Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	church_n	invisible_a	visible_a	2,874	5	9.2871	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41202	A brief refutation of the errors tolleration, erastianism, independency and separation delivered in some sermons from I Job. 4. I, preach'd in the year 1652 : to which are added four sermons preach'd on several occasions / by Mr. James Fergusson ...	Fergusson, James, 1621-1667.	1692 (1692)	Wing F777; ESTC R21916	200,444	386

the Communion and not only so but to quite That Church and set up a new Church of Their own We shall begin first with that Doctrine that concerns the Constitution of Visible Churches And therein we shall follow our usual Order First Clear the Question Secondly Bring Arguments for the Truth Thirdly Answer those they bring against the Truth And Fourthly Apply the whole to some Use. I. First For clearing of the Question ye would know what Church it is concerning which the Controversy is First It is not that place where Gods people meet to go about Gods publick Worship such as this House we now are in which is called the Church by a Figure improperly But it is the People gathered together in it which People are really and properly the Church although the House be so called because it contains them by an usual Figure The Church that we are to dispute of is made up of Men and Women And not that which is built of Timber and Stone Secondly The Controversy betwixt Us and Them is not concerning the Invisible Church that is called the Church of the First-born Those who by vertue of their Effectual Calling are united to Jesus Christ the Head are living Members of His Mystical Body and draw Spiritual Influence from him Concerning the Church taken in this Sense There is no Controversy betwixt Us and the Separatists but that the Members of this Church are only made up of Believers are all gracious because this Church is Christs Mystical Body a Royal Priest-hood the Lambs Wife all fair undefiled c. Thirdly The Question Then is concerning the Church Visible which is a Company of Men and Women who have according to the Tenor of Gods Covenant with the Visible Church an Outward Ecclesiastical which is in its kind a real Right to enjoy the Outward Priviledges of the Children of God This being the Church about which the Controversy betwixt Us and the Separatists is We shall speak a litle to clear what is meaned by it And First The Church is called Visible not because the Members of it may be seen For in that respect the Church Invisible the Church of Believers may be called Visible For the Members of it being believing Men and Women may be seen also But the difference betwixt the Churches in those two Senses is taken from that which makes one to be a Member of the one Church as it differs from that which makes one a Member of the other That which makes One man a Member of the Invisible Church is True Grace sincere Faith inward Marks thereof Now Grace is a thing that cannot be seen by another certainly It s true there are outward effects of it but they are such that a Hypocrite may have the counterfeit of them so as the one cannot be discerned from the other by a Beholder The nature of Grace is only known Infallibly and certainly to God And therefore This Church is called Invisible Again that which makes a Man or Woman a Member of the Visible Church is something that may be seen something that may be judged of by those who have Power to receive Members into the Church and cast them out from it Secondly We said that this Visible Church is a Company or Society of Men and Women that have an Ecclesiastical Right to enjoy the Outward Priviledges of the Sons of God For understanding what is meaned by enjoying of Outward Priviledges we shall show you That there are Outward Priviledges and Inward Priviledges of those who are the Sons of God Inward Priviledges are Jesus Christ himself a Right to him a saving Right to the Covenant of Grace and Life Eternal These are the Inward Priviledges of the Sons of God And only Believers have right to those Painted Hypocrites have no right to them But Secondly There are Outward Priviledges of the Sons of God such as these To be ordinary Hearers of the Word Preached To be taken a care of by Jesus Christ his Servants To have liberty to come to the Sacraments These are Outward Priviledges And these are Priviledges that a Member of the Visible Church hath a right to We said they had an Ecclesiastical Right or a Church Right to them That is such a Right as gives Warrand to the Church for receiving them to enjoy these Priviledges and yet possibly they have not a Right to them before God As for Example when there is a painted Hypocrite in a Congregation who makes Conscience seemingly to use the Means That man hath an Ecclesiastical Right to come to a Communion such a Right as may Warrand the Minister for admitting of him although he have not a Right to come before God God will challenge the Hypocrite for coming and not the Minister for suffering him to come Yet we are still to consider that tho' this Ecclesiestical Right be not Saving yet it is Real in its kind being founded upon Gods Covenant with the Visible Church and his Ordinance of admitting such therein Now ye may know somewhat by this what we mean by an Ecclesiastical Right it 's That which gives warrand to Church Officers to admit a man to enjoy these Outward Priviledges And so ye may know what we mean by the Visible Church whereof we Dispute There are several differences betwixt Us and the Separatists Concerning the Visible Church First They affirm That there is no Visible Church on Earth But a single Congregation As many as may meet in one place This we refuted in the former Controversie by shewing That in the Church of Jerusalem there were far moe than could meet in one single Congregation yea many particular Congregations And yet are called but One Church Secondly They differ much from us as also from the Truth concerning the power They give to this Visible Church They give them the full power of Church Government and that Independently from any Chuch power on earth This difference also we spoke of in the preceeding Debate And so we shall stand now no longer upon it Thirdly We differ concerning That which gives a Being to the Church Visible They say To make a Society of People a Visible Church so as to have right to partake of the Priviledges there of It is requisite that all the Members of that Society Swear a Covenant one to another wherein they bind themselves to submit one to another in the Lord to walk in all the Ordinances of God and not to leave that Society till liberty be given them by the rest So that tho a man should be never so truely Godly and Gracious yet if he take not such a Covenant and if he Swear not such an Oath He is without the Visible Church He is in the state of a ●agan to live and to die without any Church Ordinance The Judgement of our Church and that of Truth herein is this That wherever a man comes out of one Particular Congregation which we call a Paroch to another By his so doing he comes

spoken of For the last part of the verse must be exponed according to the first part Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed Now certainly that is meaned of others besides those that were before added and so this five thousand must be a new number Fiftly In Acts 5. 14. Besides all these it is said And believers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both of men and Women And Sixtly In Act. 6. 7. And the word of the Lord increased and the number of the Disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly and a great company of the Priests were obedient to the Faith They multiplied and multiplyed greatly And these were not only the common People but the leaders and Priests also who doubtless would bring multitudes with them by their example Now all these being considered any understanding man may easily conceive that so many thousands as these would amount to behooved to be cast in moe Congregations than one and could not be one single Congregation Before we proceed to the Second ground of our proof we shall shew you first what they say against this There are three things mainly they object And the first is That the most part of those who were converted by the Apostles were strangers who had not their dwelling at Jerusalem and so did not remain Members of that Church And for this they cite Act 2. 8 9. Where it is reckoned that among the number of the hearers there were Parthians and Medes and Elamits and the dwellers in Mesopotamia c. To this we Answer that though those men came out of those far Countries being Godly men who come in Expectation of the Messias his coming who was then expected yet they were dwellers in Jerusalem for that time and for this see Act 2. 5. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews devout men out of every nation under Heaven So they had taken up house and were dwelling there And in v 14. Where Peter began his Preaching he sayes Ye men of Judea and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem be this known unto you c. Secondly We answer dwell where they please They were Members of this Church at Jerusalem And this appears from several things that are ascribed to them by the Holy Ghost which cannot be spoken of any but Members of that Church So in verse 47. it is said And the Lord added them unto the Church daily Secondly In verse 46. They continued daily with one accord in the Temple and breaking Bread from house to house c. Thirdly In verse 45. They sold their possessions and gave their Goods into the Church Treasury for the help of the poor And Fourthly We find in Act. 6. 5. That they all joyned in choosing the Deacons and Officers of the Church Now sure these are Actions that belong to none but Church-Members This for their First Objection Their second Objection is this say they The Holy Ghost sayeth expresly that they did meet all at one place as if it were on purpose to evince our Argument and that the whole multitude did come together As for instance Act. 2. 1. it is said They were all with one accord in one place and in the same Chapter verse 46. They continuing daily with one accord in the Temple c. And it is also said Act. 6. 2. Then the twelve called the multitude of the Disciples unto them c. And verse 5. And the saying pleased the whole multitude Now to take off this exception which seems to be the most plausible of their Objections First Consider what we spoke from the Scripture of their number and what thousands were in this Church And let any reasonable man conceive how it could be possible that all those should meet in one place And therefore that meeting in one place must be taken in another sense It 's observed by the Learned That the word here turned meeting together in one place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth not always signify a meeting together in one room but the agreeing of the Affection and Judgement in one thing And for the clearing of this they cite Act. 4. 25 26 Why did the Heathen rage and the People imagine vain things The Kings of the earth stood up and the Rulers were gathered together against the Lord c. Now it is the same word that is there turned in one place which is here turned gathered together and certainly no place of Scripture will prove that Herod Pontius Pilate Jew and Gentile did all meet in one place to consult about the Death of Christ But only they agreed in one Judgement and hearty Affection about it And so the meaning may well be taken thus in t●is other place But yet to speak to these places further For Act. 2. 1. That they were all with one accord in one place It makes nothing against our Argument For the number was not then so great as we shew it grew afterwards and so they might well meet in one place The same answer we give to that in verse 46. They continuing daily with one accord in the Temple They were not then come to the full number that afterward they came to So that although they might all have continued in the Temple at that time yet afterwards they could not And Secondly We answer It doth not prove the point they bring it for It is only mentioned They came to the Temple to hear the Word but not that they were all of one Congregation partaking of all Ordinances in one place For it is said afterwards They brake Bread from House to House meaning the Sacrament of the Lords Supper which they did partake of from House to House in their particular Congregations So that place makes more against our Opposits than against us For the other place in Act. 6. 5. When the Apostles and Believers were come to a greater extent yet the Apostles call the whole multitude to them and it is said The saying pleased the whole multitude To this we answer by the whole multitude cannot be meaned all before spoken of And therefore we say by the whole Multitude is meaned a great Multitude as in that of Luke 8. 37. Where it is said That the whole multitude of the Countrey of the Gadarens round about c. It is not to be imagined that Man and Mother-Son or every Individual Person came out to meet Christ but only a great Multitude or otherwise the whole multitude may be taken for the whole multitude of those that were present as Luke 1. 10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without when Zacharias was offering Incense Now this must not be understood that all the multitude of the People of Jerusalem was there but only of the whole multitude that was present This for their second Objection Their third Objection is this Though it be granted that the number of Believers was such before the persecution that fell out Act. 8 1. Yet when that Persecution came there