Teaching does indirectly imply any Command the Apostles and their Successors might at least by indirect ways and means exercise an Authority over Christians viz. by denying them the Doctrine of the Gospel which shews Men the way to Salvation unless they would in other Matters also submit themselves to their Authority For who would not rather submit to any thing than to be deprived of that Doctrine which leads us to Heaven and frees us from eternal Punishment But it cannot in the least be supposed that such Extortions could ever enter into the Apostles Thoughts who joyfully gave for nothing what they had received for nothing and judged it a heinous Offence in Simon who pretended to make a Trade of the Gospel St. Paul says Though 1 Cor. 9. 1â— I preach the Gospel I have nothing to glory of for Necessity is laid upon me yea wo is unto me if I preach not the Gospel Neither do I see which way they could have made their market by the Gospel For what is not understood is not valued if therefore they would raise in the People a desire to the Gospel it must of necessity be first taught them Neither is there any Reason to suppose that the same Men who rather would loose their Lives than neglect their Divine Commission should be guilty of so hainous a Crime And the Doctrine of the Gospel being now a-days sufficiently spread abroad it would be in vain for the Clergy of one Province or Commonwealth to deny the Doctrine of the Gospel to its Inhabitants in case they would not comply with their Demands since if they should persist in their Folly there would not be wanting such as would supply their Places without reluctancy Neither did Christ absolutely commit his Doctrine to the sole Management of the Priests in such a manner as by Tradition to be transplanted from one to another but he ordered it to be put in Writing not to be kept close up by any one certain Colledge or Society who were invested with a particular Prerogative to loâ—k into it like it was at Rome with the Sybilline Oracles and granted a general Priviledge for every Body to peruse it and to instruct themselves in the Christian Doctrine and in such other Points as belonged to the Ministry of the Gospel But if a foreign Priest should attempt to forbid the exercise of Religious Worship in another Common-wealth scarce any body unless quite prepossed with Superstition would make the least account of it The Venetian Commonwealth has given us a notable instance of this Nature in our Age For tho' the Venetians are Roman Catholicks nevertheless did they oblige their Priests to exercise the Ministerial Function in Whether the power of Absolution imply any right to a Sovereignty spite of the Pope's Commands to the contrary § 22. It seems to be a Matter of the greatest Consequence and therefore the more to be taken notice of when it is said That our Saviour did give the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to St. Peter and the rest of his Apostles so that whatsoever they should bind on Mat. 16. 19. S. Joh. 20. 13. Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever they should loosen on Earth shall be loosened in Heaven The whole Matter duely examined appears to be of the highest moment viz. to have the Power of excluding Sinners from the Kingdom of Heaven and of admiting such as are freed by their Absolution For what is it that may not be obtained from a Sinner in this case especially if the Priest refuse him Absolution unless he promises a blind Obedience to his Demands It ought therefore to be taken into serious consideration what is the true meaning of this Metaphorical Locution viz. The Keys of the Kingdom of Hâ—aven since What is to be understood by the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven the same admits of divers Explicaâ—ions in the holy Scripâ—ture In the Rev. 1. 18. the Son of God says of himself That he has the Keys of Hell and of Death which is explained by some that he has the Power of inflicting Punishment as if he would say I have power to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell as it is expressed in St. Matthew 10. 28. Tho' by this also might be understood the power of delivering from Death and Hell and to destroy the force of Death and Hell It is also spoke of the Scribes That they have the Key of Knowledge which is Luk. 11. 52 by some applied to their Function of Teaching Wisdom to others Tho' this may also be understood from the holy Scripture it self the true Spring of Knowledge and Wisdom the Interpretation of which did in a most peculiar manner belong to their Function In the Book of Revelation the Son of God is said to have the Key of David that he opened and no 3. 7 9. 1. 