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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	catholic_a	church_n	visible_a	2,933	5	9.1820	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03882	A treatise concerning the properties and offices of the true Church of Christ VVritten in Latin, by the reuerend Father Iames Gordon Huntley of Scotland, Doctour of Diuinity, of the Society of Iesus. And translated into English, by I.L. of the same Society. The first part of the second controuersy; Controversiarum epitomes. English. Selections	Gordon, James, 1541-1620.; Wright, William, 1563-1639.	1614 (1614)	STC 13997; ESTC S118148	27,620	62

visible for the Apostle spake vnto visible men when he sayd you are the body of Christ. Moreouer we are made the body of Christ by baptisme and the receyuing of the Eucharist as witnesseth the Apostle But these Sacraments are visible Also in this body of Christ there are Doctors and Pastors vntill the consūmatiō of Saynts vntil we meet with Christ but such persons are visible The building also of the Church is visible this consūmation of Saints is visible that uorke of ministery is visible which the Apostle sayth shall continue vntill the comming of Christ. 3. Secondly the Church is the Kingdome of Christ but euery Kingdome cōprehendeth in it a visible company of mē who all acknowledge one King Hence it is that God describing by the Prophet Ieremy this Kingdome of Christ speaketh in this sorte of the multitude of men which shal be in the Kingdome of Christ. Euen as saith our Lord the starres of Heauē cannot be numbred and the sands of the sea measured so will I multiply the seed of my seruant Dauid and the Leuits my seruants But such and so great a multitude of men cannot be inuisible 4. In like manner the Prophet Isay describing the said Kingdome of Christ and the couenant of God with it thus writeth I will make a perpetuall league with them and their seed shal be knowne in all Nations and their ofspring in the middest of the people all that shall see them shall know them because this is the seede that God hath blessed where it is manifestly sayd that all Nations euen the Infidels assoone as they shall behould and see the Church they shall easily know her by the benefits of God bestowed vpon her Caluin himselfe acknowledgeth this to be spoken of the Church and he addeth that this hath not only once been fullfilled but is dayly fulfilled 5. Lastly if this Kingdome of Christ were sometymes inuisible God himselfe which God forbidde we should say were periured whō sweareth that the throne of Christ that is to say his Kingdome shal be like the sunne and as a perfect moone and that for euer but the sunne and the perfect or full moone are very visible planets easily to be seene of all men and not inuisible 6. Thirdly the Church of God is that Citty which is situated vpon a most high Mountayne yea vpon a Mountayne which is placed vpon the toppe of moūtayns the which our Lord will strēgthen for euer wherof Christ himselfe speaketh A Citty placed vpon a mountayne cannot be hidden And agayne You are the light of the world neyther do they light a candle and put it vnder abushell but vpon a candelsticke that it may giue light vnto all which are in the house Christ therefore hath made his Church not to hyde it but that it might be perspicuous manyfest vnto all heerupon S. Augustine VVhat more sayth he shall I say but that they are blind who do not see so great a mountayne who shut their eyes against a candle placed vpon a candlesticke And in another place saith he that those who see not the Church had rather as it were blindfold offend against this mountaine then climbe vp vnto it 7. Fourthly the same is proued by the foresaid offices of the Church for that Church must necessarily be visible which conceyueth and bringeth forth Infidells to Christ by the preaching of the Ghospell for neyther they which do preach are inuisible but visible and the preaching also it is visible and not inuisible That Church also is visible which nourisheth Christians with her publicke exhortations instructions and ministration of Sacraments and good examples which explicateth and keepeth the Scriptures who gouerneth and orescribeth Lawes and precepts whome therfore we must obey And she is visible vnto whome according to the commaundment of Christ all complaints and causes are to be brought And Lastly she is visible of whome in our aduersities we must demaund help and comfort of whome in our aduersities we must demaund help and comfort who publickly confesteth Christ who fighteth with the serpent and getting the victory triumpheth against him and moreouer she exerciseth all those offices which are before alleadged 8. Fifthly if the visible Church should once perish that article of the Greed were false I belieue in the Catholik Church the communion of Saints For that Church which is Catholike or vniuersall cannot be inuisible that Church which is dilated or spread abroad throughout the whole world cannot be but very visible and conspicuous and that not in one only place but in many And hence it commeth to passe that the true Church is