Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	church_n	true_a	truth_n	3,714	5	6.3516	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07822	Salomon or A treatise declaring the state of the kingdome of Israel, as it was in the daies of Salomon Whereunto is annexed another treatise, of the Church: or more particularly, of the right constitution of a Church.	Morton, Thomas, of Berwick.	1596 (1596)	STC 18197.7; ESTC S112936	159,289	238

father but in the sonne in whome onely he is well pleased And therefore the nation of the Iewes hauing reiected Christ is by that meanes reiected of God from being his people neyther are they to be accounted members of the Church although they serue God with neuer so great zeale Rom. 11. The same account we are to make of the Turkes Saracens Moores and all those nations which professe the religion of Mahomet the which we confesse doth retaine diuerse pointes of christianitie yea and that if it be well marked it wil be sound a close or mysticall Arianisme couering and glosing ouer many waightie pointes of faith with iudaicall types and poeticall fictions that it being by this meanes made darke and aenigmaticall might be more highly esteemed by blinde and ignorant men Whereas if it had beene set downe in a plaine and simple manner it woulde haue beene easely vndestood disputed of and in the ende altogether contemned Yet forsomuch as this religion doth not worship and honour Iesus Christ as the onely sonne of God and sauiour of the world as the first Arians therefore 〈◊〉 the professours of it cannot be accounted members of the Church but meere infidels separated from Christ and voyde of the hope of eternall saluation Sect. 7. Of the attributes of the catholicke Church THus we hauing the definition of the catholicke Church are further to consider the nature and state of it in certaine properties which are attributed vnto it Of the which this may be the first that out of the catholicke Church there is no saluation and therefore all the heathen all vnbeleeuing Iewes Turkes and generally all Infidels whatsoeuer doe liue and die to the iudgement and sight of man in the state of eternall damnation This the scripture witnesseth in many places as namely 2. Thes. 2.8 God in the last iudgement shall render vengeance to al that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lorde Iesus Christ and yet this sentence of damnation which the scripture pronounceth on infidels is so to be vnderstoode as that we doe alwaies except the infinite power and mercy of God who both can as hath beene before touched doth in all partes of the world saue some and that by extraordinarie meanes vnknowen to vs where the ordinarie way is wanting The second attribute of the catholicke Church is this that it can neuer erre in the foundation of religion which is all one as if we did say the catholicke Church neuer ceaseth to be or with this there is continually in the worlde a number of men which serue the true God in Iesus Christ. The trueth of this appeareth by the storie of the Church in the holie scripture and in other bookes which shewe by whome and in what places God hath beene truelie worshipped in euery seuerall age And no maruaile for if the Church shoulde cease to be in the worlde then the world it selfe shoulde haue an ende which was created and doth continue chiefely for this ende to wit to be an habitation for the Church As we reade 1. Cor. 2.16 All thinges are yours euen the verie worlde that is all thinges doe serue as meanes for your good and for the working of your saluation In this sense the Apostle saith 1. Tim. 3.13 That the Church is the piller and firmament that is a most firme and sure piller of trueth to wit of the true religion and worshippe of God And yet the catholicke Church may erre in matters of religion yea euen in those pointes which are waightie and are neare about the foundation it selfe although it alwaies remaine sure and stedfast So it is manifest that the ignorances and errours of the Church which were from the beginning vntill the comming of Christ were both many and greate as hath beene noted before And howe greate errours haue preuailed throughout the whole Church in most of the ages since that time we who liue in this light of the gospell doe easelie and plainely see Yea we knowe that which the Apostle saith 1. Cor. 13. that while the faithfull are in this worlde they see knowe and prophecie but in part and cannot be wholly freed from errour till they see the Lorde perfectly and in him all thinges So we reade Leuit. 4.13 that there was a sacrifice appointed for the expiation of the generall errour of the whole people of the Iewes who then were the whole visible Church of God Thirdlie the catholicke Church doth continually encrease in number and doth consist of moe in the latter ages of the worlde then in the former For before the time of the lawe the Lord was knowen and worshipped onely of a fewe families or kindreds but afterwardes of a great populous nation but since the comming of Christ the Church ●oth enlarge her tentes and receiueth all the nations of the earth Likewise in the first ages of the gospell there was no nation country or citie no not any one towne or village which did generally receiue it but onely a fewe heere and there the rest remaining in infidelitie but in the ages following great nations generally yea infinite multitudes of people became christians Yea this number shall continually encrease vntill the fulnesse of the gentiles be come into the Church whereof the Apostle speaketh Rom. 11. and then shall the nation of the Iewes make a notable addition to this number The cause of this increase is for that God doth not reueale himselfe and his word all at once to the world but by degrees by little and little Where this may also profitably be noted that as the number of beleeuers so also their knowledge doth increase the word of God being much more plentifully reuealed in the latter times they being generally considered then it was in the former As touching the number we know that the visible Church by the which we may certainely gather the state of the catholicke Church was vntill the time of Moses contained within the compasse of one kindred till the comming of Christ in one nation but afterwarde it spred it selfe ouer the whole world Yea the latter times of the gospell shall daily more and more exceede the first in number of beleeuers because now both the ful number of the gentiles and also of the Iewish nation is to come into the Church And in like manner the latter times doe exceede the former in knowledge Fourthly the catholicke Church hath no heade or ruler heere on earth neyther any externall gouernment but is ordered by the spirituall gouernment of Christ who is the onely heade of it For the gouernment and rules prescribed by God to his Church haue place and are put in practise onely in particular Churches which are the members of the catholicke Church Fiftly the catholicke Church is inuisible for that it consisteth not onely of particular Churches which are visible but also of particular men which serue God yet so as that they are not knowen by

