The Divine Right of Church Government: Wherein it is proved that the Presbyterian government, by preaching and ruling elders, in sessional, Presbyterial and synodical assemblies, may lay the only lawful claim to a divine right, according to the Holy Scriptures
Religion
The Divine Right of Church Government: Wherein it is proved that the Presbyterian government, by preaching and ruling elders, in sessional, Presbyterial and synodical assemblies, may lay the only lawful claim to a divine right, according to the Holy Scriptures
Presbyterian Church -- Government
4. Finally, in what sense can it be imagined that any such power should
be committed from Christ to the community of the faithful, the whole
body of the Church? For this power is given them equally with the
church-guides, or unequally. If equally, then,.1. The church-guides have
power and authority, as primarily and immediately committed to them, as
the Church herself hath; and then they need not derive or borrow any
power from the body of the faithful, having a power equal to theirs. 2.
How vainly is that power equally given as to the officers, so to the
whole multitude, when the whole multitude have no equal gifts and
abilities to execute the same! If unequally, then this power is derived
to the church-guides, either more or less than to the multitude of the
faithful. If less, then how improperly were all those names of rule and
government imposed upon officers, which nowhere are given by Scripture
to the multitude! as _Pastors_, Eph. iv. 8, 11. _Elders_, 1 Tim. v. 17.
_Overseers_, Acts xx. 28. _Guides_, Heb. xiii. 7, 17, 22. In this last
verse they are contradistinguished from the saints; church-guides, and
saints guided, make up a visible organical church. _Rulers in the Lord_,
1 Thes. v. 12; Rom. xii. 8: and _well-ruling Elders_, 1 Tim. v. 17.
_Governments_, 1 Cor. xii. 28. _Stewards_, 1 Cor. iv. 1,2; Luke xii. 42,
&c. And all these titles have power and rule engraven in their very
foreheads; and they of right belonged rather to the multitude than to
the officers, if the officers derive their power from the multitude of
the people. If more, then church-guides, having more power than the
Church, need not derive any from the Church, being themselves better
furnished.
Thus, what way soever we look, it cannot be evinced, that the multitude
and body of the people, with or without eldership, are the first subject
of power, or have any authoritative public official power at all, from
any grant, mandate, or commission of Christ. From all which we may
strongly conclude,
Therefore Jesus Christ our Mediator hath not made the community of the
faithful, or body of the people, the immediate receptacle, or first
subject of proper formal power for governing of his church.
_Argum_. II. As the multitude of the faithful have no authentic grant or
commission of such power of the keys in the Church; so they have no
divine warrant for the actual execution of the power of the said keys
therein: and therefore cannot be the first receptacle of the power of
the keys from Christ. For thus we may reason:
_Major_. Whosoever are the first subject, or immediate receptacle of the
power of the keys from Christ, they have divine warrant actually to
exercise and put in execution the said power. _Minor_. But the
multitude or community of the faithful have no divine warrant actually
to exercise and put in execution the power of the keys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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