cōpared to the Sunne and the Moone the which are very visible plannets and easily to be seene of all Neyther can there be this belieued cōmunion of Saints vnlesse the said Saints mutually be manifest and visible one vnto another seing that this communication as the Apostle saith consisteth in the continuall helpe which one member affoardeth vnto another but none can affoard any help to that which is inuisible and vnknowne Moreouer this communication of offices is very sensible and visible That also is visible which is a corporall substance and generally in many places Wherfore S. Augustine saith Yt is an easy matter for thee to behold and see that Citty which is situated vpon a mountaine of whome our Lord in the Ghospell saith that it cannot be hidden For she is the Catholike Church whereupon she is called in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because she is published and spread ouer all the whole world of whome it is not lawfull for any to be ignorant and therfore according to the saying of our Lord Iesus Christ she cannot be hidden Hitherto S. Augustine 9. Sixthly that Church is visible which contayneth in it aswell the good as the euill and aswell the predestinate as the reprobate as our Aduersaries themselues acknowledge who will haue the inuisible Church to consist of those only which are predestinate But that the Church which containeth in it aswell the euil as the good shall continue vnto the end of the world those wordes of Christ suffer both to growe till haruest do euidētly demōstrate vnto vs. Yea euē out Aduersaries themselues doe plainly confesse that the holy Scripture doth declare this by many Parables Yt may therfore be gathered out of holy Scriptures euen by the iudgemēt of our Aduersaries that there is not only an inuisible but also a visible Church to wit wherein the good are mixed with the bad which shall alwaies continue till the end of the world 10. Seauenthly it is all one to affirme the Church to be inuisible and to affirme that it hath wholy perished and that there is no Church at all the which as we haue declared before is most absurd For this inuisible Church of our Aduersaries can affoard no help to any seeing that she is not knowne to any but

disputatiō is not properly of the auncient Church which was before Christs time but of that which ensued the promulgation of the Gospell till this our present age whereof Christ sayth Vpon this rocke I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it For albeit the Church hath beene alwayes visible euen frō the beginning of the world till the cōming of Christ as Paulus Orosius Eusebius haue out of the holy Scriptures in euery age declared In this our age also Genebrard Sanders and Coccius haue briefly demonstrated the same Yet notwithstanding before the comming of Christ the whole Church of God was in a manner concluded into greater straits of persons and place according to those words of the Prophet Dauid God was knowne in Iury againe He hath not done thus to euery Nation and he hath not manifested or made knowne his iudgment vnto them But amongst the Gentils there were but a few who acnowledged and rightly worshipped God Wherefore the true Church was often reduced vnto a few persons in number but notwithstāding euer visible those very eminent in sanctity and holynesse as is declared by S. Augustins words already alledged But the state and condition of the Church of Christ is farre differēt after the promulgatiō of the Gospell frō that other for now that blessed seed of Abrahā is come wherin all the Natiōs of the earth were to be Blessed Now those prophecies of Christs inheritaūce and Kingdomes are fullfilled Aske of me thee I wil giue all Nations for thy inheritaunce and the bounds of the whole earth for thy possession Also He shall gouerne and reigne from sea to sea and from the ryuer to the end of the whole world And againe All the Kings of the earth shall adore him and all Nations shall serue him Moreouer our Lord hath prepared his holy arme in the eyes of all Nations and all the limits of the earth shall see the saluation of our Lord and God When S. Angustine had alledged this place among others against the Donatists admiring their great madnesse and ignorance who affirme the Church to be eyther inuisible or to ly lurking in some od place only brake forth into these most true words worthy of so great a Doctor who is sayth he so deafe who is so mad and who is foolish to contradict these so cleare euident testimonies but he which knoweth not what he speaketh And truly that the Church of God was farre more knowen and spread ouer the whole world after the promulgation of the Gospell euen in the Apostles tyme then it euer was in the tyme of the law those words of the Apostle do sufficiently declare But Isay haue they not heard And certes into all earth hath the sound of them gone forth and vnto the ends of the whole world the wordes of them And againe speaking vnto the Romā Church he sayth I giue thankes to my God through Iesus Christ for all of you because your fayth is renewed in the whole world 7. Moreouer from the Apostles tyme till this our present age