Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	lord_n	word_n	4,134	5	3.9920	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04324	A retrayt sounded to certaine brethren lately seduced by the schismaticall Brownists to forsake the church written by Edward Iames ...	James, Edward.	1607 (1607)	STC 14435.5; ESTC S4715	11,461	18

sects enuie strife discension and such incest as was not once named amongst the Gentiles they abused the Lords supper and many of them denied the resurrection of the dead and yet Paul writeth vnto this by the name of the (d) 1. Cor. 1. Verse 2. Church of God which was at Corinth Nay cast your eyes vpon Christs owne Disciples and there you shall finde a Iudas and yet his wickednes was not so forcible but that Christs Disciples were still a Church So then it followeth that there may be in a congregation not onely wicked men but euen wicked Ministers and yet that congregation may be a true part or parcell of that generall catholicke and vniuersall Church which comprehendeth all Gods chosen so that although that which Christ saith that by their fruites men shall know true from false seducing Prophets be very true and certaine for that those who preach the truth vnfainedly setting only Gods glory and the saluation of their brethrens soules before their eyes are only to be tearmed true Prophets and these do euer liue vprightly as farre forth as flesh and bloud will suffer them yet notwithstanding it followeth not but that amongst these faithfull and vnfained Pastors there may be other who teach for a time the truth and yet be deceitfull workmen and rauening wolues who doe but watch fit opportunity to prey vpon Gods people as Iudas watched his opportunitie to betray Christ Iesus Of this sort were those of whom Saint Iohn speaketh (e) 1. Iohn ● ver 19. They went from vs but they were not of vs c. Such be the close Atheists and Neuters of the world which liue in euery age and almost in euery congregation who haue two faces vnder one hood with Ianus and with the Cameleon can turne themselues vnto any colour such doe liue and teach in many faithfull congregations and hardly can they be certainely discerned from faithfull Pastors vntill the time of persecution for that is like Christ his fanne wherewith he seperateth the wheate from chaffe the wheate remaineth the chaffe is carried with that wind from the threshing floore which is Christ his Church for whilest the Church enioyeth peace and quietnesse it is gouerned with discipline and ruled with lawes and Canons whereof some prohibite the broaching of vntrue doctrine and not onely admit into no dignities but withall punish such as broach it Others correct the maners and behauiour of lewde liuers profane persons and all their wicked actions and therefore feare and ambition doe make those hypocritish cormorants to teach but truth at leastwise to seeme to liue within their lists but when the Churches peace is turned into persecution when for executing lawes it be driuen to suffer violence and that all dignities and preferments are taken from it then though their ambition still remaineth yet their hope of preferments by the Church is quite cut off and though then they feare such tyrants as vsurpe authoritie yet the feare they had to offend the Churches lawes is departed frō them and therefore then and not before they shew what they were before they embrue their hands in the Churches dearest bloud who lately seemed to be their dearest mother and they endeuour to wound her to death who would haue nourished them to euerlasting life It is not to be doubted as wily as these Foxes are but that in the time that the Church doth flourish they doe often commit such wickednes as is not to be once named yet for that their actions are sometimes so secret that they come not to the knowledge of those in whose hands it is to cut men off from Gods assemblies and sometimes when they are conuented for their enormities they sayne such penitencie that for the hope men haue of their amendments they are suffred to liue within the Church and sometimes as well through the negligence of those who should informe the gouernors as of the gouernors themselues many of their iniquities are winked at and they are neuer called into question for them I conclude therefore that the lewd maners of men liuing in any congregation is no certaine note whereby that congregation may be iudged to be no Church especially if the notes whereby a Church may be discerned be to be found therein and these notes are two Truth of doctrine and the right vse of the sacred Sacraments This truth must be grounded vpon Gods word and these Sacraments must be the very same which Christ did institute to be most certaine seales of our deliuerie and most vndoubted pledges of our Vnion with Christ Iesus Where the former is truely taught and the later rightly ministred it cannot be but that that assembly is assembled in Christ his name and therefore it cannot be but that there Christ is present and vndoubtedly that assembly where Christ is present must needs be Christ his Church Againe this word of God wheresoeuer it be truely taught doth worke effectually in some vnto saluation and in some vnto the contrarie and who knoweth not but that where the saluation of men is wrought there is a Church seeing that out of the Church there is no saluation But seeing that vnto others it works perdition in the same assembly vnto whom as the Apostle speaketh It is a sauour of death vnto death though it be said before that truth of doctrine and right vse of Sacraments be vndoubted notes of Christ his Church yet hereby we may perceine that that is not to be so strictly vnderstood but that in the Church there may happē in doctrine some error in the administratiō of the Sacraments some abuses for that it is impossible that Gods enemies whose hearts are hardned in the hearing of Gods word should be altogether faithfull teachers or obedient hearers And hence it is that in the Galathian Church men were bewitched turned frō the truth of Gods word vnto another Gospell hence it is that some in the Corinthian Church (a) 1. Cor. 15. denied the resurrection of the dead and others (b) 1. Cor. 11. abused the Lords Supper most pernitiously and yet there ceased not to be a Church in the one or other of them So that in a true Church there may be in doctrine error and in Sacraments abuses a true Church I say as long as it doth but suffer and not maintaine these errors and abuses and therefore whosoeuer doth separate himselfe from such a Church he separateth himselfe from the true Arke from the holy congregation and from Gods fauour neither can he be saued vnlesse he doth returne againe into the same Nay there may be in doctrine errours and in Sacraments abuses so tolerable that though the Church doth teach and maintaine them openly yet as long as they are not in matters necessarie vnto saluation it is intolerable for a man for these errours and abuses to cut himselfe off from the Church Such are the errours which may happen concerning things not as yet fully reuealed vnto

