Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n
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A42771
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A treatise of miscellany questions wherein many usefull questions and cases of conscience are discussed and resolved ... / by Mr. George Gillespie ... ; published by Mr. Patrik Gillespie ...
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Gillespie, George, 1613-1648.; Gillespie, Patrick, 1617-1675.
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1649
(1649)
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Wing G761; ESTC R8829
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216,733
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306
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it then to know that all shall be saved if all believe when men are told withall that all shall not cannot believe and so shall not be saved This latter they hold as well as we therefore their universall comfort taken from Christs dying for all men upon condition of Faith amounts to as much as nothing The true and safe grounds of encouragement to faith in Christ are these First Christs all-sufficiency if he will he can He is able to save to the uttermost Heb 7. 25. art thou a sinner to the uttermost his plaister is broad enough to cover the broadest sore As Gods mercy so Christs merit is infinite and the reason is because the blood is the blood of God as well as of man Act 20. 28. This is a good strong foundation of comfort if a soule convinced of its own sinfull estate and of the vanity of creature comforts doth so farre settle its thoughts upon Christ that as he is the only Saviour so an alsufficient Saviour Then is the sinner so far encouraged which is no smal encouragement as to resolve there is vertue enough in the blood of Christ to cleanse my crimson sins even mine There is no help for me out of Christ but in him there is help for all that come unto God by him T is a great part of true faith to believe that Christ is able and all-sufficient Therefore he himself said to the blind men Mat. 9. 28 29. Believe ye that I am able to do this They said unto him ye a Lord then touched he their eyes saying according to your faith be it unto you He that said Lord if thou wilâ—… thou canst make me clean was not rejected by Christ as an unbeliever but he got from him a good answer I will be thou clean Mat 8. 2 3. So every poor sinner that comes unto Christ alsufficient and believing that Christ and Christ only can purge him from all sin and save his soul hath a true though imperfect faith and is in a faire way for Salvation There is many a true believer whose faith cannot as yet rise so high as to stay and rest upon the good will and love of Jesus Christ to him in particular But the soul believes the alsufficiency of Christ and that he only is the Saviour and so cometh and draweth near unto God by and in Christ as the summum bonum which he values above all things and this his faith although it hath not yet attained to a particular recumbency on the love of Christ to him is a true faith which Christ will not despise Secondly Christs intention to die for all men and for the whole world that is for all sorts of sinners in the world and so for sinners of my kind may every poor sinner in particular think with himself Here is an universall encouragement unto all from a true and real ground and drawn from the will and intention as well as from the power and alsufficiency of Christ which I shall make good from Scripture for he hath died for all sorts of persons there is no condition excluded For this I take the 1 Tim 2. 6. Who gave himself a ransome for all so ver 4. who will have all men to be saved The meaning must needs be of all sorts not of all persons For besides that the Apostles all can be no more then Christs many Mat. 20. 28. the Sonne of man came to give his life a ransome for many this very Text hath aboundance of light to give it self if we look to the context either before or behind before there is an exhortation to pray for all men vers 1. which although the Arminians make an argument that all men is meant of all persons and not only of all sorts both in that verse and vers 4. 6. because say they we ought to pray for all men universally pro singulis generuÌ„ not only for all sorts yet t is indeed an argument for the contrary For to pray for all men without exception of any person is not commanded but we find the contrarie commanded Ieremiah was forbidden to pray or make intercession for the obstinat incorrigible Jews Ier 7. 16. 11. 14. 14. 11. God would not have Samuel to mourn for Saul after he was rejected of the Lord 1 Sam 16. 1. and we ought not to pray for such as sinne unto death i. e. the sin of blâ—…sphemy against the holy Ghost 1 Io 5. 16. Paul is so far from praying for Alexander the copper-smith that he imprecats the vengeance of God upon him 2 Tim 4. 14. wee may not pray for the Pope who is the great Antichrist and sonne of perdition neither may we pray for but against Babylon especially after the people of God are out of her We are bidden pray for our enemies but not for the malicious incorrigible enemies of Christ. Whâ—…refore when the Apostle bids us pray for all men His meaning is that we should exclud no degree nor kind of â—…en great oâ—… smal Jew or Gentile bound or free c. and so he doth upon the mater explain himself in the very next words for Kings and for all that are in authority he saith not for all Kings but he will not have us exclude Kings nor Queens as such from our prayers nor any other subordinat Rulers When he saith all that are in authority he means any kind of lawfull authority for we may not pray for those who are in any unlawfull or usurped authority in the Church Archbishops Bishops Deans Archdeacons c. which prayer were an approbation of their unlawfull callings in the Church I doe not say that we may not pray for the persons of any Archbishops Bishops c. but we may not pray for them as clothed with such an office or authority as we are there bid pray for Kings quatenus Kings that we may live under them a quiet and peaceable life in all godlines and honesty so that a King or Emperour as he is clothed with such authority may not be excluded from our prayers But if we look upon all Kings and Emperours personally individually or numâ—…cally so it cannot hold true that we ought to pray for all that are in Authority otherwise the ancient Church had been bound to pray for Iulian the apostate Again if we look to that which there followes after we find vers 8. I will therefore that men pray every where or in every place lifting up holy hands What means he by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He means not in every individuall place without exceptiâ—…n for this were neither possible because there are many places in which there are not neither can be any to pray nor fit because we ought not to pray with lifted up hands in the streets or in the mercat places there are fit places both for publick and privat prayer and there are also unfit places either for privat or publick prayer The meaning therefore is that the worship
