CHAPTER XXI. DEDUCTION AND EXPOSITION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, CONSIDERED AS THE VISIBLE CHURCH OF CHRIST. I. 1. The Effect of God's gracious Interposition after the Fall, upon Man's Relation to God.-2. The practical Result of that Interposition, generally stated.-3. Theoretical Issue of the Probation of the Human Race, upon the Conditions stated.— 4. Revealed Result: Coming of the Son of Man.-II. 1. Divisions of the Human Race, Spiritually Considered: God's manifold Dealings responsive to those Divisions.-2. Manifold Aspect of the Kingdom of God: Visible Church of Christ.3. Separate from the World, and organized for the Special Ends, and by the Special Means of its Visibility: Concatenation of God's Providence and Grace.III. 1. Nature of Man and of Society-Fundamental Principles of the Church's Organization-Revealed Ordination of God: Relation between them all.—2. Exhaustive Statement of the Functions of Society, in itself considered :-(a) The aggregate Expression of what is Right: Public Will: Law:-(6) Enforcement of the Rule of Right-by the aggregate Force: Administrative Authority: (c) Exposition and Application of Law, to Duties and Rights: Judicial Authority. -3. Dependence of these Functions of Society, on the Moral, Rational, and Spiritual Nature of Man: Their Relevancy to God, the universal Lawgiver, Judge, and Ruler.-4. Application of these Principles to the Visible Church: Fundamental Distinction between the Gospel Church and the Civil State.-5. The Law of God the sole Law of the Church of Christ: Nature and Ground of this Peculiarity.-6. Her judicial and executive Functions: Their Nature and Extent. 7. Definition of the Visible Church of Christ, now Militant under the Gospel State thereof. I-1. THE Fall of Man placed the human race in such an estate, that its universal perdition could be prevented no otherwise, than by the sovereign and gracious interposition of God, changing the relation of that race to himself. That interposition occurred and a clear account of it, in its whole nature and design, has been given to us by God in the sacred Scriptures. Those inspired writings contain-and they alone contain-the true religion of man considered as a sinner: and that religion embraces the sum of God's sovereign and gracious interposition to prevent the universal perdition of the human race, and, therefore, the sum of what man can need in order to be saved. Yet that interposition of God did not change the relation of our fallen race to him, by abolishing the true religion natural to man, considered merely as a creature; but by graciously adding to it, in a way of divine revelation, the true religion needful for man, considered as a fallen and depraved creature. By what is added God becomes the Redeemer, without ceasing to be the Creator; and the saved sinner remains the dependent creature of God. 2. In point of fact, the whole human family has never been brought under the influence of this new form, in which life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel. On the contrary, besides the original apostacy in Adam, God when he has made inquest on signal and widely separated occasions, has found our sinful race alike ignorant of him, and hostile to him. In the days of Noah he drowned the whole race in the flood of waters, saving alive only Noah and his family. In the days of Abraham God chose him out of a rebellious world, and made his covenant with him as the father of the faithful. In the days of the early Gospel Church, God set aside even his ancient people for their sins, and has scattered them and hidden his face from them ever since. And Christ himself hath demanded concerning what is yet before us, When the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?' The knowledge of the written word of God has never been communicated to any one entire generation of men; and, even at the present hour, it is probable that the larger part of the human family are in ignorance of God's designs of mercy to fallen And of those who have obtained knowledge, more or less complete, on that momentous subject, it is probable that the greater part do not profess to have received the truth in the love of it; and of those who make that profession, neither the Scriptures, nor our own most charitable judgments permit us to doubt, that multitudes are alike ignorant and destitute of the power of divine love." men. 3. Such is the practical result of the sovereign and gracious interposition of God for the salvation of sinners, as exhibited by its progress from the beginning of time. And the whole is announced when two most pregnant statements are added. First, that it is not given to mortals to foresee how long, how sad, or how variable the struggle between light and darkness may be, before the final victory is won-nor yet how soon that last triumph may come.3 1 Luke, xviii. 8. 2 Matt., xxv. passim. 3 Matt., xxiv. 36-42; Acts, i. 7; 1 Thess., v. 1–11. And secondly, that God's Kingdom has always been, and will continue immovably established, in this rebellious world; and that the heirs of that Kingdom are the salt of the earth-the light of the world.' Theoretically, it is not easy to see how this great problem could have worked itself out in a different manner, upon the terms stated; nor how any result, substantially different, could ever be reached, or the subject extricate itself from endless conflict, unless some of the conditions of the problem are radically changed, on one side or the other. For it has been shown that the actual condition of the universe is this, namely, that it lies under the curse of God-with a promise of deliverance; but the curse is broader than the promise in this, that in some sense the curse embraces all, while the promise takes one and leaves another; the one fastening and working with instant and universal force, while the other, pointing chiefly to the future and the unseen, works in the midst of our darkness and pollution. When we speak of the grace of God, the sense is most true and real, but it is also strict: when we speak of the pollution of sin, the sense is