the Church of Christ hath byn not only visible but also spread abroad knowne and most famous throughout diuers Kingdomes of the world as many historiographers as well Ecclesiasticall as prophane doe testify and the worthy Cardinall Caesar Boronius hath euidently declared and that not only throughout all ages but also euery yeare in so much that those who do not consent and agree heereunto are not only to be accounted Insidels but as S. Augustine speaketh very fitly and truely men out of their wittes CHAP. VI. Other arguments of our Aduersaries against the visible Church are confuted THE third argument of our Aduersaries wherby they impugne the visible Church is this the holy Scripture compareth the Church to the moone but the moone doth often tymes not appeare as it hapneth in the new moone and in the Ecclips I answere that we must not seeke for a similitude or likenesse in all thinge● betwixt the Church and the moone for otherwise the Church of Christ should neyther see nor vnderstand nor belieue and it should be altogeather without life as the moone is But in this matter that similitude or liknesse betwixt the Church and the moone is only to be sought out in which the Scripture compareth the Church to the moone but the Scripture doth not compare the Church to the moone as she is a mutable planet but as she is beautifull in her selfe Beautifull saith Salomon as the moone but in mutability the Scripture compareth a soole to the moone but not the Church A foole saith the Wisemen is changed as the moone Moreouer the Church of Christ is not compared to euery moone but only to the moone when she is in her fulnesse perfection yea to the moone which is neuer diminished nor fayleth hēce are those words of the Prophet Isar which Caluin acknowledgeth are to be vnderstood of the Church Thy sunne shall neuer more be set and thy moone shall not be diminished or as Caluin translateth it shall not be hidden Lastly S. Iohn saith that the moone is vnder the feete of the Church that therby we may vnderstād that the Church of Christ by the vertue of the sunne to wit Christ himselfe where withall she is wholy inuested and adorned is free from all mutability in matters of faith 2. The fourth argument Those thinges which we belieue by faith are inuisible but by faith we belieue there is a Catholike Church as appeareth by the Apostles Creed therefore the Catholike Church is inuisible and not visible I answere that this is a weake argument albeit Caluin also vseth it For if it were not it would proue that the holy Scripture were also inuisible because we belieue also the holy Scripture by faith yea it would also proue euen our Aduersaries Church to be as yet inuisible for they as yet belieue their Church by faith and yet they cōfesse that their Church is now visible And truely if their Church had remayned still inuisible they had neuer caused so many tumults in the Christian Common-wealth But certainly euen as in the holy Scriptures we see one thinge and belieue another we see the letters characters the which the Infidels also see but we belieue that the Scripture is most true in all thinges the which they do not belieue so we se that the Church of Christ is extant the which also the Infidels do see for Turkes Iewes do very well know that there is a Pope and that there are Bishops Princes and Christian Nations but we belieue that this Church which we see is an holy Church is gouerned directed by the holy Ghost and that she cannot erre in matters of faith all which the Infidels do not belieue 3. The fifth argument None is in the Church but by faith but faith is inuisible therfore the

Church also inuisible I answere that this is a very weake consequence for otherwise we might reason thus None is a man but by a reasonable soule but the soule of man indued with the vse of reason is inuisible therfore the whole man also is inuisible Also no Scripture is to be accounted holy but by the authority of God but this authority is inuisible therefore the Scripture also is inuisible For it is not necessarie that a thing may be called visible that the chiefe part or reason thereof be visible but it sufficeth if any part therof be visible as manifestly appeareth in all visible substances for their chiefe partes to wit their substantiall matter and forme are thinges inuisible 4. Secondly I answere that the faith wherby a man is made a member of the visible Church is not only an interiour faith which is not to be seene but that which is euidently seene and declared by exteriour signes as for example by confessing publikely the said faith by receauing the Sacraments and such other exteriour acts The which is so true that this exteriour profession of our faith only without the interiour faith sufficeth that a man become a member of the visible Church as Bellarmine well proueth seing that otherwise none could be certaine of his Prelate or Pastour because none can see the faith or mind of āother 5. Hence also it is that not only the predestinate and iust men are members of the visible Church but also such as be hypocrit●es and wicked men who professe their faith according to those wordes of Christ Euery branch in me not bearing fruit he will take it away And if any abide not in me he shal●e cast forth by which words Christ sheweth that they also who doe not remayne in him that is to say those which are not predestinate and those which do not bring forth any fruit that is to say bad Christians are in him that is to say in his visible body which is the Church the which also almost all our Aduersaries confesse as we haue said before and Bellarmine proueth more at large 6. The sixt argument our Aduersaries deduce out of the Apocalyps wherein it is said that a woman inuested with the sunne which signifieth the true Church fled into the desert and remayned there for the space of 1260. dayes that is to say as our Aduersaries interpret it a thousand two hundred and sixty yeares Out of which they infer that the Church remayned inuisible as it were in the desert these thousand two hundred and sixty yeares last past I answere that this is a vitious argument for many reasons For first it is very absurd to thinke that the Church of Christ did ly hidden and inuisible these thousand two hundred sixty yeares past For therupon it would ensue that the Church of Christ was inuisible then when it most florished was spread abroad ouer the whole world as for example in the tymes of S. Augustine Ambrose Hilary Athanasius Hierome Chrysostome Cyril c. Yea in the tyme also of all the auncient Councels the which our Aduersaries themselues do admit in their confession of faith For all these Fathers and ancient Councells haue byn within the space of the forsaid thousand two hundred and sixty yeares the which our Aduersaries do account from Pope Siluester till Luthers tyme wherfore this place of the Apocalyps is not to be vnderstood of yeares but literally of daies only 7. Moreouer it is not certain that by this word desert is vnderstood any solitary place or such as is depriued of all the society or comfort of men For Primasius S. Augustines scholler saith that by the foresayd word is signified the whole world the which also that desert signified through the which the Children of Israel passed before they came to the land of Promise Euen as by the sayd land of Promise was also signified the euerlasting lyfe Some others will haue the foresayd word desert to signify a departure or forsaking of all sinnes and vices and all other pleasures of this world according to that saying of the Prophet Osee. I will carry and lead her into the desert and I ●ill speake vnto her hart And that of Dauid Behould flying away I went farre off and I remayned in the desert 8. Lastly albeit we should graunt that this desert were some wyld or forsaken place yet neuerthelesse it could not be gathered thereby that the Church of Christ eyther was or euer shal be inuisible For neyther this womā which fled into the wildernesse signifyeth th● whole Church of Christ but some one famous Church the which Antichrist shal persecute most of all because it will strongly oppose it selfe against his impiety and wickednesse And in the end of the forsaid vision S. Iohn playnly affirmeth that the Dragon after the deliuery of that woman shall make warre against the rest of her seede who keep the commandmēts of God and haue the testimony of Iesus Christ therfore besides that woman there will be some out of the desert who will publikely professe the true faith of Christ against whom for that cause the Dragon will fight 9. But that we may now conclude this controuersy of the visible Church seing that Christ our Lord came into this world that he might make open and knowen the way to eternall sauation not to one Nation or age only but inded to the whole world and all posterity it is a very absurd thing to thinke that this one only way to eternall saluatiō which is the true Church of Christ remayned hidden and vnknowen to all Nations for so many ages past CHAP. VII That this visible true Church of Christ cannot erre in matters of fayth NOTHING can be sayd more absurdly thē that the true Church of Christ can erre in matters of fayth and yet there is nothing which the Sectaries of this tyme do hold and defend with greater pertinancy not without iust cause for they see very well that it cannot be denyed but that the true Church of Christ hath for these many yeares past remayned still among Catholikes only visible as afterward we shall more clearly declare but if they should also graunt that this visible Church cannot erre they should ouerthow themselues by their owne confession Wherefore to the end they may still haue some corner or hole to slip out at they affirme that the true Church of Christ both hath erred still doth erre in points of faith Then the which nothig certainly is more absurd especially seing that they affirme that it hath erred not in things of small moment but in the principall and chiefest poynts of fayth which are playnly necessary to eternall saluation yea also that it hath fallen into manifest Idolatry Moreouer that it hath not only fayled staggered in fayth hath publikely taught many errors against fayth but hath also compelled and forced by threats and torments all to Idolatry And lastly