We have often the question, What is the Church and what its testimony? put before us; and very necessary considerations are these. They should be recalled to our minds, for we are apt to forget what the Church is, and what its testimony is; but we do not see as often mentioned the end and purpose of God in the Church; and it is most needful, for everything is subordinate to this. Testimony is the duty and service of the Church, but much of its testimony should be in act, in conformity to the mind of God, in its position and doings. This testimony cannot exist without the end and purpose of God in the Church being before it. In a sacred body, holding the truth of Christ as to His work and person, practical evil is the greatest evil. The testimony by word flows fitly with a just position and confession; and often out of it. Testimony is often only considered to be testimony to the grace of God in Christ, to the sinner as first found. But if the testimony of the Gospel ends here, it is so far futile, that it becomes a primary work without result but in producing itself. Nor should the result be forming Christianity. It would be Christianizing Jewish thoughts. The end and purpose of God far outstrips this, being to gather together a company as associates of Jesus in the glory; and the Church in its proper action, is the means of God to this end, as the body itself is constituted of those who are to be with Him. This is as far as the persons themselves are looked to. We find the expression of what regards the glory of God in Christ by the Church, in Eph. 1-that God, in the fullness of times, gathers all things in Christ, in heaven and in earth, among which, and at the head of all under Christ, stands the Church.
God, in His wisdom and prudence, makes all this known to us; His known end and purpose being most needful for our humble adoption of His will, and to our having a just conception of our place in reference to His glory. The higher we are carried, the lowlier becomes our bearing; the fitter is faith, not works, to what we receive. Our distinctness also from evil, and care of not uniting ourselves with an inferior dispensation, skew the wisdom and prudence of God in revealing thus His end and purpose for His own glory. It should have the first place in our minds, though its fulfillment stands necessarily last in order. On the rejection of Christ by Jew and Gentile, and of the Holy Ghost by Israel, the Gospel of glory came out. All was put on uncovenanted grace opening to glory, immeasurably distinct from all that could be offered to meet it; and it was in the way of, or through faith, and so necessarily by grace. We find one idea of the apostle that manifests the general result, as arising out of the position of those called and chosen; viz., that in everyplace, in earth as well as in heaven, they are a peculiar people, and as seen here, zealous of good works that became their calling. The world would not know them, as it knew not their Master. One born from above will not be comprehended, and His works not owned, or rather, probably, disowned by the world; being directed neither to its use nor accrediting the struggle it is engaged in. The world hears the sound of His confession, but it knows not whence such a One cometh, nor whither he is going.
The next matter of consideration, is the Church in the point of view as the place of the education of the associates of the glory of Jesus, till they come in the unity of the faith to the Perfect Man-till they know Him who was from the beginning. But what is " the Faith"? I find faith used in several senses-Faith as opposed to works in justification-Faith as the confidence of conscience-Faith as linked with the power of miracles; and Faith as the sum of life, and walk and confession of those who are called and chosen. In fact, conformity to Christ, and obedience to Him, and separation in accordance with the " calling " they have by grace.
It is more specially connected with calling; but this can never be separated from what becomes it in purification of the soul by faith of His person, and the grace that is in Him. Purification is the oil of the five wise virgins, who were, nevertheless, asleep to the hope of the appearing of Christ.
We can easily feel, that there was a special qualification for the Bride of the Lamb required by God. However, grace is the only fountain; yet must there be a condition and confession in accordance with the grace given to us in the gift of eternal life, and of association with the glory of Jesus. How vainly do we see the strength of saints wasted in a thousand ways, and diverted from the object set before them by God-how much service attempted by those who are ranking only as " little children," and who in the end manifest themselves not to have kept themselves in subjection, and, moreover, are ignorant of the way of righteousness, and have their senses unexercised to discern good and evil? It is a painful lesson to learn by looking back, how impure the way has been while the things of God have been in the mouth. The action of the Church as gathered to God has not been understood, or it would not have been thus. The end and purpose of God in it was not held as needful to be secured, or it would not have occurred.
