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A30895 An apology for the true Christian divinity, as the same is held forth, and preached by the people, called, in scorn, Quakers being a full explanation and vindication of their principles and doctrines, by many arguments, deduced from Scripture and right reason, and the testimony of famous authors, both ancient and modern, with a full answer to the strongest objections usually made against them, presented to the King / written and published in Latine, for the information of strangers, by Robert Barclay ; and now put into our own language, for the benefit of his country-men.; Theologiae verè Christianae apologia. English Barclay, Robert, 1648-1690. 1678 (1678) Wing B721; ESTC R1740 415,337 436

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throughout for the Apostle in that Chapter treating of the diversity of Gifts and Members of the Body sheweth how by the working of the same Spirit in different manifestations or measures in the several Members of the whole Body is edified saying v. 13. That we are all baptized by the One Spirit into one Body and then v. 28. he numbers out the several dispensations thereof which by God are set in the Church through the various working of his Spirit for the edification of the whole Then if there be no true member of the body which is not thus baptized by this Spirit neither any thing that worketh to the edifying of it but according to a measure of Grace received from the Spirit surely without Grace none ought to be admitted to work or labour in the body because their labour and work without this Grace and Spirit would not be ineffectual § XVI Thirdly that this Grace and Gift is a necessary qualification to a Minister is clear from that of the Apostle Peter 1 Peter 4.10 11. As every man hath received the Gift even so minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God If any man speak let him speak as the Oracles of God if any man minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever Amen From which it appears That these that minister must minister according to the Gift and Grace received but they that have not such a Gift cannot minister according thereunto Secondly As good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God But how can a man be a good Steward of that which he hath not Can ungodly men that are not gracious themselves be good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God and therefore in the following Verses he makes an exclusive limitation of such as are not thus furnished saying If any man speak let him speak as the Oracles of God and if any man minister let him do it as of the ability that God giveth which is as much as if he had said They that cannot thus speak and thus minister ought not to do it For this If denotes a necessary condition Now what this ability is is manifest by the former words to wit the Gift received and the Grace whereof they are Stewards as by the immediate context and dependency of the words doth appear neither can it be understood of a meer natural ability because man in this condition is said not to know the things of God and so he cannot minister them to others And the following words shew this also in that he immediately subjoyneth That God in all things may be glorified but surely God is not glorified but greatly dishonoured when natural men from their meer natural ability meddle in Spiritual things which they neither know nor understand Fourthly that Grace is a most necessary qualification for a Minister appears by these qualifications which the Apostle expressly requires 1 Tim. 3.2 Tit. 1. c. where he saith A Bishop must be blameless vigilant sober of good behaviour apt to teach patient a lover of good men just holy temperate as the Steward of God holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been taught Upon the other hand He must neither be given to Wine nor a Striker nor covetous nor proud nor self-willed nor soon angry Now I ask If it be not impossible that a man can have all these above-named Vertues and be free of all these Evils without the Grace of God if then these Vertues for the producing of which in a man Grace is absolutely necessary be necessary to make a true Minister of the Church of Christ according to the Apostles judgment surely Grace must be necessary also Concerning this thing a learned man and well skilled in Antiquity about the time of the Reformation writeth thus Whatsoever is done in the Church either for Ornament or Edification of Religion whether in chusing Magistrates or instituting Ministers of the Church except it be done by the ministry of Gods Spirit which is as it were the Soul of the Church it is vain and wicked For whoever hath not been called by the Spirit of God to the great office of God and dignity of Apostleship as Aaron was and hath not entred in by the door which is Christ but hath otherways risen in the Church by the window by the favours of men c. truly such a one is not the Vicar of Christ and the Apostles but a thief and a Robber and the Vicar of Judas