not only supposes it very possible but he bids them have a particular Eye to them lest they should be deceived by them The Church of Corinth was planted by Paul and watered by Apollos and there were Disciples of Cephas and of Christ himself And yet in the midst of so many Infallible Teachers they had like to have lost all their Faith as one of them tells them How say some among you there is no Resurrection of the dead And if Christ be not risen then is our Preaching vain and your Faith is also vain Could not they remember to day what was taught them yesterday and so what the Apostles at first preached to them The Churches of Galatia had such an opinion of St. Paul upon his first preaching the Gospel among them that they received him as an Angel of God even as Christ Iesus yet presently after he saith am I therefore become your Enemy beause I tell you the Truth What! Of an Angel of God or of one received as Christ Iesus to become their Enemy and that upon the most unjustifiable account because he told them the Truth But where truth can make Enemies errours may easily gain Friends And so we find it was in the Apostolical Churches even under the Conduct and Teaching of the Apostles The Colossians were not yet so far gone but they were in such danger that the Apostle writes this Epistle with great concernment for them He tells them v. 1. he had a sharp Conflict in his own mind about them They had not yet seen his Face in the Flesh being converted by some sent by him of whom Epaphras is most taken notice of but he was present with them in Spirit v. 5. i. e. He was deeply affected with their Condition for he understood the Designs and Artifices of the Seducers among them He knew what fair and plausible pretences they had viz. that they went about not to undermine Christianity but to advance it by taking in some Jewish Customs and some Gentile Observances and Modes of Worship which might easily be Accommodated to the Christian Doctrine and so a great deal of the Ammosities both of the Iews and Heathens would be removed and Christianity would thereby gain more Friends and meet with fewer Enemies The Apostle finding how necessary it was at this time if possible to keep them Stedfast in the Faith 1. He assures them that the Christian Doctrine was of it self so sufficient for the good of Mankind that it needed no Additions either from the Law of Moses or the Philosophy of the Gentiles which might introduce several things with a specious Appearance of Wisdom Humility and Mortification but they ought to be assured that from Christ they had all that was necessary or useful for Salvation For in him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge 2. That this Doctrine was at first truly delivered to them and they ought to be stedfast in it which is the design of the Text. But they might object that Epaphras was no Apostle of Christ himself and if he were yet there were many Apostles and the false Apostles pretended to be true ones and although St. Paul interposed his Authority yet he was but one and the Iudaizers would not yield to it but were ready to suggest that the other Apostles were more favourable to the Jewish Customs than he and therefore it was necessary some more general and common Rule be found out whereby to distinguish the Original and Genuine Doctrine of Christ from that of Pretenders and Seducers The clearing of this is in it self a matter of great consequence and not only was to those of that Age but is so in every Age of the Christian Church where the same Question may be put What was the true Primitive Doctrine of Christ and by what means may we come to it which concerns us this day as well as them And the Answer lay in two particulars which I shall endeavour to clear 1. 〈…〉 the Apostles did in common deliver to 〈…〉 by them was the Genuine Doctrine 〈…〉 2. That which they have left in their Writings after it came to be contested which was the true Doctrine of Christ. 3. That which the Apostles did in common deliver to the Churches planted by them For we have all the reason in the World to believe that the Apostles delivered one and the same Faith to all the Churches having the same Infallible Spirit to direct them There was no need for them to meet together before their dispersion and to agree upon some common Articles of Faith as Russinus imagins lest they should differ from each other For how could they differ who had the same Spirit of Truth to lead them into all Truth And we find nothing like a Combination among the Apostles as to matters of Doctrine And if there had been it would have rendred the Faith they delivered more suspitious in that they durst not trust particular Persons with delivery of it without an antecedent Confederacy among themselves which would have cerning him and the Disciples when they first heard him were amazed after this he took a course by himself and did not go up to Ierusalem to the College of Apostles there resident but went into Arabia so that if any one might be thought to set up another Doctrine it was he but he was so far from it that he established and confirmed the truth of what they delivered and was very successful in his Apostleship in all places And when there had been some whispers concerning him as though he proceeded not in the same way with the rest he went up to Ierusalem and there upon full examination James and Cephas and John who were the leading Apostles gave him the right hand of Fellowship in token of their full consent in the same Faith. 2. The truth of the Gospel was the more plainly discovered All this while the Apostles only preached and delivered their Doctrine to the several Churches by verbal Instructions but after these had been received in the hearts of such multitudes that there could be no suspition that a false Representation of Christs Doctrine or Actions could be received by those Churches then the Wise Providence of God took care for Posterity and imploy'd several Persons in distant Places and Times to write the History of our Saviour And there was this advantage to the Church that the Gospels were written no sooner For all the Churches planted by the Apostles were then made Judges whether the Gospels written were agreeable to the Doctrine which the Apostles had taught and if not there would have been just reason to have question'd either the Truth of what had been taught them or what was delivered in the Gospels But when they found the main to be fully consonant to what they had been taught the Testimony of every one of these Churches did shew the concurrence of all the Apostles as to the Doctrine
