Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	apostle_n	church_n	day_n	1,993	5	4.2614	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41790	A sigh for peace, or, The cause of division discovered wherein the great Gospel promise of the Holy Ghost, and the doctrine of prayer with imposition of hands, as the way ordained of God to seek for it, is asserted and vindicated, as the interest and duty of Christs disciples in general : in answer to a book intituled A search for schism / by Tho. Grantham ...	Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692.	1671 (1671)	Wing G1548; ESTC R39437	69,616	172

builde● thereon He that is of God heareth us he that is n● of God heareth not us hereby know we the Spir●● of truth and the Spirit of errour 1 John 4. 6. Fourthly they were Necessarily endowed wit● the gift of Tongues M●racles c. to demonstra●● that they were sent of God and that the● Doctrine was from Heaven Luke 24. 49 But tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem until 〈◊〉 be endued with power from on high 2 Cor. 12. 1● Truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought amo●● you in all patience in Signs and Wonders and migh● deeds In these and the like respects the Apo●●les have no successours for if they have then ●ust their Words and Writings have the like ●orce and Authority and then we should be ●●ill receiving new Oracles and never know when the whole Councel of God was made ●nown to us Now the things which were ordinary and ●ixed in the Apostolical Office were such as ●hese their Authority to preach the Gospel in ●ll places at all times to all persons as occasi●n and opportunity by Gods providence was given to them Mark 16. 15. Preach the Gospel 〈◊〉 every Creature Math. 28. 19 20. Teach all Nations and lo I am with you always even to ●he end of the world this work could not be ●ied only to the chief or Primitive Apostles ●●th they were to leave the World by death ●ech 1. 5 6. The Fathers where are they and the Prophets do they live for ever Acts 20. 29. I know after my decease grievous Wolves shall enter 〈◊〉 Secondly their unwearied diligence in Teaching both the Churches and Pastours in ●ll the will of God their care for the well-set●ing and governing the Churches Acts 20. 31. Therefore watch and remember that by the space of ●hree years I ceased not to warn every one night and ●ay with tears 2 Cor. 11. 28. that which cometh upon me daily the care of all the Churches 2 Pet 1 12 13 14 15. I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things yea I think it meet 〈◊〉 long as I am in this Tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance moreover I will endeavour that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance The rest will I set in order when I come and perfect that which is lacking concerning your Faith Tit. 1. 5. For this cause left I thee in Creet that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting and ordain Elders in every City as I had appointed thee 3. Their being set for a defence of the Gospel against false Apostles Phil. 1. 16 17. the one preach Christ of Coniention supposing to add affliction to my bonds The other of Love knowing that I am set for the defence of the Gospel Fourthly To strenthen the Hands of particular Pastours against Usurpers and such as despise the Ministers of Christ Acts 20. And from Meletus he sent to Ephesus and called the Elders of the Church And when they were come unto him he said unto them of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things Therefore watch c. 3 John 5. Beloved thou dost faithfully whatsoever thou dost to the Brethren and to strangers I wrote to the Church but Diotrephes who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them receiveth us not wherefore if I come I will remember his deeds that he doth prating against us with malicious words 1 Tim. 1. 17. Let the Elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour Gal. 4. 17 18. They zealously affect you but not well yea they would exclude us that you might affect them Now that the chief Apostles have some to succeed them in the Apostleship as we have affirmed will appear first from the consideration of that Commission which our Lord gave for the Teaching of the Nations or for the preaching the Gospel to every Creature Secondly from the duration of those gifts in the Church which our Lord obtained and gave by virtue of his Ascention Thirdly from the consideration of the Primitive Churches their having such Apostles or Messengers Fourthly from the practice of those who most question the necessity of Messengers at this day Fifthly from the state of the World their necessity to be taught the truth as it is in Jesus And in regard of the danger they lie under by means of false Apostles And first it is evident from Math. 28. 19 20. and Mark 16. 15. that it is the will of God that the Nations be taught and that every Creature should have the Gospel preached unto them wherefore it remaineth that we stick to one thing out of three and that is either some body in special are bound to preach the Gospel to those that are without or else that all Christians are equally bound to perform this work if capable in respect of gifts or else that this work ended with the Apostles The last will not be said by any that considers that the making one branch of that Commission Math. 28. and Mark 16. void or not obliging or binding to the Church now or any persons in it is in effect to make the whole commission void for if none have power by virtue of this Commission to teach the Nations how can it be that any hath power from hence to baptize both works being commanded as it were in one breath Nor can the Church observe all things whatsoever Christ commanded his Apostles if they be not to observe this great work to preach the Gospel to the World Neither can it rationally be said that this work belongs to every gifted Christian alike because the imployment of the Gospel consists in divers Offices and all such Members have not the same Office 2. Again meer gifts do not make men Officers and that the Teaching Math. 28. and the preaching Mark 16. is a preaching not by virtue of gift only but by Authority also cannot be denied 1 Tim. 1. 18. This charge I commit to Son Timothy 1 Tim. 6. 20. O Ti●othy keep that which is committed to thy trust ● Tim. 2. 2. and the same commit thou to faithful ●en and let these also first be proved and then let ●hem use the Office of a Deacon being found blame●iss 1 Tim. 3. 10. Surely if this care must be ●ad that none use the Office of a Deacon but ●pon such proof had of their fitness it cannot ●e imagined that the greater matters of the Go●pel should be taken in hand without the like ●are and circumspection 3. They that would have this work of reaching to the World no mans concern by ●irtue of Office whiles they speak against Mes●engers do make more than any body else therewise we may well enquire how shall they reach except they be sent Rom. 10. We con●lude then if those that preach must be sent ●nd if that commission Math. 28. Mark 16. be yet in force then the Apostles have some to succeed them

such gifts of his Spirit in the way of Praier with laying on of Hands yet that such gifts was the only proper end of that service is confidently denied because as before it was impossible to know in any ordinarie way for whom to pray or on whom to impose Hands whether on men or women seeing neither sex is exempted from the extraor dinarie gifts of the Spirit It is certain that God gave the gift of Tongues c. in the Ministerie of the Word Acts 10. Yet it doth not follow thence that such gifts are the only proper end of preaching the Word but the undoubted end of the Lord in that Ordinance is that men believe and be saved though perhaps they never receive the gift of tongues prophesie c. and this is certainly that end which shall be attained by all that rightly accept that means of salvation John 20. 31. These things are written that ye might believe and in believing that ye may have life through his name Nor will Acts 19. 6. prove that there is or ever was any such thing as laying on of Hands for the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit only for still we must distinguish between an effect onely and that which is the undoubted end of any service The reasons even now urged do forbid us to say that tongues miracles c. was the undoubted or precise end of laying on of Hands Acts 19. because the service was universal but extraordinarie gifts are particular only And let it be seriously considered that if Paul had found twelve hundred men instead of twelve who had not receiv●d the holy Gh●st since they believed ought he not to have done that to them all which he did to these Doubtless he ought yet who can imagine that such gifts as Tongues Miracles c. should be given to each individual This would be far from that order which God hath beautified his Church withall 1 Cor. 12. 29 30. And whereas Paul in this place and Peter and John in Acts 8. is conceived by some of our opposites to have imposed hands to work Miracles for confirmation of the Word this is a very great mistake for then there is no reason to imagine that the practice of laying on of hands should have been general as doubtless it was For seeing that the healing of one Cripple Acts 4. 16. was sufficient to convince open enemies that the power of God was with his Apostles Then surely it was not necessarie that all the Baptized should miraculously speak with tongues for to convince themselves or others that the Word which they had received was from heaven But alas men fall into thi● errour by their unwillingness to see the truth for signes are not for them that believe and Miracles had been wrought by Philip at S●m●ria to confirm the word before Peter and John came there Acts 8. 6 7. and all that we read of Peter and John in respect of confirming the Word is only this that they testified and preached it and departed vers 25. Now that all the Disciples at Samaria had Hands imposed on them cannot without absurdity be denied for certainly they imposed hands on all in wh●se hehalf they prayed but will anyman say that they prayed but for some of them only that they might receive the promise of the Father and that all the rest must be excluded both from the prayer and the gift prayed for Surely such a conceit would make Peter and John miserable comforters to those Disciples whom they should thus neglect in their prayers for the holy Spirit as all the women which were Baptized were so neglected in the opinion of the Searchers for they by their demands will needs suppose that the Apostles did not impose hands on women as if women had not as clear a right to the promised Spirit as men They might as well have doubted whether Peter and Iohn laid hands on men seeing the Text sayes nothing particularly of them any more than of the women But I say these imaginations are very irrational sith as before it was not known to Peter or John what persons by name should have extraordinary gifts whether the Servants or Handmaids of the Lord nor whether any of them should be Prophets or ●peakers with tongues But this they knew that the gift of the Holy Ghost belonged to them all for so they had preached to others Acts ● 38. and therefore certainly they prayed for all to whom the promise did belong and then doubtless for whom they prayed on them they laid their hands and so it is evident they laid their hands on all The same may be noted from Pauls question Acts 19. 2. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed Where certainly he includeth the whole number of these certain Disciples who by their ●nswer to the question being all discovered ●o be wanting in respect of that great gift of God Paul must needs be very partial if he had not the same care for all that he had for some and if his care was equally for them all ●hen reason tels us he would not be want●ng to any of them in his endeavours that they might receive that Spirit which as 〈◊〉 they had not received So that still we see laying on of Hands was practised as generally as Baptism or any other Ordinance where the practise of it is recorded and that is an evidence that the end of that service was that gift of the Holy Ghost which is general and consequently not for the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit otherwise then as they are included within the compass of that gracious promise That the laying on of Hands Acts 8. Acts 19. was not the laying on of Hands for extraordinarie gifts but for the general donation of the Spirit to Disciples indifferently is yet more manifest because upon this only ground could Paul ask the Disciples whether they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed and upon this only ground may the Ministers of Christ ask this question of the Disciples at this day I mean so to ask it as thereby implying that they ought to have it for so much Paul's question doth plainly imply as appears by his endeavours that they who had been so long without it might now be made partakers of it and that for them all indifferently And upon this ground only could Peter and Iohn use the means to obtain the Spirit for the Disciples at Samaria generally namely because the promise of the Spirit was universal Again from this consideration that that laying on of Hands Acts 8. Acts 19. was a general practise and the gift prayed for in that service a general gift it will follow that the Apostles performed this service of prayer with laying on of Hands by vertue of their Ministerial Authoritie and not by vertue of any particular power they had to give the Holy Ghost as some do vainly imagine otherwise it will follow that by their gift of miracles they were bound