Iscariot and Simon the Samaritan Hence it was so strictly appointed concerning the election of Prelates which holy Dionisius calls Sacrament of Nomination that the Bishops and Apostles who should oversee the Service of the Church should be men of most intire manners and life powerful in sound Doctrine to give a reason for all things So also another about the same time writeth thus Therefore it can never be that by the Tongues or Learning any can give a sound judgment concerning the Holy Scriptures and the Truth of God Lastly saith he the Sheep of Christ seeketh nothing but the Voice of Christ which he knoweth by the Holy Spirit wherewith he is filled he regards not learning Tongues or any outward thing so as therefore to believe this or that to be the voice of Christ his true Shepherd he knoweth that there is need of no other thing but the testimony of the Spirit of God § XVII Against this absolute necessity of grace they object That if all Ministers had the saving Grace of God Obj. then all ministers should be saved seeing none can fall away from or lose Saving Grace But this Objection is built upon a false Hypothesis Answ. purely denyed by us and we have in the former Proposition concerning Perseverance already refuted it Obj. Secondly it may be objected to us That since we affirm that every Man hath a measure of true and Saving Grace there needs no singular qualifications neither to a Christian nor Minister for seeing every man hath this Grace then no man needs forbear to be a Minister for want of Grace Answ. I answer We have above shewn that there is necessary to the making a Minister a special and particular call from the Spirit of God which is something besides the universal dispensation of Grace to all according to that of the Apostle No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Moreover we understand by Grace as a qualification to a Minister not the meer measure of Light as it is given to reprove and call him to righteousness but we understand Grace as it hath converted the Soul and operateth powerfully in it as hereafter concerning the work of Ministers will further appear So we understand not men simply as having Grace in them as a Seed which we indeed affirm
found nor yet in the New Paul was very civil to Agrippa yet he gives him no such title neither was this title used among Christians in the primitive times Hence the Ecclesiastick History of the Reformation of France relating the Speech of Lord Rochefort at the Assembly of the Estate of France held under Charles the Ninth in the year 1560. saith that this harangue was well remarked in that he used not the word Majesty invented by flatterers of late years and yet this Author minded not how his Master Calvin used this flattering title to Francis the First King of France and not only so but calls him most Christian King in the Epistle to his Institutions though by his daily persecuting of the Reformers it was apparent he was far from being such even in Calvin's own esteem Surely the complying with such vain titles imposed and introduced by Antichrist greatly tended to strain the Reformation and to render it defective in many things Lastly all these titles and stiles of honour are to be rejected by Christians because they are to seek the honour that comes from above and not the honour that is from below But these honours are not that honour that comes from above but are from below For we know well enough what industry and what pains men are at to get these things and what party it is that seeks after them to wit the proud insolent haughty aspiring mind For judge it is the meek and innocent Spirit of Christ that covets that honour Is it that Spirit that must be of no reputation in this World that has its conversation in Heaven that comes to have fellowship with the Sons of God Is it that Spirit I say that loves that honour that seeks after that honour that pleads for the upholding of that honour that frets and rages and fumes when it is denied that honour Or is it not rather the lordly insulting Spirit of Lucifer the Prince of this World he that of old affected and sought after this honour and loved not to abide in the submissive low place And so all his Children are possessed with the same ambitious proud mind seeking and coveting titles of honour which indeed belong not to them For let us examine who they are that are honourable indeed Is it not the righteous man Is it not the holy man Is it not the humble hearted man the meek spirited man And are not such those that ought to be honoured among Christians Now of these may there not be poor men labourers silly Fisher-men And if so how comes it that the titles of honour are not bestowed upon such But who are they that generally receive and look for this honour Are they not the rich ones Such as have abundance of the Earth As be like the rich glutton Such as are proud and ambitious Such as are oppressors of the poor Such as swell with lust and vanity and all superfluity of naughtiness Who are the very abomination and plague of the Nations Are not these they that are