Selected quad for the lemma: father_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A49585
|
Large and sure foundations
|
|
1693
(1693)
|
Wing L437; ESTC R16686
|
19,344
|
15
|
Scriptures of the Old Testament how few things were necessary to be explicitely believed then Of the New Testament when all things were clearly reveal'd and setled only the Great things were required then St. Peter said Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God and Christ said upon this Rock will I build my Church c. And again thou hast the words of Eternal Life and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ Mat. 16.16.18 Joh. 6.68 69. the Son of the Living God Christ our Lord when risen from the Dead and had opened his Disciples Minds to understand the Scriptures ordered them to Teach all Nations Mat. 28.19 20. and to Baptize them in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and then to Teach them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them but not whatsoever they should devise Philip tells the Eunuch if he believed with all his heart he might be Baptized Acts 8.37 and was satisfied with this Confession of his I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God St. Paul many years after writing to the Romans saith if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Ro. 10.9 10. and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved for with the heart Man believeth c. And tells us what he had Preached to the Corinthians that they might be Saved How that Christ died for our Sins according to the Scriptures and that he was Buried 1 Cor. 15.1.4 and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures c. St. John saith 1 Joh. 3.23 This is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us Commandment And thus Obedience to the great Commands of Christ whether only revealed by him or also written in our Hearts is a necessary part of our Religion as well as the Belief of his Great Truths To love the Lord our God with all our heart and our Neighbour as our selves For Christ is the Author of Eternal Salvation to those only that obey him Mat. 22.37.39 Hebr. 5.9 2 Tim. 1.13 and we are to hold fast the form of sound words in Faith and Love which is in Christ Jesus And thus we find the Apostles practised They bore with many that held the true Foundation but taught and did amiss they bore with those at Jerusalem that were Zealous of the Law Acts 21. Rom. 14. They reprov'd those at Rome who despised them that durst not eat all things and those who judged them that durst eat all things but bore with both and Exhorted them to do so to one another And so in other places of the Acts and the Epistles they oft reprov'd and taught Believers better but never denied them to be of God's Church and no wonder since it pleases God not presently to Cure all whom he truly Converts of their Errours but usually doth it by degrees See Vossius and Usher de Symbolis Secondly The Ancient Practice and Creeds of the Church teach this for they are generally very short and contain only the main things of our Religion and agree in sense tho' not in the very words We may see this in Justin Martyr's Apollogie in Irenaeus Grotius on Mat. 28.19 l. 1. c. 2. l. 3. c. 4. in Tertullian de velandis Virgin c. 1. de Praescriptionibus c. 13. contra Praxeam c. 2. And so for a great while after tho' by degrees they grew larger yet not much as we see in most of them we now use And the Creed at first was only in those words at Baptism In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Thirdly Reason also speaks this fully that all things which are for the perfection and well-being of a thing are not necessary to the Being of it This holds true in all Persons and Things both Natural and Civil and must do so as to the Church of God All Rooms in the same House are not equally furnished or perfect yet are parts of the House And why not so with God's House Else a great many of his true Churches will be denied to be parts of his Universal Church and several Parties will in their Judgment cut off one another from it which is a heinous Sin how light soever some may make of it Fourthly The Judgment of Great Men tho' differing in many other things fully agrees in this with Scripture Reason and Antiquity I by no means build on this yet mention it to remove the strong prejudices that possess many and shut out the Truth Many Years ago reading Arch-Bishop Laud's Book against Fisher §. 9 I observ'd divers good Passages against narrow Foundations that * De noâ—â—s Eccl. c. 8. Bellarmin makes the Greeks no Church and so denies them Salvation that a chief means whereby Rome grew to her Greatness was to blast every Opposer by the Name of Heretick or Schismatick that in things necessary we have an absolute certainty in the Scriptures Creeds and the Four first General Councils §. 10. and in other things not absolutely necessary if Christians differ it is no more than hath been in all Ages more or less and yet may and do preserve one necessary Faith and Charity entire §. 38. And again that there 's a Latitude in Fundamentals for to whom much is given of him much shall be required as well in Belief as in Obedience the Sum of Obedience being in Mat. 22.37 39. and of Faith in Hebr. 11 6. or Act. 4.12 L. 3. de Trinit ad finem Instit l. 4. c. 1. and Cites Hilary In facili nobis est Aeternitas Jesum suscitatum a mortuis per Deum credere Ipsum esse Dominum confiteri In this he agrees with Calvin Sunt quaedam ita cognitu necessaria ut fixa esse omnibus oporteat §. 12. qualia sunt Unum esse Deum Christum esse Deum Dei Filium in Dei misericordia salutem nobis consistere Alia controversa quae Fidei Unitatem non dirimunt c. Multitudes of Foreign Writers might be alledged but I chuse rather to keep to our own Country Printed before His History of Scotland Arch-Bishop Spotswood in his Will briefly summed up the things in the Apostles Creed That God is one in 3 Persons the Father Creator of all things the Son made man in the fulness of time who by his bitter Death and Passion having redeem'd Mankind from death ascended into Heaven from whence he will come to judge all flesh and the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son the Sanctifier of all that believe That this God hath chosen to himself a Church the Members whereof living in Communion tho' never so dispers'd shall by his infinite mercy receive remission of all their sins and being rais'd in their Bodies at the last day