BS 2695 .C874 
 Cowden, John B. 
 
 Saint Paul on Christian 
 unity 
 
■J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2019 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/saintpaulonchrisOOcowd 
 
Saint Paul on Christian Unity 
 

SAINT PAUL 
 
 ON 
 
 CHRISTIAN UNITY 
 
 An Exposition of the Epistle 
 to the Ephesians 
 
 By/ 
 
 JOHN B. COWDEN 
 
 Christian-Unity Evangelist-Pastor 
 
 Author of “ Christian Worship“ Fellowship?' 
 “ In Furtherance of the Gospel?' etc. 
 
 New York Chicago 
 
 Fleming H. Revell Company 
 
 London and Edinburgh 
 
Copyright, 1923, by 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
 
 New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
 Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. 
 London: 21 Paternoster Square 
 Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street 
 
To my wife, Lilian Smallman Cowden, to whom I am 
 happily united in marriage, to which conjugal union Paul 
 compares the mysterious union of Christ and His Church, 
 for the unity of which this hook is written and sent forth. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
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Contents 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 I. The Call To-day for Unity . . .11 
 
 II. Is Christian Unity Possiele? ... 20 
 
 III. Is Christian Unity Practicable ? . .30 
 
 IV. A Personal Foreword .... 39 
 
 PART I.—THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 V. The Church Planned.4 7 
 
 VI. The Head of the Church .... 52 
 
 VII. The Terms of Entrance Into the 
 
 Church.57 
 
 VIII. The Plan for the Unity of the Church 62 
 
 IX. The Dynamic for Unity .... 94 
 
 PART II.—ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 X. Character. 105 
 
 XI. Doctrine. 116 
 
 XII. Service. 143 
 
 XIII. Conduct .155 
 
 XIV. Battle. 163 
 
8 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 XV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XVII. 
 XVIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 Valedictory Summary 
 Christ’s Glorious Church 
 Liberty and Unity .... 
 The Outlook for Christian Unity . 
 
 . 175 
 . 180 
 . 187 
 . 200 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 

 
I 
 
 THE CALL TO-DAY FOR UNITY 
 
 HE world is entering upon a new era. We are 
 face-to-face with world tasks and problems that 
 call for the united action of all Christian nations 
 and churches. All the old conditions of life, which have 
 been with us from the beginning, and many new condi¬ 
 tions that arise out of the life of to-day call us to unity 
 that we may save the world and ourselves. Through the 
 many rapid modern means of communication and trans¬ 
 portation the world to-day has been brought close to¬ 
 gether, and is being made one as never before. As God 
 
 * 
 
 formerly “ made of one every nation of men to dwell on 
 the face of the earth,” He is to-day bringing these nations 
 back together and making them one by bringing them 
 into close touch and contact with each other through the 
 telegraph, the telephone, air-messages, the rapid trains 
 and steamships, automobiles and aeroplanes, etc. National 
 seclusion is, therefore, a thing of the past. The time has 
 come when no nation nor person “ liveth unto himself.” 
 Every nation has awakened to find itself in daily contact 
 with every other nation of the earth, and each individual 
 has thereby been brought into conscious touch with all 
 the people of the world. The world and the people 
 thereon are materially one to-day as never before; and 
 this physical unity calls for a corresponding spiritual 
 unity in both state and church. 
 
 Accordingly, men in all the relationships and interests 
 of life are awakening to this need of unity. Business 
 men are to-day thinking and planning in world terms 
 
 11 
 
12 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 for their business. They are buying from and selling 
 to the world; and no man that does not take the world 
 into his business can succeed to-day. All the professions 
 to-day are operating in and for the world instead of a 
 local community as of old. The lawyer deals with the 
 world to-day, and therefore needs a knowledge of inter¬ 
 national law as never before. The doctor to-day has 
 access to the medical and surgical clinics of the world, 
 and dares not practice his profession without a knowl¬ 
 edge of the same. The teacher goes to a world school, 
 and has access to all the knowledge of the world that he 
 may be prepared to teach the youth of this new world. 
 In fact, all are fast becoming cosmopolitans. 
 
