Chapter 10

by expelling the tares from the wheat in the Lord's field, they are disregarding the teaching of His parable (S. Matt. xiii. 24-30), the meaning of which cannot be doubtful. And, at the same time, all who will take pains to study Holy Scripture will find that to be a member of "The Kingdom of Heaven," or Church of Christ, is no mere matter of choice, but of vital importance; because no other way has been revealed whereby we may be saved, but by accepting the Gospel of the Kingdom, and by being admitted into it, as those first converts were, to whom S. Peter said, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation" (Acts ii. 40, 41).

We are now in a position to sum up what has been gathered from Holy Scripture about the essential unity of "The Kingdom of Heaven."

The idea of a Kingdom implies the necessity of unity. And it was provided that the essential unity of "The Kingdom of Heaven" should be maintained through the Headship of the one King over all. The King commissioned His Apostles to make all the nations of the world His subjects, and assured them of the authority to do this by promising to be with them and their successors to the end of the world. And wherever the Church spread, however defective and imperfect it might be, it was still part of one and the same Kingdom, owning the Lord Jesus Christ as King. Besides this bond of union, one Holy Spirit was working with more or less success upon all the subjects, wherever they might be; one Hope was held out before all, of salvation; one Faith in the ever-blessed Trinity was taught to all, and professed by all; one Baptism enrolled all; one God was the object of the worship of all.

But the unity of a Kingdom depends not only upon the King and the laws and ordinances of the Kingdom, but also upon the loyal obedience of the subjects. And the subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven" have, in past times, so far forgotten this duty, that it has come to pass that for centuries the great branches of the Church of Christ have had little, if any, outward communion or fellowship with one another. And in our own country the professed members of Christ are divided into many bodies, not only independent of one another, but oftentimes opposing, rather than helping forward, the extension and well-being of the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And the result has been that we have learned by sad experience the reason of the foreboding tone of our Lord's last prayer, "That they all may be one; ... that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (S. John xvii. 21). The multitudes of men, practically heathen, in the midst of this professedly Christian land, and the still greater multitudes of men in other lands whom the good news of the Kingdom has not reached, are proofs of the weakness of the Church of Christ. Christians are not "one;" and consequently "the world" does not "believe" in Him whom the Father of His great love sent to be its Saviour.

During the first few centuries the Church spread rapidly, not only throughout the more civilised parts of the Roman Empire, but also amongst the rough Celts of Britain and the fierce Teutons of Germany. We may well ask, why did it cease to spread, and why are so many lands still lying in darkness? Since Christ came to be the Saviour of the world, how is it that there are so many millions of Buddhists and Hindoos in Asia, that to this day it is said that not one-third of the inhabitants of the world are; Christians? The answer is, alas! clear. The unity of the One Universal Church of Christ has not been maintained in the full and perfect manner described in our Lord's Prayer, "That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us" (S. John xvii. 21). Christians have lost the sense of brotherhood, which should bind them all together in Christ, of whatsoever nation or language they may be. The Church has ceased to move with the irresistible power of one mighty army, acting with one mind for the glory of God.

All thoughtful subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven" must lament this state of disunion and weakness. And men are striving in different, and in some cases opposite ways, to bring about re-union. But when we begin to ask, What is the remedy? we find that we are facing a mighty problem. God's loving purpose for the salvation of the world has been marred by man's wilfulness. His Kingdom, which might have been irresistible and have won the whole world for Christ, has been split up into many portions, which have been opposing and weakening one another, instead of fighting His enemies. How can these portions, after centuries of disunion, be reunited into one? How can the mischief be undone?

It is beyond the power of man.

Yet at the same time we can see that there are certain things which all can do to advance the object in view, and to promote re-union at least in our own National Church at home, if not also between the different branches of Christ's Holy Church[20] throughout the world. But to do so, two things are clearly necessary. One thing is to have a clear grasp of the principle which runs through the whole teaching of the Bible,--that Christ came to found a Kingdom. And the other is to desire unity. If all desired unity, the desired result would certainly be accomplished.

But one thing is certain. No plan of re-union can succeed which is not based upon the clear teaching of Holy Scripture. "The Kingdom of Heaven" is there clearly described. First by the King Himself in His parables and discourses, before the Kingdom was yet founded; and then in the history of the Acts of the Apostles, which tells how the Kingdom or Church of Christ, which had been purchased with His own Blood, was set up under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. And inasmuch as no man, nor any body of men, can form a new "Kingdom of Heaven," the only position which a Christian can hold, in agreement with Holy Scripture, is the position of a subject of that Kingdom which was so founded.

And when we call to mind that "The Kingdom of Heaven" extended to our own land, by the Providence of God, in early days, we see at once that our aim, as loyal subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ, must be to win back those who have separated from us, to act as fellow-soldiers with us in the one great army of our King, serving under the same flag and the same officers, and fighting with united energy for the glory of God.

But as in an earthly kingdom various opinions may be held by different persons and parties, and yet all may be loyal subjects of the same King, and earnestly advancing the well-being of the kingdom, so in the spiritual Kingdom of Messiah unity does not mean that all must think alike[21]. But there is one necessary condition, namely this,--the essential unity of the Kingdom must be kept in view. There can be but one "Kingdom of Heaven." Consequently, to form separate and independent bodies cannot fail to cause confusion and weakness. To act in the Name of the King men must be united. If we, who call ourselves by the Name of Christ, desire to spread His Kingdom with the irresistible force which belongs to it, we must show to the world that we are all one in interests--in the common hope of Heaven; all one in faith--in the common belief in the love of God, as it is expressed in the work of redemption, through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; all one in Baptism into the great Name of the ever-Blessed Trinity; and, above all other bonds of union, all one in loyal devotion to the one Lord and King, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

FOOTNOTES:

[18] Let me beg every reader of these lines to pause here, and shoot up an arrow of prayer that God may lead men to think of the blessedness of being united, as sons of one Father, brethren of one family, subjects of one Kingdom. And I would ask those readers who may be, at present, living in outward separation from the Ancient Branch of Christ's Church in this land, to consider with themselves what cause there is in their own case to justify, before God, such a separation from their Brethren in Christ.

[19] Consider also S. Paul's earnest words, "Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, that there are contentions among you" (1 Cor. i. 2, 10, 11).

[20] A caution is perhaps needed here to prevent the reader from supposing that any re-union is advocated which would involve union with error. On the one hand, we must "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Gal. v. 1). We must firmly refuse to accept any other foundation than that of the Creeds, settled by an undivided Christendom. And on the other hand, we must set ourselves with equal firmness against allowing any "Shibboleth" (Judges xii. 6), made out of exaggerated views of particular doctrines, to cut off those who should be brethren, not only in name but in life.

[21] Truths are many-sided. Men may agree in their belief in truths, and yet hold different opinions concerning those truths. Just as men, who live on different sides of a mountain, all look upon the same mountain, and yet see different views of it; so men see different sides of a truth. To know a truth perfectly men must see it from every point of view. And the power of taking such comprehensive views of truths is granted to few, if any, here on earth. Probably this perfect knowledge is reserved for us in Heaven; when all, who have loved their Lord in sincerity, will find that their controversies with one another here on earth have been due to their imperfect knowledge and limited views of the truths of God.