and reformed Churches for they who were scattered abroad being driven away in the heat of persecution might not have the opportunity of Ordination and they went forth to gather Christians to plant Churches to lay foundations where Christ was not known Such cases were in the beginning excepted from the staâ—…e of our present question 5. If Apollos preached without Ordination when he knew onely the baptisme of Iohn and withall when he had to do with those Jews who were yet to be convinced that Jesus was the Christ Acts 18. 25 26 28. It is no good argument against the necessity of Ordination where the doctrine of Christ is known and receaved and Churches constituted And withall how will it be proved that Apollos having been one of Iohns Disciples had not some commission from Iohn to preach the Word Or if Apollos was but a gifted brother without any publick calling or authority in the Church how came he to be so much esteemed as to be compared with Peter and Paul 1 Cor 1. 12. Lastly as touching Christs preaching in the Synagogues hee was lookt upon as a Prophet extraordinarly râ—…ised up in Israel Luke 4 15. 16 24. and the Jews say of him plainly a great Prophet is risen up among us Luke 7. 16. Iosephus his testimony given to Christ as a great Prophet is known Object 2. The Church doeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by their voices in Election make creat constitute or ordain Elders Acts 14. 23. therefore Elders need no other Ordination but are sufficiently ordained or made by the Church if elected and receave their power from the people See this Objection prosecuted in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pag 9. 10. 11. And in the Queries touching Ordination pag 33. tom 37. Answ 1. There is no cogent reason brought by these men why 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if rendered thus as they would have it when they had by voices ordained must bee therefore understood of Ordination by the people and not by Paul and Barnabas for as I have before noted out of Calvìn Instit. lib 4. cap 3. § 15. The sence may bee this Paul and Barnabas did make and ordain Elders according to the voices of the Churches themselves that is they ordained such as the Church desired If so they are double loosers by this their Objection 2. If 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be meant of the Churches Act then it is not ordaining but choosing by voices The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought not to hinder the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Election with the Churches consent and Ordination are both of them necessary not inconsistent In Athens it self although the people did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 choose by voyces their Magistrates or Rulers yet the persons so elected were not ordained and solemnly set apart appointed and authorized by the people but by the Judges called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of whom Demâ—…sthenes orat advers Timoâ—…r tels us that they did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 took an oath to be faithfull in their constituting or ordaining of Mag strates 3. In Scripture we finde Election and Ordination frequently distinguished not only as distinct acts but oft times in distinct hands Deut. 1. 13. Moses said unto all Israel Take yee wise men and understanding and known among your Tribes and I will make them Rulers over you The people choose them who shall be Rulers but Moses maks them Rulers Acts 6. 3. Wherefore brethren look yee out among you seven men of honest report full of the holy Ghost and wisdome whom we may appoint over this businesse The people choose the Apostles appoint the Deacons 4 The choosing of a person to an office is not the authorizing of the person elected but the designation of the person to be authorized 'T is here with a person chosen as with a thing chosen Ezra was to choose and to designe when and how much silver wheat wine oyle should be taken for the House of the Lord not exceeding the proportion of a hundreth but the power and authority by which these things were given forth by the Thesaurers to be applyed to such uses was from the decree of Artaxerxes Ezra 7. 21 22. So Ester choosed what to make request for but the thing was to be performed by authority of the King 〈◊〉 5. 3 6. So a man may be chosen to an office by some and authorized to act in that office by others How many subordinat offices civill and military are there in which men act by the power and authority derived from the ordinances of Parliament although not nominated and chosen by the Parliament but by others intrusted by the Parliament to choose 5. Even where Election and Mission are in the same hands yet they are not confounded but are lookt upon as two distinct acts Christ first choosed the twelve and pitched upon such as he would and then ordained them and sent them forth Mark 3. 13. 14. The Synod of the Apostles and Elders first choosed then sent Iudas and Silas Acts 15. 22 25. Where you may observe also by the way that the Mission of a man to the Ministery or Pastorall charge of a Congregation doeth not belong to the people who choose him they cannot send him to themselves When Election and Mission are in the same hands 't is in such cases as thâ—…se two last cited when men are sent abroad to others then indeed they who choose them may also send them but when they are sent to those who choose them then they are sent by others a Minister is sent to the Congregation therefore he is not sent by the Congregation and so that place Rom 10. 15. How shall they preach except they be sent cannot be understood of the peoples Election but of Ordination or Mission from the Presbytery appointed to ordain 6. The same Apostolicall Patterne which holds forth unto us the choosing of Elders in every Church Acts 14. 23. doeth also hold forth unto us the ordaining of Elders in every City Tit 1. 5. and these acts in different hands therefore not the same yea as many conceave in that same Text Acts 14. 23. beside the Election by voyces th re is a distinct Ordination expressed under the adjuncts thereof prayer and fasting Object 3. The Apostle saith 1 Cor 14. 26. When yee come together every one of you hath a Psalme hath a Doctrine hath a Tongue hath a Revelation hath an Interpretation vers 13. yee may all prophesie one by one Therefore all that preach or prophâ—…sie need not to be ordainâ—…d Answ What those Prophets were and what is meant by prophesying there all are not of one opinion I hold that these Prophets were in mediatly and extraordinarly inspyred and I reckon them among these other administrations which wâ—…re not ordinary or ever to continue in the Church Apostles Evangelists Workers of miracles But of this I am to speak distinctly and by it selfe afterwards Mean while thâ—…y that make