LECTURE XCVI.

ON THE CHURCH.

Different Meanings of the Term, Church.-Import of the Distinctions into the Visible and Invisible, Militant and Triumphant Church.-The Design of the Church.-The Qualification of its Members; Baptism, Knowledge, Faith, and a Credible Profession.-The Unity, Universality, Perpetuity, and Infallibility of the True Church.

THE design of God in the various dispensations of religion, has been to establish and uphold a society of a singular character, separated from the world, dedicated to his service, and distinguished by the high privileges conferred upon the members. As this society is the object of his special care, and it is in it that revelation is preserved, the ordinances of the true religion are administered, and the blessings of salvation are enjoyed, it is entitled to particular

attention.

The name by which it is known among us is the Church, and this term is used as equivalent to the Hebrew word, and the Greek word exxarsa. As a signifies a congregation, or a number of persons gathered together, so this is the import of exxanoia, which denoted, among the Greeks, an assembly of the people convoked by lawful authority. Accordingly, the former word is frequently translated by the latter in the Septuagint, and occurs likewise as its substitute in the New Testament. In the fortieth psalm, the Messiah says, "I have declared thy righteousness in the great congregation;"- Sp—and the passage is thus quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Εν μεσα εκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε; In the midst of the church I will sing praise to thee.”* The Septuagint here employs the word συναγωγή.

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The word exxanoia bears a variety of senses, which either are found in Scripture, or have been since attached to it in the common language of Christians It is not certain that it any where signifies, in the New Testament, the place of meeting for the worship of God, (see 1 Cor. xi. 22.) although it very early received this meaning by metonymy, according to which the thing containing is called by the name of that which it contains; and, in imitation of the ancients, we give the designation of churches to those houses in which Christians hold their religious assemblies. As it would serve no purpose to inquire whether there were any houses so denominated in the days of the Apostles, I proceed to observe, that the Church sometimes denotes a single family, or rather a few individuals associated together in observing the institutions of the Gospel. This appears from such passages as the following: "Greet the church that is in the house of Aquila and Priscilla." "Salute the church which is in the house of Nymphas." It is highly probable that those churches consisted, not only of the children and servants belonging to the persons named, but of others, who, professing the faith, repaired to their houses at stated times to hear the word, and to unite in the exercises of prayer and praise. There is little reason to think that the primitive disciples had any other houses in which they might hold their conventicles, as they were an infant sect, and were surrounded with enemies, whose notice it would have been imprudent to attract by a public dis play. However few in number, they were encouraged to meet by the gracious promise of our Saviour, that "where two or three are met together in his name, he is in the midst of them."

Again, The Church signifies all the Christians in a particular city, whether they assembled for religious offices in one place, or in several places. This is

plain from the following words: "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers."* All the disciples in that celebrated city were accounted one church; while it is beyond doubt that they were too many to form only one congregation. On this subject, indeed, there has been a diversity of opinion; and, in particular, Independents, have discovered an anxious wish to prove the negative, because the fact which I am stating is at variance with their notions of the constitution of a church. But let us attend to the language in which the sacred historian speaks of the success of the Gospel among its inhabitants: "And the hand of the Lord was with them; and a great number believed, and turned to the Lord." "And it came to pass, that a whole year Saul and Barnabas assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people; and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch."† When we consider that there were many converts before the arrival of Barnabas and Saul, and that they had laboured with success for a whole year prior to the time when the church is spoken of as one, it must be strong prejudice which leads any person to deny that the word is used as a general term comprehending several congregations; for it is altogether incredible that the disciples would have been called "a great number," and "much people," if they could have been convened in one house, and for the reason given above, probably a private house. In the same sense the word is used in reference to Jerusalem, all the disciples in which are repeatedly represented as one church. But that there were more assemblies than one in that city is evident, not only from the number of converts specified in the Acts, many of whom might be strangers, who afterwards removed to different places; but from the fact that the Apostles continued a long time in it after the day of Pentecost, not surely to minister to a single society of believers; and that the poor were so numerous, that not one deacon, but seven, were appointed to take care of them. I have dwelt rather long upon this point; but as this application of the term has been contested, some discussion was necessary, and I have thus been led to anticipate an argument which will again be brought forward in favour of the form of church-government which we have adopted.