 The Christian has been a cosmopolitan from the begin¬ 
 ning. On the day of Pentecost, the beginning of the 
 Christian era, “ there were gathered together devout 
 men from every nation under heaven;” and of this cos¬ 
 mopolitan multitude the first Christians were made. 
 These people came to Jerusalem seclusive nationalists, but 
 went away altruistic cosmopolitans. They were made to 
 see the world and its needs, and were sent away with 
 this world commission in their hearts, namely, “ Ye shall 
 be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and 
 Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” The 
 task of this commission called for the united effort of all 
 disciples, and all responded to the call; and through this 
 unity of action on the part of the first Christians the 
 Gospel was preached to the whole world by the Apostolic 
 church. Thus through unity the early church, in spite of 
 the many crushing, withering persecutions that came 
 upon it, grew rapidly, and spread throughout the known 
 world. But during the fourth century the church was 
 greatly hindered by the contention and conflict over the 
 question of church government, and finally divided into 
 
THE CALL TO-DAY FOR UNITY 
 
 13 
 
 two parties, the Episcopal and the Presbyterian, and has 
 continued to divide from that day to this over matters of 
 more or less importance, until to-day there are more than 
 two hundred distinct religious bodies in Christendom. 
 But the time has come for the gathering together and re¬ 
 storing of all these divided parts of the Church into the 
 original body of Christ. This is the call of God to-day 
 to all Christians in all the churches. 
 
 It is useless to review these divisions in the church with 
 the purpose of determining the blame and responsibility 
 for the same; even the apologists for division have been 
 unable to clear entirely the skirts of their respective par¬ 
 ties, so there must be blame on all sides; at any rate 
 the task of the church to-day is not to censure but to 
 restore; and to this end this book is directed and dedi¬ 
 cated. 
 
 Accordingly, we pass by the history of the divisions 
 without even mentioning them, and return at once to the 
 original body of Christ as revealed in the New Testament 
 that we may the better hear and heed the call for unity 
 to-day. We find that even the Apostolic church was 
 threatened with division, as is evident from these words 
 of the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth: 
 
 “ Now I beseech you. brethren, through the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, that there be no 
 divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the 
 same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been signified 
 unto me concerning you. my brethren, by them that are of the 
 household of Cloe, that there are contentions among you. Now 
 this, I mean, that each one of you sayeth. I am of Paul; and I 
 of Apollos; and I of Cephas: and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? 
 was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name 
 of Paul?” I Cor. 1:10-13. 
 
 The above is Paul’s call to the church of his day for 
 unity, warning them against division. You will note 
 from the absurd questions that he asks that he bases his 
 
14 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 appeal for unity upon the absurdity of divisions. Division 
 in the church is indeed absurd, irrational, if not insane. 
 The keeper of an insane asylum on being asked, “ Are 
 you not afraid that these insane people will unite some 
 time, and hurt you and the other attendants ? ”, replied, 
 “ No. Crazy people never unite on anything.” We can 
 unite on everything except religion, but on this we have 
 acted as insane people according to Paul. Paul further¬ 
 more shows that division is sinful, declaring it to be 
 “ carnal,” and classes it with such unspeakable sins of 
 the flesh as “ fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idol¬ 
 atry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, 
 divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings and 
 such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn 
 you that they who practice such things shall not inherit 
 the kingdom of God.” We need to see the exceeding 
 sinfulness of divisions, because in this conviction there 
 is a strong appeal for unity. But, 
 
 “Vice is a monster of such frightful mien 
 As to be hated needs but to be seen; 
 
 But seen too oft, familiar with his face, 
 
 We first endure, then pity, then embrace.” 
 
 Division has been with us so long; and we have become 
 so accustomed to the same, that it is hard for us to realize 
 the sinfulness of it. In fact, some have reached the stage 
 of embracing it and declaring it to be of God; but God 
 is not the author of sin. Division is “ a work of the 
 flesh,” says Paul, through which Satan operates to defeat 
 the cause of God in the earth; and it is Satan’s strongest 
 ally in weakening and defeating the church. So then, 
 the call for unity in the church is virtually the call of 
 God against Satan in the world. 
 
 Furthermore, God calls us to unity not only through 
 the teachings of the Holy Scripture, as shown above, but 
 
THE CALL TO-DAY FOR UNITY 
 
 15 
 
 through many modern conditions that speak to us like 
 “ burning bushes ” along our pathway, calling us to unity 
 and warning us against division. In the first place, there 
 is the high cost and stupendous waste of division that 
 urges unity. After our riot of spending and wasting 
 during the war economy is the watchword to-day; and 
 the unity of the church offers the greatest field for econ¬ 
 omy. In almost every small community there are from 
 five to seven churches, where there should be only one; 
 and by unity the saving in buildings, money and men 
 would evangelize the world for Christ in a short time. 
 Estimate this saving in one community, and then multi¬ 
 ply it by the vast number of such communities, and you 
 have one of the greatest problems in economy of which 
 the mind can conceive. 
 