carefull to serue him to set forth his glory and to build his Church as they ought to be Lastly to conclude this whole treatise we learne by these two last actions that as Samuel howsoeuer he did greatly mislike the alteration of the former state and the setting vp of this new gouernment yet whenas it was once by the permission of God and the importunitie of the people established he did labour that it should continue for euer for the which purpose he did both write the doctrine of it in a booke and also laide the saide booke before the Lorde so we doe labour to continue that gouernment which is in force in that place or country where we liue although we doe perhaps imagine yea perswade our selues that we could finde out a better forme of gouernment which should be voyde of those in conueniences which we see in the present state For as the wise men of this world teach vs there is nothing more troublesome dangerous yea pernitious to any people then the alteration of the forme of gouerment which is in force and as the wisdome of God speaketh in the scripture no●●ing is more hainous odious in the sight of God and man then to seeke the subuersion of magistrates states and kingdomes FINIS Printed at London for Robert Dexter 1596. CHAP. I. Of the Catholicke Church Sect. 1. Of the name and definition of the Catholicke Church THE Church whereof we are nowe to entreate in greek and latine is called Ecclesia the which worde is diuersely taken in the scripture for in the naturall acception it doth generally signifie any assemblie of men met about any matter as we may see Act. 19.39 But for somuch as the scripture doth onely by occasion make mention of ciuill meetinges therefore it doth for the most part signifie a holie assemblie of men mette about holy and diuine matters whereof the booke of God doth wholly and of set purpose entreate Yea in this second sense it is diuersely vsed first for the triumphant Church of the state whereof we doe not speake any thing in this treatise because it is neither needfull nor yet possible for vs to know it and therfore not lawfull to labour in the curious searching of it it being not reuealed in the worde of God Secondly the worde Ecclesia is vsed to signifie the Church militant wherin we are now conuersant and therfore it doth greatly belong vnto vs to know the state of it because God hath appointed it to be the way whereby we must passe to the triumphant Church In this sense we doe heere entreat of the Church And lastly euen in this third sense the name of the Church is diuersly vsed to wit first for the whole Church heere on earth as it is in all those places where it is put for all the faithfull people in the worlde as namely 1. Cor. 10.32 Giue no offence neither to the Iewe or Gentile nor to the Church of God that is to none that beleeueth Secondly for the whole vi●ible Church as we reade 1. Cor. 12.28 God hath put in his Church Apostles Prophets Pastors Doctors For although neyther the catholicke nor yet the visible Church doth come togither in one place yet because all the members of them both are ioyned together in the bond of the spirite and in the vnitie of faith the word Ecclesia is properly giuen vnto them Lastly it signifieth a particular Church which is a member of the whole as the Church at Corinth or any other mentioned in the writinges of the Apostles But in the first place we are to speake not of the particular Church but of the whole Church heere on earth which is vsually called the Church militant because it fighteth against the enemies of our saluation to wit this present worlde sinne sathan and his manifolde temptations It is also called although not in the scripture the catholicke Church the worde Catholicke is most commonly opposed to hereticall and attributed to that man or Church which doth holde the syncere doctrine of religion without any great errour especially by them who doe falsely imagine and teach that the greater parte is alwaies the sounder and more syncere in doctrine But heere we vse it in the proper and naturall sense to signifie the whole vniuersall Church which is thus defined The catholike Church is the whole number of those men who in any part of the worlde serue the true God in Iesus Christ. In this definition we are to consider and explane diuerse pointes Sect. 2. Of the place of the Catholicke Church AND first of the place of the catholicke Church it is not any one towne citie prouince nation or kingdome whatsoeuer but the whole worlde 1. Cor. 1 1. in euerie part whereof God hath some that serue him because he will haue no part wholly either shut out from the participation of his mercy or left without excuse or yet destitute of his presence as if he were thrust cleane out from the possession of it The trueth whereof appeareth in the scripture which sheweth that howsoeuer the visible Church and the open profession of religion was till the time of the gospell shut vp within one familie kindred or country yet that God was both knowen and serued by some in other places euen in all the partes of the world So we read Actes 2. That there were men of all the nations vnder heauen which feared God and there a particular enumeration is made of them Parthians Medes Elamites the inhabitante● of Mesopotamia of Iudea Cappadocia Pontus Asia Phrygia and Pamphilia Aegypt Lybia Cyrene Rome Creta and Arabia So Christ giueth commission to his Apostles Mark 16.15 to preach to all nations in the worlde and accordingly Paule witnesseth that the gospell was spred into the whole world and did daily fructifie and increase Coll. 1.6 Likewise Peter doth obserue this point of the vniuersalitie of the Church Act. 10.34.35 in Cornelius saying I perceiue of a trueth that God doth not regard persons that is that he doth not tie himself to the nation of the Iewes or to any other but that in euery nation he that feareth God is accepted of him So Act. 13.17 yet this is to be noted that whenas al the people of the world are brought within the cōpasse of one place then the catholick Church also is contained in the same place so it becommeth a particular Church So in the beginning whenas there was no man liuing out of Adams familie the catholicke Church was contained within the limites thereof Likewise in the generall destruction of the worlde both all the people of the worlde and the whole Church were shut vp in Noahs Arke This exception beeing made this doctrine standeth true That no particular place house citie country or nation whatsoeuer but euen the whole world is the subiect and place of the Catholicke Church Sect. 3. That hypocrites are members of the Catholike Church ALthough the catholicke Church