The Diocesans Trial, Part 2 · Argument 4 – Argument 6
Argument 4.
If some be inferiour unto othersome in degree of power, it must be in regard of their powe… to teach, or their power to govern, or in the application of this power to their persons, or in regard of the people whom they teach and governe, or finally in regard the exercise of their power is at the direction of another. But no Pastor or Teacher dependeth on an other but Christ for any of these. Ergo. The proposition standeth on a sufficient enumeration: the assumption may be proved in the severall parts of it. The former branch is thus cleared. First, the power we have, is the same essentially with theirs; yea, every way the same. Secondly, wee have it as imediately from Christ as they. I shew them both thus: The power of order is the power which inableth us to preach and deliver the whole counsell of God, and to minister all Sacraments sealing Gods covenant. Now unlesse we will with the Papists, say that preaching is no necessary annexum to the Presbyters office, or that his power is a rudimentall limited power, as to open the creed, Lords praier, and commandements onelyonly, or that he hath not the full power sacra…entall, there being other sacraments of ordination and …onfirmation which wee may not minister, all which are gro…e, we… must yeeld their power of order to be the same. Yea, were these sacraments properly, they are both grounded in the power a Presbyter hath: Ordination in do… this in remembrance of me: confirmation in power to baptize. The power being the same, it is happily in one immediately, and in the other by derivation from him. Nothing lesse. All grant that Christ doth immediately give it, even as the inward grace of every Sacrament commeth principally from him. The Church, did she give this power, might make the sacrament and preaching which one doth in order, no sacrament, no preaching. The Pope doth not (if we follow the common tenent) challenge so much as to give the power of order to any bishop or priest whatsoever. If you say, the Presbyter is ordained by the bishop, that is nothing: so is the bishop by other bishops, from whom notwithstanding he receiveth not this power. We will take this as granted of all: though the tru…h is, all doe not maintaine it from right grounds. But it will be said the Presbyter is inferiour in jurisdiction, and can have none but what is derived to him from the bishop, who hath the fulnesse of it within his Diocesan Church. But this is false, and grounded on many false presumptions. As first, that Ministers of the Word are not properly and fully Pastors; for to make a Pastor, and give him no help against the Wolfe, is to furni…h him forth imperfectly. Secondly, it presupposeth the power of jurisdiction to be given originally and fontally to one person of the Church, and so to others, whereas Christ hath committed it originaliter and exercitative to the representative Church, that they might Aristocratically administer it. Thirdly, this presupposeth the plenitude of regiment to be in the bishop, and from him to be derived to other: which maketh him a head of virtuall influence, that in his Church, which the Pope doth challenge in regard of all bishops. For his headship and spirituall soveraignty standeth according to Bellarmine in this, that the government of all in for… externo, is committed to him. Not to mention, how bishops, while they were bishops, gloried of their chaire and teaching, as the flower of their garland, preferring it farre before government, but when they were fallen from their spirituall felicity, and infected with secular smoke, then they recommended the labour of teaching to the Presbyters, then their jurisdiction and consistory did carry all the credite, every office in the Church being counted a dignity, as it had more or lesse jurisdiction annexed; as those are more or lesse honourable in the Common-wealth, which have civill authority in lesse or greater measure conjoyned. The truth is, it cannot be shewed that God ever made Pastor without this jurisdiction; for whether it do agree to men as they are Pastors, or as they are Prelats in the Church, it cannot be avoided but that the Pastor should have it, because though every Praesul or Pralatus, be not a Pastor, yet every Pastor is Pralatus, in order to that Church where he is the proper and ordinary Pastor. Yea, when censure is the most sharp spirituall medicine, it were ill with every Church, if he who is resident alwayes among them as their spirituall Phisition, should not have power in administring it. Thirdly, I say, no Minister hath majority of power in applying the power of order or jurisdiction to this or that person. In the application there is a ministery of the Church interposed: but so that Christ onelyonly is the cause with power, not onelyonly why Presbyters are in the Church, but why Thomas or Iohn is chosen to and bestowed on this or that place. A Master onelyonly doth out of power take every servant into his house: so God in his. God did choose Aarons sonnes with the Levites, and Christ the 70. not mediately leaving it to the arbitrement of any to set out those that should stand before him. God doth ever onelyonly in regard of authority, apply all power Ecclesiasticall to every particular person, his sole authority doth it, though sometime as in ordinary callings, the ministery of others doth concurre. The Church is in setting out, or ordaining this or that man, as the Colledge is in choosing, when she taketh the man whom the statute of her founder doth most manifestly describe, or where the Kings mandate doth strictly injoyne, it would otherwise bring an imperiall power into the Church. For though many Kings cannot hinder but that there shall be such and such officers, and places of government as are in their Kingdome, yet while they are free at their pleasure to depute this or that man to the places vacant, they have a Kingly jurisdiction in them. Briefly, God doth ever apply the power Ecclesiasticall unto the person: sometime alone by himselfe, as in the Apostles, and then he doth it … imm…dia…i… suppositi qu…m virtutis: sometime the ministery of man concurring extraordinarily, as when God extraordinarily directeth a person to goe and call one to this or that place, as he did Sa…el to anoint Saul. Or else ordinarily, when God doth by his Writ and Spirit, guide men to take any to this or that place in his Church, which he doth partly by his written statutes, and partly by his Spirit: and thus he doth make the application onelyonly immediatione virtutis, not suppositi.
