A Congregational Church of Christ,1 being completed with Officers, hath, by the gift of Christ, within it self, complete subordinate Church-power in all Church-affairs proper to it self. When I say, 1. It hath complete, or sufficient Church-power] Thereby I mean, 1. That it needeth not the influence of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of any other Church or Churches, or Classes, or Synods, to supply unto it any power that it wanteth, in its own matters; and 2. That it standeth not in subjection under any other Superior Ecclesiastical Judicatory, so as that thereby the judicial Acts of a particular Church may be hindered, or made void. In a word, Potestas uniuscujusque particularis Ecclesiae, in re propria, summa est. The ⟨p. 120⟩power of such a Church is Chief, in things proper to it self. 2. I add, that this chiefty of power, in a particular Church, is subordinate] To show, that the absolute Supremacy of power is in Christ; that which the Church hath, is only delegated from Christ. When a particular Church is completed with all its Officers, the Government of it, in respect of Christ the Head, is perfectly Monarchical; in respect of the Elders, acting their Authority, or Office-power, it is Aristocratical; and in respect of the Fraternity, acting its Chuch-power in Judgment, it is Democratical; and, in the concurrence of all the Members, both Officers and Brethren, acting according to their several interests, it is Aristocratico-Democratical; above which, Christ hath not set any higher Ecclesiastical Judicatory on Earth, subjecting particular Churches thereunto, in re propriâ. A clear proof of such power, as that which hath been described, you may see in the Church at Corinth excommunicating that incestuous person, in 1 Cor. 5.1-5. Say not, as some do, That was not an act of Judicial power in that Church, but of subjection to the Apostle who decreed it, and judged him before, and committed no more to the Church, ⟨p. 121⟩but the publishing of the sentence; for,2 though Paul, as an Apostle, judged that he should be excommunicated, yet he so judged only dogmatically, by teaching the Church what they ought to do in that case, not judicially, by his own sentence, delivering him to Satan; and accordingly the Church cast him out, by their own sufficiency of Church-power, within themselves, though in a way of subjection to the command of Christ delivered by Paul. For, 1.
A Congregational Church of Christ,1 being compleated with Officers, hath, by the gift of Christ, within it self, compleat subordinate Church-power in all Church-affairs proper to it self. When I say, 1. It hath compleat, or sufficient Church-power] Thereby I mean, 1. That it needeth not the influence of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of any other Church or Churches, or Classes, or Synods, to supply unto it any power that it wanteth, in its own matters; and 2. That it standeth not in subjection under any other Superior Ecclesiastical Judicatory, so as that thereby the judicial Acts of a particular Church may be hindered, or made void. In a word, Potestas uniuscujusque particularis Ecclesiae, in re propria, summa est. The ⟨p. 120⟩power of such a Church is Chief, in things proper to it self. 2. I add, that this chiefty of power, in a particular Church, is subordinate] To shew, that the absolute Supremacy of power is in Christ; that which the Church hath, is only delegated from Christ. When a particular Church is compleated with all its Officers, the Government of it, in respect of Christ the Head, is perfectly Monarchical; in respect of the Elders, acting their Authoririty, or Office-power, it is Aristocratical; and in respect of the Fraternity, acting its Chuch-power in Judgment, it is Democratical; and, in the concurrence of all the Members, both Officers and Brethren, acting according to their several interests, it is Aristocratico-Democratical; above which, Christ hath not set any higher Ecclesiastical Judicatory on Earth, subjecting particular Churches thereunto, in re propriâ. A clear proof of such power, as that which hath been described, you may see in the Church at Corinth excommunicating that incestuous person, in 1 Cor. 5.1-5. Say not, as some do, That was not an act of Judicial power in that Church, but of subjection to the Apostle who decreed it, and judged him before, and committed no more to the Church, ⟨p. 121⟩but the publishing of the sentence; for,2 though Paul, as an Apostle, judged that he should be excommunicated, yet he so judged only dogmatically, by teaching the Church what they ought to do in that case, not judicially, by his own sentence, delivering him to Sathan; and ac•ordingly the Church cast him out, by their own sufficiency of Church-power, within themselves, though in a way of subjection to the command of Christ delivered by Paul. For, 1.
- 17. Conclu.
- 2[Greek or Hebrew], 1 Cor. 5.3.〈non-Latin alphabet〉, 1 Cor. 5.3.