it necessary then that those things which concerned the Life and Doctrine of Christ should be put into Writing that they might be more certainly convey'd and that while they had the Testimony of those who were eye-witnesses and Ministers of the Word 2. And so I come to the second Rule of discerning the Primitive Doctrine of Christ viz. The Writings of the Apostles when matters of Doctrine came to be contested were the Infallible Rule whereby they were to judge which was the true and genuine Doctrine of Christ. There are some who pretend that the Apostles Writings were meerly Accidental and Occasional things but that the main design was to lodge the great Assurance of the Doctrine of Christ in Tradition from one to another and what they wrote was not to make any Rule of Faith but only to give some good Advice to those Churches they wrote to But I shall now prove that the Writings of the Apostles were intended by the Holy Ghost to be a standing Rule whereby the Church was to judge which was the true and genuine Doctrine of Christ. 1. From the Reasons and Occasions of writing the Books of the New Testament 1. As to the Gospels we must distinguish the General Reason of writing them from the particular Occasions as to the several Gospels The General Reason is to be drawn from the Divine Wisdom which inspired and guided them the particular Occasions relate to the circumstances of writing them The General Reason is that which Irenaeus gives viz. That the Gospel which they had first preached was by the Will of God put into Writing that it might be a Foundation and Pillar of our Faith. Not meerly to keep up the Remembrance of it which Fevardentius yields and thereby overthrows the Infallibility of Oral Tradition but that so it may be a certain Rule of Faith to all Ages The Evangelists saith St. Augustin were but Christs Hands which himself as the Head directed in writing the Gospels and therefore we are to look on the Gospels as his own Hand-writing The Holy Ghost saith he directed the Minds of the Evangelists as to the order and manner of their Writing Which varied according to the particular Occasions but yet were all subservient to the General Reason St. Matthew wrote the first Gospel saith Eusebius to the Jews to whom he had preached because going into other parts he would supply the want of his Presence among them by his Writing What need this if Tradition were a certain and infallible way of conveying the Doctrine of Christ St. Chrysostom saith the Jewish Christians desired him to put into Writing what they had heard him Preach Did not they understand the force of Tradition better Or why should St. Matthew put them out of an Infallible Way The Authority of the Imperfect Work on St. Matthew saith they desired him to write his Gospel that where ever they went they might carry an Account of their Faith with them Clemens Alexandrinus saith the occasion of writing St. Marks Gospel was that the people were not satisfied with an unwritten delivery of the Holy Doctrine and therefore importuned Mark who was the Disciple of St. Peter that he would leave a Monument of his Doctrine in Writing which St. Peter understanding by Revelation approved and confirmed his Gospel for the use of the Churches Origen saith he wrote it according to St. Peters directions Epiphanius saith by his Authority Athanasius saith it was dictated by him at Rome It seems that Peter himself did not think fit to leave the Doctrine of Christ to an Oral Tradition even at Rome but Irenaeus thinks it was written after St. Peters decease who therein differs from the rest and shews how uncertain meer Tradition is Tertullian saith St. Marks Gospel was attributed to St. Peter and St. Lukes to St. Paul. St. Ierom mentions the Opinion of some that when St. Paul saith according to my Gospel he means that of St. Luke But St. Luke himself plainly gives an Account of the occasion of his Writing St. Ambrose thinks by those who had taken in hand to write of those things which were firmly believed among us he means the Authors of the counterfeit Gospels as that of the Twelve Apostles and St. Matthias But we have no evidence that these were older than St. Luke his meaning is that in those parts where he was there were some who did undertake to give an Account of the Life and Actions of Christ who wanted the Advantages which he had having had great opportunities of knowing circumstances from the Eye-witnesses and therefore he set himself to give an exact Relation of them that not only Theophilus but every one that answers his name might know the certainty of those things wherein they had been instructed But did not they know the certainty of these things by the Apostles Preaching Yes but the things they heard might slip out of their Memories and to prevent this saith Theophylact St. Luke wrote his Gospel that they might retain these things with greater certainty And words that are only spoken are more easily misunderstood which Maldonat assigns as one great Reason of the Evangelists writing their several Gospels St. Iohn likewise gives an account himself of the Reason of his Writing and that the greatest imaginable But these are written that ye might believe that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his Name Why written that ye might believe Did the Apostle in his old Age mistrust the understandings or the Memories of Christians Was not the Apostles Teaching sufficient to keep up the Principles of the Christian Faith in the hearts of the people no not while St. Iohn himself was yet living He had certainly a very mean Opinion of Tradition that thought it necessary for him to write that they might believe that Iesus is the Son of God. For there was no point of Faith more necessary than this which was required of all Persons to be owned before Baptism Yet for all this and whatever else can be said St. Iohn thought it necessary that these things be written that they might believe He lived the longest of any of the Apostles and therefore saw how little Tradition was to be trusted for it was already corrupted in so weighty a point as the Divinity of Christ. Cerinthus and his Followers allow'd the general Tradition of the Church that Iesus was the Son of God but then they gave their own sense of it by extraordinary Favour and Adoption And from hence the Fathers agree that St. Iohn took occasion to write his Divine Gospel to clear this Fundamental point of the Christian Faith. And withal observing that the other Evangelists insisted chiefly on the Actions of Christ for one year viz. after Johns Imprisonment he resumes the whole matter and adds those things which were omitted by the rest that so