accounted the honourable that require and receive the titles of honour proud Haman Now whether is this the honour that comes from God or the honour from below Doth God honour such as daily dishonour him and disobey him And if this be not the honour that comes from God but the honour of this World which the Children of this World give and receive one from another how can the Children of God such as are Christians indeed give or receive that honour among themselves without coming under the reproof of Christ who saith that such as do cannot believe But further if we respect the cause that most frequently procures to men these titles of honour there is not one of a thousand that shall be found to be because of any Christian Vertue But rather for things to be discommended among Christians As by the favour of Princes procured by flattering and often by worse means yea the most frequent and accounted among men most honourable is fighting or some great martial Exploit which can add nothing to a Christians worth since sure it is it were desirable there were no fightings among Christians at all and in so far as there are it shews they are not right Christians And James tells us that all fightings proceeds from the lusts so that it were fitter for Christians by the Sword of God's Spirit to fight against their lusts than by the prevalency of their lusts to destroy one another Whatever honour any might have attained of old under the Law this way we find under the Gospel Christians commended for suffering not for fighting neither did any of Christ's Disciples save one offer outward violence by the Sword in cutting off Malchus's Ear for which he received no title of honour but a just reproof Finally if we look either to the nature of this honour the cause of it the way it s conveyed the terms in which it is delivered it cannot be used by such as mind to be Christians in good earnest § IV. Now besides these general titles of honour what gross abuses are crept in among such as are called Christians in the use of Complements wherein not servants to masters or others with respect to any such kind of relations do say and write to one another at every turn Your humble servant Your most obedient servant c. Such wicked customs have to the great prejudice of Souls accustomed Christians to lye and to use lying is now come to be accounted civility O horrid Apostacy For it is notoriously known that the use of these Complements imports not any design of service neither are any such fools as to think so for if we should put them to it that say so they would not doubt to think we abused them and would let us know they gave us words in course and no more It is strange that such as pretend to Scripture as their rule should not be ashamed to use such things since Elihu that had not the Scriptures would by the Light within him which these men think insufficient say Job 32.21 22. Let me not accept any mans person neither let me give flattering titles unto man For I know not to give flattering titles in so doing my Maker would soon take me away A certain Antient devout Man in the primitive time subscribed himself to a Bishop your humble servant wherein I doubt not but he was more real than our usual Complementers and yet he was sharply reproved for it But they usually object to defend themselves that Luke saith Most Excellent Theophilus and Paul Most Noble Festus I answer since Luke wrote that by the dictates of the infallible Spirit of God I think it will not be doubted but Theophilus did deserve it as being really endued with that vertue in which case we shall not condemn those that do it by the same Rule But it is not proved that Luke gave Theophilus this title as that which was
se est Deus non denegat gratiam Servant whether it be lawful to say I am your humble Servant 358. Servetus 345. Shoe-maker he disputes with the Professor 208 Silence see Worship Simon Magus 222 Sin see Adam Justification it shall not have dominion over the Saints 42. the seed of sin is transmitted from Adam unto all men but it is imputed to none no not to Infants except they actually joyn with it by sinning 57 58 64 65 66. and this seed is often called Death Original sin Of this phrase the Scripture makes no mention 66. by vertue of the Sacrifice of Christ we have remission of sins 90 132. forgiveness of sin among the Papists 129. a freedom from actual sin is obtained both when and how and that many have attained unto it 160 to 174 every sin weakens a man in his Spiritual condition but doth not destroy him altogether 161. it is one thing not to sin another thing not to have sin 170. whatsoever is not done through the Power of God is sin 249. Singing of Psalms 275. Socinians see natural light their rashness is reproved 19. they think Reason is the chief rule and guide of Faith 19 30. albeit many have abused Reason yet they do not say that any ought not to use it and how ill they argue against the inward and Immediate Revelations of the Holy Spirit 29 30 31. yet they are forced ultimately to recur unto them 36. they exalt too much their