The due right of presbyteries, or, A peaceable plea for the government of the…

It is not inconvenient, that there be many Spouses, as in every true believer, there be many single acts of marriage love, and of believing, and so of taking Christ for their husband and Lord. A visible Church is the House of God, 1 Tim. 3. 15. the Temple of God, Rev. 3. 12. and yet every believer is a Temple, 1 Cor. 3. 17. and every one His House; seeing he dwelleth in them by saith, Ephes. 3. 17. also if this be a good reason, he speaketh of them all, as of one chaste virgin. Ergo, he speaketh of them all, as of one visible parochial Church. Then brethren, because Christ speaketh, Joh. 3. 29. of the whole Church of the new Testament, as of one bride of himself as the bridegroom, and of the whole Catholic Church, that Christ hath washen and redeemed, as of one glorious Virgin, Ephes. 5. 27. and of the one Lambs wife, Revel. 21. 9, 10. it shall follow that the Catholic church is one visible Church, and so one Parochial congregation, for you mock at a Catholic visible Church, (as your Author doth) who calleth it ^aa Chimaera, though without reason. 5. And certainly twenty believers in one house and so twenty hundred convened in one, yet out of Church-state, are a body married upon Christ in respect of his Spirit, and their faith laying hold on him, as on their husband; yea, and the Church of Corinth, as Saints by calling; and considered without the respect of a visible Churchfellowship, is more properly Christ• wife, and Christ their husband, ⟨p. 120⟩then they can be called Christs wife, for an external communion of a visible profession, which is common to them with many reprobates; yea, there is no ground at all to call a company, because of their visible profession, Christs wife, no doth Gods Word speak so; the converted by Prophets not in office are most properly his wife; and these may say, we have betrothed you to Christ; and be not deceived nor corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. Hence that place also is not for our brethren,