the Church might be furnished with a full Relation of all that was necessary to compleat and establish the Faith of Christians 2. As to the Epistles The first Epistle we read of in the Christian Church and in probability the first writing in the New Testament was the Decretal Epistle of the Council of Ierusalem What should make the Apostles put these Decrees into Writing They were very short and concerned the practices of Men and withal were sent by Barnabas and Paul and Iudas and Silas Were not these sufficient to deliver the Apostles sense to the Churches without Letters from them What a pitiful thing did they take Oral Tradition to be if they thought such Men could not by it give full satisfaction to the Churches of Syria and Cilicia unless they sent it under their hands The Epistle to the Romans was written by St. Paul on purpose to clear some main points of the Christian Doctrine which were then warmly disputed between the Jews and the Christians and between the Judaizing Christians and others as about Iustification Rejection of the Iews the difference of Meats c. And St. Paul took very needless pains in writing that excellent Epistle if he knew of Christs appointing a Iudge of Controversies there or if he thought Writing were not a certain way to make a Rule of Faith whereby they were to judge in those matters The first Epistle to the Corinthians was written not meerly to reprove their Factions and Disorders but to direct them and to establish and prove the Faith of the Resurrection which was then contested among them The Epistle was sent by Stephanus and Fortunatus who could have carried the Apostles sense without his Writing but there are many weighty things besides the particular occasions which are of lasting concernment to the Church in all Ages as there are likewise in his second Epistle to them The Epistle to the Galatians was written on occasion of one of the greatest points of controversy at that time viz. the Use and Obligation of the Law of Moses And St. Paul sound by sad experience among them that it was very possible for those who had the best Instructions either to forget them or to grow out of Love with them and to be fond of a change else he would never have said O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the Truth And I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the Grace of Christ into another Gospel How was it indeed possible for them to be removed and to be soon removed who had received the Faith by the Delivery of St. Paul himself Then for all that I can see human Nature taken with all its Advantages and Motives and Evidences is a very sallible thing and if then it might be deceived and that so easily and grosly then much more in any following Age of the Church unless human Nature be mightily changed for the better since the Apostles times or any Teachers since be more effectual than the Apostles and especially than St. Paul who laboured more abundantly than they all The Epistle to the Ephesians though written upon a general Argument yet doth suppose that they were in continual danger of being deceived and tossed up and down and carried about with every wind of Doctrine by the sleight of Men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive And therefore he advises them to be upon their guard and to have their Armour about them and one choice part of it is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Philippians were assaulted by a rude violent head-strong Faction of Judaizers which the Apostle bids them to beware of and writes his Epistle to them for that purpose and he exhorts them to stand fast in one Spirit with one mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel In the second Epistle to the Thessalonians and in both Epistles to Timothy he gives notice of a great Defection from the Christian Faith he describes the manner of it that it shall be with signs and lying words and with all deceiveableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they shall speak lies in hypocrisie and forbid to marry and command to abstain from meats being evil men having a form of godliness and denying the power of it I meddle not now with the time when this Apostacy began but from hence it is evident that St. Paul supposed that those who at first received the Christian Faith by Tradition from the Apostles themselves might notwithstanding through their own weakness and folly and the Artifices of Deceivers be drawn from it and that to prevent such mischievous consequences he knew no better means than a Written Rule which he tells Timothy was able to make him wise to Salvation and to make the Man of God perfect throughly furnished to every good Work. And to name no more the Colossians were set upon by some who thought to refine Christianity or at least to make it more passable in the World and therefore would have introduced into it some Rites of the Jews some Austerities of the Gentiles some ways of Worship which would recommend them to their Adversaries and upon this occasion he writes this Epistle to them to convince them that Christianity alone was far beyond any mixtures of the Fancies or Traditions of men and therefore he could give them no better Advice than as they had first received the Doctrine of Christ to continue in it or in the words of the Text As they had received Christ Iesus the Lord so to walk in him The design of what I have said is that although the Gospels and Epistles were written upon particular occasions yet those occasions were so great and considerable and the Assistance of the Holy Ghost did so direct the Hands and Pens of the Evangelists and Apostles in writing them that what they have therein delivered contains a compleat Rule of the true and genuine Faith as it was at first delivered to the Church But against this it is objected that St. Paul himself charged the Thessalonians to stand fast and hold the Traditions which they have been taught either by word or by his Epistles From whence it appears that there were other Traditions to be held that were not written The force of all this will be taken away if we consider when that Epistle was written viz. one of the first which St. Paul wrote and soon after the former Epistle to the Thessalonians which was some time before St. Lukes Gospel which was first received in the Churches of Greece planted by St. Paul. Therefore all the proper Doctrine of Christ himself and all that relates to his Life and Actions were then but Traditions among them and therefore St. Paul had great Reason then to require them to stand