458
T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
act of favor whatsoever from the hand of man. It has often lived on and con tinued when all these things have been taken from it; it has often been driven into the wilderness or into dens and caves of the earth, by those who ought to have been its friends. Its existence depends on nothing but the presence of Christ and His Spirit; and they be ing ever with it, the Church cannot die. This is the Church to which the Scrip tural titles of present honor and privi lege, and the promises of future glory, especially belong; this is the body of Christ; this is the flock of Christ; this is the household of faith and the family of God; this is God’s building, God’s foundation, and the temple of the Holy Ghost. This is the Church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven; this is the royal priesthood, the chosen generation, the peculiar people, the purchased possession, the habitation of God, the light of the world; the salt and the wheat of the earth; this is the “ Holy Catholic Church” of the Apostles’ Creed; this is the “ One Catholic and Apostolic Church” of the Nicene Creed; this is that Church to which the Lord Jesus promises, the “ gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” and to which He says, “ I am with you always, even unto the .end of the world” (Matt. 16: 18; 28>20). This is the only Church which pos sesses true unity. Its members are en tirely agreed on all the weightier mat ters of religion, for they are all taught by one Spirit. About God, and Christ, and the Spirit, and sin, and their own hearts, and faith, and repentance, and necessity of "holiness, and the value of the Bible, and the importance of prayer, and the resurrection, and judgment to come— about all these- points they are of one mind. Take three or four of them, strangers to one another, from the remotest corners of the earth; ex amine them separately on these points; you will find them all of one judgment.
This is the only Church which pos sesses true sanctity. Its members are all holy. They are not merely holy by profession, holy in name, and holy in the judgment of charity; they are all holy in act, and deed, and reality, and life, and truth. They are all more or less conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. No unholy man belongs to this Church. This is the only Church which is.truly catholic. It is not the Church of any one nation or people; its members are to be found in every part of the world where the Gospel is received and be lieved. It is not confined within the limits of any one country, or pent up within the pale of any particular forms or outward government. In it there is no difference between Jew and Greek, black man and white, Episcopalian and Presbyterian— but faith in Christ is all. Its members will be gathered from north, and south, and east, and west, in the last day, an
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs