Justification of Separation from the Church of England, Treatise · Section 1
1. First that a company of faithfull people thus covenanting together are a Church, though they be without any officers amōg them, cōntrary to that your Popish opiniō here insinuated, & elsMr B. where expressed, that a company is no where in all the new testament pag. 99.called a Church (Christian familyes excepted) but when they have theyr officers, and that otherwise they are called beleevers, Disciples, but not a Church but onelyonly by anticipation as heaven and earth are so called before they were Gen. …. 1. & that the officers give thē the denominatiō of a Church.
2. That this company being a Church hath interest in all theII. holy things of Christ within & amongst thēselves immediately vnderunder him the head, without any forreyn ayd, & assistance. Of which holy things in particular we shall consider as they come in our way.
These two grounds (by the grace of God) I will prove in order: and for the confirmation of the former take these reasons.
The first is gathered from the authours owne words, that a cō pany I.of holy persons (without officers) are called beleevers, disciples, but not a Church which is all one, as if he sayd, that a Church is not called a Church, for the word Church, is no more then a cōpany or †foreign.assembly howsoever gathered together: and so a set company of visible beleevers must needs be a constituted visible Church: and to manifest the vanity of that distinction, that one place shall serueAct: 19. 32. 40. Act. 11. 26. where in the same verse the same persons▪ are called the Church, Disciples, and Christians.
Two or three or more people making Peters confession, Math. 16. are the Church. But two or three or more may make this confession without officers. Therefore such a company is a Ch:
The former proposition is evident by that promise Christ made *Mat. 16▪ … ▪ 18.to build his Church vponupon the rock of Peters confession.
The second, namely that men without officers may professe their faith is without question, except we will hold that without officers no men can be saved, Rom. 10. 10.
Thirdly, if the new Testament speak of ordeyning Elders in the Church, then doth it necessarily conclude yea expresly affirm, that there were Churches before Elders were ordeyned in them.
But the first is manifest Act. 14. 23. therefore the second. Neyther can Mr B…shift of the place by saying such assemblyes are called Churches by Anticipation, any more then the Papists can the scripture, 1 Cor 11. 26. against transubstantiation, by alledging that the Apostle speaks by Posticipation. For why may not the Papists as well answer that Paul calles Christs body bread, not because it is bread, but because it was bread before the words of consecration, as Mr B: that Luke calls the assemblyes without officers Churches, not because they were so, but were so to be after the Elders were ordeyned amongst them, neyther is it true which you affirme for confirmation of your distinction, that heaven and earth were so called before they were, Gen. 1. 1. the meaning of Moses onelyonly is, that God created heaven and earth first, and when before they were not.
If yet it be further answered by any, that the Church Act. 14. had Apostles over them, it must be remembred, that Luke in that place and action of ordination notes out three distinct orders of people, the Apostles ordeyning Elders, the Elders ordeyned, and the Churches in which the Apostles ordeyned Elders.
Of the same nature is the fourth Argument grounded vponupon 1 Cor. 12. 28. where God is sayd to have appointed or set in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, necessarily implying a Church before, wherein they were appointed: as a Sheriffe appointed in a shyre, a Maior in a City, a Constable in a Parish, a Steward in a familie do necessarily presuppose the Shyre, City, Parrish, Familie, wherein they are appointed. And indeed where should the Lord set his stewards but in his familie? Is any societie capable of the Lords officers but his corporation? Is not the Eldership an ordinance given to the Church? & so the Elders called the “Act. 20. 28.Elders of the Church. In the Church is not an ordinance given to the Elders, nor ever called their Church in the whole New Testament.
Fifthly they with whom the Lord makes his Covenant to be their God, and to have them his people, to dwel amongst them as in his temple, which have right to the promises of Christ, and to his presence, they are the Church of God, & of Christ. Gen. 17. 7. Lev. 26. 11. 12. Mat. 18. 17. 20. Apoc. 1. 11. 13. Heb. 8. 16.
But a company of faythful people, though they have no officers amongst them, may be received into Covenant with God, may be his temple, and have him dwell amongst them, may have right to Christ and to his promises, & presence, except we wil say they may not be gathered in Christs name, may not be called, may not come out from among unbeleevers nor separate themselves & touch none unclean thing. Mat. 18. 17. 20. Act. 2. 39. 2 Cor. 6. 16. 17. except they have Ministers going before them. For they that may †2 Cor. 6. 16separate themselves from unbeleevers may be the temple of God, that is the true visible church, which the temple typed out.
Men are not to come out of Babylon, and there to stand stil, & remember the Lord a farr of, but must resort to the place where he hath put his name, for which they need not go eyther to Ierusalem, or to Rome, or beyond the seas, they may find Siòn the Lords mountain prepared on the top of every hil. If they as lively stones couple themselves together by voluntary *1 Pet. 2. 9.profession & covenant, they are a spirituall building, the Lords Temple.