20 1. Man shutteth and shutted and no man opened And in the 22th Chapter of Isaiah it is said of â— 22. Eliakim the Son of Hilkiah That the Key of the House of David shall be laid upon his Shoulder so that he shall open and none shall shut and he shall shut and none shall open Where the word Key cannot be taken for an absolute or despotick Power but for a Ministerial Function like to that of a Steward such a one as St. Paul had prosessed himself and his Fâ—llow Apostles Out of these several places 1 Cor. 4. 1. if duely compared this general Assertion may be made that to have the Keys of a certain thing is as much as to say to have the means to attain or to come to it But how far these Means are at our disposal and what use ought to be made of them must be gathered out of other Circumstances § 23. Fuâ—thermore it is to be considered What is to understood by absolving from Sins That the use of these Keys is appropriated to the binding and forgiving of Sins For as soon as our Sins are taken away or which is the same in effect if our Sins are forgiven other Means of Salvation being not neglected the Kingdom of Heaven is open to us But as long as the Sins remain upon us and produce their pernicious Effects the Kingdom of Heaven is shut up against us nothing of unclean being to enter there If therefore a true Judgment is to be given of what share of Power the Apoâ—â—les had in forgiving and retaining of Sins a due enquiry must be made of what is to be understood by forgiving and retaining of Sins He that does an unjust Act commits an Offence both against the Legislator whose Authority is thereby voilated and against him who is damnified by it Besides this there are some Offences of such a Nature as to touch whole Societies as far as their Reputation is thereby impair'd the Crime committed by one of their Members being oftentimes attributed to the whole Body It is therefore from the Damage which the
Legislator a single Person or whole Society receive by such an Offence that an Action lies against the Offender In the same manner as a Creditor has a right to sue his Debtor for a Debt contracted with him In which respect it is that Sins are often called Debts in the holy Scripture But in this double or sometimes threefold Action which arises from one Offence committed against several Persons each is to be considered as separate from the other so that tho' one Action be taken off the other remains notwithstanding this in full force For as God does not remit Sins Mat. 5 23. 24. without Satisfaction given from the Offender to the offended Person So tho' the Offender be reconciled to the offended nevertheless is he obliged to seek for Remission of his Sin by God And if the Offence be hainous and of such a Nature as to be scandalous to a whole Society he ought there also to endeavour his Reconcilation by begging forgiveness of them Therefore to remit a Sin is the same Thing â—â— to remit an Action or to release one from an Action which the offended Party had against the Offender And he that has an Action against another by reason of some Offence committed against him may properly be said to have Power to remit that Offence or Sin as far as his Action reaches For God himself does not make use of his uncontrouled Power of remitting of Sins so as without any further Respect and by his mere Pleasure to remit their Sins to some and to punish others For to pardon Offences promiscuously without any further regard but bare Pleasure is in effect to render Laws ineffectual and Laws are made to no purpose by him who at the same time grants a License of Trespassing against them And because it was beyond all Human Power to give Satisfaction to God Almighty for our Offences our Saviour Jesus Christ has made use of a most wonderful Moderation betwixt Justice and Mercy in giving due Satisfaction in his own Person So that whoever by the Faith appropriates the same to himself thereby obtains Remission of his Sins from God And as to that part which belongs to Men to forgive God has commanded them not to be rigorous if the Offender beg forgiveness because every one of us must every day expect Forgiveness of his Sins from God Almighty and we all commit sometimes Offences against our Neighbours who if they would all act rigorously with us our Condition would be most deplorable Wherefore we ought to forgive our Mat. 6. 12 14 15. c. 5. 25 c. 18 25. Luke 17. 3. Debts as we would have others forgive us their Debts Neither are we to be too rigorous against such Sinners as have by their Offences proved scandalous to a whole Society but if they seriously repent we ought not to deny them our Pardon It is also worth our further Observation That the following Words Verily I say unto you whatsoever you shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever you shall loosen on Earth shall be loosened in Heaven are Mat. 18. 