Question: Were there many congregations, and assemblies in the mother Church of Jerusalem, which in our dialect are called churches: Or did the multitude of believers in Jerusalem make but one congregation, as the Independents suppose?
Answer: These plain texts of Scripture following do clearly prove that the many ten thousands of believers, converted by John the Baptist, by Christ, his apostles, the 70 disciples and the rest of the primitive presbyters, could never meet together in one, ten or scarcely in 100 congregations to partake of all acts of worship to edification, as appears by the multitude of believers mentioned, in Matt. 3:1-2, 5-6; 7:12; Luke 16:16; 17:29; John 7:31, 40, 46-50; Acts 2:37-47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1-3, 7; 21:20. To suppose these multitudes could meet in one congregation to be edified is not agreeable to sense or reason. Because there were above 100 preachers, and ministers besides the apostles, and all these continually taken up in prayer and preaching unto those many ten thousands of believers distributed into several congregations, that possibly they might edify their preachers being all so employed, they could not leave their ministry to serve tables, Acts 6:2. Therefore of necessity so many ministers must have several places to preach in, and those multitudes of believers be distributed into several congregations for them to preach to, and several places to baptize in, otherwise there would have been great confusion. For but one of them could speak at once to edification. These plain testimonies of Scripture above cited may convince the Independents’ error.
Because they clearly take away the foundation of their new churches which are built upon this mistake, that there were no more believers in the Church of Jerusalem than could meet in one congregation.
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