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	foundation_n	1,820	5	8.3994	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44110	An answer to a small treatise call'd Just measurs in an epistle of peace and love : by way of address, to such as esteem themselves elders amongst the people call'd Quakers ...	Hogg, John, fl. 1675-1698.	1693 (1693)	Wing H2367; ESTC R3382	64,276	94

and Conscientious Person and in room of numerous and disputed Opinions made the bonds of external communion lest some plain general and necessary truths be laid down and let them be few Was it right in those you wrote too to take away those things And is it not wrong in you to impose such things as give Occasion And if it was just and right in them to take theirs away is it not right in you to take yours away There is nothing but self-love that can hinder For it will hold as true in our case being nothing but the Old Cause new Varnisht But to go on in Address to Protestants 85 Page you tell us that the belief of Jesus of Nazereth to be the Messiah the Son and Christ of God sent to restore and save Mankind is the first and was then the only requisit Article of Faith without any large confessions or a heap of Principles and Opinions c. And you proceed to prove this confession truly made to be sufficient for Communion and to that end also answer all the usual Objections Page 91 and 92 the last Objection is this say you if it be alledged that this will take in all Parties yee that Schismaticks and Hereticks will creep in under this Confession since few of them will refuse to make it to this you answer I do say sayes the Author 't would be an happy day what Man loves God and Christ seeks Peace and concord that would not rejoyce if all our Animosities and vexations about matters of Religion were buryed in this one Confession of Jesus the great Author and Lord of the Christian Religion so often lost in pretending to contest for it O Friends Have not you been greatly wanting to the World here in an example to your Brethren whom you acknowledge to be one with you in the Worship and Doctrine of Truth and therefore can never want those requesit Articles for Communion O that you could see in this your day of tryal the things that belong to your Peace Now that you may not think much that we should thus remind you because we are to examine what we are to receive we will take notice of a little part that you have quoted out of Jacobus Auntius to strengthen what you there write and therefore ought to be of more force to conclude you You beg●n with him in the 157 Page and continue to the 172 to the same purpose but the Place we note is in 162 and followes thus and because a thing will be so much the better preserved by how much the greater is the Number of those that keep it the People oughe often to be put in mind that both the Reading of the Scriptures and the care of Religion belong nor to the Pastors of the Church only that is in our case not to the Preachers and Elders only but that every one that would be saved Pray mark it ought to make dilli gent search whether corruption be all ready or mind it is for the future like to be introduced and mark this to do no less carefully than if he was perswaded that all besides himselfe was asleep no fear then or hazzard of being singular and mind whatsoever is wont to take off the Common People that is such as are neither Elders nor Pastors from such studdy care must be taken that that shing observe be wholly taken away And pray who must take this away in our case but the Preachers and Elders And how must they take it away but by letting every one know that is neither Preachers nor Elders that if they expect to be saved the care of Religion belongs to them as well as it doth to the Preachers and Elders and therefore they ought to examine things and not to believe them true only because such as esteem themselves Pastors and Elders say it but because they themselves know they are true And we are sure if this will hold any where it will hold in our case where we confess but one Lord and Head But allas Instead of this good Method to take away what hurts Examination you are endeavouring all you can to establish and confirm what you ought to take away telling us those things do not belong to Faith Conscience and Religion and so not to us to Examine that are to be govern'd and rul'd but to you that are our Elders and Teachers for that is the Natural Consequence of this great strife for your Opinions But as what is above proves we ought to Examine things and that strictly so what followes confirms that we ought to have a choise as well as Examination For in Page 149 it followes to check this exhorbitancy the Apostle Paul demands Who art thou that Judgest anothers Servant To his own Lord he stands or falls which shewes with great evidence say you that Christians of all sorts great and small are but Brethren to be sure and consequently Pray mark all Superiority Lordship and Imposition are excluded to be sure But if there be a difference among Christians 't is in this that as Christ taught he that is greatest is to be Servant to the rest but say you what is more opposice to a Servant then a Lord And to Service then Injunction and that on Penalties too Here it is that Christ is only Lord and Lawgiver who is only King of this inward Kingdom of the Soul and 't is to be noted observe that the Apostle did not write this to a private Brother or in some special case but to the Church observe as a general standing truth and therefore say you now as authentick and proper as then and if this be true I cannot see sayes our Author how any or even the most part of the Church observe for it is patt to our case that are still but Brethren to the rest of one Voluntary Communion and Profession can with any shew of reason Impose upon them of the same Community and escape the reproof of this Scripture and pray mind to confirm all this what followes for sayes our Author all Societies are to govern themselves according to their Institution and first Principles of union where there is violence on this part Tyrany and not Order is introduced Now since Perswasion and Conviction began all true Christian Societies and therefore ours to be sure in your sense all Christian Societies must uphold themselves upon the same free bottom to be sure or they turn Antichristian I beseech you sayes the Author here let us Examine our selves faithfully indeed that is it we would be at and the want of that is the cause of our Misery and I am of belief sayes the Author that something will appear amongst us that shews great Reverence to that free Name What do you say will not all this hold you Can any thing be more to the purpose against Imposition or more pertinant to our case Seeing 't is Imposition that excluded Us the same Society 〈…〉 and ought any thing to

