A Reformed Catholic, Doctrine 18
The eighteenth point. Of the supremacie in causes Ecclesiasticall.
Our consent.
Touching the point of supremacie Ecclesiasticall, I will set downe how neare we may come to the Romane Church in two conclusions. Conclus. I. For the founding of the primitiue Church, the ministerie of the word was distinguished by degrees not onelyonly of order but also of power, and Peter was called to the highest degree. Ephes. 4. vers. 11. Christ ascended vp on high and gaue gifts vntounto men, for the good of his Church: as some to be Apostles, some Prophets, some Euangelists, some Pastors and Doctors. Now, howsoeuer one Apostle, be not aboue another, or one Euangelist aboue another, or one pastour aboue another: yet an Apostle was aboue an Euangelist: and an Euangelist aboue all pastours and teachers. And Peter was by calling an Apostle, and therefore aboue all Euangelists and Pastors: hauing the highest roome in the ministerie of the new Testament, both for order and authoritie.
Conclus. II. Among the twelue Apostles Peter had a threefold priuiledge or prerogatiue. I. The prerogatiue of authoritie. II. Of primacie. III. Of principalitie. For the first, by the priuiledge of authoritie, I meane a preheminence in regard of estimatiō, wherby he was had in reuerence aboue the rest of the twelue Apostles, for Cephas with Iames and Iohn are called pillers, and seemed to be great. Gal. 2. v. 6, 9. Againe he had the preheminence of primacie, because he was the first named, as the forman of the quest. Math. 10. 2. The name of the twelue Apostles are these, THE FIRST IS Simon called Peter. Thirdly he had the preheminence of principality among the twelue, because in regard of the measure of grace, he excelled the rest: for when Christ asked his disciples whome they said he was; Peter as beeing of greatest abilitie and zeale answered for them all. Math. 16. 16. I vse this clause, among the twelue, because Paul excelled Peter eueryevery way, in learning, zeale, vnderstanding, as farre as Peter excelled the rest. And thus neere we come to popish supremacie.
The difference.
The Church of Rome giues to Peter a supremacie vnderunder Christ aboue all causes and persons: that is, full power to gouerne & order the catholik Church vponupon the whole earth both for doctrine & regiment. This supremacie stands (as they teach) in a power, or, iudgement, to determine of the true sense of all places of Scripture: to determine all causes of faith: to assemble generall councells: to ratifie the decrees of the said councels: to excommunicate any man vponupon earth, that liues within the Church, euen princes and nations: properly to absolue and forgiue sinnes: to decide causes brought to him by appeale from all the parts of the earth: lastly to make lawes that shall binde the conscience. This fulnes of power with one consent is ascribed to Peter, and the Bishops of Rome that follow him in a supposed succession. Nowe we holde on the contrarie, that neither Peter nor any Bishop of Rome hath any supremacie ouer the Catholike Church: but that all supremacie vnderunder Christ, is pertaining to kings and princes within theire dominions. And that this our doctrine is good & theirs false and forged, I will make it manifest by sundrie reasons.
I. Christ must be considered of vsus as a king two waies. First as he is God: and so is he an absolute king ouer all things in heauen and earth, with the Father & the holy Ghost by the right of creation. Secōdly he is a king as he is redeemer of mankinde: and by the right of redemprion he is a soueraigne king ouer the whole Church, and that in speciall manner. Now as Christ is God with the Father and the holy Ghost, he hath his deputies on earth to gouerne the worlde: as namely kings & princes, who are therefore in scriptures called gods. But as Christ is Mediatour, and consequently a king ouer his redeemed ones, he hath neither fellow, nor deputie. No fellow: for then he should be an imperfect mediatour. No deputie: for no creature is capable of this office to doe in the roome and stead of Christ that which he himselfe doth: because eueryevery worke of the Mediatour is a compound worke, arising of the effects of two natures concurring in one and the same action, namely the godhead and the manhood: and therefore to the effecting of the said work there is required an infinite power, which farre exceedes the strength of any created nature. Againe, Heb. 7. 24. Christ is said to hauehave a priesthood which cannot passe from his person to any other: whence it followes, that neither his kingly nor his propheticall office can passe from him to any creature, either in whole or in part: because the three offices of mediation in this regard be equall. Nay, it is a needlesse thing for Christ to hauehave a deputie, to put in exequution any part of his mediatourship: considering a deputy onelyonly serueth to supply the absence of the principall: whereas Christ is alwaies present with his Church by his word and spirit: for where two or three be gathered together in his name: he is in the middest among them. It may be saide, that the ministers in the worke of the ministerie are deputies of Christ I answer, that they are no deputies but actiue instruments. For in the preaching of the word there be two actions: the first is the vttering or propounding of it to the eare: the second is, the inward operation of the Holy Ghost in the heart: which indeede is the principall and belongs to Christ alone: the action of speaking in the minister being onelyonly instrumentall. Thus likewise the church of God in cutting off any member by excommunication, is no more but an instrument performing a ministerie in the name of Christ, and that is to testifie and pronounce whome Christ himselfe hath cut off from the kingdome of heauen: whome he also will hauehave for this cause, to be seuered from the company of his own people till he repent. And so it is in all ecclesiasticall actions: Christ hath no deputie, but onelyonly instruments: the whole intire actiō being personal in respect of Christ. This one conclusion ouer throwes not onelyonly the Popes supremacy, but also many other points of popery.
Reason II. All the Apostles in regard of power and authoritie were equall: for the commission apostolicall both for right and exequution was giuen equally to them all, as the very wordes import: Math. 28. v. 19. Goe teach all nations baptizing them, &c. and the promise, I will giuegive to thee the k…es of the kingdome of heauen, is not priuate to Peter, but is made in his person to the rest, according as his confession was in the name ofin Mar. 16. the rest. Thus saith Theophylact. They hauehave the power of committing & binding that receiue in Psal. 38.the gift of a bishop as Peter. And Ambr. saith, What is said to Peter, is said to the Apostles. Therfore Peter had no supremacy ouer the rest of the Apostles in respect of right to the cōmission: which they say belōged to him onelyonly, and the execution thereof to the rest. But let all be granted, that Peter was in commissiō aboue the rest, for the time of his life: yet hence may not any superioritie be gathered for the Bishopps of Rome: because the authoritie of the Apostles was personall, & consequently ceased with them: without being conueyed to any other: because the Lord did not vouchsafe the like honour to any after them. For first of all, it was the priuiledge of the Apostles to be called immediatly, and to see the Lord Iesus. Secondly, they had power to giuegive the gift of the holy ghost by the imposition of handes. Thirdly, they had such a measure of the assistance of the spirit, that in their publike sermons and in writing of the word, they could not erre: and these things were all denied to those that followed after them. And that their authoritie ceased in their persons, it stands with reason also, because it was giuen in so ample a manner for the founding of the Church of the new Testament▪ which being once founded, it was needfull onelyonly that there should be pastours and teachers for the building of it vp vntounto the ende of the world.
Reason III. When the sonnes of Zebedeus sued vntounto Christ for the greatest roomes of honour in his kingdome (deeming hee should be an earthly king) Christ answers them againe, ye knovv that the Lords of the Gentiles hauehave dominion and they that are great exercise authoritie over them: but it shall not be so vvith you. Bernard applieth these very wordes to Pope Eugenius on thisDe consider. ad Eugen. lib. 2. maner. It is plaine, saith he, that here dominion is forbidden the Apostles. Goe to then: dare if you will, to take vponupon you ruling an Apostleship, or in your Apostleship rule or dominion: if you will hauehave both alike, you shall loose both. Otherwise you must not thinke your selfe exempted from the number of them, of vvhome the Lord complaineth thus: they hauehave raigned but not of me: they hauehave beene and I hauehave not knowne them.
Reason IV. Eph. 4. mention is made of gifts which Christ gaue to his Church after his ascension, whereby some were Apostles, some prophets, some Euangelists, some pastours and teachers. Now if there had beene an office in which men as deputies of Christ should hauehave gouerned the whole Church to the ende of the world, the calling might here hauehave beene named fitly with a gift thereto pertaining; and Paul (no doubt) would not here hauehave concealed it, where he mentioneth callings of lesser importance.
Reason V. The Popes supremacie was iudged by sentences of Scripture and condemned long before it was manifest in the world: the spirit of prophesie foreseeing and foretelling the state of things to come. 2. Thess. 2. v. 3, 4. The man of sinne (which is that Antichrist) shall exalt himselfe aboue all that is called God, &c. Now this whole chapter with all the circumstances thereof, most fitly agrees to the sea of Rome and the Head thereof: and the thing which then staied the reuealing of the man of sinne, vers. 6. is of most expounded to be the Romane Emperour. I will alleadge one testimonie in the roome of many. Chrysostome saith on this place, As long as the Empire shall be had in awe, no man shall straitly submit himselfe to Antichrist: but after that the Empire shall be dissolued, Antichrist shall invade the state of the Empire standing voide: and shall labour to pul vntounto himselfe the Empire both of man and God. And this we finde now in experience to be true: for the See of Rome neuer flourished, till the Empire decaied, and the seat thereof was remooued from the citie of Rome. Againe Rev. 13. mention is made of two beasts, one comming out of the sea, whome the Papists confesse to be the heathenish Romane Emperour: the second cō ming out of the earth; which doth all that the first beast could doe before him: and this fitly agreeth to the Popes of Rome, who doe and hauehave done all things that the Emperour did or could doe, and that in his vety sight.
Reason VI. The iudgement of the auncient Church. Cyprian saith, Doubtlesse the De simplicit. Praelat.same were the rest of the Apostles that Peter was: indued vvith EQVAL fellowshippe both of honour and of POVVER; but a beginning is made of vnitie, that the Church may appeare to be one. Gregorie saith, If one be called vniversall In Registro lib. 6. c 118.Bishop, the vniversall Church GOETH TO DECAY. And chap. 144. I say boldly, that whosoeuer calleth or desireth to call himselfe vniuersall priest, in his pride is a FORERVNNER OF ANTICHRIST. And, Beholde, in the Lib. 7. cap. 30preface of the Epistle which ye directed vntounto me, you caused to be set a PROVVD TITLE, calling me vniversall Pope. Bernard. Consider ad Eugen. l. 3that thou art not a lord of Bishops, but one of them. Churches are MAIMED, in that the Romane Bishop draweth all povver to himselfe. Again Gregorie himselfe being Pope saith to the Emperour I which AM SVBIECT TO YOVR COMMANDEMENT—; hauehave eueryevery way discharged that which was due, in that I hauehave performed mine allegiance to the Emperour, and hauehave not concealed vvhat I thought on Gods behalfe. And Pope Leo the fourth after Gregorre 200. yeares, acknowledged the Emperour Lotharius for his soueraigne prince, and professed obedience withoutC▪ de capitulis. dist. 10. gainsaying, to his Imperial commandemēts.
To conclude, whereas they say that there is a double head of the Church, one imperiall which is Christ alone, the other ministerial, which is the Pope, gouerning the whole Church vnderunder Christ, I answer, this distinction robbeth Christ of his honour, because in setting vp their ministeriall head, they are faine to borrow of Christ things proper vntounto him, as the priuiledge to forgiue sinnes oAlen. book of priesthood.properly, and the power to gouerne the whole earth, by making of lawes that shall as truly binde conscience as the lawes of God, &c.