not only true, but absolute and universal. And the grace itself, rich as it is, is not merely for our deliverance, but for deliverance in such a way that a true probation is made, alike of those who reject it, and of those who are led in willing captivity to it. 4. The Scriptures, however, leave us in no doubt as to what the real event will be, and how it will be brought to pass. The nature and certainty of the change that will occur in the terms of this problem, so endless and insoluble to human reason, on the conditions stated, are amongst the clearest and grandest parts of the revealed scheme of our deliverance. The advent of Christ was the great promise of the Scriptures of the Old Testament: his second coming is at once the great promise and the great threat of the Scriptures of the New Testament. However we may dispute about that coming, as to its exact manner, its set time, and all its sublime incidents and results; no one who calls himself an heir of the Kingdom of God, ought to doubt the great fact itself, or its decisive and eternal efficacy. He whose right it is, shall take the Kingdom. The Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, and then shall he sit 1 Matt., v. 13, 14; xxviii. 19, 20. 2 Matt., xxiv. 29–31; xvi. 26; Mark, xiii. 24–27; Rev., i. 4–8. upon the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all nations.' II.1. The consequence of such a state of things must be the division of the human family, when spiritually considered, into great classes: and then the subdivision of those classes into subordinate, but still immense masses of human beings. The first division would separate those who have been made acquainted with the salvation of God, from the remainder of the human race; on the one side nominally believing, and on the other unbelieving peoples, races, and nations. Passing by all the latter, the second division would separate, amongst the former, all who profess to love and obey the Lord, from all merely speculative believers, who make no profession of being the people of God. And again passing by all who fall into this latter class, the third division would separate amongst the professed followers of Christ, such as are the true children of God, from all those whose profession is merely a form or a delusion. It is only after these repeated divisions of our race, that the true heirs of eternal lifethe true members of the Kingdom of God-can be even theoretically extricated from the mass of our perishing fellow-creatures, and contemplated as divinely set apart for the special glory of God, as his Church. And it is manifest that these various distinctions amongst men, must be responsive to a manifold method of treatment of them by God. His dealings and his manifestations of himself, are not the same towards those who are wholly destitute of all knowledge of his revealed will-towards those who know his will and despise it-towards those whose professions of love and obedience have no solid foundation-and towards those penitent and believing followers of the Lamb who shall inherit all things. These things are not merely casual— any more than those explained immediately before: nor are these mere speculations. I am pointing out results logically unavoidable attested by the word of God, and by all experience-which belong to the very system of the universe, under the conditions now stamped upon it." 2. In a somewhat analogous manner to these spiritual distinctions which exist amongst the human family, and are responsive to a manifold treatment on the part of God; there are 1 Matt., xxv. 31, 32; 1 Thess., iv. 14-18; 2 Thess., i. 7-10; Jude, 14, 15. various aspects in which the Kingdom of Christ, and God's dealings with it, and its relations to man, are presented to us. We may consider it with reference to its absolute unity and universality; embracing every one of the elect of God, whether they be now in glory, or in the flesh, or unborn. Or we may consider it as divided by the stream of death into the Church triumphant, embracing only such as have entered into their rest, and the Church militant, embracing such true followers of Christ as are passing through their pilgrimage. Or we may consider the Church universal under the ordinary division of invisible, and visible; embracing under the former, the universal body of the Elect of God, considered not as they are sinners, but as they are his children; and under the latter, according as we speak loosely or strictly, all living men who profess the name of Christ, or more truly, all living men who are his true followers. In reality, the visible Church can have no existence, except just so far as it is composed of true members of the Church universal; for where there are none of these, there can be no Church of God. Properly speaking, the visible Church can be nothing else but that portion of the true and eternal Kingdom of God, which is apparent on earth and we might as truly speak of another head of the Kingdom than Christ; or another Creator of it than the divine Spirit, as of other members of it than the elect of God. How far the Church of God is, at any time, visible on earth, can be known infallibly only to him. Whether it is visible to us, is, both theoretically and practically, capable of being precisely determined -as I will show in subsequent chapters; and the knowledge thus attainable, is the guide of Christian fellowship between the various sections, whether national or denominational, into which the Church is divided. Whether particular individuals are to be accepted as worthy members of the visible Church, is also capable of being precisely determined; and the knowledge thus attainable, is the guide for those entrusted with Government and Discipline in the Church of Christ-concerning both of which I will treat hereafter. 3. The Kingdom of God, presented to us throughout the Scriptures in a light distinctly threefold, is called the Messianic Kingdom from its head Messiah-is called the New Creation as being the spiritual creation of the Holy Ghost--and is called the Church of God, and of Christ, from its members, who are indi |