 ' Also the world’s great need and the great tasks grow¬ 
 ing out of these needs call for unity. The world was 
 never in greater need than to-day, in need of food and 
 clothing, made destitute by the world war, and in need 
 of the Gospel, the greatest need of all, out of which have 
 sprung all of its other needs. In view of the greatness 
 and the urgency of the world’s need to-day, and the great¬ 
 ness of the task to supply this need, the church must 
 unite, or fail in its mission to the world. The supplying 
 of the world’s temporal and spiritual needs to-day is too 
 big a task for a divided church, just as it was too big a 
 task during the great world war. When that great, world¬ 
 wide conflagration of suffering and death broke out in 
 the world, men and women turned to the church, saying: 
 “ Where is the church ? Can not the church prevent this 
 awful war ? ” And some began to ask: “ Has the church 
 failed?” Yes, the church did fail—failed because of its 
 division. A united church could doubtless have pre¬ 
 vented this war. Furthermore, as the war progressed, 
 
16 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 with its awful suffering and untold deaths, suffering and 
 dying humanity again turned to the church, saying: 
 “ Can’t you feed us ? Can’t you bind up our wounds ? 
 Can’t you pour in the oil of consolation and salvation in 
 
 i 
 
 the hour of our death ? ” And again, on account of divi¬ 
 sion, the church had to sit helpless and unable to respond 
 to this world call, while such institutions as the Y. M. 
 C. A., the Red Cross, the Knights of Columbus, the Sal¬ 
 vation Army, etc., did this work that the church of Christ 
 was organized to do. If tears were ever shed in 
 heaven, undoubtedly they were shed then, when Jesus 
 Christ looked down upon this starving, bleeding, dying 
 world crying for help, and His church, weakened and 
 incapacitated through division, unable to respond to these 
 needs. But you say: “ The above institutions that did 
 
 this work are Christian institutions.” That is true; but 
 they are not the church, and the church as an institution 
 had to sit idly by, while the world suffered and died, be¬ 
 cause it was too big a task for a divided church. While 
 the war has passed, the need for a united church is no 
 less now than during the war, because the church to-day 
 is confronted by other world tasks and problems that are 
 too big for a divided church. The war brought the 
 nations of the earth together in a common cause, and 
 bound their welfare and destiny together in such a way 
 that the world to-day is one, and the tasks and problems 
 that confront us to-day are world problems and tasks. 
 National seclusiveness is a thing of the past. Nothing 
 short of a united League of Nations can meet and solve 
 the governmental problems and tasks of the future, and 
 nothing short of a united church can meet and solve the 
 religious problems and tasks of the future. 
 
 Another condition that calls all Christians to unity 
 to-day is the prevalence of sin and the dominance of 
 
THE CALL TO-DAY FOE UNITY 
 
 n 
 
 Satan in modern life. We are not living m the wickedest 
 age in the history of the world, not so wicked as the 
 Apostolic age (see Rom. 1 - 2 ) ; yet sin is still with us, and 
 Satan still commands the mighty “ spiritual hosts of 
 wickedness.” In fact, some sins seem to be on the in¬ 
 crease. Greed, selfishness, is rampant in the world to¬ 
 day. A more grasping, profiteering, avaricious people 
 never lived in the world. No people ever had more or 
 wanted more, and all of it hoarded for and spent upon 
 self. We are fast becoming Babylonians of the most 
 profligate type. Also we are headed toward Sodom. The 
 social sins are shockingly and alarmingly prevalent in 
 modern life. Lust like a consuming flame is burning out 
 both the physical and spiritual vitals of the race to-day. 
 Other sins also are eating out the body and soul of men 
 , and women; and Satan is still enthroned in high places, 
 leading a deluded, sin-ladened people to death and de¬ 
 struction. And the only way to check this wave of sin 
 and put sin out of modern life is to unite all Christian 
 forces against the same. The saloon was put out thus, 
 and so can every other sinful agency and enemy of 
 righteousness. Unless the Christian people unite, and 
 take their stand against sin and Satan, modern social life 
 is doomed. The call to unity is therefore the call of 
 righteousness that every lover of righteousness must hear 
 and heed. 
 
 Again, the safety of our homes and country call us to 
 unity. We are beset with perils upon every hand. Red 
 revolution is abroad in the land, undermining and de¬ 
 stroying all that we hold dear. The people of the United 
 States have been rocked so long in the cradle of liberty 
 and safety that we did not realize before the war that 
 dangers are possible; but we awoke to find that we had 
 been nursing in our very bosom the unspeakable Trotzky. 
 
18 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 This led to an American roll-call, which showed that we 
 had over eleven millions of people in this country that 
 could not speak the English language, nor cared nothing 
 for American ideals and standards. These revolutionary 
 propagandists are still working for the destruction of 
 modern civilization; and the safety of our homes and 
 country call all that cherish the ideals of church and state 
 to unite against them. The sacred hearthstone and the 
 precious flag call us to unite in their defense. 
 
