they spake with Tongues before people of many Nations and that it was not one nor one hundred but multitudes of Christians that had one gift or other of this sort either miracles specially so called or healing or prophecie or tongues He might have said Not one but bad one such gift or other c. and for proof thereof he citeth 1 Cor. 12. Mar. 16. 17. both which Scriptures mention manifest gifts and outward and visible works of the Spirit only and not inward invisible workings thereof And he likewise tells us That these manifest gifts did remain in the Church at least three or four hundred yeers after the Apostles How easie by these gifts might any Heathen having but the use of reason undoubtedly know the true Church and all at once without any circumcursoes or wandrings hither and thither to finde her And since a true visible Church is here defined to be a Congregation I quere When or where this Objectors Catholick Church whereof he professeth himself a member was ever congregated I think he can hardly tell me and if it was never congregated How then can he prove it to be a congregation or Church Act. 20. 28. 1 Thes 5. 7. Col. 3. 16. Heb. 3. 13. much less any true Church of Christ the Elders whereof are to feed and take care for all the flock and the particular members thereof ought to edifie admonish and exhort one another dayly but how the Elders and members of this his Catholick Church do or can perform all these their duties he need to inform us before we can or ought to beleeve it to be any true or visible Church of Christ I have been much the larger in answering this Objection because I find the framer thereof to build many great errors upon this fabrick founded upon meerfallacy and quicksand But I now hope that upon his review a speedy way may be opened to him no more to deceive others nor longer to be deceived himself therein it being an ingenuous valiant pious and glorious thing in any man at any time upon any occasion to forsake an error and repent And that he may the rather be induced thereunto I shall minde him of one at least as wise and as learned as himself viz Mr. John Goodwin well known to be both grave and judicious against whom the like Objection is made by Mr. Pawson thus That notwithstanding such a purpose in God to save whosoever beleeves all might perish and Christ be an head without a body a King without Subject c. Hereunto Mr. Goodwin in his Triumviri pag. 38. gives this sober and solid answer following viz. These are offered under a pretence of high absurdities in case they were truths have nothing in them but what even a childe might readily vindicate from such an imputation For what absurdity or inconvenience is it that Christ should be an head actu signato i. e. a person fit or meet to make an head and not be an head actu exercito i. e. not an head actually united to a body there is the same reason of his being a King also When Solomon saith That he had seen Princes walking as servants on the earth Eccl. 11. 7. he judgeth it no absurdity to stile those Princes who had no Subjects nor any thing else externally comporting with the state of a Prince but ascribes unto them the honour and denomination upon the account of their truly noble and Prince-like qualities and endowments but besides the regularness and inoffensiveness of such consequences in case they were regularly deducible from their premises the clear truth is they are plain non sequiturs It doth not follow that if all men might perish that Christ should be an head without a body or a King without Subjects for might he not yea should he not have been an head to a body of Angels whether men had been any part of this body or no Are not Angels also now his Subjects If it were lawful for him that is Orthodox to learn any thing from a man that is erroneous Mr. Pawson might have informed himself of these things from pag. 438 439 c. as also from pag. 215 216. of my Book of Redemption Thus far Mr. Goodwin to whom I refer this our learned Objector for his better learning and information in these particulars It being no small cause of grief to see a man so studiously industrious as he is with so much zeal for God and so much charity towards men as he seems to have to be in so many things so extreamly mistaken The Authors last farewell to his Reader Reader Be intreated for thine own sake in thy perusal of the foregoing discourses to lay aside all prejudice which often so prepossesseth the minds of most that it quite puts out the very eye of the understanding or at least so transports the whole man that we can by no means rellish or down with any thing that is contrary or different to our education or the approbation of the time and place we live in though never so evidently made out unto us to be both sound wholsome and good for when it is presented so to be and that within our view we then usually wink with our eyes lest we should see This deadly enemy to our peace is bred and fostered in some by ignorance in some by perverse and willful obstinacy in some by malice See Act. 19. 24 to 36. and in many by self-interest and wordly emolument but never habituated or justified in any but by extream weakness or exceeding great wickedness Wherefore be intreated as before First clearly to rid thy self of this evil Spirit and then seriously and impartially to read and consider what is there said And the Lord give thee a right understanding therein and the exercise of a pure conscience in all things Farewell From my Lodging in London this fatal 3. of Sept. 1658. C. W.
and principally to the Eleven Apostles and to their Successors in the Apostolical Office Whence will follow That if this promise be absolute as R. B. would have it then it will prove the Apostolical Office to continue alway even to the end of the world but this promise though it should be absolute yet it will neither prove the continuance of the Church nor of any inferior Officer any otherwise then by a Consequence and that from the continuance of the Apostolical Office which together with the prophetical and the rest of the powerful gifts of the Spirit R. B. grants is ceased long since and by consequence both Church and inferiour Ministry likewise for the inferiour Ministry was by gift as well as the superiour and the superiour as well as the inferiour and both were of equal continuance and for many reasons were both of them useful and necessary to continue with the true Church the one as well as the other and the superiour office most necessary of any Eph. 4. 8 11. 12. 13. 1 Cor. 12. 28. Wherefore it is the less to be marvelled at That R. B. being so learned and so wise yet makes no learneder nor wiser a Reply to Clem. Writers foolish or no wiser an Answer And now I hope a man may without any blasphemy or forgery either say to this great Clerk That he erreth not knowing the Scripture nor the power of God As for the Scripture see how grossly he hath wilfully or ignorantly perverted it And as for the power of God which always did accompany the true Ministry of the Gospel and Church for the Conviction and Conversion of unbelievers to the Faith this he denies rendring it now useless and unnecessary as if now there were no unbelievers in the world nor any Children born unbelievers to be converted and as if Christs sending of that his powerful gifts of the Spirit to accompany and abide with his true Ministry and Church for that purpose for ever had been for the most part useless and unnecessary John 14. 16. John 16. 7 8 9. whereby he casts a foul aspersion on the Wisdom of Christ himself in his doing that by much which he might have done by little a sault seldome or never committed by a wise man But the task here undertaken by me was onely to make some necessary defence for my self against his open assault made upon me by his fourfold Charge which having done I shall not follow him in the rest of his fallacious Arguments to discover the vanity and falshood of them but shall leave that to be done by some abler pen who can throughly anatomize and lay the faults of them open particularly and in their Colours which I am as unable to do as that plain and unlearned man was who assembled at the first Nicene Councel of whom Socrates Lib 1. Chap. 5. relates this Story viz. Before the Bishops met together in one place the Logicians busied themselves propounding against divers others certain Preambles of Disputation and when divers were thus drawn to Disputation and allured as it were by bayts a Lay-man one of the number of Confessors of a simple and sincere mind set himself against the Logicians and told them this in plain words That neither Christ neither his Apostles had delivered unto us the Art of Logick neither vain fallacies but an open and plain minde to be preserved of us with faith and good works The which when he had spoken all that were present had him in admiration and held with his sentence then the Logicians after they had heard the pure words of plain truth quieted and setled themselves aright so that at length by that means the stir raised by reason of Logick was wholly suppressed From which we may observe how great the bashfulness of humane learning was in former times as so to be repulsed from medling or intermixing it self in matters of Divinity by the check of one plain man and how impudent it is now become even to bear all the sway therein getting admission no doubt at first under the colour of being but a Servant or Hand-maid to Divinity but now this Hand-maid maid hath gotten into the Chair and Room of her Mistris the gifts of the Spirit and justled her quite out both of Doors and esteem These being now deemed both useless and unnecessary matters and Humane Learning having now gotten the sole possession of all the Glory Honour and Praise due onely to her Mistris for do not some make great boast What a g Whereas the more learned they are in humane Arts and Sciences the more able they are to delude by transforming the grossest Errors into the similitudes of the purest Truths learned Clergie is now amongst us that the whole world hath not the like Yea and how doth my Assaylant R. B. glory and boast therein and that so transcendently in his Book of Infidelity part 1. pag. 37 38. as there to express himself thus viz Let the wisdome of God be observed both in the stream of Doctrine and in the effect of the Holy-Ghost in illuminating the Church so that you may look over all the rest of the world at this day and easily see that they are all but Barbarians even in humane and common knowledge in comparison of the Christians especially in the things of God they are utterly blind He further goes on Indeed Christ did at Rome and Athens cause a Star of humane learning to arise but it was only for a time and that at that season a little before his own coming in the flesh of purpose h Note how he all along denies the powerful gifts of the Spirit to be now useful or necessary yet see how useful and necessary he here makes humane learning as to be even a Star caused by Christ to arise of purpose to direct men to the Son of righteousness and to be an Usher to prepare the way for the Gospel and after all that he makes it a gift of the Spirit and continued in the Church by Christ as if Christs being exalted at the right hand of the Father and by his receiving of him the promise of the Holy-Ghost and his shedding it forth on his Disciples Act. 2. 33. was meant humane Learning Is not be with the cloven foot filled with this gift of the Spirit as much as R. B. or the most learned in Europe to direct men to the Son of righteousness and to be an Usher to prepare the way for the Gospel and when the Gospel was come he hath now delivered even all the learning in the world that is worth the speaking of unto his Church and continued even these common gifts of the Spirit therein If this be the best Divinity he can afford us I shall send him to a Cobler Samuel How by name to learn better out of a Book extant entituled The sufficiency of the Spirits teaching being a Sermon of his upon a Text given him by Mr. John Goodwin and
afterwards preacht before him and divers other earnedmen upon very short warning and far shorter prepaâ—â—tion of my knowledge But what may we think â—e plain honest man before mentioned were he now alive might and would say â—pon his seeing how much honour humane â—earning had now got even among reformed Christians as to be esteemed essentially necessary to Christianity and to be so much advanced as even by eminent Pastors of the reformed Churches to be accounted a gift of the Spirit and to be continued in their Churches in the room and place of those powerful and true gifts of the Spirit which were at first established by God in his Church whereinto Christians were all baptized by that one Spirit and thereby made partakers of some manifest gift thereof whereby to become serviceable and profitable to the Church or Body of Christ even as all the Members of a natural body are serviceable and helpful one to another Answ I conceive he might and would tell us That it is no marvel that the true-born gifts of the Spirit are now ceased and withdrawn from all their Churches upon their entertaining such a Bastard as humane Learning into their Communion and Fellowship as a necessary Fellow-helper and gift of the Spirit And that God who had commanded them not to be unequally yoaked could noâ— possibly endure to have his own holy and blessed Spirit so unequally yoaked For whaâ— Communion hath Light with Darkness Anâ— what concord hath Christ with Belial 2 Cor. 6 14 15. Yea he might tell us That no virtuous anâ— Christian Woman in his days would endurâ— Co-habitation with a nasty Strumpet thâ—â— did partake of her Husbands Affections anâ— Conjugal rights with her self but woulâ— make use of her Christian liberty and depart He might also tell us That humane Learning and the true gifts of the Spirit are not necessary to be both in one Church for they having the gift of Tongues what need have they to acquire them by humane Learning And if they have them by Acquisition what need have they of them also by meer gift of the Spirit Besides if these were both in one Church there would be some Emulation between them and a contest for Superiority He might also tell us That humane Learning is no gift of the Spirit given forth by Christ Act. 2. 1. Because Peter and John who had these gifts of the Spirit poured on them were both of them ignorant and unlearned men in respect of humane learning Act. 4. 13. yet were both of them able to communicate the gifts of Tongues to others by meer laying on of hands Act. 18. 14 17. compared with Act. 19. 6. 