18. spoken by Christ also of the Remission of an Offence by the Party offended Neither does the Sense of the preceding Words allow to apply them only to his Disciples they being spoken not only to the Apostles but to the Believers in general § 24. Supposing then that the Apostles were Vnder whose name and authority the Apostles did exercise this power of Absolution to remit such Sins as were not committed against them it must necessarily follow That they when they remitted Sins did it either in the name of such particular Persons against whom the said Sins were committed or in the name of a whole Society or else in the name of some Human or Divine Legislator Now it is certain that no body can remit another Man's lawful Action without his order or consent no more than you can lawfully take away another's Right or Property and therefore it is absolutely necessary first to make our peace with the Person offended without which we ought not to seek for Pardon from God Almighty at least he that has offended ought to take first a firm Resolution to give Satisfaction as far as is in his Power Christ says Mat. 5. 24. Luke 19. 8. First be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift And St. Paul offered to make Satisfaction to Philemon for what Damage he had received from Onesimus From hence arises v. 18 19. that general and common Rule That if Restitution be not made there can be no Remission of the Sin For it is ridiculous and a contradiction in it self to profess to God Almighty a true Repentance for an unjust Act and at the same time enjoy the benefit of it But as for the Remission of such enormous Crimes as were committed against a whole Society the Apostles had their share in it as is evident out of the 1 Epistle to the Corinâ—h â— 5. 4 5. and 2 Corinth c. 2. 10. c. 11. 29. and will be more treated of hereafter It will be sufficient in this place to take notice that what Authority was exercised by them in this kind was much inferior to that power which they had received of Retaining and Forgiving of Sins But to remit Sins in the name of those that had the Sovereign and Legislative Power in the State did not belong to the Apostles their Commission and Power being not to interfer with the Civil Jurisdiction or to diminish its Prerogatives Wherefore Civil Magistrates justly may and do punish Offenders according to the Laws of the Realm notwithstanding they have made their peace with God The only way then for the Apostles was to forgive Sins in the Name of God by whose Authority they had received their Commission as is evident out of these Words Whatsoever you shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever you shall loosen on Earth shall be loosened in Heaven § 25. But if we propose to form to our Of what nature this Power was selves a true Idea of the Power granted to the Apostles when the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were given unto them and how far it extends it self we must take into serious Consideration in what manner Christ himself did remit Sins whilst he lived among us upon Earth This is sufficiently manifest out of several Passages in St. Matthew 9. 2. Mark 2. 3. Luke 5. 20. c. 7. 47 48 39 50. where our Saviour verifies his Power of forgiving of Sins by a Miracle which could not but be the effect of a Divine Power Besides this there was no Plaintiff or Defendant there was no open or express Confession of Sin but as soon as Christ saw their Faith he pronounced Remission of Sin And if we peruse the whole New Testament it will most evidently appear that neither Christ nor his Apostles did forgive Sins in a judicial way where Crimes
publick unless with Consent or at least Connivance of the Higher Powers who may put a stop to them at Pleasure But the Case is quite different with the Apostles who having received their Commission of Teaching from Christ the same cannot be annulled by any Civil Power so as to oblige them either to be silent or to alter their Doctrine when commanded neither can they be esteemed disobedient or rebellious if they refuse in this Point to follow the Commands of Civil Magistrates It is very remarkable what Christ spoke to his Apostles by way of Preface when he was just going to put them into Possession of their Office Thâ—se were his Words All Power is given unto me in Heaven Mat. 28. 18. and in Earth And that this Power might not be mistaken for a Temporal Authority as exercised by Sovereigns over their Subjects but to be understood of the Power of leading Mankind and shewing them the true Way to Salvation plainly appears out of our Saviour's Words when he speaks thus concerning himself to his heavenly Father As thou hast given S. Joh. 17. 