2. The Apostle, in 1 Cor. v., showeth that the Israelites' purging away of leaven out of their dwellings in the time of the passover, was a figure of excommunication, whereby disobedient and obstinate sinners, who are as leaven to infect other men, are to be avoided and thrust out of the church. Now, as the purging away of the leaven did not peculiarly belong unto any one, or some few, among the Israelites, but unto the whole congregation of Israel; so the Apostle, writing to the whole church of Corinth, even to as many as should take care to have the whole lump kept unleavened, saith to them all, “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven. Put away from among yourselves that wicked person,” 1 Cor. v. 6, 7, 13.
3. Christ hath delivered the power of binding and loosing to every particular church or congregation, collectively taken, which thus we demonstrate:—If our brother who trespasseth against us will neither be reclaimed by private admonition, nor yet by a rebuke given him before some more witnesses, then, saith Christ, “Tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” Matt. xviii. 17, 18: where he showeth, that, in the Christian church (which he was to plant by the ministry of the apostles), excommunication was to be used as the last remedy for curing of the most deadly and desperate evils; which excommunication he setteth forth by allusion unto the order and custom of the Jews in his time, among whom they who were cast out, and excommunicate from the synagogue, were accounted as heathens and publicans. And so when he saith, “Let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican,” he presupposeth that the church hath excommunicated him for his contumacy, which he hath added to his disobedience. For, as Pareus saith,[1070] “If by me, and thee, and every one, he is to be accounted [pg 1-350] for such a man, it must needs be that the judgment of the church be, by public declaration, made known to me, and thee, and every one. And this meaning is thoroughly drawn out of the following verse—‘For whatsoever ye shall bind on earth,’ &c.; therefore, the church ought first to bind him before he ought to be accounted by me or thee for one bound, that is, excommunicate.” Now, what meaneth Christ by the church, to which he giveth the power of binding and loosing? Not the church universal, sure; for I cannot tell the church universal (whether it be understood collective or representative) whensoever my brother trespasseth against me, and will not be reformed. He meaneth, therefore, the particular church, whereof, for the time, it shall happen one to be a member. “The power of the keys (saith Perkins[1071]) is given to all ministers, churches, and congregations.” Neither could there, otherwise, an ordinary, perpetual, and ready course be had, for the correcting of all public contumacy and scandal, by the means of ecclesiastical discipline. But it will be said, when he biddeth us tell that particular church whereof we are members, he meaneth not that we should tell the whole body of that church collective, but that we should tell the governors of the church, who are the church representative.
How, then, is this place alleged to prove that the whole church collective hath power and authority to bind and loose?
Ans. Christ meaneth, indeed, that we should tell those governors who represent the church; but whilst he calleth them by the name of the church, and sendeth us to them as to those who represent the church, he plainly insinuateth that they exercise the power of the keys (as in his name, so) in the name of the church, and that this power and authority pertaineth to the whole church, even as when one man representeth another man's person, whatsoever power he exerciseth eo nomine, doth first of all agree to the man who is represented.