arises nothing can justifie the proceeding on your part but a necessity for the thing For if this of Necessity be not consider'd in our case as abounder a door is opened to fill us with Opinions and Ceremony seeing there wants nothing to introduce them but a specious Pretence which never fail'd to wait on such as affect Government or reflect on their own abillities for it Now as there can be no necessity for Womens constant Meeting for Government for you to claim Power under the Notion of Elders to bring in to the Society against the minds of your Brethren such things as in truth there is no Necessity for this we say is a violence done to our Constitution as we imbodied a free and voluntary Society and is also against the truth of our Principle and Opinion First that it is a violence to our Constitution is clear for you know in our coming forth we did not choose any Elders to depend on nor indeed could we according to our Profession for as we asserted that Christ our Lord was come in Spirit to teach and govern us a teacher that as he could not be removed into a corner so he was only sufficient And therefore the preheminence was to be given to him in all things Thus it would have been a gainst his Honour and the truth of what we professed to have chosen any Man to have depended upon when Christ was come in Spirit to teach and govern to depend on Man to do it was to neglect the Fountain and chuse the Cistern therefore as we neither did nor could according to the truth of our Principle chuse any Men to depend on under any Name or Notion whatsoever for any to chuse or Impose themselves upon Us is wrong to Us and a violence offered to our Constitution For in short observe it is really Ignorance of the sufficiency of Christ to chuse any Man so much as Mentally to depend on But 't is Slavery to have others to chuse for or Impose themselves or their choice upon Us. You know as Christ our Lord was own'd to be come in Spirit to teach and Govern us we were to bring all our thoughts words and deeds to him that we might know the truth in what we thought said or did for we were not to be our own but his and as we were to bring our own words and deeds to him certainly we were to bring the words and deeds of all others to him in which we were to be concernd For as we could not know the truth of what we did our selves but by the testimony or approbation of his Spirit so 't is beyond contradiction we can not know the words and deeds of others to be from the truth any other way thus conviction or perswasion brought us together and that must be preserved still inviolably or we can not continue a free People examination of what we were to receive from others was truly asserted as our undoubted right in our coming forth and as the truth is but one the reason is the same now as well as then therefore to Impose an Eldership upon Us under any pretence whatsoever as it destroyes or takes away the Liberty of Examination 't is a violence done to our Constitution Indeed what is brought in by violence must needs be upheld by force or otherwise it will dye and come to nothing of it self thus the force and strife you have used to uphold what you have brought in by violence demonstrate you more wrong then any argument we can use when 't is but seriously considered that it is not Truth but Error that loses by tryal nay the truth only gains the most when freely examined and tryed and error loses most that way what can discover your wrongness more then the denying a free Examination For where that is taken away the prevailing of those things cannot be owing to the truth but the force and conquest of Men which as it is directly contrary to a free examination and choice so 't is beyond contradiction a violence done to our Constitution as we are a free and volluntary Society confessing but one Lord and head And as the bringing into our Society things for which there appear no necessity and requiring complyance under the notion of Eldership is a Violence done to our Constitution so 't is against the truth of our Principle Profession For you know the Lord from Heaven the second Adam the quickning Spirit the true Light that lighteth all Men coming into the World is Professed to be our foundation and asserted by us to be sufficient to lead into all truth all that truly adhere to him Now it must follow whilest we thus confess him that we truly adhere to him or we do not if we truly adhere to him we must according to the truth of what we profess know his sufficiency and where the sufficiency of Christ our Lord is truly known such can not depend on Man no 't is Impossible as in the Natural Figure the Moon and Starrs do shew us light but 't is in the dark 't is in the night therefore when the Sun comes thô it does not take away that light which the Moon and Stares have as to themselves yet to us it takes it away so that it is impossible thô we had a mind to depend on that Light or have any benefit from it and we are sure the Sun of righteousness as he arises in the Soul doth as much fulfill the Service and transcend the light of the Instrument therefore on this foot we are to call no Man Doctor Master Father or Elder on Earth by way of Preheminence for our dependance because one is our Doctor Master Father and Elder in Heaven and all such as are thus taught of him are Brethren Christ and his Disciples in the dayes of his flesh are a true Figure of this for he chose his Disciples they did not chuse him and as he chose them out of the World they was simply to depend upon him not one upon another therefore when they thought of depending one upon another by consulting who should be the greatest amongst them our Lord corrected their mistake and in them yours if you lay claim to the like choice by telling them the Elder should be as the Younger and he that rul'd as he that served nay he that would be the greatest among them must be Servant to all the rest then not Lord or Master to Impose upon the rest and as he told them they should call no Man Master Doctor or Father so he forbad them to be called soe and we are sure it was the thing as well as the Name that was intended whereupon it followes that to seek this Preheminence by desiring this dependance under the Notion of Eldership as it is contrary to the truth of our Principle and Profession so 't is against the very Sence and meaning of the Command of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ For this is