Of Liturgies Power of the Keys, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
Reply. TO the firſt conſideration: If by the Church be underſtood the ſociety of men profeſſing the entire faith, the ſeales are given to it, as peculiar priviledges, but if you underſtand a Congregationall aſſembly, the ſeales were never appropriated to it.
Anſw. 1 Our meaning is plain in the ſecond ſenſe, as may appear by the reaſons alledged againſt any ſuch univerſall Church, as inſtituted and politicall, wherein the ſeales are diſpenſed, which reaſons you anſwer not, but grant there is no ſuch Catholick Church in our ſenſe, pag. 21. And if no ſuch Church wherein the ſeales are adminiſtred, as we proved, then the cauſe it ſelf is yeelded, and the ſeales muſt belong to particular Churches.
2. Seeing the main hinge of this queſtion turns upon this point, to what Church the adminiſtration and participation of the ſeals belong, wee ſhall a little further open our ſelves in this point. And becauſe we affect and ſtudy peace with truth; we ſhall freely acknowledge,
Firſt, that as there is an inviſible Church and Body of Chriſt, conſiſting of all the elect, effectually called throughout the world in all ages of it, the whole family in heaven and earth: ſo unto Jeſus Chriſt, all the viſible beleevers and Churches of the world, are as one body to him, he governing, protecting, inſtructing all as his viſible body.
Secondly, we acknowledge a viſible communion of all the true Churches of the Lord Jeſus, in all offices of brotherly love, and in the holy things of Chriſt, ſo far as may appear, the Lord have ordained and commanded, and by his Providence called them to exerciſe one with another.
Thirdly, we grant that all true beleevers, where-ever they bee, have by faith in Chriſt, a true right and intereſt unto Jeſus Chriſt and all his benefits, whatſoever he hath purchaſed for them; but here we muſt firſt diſtinguiſh of theſe benefits of Chriſt, whereof ſome are meerly ſpirituall, inward, and flowing immediately from Chriſt unto them; and therefore peculiar to true beleevers, as juſtification, ſanctification, adoption, acceſſe to God in prayer, &c. ſome are outward and tending to the help and furtherance of our ſpirituall communion with Chriſt, being outward and viſible meanes thereof; and therefore are alſo extended to hypocrites being viſible beleevers, as the Miniſtery of the Word, Seals, Church-diſcipline, &c. And theſe cannot be diſpenſed by Chriſt immediately nor ordinarily, but by means of a viſible Church. 2. We diſtinguiſh of right to theſe outward benefits of Chriſt; which is either remote, called, jus ad rem; or near, and immediate, called, jus in r…; right to the enjoyment and fruition of it. Now in the firſt ſenſe we grant, all viſible beleevers have a right to ſeals, &c. But the immediate fruition of them, they muſt have mediante Eccleſiâ viſibili: now here lyes the true ſtate of the queſtion, Whether the Lord Jeſus have ordained an univerſall viſible Church, in which, and unto which, by the Officers thereof all theſe outward viſible priviledges and means of Grace, are to be diſpenſed and immediately enjoyed of the faithfull; or whether (not the remote right, but) the immediate fruition and adminiſtration of all theſe ordinances by the inſtitution of Chriſt, be given to particular viſible Churches; and ſurely to whom one of theſe is given, all are given: For there is the ſame nature, reaſon, and uſe of all, Miniſtry of the Word, Seals, Diſcipline, all are outward ordinances, priviledges, means of Grace, belonging to the viſible Church, where Chriſt hath given one, he hath given all. But we muſt confeſſe, however you call this, A new Church way, it is new to us to read ſo much of late, of ſuch a Catholick Church, to which adminiſtration of Seals, Cenſures, &c. belong. We are yet of the opinion of Baynes, Parker, and Cartwright, &c. that have againſt Papiſts and Prelates maintained, that in the new Teſtament there is no inſtituted Catholick, Nationall, or Provinciall Church; but onelyonly the Church of a particular Congregation, both for the reaſons alledged in our Anſwer, as alſo for the impoſſibility thereof in the days of the New Teſtament, when the Lord Jeſus ſent his Apoſtles into all the world; therefore impoſſible both in regard of diſtance of place, and variety of language almoſt ever to meet in one, ſo much as by repreſentation, and that not onelyonly by accident, as may befall a particular Church, by ſickneſs, perſecution, &c. but by the neceſſity of nature and invincible hinderances foreſeen by Chriſt, and intended by him. And therfore, as the Lord limiting his Church to one Nation, united it into that form of a Nationall Church, ordaining one place, ſtated times and duties of Worſhip, and one Government for the ſame: ſo now the Lord neglecting all ſuch things, hath ordained a compleat adminiſtration of all his ordinances in particular Congregations, and therefore if there be no other inſtituted viſible Church but of a Congregation, and Seals in their adminiſtration be given to the Church, our firſt conſideration will ſtill hold firm. But ſeeing in ſo vaſt a ſubject to ſay little, is to ſay nothing; and there is ſcarce any Truth in this wilie age but is almoſt diſputed out of countenance, and much darkned with humane evaſions; and ſeeing much depends upon this controverſie, it may be ſo moſt uſefull before we come to the defence of our argument to take into conſideration the nature and order of the viſible Church of Chriſt Catholick and particular. We are not ignorant of the knots and difficulties of this queſtion, which of late have ſo much exerciſed the minds of many Godly-learned: And we think the notions of a Catholick Church, as it is now held, being but newly taken up amongſt godly Reformers, who formerly ran in another channell, (as is ingenuouſly confeſſed by ſome according to the truth) this new-birth ſeems not yet ſo formed to its diſtinct proportions, as time may bring it unto: and it might make us afraid (being the weakeſt of many) to venture upon ſo diffuſe and knotty a queſtion, when we look upon our own inſufficiency to ſuch a task, and the Learned labors of ſuch in this Point, whom we reverence in the Lord: yet, when we conſider of what great weight and moment the clearing up of this Truth would be unto the orderly proceedings of the great Work of Reformation in hand; 2 How unavoydably it lyes in our way in this Work the Lord hath called us unto; and that he ſometimes doth vouchſafe to ſpeak by weak ones, that the praiſe may be his own, in hope of his bleſſed guidance which we depend upon herein, taking the light of his Word in our hands, we ſhall (rather as learners then otherwiſe) venture to propound what is ſuggeſted to us herein. Concerning which having digreſſed a while, we ſhall return (we hope) with ſome advantage of clearer evidence to juſtifie the firſt argument of the Anſwer, againſt what is ſaid in the Reply.