Well, but how can we be joyned to such a Queß. 2. Spiritual and invifible Church? How we may Church, tho I answer, Is not Chrift a Spiritual and invifible Anfwer. Head? And how canft thou be joyned to fuch a be joyned to Head? Sure our joyning to Chrift the Head, and the true to the Church, his Body, is of one nature; and invisible. that which joyns us to Chrift the Head, will affu. redly joyn us to the Church his Body. Now thro' Faith and the Spirit only, are we joyned to this Head; and through Faith and the Spirit only, are we joyned to this Body; and we cannot be of this Spiritual Body and Society, but by being taken up into one Faith and Spirit with them: And fo it is no more a difficult thing to be joined to the true Church, because it is Spiritual and invifible, than to be joyned to Chrift himself upon the fame account; that is, it is no more difficult to be joyned to a Spiritual and invisible Body, than to a Spiritual and invifible Head; and all acknowledge Chrift to be fuch a Head, and all muft acknowledge the Church to be fuch a Body. If any shall say that they cannot presently agree to these things, because they have had far different apprehensions of the Church heretofore: I defire all fuch to confider, that if the true Church were only an outward and visible Society and Corporation of men, that were to be govern❜d by outward and visible Officers, according to outward and visible forms and orders, there would then be no great mystery in the Church; for these things lie within the eafie reach of every mans Reafon: But now, whole Chrift is a great mystery, bid from ages and generations; that is, not only The Church Chrift, the Head of the Church, but also the the Body, a Church, the Body of Chrift, Ephef. 5. 32. This is Chrift the a great mystery, but I speak concerning Chrift and Head, a 1 well as the Bery. great My the Church: And this latter mystery (though both indeed make up one and the fame mystery) of the Church, or Chrift the Body, can no more be known by humane fenfe or reason, than the foriner of Chrift the Head; the revelation of the Father, and the anointing of the Spirit, being equally neceflary, for the right knowledge of both. And, as Antichrift hath had his Mystery of Iniquity, in opposition to Chrift the Head, in setting up a vifible and carnal Head, inftead of the invitible and Spiritual; so alfo he hath had his myftery of iniquity, in oppofition to the Church the Body; in erecting a vifible and carnal Body or Church, inftead of an invisible and Spiritual; for without all peradventure, the Head and the Body must be suitable to each other, and of the fame kind and nature: And fo, as a visible and carnal Head, the Pope, was in no measure fuitable to an invisible and Spiritual Body, the true Church; fo likewise a visible and carnal Body, or Church, made an constituted by a mixture of Civil and Ecclefiaftical Laws and Power, is in no measure The church fuitable to a Spiritual and invifible Head: But juft fuch a Rody, as what a kind of Head the true Chrift is, fuch a Chrift is a kind of Body or Society the true Church is, and Head. both are Spiritual and invisible. And as the Lord in the former Age, hath been pleased to reveal to the Church, the mystery of the Head, after a long time of its obfcuring and darkning, under the Reign of Antichrift, fo now we wait in hope, that he will in this present Age, reveal the mystery of the Body, which hath been no lefs obfcured than the former; that fo, the whole mystery, of whole Chrift, may both be known and accomplished among us, according to the riches of his glory, by the Gospel. Wherefore all the Faithful are defired, as occafion ferves, to make known what God hath taught them in this matter, matter, to fupply, what is here spoken, weakly and imperfectly. the true And thus having declar'd what the true Church of wherein Chrift is, and rectified fome ancient and general the Unity of mistakes touching it, I fhall now proceed to make Church lies. known from the clear and evident word, the true and only bonds of the Churches union, peace and agreement, as the Apostle hath delivered them to us by the Spirit, Ephef. 4. 4, 5, 6. There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one Faith, one Baptifm, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Where note in general, that among all these bonds of the Churches unity, the Apostle makes not so much as any mention of Uniformity; Indeed the Rhemifts (being through the juft judgement of God blinded) from this very place, urge and prefs Uniformity (which is the very word. they use) as being the great and mighty engine, first to advance the mystery of iniquity to its Throne, and after to preserve it there. But it will appear anon by the Apostles Doctrine, that no Conformity or Uniformity, are any bonds of the true Churches Peace and Union; seeing the Church, is fuch a Kingdom, as is not preserved in its peace, by any outward Forms and Orders, as the Kingdoms of the World are, but by inward Principles: Wherefore I fhall proceed to fpeak of thofe Spiritual Bonds of the Spiritual Churches Unity, which the Apostle names; and they are in number feven; the first whereof, is, ONE BODY. Church is There is one body, faith Paul; The right The right Church of Chrift is but one body confifting of many one Body. members; and this is not a natural or Political, but but a spiritual body, even the body of Christ. Paul in feveral of his Epiftles, takes pleasure to set forth the unity of the Church by this fimilitude; as in Rom. 12. 4, 5. As we have many members in one body, and all members have not the fame office; So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one mem bers one of another. And again, I Cor. 12. 12. As the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of that one body, being many, are but one body, fo alfo is Chrift: Where he calls the body, by the name of the head, both making up one Chrift. This one Now this Unity of Body, comprehends believers prehends Be-of all ages, and of all forts. Body com lievers of 1. of all ages; for all believers that hath been all Ages. in the world heretofore, or now are, or fhall be hereafter, do all make up but one body of Chrift, though born and brought forth of God in feveral times and ages of the world; as in a natural example, a child is not born all in a moment, but is brought forth by degrees; and though one part be born, and another not yet born, this doth not hinder unity of body in the child; fo the bringing forth the Church into the world in feveral ages, doth in no wife hinder this unity of body. Of all forts. 2. As this unity of body, comprehends believers of all ages, fo alfo of all forts and conditions, Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, &c. all which are made one body in Chrift. Paul in Ephef. 2. 15. Speaking of Jews and Gentiles, faith, That Chrift of thefe twain (who differed as much as mankind could) he hath made in himself, one new man: For Chrift melting these two, by his Spirit, which is as fire, caufes each to depart from himfelf, and makes both together, one new man, or body of Christ in himself; and thus makes peace: For as long as men remain different bodies, or men, there is no peace amongst them; but when Chrift makes them one body in himself, he makes peace between them; unity of body being a most neceflary bond of peace in the Church; as the Apostle teftifies, Col. 3. 15. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which ye are called, in one body. Now from this unity of body in the true Church we may note very confiderable things, all 1. That unity of body in the Church, flows Many things from unity of head; for here the members do not to be conf dered from first confpire into an unity of body among them- the Churches felves, and after choose a head to their body; but unity of Bofirst, these members are united to the Head, and dy then to one another in, and with the Head; and so because there is but one true head, Chrift: there is but one true body, the Church. 2. As the members of the natural body, are born fuch, through a natural birth, before they do or can exercife any acts or offices fuitable to fuch members, and do not first exercise fuch offices, and then after are made fuch members; as for inftance, the eye doth not firft fee, and then or therefore, is made an eye in the body; or the ear first hear, and then or therefore is made an ear in the body: but the eye, is first born an eye in the body, and then fees; and the ear is born an ear, and then hears &c. So in the fpiritual body, of Chrift; each Chriftian hath his membership, meerly from a new or fpiritual birth, and hath his Office from his membership, and not from any action or operation of his own, before he was a member. In this fpiritual, as in the natural body, the eye is born an eye, and therefore it fees, and the foot is born a foot, and therefore it walks, and each believer, is only that, which he is through a new birth, and cannot be placed, in fuch and fuch an Office by men; no more than men can place, a |