A93091:853
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.
CHAP. XVII.
Position 8. That one Minister cannot perform any Ministerial act in another Congregation.
Position 8. THat one Minister cannot performe any Ministeriall act in another Congregation.
Reply. The Preaching of the Word and public Prayer in the Congregation, meet together solemnly to worship God, &c. are properly Ministerial, &c.
Reply. The Preaching of the Word and publique Prayer in the Congregation, meet together solemnely to worship God, &c. are properly Ministeriall, &c.
Answ. Concerning our true sense and meaning in our answer to this Position we have spoken in the second consideration of the second and third Positions, to which we refer the Reader, only here we must ingenuously confess that our expression, That a Minister exercising in another Church, doth it not by virtue of any calling, but only by his gifts, is not so clear, but may occasion stumbling, yet the the next words following do fully express our minds, viz. that he doth not put forth such a Ministerial act of authority and power in dispensing of Gods Ordinances, as a Minister doth perform to that Church, whereunto he is called to be a Minister, for so he doth not perform any Ministerial act with that authority: he doth to his own which further clears up our expression in the second consideration, viz. that he is a Pastor of none but his proper flock, although some acts of his Office may extend beyond his own flock, as we have showed before; and therefore in this sense we may still conclude, that if the question be put to any Minister (so exercising in another church) which was once put to our Saviour, By what authority dost thou these things? let him study how to give an answer, for we have not yet learned it from this Reply. We confess there are some godly learned servants of Christ, who possibly may be otherwise minded, and think that a Minister preaching in another Congregation, doth it only as a gifted man; as the Refuter of Doctor Downam (with others in former times of Reformation) believed also. But we desire that if any difference appear herein, it may be no prejudice to the same cause for substance we maintain, if by sundry lines we all meet at last in the same point.