Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	catholic_n	church_n	universal_a	1,773	5	9.0565	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90932	The preacher sent: or, A vindication of the liberty of publick preaching, by some men not ordained. In answer to two books: 1. Jus divinum ministerii euengelici. By the Provincial Assembly of London. 2. Vindiciæ ministerii euangelici. By Mr. John Collings of Norwich. / Published by Iohn Martin, minister of the Gospel at Edgfield in Norfolk. Sam. Petto, minister of the Gospel at Sand-croft in Suffolk. Frederick Woodal, minister of the Gospel at Woodbridge in Suffolk.	Martin, John, 1595 or 6-1659.; Petto, Samuel, 1624?-1711.	1658 (1658)	Wing P3197; Thomason E1592_2; ESTC R208851	240,824	381

The Preacher sent OR A VINDICATION Of the Liberty of PUBLICK PREACHING By some men not Ordained In Answer to two Books 1. Jus Divinum Ministerii Euangelici By the Provincial Assembly of LONDON 2. Vindiciae Ministerii Euangelici By Mr. John Collings of Norwich Published by Iohn Martin Minister of the Gospel at Edgfield in Norfolk Sam. Petto Minister of the Gospel at Sand-croft in Suffolk Frederick Woodal Minister of the Gospel at Woodbridge in Suffolk LONDON Printed for Livewel Chapman and are to be sold at the Crown in Popes-Head-ally 1658 To all faithful Ministers and truely Christian People professing the Order of Church-fellowship and Government called Presbyterian Beloved Brethren IT 's surely an error in practise when upon a plea of error in judgment men write actually and effectually one against another discharging themselves as guns loaden with prejudice wrath and discontent giving out but little light yet roaring and wounding exceeding much We desire to be found innocent from this transgression and do present what we have written as for you and not against you having had it in our hearts to design if possible some communication of light however some provocation of Love whilst you see our help from the seeming at least but to us real countenance of the Scripture you may finde reason to beleeve we are nes presumptuously wilful though extremely weak We may not conceal two things as heavy weights upon our spirits when the Lord was calling us out to minister unto him in the publication of this work which though we have been inabled to cast from us yet we are jealous lest they may lie as stones of stumbling in your way and obtain sentence of condemnation to pass upon us as criminals before you have heard us plead our cause 1. The exceeding great abuse of that liberty we plead for whereupon we had almost said Let us not do good lest evil come thereof But in this we were satisfied considering 1. That the having and reading the Scriptures in our tongue is the first occasion of the manifold errors and divisions found amongst us yet the loss of that liberty would be an intolerable loss 2. Did Ordination pass upon every Preacher there is no such virtue in it to make pure or to keep pure as some vessels under that mark bring us gold and silver so some are loaden with little else but apes and peacocks 3. The allowableness of an act is founded in the authority by which it is performed when attended with dueness of circumstance not in issue success or uncertain event the active humiliation of our blessed Lord was the greatest-stumbling block and an occasion of the saddest blasphemy to the Nation of the Jews that ever any people were acquainted with yet therein he was obedient and therefore honored Phil. 2. 6 7 8 9. 4. Such men as are through Grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taught of God and through gift 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apt to teach are as vines and fig-●●es where the cursed fruit of error and division with obstinacy persisted in is not found and for such only we plead 2. That we hereby keep open bleeding wounds which had need be healed the answer whereunto we trust also of a good conscience is this It is a duty to contend Jude 3. although to be conte●tious is sin a contending Spirit may be healing a contentious spirit is w●unding evermore We profess our selves bound for peace as far as the shooes of the Gospel will carry us and say with Calvin Opranda quidem est pax summoque Caivin de v●ra Christianae pacifi●●●●●is ●cclesiae reformandera●ione studio querenda sed p●tius quam redimatur ulla pietati● au● veritatis jactura Coelumterra si●pus est misceatur And because the many controversies concerning Officers issue from a diverse apprehension of the nature of the Church it self we shall crave leave in a few words to give an account of our perswasion thereabout with the grounds and reasons thereof It is unto us clear as the shining light That a Church formed unto fellowship in New-Testament-Ordinances we would not found a controversie upon a word a Church capable of Officers immediately to be set in it and over it who may take heed to all the flock oversee and feed it which also must know Act 20. 28. 1 Thes 5. 12 13. Heb. 13. 7 17. them obey and submit unto them as to such as watch for their souls is a particular company of Saints in mutual union for mutual fellowship in the means of worship appointed by Christ for the glory of God the edification of their own souls and the good of others 1. It 's a company one cannot be a Church Tell the Church is not Tell the Bishop though some have had it and still would have it so 2. It 's a particular company indeed there never was never will be a company existing in rerum naturâ any other then a particular company we grant an Universal company of Saints in a reformed sense comprehending ever individual Saint-member thereof whether formed unto fellowship or unformed but as Saints not as Churches of Saints as the world is universal of which all Creatures are a part yet did a man stand where he might see all Countreys and all Creatures he should see but a particular world really particular but intellectually Universal so when all Saints shall be gathered together at the right hand of the Lord ther shall be seen a particular company of Saints really particular though intellectually universal this being apprehended viz. here are all there are no more it 's otherwise with Companies of Saints formed into fellowship did a manstand where he might see all Corporations all particular civil Societies of men he might acknowledge the general nature of Corporations existing in either of them and yet deny an universal Corporation consisting of them as parts thereof So were all the particular Churches represented to his view at once he might grant that the universal Universalis natura est una in multis nature of a Church is in either of them yet deny an universal Church consisting of them as parts thereof Neither can we understand how that Scripture 1 Cor. 12. 28. so often pressed into the service of the Catholick Church can be found really a friend thereunto for God hath set some in the Church is equivalent to that which is written ver 18. God hath set the members every one in the Body now if this hath no strength God hath set the members in the Body Ergo There is a Catholick Body then this is weak God hath set some in the Church Ergo There is a Catholick Church And let not our Brethren impute it to a spirit of faction and division in us that we renounce the name and thing of a Church of Churches or of such a visible Catholick Church for 1. Every part is incompleat not having the power of a whole in it but every particular