A RETRAYT SOVNDED TO CERtaine brethren lately seduced by the Schismaticall Brownists to forsake the Church Written by Edward Iames Master in the Artes and Minister of Gods word Printed at London by Simon Stafford dwelling in the Cloth-Fayre neere the red Lyon 1607. A RETRAIT SOVNDED to certaine brethren lately seduced by the Schismaticall Brownists to forsake the Church THE Philosophers in old time did account it humanum errare in matters Philosophicall a thing incident to man to erre but in errore perseuerare belluinum a beastly thing to perseuere in error And Diuines may iudge it humanum a thing incident to man to erre in matters Theologicall but in errore perseuerare perniciosum to perseuere in error that in matters Theologicall must needs be deadly especially if a man doth so cleaue to error that he chooseth rather to forsake the Church then to forgoe his errour for seeing the Church is the mother of the faithfull whosoeuer doth cut himselfe there-from he must needs be faithlesse and therefore what goodly shewes soeuer he doth make yet if the Apostles wordes be true he cannot please God Euery man therfore that would be acceptable vnto God had neede to get himselfe into the bosome of the Church and being once gotten thither not to suffer himselfe in any wise to be remoued there-from For as none could be deliuered from the deluge but such as were contained in Noabs Arke so can none be saued from eternall death but onely those who keepe themselues within the Church of God These are common principles which no man that accounts himselfe a Christian can or will deny But the controuersie which doth trouble seduced braines is of the Church it selfe what it is where it should be sought for Papists would tye the Church to Rome so that if we credit them then must we confesse that as many as made a separation from the Romane Bishop haue likewise made a separation from the Church of God And all other Sectaries doe tye the Church vnto their sects whereas it were farre fitter for euery man to tye himselfe vnto the Church which that we may with ease performe it is very fit and meete first to define the vniuersall Church that we may know what it is secondly to expresse and lay downe the true notes and markes whereby true particular Churches which are very members of that vniuersall Church may be knowne from other congregations which when we haue once found out then may we cleaue vnto the Church with great security The word Ecclesia in English Church is a Greeke word doth properly signifie a congregation and yet euery congregation is not the Church of God but that congregation onely which Saint Paul doth tearme (a) Ephe. 4. ●…er 12. ● Cor. 12.12 Christs body of the which Christ himselfe is head And as the soule of man giueth life vnto mans body so Christs spirit giueth life vnto this body of Christ according vnto Christs words (b) ●ohn 6. v. 6. ● Cor. 12. ●er 13. It is the spirit which giueth life c. Neither is there any thing which doth maintaine and ioyne in one the members of this body besides this spirit according vnto that of Paul For by one spirit saith he are we all baptized into one body whether we be lewes or Grecians bond or free c. Euen as therefore a dead body whose soule is already departed can receiue neither fruite nor comfort from any meate or drinke so that congregation which is destitute of Gods spirit can receiue from Gods word which is the true spirituall meate neither fruite nor comfort and therefore it is that the Apostle telleth vs Though (a) 1. Cor. 3. ●…er 6. Paul plans and Apollo water yet that it is God which doth giue the encrease As therefore it is euident that euery member of mans body is liuely wherein the soule remaineth so euery congregation in the which Gods spirit worketh must needs be a true and liuely member of Christs body so that God is tyed to no one part of the world more then vnto another because he is God of all the world euen so the Church of God is tyed to no part of the world because it containeth in it all the beleeuers who are seattered ouer all the world This Church being one yet may it be considered diuersly either as it is hidden from and inuisible vnto men and knowne onely vnto him from whom nothing can be hidden or as it is visible conspicuous and apparant vnto men as it is inuisible and hidden from the sight of men it containeth onely those who appertaine vnto Gods free election and shall most certainly be saued And the reason why in this respect the Church is said to be hidden from men is because God onely knoweth who are his neither can man know them whilest he liueth here vpon the earth but the Church as it is visible apparant and conspicuous vnto men doth containe all those who in their outward behauiour worship one God embrace one Christ professe one Gospell hearken vnto one word and vse the same Sacraments many of these may be rauening wolues and wicked reprobates and yet they may be so close in cariage and their sinnes may be so secret that the Church cannot discerne them and therefore cannot discarde them vntill God doth make them manifest Hence it is that the Church thus considered is compared by our Sauiour Christ vnto a (b) Mat. 3. ver 12. threshing floore where the wheate and chaffe are so mixed together that they cannot be seuered before he with his fanne doth seuer them vnto a (c) Mat. 13 ver 15. field where doe grow both corne and weedes together which cannot be seperated before the haruest vnto a (d) Ibid. 〈◊〉 47. net in the which fish both good and bad are contained which cannot be sundred vntill both be brought vnto the shore And as this is the estate of the generall and vniuersall Church militant here in earth so is it the estate of euery branch or member thereof I meane of euery particular Church or congregation whether it be contained within one Realme Prouince or Diocesse or doe consist of thousands hundreds more or fewer it hath euer some lewd and wicked men amongst the good and godly Saints of God Neither doth these mens wickednesse make it to cease to be a Church although they are suffred to liue within it Would you haue it proued by examples it may be done with ease I will let passe the auncient Iewish Church and come vnto Christ his time Paul writeth vnto the Galathians as vnto the (a) Gala. 1 ver 2. Church of God and yet he saith that they are (b) Vers 6 remoued vnto another Gospell that they were (c) Gal. 3. ver 1. foolish bewitched and disobedient vnto the truth Lo then behold men foolish men bewitched men disobedient vnto the truth and remoued to another Gospell and yet a Church Amongst the Corinthians there were