Object. But yet Bishops have the Churches, and the care of them wholly committed to them; though therefore Ministers have equall power to them, yet they cannot without their leave have any place within their Chur…hes, and therefore are inferiour, in as much as the people with whom they exercise their power of order and jurisdiction, are assigned to them by the Bishop the proper Pastor of them. This is an error likewise: For God doth make no Minister to whom he doth not assigne a flocke which he m…y at…end. God calleth Ministers, not to a faculty of honour, which doth qualifie them with power to ministerial actions, if any give them persons among whom they may exercise their power received, as the Emperours did make Chartul…rios judices, who had a power to judge causes if any would subject himselfe to them. Or as the Count Palatine hath ordinary Judges, who are habitu tantum judices, having none under them, amongst whom they may exercise jurisdiction. Or as the University giveth the degree of a Doctor in Physicke, without any patients among whom he may practise. But Gods Ministery is the calling of a man to an actuall administration, Goe teach: and the power of order if nothing by the way, but a relative respect, founded in this, that I am called to such an actuall administration. Now there cannot be an act commanded, without the subject about which it is occupied: otherwise, God should give them a faculty of feeding, and leave them depending on others for sheep to feed; God should make them but remote potentiall Ministers, and the Bishop actuall, Thirdly, the Holy Ghost is said to have set the Presbyters over thei… flocke. A man taking a steward, or other servant into his house, doth give him a power of doing something to his family; and never thinketh of taking servants, further then the necessity of his houshold doth require: so is it with God in his Church, which is his house: fore the exegency of his people so require, he doth not call any to the function of Ministery. Againe, this is enough to ground the authority which Antichrist assumeth: For some make his soveraignty to stand onelyonly in this, not that he giveth order or power of jurisdiction, but that he giveth to all Pastors and Bishops the moity of sheepe, on whom this their power is exercised, Christ having given him the care of all his sheepe, feed my sheepe: so Vasquez. Thus if a Bishop challenge all the sheepe in a Diocesan flocke to be his, and that he hath power to assigne the severall flockes under him, he doth usurpe an Antichristian authority. Finally, if the Churches be the Bishops through the Diocesse, Ministers then are under them in their Churches, but as a Curate is, whom a Parson giveth leave to helpe within his Church. Yea, they should loose their right in their Churches, when the Bishop dieth, as a Curate doth when the Parson of this or that Church, whom he assisted, is once departed. To conclude, they are not dependant (one Minister I meane on another) in the exercise and use of their calling. A servant that hath any place, doth know from his Master what belongeth to it. The Priests and Levites had set downe what belonged to their places, as well as the high Priest what belonged to his. Againe, God hath described the Presbyters office, as amply as any other. A Legate dependeth on none for instructions, but on him that sendeth him; now every Minister is an Embassadour of Christ. By their reason a Minister should be accountant to man for what he did in his Ministery, if his exercising of it did depend on man. Then also should minister…mediately onelyonly serve God, in as much as they have done this or that, to which the bishop did direct them. Moreover, should the bishop bid him not preach at al, preach rarely, teach onelyonly such and such things, or come and live from his charge, he should not sinne in obeying him. But man cannot limit that power of ministery which he cannot give. It is not with Gods servants in his Church, as with civill servants in the Common-wealth: for here some servants are above others whom they command as they will such as are called Fervi …rdinarli or praepofiti, some are under others to do this or that commanded by them, commonly called servi vicarii: but in the Church all servants serve their Master Christ, neither having any that they can command, nor being under any but Christ so as to be commanded by them. But it may be objected, that God hath ordained some to be helpes and assistants to othersome. It is said that God hath ordained powers, helps, governours, 1 Cor. 12.8. and were not the Evangelists assistants to the Apostles, doing that to which they directed them▪ To this I answer, that the helps God hath put in his Church respect the calling of Deacons, and such as ministred to the infirme ones: As for Evangelists, they were companions and assistan…s to the Apostles, but it was in order to the work of God in their hands, which they were to serve, not in order to their persons, as if they had been subjected to them in any servile inferiority. Observe how Paul speaketh of them, 2 Cor. 8.23. Vitu… w…s his companion and helper towards them, Phil. 2.25. Epaphroditus was his brother and helper in his worke, and fellow souldier, 1 Thess. 