act as a publick person because his work is publick and so he acteth not barely as a private Christian yet not as an Officer for then he might be actually an Officer to three or four flocks or Churches because he may lawfully keep up so many Lectures constantly and without asserting Episcopacy he cannot be said to be actually an Officer to so many flocks at once As to the preaching of private men we have spoken to that before Object 3. Hence it will follow That when a Minister baptizeth a child he baptizeth him onely into his own Congregation For if he be not an Officer of the Catholick Church he cannot baptize into the Catholick Church which is directly contrary to 1 Cor. 12. 13. Answ 1. If by baptizing into a Church they mean a making one a member of a Church by baptism we deny that a Minister baptizeth in that sence either into his own Congregation or into a Catholick Church for if baptism giveth admission either into a particular or a Catholick Church then while baptism remaineth valid the party remaineth a member of that Church for so long as he hath that upon him which giveth membership he must needs be a member as Mr. Hooker saith where the form is the formatum must needs be And then either Excommunication doth make baptism a nullity and render the person who is excommunicate unbaptized or else Excommunication doth not eject a person out of the Church because it doth nullifie baptism which they say giveth membership And this may answer their Argument to prove that a Minister is a Minister of the Church Catholick visible Jus Divin Min. p. 139. They say He that can Ministerially admit or eject a member into or out of the Church-Catholick visible is a Minister and officer of the Church-Catholick visible But every Minister by baptism or excommunication admitteth or ejecteth members into or out of the Church-Catholick visible Therefore c. We deny the Minor If we grant such a Catholick visible Church yet we cannot grant that a Minister by baptism admitteth into that Church for then if Heathens be converted at a great distance from any Church or Officer whatever glorious profession they make yet they are not to be deemed members of that Catholick visible Church until they be baptized which soundeth very harsh if those belong to Satans visible kingdom who are without that Church as they intimate in their next objection And also then it will follow either that Excommunication doth not eject a man out of the Catholick visible Church and then the other part of their Minor is fals or else that Excommunication maketh baptism a nullity and then re-baptizing must be asserted because there may be a re-admission after excommunication upon repentance witness the incestuous person 2 Cor. 2. v. 6 7 8 9 10. Or else a man may have that upon him which maketh one a member of the Catholick visible Church viz. baptism and yet be no member thereof he may have that which admitteth and giveth the formal being of membership and yet be no member which is a contradiction If an excommunicate person be no member of the Catholick visible Church then he must be re-baptized if ever he be admitted a member thereof if admission into it be by baptism Also we deny that a Minister by Excommunication ejecteth out of the Catholick visible Church the person may eject himself out of it if there be such a Church by renouncing or contradicting his former profession which if any thing made him a member thereof before Excommunication and so may lose his membership in the Catholick Church before he loseth membership in a particular Church or however he may be ejected with and not by Excommunication And how a mans being ejected out of a particular Church by Excommunication should make him no member of the Catholick visible Church if being ejected out of Office in a particular Church doth not make a man no Officer to the Catholick visible Church we find not 2. We may assert that a Minister baptizeth onely in a particular Church i. e. only such as are members in some particular Church or other and yet not assert that he baptizeth onely into a particular Church much less onely into his own congregation This baptizing into his own congregation onely may seem to intimate that if he loseth his relation to that particular Church then he must also lose his baptism which it is supposed was onely into that But if that be driven at it falleth as heavy upon themselves if such a baptizing into a Church were granted for then if a man be baptized into the Catholick visible Church if he be ejected out of that which they say he may be by excommunication then he must as much lose his baptism there also 3. As for 1 Cor. 12. v. 13. It speaketh of the baptism of the Spirit into the mystical body of Christ not of water baptism into any visible Church at all for the words are these For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body Object 4. Hence it will follow That a Christian who by reason of the unfixedness of his civil habitation is not admitted into a particular Congregation hath no way left him to have his children baptized but they must all be left without the Church in Satans visible Kingdome Answ 1. We deny as before that baptism admitteth into Christs Kingdom or delivereth out of Satans visible Kingdome By vertue of the Covenant they are Co-members with their parents of the visible Church before baptism 2. Some will grant that Offiers may baptize in such cases by vertue of membership in the Catholick Church as well as they may baptize members of other particular Churches because baptizing is an act purely Ministerial in it self and doth not necessarily imply his being over or being an officer to those it is performed towards 3. We rather answer thus that a Christian notwithstanding the unfixedness of his habitation yet ought to join as a member with some particular Congregation or other and so the difficulty vanished those that joined to the Church at Jerusalem Act. 2. v. 41. 47. yet were many of them men of other Countries as appeareth vers 5. 9. 10 11. and though they had no fixed habitations there yet they listed themselves as members and were baptized at Jerusalem vers 41. when they cannot by reason of the unfixedness of their habitations enjoy such constant Communion with a Church as they would yet they are to joyn with some Church and hold as much communion with it as they can else a wide door is open to multitudes to keep from under discipline altogether for if they offend what Church can call them to an account or passe a censure upon them in case of obstinacy Object 5. According to this assertion there is no way left us by Christ for the Jus Divin Min. p. 141. baptizing of Heathens when it shall please God to convert them to the