We often find among Christians a thought, that the condition of doing what they would not, and not doing what they would, or that the flesh should be lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, in equal and doubtful balance, is the normal condition of the believer, to which they are necessarily subject. So far from it, these places are an exposition of the case of those who do not apprehend the power and extent of grace, viz., that grace has provided Jesus to be looked at, fed upon, and made the object of desire. It is this brings Christ as risen in his life and grace into the soul. Let them do so, and they shall be in no such condition. They shall thank God by Christ Jesus, and not be under the law. Few may be really inclined to have all that can be given; it would rob them too deeply of what they cherish, (which it would) of the affection as well as of the enjoyment of evil. But this is the only method by which 1 can pass by my affections, and reach and enjoy the power of God. The conflict is not with my sin, but whether I will come to Christ for its undoing or not. Many are ignorant of the way of God in this. They pray against their evil; but do not know that the glory of God seen as in a mirror in Jesus, will pass them on in an effectiveness they have not known to the object of their desire. God loves them; but the new creature is not established.
One thing may be held, therefore, as true, that, by the faith of Him, no evil need remain unovercome, or not displaced by Christ, or any grace remain unpartaken of. To use grace is eating and drinking indeed; and Jesus will be the one to raise those that eat and drink from the dead; for His life is in them. We are given access while yet but just born to consciousness; and we can be receiving from the first day of our admittance. Many a chastisement does the child receive from the father for sluggishness and forgetfulness in his progress. Servants receive reproof from the Lord for neglect of service. Service is a great place of perfecting, while a good confession is held to. God will, however, use what He finds to carry His word where He wills it should go; but it will be worse carried if not carried by instruments not only morally correct and zealous for the dispersion of the gospel, but purified by faith and called of God, and acquainted and exercised in the ways of God.
In considering what "the faith" is, we see it must necessarily (and mainly so, from the character of faith relating to the future) be found in all that relates to separation from this present evil age. "Be not conformed to this world, but transformed in the renewing of your minds." The action, disposition, and tastes of the Spirit are natural to the new man, because (in intelligence of the calling we have received) if these are maintained by the power and prevalence of them through faith (for it is of grace), they will never suffer the man to remain in accordance with the world, its action, tastes and dispositions. So nearly allied are the "not being conformed," and "being transformed."
The end and purpose of God in the Church in this respect are, that the intelligence of what becomes our calling, and the dispositions that are of God, should be educated in it. And what can a thing be that does not answer the end and purpose of its creator? He gave gifts to this end. Let us set out that remarkable word in Eph. 4, " And he gave some apostles.... some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
We find, in Phil. 3 a promise, that what was wanting to any, should be revealed to make them up. We see in Phil. 2, how, the suggestions of Paul for their growth in the faith being withdrawn, they must, with fear and trembling, make up the measure among themselves; for it was God that was to work to the willing and doing of it by His divine energy: thus, to render every man perfect in Christ Jesus, Paul labored according to the working of God, which worked in him mightily. Christ is the full measure in all things, "as ye, therefore, have received Christ, so walk in Him." We see it said of some, that by the time they should be teachers, they were still ignorant of the first principles of the doctrine of Christ-" babes not having their senses exercised to discern between good and evil." To us it would be ignorance of what became our calling, should not our senses be exercised-" He that doeth righteousness is born of God." There is to us a righteousness according to that calling, and " he that doeth righteousness is righteous, as [after the same manner as, καθὼς] Christ is righteous." The faith that is the sum of life, and walk according to our calling, is necessarily nearly allied with the hope of the Gospel. If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel.
