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CHAP. XVII.
Whether the visible Church, as visible, can bear these styles of the Body of Christ, of the Redeemed of God, the Spouse of Christ, &c.
Mr. H. saith, These things may well be given to the visible * 1.1 Church.
Those over whom Officers are set, to feed them by Doctrine and Discipline, must needs be the visible Church: But these are the Church, Act. 20. 28. Feed the flock, not of the Elect onely, but of the whole visible Church; Take heed to the whole flock of God, else if they were set over the Elect onely, they might reply, Lord, we cannot search into thy secrets, who are the Elect and invisible Saints, onely to feed them: where as the current and common sense of the Scripture, is, taking Redeemed and Sanctified as visible, though not really such, the stream of the Text runs pleasantly, Feed all visibly redeemed. Elect and Reprobate: So they be re∣deemed in the judgement of Charity.
Ans. 1. The Church visible is taken two wayes. 1. In the la∣titude, * 1.2 as comprehending all Professors, sound, as Peter, or rot∣ten, as Magus; all which have a sort of right to the Seals, but divers wayes, as is said.
2. More restricted, as a Church so and so visible, as the soundest part of real believers, comprehending in Corinth onely such as are really justified, sanctified, &c. In the latter ••ense, the Church visible and professing is one in the matter, all one with the Church invisible, and soundly and sincerely professing, and Peter is both a real believer, and visible and soundly pro∣fessing believer. In the former sense, Paul writing to Corinth, to Ephesus, 1 Cor 1. Eph. 1. 1. Rom. 1. 7. to the Romans, calleth all the Church visible there justified, or not justified, the Church, to wit, the Church visible. In the latter sense onely the so and