The visible porch or known entrance into a church, or Christian fellowship. Tookey, Thomas, d. 1656. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A94753 of text R211797 in the English Short Title Catalog (Thomason 669.f.20[27]). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 4 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-IV TIFF page image. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2017 A94753 Wing T1903 Thomason 669.f.20[27] ESTC R211797 99870496 99870496 163444 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A94753) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 163444) Images scanned from microfilm: (Thomason Tracts ; 247:669f20[27]) The visible porch or known entrance into a church, or Christian fellowship. Tookey, Thomas, d. 1656. 1 sheet ([1] p.) for Richard Moone, at the seven Stars in Paul's Church-yard, neer the great North-door, Printed at London : [1656] Signed at end: Thomas Tookey Minister of Harwich. Date of publication from Wing. Annotation on Thomason copy: "June 4 1656". Reproduction of the original in the British Library. eng Christian life -- Early works to 1800. Church attendance -- England -- Early works to 1800. A94753 R211797 (Thomason 669.f.20[27]). civilwar no The visible porch or known entrance into a church, or Christian fellowship. Tookey, Thomas 1656 746 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 A This text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2007-06 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-06 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2008-04 Elspeth Healey Sampled and proofread 2008-04 Elspeth Healey Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion The Visible PORCH Or known Entrance into a Church , or Christian Fellowship . THere is a Divine Relation between Persons teaching , and People taught ; wherein consists the entity or being of a Church : the making known that Relation , contains the visibility of that Church . Know therefore , that we Ministers and People desire to walk together in the unity of the Spirit , and bond of peace , under these manifestations . MOst manifest to us it is , That the glory of God in Christ Jesus , is the first thing whereunto all our Christian Faith , Duties , Worship , and even the salvation of our Souls appertaineth ; And that the Holy Spirit by the sacred Scriptures makes known unto us , how the Lord hath , and will be glorified in all those that draw neer unto him . We therefore manifest and delare our Desires , to receive and believe all things contained in the sacred Scriptures ; and by the knowledge of the Letter , to attain the spiritual sense : and that also , not so much in the single discoveries appropriate to some peculiar matter , as in the entire and more comprehensive evidences ; comparing Scripture with Scripture , thereby to come neerest unto the minde of the Lord therein revealed . It is manifest unto us , That there must be a time and place for the holding forth these Scriptures : we desire therefore , to receive the Lord's day as the necessary time , and the Temple as the necessary place for our convening and meeting together ; That then , or there , none of us be negligently or willingly absent from the Duties of Prayer and Praises , and hearing the Word read and taught ; nor from the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper , when they are celebrated . That in all these Duties the Lord may be worshiped by us in Spirit , ( for the inward man ; ) and for so much of the outward man as must needs attend , that it be in truth , putting no confidence therein , as to our selves ; nor giving offence thereby , as to others . We manifest our desires to put a difference between matters essential to salvation , and such as are but accidental thereunto . Concerning essential matters , either of Faith of Manners ; if any of us do offend therein by Opinion or Practice , our desire is , that first a private and gentle admonition be administred by them to whom the offence is first made known ; that a Christian satisfaction may be either given or received : But if not attained , then the matter may be made known to our Minister , that he , with such others as he please to take with him , may repair to the offendant , and with the like favourable admonition , labour to reduce him : which second endeavour , if it become ineffectual , then ( as the last remedy ) the matter be made known to the Church : and in case of continued obstinacy , the name of the offendant may be expunged from this fellowship ; that others be not partakers with his sin . But concerning accidental matters , which a Christian may receive or reject without peril of salvation , wherein the Scriptures appear not clear unto us ; we desire not to usurp the Tribunal of Christ , but that every one walk humbly and inoffensively therein ; that matter of this nature also may be done by us in decency and in order . The Ministers Subscription . I desire , as a Minister of Jesus Christ , to take heed unto my self and Doctrine , that I may save my self and others ; and to watch for the Souls of those more neerly united , that I may give account thereof with joy . The Peoples Subscription . UNtil clearer and fuller Regulations may be presented to us , and we fitted for them , we desire to walk under these premised ; not forsaking the assembling of our selves together , as the manner of some is . By Thomas Tookey Minister of Harwich . Printed at London for Richard Moone , at the seven Stars in Paul's Church-yard , neer the great North-door .