There is another sense of the term which is now common, but of which I do not find any example in the New Testament, namely, when it is employed to denote the inhabitants of a whole country united in the same religious profession. There we read of the churches of Judea, the churches of Galatia, the churches of Macedonia, the churches of Asia. We, in this country, speak of the Church of Scotland, the Church of England, the Church of Holland, &c. This phraseology has arisen from the connexion of the church with the state, in consequence of which, Christianity, or rather a particular modification of Christianity, is established by law in a particular country, and all the inhabitants are required to adopt it in that form, unless a toleration be granted to dissenters to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. This has originated in an attempt to make Christianity a national affair, and to render the church commensurate with the territory over which the power of the civil government extends. It would lead us away from our present design, to enter upon the question concerning the lawfulness of civil establishments of religion. In general, we may say, that, so far as they blend together secular and spiritual things, interfere with religious liberty, and consider men as Christians, merely because they are subjects of the state, they are unscriptural, and must prove the source of manifold and grievous corruptions.

Farther, The word has been supposed to denote, not a whole religious socie ty, but only the office-bearers in it. It has been considered as bearing this sense in the following words: "And if he shall neglect to hear thee, tell it to the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as - Acts xiii. 1. Ib. v. 11. viii. 1, 3. xi. 22. xii. 1, 5. &c.

† Acts xi. 21, 26.

a heathen man, and a publican."* It is evident that the offending brother is to be brought before the church for judgment; and if he prove refractory, to be excommunicated. The power of government, Presbyterians affirm, is not vested in the people, but in those who preside over them; and consequently, if they are right, the church must here mean the ministers and rulers. Independents, of course, reject this interpretation; and some who differ from them in their views of church government, explain the words in a different manner. To settle this controversy, would require a train of circuitous reasoning, into which this is not the proper time to enter. I shall therefore pass over this sense of the term, and proceed to another, concerning which there is no dispute.

I observe, in the last place, that the church signifies all the disciples of Christ throughout the world. There are many examples of this extensive meaning of the term: "The church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood." "Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it." "The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." In these passages, the meaning of the term is more extensive than in any of the former instances, and comprehends all in every country, and in every age, who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their spiritual head.

In speaking of the church in this general view, it is necessary to consider it under two aspects, and to attend to the distinction which is commonly made of it into visible and invisible.

The

"The visible church," says our Confession of Faith, "consist of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children; and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation." It comprehends, therefore, various sects, differing from each other in some particulars, but united in acknowledging the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as the rule of faith and practice, and observing the ordinances of the gospel. Church of England calls the visible church "a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered, according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same."§ We may acquiesce in both definitions; but they are ge neral, and particularly the first, so that we may find some difficulty in practically applying them, to ascertain who are the true members of this church. Some sects we must exclude, because they deny the fundamental articles of the Christian religion, as Unitarians do; but others hold a mixture of truth and error, and hence it may not be easy to determine whether they should be admitted for the truth, or rejected for the error. Again, if the visible church consists of those who profess the true religion, and is an assembly of faithful men, it follows that those who do not fall under this description,-men who are ignorant of the doctrines of religion, disregard its ordinances, and openly transgress its laws, cannot be considered as belonging to it. However contradictory, therefore, may be the practice of the two churches of Scotland and England, the creed of neither encourages the idea of national Christianity, or of holding every person who is born in a particular country to be a member of the church, merely because he has been baptized by it, and is living within its bounds. The phrase, the visible church, is used very loosely by us all; but, if we would speak scripturally, and even rationally, we would not include in it the grossly ignorant and openly profane, any more than heathens and Mahometans; for the former are as little connected with Jesus Christ, even in outward appearance, as the latter. We would comprehend in the visible church none but those who make a credible profession of religion; that is, none but persons who possess a competent knowledge of its doctrines, observe its institutions, * Matth. xviii. 17. † Acts xx. 28. Eph. v. 25. 1 Tim. iii. 15. Conf. xxv. 2. § Art. xix

and regulate their conduct by its laws. Were this mode of settling its limits adopted, they would be very much narrowed, and a great part of what is called the Christian world would be left without its pale.

This church is called visible, not only because the persons who compose it are not angels or separate spirits, but men dwelling in mortal flesh, but because, as a society, it falls under the observation of our senses. The members are known; their assemblies are public; we may be present in them, and observe the celebration of the several parts of their worship. It is distinguishable, like any other society; and we can say, Here is the church of Christ; but there is the church of the Jews or of the Mahometans. Nothing more is necessary to discover it than the use of our senses. Having learned, by the perusal of the Scriptures, what are the discriminating characters of the church, wherever we perceive a society whose creed and observances are upon the whole conformable to this pattern, we are authorized to say, This is the church, or rather, a part of the church.