2 3. him power over all Flesh that he should give eternal Life to as many as thou hast given him And this is eternal Life that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent And in St. Luke He that heared you heared me and he that despised you despised me 10 16. and he that despised me despised him that sent me The holy Apostles therefore could not by any Civil Power on Earth be absolved from this Command of Preaching the Doctrine of Christ throughout the World and Baptizing such as received this Doctrine They were instructed with the Gift of doing Miracles as a Proof of their Authority and Verity of their Doctrine which being now sufficiently propogated and received by so many these Miriacles are become useless Like it is the Custom in some Countries that new Laws are published under the Sound of Trumpets which is never repeated after the first Promulgation They having then received their Authority from Christ it was a vain Expropration which was made to St. Paul by the Athenians when they said What will this Babler say Neither Act. 17. 18. could they be justly punished because they went about to abolish the antiently received Rites and Ceremonies And when they were commanded to desist from spreading their Doctrine they might legally refuse to be obedient in this Case For they ought to obey God Acts 4. 19. 5. 29. rather than Men Nay they were rather to undergo corporal Punishment than to renounce the Doctrine of Christ And those Princes Mat. 10. 28 32 3â— that violently opposed the Christian Doctrine are so far from having exercised a legal Civil Authority that they have rather made themselves guilty of a most enormous Crime against the Divine Majesty by violating his Legats or Ministers it being sufficiently known that publick Ministers sent by Temporal Princes are esteemed inviolable The Apostles never assumed a Power to Command § 20. Besides this Power of Preaching the Gospel even in opposition to any Civil Command there is nothing to be met withal in the whole Apostolical Doctrine that has the least resemblance of Command or force 'T is not to be denied but that sometimes Teaching cannot so well be performed without something of Force or Command especially among young People But this has its off-spring from the Paternal Authority and is from â—hâ—nce derived unto others But the Apostles were to Teach whole Nations such as were independent from others and past all School Discipline And what could one single Body or perhaps two and that without Weapons pretend to do by Force against whole Nations and Commonwealths It was therefore That the Apostle said The Weapons of our Warfare are not carnal but mighty 2 Cor. 10. 4. 5. through God to the pulling down of Strong-holds casting down Imaginations and every high thing that exalted it self against the Knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every Thought to the obedience of Christ And these Weapons are more plainly described in the foregoing 6 Chap. to be Patience Tribulations Necessities Destresses â— Cor. 6. 4. seq Stripes Imprisonments Labours Fastings Watchings Pureness Knowledge Kindness the Holy Ghost unseigned Love the Word of Truth the Power of God the Armour of Righteousness and such like as may more at large appear out of several places especially out of the Epistle to the Ephes 6. 11 out of the 2 d. to the Corinth 8. 8 9 7. to the Coloss 1. 23 25 and out of the 2 d. to the Thessal 3. 12 14 15. Luk. 14. â— 3. 'T is true in the Parallel of the great Supper the Master of the Feast orders his Servants to go out and compel them to come into his House which is as much to say as to oblige them to come in but not by forcible Means or Threatnings or to pull them in by Head and Shoulders but in such a manner as was suitable to an invitation to so great a Feast by Prayers and Exhortations and making them sensible of the Majesty and Greatness both of the Master and the Feast In the same manner as St. Paul expresses it We are Ambassadours 2 Cor. 5. 20. for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled to God And what can be more evident than that Ambassadours never pretend to any Authority over those unto whom they are sent but that their Negotiations ought to be accomplished by force of Reason and Perswasions The word also of feeding which is used by St. John implies nothing of Command Chap. 21. but only the due Administration of Food especially since our Saviour told expresly to Peter Feed my sheep not thine lest he should be apt to imagine by the said words he had liberty given him to use his Flock according to his own Discretion But to make him sensible he was bound up to the same Rules Gen. 31. 