(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

THE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS,—(Continued.)

NOTES.

2. The Church: I. order to propagate the gospel, and teach, encourage, instruct, preserve, and finally perfect those who accepted it, Messiah organized his Church. He bestowed upon its members certain great and precious spiritual gifts and graces, such as the power to speak in new tongues and interpret them; to receive revelation, to prophesy, to see visions, receive the visitation of angels, to possess the gift of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment of spirits, and healing the sick. The description of the Church organization in the New Testament is extremely imperfect, owing, no doubt, to the fragmentary character of the Christian annals. While the distinctions between the respective offices in the Priesthood, and the definition of the duties of each officer are even less satisfactory; still there is enough written to enable us to get an outline of the wonderful organization. Messiah, during his personal ministry, organized a quorum of Twelve Apostles, to whom he gave very great powers and authority, even to be witnesses of him among the people, to build up his Church by the proclamation of the gospel, to heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead, and cast out devils. He likewise organized quorums of seventies, unto whom he gave similar powers to those bestowed upon the apostles (c. f. Matt, x, with Luke x). After his resurrection, Messiah was with his apostles and disciples forty days, during which time he was teaching them all things concerning the kingdom of God. Hence we have these men after his ascension organizing branches of the church wherever they found people who received their testimony. In some instances they ordained elders to preside over these branches; and in other instances bishops were appointed. Paul, in giving a description of the organization of the church, says: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? The implied answer is that all are not apostles, nor prophets, nor teachers, etc., in the church of Christ, but that the whole body is fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth. Undoubtedly the whole organization grew out of the instruction Jesus imparted to the Apostles, but it required time for its foil development.

3. The Church as Described in the New Testament: "The derivation of the word 'church' is uncertain. * * * The word occurs twice, each time in St. Matthew (Matt. xvi. 18, "On this rock will I build my Church;" xviii. 17, "Tell it unto the Church.") In every other case it is spoken of as the kingdom of heaven by St. Matthew, and as the kingdom of God by St. Mark and St. Luke. St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John never use the expression kingdom of heaven. St. John once uses the phrase kingdom of God (iii. 3). St. Matthew occasionally speaks of the kingdom of God (vi. 33, xxi. 31, 43), and sometimes simply of the kingdom (iv. 23, xiii. 19, xxiv. 14). In xiii. 41 and xvi. 28, it is the Son of Man's kingdom. In xx 21, thy kingdom, i. e., Christ's. In the one Gospel of St. Matthew the Church is spoken of no less than thirty-six times as the Kingdom. Other descriptions or titles are hardly found in the Evangelists. It is Christ's household (Matt. x. 25). the salt and light of the world (v. 13, 15), Christ's flock (Matt. xxvi. 31; John x. 1), its members are the branches growing on Christ the Vine (John xv); but the general description of it, not metaphorically, but directly, is that it is a kingdom. * * * The means of entrance into it is Baptism (Matt, xxviii. 19). The conditions of belonging to it are faith (Mark xvi. 16) and obedience (Matt, xxviii. 20). Participation in the Holy Supper is its perpetual token of membership, and the means of supporting the life of its members (Matt. xxvi. 26; John vi. 51; Cor. xi. 26). Its members are given to Christ by the Father out of the world, and sent by Christ into the world; they are sanctified by the truth (John xvii. 19); and they are to live in love and unity, cognizable by the eternal world (John xiii. 34. xvii. 23)." Smith Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1., p. 453.

4. Definitions of the Church: The Greek Church gives the following: "The Church is a divinely instituted community of men, united by the orthodox faith, the law of God, the hierarchy, and the Sacraments" (Full Catechism of the Orthodox. Catholic, Eastern Church, Moscow, 1839). The Latin Church defines it as, "The company of Christians knit together by the profession of the same faith and the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of lawful pastors, and especially of the Roman bishop as the only Vicar of Christ upon earth." (Bellarm. De Eccl. Mil. iii. 2; see also Devoti Inst. Canon. 1, iv. Romae, 1818.) The Church of England, "A congregation of faithful men in which the pure word of God is preached, and the Sacraments he duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite of the same." (Art. xix.) The Lutheran Church: "A congregation of saints in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered." (Confessio Augustina, 1631, Art. vii.) The Confessio Helvetica: "A congregation of faithful men called, or collected out of the world, the communion of all saints." (Art. xvii.) The Confessio Saxonica: "A congregation of men embracing the Gospel of Christ, and rightly using the Sacraments." (Art. xii.) The Confessio Belgica: "A true congregation, or assembly of all faithful Christians who look for the whole of their salvation from Jesus Christ alone, as being washed by his blood, and sanctiled and sealed by his Spirit." (Art. xvii.) (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible Art Church.) (For our definition of "The Church," see Seventy's Year Book, No. 1, p. 13.)

4. Inadequacy of Foregoing Definitions: "These definitions show the difficulty in which the different sections of the divided Church find themselves in framing a definition which will at once accord with the statements of Holy Scripture, and be applicable to the present state of the Christian world. We have seen that according to the Scriptural view the Church is a holy kingdom, established by God on earth, of which Christ is the invisible King; it is a divinely organized body, the members of which are knit together amongst themselves, and joined to Christ, their Head, by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in and animates it; it is a spiritual but visible society of men united by constant succession to those who were personally united to the Apostles, holding the same faith that the Apostles held, administering the same sacraments, and, like them, forming separate, but only locally separate, assemblies, for the public worship of God. This is the Church according to the Divine intention. But as God permits men to mar the perfection of his design in their behalf, and as men have both corrupted the doctrines and broken the unity of the Church, we must not expect to see the Church of Holy Scripture actually existing in its perfection on earth. It is not to be found, thus perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still less in any one of these fragments more than another may approach the Scriptural and Apostolic ideal which existed only until sin, heresy, and schism had time sufficiently to develop themselves to do their work." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 458.)