BOOK II.

OF EXTERNAL WORSHIP, AS PUBLIC.

OF THE NATURE OF A GOSPEL CHURCH, THE SEAT OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.

THE word Church has various significations, which it may be proper to take notice of, in order to settle the true sense of it, as now to be discoursed of.

I. Some take it for a place of worship, and call such a place by that name; but wrongly, at least very improperly, it is a remarkable saying of one of the ancients, even of the second century," Not the place, but the congregation of the elect, I call the church." Some passages of scripture are pleaded for this use of it in this sense, When ye come together in the church I hear, &c. which is thought to be after explained, When ye come together into one place:-have ye not houses to eat and drink in? or despise ye the church of God? All this, indeed, supposes a place to meet in; though rather not the place, but the assembly that met in it, is called the church; however, it is certain, that there are numerous places of scripture which cannot be understood of any material edifice or building; whether of stone, brick, or wood; as when it is said, tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church, Acts xi. 22. it would be absurd to understand it in such a sense; and so many others.

II. The word ekklesia, always used for church, signifies an assembly called and met together, and sometimes it is used for an assembly, whether lawfully or unlawfully convened,

Acts xix. 32-41. the same word is used which commonly is for a church; and which may be considered either as a general, or as a particular assembly of persons. 1. As a general assembly, called, The general assembly and church of the first born, which are writen in heaven, Heb. xii. 23. and which include all the elect of God, that have been, are or shall be in the world. It is sometimes distinguished into the church triumphant and militant. The church triumphant consists of the saints in glory. The church militant consists of persons in the present state, which is said to be, as an army with banners, Cant. vi. 4. There is another sense in which the church may be said to be catholic, or general, as it may consist of such in any age, and in the several parts of the world, who have true faith in Christ, and hold to him the head, and are baptized by one Spirit into one body, this is the church which Polycarp called the whole catholic church throughout the world: and Irenæus, The church scattered throughout the whole world to the ends of the earth: and Origen, The church of God under heaven; and of this the apostle seems to speak, when he says, Unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end, Eph. iii. 21. 11. The church may be considered as a particular assembly of saints meeting together in one place for religious worship. Such was the first church at Jerusa lem, which is called, the whole church, and the church at Antioch, convened by the apostles, Acts xiv. 27. and these churches, in after times, continued to meet in one place; the whole church of Jerusalem, at the destruction of the city, removed to Pella, a town beyond Jordan, which was sufficient to receive the christians that belonged to it; and two hun. dred and fifty years after Christ the church at Antioch met in one house, the church at Corinth, 1 Cor. xiv. 23. and the church of the disciples at Troas, who came together on the first day of the week to break bread, Acts xx. 7. see Gal. i. 2, 23. Rev. i. 4. 2 Cor. viii. 1. Col. iv. 12. this is the church the nature of which is to be treated of; and may be considered essentially, as to the matter and form of it; and organi cally, as to its order and power.

I. Essentially considered, as to its matter and form, of which it consists. 1. As to the matter of it, both as to number and quality. As to number. Tertullian thought that three persons were sufficient to constitute a church; which may seem to be confirmed by Matt. xviii. 20. but a judicial process in a church way, in case of offence, as directed to in some preceding verses, seems to require more: the church at Ephesus was begun with twelve men, or thereabouts, Acts xix. 7. A church should consist of no more than can meet together in one place, where all may hear, and all may be edified; and if it should be so increased that this cannot be, then it should be divided into lesser communities; as an hive of bees, when too many, swarms; and which seems to be the case of the church at Jerusalem. The persons who are fit materials of a visible gospel church, are described, 1. As regenerate persons, of whom it is meet to think, and, in a judgment of charity and discretion, to hope and conclude that God hath begun a good work in them; such were the members of the church at Philippi, Phil. i. 6, 7. 2. As called ones; a church is a congregation of such who are called out from among others, by the grace of God, the called of Jesus Christ, Rom. i. 6. 3. Such are not only called to be saints, but in and by eff ctual vocation become really saints, at least are judged to be so, by a charitable discretion of them; so the members of the churches at Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and Collosse, are described as saints, and sanctified persons, and as holy temples, built for habitations of an holy God. 4. They are described as the faithful in Christ Jesus, or believers in him: so in the article of the church of England a church is defined, "A congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly adminis ́tered." Hence, 5. Those that were added to the church at Jerusalem, are said to be, such as should be saved, Mark xvi. 16. 6. They should be persons of some competent knowledge of divine and spiritual things, or how otherwise should the church be the pillar and ground of truth. 7. The materials of