38 39 40. Mat. 10. 14 23. which the Patriarch Jacob had formerly prescribed to himself Lastly our Saviour is very plain in this Point when he says And whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your Words when you depart out of that House or City shake off the Dust of your Feet leaving them to receive condign Punishment for this Contempt of the Gospel at the Day of Judgment This was actually performed by St. Paul at Antiocha and Acts 13. 50 51. 18 6. Corinth But those Rules which are prescribed in the 1 Epistle to the Corinthians Chap. 11. from v. 2 to 22 23 24 and 1 Corinth Chap. 14 as also in Tim. 2. 8 Ver. Chap. 5. 9 Ver. and some other passages of the same nature do not imply any Command or Legislative Power but are only Moral Precepts and Points of Doctrine § 21. But it may perhaps be objected That Whether the power of
are first examined but where the Faith was the forgiveness of Sins was the immediate consequence of it He that believed on him says 〈…〉 3. 1◠St. John is not condemned but he that believed not is condemned already Neither is that Confession whether tacit or express which ought to precede the Remission of Sins like to those Confessions which in Judicial Courts are required to be made by Offenders and are sure to meet with deserved Punishment But it has Jos 7 1◠◠20 21. a resemblance to those Confessions that are made to Physicians by such of their Patients as labour under a secret Distemper hoping thereby for Relief in their Diseases As it is expressed in the 32 Psalm v. 3 4 5. of David Neither can true Repentance be supposed without such a Confession for how can we ask forgiveness either of God or our Neighbour whom we have offended unless we confess and acknowledge our Error Lastly it is to be Prov. 28. observed That Christ and his Apostles during the time of Grace here upon Earth did not intend to set up a judicial Court but to preach and to announce repentance and forgiveness of Sins But of the great Day of Judgment it is said That God will proceed to Judgment in a solemn manner there the Supream Judge will sit upon the Throne of Judgment thère Seats are to be prepared for the Assessours Rev. 20. 12. the Books are to be opened and every one is to be judged according to his Works and that without Appeal It ought also to be taken notice of That tho' we have obtained pardon for an Offence from our Neighbour this does not always and necessarily imply a Pardon from God Almighty for it is possible that notwithstanding a Pardon obtained from Men God has not absolved us from that Offence as for instance if the Offender be without true Faith or an Hypocrite And on the other hand it is possible that our Offences are forgiven by God when forgiveness has been denied us by Men as in case our Neighbour refuses to pardon an Offence tho' we beg Forgiveness and profer Satisfaction to be made or a Priest being overcome by private Passion should deny us Absolution When therefore the Priest says Thy Sins are forgiven unto thee it is not always to be taken for granted that Christ does then make use of the same Words For God alone is the Judge of our Faith and even our Thoughts But Men can only give their Judgment according to such Circumstances or outward Signs as effect our Senses which often prove deceitful and far different from what we keep concealed within us And tho' in Civil Courts of Judicature it is sufficient if Judgment be given in a Case according to what is proved by Evidence notwithstanding the same may be contrary to Truth it is quite otherwise with God Almighty who searching into the very bottom of our Hearts cannot be deceived by Hypocrisie And tho' the Priest should tell thee a hundred times over and over thy Sins are forgiven unto the and thou art destitute of Faith it can avail thee nothing Lastly it ought not to be forgotten that when God did give unto the Apostles the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven he did not thereby surrender all his Power of forgiving Sins or of receiving penitent Sinners into his Favour or did debar himself from making use of this Power unless by the means of Priests so as to reserve only to himself the Supream Prerogative of remitting of Sins in case of an unjust refusal of the Priest No by no means for if this were granted it would be in vain for us to pray every day Forgive us our Sins All these things duely considered are evident Proofs that when it is said that the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were given unto the Apostles it is to be understood from the Doctrine of the Gospel which creats of the remission of Sins through our Faith in Christ when the Apostles taught this Doctrine to the Believers it was said of them that they forgave Sins in the same sense as they are said to save others by Preaching the Gospel to the Believers And on the contrary 〈…〉 4. 