 Furthermore, a losing, decreasing church calls us to 
 unity. In recent years every church has lost ground. 
 While there has been a partial recovery during the last 
 two years, there is still a large shortage of members and 
 congregations and an alarming shortage of ministers. 
 The Literary Digest, after investigation, recently stated 
 that there would be a shortage of ten thousand ministers 
 in the Protestant churches next year with no students in 
 the colleges to take the places. One has only to go into 
 the country and small towns to see numberless examples 
 of dying churches, dying because of divisions, for, if 
 the churches of the community were united, the church 
 could be supported, and would grow and prosper. The 
 rural churches will have either to unite or quit. So, 
 therefore, the call to unity in many places is the call of 
 life or death for the church. 
 
 Lastly, the Lord’s unanswered prayer for the unity of 
 all His disciples calls us into the unity of Himself and 
 the Father; and surely no one can be indifferent to this 
 prayer. John 17 : 20 - 21 . A mother, who wished to re¬ 
 claim her fallen daughter, and had tried every means 
 with no effect, finally decided on this: She had her 
 photograph made, with these words underneath, “ Mother 
 is praying that you will come home,” and had them 
 placed in places where the girl would likely see one; 
 
THE CALL TO-DAY FOR UNITY 
 
 19 
 
 and she did, and came home. The mother’s prayer was 
 the only influence able to bring her back. Likewise, no 
 doubt the only strong influence that will ever bring the 
 followers of Jesus Christ together, and keep them to¬ 
 gether, is the prayer of our Lord for our unity. The 
 fact that He is praying for our unity ought to soften the 
 hearts of the most alienated, and bring all together. 
 Surely, no one can be indifferent to His prayer for our 
 unity. 
 
 In conclusion, when we consider the many pressing 
 conditions to-day that call for the unity of all God’s peo¬ 
 ple, the problem of unity can not be put aside or shelved, 
 but demands a solution at the hands of the Christians of 
 this generation. At the last National Conference of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Atlanta the Ccm- 
 . mission on Unity with the Northern Methodist reported 
 that they were unable to unite. The Conference ap¬ 
 pointed the same committee, and sent them back with 
 this instruction, “ You must unite,” and in doing so they 
 sounded the keynote of this age, “ We must unite.” 
 Whatever obstacles are in the way they must be re¬ 
 moved, that the children of God the world over may 
 unite hands and hearts for God and righteousness, for 
 Christ and His church; and to this end this book is writ¬ 
 ten and sent forth. 
 
II 
 
 IS CHRISTIAN UNITY POSSIBLE? 
 
 T HE question that is uppermost in the mind of the 
 Church to-day is not, “ Is Christian Unity Desir¬ 
 able ? ” but, “ Is it Possible ? ” All have become 
 convinced that it is desirable, “ a consummation devoutly 
 to be wished,” if possible. The churches have at last 
 realized the evils of division, and are seeking the way to 
 unity. The denominations, which a few years ago were 
 the pride and glory of Christians, have few apologists to¬ 
 day, while many eloquent tongues and pens in every 
 denomination are pleading for unity with all God’s peo¬ 
 ple, and the whole church seems to be possessed with a 
 passion to return to “ the one flock and one shepherd.” 
 This widespread desire for unity has found its way even 
 into the seclusive and exclusive Roman Church, which for 
 centuries has dwelt behind its high “ walls of partition 
 but to-day there has arisen the Modernist Movement in 
 the Catholic Church, that seems to be trying to find its 
 way into the great common fold of Christ. Of this move¬ 
 ment Abbe Houtin says: “ O sons and heritors of the 
 
 Reformers of the sixteenth century, you see beginning 
 in the Church of Rome, which condemned your fathers 
 without listening to them—you see beginning a religious 
 struggle more far-reaching than that of Luther and Cal¬ 
 vin.” The Roman Catholic scholar, Mehler, a Modern¬ 
 ist, says: “Both communions [Protestant and Catholic] 
 should stretch out a friendly hand to one another in the 
 
 consciousness of a common guilt. This open confession 
 
 20 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY POSSIBLE? 
 
 21 
 
 of guilt on both sides will be followed by the festival of 
 reconciliation.” On the other hand, the advocates of 
 Christian unity in the Protestant churches are too numer¬ 
 ous to quote or mention. The desire for Christian unity is 
 so far spread to-day that it is hardly worth while to 
 spend time in showing that unity is the desirable thing. 
 This has been the chief objective of the preaching and 
 writing on Christian unity in the past; but this is very 
 largely, if not altogether, conceded to-day. Whatever 
 was lacking to convince all of the desirableness of Chris¬ 
 tian unity has been supplied by the great World War, 
 which clearly demonstrated both the weakness and sinful¬ 
 ness of divisions, and the strength and efficiency of unity. 
 This almost unanimous desire for unity is the first pre¬ 
 essential to Christian unitv, because the desire is the 
 father of the deed. Only people that greatly desire to 
 unite can unite. 
 