a gospel church should be men of holy lives and conversations. 8. Such who are admitted into fellowship with a particular church of Christ, should be truly baptized in water, that is, by immersion, upon a profession of their faith, Acts ii. 41. so the members of the churches at Rome, Galatia, and Collosse, were baptized persons, Rom. vi. 3, 4. Gal. iii. 27. Col. ii. 12. But, 9. Not their infants with them; who were neither baptized nor admitted to membership in the churches; no one instance of either can be produced in scripture: they are not members by birth; for that which is born of the fresh, is flesh: nor do they become such by the faith of their parents; for even their faith does not make them themselves church members, without a profession of it. Infants, as they are born, are not meet for membership, being unregenerate, unholy, and must be born again ere they are fit for the kingdom of God, or a gospel church state; their federal holiness, talked of, is a mere chimera, and is unsupported by 1 Cor. vii. 14. they are not capable of giving up themselves to a church; nor of consent and agreement to walk with it, nor are they capable of answering the ends of church communion, the mutual edification of members and the glory of God: and such who plead for their membership make a poor business of it; not treating them as members, neither by admitting them to the ordinance of the supper, nor by watching over them, and laying them under censures. 11. A particular church may be considered as to the form of it; which lies in mutual consent and agreement in their covenant and consideration with each other. r There must be an union, a coalition of a certain number of persons to form a church state, one cannot make a church; and these must be united, as the similies of a tabernacle, temple, house, body, and a flock of sheep to which a church is sometimes compared, shew; one curtain did not make a tabernacle, an human body is not one member, but many; one sheep does not make a flock, nor two or three straggling ones; but a number of them collected together feeding in one pasture, under the care of a shepherd. 2. This union of saints in a

church state, is signified by their being joined, and as it were glued together; and it becomes members to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Acts iv. 32. Col. ii. 2. Eph. iv. 3. 3. This union between them is made by voluntary consent and agreement. 4. As the original constitution of churches is by consent and confederation, so the admission of new members to them, is upon the same footing. The primitive churches, in the times of the apostles, first gave their own selves to the Lord, and to one another also, by the will of God, engaging to do whatever in them lay, to promote each others edification, and the glory of God; a man may propose himself to be a member of a church, but it is at the option of the church whether they will receive him; so Saul assayed to join himself to the disciples, but they at first refused him, fearing he was not a true disciple; but when they had a testimony of him from Barnabas, and perceived that he was a partaker of the grace of God, and was sound in the faith of Christ, they admitted him; and it is but reasonable, a church should be satisfied in these points, as to the persons received into their communion; not only by a testimony of their becoming lives, but by giving an account of what God has done for their souls, and a reason of the hope that is in them; as well as by expressing their agreement with them in their articles of faith. 5. Something of this kind may be observed in all religious societies, from the beginning; see Gen. iv. 26. Exod. xxiv. 7. and so the gospel church was spoken of in prophecy, as what should be constituted and encreased by agreement and covenant, Isai. xliv. 5. and lvi. 6, 7. Jer. 1. 5. all which agrees with New Testament language. And, 6. Such a mutual agreement is but reasonable; for how should two walk together except they be agreed? Amos iii. 3. and unless persons voluntarily give up themselves to a church and its pastor, they can exercise no power over them in a church way. 7. It is this confederacy, con. sent, and agreement, that is the formal cause of a church; it is this which not only distinguishes a church from the world,