4. The Apostle, in his own proper person, writing to the whole church at Corinth, 1 Cor. v. 4, 5, will have them (being gathered together) to deliver that incestuous person to Satan; therefore, every particular church or congregation hath power to excommunicate such a contumacious [pg 1-351] sinner as that incestuous person was. It is the common answer of Papists, that albeit the Apostle commanded the act should be done in face of the church, yet the judgment and authority of giving sentence was in himself alone, and not in the church of Corinth, whereupon they would make it to follow, that the power of excommunication pertaineth to the bishop alone, and not the church. And the same answer doth Saravia return to Beza;[1072] but, howsoever, the Apostle saith, that he had already judged concerning the incestuous person, yet he did not hereby seclude the church of Corinth from the authority of excommunicating him. “It is to be observed (saith Calvin[1073]) that Paul, albeit he was an apostle, doth not for his own will excommunicate alone, but communicateth his council with the church, that the thing may be done by common authority. Himself, indeed, goeth before and showeth the way, but whilst he adjoineth to himself other partakers, he signifieth sufficiently that it is not the private power of one man.” Nay, let us farther observe with Junius,[1074] that the apostles hath a twofold power: one common to them with other presbyters, 1 Pet. v. 1; another, singular, proper, and extraordinary, which they had as apostles. By this singular power Paul saith, “What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod?” 1 Cor. iv. 21; but by the common power it was that he said, “When ye are gathered together, and my spirit,” &c., 1 Cor. v. 4. By no other power than that which was common to him with the rest of the presbyters or bishops in Corinth did he judge the incestuous person to be excommunicated; and thus, as though he had been present in body among the other presbyters of that church, and assembled together with them in their ordinary council or consistory (in which fuerunt liberi apostoli, alii vero presbyteri ex vocatione propria, et necessitate officii[1075]), so he both pronounceth[1076] his own judgment, and likewise goeth before, by pronouncing that judgment which was to be in common by them pronounced. Furthermore, that the Apostle would not have that incestuous man to be excommunicate by his own authority alone, but by the authority of the church of Corinth, thus it appeareth:
1. The Apostle challengeth and condemneth the Corinthians, 1 Cor. v. 2, 6, 9, because they had not excommunicate him before his writing unto them, which he would never have done if that church had not had power and authority of excommunication.
2. Howbeit the Apostle gave his judgment, that he should be excommunicate, because he ought not to have been tolerated in the church, yet, for all that, he should not have been indeed excommunicate and thrust out of the church of Corinth, except the ministers and elders of that church had, in name of the whole body of the same, judicially cast him forth and delivered him to Satan, which plainly argueth that he should not have been excommunicate by the Apostle's authority alone, but by the authority of the church of Corinth.
3. The Apostle only showeth that he should be excommunicate, but referreth the giving of sentence and judgment upon him to the Corinthians; for he saith not that the Corinthians, being gathered together, should declare or witness that such an one was delivered to Satan by Paul's own power and authority, but that they themselves should deliver him to Satan, ver. 4, 5. And again, “Purge out, therefore, the old leaven; put away from among yourselves that wicked person,” ver. 7, 13. But, saith Saravia,[1077] partes apostoli in illa actione fuerunt authoritatis, ecclesiae vero Corinthiacae, obedientiae. Ans. That the action was done by the authority of the church of Corinth, it is manifest both from that which hath been said, and likewise if further we consider that the Apostle ascribeth to the Corinthians as much authority in this action as he assumeth to himself. For he saith of himself, that he had judged concerning him that had done this deed, ver. 3; and so he saith of them, “Do not ye judge them that are within?” ver. 12. Where he speaketh not of the judgment of private discretion (for so they might have judged them that were without also), but even of the external and authoritative judgment of ecclesiastical discipline. The Apostle, indeed, saith, 2 Cor. ii. 9, that he wrote to the Corinthians to excommunicate that person, that he might know them, whether they were obedient in all things; but this proveth not that the authority of the excommunication was not theirs; for their part in [pg 1-353] this action proceeded both from authority and from obedience: from authority, absolutely; from obedience in, in some respect. De jure they had no liberty nor power not to excommunicate him, but were bound to do that which Paul pointed out to be their duty, and in that respect he calleth them obedient; yet absolutely and de facto it was free to them (notwithstanding of Paul's writing to them) either to excommunicate him or not to excommunicate him, and if they had not by their authority excommunicate him, he had not been at all excommunicate by any virtue of Paul's adjudging of him.
4. When the Corinthians proceeded to excommunicate him, the Apostle calleth this a censure which was inflicted of many, ver. 6, which could not be said if he was to be excommunicate by the Apostle's authority alone.
5. The Apostle, ver. 7, writeth again to the Corinthians, to forgive the incestuous man, to receive him into their communion, and to remit the punishment of his excommunication, because he was won to repentance. And he addeth, ver. 10, “To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also.” Now, who can remit the punishment and save one from underlying the censure, except such as have the power and authority of judgment?