6. If a company of faythful people without officers be not a Church, then if all the officers of a Church should dye or fall away the Church should be nullified, and become no church: and to come nearer home (graunting for a while the parish of Worksop to be a company of faythfull people) if Mr Bernard should leave his Vicaridge for a better, then the church of Worksop should be dischurched, and remayne a Church no longer: and thus an assembly might be Churched and vnchurched, and Churched agayn every week in the time of persecution or plague, by having and loosing, and recovering againe her officers: and thus the officers should not be the eyes or tongue of the body, for the body remaynes a true (though an imperfect) body without them, but the head of it: yea the Pope though he hold himself the head of the Church, yet acknowledgeth it a Church without him, and in the time of vacancy.
Wee read, Rev. 2. 5. that the Lord threatens to remove the candlestick from the Ephesians except they amend. Now the candlestick is the Church, chap. 1. 20. and to remove the candlestick is to dischurch the assembly, or to wipe it out of the beadrowl of Churches. Here is sin the discharging an assembly, but that the death of the officers should do it, is no where found. We will acknowledge the Ministers to be the †Math 5. 4. Rev. … 2….lights, starres, & candles in the the candlestick the Church, & that the Ministers death or fall is the removing of the light in a great measure, but we may not graunt them to be the Candlestick: that is the Church, wherein they are set, as 1 Cor. 12. 28. which may stand still though they fall.
7. If a company of Saynts, where no officers are, be not a trueVII. visible Church, then may they have no visible communion together eyther publick, or private; the reason is, because the communion of saynts is an effect, or property of the Church, and the Church a cause of it: the invisible Church of invisible communion, and the visible Church of visible communion. And as we can have no fellowship with Christ in his merits, and other works of mediation, till we be in our persons ioyned vntounto him by faith, and grafted in him, as the *Ioh. 15. 1. 2. 4.braunches in the vine: so neither can we have communiō one with another in any spirituall grace, or work, till we be vnited one to another in love, as the members of the body vnderunder the head. Communion in works whether naturall, civil, or religious, doth necessarily presuppose vnion of persons. Yea if such a company be not a Church, I see not how their seed can have right to baptism, no nor how their own baptism cā be accounted true in the right ends, & vses of it. For 1. baptism is within, and not without the Church: Ephe. 4. 4. 5. Secondly, it is the seal of the covenant (which is the form of the Church) to the faithfull, and their seed, Act. 2. 38. 39. Thirdly, it is of the members into the body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12. 12. 13.
Lastly where the essentiall causes of a Church are to be found, viz. matter and form, there is a Church. But this may be in such assemblies as have no officers, ergo.
The former proposition is evident in it self, for the essentiall causes give being vntounto the th… and it ha…h the being from them.
The 2. I gather from Mr B. own graunt, where treating of the causes and properties of the Church, he makes the †pag. 112.true matter such as professe Christ Iesus their onelyonly saviour: and the *pag. 116.form to be the vniting of men to God, and one to another visibly. Now except he will say (which God forbid) that none may make profession of faith, and be vnited to Christ without officers, he cannot deny but there may be, (and so be called) a Church without them. For all vnited vntounto Christ the head, are members of the body, which is the Ch: and so the whol assembly ioyntly considered is an whole and entyre body and Church. So that to deny an ordinary assembly or communion of Christians to be a Christian Church, is an vnchristian opinion. And here I entreat the indifferent reader to consider whether these mens wayes be equall, or no. When we deny their assemblies to be true visible Churches, though they consist for the most part of prophane, and vngodly persons, vnderunder the government of a Provinciall, or Diocesan Bishop, and the Ministery of a dumb or prophane Preist, as the most do, (to which also the best is subiect within one monethmonth) they complayn of vsus, as most injurious detracters, and yet will not they acknowledge any assembly of faithful & holy people onelyonly (if vnfurnished for a time of officers) to be a true Church, or capable of that denomination. But let not the harts of Gods servants be discouraged, he is no accepter of mens persons, he hath not tyed his power and presence to any order, or office in the world, but accepted of them that feare him, and work righteousnes, hating the assemblyes of the wicked, and all their sacrifices.
VponUpon this point I hauehave insisted the longer, partly because it is the ground of the other truthes to be handled in their places, and partly in detestation of the vnsufferable pryde of this Prelacy, and Preisthood, which will have the very life of all Churches to hang on the breath of their nostrels, yea (I may safely say) on their lusts; if they dy yea or forsake their charges in never so fleshly respects their Churches are dissolved, at least during the vacancy, and so the brethren dismembred from being of the visible body of Christ. But so far are the officers from being the formall cause of the Church (as is intended) as they are in truth no absolutely necessary appurtenance vntounto it. The power indeed to enioy them is an essentiall property seated in the body which may braunch out it self (as God gives fit means) into officers accordingly, which if they prove unfruitful, it may also accordingly lop, or break off. And so farr is the Holy Ghost from giving countenance to this opinion, that the Officers make the Church, as when he speakes distinctly of the body, and officers, and considers them severally, he calls the body the Church, excluding the Elders, as appeares in these, amongst many o…her scriptures. Act. 14. 23. & 15. 4. and 20. 17. 28. 1 Tim. 3. 5. 15. And the reason is, because the Church is essentially in the saincts, as the matter, subject, formed by the cover…ant, unto which the officers are but adjuncts, not making for the being, but for the welbeing of the Church, and furtherance of her fayth, by their service.
The second poynt now comes to be manifested, which is that two or three faythful persons joyned unto the Lord in the fellowship of the Gospel, have immediate interest to Christ in all his ordinances.
Now least any should stumble at these words, two or three ioyned or gathered together (as it seems Mr. B. would hereby take advantage to discountenance so small a number) it must be cōsidered, that two or three thus gathered together have the same right with two or three hundred. Neyther the smallnes of the number, nor meannes of the persons can prejudice their right. When the Lord did chose one nation from all other nations, he chose the smallest amongst them, †Deut. 7. 7. Ps. 105. 12.fewest in number. And though now Christ have opened a way for all nations, yet is it a *Math. 7. 14.narrow way and which few finde, especially in the first planting or replanting of Churches, of which Christ speaks most properly: in which regard also he likens the “Mat. 13. 31. 32.the kingdome of heaven, or Church, to a grain of mustardfeed which is the least of all seeds, but yet hath vertue in it to bring forth a tree, in whose boughes the birds of heaven may build their nests. And against this exception of discouragement Christ himself hath provided a cōfortable remedie, in speaking expresly of two or three Mat.☉ 18. 19. 20.to whom he hath given his power, and promised his presence.
Now, for the poynt it self: the truth whereof is sufficiently manifested by that which hath been …ormerly layed down. If a companyI. of faythfull people (though without officers be the true Ch. and body of Christ, and Israel of God, then to that company apperteynes the covenants of promise, the oracles of God are committed untothem, and to them are given his word, statutes and iudgments: & so theyRom. 3. 2. & 9. 4. Ps. 147. 19. 20. Act. 2. 39▪ may freely enjoy them amongst themselves in the order by Christ prescribed, without any forreyn Ministers, for Mediators.
II. They that have received Christ have received the power of Christ, and his whole power, for Christ and his power are not devided, nor one part of his power from another.
But every company or communion of faythful people have received Christ. Ioh. 1, 12. Rom. 8. 32. Isa. 9. 6. and with him power and right to enjoy him, (though all the world be against it) in al the meanes, by which he doth communicate himself unto hi… Church.
III. When the Scriptures would give us to understand the near union betwixt Christ, and his Church, and the free and full title which he hath given her in himself, and all his most rich and pretious benefits, they do teach the same by resemblances of most streight and immediate conjunction, as of that between the*Ioh. 15. 1. 5. vine and the branches, “Eph. 1. 22 23. & 4. 15 16. & 5. 2. 3the head and the body, †Cant. 4. 8. 9. 10. Mat. 22. 2. 3. Eph. 5. 25. 29. 30. Rev 21. 2.the husband and the wise, and so as the branches do receive and draw the sap and juice immediately from the vine, and as the body receiveth sense and motion from the head immediately, and as the wife hath immediate right to, and interest in her husbands both person and goods, for her use, though she may and ought to use the service of her husbands and own servants (as they can be had) for convenient purposes, so hath every true visible Church of Christ direct, …nd immediate interest in, and title to Christ himselfe, and the whole new Testament, & every ordinance of it, without any vnnaturall, monstrous, and adulterous interposition by any person whatsoever, betwixt the vyne and the branches, the head and the body, the husband & the wife: which are Christ, and his Church, though but two or three gathered together in his name, as hath formerly been manifested.
If all things be the Churches, even the ministers themselves, ye… though they be Paul, Cephas, and Apollos, and the Church Christs, & Christ Gods, then may the Church vse and enjoy all things immediately vnderunder Christ, and needs not goe to Rome to fetch her power, whether Mr B. would send her, but may have and enioy the Ministers and ministrations (as her own) of all the holy things which are given her. But the first the Apostles expresly affirmes 2 Cor. 3. 21. 22. 23. and so the conclusion necessarily followeth; which will also be more manifest in the particulars as they come to be handled in theyr places, as occasion shalbe ministred by Mr B. reasons layd down against popularty as he termes it, which in the next place come to be considered of.