A93091:603
A treatise of liturgies, power of the keys, and of matter of the visible…A treatise of liturgies, power of the keyes, and of matter of the visible…
A treatise of liturgies, power of the keys, and of matter of the visible church. In answer to the reverend servant of Christ, Mr. John Ball. By Thomas Shepherd, sometimes fellow of Emanuel-College in Cambridge, and late pastor of Cambridge in New-England.A treatise of liturgies, power of the keyes, and of matter of the visible church. In answer to the reverend servant of Christ, Mr. John Ball. By Thomas Shephard, sometimes fellow of Emanuel-Colledge in Cambridge, and late pastour of Cambridge in New-England.
London: printed by E. Cotes for Andrew Crooke, 1652
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Reply. A company of converts unbaptized ought to desire baptism, but they have no power to elect one amongst themselves to dispense the seals unto the rest, &c. It can never be showed in Scripture that any society of unbaptized did first choose from among themselves a Pastor or Teacher by whom they might be baptized, you cannot produce one example or other proof in Scripture of one man teaching the Gospel ministerially, but he was baptized and a member of a true Church or of a society, who made choice of a Pastor or Teacher, but they were baptized persons.
Reply. A company of converts unbaptized ought to desire baptisme, but they have no power to elect one amongst themselves to dispense the seales unto the rest, &c. It can never bee shewed in Scripture that any society of unbaptized did first choose from among themselves a Pastour or Teacher by whom they might bee baptized, you cannot produce one example or other proofe in Scripture of one man teaching the Gospel ministerially, but hee was baptized and a member of a true Church or of a society, who made choyce of a Pastor or Teacher, but they were baptized persons.
Answ. 1 If all this were granted that when Churches were gathered by Apostles and extraordinary officers out of persons unbaptized, they were first baptized into Church fellowship, before they chose Officers, and so long as the Apostles remained, enjoyed from them other ordinances, as Act. 2. and so had no Officers chosen by themselves, but by Christ immediately for them, yet as when the Apostles left them, they must choose Officers if they ⟨p. 156⟩will enjoy ordinances: So when there is no such Apostles nor Evangelists, nor no need of baptism, (as is usually the cause of Christians arising out of popery) in this case we say such Churches can partake of no ordinances without they choose officers, and yet this varieth not from the Scripture pattern neither. But only so far as the state of those believers differ, when Paul found about twelve believers at Ephesus, who were baptized by John the Baptist,