 While the desire to unite is the first essential step 
 toward unity, it takes more than the desire to unite peo¬ 
 ple. “ If wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” is 
 true in all the relationships of life. In all things that we 
 undertake to do, being human, we have to reckon with 
 the possible and the impossible; and with respect to the 
 attempt to unite the religious world many look upon it 
 as impossible, a hopeless undertaking. There is no 
 denial of the fact that it is a great undertaking, so great 
 in fact that it seems to be beyond human power. It in¬ 
 volves great and difficult problems, and presents impas¬ 
 sable barriers and obstacles. Any one that does not see 
 these great difficulties is a blind optimist. Every one that 
 has observed and thought over the divided state of Chris¬ 
 tendom realizes the greatness of the task to unite the 
 church; but it is a mistake to look upon it as an impos¬ 
 sible task. Christ prayed that His disciples might be one, 
 
22 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 and He never prayed for impossibilities. He also stated 
 that it shall be. “ There shall be one flock and one 
 shepherd.” In fact, Christian unity existed in the early 
 church for nearly four hundred years, so it is no religious 
 Utopian dream, but a historical reality that continued in 
 the Apostolic church for centuries, and is, therefore, a 
 possibility in the church to-day. 
 
 Furthermore, Paul says, “ I can do all things through 
 him that strengthened! me.” What people can do de¬ 
 pends largely on the impelling motive behind the deed. 
 With a sufficient motive, Christian unity is not only pos¬ 
 sible, but highly probable. The strongest motive power 
 of which men and women are capable, says Paul, is love, 
 which he sets forth as the only influence sufficient to 
 effect and maintain Christian unity. “ Who shall sepa¬ 
 rate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or 
 anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, 
 or sword? Even as it is written, 
 
 •f 
 
 For thy sake we are killed all the day long; 
 
 We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 
 
 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors 
 through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that 
 neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
 things present, nor thinge to come, nor powers, nor height, 
 nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to sepa¬ 
 rate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord.” Paul asks the question, “ Who shall separate us 
 from the love of Christ? ”, and then answers it by affirm¬ 
 ing that absolutely nothing can break this tie in Christ. 
 He mentions some of the greatest alienating causes, such 
 as tribulation, anguish, persecution, famine, nakedness, 
 peril, and sword, so, if none of these terrible experiences 
 can alienate us from Christ, then there is nothing that 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY POSSIBLE? 
 
 23 
 
 can. We, therefore, have a tie in Christ that binds in 
 spite of all the alienating causes, and makes Christian 
 unity possible. 
 
 Note, furthermore, that this tie not only binds, but it 
 triumphs. “ We are more than conquerors through him 
 that loved us.” We are victorious in spite of all difficul¬ 
 ties that may arise in life or death, from principalities and 
 powers in high places or low, or from any creature what¬ 
 soever. We, therefore, have a tie in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord that binds and triumphs in spite of all the alienat¬ 
 ing causes and defeating difficulties that beset the pil¬ 
 grimage of Christian life. 
 
 Love is the only motive power that can bind and 
 triumph over all opposition in this life. There are other 
 motive powers that can bind and triumph for awhile. For 
 instance, hatred, the opposite of love, can bind people 
 together for awhile, and lead them to victory over some 
 difficulties, as it did in the case of the enemies of Christ, 
 who were bound together by a common hatred, and 
 were led by the same to the victory of His death; but 
 they did not remain together long, but soon parted, and 
 the cause of Christ triumphed over them. Hope also is a 
 strong motive power in one’s life, and those that are led 
 on by the bright star of hope accomplish great victories; 
 but hope is not invincible. “ Hope deferred maketh the 
 heart sick ”■—is easily discouraged and gives up the fight. 
 Also, the human will is a great motive power, so great 
 that there are few limitations on what those that say, 
 “ I can and willbut even the human will is not 
 invincible. Mr. Henley was mistaken when he said: “ I 
 thank God for my unconquerable soul.” The human soul 
 is not invincible. There are roads too rough and moun¬ 
 tains too high to be traveled and scaled by the human 
 will, and there are burdens too heavy to be borne by the 
 
24 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 human will; such burdens as poor, frail, delicate women 
 are carrying to-day—loads that would crush the will of 
 the strongest man in the world. The only reason that 
 any one can carry such a burden is that love is under¬ 
 neath the load. Love can carry any burden, and endure 
 any hardship. In other words, love alone is invincible; 
 and this is what Paul meant when he said: “We are 
 more than conquerors through him that loved us.” 
 
