A57976:277
A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbytery in Scotland, or, A modest and…A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbyterie in Scotland, or, A modest and…
A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbytery in Scotland, or, A modest and brotherly dispute of the government of the Church of Scotland wherein our discipline is demonstrated to be the true apostolic way of divine truth, and the arguments on the contrary are friendly dissolved, the grounds of separation and the independency [sic] of particular congregations, in defence of ecclesiastical presbyteries, synods, and assemblies, are examined and tried / by Samuel Rutherfurd ...A peaceable and temperate plea for Pauls presbyterie in Scotland, or, A modest and brotherly dispute of the government of the Church of Scotland wherein our discipline is demonstrated to be the true apostolick way of divine truth, and the arguments on the contrary are friendly dissolved, the grounds of separation and the indepencie [sic] of particular congregations, in defence of ecclesiasticall presbyteries, synods, and assemblies, are examined and tryed / by Samuell Rutherfurd ...
London: printed for John Bartlet, 1642London: printed for Iohn Bartlet, 1642
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.
this must follow, that as to make one a Pastor, and to make twelve men Deacons and Elders, and so such as hath joint power of the keys, even by the grant of Separatists, with the rest of the Congregation, there is not faith in Christ required as an essential element, as I have proved from Mat. 7. 22. so to make these twelve members of a visible Congregation, Faith is not essentially required (suppose it be morally required) so by that same reason to make other twelve members in that visible society in Christ, faith were not required, as to make Demas, Ananias, Sapphira, Magus, Alexander, Hy•••cus and some moe of that kind a visible Church: There is no more required but that profession of faith which moved the Apostolic Church to make them members of a true Church visible: For what maketh formally a member of a Church visible, to wit, profession of the faith, that same maketh forty also members of a visible Church, and quae est ratio constitutiva partium, est etiam const• tutiva totius. That which formally constituteth a part, doth formally constitute the whole, where the whole is made of parts of the same nature, as what is essential to make a quart of water, that is essential to make a whole sea of water, and every part of the visible Church is visible, and a visible professor, as visibility denominateth the whole, so doth it every part of the whole. And from this I infer this fourth, That a ⟨p. 107⟩visible Church as visible, doth not essentially and necessarily consist of believers; but only of professors of belief, so that a Church and a visible Church may be opposed by way of contradiction, as a number of believers, and a number of non-believers. For a Church essentially is a number of believers and Christs mystical body, else it is not a Church, that is, a number of persons effectually called; for this cause I grant an Eldership of a congregation; a Synod Provincial or National are unproperly called a Church; and howbeit we list not to strive about names, we may grant our General assembly not to be properly called a National Church, but by a figure, for the believers of the Nation are properly the National Church, I mean a mystical believing Church.
this must follow, that as to make one a Pastor, and to make twelve men Deacons and Elders, and so such as hath joynt power of the keyes, even by the grant of Separatists, with the rest of the Congregation, there is not faith in Christ required as an essentiall element, as I have proved from