CHAPTER II

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN "A CHURCH" AND "THE CHURCH"

But before proceeding further, and in order to think and state clearly, we must emphasize some of the differences between a church in the sense of a human organization and the Church in the sense of a Divine Organism.

"A Church." - On the one hand, an organized church is a voluntary association, dependent on conditions of place and time and form. It is a human institution, organized by definite persons at a definite time in a definite locality. It has its own terms of admission, retention, dismission, exclusion. It has its own purposes, creed, ordinances, officers, rules, discipline, appliances, relations. It may be rent by dissensions; it may suffer even extinction. It acts on itself legislatively and executively, receiving, dismissing, excluding, its members according to its own will. The relation between its components is constructed and temporal. In brief, a church is a human organization. It is the earthly side of Christianity, as the Kingdom of God is its heavenly side. In other words, we can alter a church; we cannot alter the Church.

"The Church."- On the other hand, the Church Organic is a Divine Society, independent of conditions of place and time and form. It was never "constituted” in human time and space; it was prepared from the founda

tion of the world, having immortality for its birthright and creation for its heirloom. Its citizens are not enfranchised into it by baptism or by letters of transfer from any human ecclesia; its citizens are incorporate, essential, living parts of it. Being that spiritual Kingdom of which Jesus is the spiritual King, there is between him and his Church community of sentiment, thought, experience, purpose, movement in a single word, life. And this ideal Church, or Kingdom of God, surveyed as a whole in and by itself, has never had any outward, formal organization. True, it has its creed; but this creed is not engraved in any stone tablets of theological symbols; this creed is written with the Spirit of the living God in tablets that are hearts of flesh. It has its condition of citizenship; but this condition is neither heredity nor baptism nor vote of those already citizens; this condition is personal loyalty to the Divine Father, as revealed in Jesus Christ his Son, through demonstration of the Holy Spirit. It has its citizenregistry; but this registry no mortal eye has seen; this registry is the Lamb's scroll of life. It has its Sabbath; but this Sabbath is no chronological sabbath of twentyfour hours; this Sabbath is the eternal Sabbath-rest which remains to the people of God. It has its sessions; but these sessions are not held in any structures of wood or stone; these sessions are held in the heavenly realms in Jesus Christ. It has its pastor; but this pastor has never been ordained by any earthly presbytery; this pastor is the minister of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. It has its music; but this music is not the audible melody of solo or chorus; this music is the silent rhythm of human works and divine grace. It has

It has its polity; but this

its baptism; but this baptism is not in earthly water; this baptism is in the Holy Spirit. It has its communion; but this communion is not in any earthly bread and wine; this communion is in the living bread and the living water that came down from heaven. polity is not the polity of any written constitution; this polity is the polity of holy living and godliness. It has its liturgy; but this liturgy is not the liturgy of rubric; this liturgy is the liturgy of daily character. Take all these things away-take away creed, citizen-roll, Sabbath, sanctuary, minister, music, baptistery, communion table, liturgy, discipline. What have you taken away? You have taken away only what is outward, formal, incidental, transient; the Church or Kingdom of the living God, in all the essentials of its nature, still survives.

Need of Churches. Not that I would for a moment hint that we do not need ecclesiastical organizations. These we must have, and must strenuously maintain; for they are, at least in this world or æon, essential, not only to the spread of Christianity, but also to the preservation of the Christian life itself. Indeed, I am almost ready to affirm that without churches or ecclesiastical organizations we could hardly have the Church or Kingdom of God. In fact, all life tends to organization, even as all death tends to disorganization. Accordingly, a church in the sense of human organization may be as truly a divine institution as the Kingdom of God itself. He who is too good for a human church is not good enough for the Divine Church. In short, a church is our King's appointed means to the Church of God or Kingdom of Heaven.

The Church Larger than a Church. — Nevertheless, the

Church or Kingdom of God is a larger and diviner thing than even the churches or ecclesiastical organizations of the apostolic period. The Church of God, that is, God's Kingdom, is the corporation of re-born characters, the body of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven.

Importance of our Distinction. I have dwelt thus long on these points because this distinction between a church as a human organization and the Church as a Divine Organism is of the utmost consequence, doctrinally and practically. For this word "church" is so ambiguous that, unless we use it discriminatingly, the spirit of a remark or even the tenor of a whole treatise may be entirely misconceived, and therefore misrepresented. Let us, then, cherish the habit of using this term "church" scrupulously, ever carefully distinguishing between a church organized and the Church Organic; between a church local and the Church Universal; between a church visible and the Church Ideal; between a church constructed, which is man's fabric, and the Church Born, which is God's own Kingdom.

Having thus distinguished as clearly as possible between a church as a human organization and the Church as a Divine Organism, we proceed to devote the third part of our book to study of the Church as a Divine Ideal.

"The Church in the Wilderness." - This ideal Church of God was foreshadowed, although but dimly, in the vocation of the Hebrew nation, or as the martyr Stephen expressly calls it, "The ecclesia [church] in the wilderness." Jehovah said to Moses on Sinai :

Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me [mine own possession] from among [above] all peoples; for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. — Exodus 19: 3–6.

But Israel proved false to her divine vocation, and therefore forfeited her prerogative of becoming Jehovah's consecrated nationality, or ideal church. Nevertheless the firm foundation of God stands, having this twofold seal:

The Lord knows those who are his ;

and,

Let every one that names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.—2 Timothy 2: 19.

Accordingly, the apostle Peter, writing to the Christian sojourners of the Dispersion scattered in Asia Minor, uses language manifestly suggested by Jehovah's covenant with the church in the wilderness:

But ye are an elect race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession; that ye should show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; who once were not a people, but are now God's people; who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. — 1 Peter 2:9, 10.

The Two Churches. Here, then, are the two churches, - the earthly church of Moses, and the heavenly Church of Jesus. Thus we ascend from type to antitype; from the formal to the essential; from the local to the universal; from the transient to the immortal; from the means to the end; from the church in the wilderness to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven.