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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	bishop_n	church_n	presbyter_n	13,907	5	10.4774	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87095	The first general epistle of St. John the Apostle, unfolded & applied. The second part, in thirty and seven lectures on the second chapter, from the third to the last verse. Delivered in St. Dionys. Back-Church, by Nath: Hardy minister of the gospel, and preacher to that parish.; First general epistle of St. John the Apostle. Part 2.	Hardy, Nathaniel, 1618-1670.	1659 (1659)	Wing H723; Thomason E981_1; ESTC R207731	535,986	795

the Preacher delivereth are either according to Brugensis the new and glorious mysteries of the Gospell in old and common resemblances or according to St Hilary and the Ancients Nova vetera in Evangeliis in lege the Legall and Evangelicall verities according to this is that occasionall note of St Ambrose upon those words of the Spouse At our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits new and old which I have laid up for thee oh my Beloved Teneo mandata omnia novi veteri Testamenti I keep the Commandments both of the old and new Testament for whereas the Jewish Synagogue neither keep the new in the letter nor the old in the Spirit the Christian Church observeth both and instructeth her Children in both Suiteble hereunto it is that this great Apostle of the Christian Church and well instructed Scribe for the Kingdome of Heaven brought forth in his Preaching and here layeth up a writing both old and new chiefly pressing upon us the observance of a command both Legall and Evangelicall Brethren I waite no new but an old c. Again a new Commandment I write unto you 2. Having dispatched the Compellation Brethren we have entred upon the first branch of the commendation drawn from its divine authority and therein the consideration of it as an old Commandment which having been already handled in the Assertion we are now to proceed to the Probation as it is implicitly couched in these words which we had from the beginning and explicitly set forth in those The old Commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning That you may see the strength of the Argument I shall forme it into a Syllogism thus That which you heard and had from the beginning is the old Commandment But This Commandment about which I write unto you is that you heard and had from the beginning Therefore It is not a new but an old Commandment The Conclusion is the Assertion and hath been already handled the Major and Minor containe the Probation and remaine now to be dispatched 1. Begin we with the Major The old Commandment is the word which was heard from the beginning To clear this Be pleased to know That a thing may be said to be old either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in some respects only or absolutely That which is not from the beginning and therefore is new in respect of preceding times may yet in respect of following ages be said to be old but only what is from the beginning is absolutely old Antiquity properly referreth to time so that what hath the priority carryeth it in point of antiquity and Id prius quod ab initio saith Tertullian That is first which is from the beginning principium a beginning being Id quo nihill prius that before which nothing is else it could not be the beginning In this sence it is we most justly say that which is true is old for though error may be old truth cannot be new Yea Since as that forementioned Father excellently argueth Falsum est corruptio veri Falshood is nothing else but an adulteration of truth Truth must needs be before Falshood and so the terms are convertible that which is true is old and that which is old is true for no error but is new in respect of that which is from the beginning though it be old in regard of that which followeth Upon this account it is that the same Father disputing with Marcion put it to this issue I say my Gospell is true Marcion saith his is I say Marcions Gospell is false he saith mine is Quis inter nos determinabit nisi temporis ratio ei praescribens authoritatem quod antiquius reperiretur let antiquity end the controversie that which can shew largest prescription of time and so the eldest let it be accounted truest Indeed Christianity stands upon holy antiquity and there is no better way of discovering what is false and reforming what is amiss then by looking back to the beginning Upon this ground it is that we contest both with the Papists on the one and all Sectaries on the other hand as being ready to justifie against both that what we teach is truly old because the word from the beginning 1. As the Gibeonites cheated Joshuah with their old Shooes clouted upon their feet old Garments dry and mouldy Bread So do the Papists delude many poore souls with pretence of the old Commandment and the old Religion It is the calumny they cast upon us Where was your Religion before Luther we are Novelists and but of Yesterday yea that we daily broach new Doctrines That some who are among us but not of us do so we cannot deny but still we are ready to justifie the Doctrine of our Church to be the old Doctrine nor do we desire a better Medium of proving it then this in the Text The old Commandment is the word which was from the beginning Take any or all of those opinions wherein we differ and for which we separate from them such as are Transubstantiation half Communion adoration of Images invocation of Saints and Angels the supremacy and infabillity of the Pope and the like And we shall find even by their own confessions that they were not from the beginning Scotus acknowledgeth that till the Counsell of Laterrane which was almost 1200 Years since Christ Transubstantiation was no Article of Faith Cassander confesseth that for a thousand years the holy Sacrament was administred in both kinds it were easie to instance in the rest but that learned Prelate hath already done it to the full and now let any rationall man judge whether we or they are to be charged with Novelty when as those things wherein they and we disagree have no primitive antiquity to establish them 2. As in this Particuler we vie with the Papists so are we ready to put the differences between Us and the Sectaries upon this triall Do we contend for a Lyturgy in the Church is it not because all Churches Greek and Latine have had their Lyturgies from the first Plantation of Christianity Yea Christ himself hath left a Prayer upon record to be not only a Platform after which manner he would have his Disciples pray but a Set form which they were to say when they did Pray Do we contest for our Hierarchie in the Church is it not because it was so from the beginning St Paul gave Timothy and Titus single persons Episcopall power of ordaining and governing Presbyters Those Angels of the Seaven Churches manifestly appear by the Ecclesiasticall History to be Bishops Yea No Church since the Apostles till Calvins time hath been without Episcopall Government Do we oppose the office of a Lay ruling Elder in the Church is it not because it was not from the beginning We can trace no footsteps of it in antiquity nor yet any such Officer or Office described in holy writ Finally To name no

