The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as…

The word Ecclesia was a word in use among the Athenians, and came of the word [Greek or Hebrew], and signified an assembly of Citizens, that were called out from the multitude a• it were by name, or in their ranks by the voice of the public Crier, to hear some speech or sentence of the Senate and was thence borrowed by the Apostles for their purposes, by way of similitude: The Church or assembly of Gods people, being a company that came together, not by chance, or without order, but by the voice of Gods Ministers, as it were Criers, called out of the Kingdom of Satan, to hear the doctrine of the Gospel revealed from heaven. The common people in common speech, call the places set apart for the exercises of Religion, Churches. But so it is not taken here. In Scripture the word hath divers acceptations, for sometimes it signified, the assembly of the men of the world for their own businesses; and so that tumultuous Assembly ⟨p. 557⟩of the Ephesians was called a Church, Act. 20. 17. Sometime it signified the Assembly of the enemies of Gods people, Psal. 26. 5. this was the malignant Church. Sometimes it signified the meeting of a few Christians in a family, for religious private duties, so there were Churches in godly mens houses, Rom. 16. 5. Sometimes it signified a company of men in one City or Province, that did outwardly profess the true religion, 1 Cor. 11. 18. 22. and so usually in the writings of Divines, the company throughout the world so professing, is called the visible Church: and in this sense there may be hypocrites and scandalous Christians in the Church as well as godly men, as the Parable of the Tares and the Draw-net show. But so it is not taken in the Creed, for besides that this Church is holy, as these wicked are not, and enjoyeth remission of sins which they do not, besides this, I say, we are said in the Creed to believe this Church to be, which argues, that in it self it is invisible and known to God, and cannot be discerned by outward senses in the essential things of it. Sometimes by the Church is meant the public Officers in the Church, that have power of government and censure, as