B20736:25
The way of the churches of Christ in New-England, or, The way of churches…The vvay of the churches of Christ in New-England, or, The vvay of churches…
The way of the churches of Christ in New-England, or, The way of churches walking in brotherly equality, or co-ordination, without subjection of one church to another measured and examined bight golden reed of the sanctuary, containing a full declaration of the church-way in all particulars / by Mr. J. Cotton ...The vvay of the churches of Christ in New-England, or, The vvay of churches walking in brotherly equalitie, or co-ordination, without subjection of one church to another measured and examined bythe golden reed of the sanctuary, containing a full declaration of the church-way in all particulars / by Mr. J. Cotton ...
London: printed by Matthew Simmons, 1645
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.
PROPOS. 3.
For the joining of faithful Christians into the fellowship and estate of a Church, we find not in Scripture that God hath done it any other way then by entering all of them together, (as one man) into an holy Covenant with himself, To take the Lord (as the head of his Church) for their God, and to give up themselves to him, to be his Church and people; which implieth their submitting of themselves to him, and one to another in his fear; and their walking in professed subjection to all his holy Ordinances: their cleaving one to another, as fellow-members of the same body, in brotherly love and holy watchfulness unto mutual edification in Christ Jesus: For thus the Lord accepted and entered Abraham's ⟨p. 3⟩family into Church estate, by receiving them and their children into such a Covenant with himself, though In general terms, yet such as imply the substance both of Christians and Church duties, Gen. 17.7. And after that when the posterity of Abraham had violated this Covenant in Egypt, the Lord again made another Covenant with them, whereby he took them to be a peculiar people unto himself in the Wilderness and Mount of Sinai, Exod. 19.1.5. Whence they were called the Church in the Wilderness, Act. 7.38. And by reason of this Covenant, God calleth the whole body of that people as his own Spouse; I entered (saith he, speaking of that time) into a Covenant with thee; and thou becamest mine, Ezek. 16.8. Moreover, the next generation after them, he established them to be his Church and people, by entering them again into a Covenant, according to the Covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,