Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	bishop_n	call_v	presbyter_n	3,421	5	11.0026	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79056	His Maiesties reason vvhy he cannot in conscience consent to abolish the Episcopall government. Delivered by him in writing to the Divines that attend the Honorable Commissioners of Parliament at the Treaty at Newport Octob. 2. 1648. With the answer of the said Divines delivered to His Majestie in writing. October 3. 1648.	England and Wales. Sovereign (1625-1649 : Charles I); Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.; Vines, Richard, 1600?-1656.; Seaman, Lazarus, d. 1675.; Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.; Westminster Assembly (1643-1652)	1648 (1648)	Wing C2738; Thomason E466_5; ESTC R205219	7,094	18

HIS MAIESTIES REASON VVhy He cannot in Conscience consent to abolish the Episcopall Government Delivered by Him in writing to the Divines that attend the Honorable Commissioners of Parliament at the Treaty at Newport Octob. 2. 1648. With the Answer of the said Divines delivered to His Majestie in writing October 3. 1648. LONDON Printed by William Wilson 1648. His Majesties Reason why He cannot in conscience consent to abolish the Episcopall Government Charles R. I Conceive that Episcopall Government is most consonant to the word of God and of an Apostolicall institution as it appears by the Scripture to have bin practised by Apostles themselves And by them committed and derived to perticular Persons as their Substitutes or Successors therein as for ordeyning Presbyters Deacons giving rules concerning Christian Discipline and exercising censurs over Presbyters and others And hath ever since till these last times been exercised by Bishops in all the Churches of Christ And therefore I cannot in conscience consent to abolish the sayd Government Notwithstanding this my perswasion I shall be glad to be informed if our Saviour and the Apostles did so leave the Church at liberty as they might totally alter or change the Church Government at their pleasure which if you can make appeare to me then I will confesse that one of my great scruples is cleane taken away and then there only remaines That being by my Coronation Oath obleiged to maintaine Episcopall Government as I found it setled to my hands whether I may consent to the abolishing thereof untill the same shall be evidenced to Me to be contrary to the Word of God Newport 2. Octob. 1648. The Answer of the Divines to His Majesties Reason why He cannot in Conscience consenr to the abolishment of Episcopall Government May it please Your Majesty WE do fully agree without hesitation that these Scriptures cited in the margin of your paper Act. 14. 23. Acts 6. 6. 1 Cor. 16. 1. 1 Cor. 14. 1 Cor. 5. 3. 3 Iohn 9 10 do prove that the Apostles did ordeine Presbyters and Deacons give rules concerning Christian Discipline and had power of exercising censures over Presbyters and others And that these places of Scripture 1 Tim. 5. 22. Tit. 1. 5. 1 Tim. 5. 19. Titus 3. 10. do prove that Timothy and Titus had power to ordeine Presbyters and Deacons and to exercise censures over Presbyters and others And that the second and third Chapters of the Revelation do prove That the Angels of the Churches had power of governing of the Churches and exercising censures But that either the Apostles or Timothy and Titus or the Angels of the Churches were Bishops as Bishops are distinct from Presbyters exercising Episcopall Government in that sense Or that the Apostles did commit and derive to any particular persons as their substitutes and successors any such Episcopall Government or that this is proved in the least measure by the Scriptures alleaged we do as fully deny And therefore do humbly deny also That Episcopall Government is therefore most consonant to the word of God and of Apostolicall institution or proved so to be by these Scriptures None of these were Bishops or practised Episcopall Government as Bishops are distinct from Presbyters Neither is such an Officer of the Church as a Bishop distinct from a Presbyter to be found in the New Testament by which wee humbly conceive that our Faith and Conscience touching this poynt ought to be concluded The name Office and Worke of Bishop and Presbyter being one and the same in all things and never in the least distinguisht as is clearly evident Titus 1. 5. 7. For this cause left I thee in Creete that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting and ordaine Presbyters in every City as I had appointed thee For a Bishop must be blamelesse In which place the Apostle his reasoning were altogether invalid and inconsequent if Presbyter and Bishop were not the same Office as well as they have the same Name The same is manifest Acts 20 17. 