 But has not Paul in his zeal overstated the power of 
 love? Not so, when we take into consideration Paul’s 
 conception of love. Love, to Paul, is the vital central 
 motive power that controls and regulates the whole social 
 and spiritual world. Love is to the spiritual universe 
 what the force of gravity is to the physical universe. 
 When God created the universe, He created and set in 
 operation the law of gravity that w T as to control and 
 regulate everything in the universe; and through the 
 operation of this great law of matter everything is held 
 in position, and moves on in such perfect unison and 
 harmony that, listening, you can almost hear the music 
 of the spheres. However, there come times—times of 
 storm—when it seems that the world is about to go to 
 pieces; but you know that down beneath the storm is a 
 mightier power than the storm, the power of gravity, 
 which you can trust to hold the world together; and so it 
 has been with all the storms that have assailed the earth. 
 The storm in all its fury passed; and, with the excep¬ 
 tion of a rent here and a gash there, the old world was 
 left the same. Just so there come storms in the social 
 and spiritual world that threaten and disturb the safety 
 and peace of the world for the time, and at times it looks 
 as if everything is going to pieces. Especially was this 
 the case in the last war, which was the greatest social 
 storm that this world has ever seen; but we have seen 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY POSSIBLE? 
 
 25 
 
 it pass, and the old world is left largely the same as it 
 was. God is -still at the center of things, and His love, 
 a great attractive force, permeates the whole social uni¬ 
 verse, and holds things together, and will continue to do 
 so even to the end. Wherefore Paul says, “We are more 
 than conquerors through him that loved uswhich is no 
 exaggerated statement of the power of love, but the 
 simple truth that underlies the whole social and spiritual 
 world; and through this love as the motive power, and 
 through it alone, Christians can and will unite. 
 
 Yes, they can unite, but will they? In view of their 
 great differences and strong feelings, will they be willing 
 to lay these aside and let love have its way? If they 
 have the love of which Paul speaks above, they will, and 
 it matters not how great the differences ^nd how bitter 
 the feelings. One illustration will suffice to show this. 
 A husband and wife became alienated, and separated; a 
 third party undertook to reunite them. He talked to the 
 man first, and he thought that he never heard a man 
 say uglier, meaner things about any woman than the hus¬ 
 band said about his wife. He talked with the wife next 
 and then he decided that the man had not said anything 
 about his wife. Well, he concluded, of course, that it 
 was useless to try further to get these people together. 
 They were too far apart, and their feelings toward each 
 other were too bitter and intense. But they were united, 
 and how? They had a little child; and this little child 
 came over to the father, and, taking him by the hand, 
 led him over to the mother; and they fell on each other’s 
 necks, and wept, and were united again. They had a 
 common love; they both loved that little child; and this 
 common love brought them together and kept them to¬ 
 gether. Christians have a common love; they all love 
 Jesus Christ; and Paul says that this tie binds in spite 
 
26 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 of all alienating causes and difficulties. If Christians 
 would only let Christ bring them together, where they 
 could see the nail-prints in His hands and the sword- 
 thrust in His side, they could, and would cdme together 
 and unite. “ Nothing,” says Paul, “ shall be able to 
 separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord.” 
 
 Note, next, to what this tie unites us. In the first place, 
 it unites us to God; and what a blessed thing it is to be 
 united to God! In the second place, it unites us to each 
 other. Paul says that nothing shall be able to separate 
 us ” not me, from the love of God. The Christian tie 
 is not an individual tie, but a fraternal tie. It is a tie that 
 binds Christians together, and thus united they are united 
 to God. No Christian can separate himself from his 
 brethren, and claim an individual tie with God. “ For 
 he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, can 
 not love God whom he hath not seen.” Love is the only 
 influence in the world that can bring people together and 
 keep them together. Love is the only tie that can keep 
 a home together, and it is the only tie that can keep a 
 church together. Many Christians have trusted a com¬ 
 mon faith to keep them together. They believed the same 
 things, and they trusted this tie to keep them together 
 in the bond of peace; but it failed. A common faith, 
 however strong, can not maintain the bond of Christian 
 brotherhood. Only a common love can do this. The 
 strong heat of a fervent common love is the only influ¬ 
 ence that can melt and unite human hearts in a lasting 
 bond of Christian unity; but this can, and will, unite all 
 Christians that allow the love of God to have its way 
 in their hearts and over their lives. 
 
 The Christian tie of love not only binds Christians to¬ 
 gether in spite of all alienating causes, but it also leads 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY POSSIBLE? 
 
