Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	apostle_n	authority_n	lord_n	3,314	5	3.5724	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54081	John Penington's Complaint against William Rogers relating to the memory of his worthy father Isaac Penington in mis-representing and perverting some of his writings in his book entituled The Christian Quaker distinguished from the apostate and innovator &c. : whereunto is subjoined somewhat to manifest his mother Mary Penington's not shunning sufferings for truth &c. occassioned by W.R.'s suggesting the contrary.; Complaint against William Rogers	Penington, John, 1655-1710.; Rogers, William, d. ca. 1709. Christian Quaker distinguished from the apostate & innovator.	1681 (1681)	Wing P1225; ESTC R28797	10,152	17

John Penington's COMPLAINT AGAINST William Rogers Relating to the Abuse and Injury done to the memory of his worthy Father Isaac ●●nington in mis-representing and perverting some of his Writings in his Book entituled The Christian Quaker distinguished from the Apostate and Innovator c. Whereunto is subjoined Somewhat to manifest his Mother Mary Penington's not shunning Sufferings for Truth c. occasioned by W. R's suggesting the contrary Evil men and Seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned 2 Tim. 3. 13 14. Nevertheless the Foundation of God stands sure chap 2. v. 19. London Printed for Benjamin Clark Bookseller in George-Yard in Lombard-street 1681. John Penington's Complaint c. THat men that profess Religion yea which is more gross the Truth it self should imploy their Skill Wit and utmost Endeavours to smite and vilifie such as were and are honourable therein and that not through Ignorance but wilfully and designedly is truly sad to consider An instance whereof I shall here give in this my Complaint against William Rogers wherein I wish I could charge him with only rashness and indiscretion and not with premeditated and palpable falshood of which he is notoriously guilty This let not the Reader take upon my bare word only as I doubt from his seeming fairness too many have his but read his Book and observe the drift thereof then he will see whether I had not just cause thus to reflect on him and by comparing my Father's Book with his quotations be able to judge whether it did not behove me to vindicate whom he had thus traduced and lay the load at his own door But that I may not divert him too long from the proof I hasten to make good my Charge William Rogers in part 3. pag. 88. of his Book falsly stiled The Christian Quaker c. saith We think it necessary to cite a Testimony published in Print by Isaac Penington the younger in the year 1660. being part of a Discourse entituled The Authority and Government which Christ excluded out of his Church c. as it lies all together word for word and not taken by parts and pieces here and there Who would have desired fairer dealing than this But here I charge him with a down-right falshood and impious prevarication who with a Judas-kiss I mean a shew of candour and integrity with which he would prepossess and beguile his unwary and credulous Reader labours to betray the Truth and its sincere Professors into the hands of the wicked and ungodly For notwithstanding he so solemnly professes to give the Testimony not by parts and pieces but as it lay altogether and calls it The Testimony of the said Isaac Penington as if it were the whole yet instead of keeping touch herein he hath leapt over some leaves at the beginning explanatory of the rest and left out an intire sentence at the close which he knew would n●● serve his turn but if fairly and impartially set down would have both rendred his work insignificant and detected the falseness of his dealing as it could not but have manifested to every considerate Reader That W. R's deduction was not genuine but forc'd which I cannot believe him unsensible of and therefore with design to have done it For he could not but see that what was there laid down did infer a necessity of Church-Government a thing he would insinuate neither my Father nor Friends in the beginning owned or allowed And to make this good indeed there was no surer way than to let fall what spake to the contrary which course W. R. hath taken and begins his quotation with the latter part of an Answer to a Question which he was so unworthy as well as untrue to his word as never to transcribe nor the first part of the Answer neither These base under-hand dealings are so far from becoming a pretended Friend that they are not like a fair Adversary and so unsuitable to a Christian Quaker that they would be cause of shame to a moral Heathen The Question propounded by my Father was as may be seen part 1. p. 238. of his Works Quest But is there to be no Greatness no Authority among the Disciples of Jesus or in the Church of Christ Is every one to do what he will to be subject to his own Fancies and Imaginations to the Inventions of his own corrupt heart What a confused Building will this be Sure this will not long remain a Zion but soon become a Babylon even an heap of disorder and confusion To which my Father replied as followeth Answ There is to be no such kind of greatness no such kind of Authority yet there is both a Greatness and Authority suitable to the state of Disciples suitable to that kind of Kingdom whereof they are There are Laws there are Governments there are Governours there is Ruling and there is Subjection but all in the Spirit all suitable to that which is to be governed but no government of or according to the Flesh As Christ's Kingdom is not of this world so the government of his Church and People is not according to this world but as that which gathers is his Spirit and that which is gathered is spiritual so that which is governed is the Spirits of his People and they are to be governed by his Spirits and spiritually and not after a fleshly manner Thus Christ himself though he ministred to his Disciples yet he was also their Lord and Master and in the Spirit and Life of the Father ruled over them and thus the Apostles and other Ministers of Christ had likewise in the Spirit the care of the Churches and Authority in the Lord by his Spirit to govern the Spirits of his People not to govern after a fleshly manner by their own wills not to prescribe them in a lordly way either what they should believe or practice but in the Light and in the Power of the Spirit to make their way into every ones Conscience in the sight of God ministring to every one in the Spirit according to their capacity and growth and waiting patiently for God to convey the food and nourishment and to build their Spirits up in the Faith thereby The Spirit of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets Here is the Government here is the Law of rule and subjection in the Life Every one feeling a measure of the Spirit in himself is thereby taught to own and subject to a greater measure of the same Spirit in another He that hath no measure of the Spirit of God he is not of God he is none of Christ's and he that hath received a measure of the Spirit in the same Spirit feels anothers measure and owneth it in its place and service and knoweth its moving and cannot quench it but giveth way to it with joy and delight When the Spirit moves in any

