It may here be proper to inquire what is the suited attitude of the
Christian in view of the grand foundation-truth of the unity of the
body. That it is a truth distinctly laid down in the New Testament
cannot possibly be questioned. If any reader of these pages be not
fully established in the knowledge and hearty belief of this truth,
let him prayerfully study 1 Corinthians xii. and xiv., Ephesians ii.
and iv., Colossians ii. and iii. He will find the doctrine referred to
in a practical way in the opening of Romans xii; though it is not the
design of the Holy Ghost, in that magnificent epistle, to give us a
full unfolding of the truth respecting the Church. What we have to
look for there is rather the soul's relationship with God through the
death and resurrection of Christ. We might pass through the first
eleven chapters of Romans and not know that there is such a thing as
the Church of God, the body of Christ; and when we reach chap. xii.,
the doctrine of the one body is assumed, but not dwelt upon.
There is, then, "one body" actually existing on this earth, formed by
the "one Spirit," and united to the living Head in heaven. This truth
cannot be gainsaid. Some may not see it; some may find it very hard
to receive it, in view of the present condition of things; but
nevertheless it remains a divinely established truth that "there is
one body," and the question is, how are we individually affected by
this truth? It is as impossible to shake off the responsibility
involved therein as it is to set aside the truth itself. If there is a
body of which we are members, then do we, in every truth, stand in a
holy relationship to every member of that body on earth, as well as to
the Head in heaven; and this relationship, like every other, has its
characteristic affections, privileges, and responsibilities.
And be it remembered, we are not speaking now of the question of
association with any special company of Christians, but of the whole
body of Christ upon earth. No doubt each company of Christians,
wherever assembled, should be but the local expression of the whole
body. It should be so gathered and so ordered, on the authority of the
Word, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, as that all Christ's members
who are walking in truth and holiness might happily find their place
there. If an assembly be not thus gathered and thus ordered, it is not
on the ground of the unity of the body at all. If there be anything,
no matter what, in order, discipline, doctrine, or practice, which
would prove a barrier to the presence of any of Christ's members whose
faith and practice are according to the word of God, then is the unity
of the body practically denied. We are solemnly responsible to own the
truth of the unity of the body. We should so meet that all the
members of Christ's body might, simply as such, sit down with us and
exercise whatever gift the Head of the Church has bestowed upon them.
The body is one. Its members are scattered over the whole earth.
Distance is nothing: locality nothing. It may be New Zealand, London,
Paris, or Edinburgh; it matters not. A member of the body in one place
is a member of the body everywhere, for there is but "one body and one
Spirit." It is the Spirit who forms the body, and links the members
with the Head and with one another. Hence, a Christian coming from New
Zealand to London ought to expect to find an assembly so gathered as
to be a faithful expression of the unity of the body, to which he
might attach himself; and furthermore, any such Christian ought to
find his place in the bosom of that assembly, provided always there be
nothing in doctrine or walk to forbid his hearty reception.
Such is the divine order, as laid down in 1 Cor. xii. and xiv.; Eph.
ii. and iv. and assumed in Rom. xii. Indeed, we cannot study the New
Testament and not see this blessed truth. We find in various cities
and towns saints gathered by the Holy Ghost in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ; as, for example, at Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi,
Colosse, and Thessalonica. These were not independent, isolated,
fragmentary assemblies, but parts of the one body, so that a member of
the Church in one place was a member of the Church everywhere.
Doubtless, each assembly, as guided by the one Spirit, and under the
one Lord, acted in all local matters, such as receiving to communion,
or putting away any wicked person from their midst; meeting the wants
of their poor, and such like; but we may be quite assured that the act
of the assembly at Corinth would be recognized by all other
assemblies, so that if any one was separated from communion there, he
would, if known, be refused in all other places; otherwise it would be
a plain denial of the unity of the body. We have no reason to suppose
that the assembly at Corinth communicated or conferred with any other
assembly previous to the putting away of "the wicked person" in chap.
v., but we are bound to believe that that act would be duly recognized
and sanctioned by every assembly upon the earth, and that any assembly
knowingly receiving the excommunicated man would have cast a slur upon
the assembly at Corinth, and practically denied the unity of the body.
