A defence of the answer made unto the nine questions or positions sent from New-England, against the reply thereto by that reverend servant of Christ, Mr. John Ball, entituled, A tryall of the new church-way in New-England and in old wherin, beside a more full opening of sundry particulars concerning liturgies, power of the keys, matter of the visible church, &c., is more largely handled that controversie concerning the catholick, visible church : tending to cleare up the old-way of Christ in New-England churches / by Iohn Allin [and] Tho. Shepard ...

CHAP. IV. (Book 4)

[Reply.] TO the first consideration: If by the Church be understood the society of men professing the entire faith, the seales are given to it, as peculiar priviledges, but if you understand a Congregationall assembly, the seales were never appropriated to it.

[Answ.] 1 Our meaning is plain in the second sense, as may appear by the reasons alledged against any such universall Church, as insti∣tuted and politicall, wherein the seales are dispensed, which rea∣sons you answer not, but grant there is no such Catholick Church in our sense, pag. 21. And if no such Church wherein the seales are administred, as we proved, then the cause it self is yeelded, and the seales must belong to particular Churches.

2 Seeing the main hinge of this question turns upon this point, to what Church the administration and participation of the seals belong, wee shall a little further open our selves in this point. And because we affect and study peace with truth; we shall freely acknowledge,

First, that as there is an invisible Church and Body of Christ, consisting of all the elect, effectually called throughout the world in all ages of it, the whole family in heaven and earth: so unto Jesus Christ, all the visible beleevers and Churches of the world, are as one body to him, he governing, protecting, instructing all as his visible body.

Secondly, we acknowledge a visible communion of all the true Churches of the Lord Jesus, in all offices of brotherly love, and in the holy things of Christ, so far as may appear, the Lord have ordained and commanded, and by his Providence called them to exercise one with another.

Thirdly, we grant that all true beleevers, where-ever they bee, have by faith in Christ, a true right and interest unto Jesus Christ and all his benefits, whatsoever he hath purchased for them; but here we must first distinguish of these benefits of Christ, whereof some are meerly spirituall, inward, and flowing immediately from Christ unto them; and therefore peculiar to true beleevers, as justification, sanctification, adoption, accesse to God in pray∣er, &c. some are outward and tending to the help and furthe∣rance of our spirituall communion with Christ, being outward and visible meanes thereof; and therefore are also extended to

hypocrites being visible beleevers, as the Ministery of the Word, Seals, Church-discipline, &c. And these cannot be dispensed by Christ immediately nor ordinarily, but by means of a visible Church. 2. We distinguish of right to these outward benefits of Christ; which is either remote, called, jus ad rem; or near, and immediate, called, jus in re; right to the enjoyment and frui∣tion of it. Now in the first sense we grant, all visible beleevers have a right to seals, &c. But the immediate fruition of them, they must have mediante Ecclesiâ visibili: now here lyes the true state of the question, Whether the Lord Jesus have ordained an universall visible Church, in which, and unto which, by the Officers thereof all these outward visible priviledges and means of Grace, are to be dispensed and immediately enjoyed of the faith∣full; or whether (not the remote right, but) the immediate frui∣tion and administration of all these ordinances by the institution of Christ, be given to particular visible Churches; and surely to whom one of these is given, all are given: For there is the same nature, reason, and use of all, Ministry of the Word, Seals, Discipline, all are outward ordinances, priviledges, means of Grace, belonging to the visible Church, where Christ hath given one, he hath given all. But we must confesse, however you call this, A new Church way, it is new to us to read so much of late, of such a Catholick Church, to which administration of Seals, Censures, &c. belong. We are yet of the opinion of Baynes, Parker, and Cartwright, &c. that have against Papists and Pre∣lates maintained, that in the new Testament there is no instituted Catholick, Nationall, or Provinciall Church; but onely the Church of a particular Congregation, both for the reasons alled∣ged in our Answer, as also for the impossibility thereof in the days of the New Testament, when the Lord Jesus sent his Apo∣stles into all the world; therefore impossible both in regard of distance of place, and variety of language almost ever to meet in one, so much as by representation, and that not onely by acci∣dent, as may befall a particular Church, by sickness, persecuti∣on, &c. but by the necessity of nature and invincible hinderances foreseen by Christ, and intended by him. And therfore, as the Lord limiting his Church to one Nation, united it into that form of a Nationall Church, ordaining one place, stated times and duties of Worship, and one Government for the same: so now the •…•…ord neglecting all such things, hath ordained a compleat admi∣nistration

of all his ordinances in particular Congregations, and therefore if there be no other instituted visible Church but of a Congregation, and Seals in their administration be given to the Church, our first consideration will still hold firm. But seeing in so vast a subject to say little, is to say nothing; and there is scarce any Truth in this wilie age but is almost disputed out of counte∣nance, and much darkned with humane evasions; and seeing much depends upon this controversie, it may be so most usefull before we come to the defence of our argument to take into considera∣tion the nature and order of the visible Church of Christ Catho∣lick and particular. We are not ignorant of the knots and diffi∣culties of this question, which of late have so much exercised the minds of many Godly-learned: And we think the notions of a Catholick Church, as it is now held, being but newly ta∣ken up amongst-godly Reformers, who formerly ran in another channell, (as is ingenuously confessed by some according to the truth) this new-birth seems not yet so formed to its distinct pro∣portions, as time may bring it unto: and it might make us afraid (being the weakest of many) to venture upon so diffuse and knotty a question, when we look upon our own insufficiency to such a task, and the Learned labors of such in this Point, whom we reverence in the Lord: yet, when we consider of what great weight and moment the clearing up of this Truth would be unto the orderly proceedings of the great Work of Reformation in hand; 2 How unavoydably it lyes in our way in this Work the Lord hath called us unto; and that he sometimes doth vouch∣safe to speak by weak ones, that the praise may be his own, in hope of his blessed guidance which we depend upon herein, ta∣king the light of his Word in our hands, we shall (rather as learners then otherwise) venture to propound what is suggested to us herein. Concerning which having digressed a while, we shall return (we hope) with some advantage of clearer evidence to justifie the first argument of the Answer, against what is said in the Reply.