3.2. Timothy was his coadjutor in the Gospell of Christ, 2 Tim. 4.11. Marke was helpefull in the Ministery. The truth is, this was servitus … porf…lis … re…lis, the Evangelists did serve the worke the Apostles had in hand, with out being servants to their persons. When brick-layers worke, some mixe line, and make mortar, some beare up tile and mortar, some sit on the house and there lay that which is b…ought them. These are all fellow servants, yet the one doth serve to set forward the worke of the other. But were they not left to the direction of the Apostles, wholly in exercise of their calling? I answer, as Christ gave some to be Evangelists, so he made them know from himselfe what belonged to their office, and what was the administration to which he called them. He did not therefore wholly leave them to the direction of any. There is a double direction, one p…tes…atiue, which is made from majority of rule foreign, the other socialis, such as one servant, having fit knowledge of his masters will, and ripe experience, may give to another. The latter kinde of direction it was, not the former, by which the Evangelists were directed. Which though commonly Paul used, yet not so universally but that they went sometime of their owne accords hither and thither, as may be gathered, 2 Cor. 8.16, 17. and 2.7.14, 15.
The fift Argument.
That which the Apostles had not over Prophets, Evangelists, Presbyters, nor Deacons themselves that power wh…ch the Church hath not over any member, the bishop hath not over other ministers. But they had not over any inferior officers any majority of directive or corrective power: neither hath the Church it selfe any such power. Ergo. The assumption is proved: for majority of directive and corrective power is a Lord-like and Regall power: now there is no such power in the Church, or in the Apostles, or in any but onelyonly in that one Lord: all other power being but a declarative and executive ministery to signifie and execute what Christ out of majority of power would have signified and put in execution.
The sixth Argument.
That which doth breed an Antichristian usurpation, never was of Christs institution. But bishops majority of power in regard of order and jurisdiction, doth so: Ergo. That which maketh the bishop a head as doth in s…uere derive the power of externall government to other his assistants that doth breed an Antichristian usurpation. But to claime the whole power of jurisdiction through a Diocesan Church, doth so: for he must needs substitute helpers to him, because it is more then by himselfe he can performe. But this is it which maketh Antichrist, he doth take upon him to be head of the whole Church, from whom is derived this power of externall government: and the bishop doth no lesse in his Diocesan Church, that which he usurpeth differing in degree onelyonly and extension, not in kind from that which the Pope arrogateth. If it be said that his power is Antichristian, because it is universall: it is not so. For were the power lawfull, the universality could not make it Antichristian. The Apostles had an universality of authority, yet no Antichrists, because it did not make them heads, deriving to others from their fulnesse: it was not prince-like majority of power, but steward like and ministeriall onelyonly. If one doe usurpe a kingly power in Kent onelyonly, he were an Anti-king to our Soveraigne, no lesse for kind, then if he proclaimed himselfe King of England, S…otland, and Ireland. There is but one Lord, and many ministrations. Neither doth this make the Popes power papall, because it is not under a Synod: for the best of the Papists hold, and it is the most common tenent, that he is subject to an Oecumenicall Councell. Secondly, though he be subject, yet that doth not hinder but he may usurpe a kingly government: for a King may have a kingly power, and yet confesse himselfe accountable to all his people collectively considered: neither doth this make the Bishops lawfull in one Church, because one may manage it, and the Popes unlawfull, because none is sufficient to sway such a power through the whole Church: for then all the power the Pope doth challenge, is not per se, but per accidens, unlawfull, by reason of mans unsufficiency, who cannot we…ld so great a matter.