 27 
 
 Christians, thus bound together or united, to victory in 
 spite of all the obstacles in the way,—“ We are more 
 than conquerors through him that loved us,” says Paul. 
 There is strength in unity, whatever may be the tie that 
 binds together; but, when people are united by the bond 
 of Christian love, Paul says they are invincible. Accord¬ 
 ing to Paul, love makes Christian unity possible; and 
 Christian unity makes all things possible. When people 
 are united in Christ through love, they can triumph over 
 all difficulties and opposition. But was not Paul speak¬ 
 ing of the problems and difficulties of his day? Yes. 
 But our problems and difficulties in the church to-day 
 are no greater than those of Paul’s day. It is true that 
 the church to-day has some great problems to solve and 
 some great tasks to perform,—some that have come down 
 from preceding generations, unsolved and unperformed, 
 the greatest of which is the problem of Christian unity. 
 But Paul shows us that love makes unity possible; and 
 unity enables Christians to accomplish all the tasks as¬ 
 signed to them by the Lord Jesus. 
 
 For this reason, John the Apostle of love, writes, “ Be¬ 
 loved, let us love one another; for love is of God. * * * 
 Herein is love, not that we love God, but that God loved 
 us, and sent the Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 
 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one 
 another.” There is enough in the above to melt the 
 heart of every true Christian, and unite it with all other 
 Christian hearts, and join his hands with all other Chris¬ 
 tian hands; and thus united win the victory for Christ 
 and His church. When Christians are thus brought 
 under the spell and influence of the Love of God, Chris¬ 
 tian unity and every other Christian problem and task are 
 possible. 
 
28 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 In this connection, the old hymn, “ Blest Be the Tie,” 
 has added significance: 
 
 “ Blest be the tie that binds 
 
 Our hearts in Christian love; 
 
 The fellowship of kindred minds 
 Is like to that above. 
 
 Before our Father’s throne 
 We pour our ardent pray’rs; 
 
 Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, 
 
 Our comforts and our cares. 
 
 We share our mutual woes, 
 
 Our mutual burdens bear; 
 
 And often for each other flows 
 The sympathizing tear.” 
 
 And then that other song, sung to the tune and words 
 of “ Loyalty to Christ,” which expresses the rest of 
 Paul’s teaching on unity and victory through unity, as 
 follows: 
 
 “ From over hill and plain there comes the signal strain, 
 
 ’Tis unity, unity, unity in Christ; 
 
 Its music rolls along, the hills take up the song 
 Of unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ. 
 
 Chorus 
 
 On to victory! On to victory! Cries our great Commander 
 “ On ”; 
 
 We’ll move at his command, we will soon possess the land, 
 Thro’ unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ. 
 
 O hear, ye brave, the sound that moves the earth around, 
 
 ’Tis unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ; 
 
 Arise to dare and do, ring out the watchword true. 
 
 Of unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ. 
 
 Come, join our loyal throng, we’ll rout the giant wrong, 
 
 ’Tis unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ, 
 
 Where Satan’s banners float we’ll send the bugle note. 
 
 Of unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ. 
 
 The strength of youth we lay at Jesus’ feet to-day, 
 
 ’Tis unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ; 
 
 His Gospel we’ll proclaim thro’out the world’s domain, 
 
 Through unity, unity, yes, unity in Christ.” 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY POSSIBLE? 
 
 29 
 
 To be sure, the only way that Christians will ever be 
 able to defeat Satan and proclaim the Gospel throughout 
 the world is by unity. This is why our Lord prayed that 
 his disciples might be one, namely, “ that the world may 
 believeand the world is not going to believe until we 
 are one; and he would not have prayed for our unity 
 if it had not been possible. Let no one, therefore, draw 
 back from this task and problem, believing it to be im¬ 
 possible, because Jesus says, “ With God all things are 
 possibleand Paul says, “ Who shall separate us from 
 the love of Christ? * * * We are more than con¬ 
 
 querors through him that loved us.” Accordingly, we 
 have a tie in Christ that makes Christian unity possible, 
 and Christian unity makes every Christian task possible. 
 
Ill 
 
 IS CHRISTIAN UNITY PRACTICABLE? 
 
 f F Christian unity is ever to be realized, it must be 
 made more than possible; it must be made prac- 
 JBU ticable. A practical way must be found. Love 
 makes Christian unity possible by giving a sufficient 
 motive for the realization of unity; in other words love 
 gives the vision that can lead to unity; but that is all love 
 can do. Love is the first essential to Christian unity; but 
 it is not the only essential, as some seem to think. Ac¬ 
 cordingly, they teach that all you need to do is to get 
 people to love each other, and they will unite; but love 
 alone can not unite people. Love alone makes people 
 visionary and sentimental, and consequently weak and 
 ineffective. A practical way for the realization of love’s 
 vision must be found to accomplish anything worth while 
 for Christian unity. 
 