one to speak the same Spirit moves in the other to be subject and give way and so every one keeping to his own measure in the Spirit here can be no disorder but true subjection of every Spirit and where this is wanting it cannot be supplied by any outward rule or order set up in the Church by common consent for that is fleshly and lets in the Flesh and destroys the true Order Rule and Subjection Thus far my Father All this W. R. never so much as mentions which was the occasion of all that he quotes and to which it was relative but what follows more immediately relating to the Government and Authority Christ excluded rather than to what he allowed we find him cite at large till the subject pinch'd him anew again which was a few words conclusive of the whole and that wound up his sense which it seems W. R. was not pleased to give us And had he not had the confidence to say That he had not taken it by parts and pieces but All together I should have the less wondered But that a man pretending to Truth should thus prevaricate in the face of the world I cannot sufficiently admire Yet whither will not men run to propagate an Interest or defend a blasted Cause O that they would consider it O that they would lay it to heart That which W. R. left out at the close were these words as may be seen part 1. p. 242. of my Father's Works And the unity being thus kept all will come into one outwardly also at length as the Light grows in every one and as every one grows into the Light but this must be patiently waited for from the hand of God who hath the right way of effecting it and who alone can do it and not harshly and cruelly attempted by the rough hand of man This would fully have evinced that my Father did not only point at an inward Government of God's Spirit in particulars but also laid down That as the Life grew in every one and every one grew into the Light it would bring into one outwardly also at length which is far from W. R.'s purpose and therefore designedly left out For the whole drift of that very part of W. R's Book as the very Title-page exhibits is to tie up all to an inward Government of Christ exclusive of any outward Form of Government Order or Discipline And he cannot be content to be thus principled himself but would make it appear as my Father's sence too though these his words with many more omitted by him are of a contrary tendency which he durst not for all his shew of candour and promise to take altogether as it lies trust his Reader with lest his untrue inferences should be too conspicuous Thus much of his quotations which being first compared with the Book are now attested by Benjamin Clark Now I dare appeal to any unbyassed judicious Reader whether W. R. hath not dealt fallaciously deceitfully and surreptiously as well as unrighteously thus to insist as if he had been so fair and conscientious in his quotations when he hath been so egregiously the contrary And since his scope and design in printing that part of my Father's Testimony seems to be that he might thereby insinuate as if my Father at the writing of that Testimony was in judgment one with himself and opposite to or different from the Government Established and now practised in the Church of Christ among us as some of that Party have traduced him by word of mouth let the Reader take the following instances out of that part of the same discourse which W. R. hath knowingly omitted And first at the beginning of the Answer to the Question p. 238. par 1. transcribed already above my Father hath these words There is to be no such kind of greatness no such kind of authority meaning as was exercised among the Gentiles p. 236. yet there is both a greatness and authority suitable to the state of Disciples suitable to that kind of Government whereof they are Again There are Laws there are Governments there are Governours there is ruling and there is subjection but all in the Spirit all suitable to that which is to be governed but no Government of or according to the Flesh Again Thus the Apostles and other Ministers of Christ had likewise in the Spirit the care of the Churches and authority in the Lord by his Spirit to govern the Spirits of his People not to govern after a fleshly manner by their own wills not to prescribe them in a lordly way either what they should believe or practice but in the Light and in the Power of the Spirit to make their way into every ones conscience in the sight of God c. Again Every one feeling a measure of the Spirit in himself is thereby taught to own and subject to a greater measure of the same Spirit of another Now let us see whether even out of that very part W. R. hath quoted there be not words to the same effect as where p. 94. par 3. of W. R's Book my Father saith Care must be had that nothing govern in the Church of Christ but the Spirit of Christ that nothing else teach nothing else exhort nothing else admonish and reprove nothing else cut off and cast out Again Every Member is to wait in that measure of the Spirit which he hath received to feel the goings forth of the Spirit in him that teacheth and governeth and so to subject not to man but to the Lord to receive from the Lord to obey the Lord. Whence W. R. might have easily observed that my Father though he placed the Government of the Church in the Spirit of Christ only as the Principal and Efficient yet he acknowledgeth the Administration of that Government is committed both to Ministers and Members as Instuments But for a more full and additional satisfaction to any that may desire further information in this matter I refer the Reader to a Book entituled Somewhat relating to Church-Government wherein the Necessity Vsefulness and blessed Effects of the true Church-Government is here and there hinted at c. published since his death but written by himself in answer to some Apostates and Innovators who probably may account themselves Christian Quakers as well as W. R. Indeed I am surprized not expecting such kind of dealing nor could have thought his heart had been so hardned as not to value the justness of a cause so he could but promote his tottering Fabrick Will he prostitute Soul Reputation and all in a stiffness against the Lord and his People The Lord keep me in a tender sense of and regard to them and that living Testimony they are entrusted withal that I may not through prejudice fight against any thing that is of him either in my own particular or through his Servants whom he is blessing and honouring in his Work having seen the ill effects of it in