16. when they preach the Gospel to the Unbelieving they are said to have bound them so as that they shall be bound in Heaven The Apostles Joh 3. 18. therefore when they announced to the Believing the Grace of God and Forgiveness of Sins through Christ did open the Gates of Heaven and they shut them against such as being unbelieving refused to accept this Doctrine So that when a Minister of the Church applies this Doctrine of the Gospel to one particular Person he says thus much to him If thou believest according to thy Confession I announce and confirm unto thee Remission of thy Sins through the Merits of Christ so that thou mayest be now assured that the same are forgiven by Christ in Heaven But if thou not believest thy Sins are not forgiven For remission of Sins is the necessary consequence of Faith even before the Absolution is pronounced by the Priest it being not left to the arbitrary Pleasure of Men whether to apply the gracious Doctrine of Remission of Sins to a believing Person or not But he that believes is thereby justified before God notwithstanding he be prevented from receiving Absolution from the Priest Out of what has been said it is evident that according to the Intention of our Saviour these Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were not to be made use of for the Establishment of a Temporal State or to gain other Temporal Advantages For Christ ordered the Apostles to preach Remission of Sins and give for nothing what they had received for nothing but not to traffick with the Word of God Neither did they by preaching the Gospel make Men subject to themselves but to Christ Nay St. Paul could not understand without Indignation that some among the Corinthians would 1 Cor. 1. 12 1◠Whether St. Peter had any be called from him some from Apollo c. § 26. But of what nature soever their Power or Function might be the same was granted Prerogative granted him before the rest of the Apostles in an equal degree to all the Apostles so that none of them cogld claim a particular Prerogative or at least not any right of Commanding the rest For if we peruse those several Mat. 28. 18 19 20. c. 23. 8. S. Joh. 20. 21 22 23. c. 13. 14 15 16. Passages in the holy Scripture where the Apostolical Function was established and conferred upon them there are not the least footsteps of Inequality to be found among them And that Passage St. Luke 22. 26 27. Epistle to the Galat. 2. 9 14. By St. Matth. 16. 18. which the Romanists make such a stir about contains nothing that can give any legal Pretence Superiority to St. Peter and much less to the Roman Bishops over all the
which are in the holy Scripture attributed to the Kingdom of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven here upon Earth It is without question that the Union of the Believers under Christ their King ought to be considered as a Kingdom or Empire but such a one as is not of this World and consequently of a quite different nature from that Sovereign Power which is exercised in a Civil Government Christ is there the King who having withdrawn himself from our sight has as it may be said settled his Court in Heaven His subjects are dispersed throughout all parts of the World where the Christian Doctrine is taught and received by the Believers who by the intrinlick Vertue of this Doctrine are confirmed in their Faith and made proof against all the Temptations and Malice of this World The Civil Power does not reach this Kingdom true Piety being not to be implanted by Human Force which is insufficient to procure God's Grace or raise those inward Motions which are chiefly acceptable to God Almighty and without which all our exterior Actions that may be enforced by a Civil Authority are to be deem'd vain and fruitless For the Kingdom of Christ being a Kingdom of Truth it requires no Civil Power or Force For Truth by the help of the Christian Doctrine and with the assistance of God's Grace does gently insinuate it self into the Hearts of Men and the Rewards or Punishments which those are to receive that either accept or despise this Doctrine are reserved for the Life to come He that will be pleased to examine those several Passages where mention is made of the Kingdom of Christ or the Kingdom of Heaven may soon be convinced that not any thing is to be met withal there which has the least resemblance to a Civil Power or Sovereignty Those that expect to enter into this Kingdom Mat. 3. 2. c. 4. 1â— c. 4. 23. c. 9. 35. must qualifie themselves by Repentance It is spoke of Christ himself that he went about Mat. 5. 