"The invisible church," I again quote the words of our Confession, “consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."* This is a definition of the church for which Christ gave himself; for he died for all who were chosen in him to salvation; but not an accurate definition of the invisible church as actually existing, in which not all the elect are comprehended, but those only who have believed. 1 consider the invisible church to be the congregation of those who have been called by Divine grace into the fellowship of the gospel, and sanctified by the truth; and they are one congregation, because, however distant in place and diversified in circumstances, they are united by closer bonds than those of external communion. "By one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Greeks, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into that one Spirit." In the visible church there is a mixture of saints and sinners, as there is of chaff and grain in the barn-floor, and of wheat and tares in the field; but this society is pure; not that the individuals who compose it are free from sin, but that they are all of one description, having been born from above. This is the true church, in which God dwells, and to which the promises are made. This is the body of Christ, to which he communicates spiritual influences, that it may "increase with the increase of God."

This church is said to be invisible, because it cannot be discovered by the eye. It is not separated from the world in respect of place, but of state. It lies hidden in the visible church, from which it cannot be certainly distinguished. The qualifications of its members are internal; their faith and love are not the objects of sense. Towards our fellew men we can exercise only the judgment of charity, founded on probable grounds; but we are liable to err, and from various causes may suppose saints to be hypocrites, and hypocrites to be saints. It is unseen by every eye but that which "searches the heart and tries the reins of the children of men.' "The Lord," and he only, "knows them that are his."

Hitherto I have spoken of the Church as subsisting exclusively upon earth; but there is another distinction which relates to it, as subsisting both on earth and in heaven. Taken in this comprehensive sense, it is divided into the church militant, and the church triumphant. The former comprehends those who are engaged in the spiritual warfare, wrestling against principalities and powers, struggling with the flesh and the solicitations of the world, and, in some cases, resisting even unto blood in their opposition to sin. The latter is made up of the glorified saints, who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and • Conf. xxv. 1. † 1 Cor. xii. 13.

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the word of their testimony, and have obtained the crown of life which fades not away. Let it be observed, that these constitute only one church, one family in heaven and on earth, being subject to the same Head, animated by the same spirit, and, notwithstanding their distance, holding holy communion, while they take an interest in one another's joys and sorrows, and unite in the worship of Him who sits upon the throne, and of the Lamb.

The design of the establishment of the church will be explained by the following particulars. First, It is appointed to be the depository of divine truth, in which it should be preserved, and by which it should be published to the world. To the Jews were committed the oracles of God in ancient times; but the custody of them is now transferred to the Christian church. Hence it is called, in a passage formerly quoted, "the pillar and ground of the truth." Secondly, It is an important part of its duty, to maintain and observe the ordinances of Christ, that the ends of their institution may be accomplished in the salvation of men, and He may receive due honour, as the exalted Lord to whom every knee should bow of things on earth. Thirdly, It is intended to be the asylum of sinners, who are called upon to leave the society of the world, and to enter into it by faith, that they may escape the destruction which is coming upon the wicked. It is like the cities of refuge in the promised land, into which the man-slayer fled from the pursuit of the avenger of blood. Lastly, It is the nursery of the saints, in which they are trained for the duties of the present life and the happiness of the next, by spiritual instruction and watchful superintendence, by doctrine and discipline.

From the general remarks which have been already made, it has appeared who are the members of the church considered both as visible and as invisible. With respect to the latter, it is unnecessary to say any thing farther, as there can be no doubt that the members are believers, regenerated persons, saints, since the Scripture says expressly, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."* But concerning the qualifications of the members of the visible church, it will be proper to enter into a more particular discussion.

First, An indispensable qualification of the members of the visible church is baptism, which has been called the initiatory seal of the new covenant, and is the rite by which our admission into the society of the faithful is declared. When Jesus Christ sent his Apostles to establish his church upon earth, he said to them, "Go ye therefore and teach," or rather, make disciples of "all nations"—μalŋtεvoate navra za eOvŋ—“baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." They were to be made disciples by baptism; not that the simple administration of this rite would constitute them such, or that it was to be administered to all who should come in the way of the Apostles, but that when they found persons who, having heard the gospel, professed faith in Christ, they should baptize them, and in this manner receive them into the number of his followers. As the uncircumcised were not admitted into the congregation of Israel, so the unbaptized have no right to enter into the church. In this respect the two ordinances resemble each other, that both were instituted as a preliminary step to the enjoyment of the other privileges of the people of God. It does not however follow, that baptism is necessary to salvation; for we may conceive a case, and it has actu ally happened, that a man has by some means-for example, by the perusal of the Scriptures-been savingly enlightened, who, at the same time, was in such a situation that he could not obtain the external sign of the righteousness of faith. There is no doubt that such a man went to heaven at death, and that he was a member of the invisible church, which is united to its exalted Head by the Spirit; but of the visible church, he was not a member, beMatth. xxviii. 19.

• Rom. viii. 9.