flux of ecclesiasticall authority from the church is two fold per intuitum as in them that be immediately called of Christ per interventum as in them that are called mediately It is true the Apostles were given to the church intuitu ejusdem tanquam finis and the power they received was for the good of the whole but this is not enough that power may be said to be received immediately by the church as the first receptacle of it and from it derived unto others but this power must be in the community as the

first subject from whom it cometh to the officers As the power of seeing is not onely given intuitu hominis as the end of it and the totum to whom it agreeth but is in homine as the first subject from whom it cometh to the eye The Apostles and other governours were given of Christ for the church as for the end and all their authority was given unto them for the church as for the whole but the authority it self was immediately derived from Christ and is not in the church as the immediate subject thereof The authority of the Apostles and other guides was for the church given for the good of the whole society and so may be called the authority of the church but the authority is not immediately in the church as the subject nor derived from the church but from Christ the King of the church The authority of governours is given of Christ for a gift to the church but not for a gift absolute that it may reside in the power of the whole church to whom it is given but for a conditionall gift that it may be communicated to the governours themselves for the edification of the whole It is one thing then to ask for what end or whose use the keyes are given another to whom To every one is given the declaration of the spirit for profit that is the good of the church But was this gift given to the community of the faithfull first and immediately No by gift and possession it was given to some but for use and profit it was publick As the Saints are not priests onely for themselves but for their brethren for whom they offer up the spirituall sacrifices of prayer and thanksgiving so neither are they kings for themselves alone but for their brethren also having the power of Christ whereby to judge them 1. Cor. 5. 4 12. the keyes of the kingdome to bind and loose them Matth. 16. 19. in the order of him prescribed The order of kings is the highest order or estate in the church but the order of Saints is the order of kings and we are kings as we are Saints not as we are officers Exod. 19. 6. 1. Pet. 2. 9. Rev. 1. 6. Christ maketh every believer a king priest and prophet to teach exhort reprove comfort offer up spirituall sacrifices of prayer and praise and to guide and govern in the wayes of godlinesse But this belongeth not to the spirituall ministeriall power and authority which Christ hath given for the conservation and government of his church For every Christian man and woman is made a king priest and prophet unto God to perform all offices required in that relation but the spirituall power of government with the execution thereof is not committed to every believer in particular nor to any one The officers of Christ do neither feed and teach as prophets nor govern as kings nor offer sacrifices as priests The word it self teaching and feeding is one thing which floweth from Christ as Prophet the administration of the word whence also floweth the act of governing is from Christ as King It is from internall communion with Christ that the sound sincere faithfull and they onely are made spirituall kings and priests unto God but it is from Christ as King governing externally as be beareth the similitude of a politicall head that his servants do feed rule and censure in his name They onely are made true kings and priests unto God who have received from Christ the life of grace but they have received authority from Christ to do service in his church who have not received life of grace nor are made kings or priests unto God The Kingdome Priesthood or Prophesie of Christ doth make no man politically either priest or king or prophet for then all believers should exercise the office of politicall priests kings and prophets in the church which is opposite to the nature of Christs kingdome Christ according to his Person is neither externall King nor Pastour but doth govern his church externally by pastours and ministers yet not as by kings or priests politicall but as servants onely Pastours and teachers are but officers in the church and in no kingly authority by participation of Christs kingly office neither are they as civill governours though the Lords servants yet the peoples lords and masters But it is one thing to be a spirituall king or priest unto God another to be a pastour or teacher in Gods church for that is common to all Christians this peculiar unto them that have received authority of function from Christ The Saints therefore as spirituall kings have not received power from Christ by function or authority to censure their brethren or externally to rule or govern but this belongeth to them who are designed of Christ the King unto this office Every Christian woman may exhort or reprove without any designement of the church is every woman made a prophet externally in the church Is power to administer the sacraments and authoritatively to censure offenders se autoritate muneris not officii generalis or charitatis committed to every member of the society because every believer may exhort and admonish not onely his brother of the same or another society but even them that are without By the keyes of the kingdome power and jurisdiction is noted and not the bare duty of instruction or admonition The power of the keyes is given by Christ as the King of his church as is evident by the generall institution of ecclesiasticall politie and the particular narration of politie instituted but that every Christian was sent forth with authority and commission we never read And if this reason be of any force every believer man or woman is of equall authority to the Apostles in matters of ecclesiasticall government because the order of saints is the order of kings and that is the highest which is directly corsse to the holy scripture and the order appointed by Christ the King and Head of his church They that have received Christ have received the power of Christ and his whole power for Christ and his power are not divided nor one part of his power from another But every company or communion of faithfull people have received Christ John 1. 12. Rom. 8. 32. Isa 9. 6. and with him power and right to enjoy him though all the world be against it in all the means by which he doth communicate himself unto his church This objection is not to be understood of the essentially Divine power of Christ which is proper to him as the Sonne of God nor of the uncommunicated power of Christ given to him as Mediatour nor of that communion and fellowship which every sincere Christian and faithfull soul hath with him in his death and resurrection but of the communicated power of Christ which he hath given to his church or certain officers in the church for the