Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
water_n ghost_n holy_a john_n 9,594 5 6.3997 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A91955 Episcopal government instituted by Christ, and confirmed by cleere evidence of Scripture, and invincible reason. / Collected by the pains of R.R. Preacher of the Gospell. Rollock, Robert, 1555?-1599. 1641 (1641) Wing R1885; Thomason E238_6; ESTC R4045 29,352 39

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

chiefly to the twelve and caused him to descend visibly even to the view of all the beholders upon their heads in the likenesse of cloven tongues of fire which for any thing we read he did not to the seventy In the thirteenth of the Acts Verse 1. we may behold this distinction with our eyes where Barnabas Simeon Lucius Manaen and Saul are called Prophets and Teachers and not Apostles for I thinke as yet Saul was not joyned to the number of Apostles at least hee was not accounted one so Paul makes this distinction when he takes to himself the honour to plant the Gospel and to lay the foundation and makes Apollos a waterer only and a builder upon the foundation Paul plants saith hee Apollo waters but God gives the increase 1 Cor. 2.6 Moreover Acts 8. we see a manifest distinction in Philip the Evangelist who converted the Samaritans and baptized them but Peter and John behoved to be sent out of Ierusalem to lay on hands and conferre the Holy Ghost but my opponent may say that Philip was a Deacon and one of the seven mentioned Acts 6. I answer we read of Philip the Apostle and of Philip the Deacon and why not a third Philip an Evangelist read Acts 21.8 he that was Deacon was there after advanced to be an Evangelist Alwayes wee gaine thus much that Deacons must preach and administer the Sacrament of Baptisme and therefore they are not Lay-men That Deacons are not Lay-men but Preachers and a third order of Church Governours it is evident Acts 6. for as soon as there was any need of men of that office that was when the number of the Disciples was multiplied they were chosen and elected by the Apostles yea they were elected too before the Apostles went out of Jerusalem separated themselves to preach the Gospell to all Nations for they behoved to be helpers of the Apostles and to assist them in the work of Ministery to have a care of the poore under them and to baptize new converts at their command that so the Apostles might give themselves to prayer and the Ministerie of the Word Acts 6.4 The truth of this may be seen Acts 10.48 where the Apostle Peter gives commandement no question to the Deacons to baptise Cornelius and those who were with him so we may see 1 Cor. 1. that the Apostle Paul attributes the care of Baptisme to others then the Apostles where he saith that hee was not sent to Baptize it being chiefly the charge of the Deacons but to preach the Gospell not that he might not baptise for wee see the contrary in the words but because the Apostles gave themselves chiefly to Prayer and the Ministery of the Word and committed the care of Baptisme to the Deacons and the administration of the Sacrament of the Supper to the Evangelists called hereafter Elders as may be gathered out of 1 Cor. 10.11 We see also Col. 1.1 a manifest distinction between Bishops and Deacons for the Apostle writes to them as their chiefe Bishop and Overseer for as yet the Apostle reserved the chief care of that Church to himself although some think that Epaphroditus was chief Bishop of that place howsoever we see two Orders here of Church-men and I hope none will deny but the Apostle was in order and degree above them we see them also made mention of in the Epistles of Paul to Timothy and Titus over whom Timothy and Titus are placed as their chiefe Governours so that it is more then evident that Christ and the Apostles continued three Orders of Church Governours under the Gospell But I know that it will be objected that there should be but two Orders of Church Governours now under the Gospel because Christ himselfe appointed but two Apostles and Evangelists both of them called at first Disciples only distinguished by their number twelve and seventie Answ Christ appointed but two indeed because hee supplyed the room of the High Priest himself neither would hee have any more during his own Ministery he was chiefe Governour of the Church himselfe and hee would have no Suffragans as long as he lived Where the King is present himself he needs not a Commissioner nor a Vice-roy Again had Christ chosen three Orders in his owne time then there should have been foure Orders of Church Governours all the while of Christ his Ministery upon earth First Christ himselfe for I hope no man will refuse Christ for one and for the chief too and the other 3 ordained by Christ Now our blessed M. Saviour because he would keep Analogie so farre as I can conceive with the number and degrees of Church Governours under the Law he would choose but two and leave the third to be added by the Apostles after his departure which they did with all diligence as we may see Acts 6. That our Saviour used this analogie in this I will prove by other particulars wherein he observed the like analogie and first in the number of the Sacraments as his Father appointed but two under the Law Circumcision and the Paschall Lambe so hee appointed but two under the Gospell Baptisme and the Supper of the Lord the one to succeed in place of Circumcision the other in place of the Paschall Lambe And againe as Circumcision did represent unto us the guilt of sin so our Saviour would have Baptisme to represent to us remission of sins And as the Passeover represented to the people of Israel their bodily deliverance from the bondage of Egypt so our Saviour would have his last Supper to represent to us our spirituall deliverance from the bondage of sin and Satan When our Saviour instituted Baptisme hee devised no new Ceremony but took that Ceremony of Washing which the Jews used in their Purification appointed it to represent our spirituall washing from sin So likewise in the Institution of the other Sacrament hee did not devise any new Ceremony to represent his Death and Passion but took the last part of the Paschall Supper and appointed it for that us●e The custome of the Iews was after the Supper was ended and the Paschall Lambe caten hee that was Master of the Feast tooke as many pieces of bread as there were people present at the eating of the Lamb and there behoved to be between the number of ten and the number of twenty for there might not be fewer then ten nor more then twenty and gave every one a piece saying these words This is the bread of affliction which your Fathers eat in the wildernesse and thereafter hee took the Cup and gave it to them saying This is the cup of affliction which your Fathers dranke in the wildernesse Now our Saviour Christ reserved the same Ceremony for the Text saith that first he took bread and after that He had given thanks he brake it and gave to every one a portion and said This is my body which is broken for you Doe this in remembrance of mee And in like
and neither of things present nor by-past Thirdly the High Priest as he was chiefe Governour he could not be a type and figure of Christ because if there had been but two ranks of Church Governours one of them behoved to be chiefe and so still there should have been a chiefe Governour And lastly the order that was among Church Governours was not Ceremoniall but Morall and as necessary for the Government of the Christian Church as the Jewish for God is the God of Order now I am sure as well as he was then now nothing that was Morall was typicall and therefore Aaron was not a type and figure of Christ as hee was chiefe Governour of the Iews Now I will shew you in what respect hee was a type and figure of Christ First as the High Priest was one man he did typifie Christ as the one High Priest of our profession and therefore Christ would not commit the chief Government of the Church to one any more but to many in one and the same rank and order Next the High Priest his offering of one Sacrifice once in the yeere within the Veil was a Type of that only one propitiatorie Sacrifice once offered up for the sins of the quick and the dead by our Saviour Christ Thirdly the High Priest his once in the yeere only entring within the Veil was a type of our Saviour his once entring into Heaven to make intercession for us For these respects then AARON was a type and figure of Christ but no ways in relation to his Government for the Reasons before alleaged I have another Reason yet that moves mee to think that there can be no fewer then three Rankes of Church Governours now under the Gospel and it is this The number of Three is mysticall as is evident by many examples both in Scripture things above Nature Naturall things and Spirituall things In Supernaturall things wee see the truth of this assertion in the Divine Essence which subsists in the number of three Persons which is the mysterie of all mysteries in the Divine Essence also there are three Communicable properties Goodnesse Power and Wisdome to these three all the rest may be referred as Life Love Justice c. three incommunicable properties Simplicitie Eternitie Ubiquitie of These no creature is capable According to this similitude the faculties of the Soul were formed by God himselfe for the Soule hath three chiefe faculties Judgement Memory and Will yea the renewed minde consisteth of three Theologicall Vertues Faith Hope and Charitie which are the three dimensions of every Christian soule the bodily Substences of all creatures are composed of Three Longitude Latitude and Profunditie without the which the Creatures can have no Subsistence There are also three degrees of Life Vegetative Sensitive and Rationall and all these in analogie to the three Persons of the Godhead it were easie to shew you divers resemblances between them if it were necessary and to the purpose It was more then the light of Nature that taught Aristotle to esteeme the number of three to be the perfectest number of all numbers yea to be all in all Qui dicit tria saith hee dicit omnia qui dicit ter dicit omnifariam He that saith three saith all and he that saith thrice saith always But to come to the Scriptures saith not Iohn 1 John 5.7 8 that there are three things that beare witnesse in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one and that there are three things that beare witnesse on earth the Spirit the Water and the Bloud and these three agree in one Christ loved three Disciples above all the rest with whom he conversed most familiarly Peter James and Iohn to them he shewed himselfe in his glory at the Transfiguration and also in his greatest agonie and humiliation in the Garden of Gethsemanie Our Saviour fulfilled his Ministery in the space of three yeeres hee lay three days in the Grave three times appearred to the eleven after his Resurrection and many mo then these are to be found in the New Testament In the Old Testament you shall finde many numbers of three wherein some mysterie may be found wee read of three only that went to Heaven bodily Enoch Elias and Christ to teach us that salvation both in body and soule is obtained under all the three kinds of Church Government for God hath governed his Church three severall wayes since the Creation one way before the Law another way under the Law and a third way under the Gospell The Worship of God hath been also of three severall formes according to the severall ages of the World Three men saved in the floud of Noah of whom the World hath been replenished the second time Sem Ham and Japhet Three great Patriarchs out of whose loins the Church of God did spring Three great Sabbaths the seven dayes Sabbath the seven yeers Sabbath and the yeer of Jubilee Three great Feasts the Feast of Tabernacles Easter and Pentecost Three ranks of Church Governours the high Priest inferiour Priests and Levits and a number more so that I say if there be any number mysticall it is the number of Three wee have not so great reason to call Seven Mysticall as for Nine it is only thought Mysticall because it contains thrice three But here my opponents will reply That they keep this analogie of three for they also maintain three Degrees of Churchmen preaching Elders Lay-Elders and Deacons who are all Governours of the Church and preaching Elders the chiefe Governours I answer if preaching Elders be the chiefe Governours then according to the Replyers opinion who maintains that the High Priest was a Type and figure of Christ as he was chief Governour of the Church they must be cashiered for wee cannot have chiefe Governours now under the Gospel according to my opposites tenet and so it will follow we must have no publike Ministery at all nor no publike Government neither but private in every man his own Family or rather every man must doe according as hee is moved by the spirit I answer further that those three Orders are neither Christs nor his Apostles Ordinance for any evidence that I can see in Scripture no not so much as any shew or appearance As for Lay Elders I can not find them once named in all the Scripture although the Apostle Paul doth particularly make mention of all Church Governours under the Apostolicall Order in his Epistles to Timothy and Titus he particularly declares what preaching Elders and Deacons must be how they must be qualified before they enter into holy Orders but never one word of Lay Elders Deacons indeed he nominates but not Lay Deacons but such as must preach the Gospel and baptise at their Superiours direction and therefore the Apostle Paul requires that Deacons keep the mysterie of Faith in a pure conscience which cannot be required of Lay men such a measure of knowledge as is understood