latter daies fo abundanly discovered by many learned pens as that I shall not need to inlarge onely give mee leave in a few words to let you see how vast a difference there is between our going out from them and the going out of these Hereticks from the Apostles 1 These Antichrists in going out from the Apostles and their followers went out from the whole Christian Church that had been planted by them in several parts whereas wee in going out from the Roman go out onely from a particular Church I well know the Papists proudly arrogate to themselves the title of Catholike but without the least show of reason nay it is with as great absurdity as if a man should say a part nay a less part is the whole The number of Christians being far greater which renounceth than that which imbraceth the Popish Doctrin 2 These Antichrists in going out from the Apostles went out from those Ecclesiastical governours to whom they owed subjection but wee owe no obedience to the Bishop of Rome and therefore have justly cast off his yoak Indeed hee most presumptuously assumeth to himself the title of Universal Bishop and maketh himself the Vicar of Christ upon the account that hee is the successor of St. Peter But as it is no way to bee evinced from Scripture that S. Peter had any more power communicated to him than what the other Apostles had so neither can any reason bee given why this power if granted to S. Peter should bee derived to his successor at Rome rather than at Antioch nay why it should not have devolved from him to the Apostle S. John who out-lived him and so to his successors that this universal power therefore belongs not to him of right is manifest and it is no less clear that defacto it was never exercised by any Roman Bishop for more than six hundred years after Christ Boniface the third being the first who obtained of that wicked Emperor Phocas the title of Universal Bishop And whereas the Pope claimeth a peculiar right to our obedience upon the score of having planted Christianity amongst us and having had a concession of it from some Kings To the former it is answered that this Island was converted to the faith of Christ long before Augustines preaching to the Saxons either by Joseph of Arimathea or Simon Zelotes as our Annals tell us and secondly that though Augustine whom the Pope sent over had been the means of our conversion yet that is no argument for our subjection to the Pope for by the same reason all the Nations converted by S. Paul and his ministry are in all ages obliged to bee subject to that chair where S. Paul sate at the time of his sending out or going himself to convert them which as it hath no truth in it self so would it bee very prejudicial to S. Peters Pastor-ship To the latter it is returned that either this power of that concession was so originally vested in our Kings that they might lawfully grant it to whom they pleased and then as one King conceded it another may recall it or else if it were not then was the grant invalid being but a robbery in the giver can devolve no right to the receiver By all which it appeareth that we have made no schism in with-holding obedience from the Pope 3 Chiefly these Antichrists in going out from the Apostolical went out from a pure Church in which there neither wanted sound doctrin nor good discipline but wee in going out from the Papists go out from a Church degenerated and polluted with damnable heresies To clear this know 1 That when any Church or number of Christians are grown so corrupt a body and so far infected that wee canno communicate with it without manifest sin wee not onely may but ought to go out from them Indeed it is necessa●y both by vertue of that precept which calls upon Gods people to ●ome out from Babylon and likewise as a means of preservation from that contagion wee otherwise must needs receive so that it is as needful to separate from such a Church in order to the souls safety as it is for a man to go out of an infected house or abstai● from a Lepers company in order to his bodily health 2 That the Church of Rome at that time when we went out from her was and still continueth a very corrupt Church Many of her Doctrines directly contrary to the Scriptures not heard of in the primitive Church yet imposed as articles of faith Her Wo●ship superstitious Ridiculous Incongruous to right Reason Apostolical Practice yea D●vine precept and yet pressed as necessary to bee performed by which means it is that they put upon us the sad dilemma of going from their communion or going against the clear light of Divine Truth shining from Gods Word upon our consciences in which respect wee justly say they not wee have made the separation and so the schism lyeth at their door To shut it up what S. Austin said to the Donatists wee say to the Romanists Tollatur paries erroris simul sumus let the partition wall of imposing unreasonable opinions and practices upon us bee taken away and wee are ready to unite with them wee divide not from them as they are a part of but so f●r as they are divided from the Catholike Church wee have done our part in reforming our selves and it is their fault that upon this followeth a breach of communion with them who will not reform They not wee are gone out from the Ancient Primitive and Apostolical Church in which respect they are justly termed Antichristian nor do we any further go out from them than in those things wherein they are gone forth from the Apostles When Jeroboam with others of the children of Israel revolted from their Lawful King and Gods instituted worship some of the P●iests L●vits and others left their habitation and went to Judah that they might serve God and their King surely not those who went but those who stayed were the Rebels and the Schismaticks thus are the Romanists guilty for leaving the footsteps of the Apostles not wee for leaving theirs to follow the Apostles Finally wee still hold communion with them in votis earnestly desiring that those just causes they have given of our Non-communion with them by their Popes usurpation of Supremacy and infallibility by their superstitious innovations both in matters of Doctrine and practice may bee removed and to this end that a general Council might bee lawfully called and freely act to whose determination wee are willing to submit and therefore can acquit our selves from Schism in the sight of God and man But whilst the Papists unjustly revile the Church of England I am sure shee hath had cause of weeping over the multitudes of those who in this Apostatizing age have gone out from her how justly may shee take up a complaint in Gods owne language Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth