The Communion of Saints, Chapter 24 – Conclusion
CHAPT. XXIIII
Of the communion that one church hath with an other.
HAving spoken of the Saincts communion in their several Congregations, wherin they are distinct bodies, and owe special duty and care one toward another: it remayneth that something be sayd, of the cōmunion between Church and church. For though they be disjoyned in place, yet ar they vnited in hart and spirit; so as they generally are but †Ephe. 4. 4. 5. Colos. 1. 18one body or church, vnderunder one head Christ, caled in one hope of their vocation, by one God and Father of al; and must endeavour, to keep the vnity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
2. When Christ sent forth his Apostles into the world, he ‖Nat. 2…. 19. 20.gave them one and the same commission, for preaching the Gospel in al nations, and teaching them to observ whatsoever he had commanded: who thervpon preached *Ephe. 4. 5. Tit 1. 4.one cōmune fayth, a covenant & Gospel ‡Heb. 13. 20 Rev. 14. 6.everlasting, for every tongue and people; and exhorted them †Iude. vers. 3earnestly to contend for that faith once given to the Saincts. And as the faith was one, so was ther one rule or ‖Gal. 6. 16.canon for al Gods Israel to walk by, the *Act. 14. 23 & 20. 17. Iam. 5. 14. 1 Pet. 5. 1. Tit 1 5.same officers in al churches; the same ‡1 Cor. 7. 17 & 16. 1. Act 16. 4.ordinances & decrees; the same wayes taught by the Apostles †1 Cor. 4. 17every where in every Church, and al other ‖1 Tim. 1 3. & 6. 3. 14.forbidden: so peace was set by God in *1 Cor. 14. 33.al churches of the Saincts.
3. And as the church generally considered is the ‡Gal. 4. 26.mother of al the faithful; so the particular churches ar †Song. 8. 8.sisters ech to other, and ther is a 1 Pet. 5. 9. foreignbrotherhood of the Saints throughout the world; they being *Gal. 3. 28.al one in Christ Iesus, the ‡Ioh. 10. 16.one shepheard that hath made one sheepfold: and are therfore exhorted to be *1 Pet. 1. … with 3. 8.al of one mind, and to lov as brethren. For so was it prophefied of the latter dayes, that peoples should ioyntly †Isa. 2. 2. 3. 4.seek for knowledge of Gods wayes, in the mountayn of his howse; and nation not lift vp a sword against natiō, nor learn to fight any more.
4. From hence ariseth, the cō munion of love, & al Gods graces and blessings among the churches; wherin our elder sister, the Congregation of Israel, hath walked before vsus for an example. For she had mind and care of vsus when we were smal ”Song. 8. 8.and without breasts, not able to bear or nourse vp children to the Lord; she *Psal. 67.prayed for vsus vntounto God, ‡Psal. 87. 4made mention of vsus to her acquaintance, & taught her children by many †Gen. 9. 27. & 12. 3. Ps. 2. 8. & 72. 8 9. 10. 11. Isa. 49. 6. & 66 19. 20. 21. Hos. 2. 23. Mal. 1. 11.prophesies, to exspect our birth, caling, and cōjoyning in one spiritual body, faith, worship and religion. And now that we through Christ hav obteyned this riches & merciemercy, though it be by her ‖Rom. 11. 12fal and diminishing; we ought both to nourish vnity & peace among our selves, and to remember her again, who notwithstanding her present miserie, is *vers. 28.beloved for her fathers sakes, & shal againe ‡vers. 31.obteyn mercy; which what wil it be vntounto vsus, but †vers. 15.life from the dead?
5. Examples also we have of y• churches in the Apostles dayes who cōmunicated ech with other, in blessings spiritual and temporal, as amongst others cheifly appeareth in those two loving sisters the Churches at Ierusalem and Antiochia, the one of which wer Iewes, the other Gentiles. For they Act. 11. …2. &c.in Ierusalem hearing that many in Antioch wer turned vntounto Christ; sent for their further edification, Bainabas vntounto them, ”Act. 11. 24.a good man and ful of the holy Ghost, and of faith; by whose meanes, much people joyned themselves vntounto the Lord. The Antiochians knowing, (‖Rom. 15. 27 as the Apostle sayth,) that if they were made partakers of their spiritual things, their dutie was to minister vntounto them in carnal things: whē they heard of a *Act. 11. 28. 29. 30.famine foretold to come over al the world, sent succour to their brethren in Iudea, by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Again when ther *Act. 15. 8. 2. &c.grew a dissention by meanes of false doctrine sown amōg thē; they sent the sayd Paul and Barnabas for advise and help vntounto Ierusalem; which church after ”vers. 7.great disputation even by the Apostles themselves, *vers. 22.sent back choise and chief men of their own company, to Antiochia with Paul and Barnabas, and wrote letters also, of the same matter; so bot… by word & writing, †Act. 15. 30. 31. &c.the multitude of beleevers there, were confirmed in the trueth, and rejoyced for the consolation.
6. Thus have we a pattern and president of Christian duties between Churches, in that Church which first was crowned with the name of Act. 11. 26.Christians; & have besides this, many other instructions and exāples proposed in the scriptures; as of the Churches in *2 Cor. 8. 1. …. 3. &c.Macedonia, so ready and instant to bestow grace and fellowship of ministring to other Saincts; of ‡… Cor. 9. 1. …. 3. &c.Corinth also in the like case, whose readines of mind, Paul boasted of to other congregations, and their zele provoked many. And wel was it with the churches thē, which strove not for primacie, nor knew no preeminence one over an other; but walked al as brethren vnderunder one †foreign 1 Pet. 5. 4.Archpastour Christ, who stil ‖Revel. 2. 1. 2. &c.walked among thē, visiting the wayes and works of those golden candlesticks, whose lights shined not onelyonly in them selves, but vntounto others, so as they wer *1 Thes. 1. 6.followers of the Apostles & of y• Lord, ‡vers. 7. 8.ensamples to their sister churches, in doctrine, faith, vertue; & †1 Thes. 2. 14folowers of thē in patience; for which the Apostles ”2 Thes. 1, 4.rejoyced in the churches of God. Herevpon followed *2 Cor. 9. 13. 14. 15. Rom. 16. 4. 16. 1 Cor. 16. 19.prayers one for another, thanks, & salutations, with al other means to nourish lov, and continew peace. Then was fulfilled the prophesie of Isaiah, which foretold ‡Isa. 19. 23. 24.of a path from Aegypt to Asshur, (that is from one church and nation of the Gentils, to another,) wherby they should come and cō municate togither in the worship of God, Israel also being a third with them, even a blessing in the midds of the land, (as we hav seen before ”Act. 11. &. 15.in the church at Ierusalem,) and the blessing of the Lord vponupon it, in this holy cōmunion, saying, †Isa. 19. 25.Blessed be my people Aegypt, and Asshur the work of my hands, and Israel myne inheritance.
7 From these few examples, cō pared with the †Chapt. 18. & 19.former general duties of al Christians; may appear how churches owe help, comfort, and refreshing one to another, as they hav need & ability, and should not one envie or vex an other, but ‖Isa. 11. 13. 14.as Ephraim and Iudah, flee togither vponupon the shoulders of the common enimie; yet avoiding both ambition & confusiō. For although we may advise, exhort, warn, reprove &c, so far as Christian love and power extendeth: yet find we no authority committed to one congregation over an other, for excōmunicating the same, as every church hath over her own members. Christ reserveth this power in his own hand, to *Rev. 2. 5.remove the Candlestiks out of their places, if they syn and repent not. And he in his Epistles to the seven churches, dealeth‡ Rev. 2 & 3. chapt. with every of them severally for their own estate and faults; not imputing the syns of one vntounto an other: though the admonitions given to every one, were to be a warning to al churches, evē whosoever had an ear to hear. Neyther may members disorderly runn from church to church, which may work trouble and confusion; for avoiding wherof, in the Apostles dayes, letters of †2 Cor. 3. …. 3 Iohn. 8. 9. 10. Col, 4, 10. Act. 15. 24. 25. &c.cōmendation wer written, for such as by occasion traveiled to other places; that they might be esteemed and received as brethren; as on the contrary, false teachers, hereticks, excommunicats, and such like; ‖1 Tim. 1. 20. 2 Tim. 1. 15. & 2. 17. &. 4. 14. 15.be shunned & avoided.
8. As for communicating with an other church, when it lieth in syn; Christians ar to consider the rules mētioned in the former chapter. For when they may not partake with their own congregation, vntounto which they ar joyned; neyther may they partake with an other, being in the same estate and transgression. A Multitude *Exod. 23. ….cannot make an evil thing good; neyther can many or al churches togither, justify or make tollerable, that which Gods law condemneth; for ‡Psal. 61. 9.al men, though they be layd togither in the ballance, ar lighter then vanity as the prophet sayth. It is iustice (according to the true proverbe) †Prov. 14. 34which exalteth a nation: but syn, is the shame of peoples. As therfore when Israel was in trespasse, Hos. 4. 15.Iudah was forbidden to syn, and every godly Iew, to go to their assemblies: so the Christians in Sardi, *Rev 3. 4.which wer commended of Christ for not dofiling their garments, in the syns of that church; could not hav been blamelesse, if they had joyned with their sister church of Thyatira, ‡Rev 2. 20.wher Iesabel sate as Doctresse, to teach & to deceiv Gods servants.
9. When ”Ezek. 23. 4. &c.…holah, (the church of Samaria,) had defiled her self with the idols of Asshur, and was therfore chastised of God; it should hav been a warning to Aholihah, (the church of Ierusalem,) not to do the like, nor partake in her sisters evils: but when they became both after one sort, the Lords *vers. 18.hart forsook them both alike; and because Ierusalem walked in her sisters way, ‡vers. 31.therfore God gave the others cup into her hand, the cup of ”vers. 33.destruction and desolation. For the Lord being exceeding wroth with Israel, and having †2 king. 17. 18. 19.put them out of his sight, that none was left but the tribe of Iudah onelyonly, yet Iudah not keeping the cōmandements of the Lord their God, but walking after the fashion of Israel which they vsed, the Lord did therfore ”vers. 20.cast off al the seed of Israel, & afflicted them, and delivered them into the hands of spoylers, vntil he had cast them out of his sight. It behooveth al therfore to mind wel their communion, both with their own and other churches; and to nourish peace, but in holynes; to keep cōmunion, but in light, not in darknes; for we must all appear before †2 Cor 5. 10.the judgmēt seat of Christ, where Rom. 14. 12everie one of vsus shall give account of himself vntounto God, and *Galat. 6. 5.every man bear his own burthē. As we have sown in this flesh, so shal we reap; the sowl that hath ‡Ezek. 18. 20 24.sinned shall die; Noah, Daniel, and Iob, shal ”Ezek. 14. 13. 14. 20.deliver neyther son nor daughter, but their own sowles by their righteousnes. And whosoever overcometh, shall †Rev. 21. 7.inherit all things; and shal not be ”Rev. 2. 11.hurt of the second death.
Sow to your selves in righteousnes: reap after the measure of merciemercy.
Hos. 10. 12.
The conclusion.
SEeing thē we hav received such grace from God, (so many as beleev in the name of his son Christ,) as that we are †Ezek. 37. 1… Iohn. 5. 25.raised vp from the graves of syn, wherin we al lay naturally the children ‖Eph. 2. 3.of wrath; & ar caled with a holy caling, from the servitude of Satan and syn, and al cōmunion with the wickednes of this world to serv the Lord in freedome of spirit, and newnes of life; according to his word; & are conjoyned in a holy societie with himself, after a wonderful & incomprehensible manner, apprehended by fayth; and one with another in the fellowship of the Gospel; being through his merciemercy made a ”1 Pet. 2. 9.chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, washed frō al our syns *Rev. 1. 5.in the blood of Christ, and ‡Rev. 5. 10.reigning with him on earth, by mortifying & subduing our earthly members; and seing we hav in this estate, al the promises of life, blessing, and salvation, the presence and protection of him our God, the guard and assistance of his holy †Heb. 1. 14.Angels, & whatsoever thing is good, for our help, joy, and comfort, whiles we live on earth▪ What remayneth thē, but that we 2 Cor. 7. 1.purge our selves from al filthines of the flesh and spirit, & so grow vp vntounto ful holines in the fear of God, making streight steps vntounto our seet, rūning with patience the race that is set before vsus, fighting the good fight of faith and of afflictions, resisting syn both in our selves and others, nourishing mutual love and peace, & making an end of our salvation Phil. 2. 18.in fear & trembling. That after we hav ended this warfare in the flesh, and hav so fought as we win the victory, and none other get our crown; when our sowles shal flit out of these earthly tabernacles, our bodies may sleep and rest in their ”Isa. 57. 2.beds, til our chāge come, & our sowles not sent to the spirits ‡1 Pet. 3 19.in prison, but received among the spirits *Heb. 22. 23.of just and perfect men, we may so rest from our labours, and wayt for the ful redemption of our bodies; at that day, when our Lord Iesus shal †2 Thes. …. 7. 8. 9. 1….shew himself from heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming syre, to render vengeance vntounto them that know not God; nor obey ye Gospel of our Lord Christ; punishing them with everlasting perdition, frō his presence & from the glory of his power; and to be glorified in his saincts, and made marveilous in al them that beleev▪ which al shalbe wher himself is, & see the blessed face of God, & there enjoy that heavenly communiō in the great assembly of al Saincts, with everlasting joy vponupon the… heads, wher sorow and mourning shalbe forgotten, and al happines & pleasures possessed for evermore. For desire of that day, the †Rev. 23. 17.spirit & the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth, say Come. The faithful and true witnesse sayth, ”vers. 20.Surely … quickly: Amen. Even so come Lord▪ Iesus.
He that is a Sainct, let him be sanctified stil
Rev. 22. 11.