We hear also of " striving for the faith once delivered to the saints." Now we see one Lord and one faith joined one faith-that is a separation and obedience to our calling-necessarily one under one Lord.-One faith, that is of Jew and Gentile; of these two Christ having made one in resurrection, having destroyed all obstacles by death; the third chapter being a parenthesis, and the fourth a continuance of the second; and recollecting the unity. of the faith which men were to be brought to by the means appointed, we see a consistency of path with our calling, in which it was necessary for full blessing to be agreed (see Phil. 4:22I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. (Philippians 4:2)); but it was practical. It is necessary in our evil day, to strive together to maintain it. I apprehend also that the works of faith of James 2, are allied with this. What becomes the Lord of glory is the point started from. The works of faith are then proceeded with; and his argument is, that if love, which fulfills none of its pretensions, is not love, so faith, that fulfills none of the purposes of redemption is not faith. "He died for our sins to redeem us out of this present evil age, according to the will of God and our Father"; and we are not redeemed out of it.
All this greatly affects the unity of the body-the Church. The end and purpose of God are as surely and more necessary, than primary qualification, so to speak. If I make the primary qualification, viz., being alive to God through faith of the Son, as the only ground of the oneness of the body (and many may be unawares let in who have it not), what an endless maze of varieties
and measures do I admit professedly (though the progress of souls, I allow, may be different)-varieties that touch essentials, and sit down content with this, that one acknowledges the other, as it is termed, a Christian; yet it is the unity of the faith we are to come up to. Have believers this proposed to them amidst all the ruin and difficulties of the Church? If we read the beginning of 1 John 2, we shall see how in an evil day things had to be measured. How possibly can an assembly clear itself of evil ones, but by advance on the way among themselves. Nor can we put aside the vagueness and uncertainty of the condition of a soul who has feelings, even to say the inward testimony of grace, with knowledge in the truth. In a day of deadness and darkness, light was brought in and spread abroad as to the testimony of the Spirit to the Child of God. It can never be put aside; but in that day of darkness, this becoming a leading circumstance to go by, the time came, that under the name of experience, a door was opened for much feeling that was not of God; and I would only ask the experience of the sober-minded, if they do not find that disapproval of a project in the soul is more to be depended on than the approval. Gathering of assemblies has been affected by these tests and judgment of souls, though not so mu,h so among brethren; but from the " calling " being neglected, and " the faith " as the end and purpose of God not being borne in mind how doubtful the soundness of the reception. To examine whether they were in the faith, was converted into a question which, if they had believed, should never be asked. The end and purpose of God in the Church, might be unrevealed to the neophyte. It might be unknown by those that received him, and what the action in the Church towards it might be still less known. Growing up into unity is, under such a state, impossible; and it must materially affect the true unity of the body.
If I take the primary qualification given of God to be of it as my rule of unity, what a vague, reeling, undirected action must ever be the state of it; the end and purpose of God being the very needful knowledge of every one that comes in. It is an obligation to reach a goal. It would secure, or would go far morally to secure, the humility that tends to practical unity; but the Church has not the elements of unity if the end and purpose of God is not before it. It would, in the knowledge of its calling, be abundantly engaged in the purification of the heart, and in the corning up to the mark of the calling to above which we had received. Without its being known, edifying (properly, building up) the body of Christ is known only as refreshing it in ministry. The knowledge of the end and purpose of God in the Church binds it, burdens its lightness, makes its eye single, and the need of Christ would hinder most debates about His person. Baptism would be known as separation, from all things else that are past, to Christ, and progress would increase thanksgiving for grace received and salvation waited for.
And what ruin more complete would exist of the. Church when the end and purpose of God was not acted upon, and to what would it turn itself, and to what has it ever turned itself? What use is machinery without something to act about out of which it is to be the means of producing something; or what avails the power of God without direction to the just results for which it is vouchsafed? How different the striving together for " the faith." How intelligent the discipline; how lovely the mutual support; how easily judged the profit of all that is offered to the saints. How full of friendship for the results' sake; and the glory of God in it is the earnest exhortation of one another. How the judgment is helped to all clearness in receiving those that profess their share in Christ. What a blessed nursery for the forgiven children in the steps to manhood, and the knowledge of the Son of God. How wanting we have been in these things, and who will be patient in hearing them. W. H. D.