28. And from Miletus hee sent to Ephesus and called the Presbyters of the Church to whom hee gave this charge verse 28. Take heede therefore unto your selves and to all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Bishops {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to feede and governe the Church of God Where wee observe That the Apostle being to leave these Presbyters and never to see their faces more verse 28. doth charge them with the feeding and governing of the Church as being Bishops of the Holy Ghosts making But that the Holy Ghost did make any superiour or higher kinde of Bishops than these common Presbyters is not to bee found in that or any other Text And that under the mouth of two or three witnesses this assertion of ours may stand we adde to what we have already said that in the 1 Pet. 5. 1. 2. The Presbyters which are among you I exhort who am also a Presbyter Feed the flock of God Which is among you {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} performing the office of Bishops where it appears plaine to us that under the words {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} used in this place is expressed whatsoever work the Presbyters are to do Neither can Bishops so called as above Presbyters do more for the government and good of the Church otherwise then is there expressely injoyned unto Presbyters By all which that hath been said the point is rendered to be most cleare to the judgement of most men both ancient and of later times That there is no such Officer to be found in the Scriptures of the New Testament as a Bishop distinct from a Presbyter neither doth the Scripture afford us the least notice of any qualification required in a Bishop that is not required in a Presbyter nor any Ordination to the Office of a Bishop distinct from a Presbyter nor any work or duty charged upon a Bishop which Presbyters are not enjoyned to do nor any greater honour or dignity put upon them For that double honour which the Apostle speaks of 1 Tim. 5. 17. as due to Presbyters that rule well is with a note of especially affixed to that Act or work of labouring in the word and doctrine which is not that Act wherein Bishops have challenged a singularity or peculiar eminency above the Presbyters To that which Your Majesty doth conceive That Episcopall government was practised by Apostles themselves We humbly answer That the Apostles as they were the highest Officers of the Church of Christ so they were extraordinary in respect of their commission gifts and office and distinguisht from all other Officers 1 Cor. 12. 28. God hath set some in the Church first Apostles secondarily Prophets thirdly Teachers Ephes. 4. 11. Christ gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers Where the Apostles are distinguished

from Pastors and Teachers who are the ordinary Officers of the Church for preaching the word and government That they had power and authority to ordaine Church Officers and to exercise censures in all Churches we affirm and withall that no other Persons or Officers of the Church may challenge or assume to themselves such power in that respect alone because the Apostles practised it Except such power belong unto them in common as well as to the Apostles by warrant of the Scripture For that government which they practised was Apostolicall according to the peculiar commission and authority which they had and no otherwise to be called Episcopal than as their Office was so comprehensive as they had power to do the work of any or all other Church Officers in which respect they call themselves Presbyteri Diaconi but never Episcopi in distinct sense and therefore we humbly crave leave to say that to argue the Apostles to have practised Episcopall Government because they ordeined other Officers and exercised censures is as if we should argue a Justice of Peace to be a Constable because he doth that which a Constable doth in some particulars It s manifest that the Office of Bishops and Presbyters were not distinct in the Apostles They did not act as Bishops in some Acts and as Presbyters in other Acts. The distinction of Presbyters and Bishops being made by men in after times And whereas your Majesty doth conceive that the Episcopall Government was by the Apostles committed and derived to particular persons as their Substitutes or Successors therein as for ordeining Presbyters and Deacons giving rules concerning Christian discipline and exercising censures over Presbyters and others Seeming by the alledged places of Scripture to instance in Timothy and Titus and the Angels of the Churches We humbly answer and first to that of Timothy and Titus We grant that Timothy and Titus had Authority and power of ordaining Presbyters and Deacons and of exercising censures over Presbyters and others though we cannot say they had this power as the Apostles Substitutes or Successors in Episcopal Government nor that they exercised the power they had as being Bishops in the sense of your Majesty but as extraordinary Officers or Evangelists which Evangelists were an office in the Church distinct from Pastors and Teachers Eph. 4. 11. and that they were Evangelists it appears by their being sent up and downe by the Apostles or taken along with them in company to severall Churches as the necessity and occasion of the Churches did require The One of them being expressely called an Evangelist 2 Tim. 4. 5. And neither of them being anywhere in Scripture called Bishop Neither were they fixed to Ephesus and Creet as Bishops in the Churches committed to them but removed from thence to other places and never for ought appears in Scripture returned to them againe And it seems cleare to us that neither their abode at Ephesus and Creet was for any long time nor so intended by the Apostle For he imploys them there upon occasionall businesse and expresses himselfe in such manner I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia that thou mightst charge some that they teach no other doctrine 1 Tim. 1. 3. For this cause left I thee in Greete Tit. 1. 5. as doth not carry the fixing or constituting of a Bishop in a place as a perpetuall Governour And it is as manifest that they were both of them called away from these places 2 Tim. 4. 9. Do thy diligence to come to me shortly Tit. 3. 12. Be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis So that they may as well be called Bishops of other Cities or Churches where they had any considerable abode as they are pretended to have beene of Ephesus and Greete As they are called by the Poscripts of those Epistles the credit of which Postscripts we cannot build upon in this point Secondly To that of the Angels of the Churches The ministers of the Churches are called Starres and Angels which denominations are metaphoricall and in a mystery Rev. 1. 20. the mystery of the seven Starres Angels in respect of their mission or sending Starres in respect of their Station and shining And it seems strange to us that to so many expresse Testimonyes of Scripture an Allegoricall denomination or mystery should be opposed These Angels being no where called Bishops in vulgar acceptation nor the word Bishop used in any of Johns writings who cals himselfe Presbyter Nor any mention of superiority of one Presbyter to another but in Diotrephes affecting it And as to that which may be said that the Epistles are directed to one we answer that a number of persons are in the mysterious and Prophetick writings expressed in singulars and we humbly conceive that being written in an Apostolary Style for they are as letters or Epistles to the Churches these writings are directed as letters to collective Representative bodies use to be That is to one but intended meant to that body in meeting assembled which that they were so intended is cleare to us both because there were in Ephesus Bishops and Presbyters one and the same to whom the Apostle at his farewell commendeth the Government of the Church And by divers expressions in these Epistles as Rev. 2. 24. To you and to the rest in Thyatyra by which distinction of you and the rest we conceive the particular Governours which were more then one and the people to be signified And so cannot consent that any singular person had majority over the rest or sole power of exercising Church Censures and Government spoken of in these Chapters Having thus as we humbly conceive proved by pregnant places of Scripture compared together that the Apostles themselves did not institute or practise Episcopall Government nor commit and derive it to particular persons as their substitutes or successors therein Wee shall in farther discharge of our duty to and for the more cleare and full satisfaction of your Majesty in this point briefely declare into what Officers hands the ordinary and standing Offices of the Church were transmitted and derived by from the Apostles The Apostles had no successors in eundem gradum the Apostolicall Office was not derived by succession being instituted by Christ by extraordinary special Commission But for the ordinary and standing use and service of the Church there were ordained only two Orders of Officers viz. Bishops and Deacons which the Apostle expresseth Phil. 1. 1. To all the Saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi with the Bishops and Deacons And onely of them doth the Apostle give the due Characters of Officers 1 Tim. 3. 2. 8. From both which places of Scripture we conclude with ancient Expositors both Greek and Latin that Bishops are the same with Presbyters and besides Presbyters there is no mention of any other order but that of Deacons Of both which Orders in the Apostles times there were in one City more then one as