A42757:858
Aaron's rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present…Aarons rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present…
Aaron's rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present Erastian controversy concerning the distinction of civill and ecclesiastical government, excommunication, and suspension, is fully debated and discussed, from the holy scripture, from the Jewish and Christian antiquities, from the consent of latter writers, from the true nature and rights of magistracy, and from the groundlessness of the chief objections made against the Presbyterial government in point of a domineering arbitrary unlimited power / by George Gillespie ...Aarons rod blossoming, or, The divine ordinance of church-government vindicated so as the present Erastian controversie concerning the distinction of civill and ecclesiasticall government, excommunication, and suspension, is fully debated and discussed, from the holy scripture, from the Jewish and Christian antiquities, from the consent of latter writers, from the true nature and rights of magistracy, and from the groundlesnesse of the chief objections made against the Presbyteriall government in point of a domineering arbitrary unlimited power / by George Gillespie ...
London: printed by E.G. for Richard Whitaker, 1646
Book 3 › Chapter 6: Of the power of binding and loosing Matth. 18. 18.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
CHAP. VI. Of the power of binding and loosing Matth. 18. 18.
They that do not understand Matth. 18. 17. of Excommunication, are extremely difficulted and scarce know what to make of that binding and loosing which is mentioned in the words immediately following v. 18. verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. Erastus and Grotius understand it of a private brother, or the party offended his binding or loosing of the offender. Bishop Bilson understands it of a civill binding or loosing by the Magistrate, whom he conceives to be meant by the Church vers. 17. These do acknowledge a coherence and dependence between vers. 17. and 18. Mr Prynne differing from them, doth not acknowledge this coherence, and expounds the binding and loosing to be ministerial indeed, but only Doctrinal. Some others dissenting from all these, do refer this binding and loosing not to a person, but to a thing or Doctrine, whatsoever ye shall bind, that is, whatsoever ye shall declare to be false, erroneous, impious, &c. Sutlivius though he differ much from us in the Interpretation of vers. 15, 16, 17. yet he differeth as much (if not more) from the Erastians in the Interpretation of vers. 18. for he will have the binding and loosing, to be Ecclesiastical and spiritual, not civill, to be Juridical, not Doctrinal only, to be Acts of Government committed to Apostles, Bishops ⟨p. 408⟩and Pastors: he alloweth no share to ruling Elders, yet he alloweth as little of the power of binding and loosing, either to the Magistrate, or to the party offended. See him de Presbyteri• Cap. 9. & 10. So that they can neither satisfy themselves nor others, concerning the meaning and the context.