The Keys Of The Kingdom Of Heaven And Power Thereof According To The Word Of God

Reprint of the original, first published in 1843.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1852 edition. Excerpt: ... are hot. To come then to the first subject of Churchpower, or of the power of the keyes. The substance of the doctrine thereof, may be conceived and declared in a few Proposiiions. Church-power is either supream and soveraign, or subordinate and ministeriall. Touching the former, take this proposition. The Lord Jesus Christ, the head of his Church, is the //pwroc Aexiixun, the first proper subject of the soveraign power of the keyes. He hath the key of David: He openeth, and no man shuttcth; He shutteth, and no man openeth, Rev. 3. 7. The government is upon his shoulder, Isa. 9. 6. And himself declareth the same to his Apostles, as the ground of his granting to them Apostolicall power. All power (saith he) is given to me in heaven and earth, Matth. 28. 18. Go ye therefore, &lc. Hence 1. All legislative power (power of making of Laws) in the Church is in him, and not from him derived to any other, Jam. 4. 12. La. 33. 22. The power derived to others, is onely to publish and execute his Laws and Ordinances, and to see them observed, Mat. 28. 20. His Laws are perfect, Psal. 19. 9. and do make the man of God perfect to every good work, 2 Tim. 3. 17. and need no addition. 2. From his soveraign power it proceedeth, that he onely can erect and ordain a true constitution of a Churchestate, Htb. 3. 3 to 6. He buildeth his own house, and setieth the pattern of it, as God gave to David the pattern of Salomon* Temple, 1 Chron. 28. 19. None hath power to erect any other Church-frame, then as this Master-builder hath left us a pattern thereof in the Gospel. In the Old Testament ihe Church set up by him was Nationall, in the New, Congregationall; yet so as that in sundrie cases it is ordered by him, many congregations or their messengers, may be...

This is the book that John Owen credited with convincing him that Congregational church government is the biblical way. Written by the great theologian John Cotton in Massachusetts, who famously declined an invitation to participate in the Westminster Assembly saying, "why should I travel 3000 miles to agree with four men?", the manuscript was sent by ship and printed in London in 1644 by Thomas Goodwin and Philip Nye during the venerable assembly. Their lengthy forward is included in this edition, as is also a new introduction.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1644 Edition.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.