This we believe to be the plain teaching of the New Testament
Scriptures--this, the doctrine which any simple, true-hearted student
of these scriptures would gather up. That the Church has failed to
carry out this precious truth is, alas! alas! painfully true; and that
we are all participators in this failure is equally true. The thought
of this should humble us deeply before God. Not one can throw a stone
at another, for we are all verily guilty in this matter. Let not the
reader suppose for a single moment that our object in these pages is
to set up anything like high ecclesiastical pretensions, or to afford
countenance to hollow assumption, in the face of manifest sin and
failure. God forbid! we say with our very heart of hearts. We believe
that there is a most urgent call upon all God's people to humble
themselves in the dust on account of our sad departure from the truth
so plainly laid down in the word of God.
Thus it was with the pious and devoted king Josiah, whose life and
times have suggested this entire line of thought. He found the book of
the law, and discovered in its sacred pages an order of things wholly
different from what he saw around him. How did he act? Did he content
himself by saying, "The case is hopeless: the nation is too far gone:
ruin has set in, and it is utterly vain to think of aiming at the
divine standard; we must only let things stand, and do the best we
can"? Nay, reader, such was not Josiah's language or mode of action;
but he humbled himself before God, and called upon others to do the
same. And not only so, but he sought to carry out the truth of God. He
aimed at the very loftiest standard, and the consequence was, that
"from the days of Samuel the prophet, there was no passover like to
Josiah's kept in Israel; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such
a passover."
Such was the result of faithful reference and adherence to the word of
God, and thus it will ever be, for "God is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him." Look at the actings of the remnant that
returned from Babylon in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. What did they
do? They set up the altar of God; they built the temple, and repaired
the walls of Jerusalem. In other words, they occupied themselves with
the true worship of the God of Israel, and with the grand centre or
gathering-point of His people. This was right. It is what faith always
does, regardless of circumstances. If the remnant had looked at
circumstances, they could not have acted. They were a poor
contemptible handful of people, under the dominion of the
uncircumcised Gentiles. They were surrounded by active enemies on all
sides, who, instigated by the enemy of God, of His city, of His
people, left nothing undone to hinder them in their blessed work.
These enemies ridiculed them, and said, "What do these feeble Jews?
Will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an
end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the
rubbish which are burned?" Nor was this all; not only had they to
contend with powerful foes without, there was also internal weakness,
for "Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed,
and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall."
(Neh. iv.) All this was very depressing. It was very different from
the brilliant and palmy days of Solomon. His burden-bearers were many
and strong, and there was no rubbish covering the great stones and
costly with which he built the house of God, nor any contemptuous foe
to sneer at his work. And yet, for all that, there were features
attaching to the work of Ezra and Nehemiah which are not to be found
in the days of Solomon. Their very feebleness, the piles of rubbish
which lay before them, the proud and insulting enemies who surrounded
them--all these things conspired to add a peculiar halo of glory to
their work. They built and prospered, and God was glorified, and He
declared in their ears these cheering words: "The glory of this latter
house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts:
and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of Hosts." (Hag.
ii. 9.)
It is of importance, in connection with the subject that has been
engaging our attention, that the reader should carefully study the
books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah. They are full of
most blessed instruction, comfort, and encouragement in a day like the
present. Many, nowadays, it may be, are disposed to smile at the bare
mention of such a subject as the unity of the body; but let them ask
themselves, Is it the smile of calm confidence, or the sneer of
unbelief? One thing is certain, the devil as cordially hates the
doctrine of the unity of the body as he hates any other doctrine of
divine revelation, and he will as assuredly seek to hinder any attempt
to carry it out as he sought to hinder the rebuilding of Jerusalem in
the days of Nehemiah. But let us not be discouraged. It is enough for
us that we find in God's Word the precious truth of the one body. Let
us bring the light of this to bear upon the present condition of the
professing Church, and see what it will reveal to our eyes. It will
most assuredly put us on our faces in the dust before our God because
of our ways; but at the same time, it will lift our hearts up to the
contemplation of the divine standard. It will so enlighten and elevate
our souls as to render us thoroughly dissatisfied with everything that
does not present some expression, however feeble, of the unity of the
body of Christ. It is wholly impossible that any one can drink into
his soul the truth of the one body and rest satisfied with any thing
short of the practical recognition thereof. True, he must make up his
mind to bear the brunt of the enemy's opposition. He will meet a
Sanballat here, and a Rehum there, but faith can say,--
"Is God for _me_? I fear not, though all against me rise;
When I call on Christ my Saviour, the host of evil flies."
There is ample encouragement for our souls in the word of God. If we
look at Josiah, just _before the captivity_, what do we see? A man
simply taking the Word as his guide--judging himself and all around by
its light--rejecting all that was contrary to it, and seeking, with
earnest purpose of heart, to carry out what he found written there.
And what was the result? The most blessed passover that had been
celebrated since the days of Samuel.
Again, if we look at Daniel, _during the captivity_, what do we see? A
man acting simply on the truth of God and praying toward Jerusalem,
though death stared him in the face as the consequence of his act.
What was the result? A glorious testimony to the God of Israel, and
the destruction of Daniel's enemies.
Finally, if we look at the remnant, _after the captivity_, what do we
see? Men, in the face of appalling difficulties, rebuilding that city
which was, and shall be, God's earthly centre. And what was the
result? The joyous celebration of the feast of tabernacles, which had
not been known since the days of Joshua the son of Nun.
Now, if we take any of the above interesting cases, and inquire as to
the effect of their looking at surrounding circumstances, what answer
shall we get? Take Daniel, for instance. Why did he open his window
toward Jerusalem? Why look toward a city of ruins? Why call attention
to a spot which only bore testimony to Israel's sin and shame? Would
it not be better to let the name of Jerusalem sink into oblivion? Ah?
we can guess at Daniel's reply to all such inquiries. Men might smile
at him too, and deem him a visionary enthusiast; but he knew what he
was doing. His heart was occupied with God's centre, the city of
David, the grand gathering-point for Israel's twelve tribes. Was he to
give up God's truth because of outward circumstances? Surely not. He
could not consent to lower the standard even the breadth of a hair. He
would weep, and pray, and fast, and chasten his soul before God, but
never lower the standard. Was he going to give up God's thoughts about
Zion because Israel had proved unfaithful? Not he. Daniel knew better
than this. His eye was fixed on God's eternal truth, and hence,
though he was in the dust because of his own sins and his people's,
yet the divine banner floated above his head, in its unfading glory.
Just so now, dear Christian reader, we are called to fix the gaze of
faith upon the imperishable truth of the one body; and not only to
gaze upon it, but seek to carry it out in our feeble measure. This
should be our one definite and constant aim. We should ever and only
seek the expression of the unity of the body. We are not to ask, "How
can this be?" Faith never says, "How?" in the presence of divine
revelation; it believes and acts. We are not to surrender the truth of
God on the plea that we cannot carry it out. The truth is revealed,
and we are called to bow to it. We are not called to form the unity of
the body. Very many seem to think that this unity is a something which
they themselves are to set up or form in some way or another. This is
a mistake. The unity exists. It is the result of the presence of the
Holy Ghost in the body, and we have to recognize it, and walk in the
light of it. This will give great definiteness to our course. It is
always immensely important to have a distinct object before the heart,
and to work with direct reference thereto. Look at Paul, that most
devoted of workmen. What was his aim?--for what did he work? Hear the
answer in his own words: "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and
fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh
for _His body's sake, which is the Church_: whereof I am made a
minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me
for you, to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been
hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His
saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in
all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;
whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which
worketh in me mightily" (Col. i. 24-29).
Now, this was a great deal more than the mere conversion of souls,
precious as that is, most surely. Paul preached the gospel with a
direct view to the body of Christ; and this is the pattern for all
evangelists. We should not rest in the mere fact that souls are
quickened; we should keep before our minds their incorporation, by the
one Spirit, into the one body. This would effectually preserve us from
sect-making--from preaching to swell the ranks of a party--from
seeking to get persons to _join_ this, that, or the other
denomination. We should know nothing whatever but the one body,
because we find nothing else in the New Testament. If this be lost
sight of, the evangelist will not know what to do with souls when they
are converted. A man may be used in the conversion of hundreds--a most
precious work indeed--precious beyond all expression,--and if he does
not see the unity of the body, he must be at sea as to their further
course. This is very serious, both as to himself and them, and also
as to the testimony for Christ.
May God's Spirit lead all Christians to see this great truth in all
its bearings. We have but glanced at it, in connection with our theme;
but it demands much serious attention at the present moment. It may be
that some of our readers are disposed to find fault with what they may
deem a long digression from the subject of "Life and Times of Josiah;"
but in truth it should not be looked on as a digression, but as a line
of truth flowing naturally out of that subject--a line, too, which
cannot possibly be over-estimated.