2. Because the gifts of the Spirit as that of Tongues were given by Christ to attest the Truth of the Gospel and to convince unbeâ—ievers giving them a sure ground of Faith But so are not Tongues nor any other Science acquired by humane Learning or Induâ—â—ry For 1. In case we would fain know whether R. â— his dogmatizing the baptizing of Infants to be a divine Ordinance of Jesus Christ be true or not this cannot certainly be determined by humane Learning nor is it any divine evidence to prove it because Mr. Tombes and many more by humane Learning maintain and attest the contrary But if either of them had the gifts of the Spirit to attest the truth of his respective Doctrine then it might soon be determined whether taught the truth because the true gifts of the Spirit never did nor can witness any false but always true Doctrine but all Heresies and false Doctrines yea the most absurd Doctrines among the Papists or that are or can be invented are maintained and attested by humane learning And 2. In case we would know whether the many Arguments produced by R. B. to prove the Ministry of the reformed Churches to be the true Ministry of Jesus Christ be true and sound or not And whether the multitude of Scriptures prest by him to that service be truly and in their genuine sence cited or not this cannot be determined by humane Learning Because the Papists be furnished altogether as well and have as great a measure of humane Learning whereby they are as able to pervert Scripture and produce as many Arguments to prove their Ministry to be the onely true Ministry of Christ as any of the Ministers of the reformed Churches can do to prove theirs the true Ministery of Christ but by the true gifts of the Spirit all these doubts and questions would soon be determined and that infallibly And since the true gifts of the Spirit are now wanting let us yet see what may be said for the determining of these questions and doubts and that from grounds granted by R. B. himself wherein I shall be very brief leaving the further Amplification thereof to others more able The Grounds on which I shall raise my proof are onely two The first is in page the fourth of his first sheet where he citeth Luk. 10 16. He that heareth you heareth me c. This saying of Christ he useth in the behalf of the Ministers of the reformed Churches holding them to be the true Ministers of Jesus Christ whereby he grants That this speech of Christ is truly applicable to all true Ministers of Jesus Christ This is the one Ground The other is in the sixteenth page of his second sheet where he proposeth If a Minister be in quiet possession of a place and fit for it the people are bound to obey him as a Minister without knowing that he was justly ordained or called For the proof whereof he produceth three Arguments the last whereof he draws from an absurdity which would follow thus viz. Else saith he the people are put upon impossibilities Whereby he grants That God puts not people upon any impossibilities This is the other Ground From both which true and undeniable Grounds the plain man before mentioned might conclude That the Ministers of the reformed Churches are not the true Miniâ—â—ers of Jesus Christ for this Reason Because they of the Synod of Dort were all Ministers of the reformed Churches both the Remonstrants and Contra-Remonstrants Now it is impossible for any to believe both these parties nor doth God require any to believe them nor can he in justice require it of any it being impossible but he requires the obedience of Faith to all his true Ministers therefore the Ministers of the reformed Churches are not the true Ministers of Christ And (i) To instance in particular all the contradictory Doctrines and Tenâ—nts which have been and are between the Ministers of the reformâ—d Churchâ—s would be a task too hard for any man to undertake they being so inâ—inâ—te I have here instanced in … which may serve as well as many to state and determine the case of the rest then again For us to believe onely one of the parties they being all Minister of the reformed Churches and so true Ministers of Christ as R. B. asserts
Jerusalem and he shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares and their spears into pruning hooks Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learn war any more Esa 2. 2 3. Mic. 4. 2 3. add to this Zech. 8. 23. And this great and general Apostacy is likewise plainly foretold in many other places of Scripture As that all the world shall wonder after the beast and worshipped the Dragon which gave power to the Beast and they worshipped the Beast and all that dwell on the earth shall worship him Revel 13. To which add that of St. Paul 2 Thes 2. 3. where he willeth the Thessalonians To let no man deceive them for that day shall not come except there came a falling away first and telleth Timothy 2 Tim. 4. 3 4. That the time will come when they will not indure sound Doctrine but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned to Fables Where it is to be noted That he doth not say some of them or some of you as he did when he warned the Elders of Ephesus of the beginning of this Apostacy Act. 20. but they indefinitely will not indure sound Doctrine and they indefinitely shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned to fables And the same Apostle foretels the restitution of the truth with life and power again for writing of the rejection and restoration of the Jews Rom. 11. 15. he thus expresseth himself If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world what shall their receiving be but life from the dead namely to the world which shall then be in darkness and in effect dead being destitute of the powerful and lively ordinances of the Gospel of Christ from which darkness and death the world shall then be delivered inlightned and revived Hence we may see that it was not for nought that our quondam Bishops continued among us the use of that common necessary prayer which begins thus Lighten our darkness we beseech thee O Lord c. And it were wel if the same were still continued that our present Rulers both civil ecclesiastical would themselves also joyn with us in the use thereof even as all our great need requireth I thought here to have raised an objection against the premises but I find one already made to my hands and that by this our Author himself in a sheet of his lately put out against the Quakers where with much confidence he thus objects viz. Object The Quakers are but of late years standing they rose from among the Papists Seekers Ranters and Anabaptists but a while agoe and if Christ had no Catholick Church before then and ever since his Ascension he ceased to be Christ in Office the head and Saviour of the Church for no Church no Saviour no body no head no School no teacher no Kingdome no King no wife no husband Answ There being a Triumphant Church in Heaven as they teach this may supply Christ with a Kingdome a Body a wife and Church to whom he may be King head husbâ—nd and Saviour when there may be no true Church amongst us mortals upon the face of the earth For the making good whereof they teach us That the Souls of the righteous ascend immediately into Heaven to God there to partake of present bliss and glory and that the Soul of the penitent thief went immediately into Paradise whither no doubt the Souls of many penitent theeves have gone since as sure as that theeves Soul went thither but now the greatest theeves crucifie hang rob and plunder men and are neither crucified nor hanged yet doe thinke upon that account to lodge their Souls there also when they die though they neither repent nor make restitution so much as Judas did wherein they will I fear at last finde themselves miserably cozened These Doctrines being both true and doubted by none but Hereticks then Christ hath a double supply of a Kingdome wife body and Church the one in the highest Heaven and the other in Paradise but and if these Doctrines should both fail of making good the proposition of a Triumphant Church in Heaven as it is feared by many they will in that they doe propose two different receptacles for the Souls of the righteous I shall mind them of one more better then both these namely The bodies of many of the Saints which slept arose and came out of their graves after Christ's resurrection went into the Holy City and appeared unto many These I conceive would much better make a Triumphant Church in Heaven then either or both of the other whereby Christ may be supplyed with a Kingdome body wife and Church and all the supposed absurdities in the objection prevented though Christ neither now hath nor never is like to have until the calling of the Jews any true Church upon the face of the earth And as to his parallels of School and Teacher King and Kingdome I say a head-School-master being lawfully established such in any place may afterward be so interrupted by reason either of war or some contagious sickness there raging as he may not have one Scholar left for him to teach doth this School-master therefore lose his right or so much as his title of being head-School-master especially he readily attending to perform that his office when ever his Scholars shall return again to be taught by him I think not And as to Christ's Kingdome I say if Christ at his Ascension was a King as is granted by the objection and then had no Kingdome he may also as well then be a head a husband and a Saviour without either body wife or Church upon earth but Christ was then a King yet had no Kingdome on earth because his Kingdome was then and is yet to come as may be thus proved Christ taught his Disciples to pray That his Kingdome might come a consequence whereof would be that Gods will would then be done in earth as it is in Heaven This prayer was by the Apostles left to following Christians and hath been ever since and yet is used in the world and the will of God not being yet done in earth as it is in Heaven shews plainly that Christ's Kingdome was not then nor is yet come The general conformity to the will of God both of Jewes and Gentiles and their subjection to Christ in the time of his Kingdome and reign is in many places of Scripture foretold as Psa 110. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power consonant to this Moses prophesied which is by Peter repeated Act. 3. 22. thus For Moses truly said unto the Fathers A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you And that the