natural power and what they think of the Saving Light 115. their worship can easily be stopped 92. Son of God see Christ Knowledge Revelation Soul the Soul hath its senses as well as the body 7. by what it is strengthened and fed 248 311. Spirit the Holy Spirit see Knowledg Communion Revelation Scriptures Unless the Spirit sit upon the heart of the hearer in vain is the Discourse of the Doctor 6 16. the Spirit of God knoweth the things of God 11. without the Spirit none can say that Jesus is the Lord 6 11 12. he rested upon the Seventy Elders and others 14. he abideth with us for ever 18 19. he teacheth and bringeth all things to remembrance and leads into all Truth 19 20 23 24 25 38. he differs from the Scriptures 19 20. he is God 19. he dwelleth in the Saints 19 20 21 22 23. without the Spirit Christianity is no Christianity 20 30 40 whatsoever is to be desired in the Christian Faith is ascribed to him 19 20. by this Spirit we are turned unto God and we triumph in the midst of Persecutions 21. he quickens c. 21 22. an observable Testimony of Calvin concerning the Spirit 22 23 39 40. it is the Fountain and Origin of all Truth and right reason 34 35. it gives the belief of the Scriptures which may satisfie our Consciences 39. his Testimony is more excellent than all reason 39. he is the chief and principal Guide 46. he reasoneth with and striveth in men 98. those that are led by the Spirit love the Scriptures 50 183 184. he is as it were the Soul of the Church and what is done without him is vain and impious 208. he is the Spirit of order and not of disorder 213. such as the Spirit sets apart to the Ministry are heard of their Brethren 214. it is the earnest of our inheritance 237. Spiritual iniquities 243 244. spiritual discerning 336. Stephen spake by the Spirit 21. Suffering How Paul filled up that which was behind of the afflictions of Christ. How any is made partaker of the Sufferings of Christ and conformable to his Death 168 169. Superstition 231 232. whence superstitions sprung 244 277 300. Supper see Communion Bread it was of old administred even to little Children and Infants 3.7 T Tables 323. Talent one Talent is not at all unsufficient of it self The Parable of the Talents 101 102 107. those that improved their Talents well are called good and faithful Servants 152. he that improved well his two Talents was nothing less accepted than he that improved his five 161. Talk see Plays Taulerus was instructed by the poor Laik 200. he tasted of the love of God 237. Testimony see Spirit Theseus his Boat 219 Thomas a Kempis 236. Tithes were assigned to the Levites but not to the Ministers of this day 220 221. Titles it is not at all lawful for Christians to use those Titles of Honour Majesty c. 352 354 to 360 388. Tongue the knowledge of tongues is laudable 200 206 207. Tradition how unsufficient it is to decide 30. it is not a sufficient ground for Faith 329. Translations see Bible Truth there is a difference betwixt what one saith of the Truth and that which the Truth it self interpreting it self saith 6. Truth is not hard to be arrived at but is most nigh 6. Turks among them there may be Members of the Church 182 183. V Vespers 236. Voices outward Voices see Faith Miracles W War that it is not lawful for Christians to resist evil nor wage War 352. 380 to 389. Washing of Feet 212 213. William Barclay 342. Woman a Woman can Preach 214 220. Luther also 303. Word the Eternal Word is the Son It was in the beginning with God and was God it is Jesus Christ by whom God created all things 10 87. what Augustin read in the writings of the Platonists concerning this Word 126. Works are either of the Law or of the Gospel 152. see Justification Worship what the true and acceptable worship to God is and how it is offered and what the superstitious and abominable is 231 c. the true worship was soon corrupted and lost 231 232. concerning the worship done in the time of the Apostasie 235 267. of what worship is here handled and of the difference of t he worship of the Old and New Covenant 232 233 252 253 254. the true Worship is neither limitted to times places nor persons and it is explained how this is to be understood 231 233 234 258 259 266 267 289 290. concerning the Lord's-day and the daies upon which Worship is performed 234 235. of the Publique and Silent Worship and its excellency 236 to 261. of Preaching 260 261 262 263 264. of Prayer 264 to 276. of singing of Psalms and Musick 275. what sort of Worship the Quakers are for and what sort their adversaries 276. FINIS John 17.3 Matth. 11.27 Joh. 16.13 Rom. 8.14 Rom. 5.12 15. Eph. 2.1 Ezek. 18.23 Esa. 49.6 John 3.16.1.19 Tit. 2.11 Eph. 5.13 Heb. 2.9 1 Cor. 15.22 1 Cor. 12.7 Heb. 2.9 Tit. 3.5 Rom. 6.14 Rom. 8.13 Rom. 6.2 18 1 John 3.6 1 Tim. 1.6 Heb. 6.4 5 6. Mat. 10. Ezek. 13. Matt. 10.20 Acts 2.4.18.5 John 3.6 4.21 Judges 19. Acts 17.23 Eph. 4.5 1 Pet 3.21 Rom. 6.4 Gal. 3.27 Col. 2.12 Joh. 3.30 1 Cor. 1.17 1 Cor. 10.16 17. Joh. 6.32 33 55. 1 Cor. 5.8 Acts 15 20 Joh. 13 14. Ja. 5.14 Luc. 9.55 56. Matt. 7.12 29. Tit. 3.10 Eph. 5.11 1 Pet 1.14