The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being dividers or troublers of the church with some directions to the pastors how to deal with such Christians / by Richard Baxter.

DIRECT. XVIII.

Understand well the necessity of your Commu∣nion with all the Universal Church, and wherein it consisteth, and how far to be preferred before your Communion with any particular Church.

WIth the Vniversal Church mystical, you must have communion by the same spirit, the same regeneration, the same Faith and Love, and the same Laws of God; and obedience thereto.

With the Universal Church visible, you must have communion, in the same Profession of faith and repentance, and the same baptism, and the same sort of ministry and publike worship, so far as they are universally determined of by Christ. And though you are absent in body, you must be as present in spirit by consent, with all the Churches of Christ on earth. You must have spiritual communion with the whole spiritual Church, and visible com∣munion in kind (in the same Rule of faith, and kind of workship) with all the visible Church; and

L••cal-presential communion with that particular Church where you are present, and with any other where your presence afterwards may be need∣ful; unless they hinder you by unlawful terms.

So that it is not the same kind nor measure of Communion which you are obliged to hold with all; But you must have Communion with all men as a man; and with neighbours as a neighbour, and with relations according to the relations civil or domestical; and with all true Christians, as a true Christian; and with all professed Christians, as a professed Christian; and with the particular Church of which you are a part, as a part of that Church. And with your bosome Friends and intimate Companions, as a Friend and Companion.

And yet in all this, you must communicate with no Church or person in their sin it self: and yet not refuse their Communion in good, though mixt with sin. You must own all the prayers of all the Churches in the world, so far as they are good, and joyn in spirit by consent, as if you concurred with them in presence, and made all their prayers to be your own (As you do by the prayers of the Church where you are present.) If there be disorders or imperfections or sinful blemishes in their prayers, you must disown all those faults, but not therefore disown any part of all their prayers which are good, but desire to have a part in them and desire the pardon of their failings.

And here you may perceive what a mischief pievish separation is on both sides. It hindereth you from pr••ying aright for others, as the mem∣bers should do for all the body; And it hinder∣eth

you from partaking in the benefit of the pray∣ers of most of the Church of God on earth. In∣deed God may hear those prayers for you which you your selves disown: But whether this may be expected, according to the ordinary course of his dealing, is much to be doubted: seeing he hath made every mans will or choice the ordinary condi∣tion of his participation of such benefits, it is hard to conceive, that he that abhorreth the pray∣ers of other men, or taketh them for such as God abhorreth, or will not accept, and in his mind disowneth all participation, and communion in them, should yet have a part against his will. But of this more anon.

As your Baptism maketh you Members of the Universal Church, in order of nature before you are members of a particular Church; so your re∣lation to the Universal Church is more noble, more necessary, and more durable, than your relation to any particular Church: It is more noble, because the Society is more noble.

The whole is more excellent than a little part: It is more necssary; because you cannot be saved and be Christians without being members of the Universal Church: But you may be Christi∣ans and be saved, without being a member of any stated particular Church. It is more durable, be∣cause you can never separate from the Unive••sal Church, or cease to be a member of it, without being separated from Christ: But divers occasi∣ons may warrant your removeall from a particular Church. Live not therefore in those narrow and dangerous principles, as if your Congregation or your party were all the Church of Christ; or

as if you had no Christian relation to any other Ministers or People, nor owed any duty to them as Members of the same Body. But remember that all Christians, Persons and Congregations, are but the Members of the Kingdom of Christ.