1. seq preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven The Virtues and Qualifications which Christ requires in those that will enter into his Kingdom and consequently be blessed with eternal Salvation have but little relation to the Qualifications of a Subject in a Civil Government Mat. 5. 19. c. 7. 21. c. 6. 33. c. 13. 21. 33. 44 45 52. In that Kingdom every one is called great or the least according to his Proficiency in the Christian Doctrine and according to his Obedience or disobedience to it We are commanded first to seek the Righteousness of this Kingdom The great Mystery of this Kingdom is the powerful operation of the Word of c. 24. 47. God In this Kingdom are not only suffered those that are Foreigners to it but also its Enemies which is against the Maxims of a Mat. 16. 19. Civil Government The Keys of this Kingdom are contained in the Doctrine of Remission of Sins And what is taught us concerning Mat. 18. 1. c. 10. 21. c. 23. 8. Mark 9. 33 34. c. 10. 42. Precedency in the Kingdom of Heaven is quite contrary to what is practised in a Civil State It is allowable by the Civil Constitutions for every one to pursue his Right but in the Kingdom of Christ he is counted an ill Subject who will not remit a Trespass to Mat. 18. 23. c. 21. 14. Mark 10. 14. his Brother The Kingdom of Christ is also of the little Children Those that are employed in this Kingdom have different Tasks and undergo different sorts of Hardship and yet their Reward is the same This Kingdom is Mat. 20. 1. c. 21. 23 taken from those that refuse it whereas it is a Maxim of Temporal Sovereigns to force such c. 2â— 2. as are refractory to Obedience and this was the reason why after the Jews had despised it it was offered to the Gentiles He that will c. 25. 1. enjoy the Benefit of this Kingdom must not be sloathful The richest find always the easiest Reception in a Civil State but the rich Man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Christ Mat. 19. 23. Mark 10 23. Luke 12 32. He is accounted a good Subject in a State who is industrious and gathers Riches by all lawful ways and means but this is reckoned as superfluous in the Kingdom of Heaven One of the chiefest Motives which induced Mankind to enter into Civil Societies was to preserve themselves and their Possessions But Christ says Whoever he be of you that forsaked not all that he hath he cannot be my Disciple Luk. 1â— 33. And lastly of all he says The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation neither shall they say lo here or lo there for behold the Kingdom of God is within you It would be superfluous to c. 17. 21. alledge more for the proof of it all the rest being most of them the same in Substance § 30. Though it be evident that the Union Whether the Church be a State of the Believers under Christ their King and that Mystical Body whose Head is Christ the Members of all the Believers in general cannot be considered as a Temporal State nevertheless it is worth our enquiry whether not all those in General that profess the Christian Doctrine may be considered as a Body belonging under one Civil Government or at least have a near resemblance to a Civil Commonwealth Or which is the same in effect Whether the Church according to our Saviour's Intention ought to be considered as a State or Commonwealth We take here the Word State in its common Acceptation viz. for a certain Society of Men which being independent from any Foreign Jurisdiction live under the Protection of their own Sovereigns The main intention of this Question is that after we shall have made it appear That the Church according to the intention of Christ and his Apostles neither was nor could be a State it may from thence be concluded whether that Church which pretends to a Sovereignty considered as such be Christ's Church But to trace the very original of this Question it ought first of all to be considered in what What is unâ—erâ—tood in the holy Scripture by the word 〈◊〉 Sense the Word Ecclesia or Church is taken in the holy Scripture The word Ecclesia has its off-spring out of the Democracy's of the Greeks whereby they understood a Convention Meeting or sometimes a Concourse of the People or of a considerable Part of their Citizens in order to receive Propositions to consult and make Decrees concerning Matte belonging to the Commonwealth It is derâ—ved of â—vocare or to Call-forth not that there by was always understood an Assembly summoned out of a greater Multitude for I â—â— see no reason why not all the Citizens had Right to appear in those Assemblies but because they were called out of their private Dwelling-places and from their ordinarâ—â—usiness to meet in a publick Place