 Paul gives the practical side of Christian unity in this 
 statement: “ In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor 
 
 uncircumcision availeth anything, but faith working 
 through love.” Neither love alone nor faith alone can 
 avail, or realize, but “ faith working through love.” 
 Faith and love working together, this working combi¬ 
 nation, “ avails,” that is, can do things, can solve any 
 Christian problem or perform any Christian task. The 
 reason for this is evident. Love gives the vision that is 
 essential to any great work, and faith leads into the prac¬ 
 ticable way, which is the other essential. Faith is prac¬ 
 tical in its very nature and leadings, because it is “ the 
 conviction of things not seen.” It therefore rests upon 
 evidence, and follows the course of reason, so must be 
 
 30 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY PRACTICABLE? 31 
 
 practical in its leadings. For this reason faith never 
 goes off at a tangent like hope, or loses sight of the 
 earth in its visions like love; but it supplements love by 
 opening up a practical way for the realization of love’s 
 visions. For this reason faith and love working together 
 “ avails,” or can do things. This is true in all the rela¬ 
 tionships of life, and especially “ in Christ,” as Paul 
 states. We have considered in the preceding chapter the 
 part that love performs in bringing about Christian unity, 
 namely, it gives the motive or vision that makes Christian 
 unity possible; and now we come to the consideration of 
 faith, the yoke-fellow of love, which makes unity prac¬ 
 ticable ; and through this working combination of faith 
 and love we look for the solution of the problem of Chris¬ 
 tian unity. 
 
 Notice first what kind of faith “ avails.” It is a “ work¬ 
 ing ” faith, says Paul. A dormant faith, faith in the ab¬ 
 stract, if there be such, can not avail. James says that 
 “ faith apart from works is dead,” so, of course, can do 
 nothing; but faith expressed by works, or a working faith 
 is alive, and can do things. This is the faith that Paul 
 says “ avails,” or can lead the way to unity. It is also 
 faith that works along definite rational lines, and opens 
 up a practicable way to unity. So, then, Christian unity 
 on its practical side is more a unity of workers than wor¬ 
 shippers, more a unity of hands than hearts, more a unity 
 of minds than spirits. Many people think of Christian 
 unity as abstract or subjective, and speak of it as the 
 unity of faith and love, which is realized in the hearts and 
 souls of the people that believe and love alike, so they 
 call it the unity of kindred hearts and souls; but this is 
 not the whole of Christian unity according to Paul. While 
 Christian unity springs from hearts and souls that believe 
 and love alike, it expresses itself in a unity of work, and 
 
32 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 has no other practical meaning. Paul, in speaking of 
 himself and Apollos, says, “ We are God’s fellow-work¬ 
 ers,” “ workers together for God,” “ fellow-workers for 
 and with God,” or “We work together in God’s ser¬ 
 vice,” as it is variously translated. This unity of work 
 and workers is Christian unity; or, in other words, Chris¬ 
 tian unity is all Christians in a community working to¬ 
 gether for God. This is its only practical meaning. 
 
 However, people may work together, and still not be 
 united. It is “ faith working through love ” that unites. 
 While it is a working faith that directs and leads into 
 unity, it is love that does the uniting. Love is the flame 
 that melts the hearts, and cements the hands of all work¬ 
 ing together, without which there can be no real unity. 
 Many Christians and churches often work together in the 
 same community at the same task; but they work in com¬ 
 petition and rivalry with no love in their hearts for each 
 other, which separates rather than unites them. Rivalry 
 and competition are the inevitable results of overlapping 
 churches, which engenders strife and division; but all that 
 have a common “ faith working through love ” will come 
 together and unite in heart and hand for Christ and his 
 church. 
 
 But what faith and whose faith will lead people to 
 unite? This question has been the cause of many divi¬ 
 sions in the church; and, unless we can settle definitely 
 and agreeably this question, there can be no hope of 
 unity. There have been many faiths, or rather many 
 statements of faith; and upon each a sect has been 
 founded, and these various creeds have been the cause of 
 divisions in the church. Unless we can find our way out 
 of this credal warfare into the peace of a common faith, 
 we cannot unite, so we look for the settlement of this 
 question. Faith is an essential to unity, and must be 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY PRACTICABLE? 33 
 
 definitely stated and clearly understood to have unity in 
 the church. Any effort to unite without mentioning faith, 
 as some are trying to do, is like staging Hamlet with 
 Hamlet left out. Faith is the chief actor on the pro¬ 
 gramme for Christian unity, leading the way into unity; 
 so we must know definitely and clearly what or whose 
 faith to follow. 
 
 Fortunately, Paul settles this question, as he does every 
 other question that is an essential to unity. In his letter 
 to the Ephesians he speaks of “ the unity of the faith,” 
 showing that the faith that unites is a definite faith; and 
 in his letter to the Romans he defines this faith, saying 
 that it is “ faith that comes by hearing and hearing by the 
 word of God.” Any faith, therefore, that comes from 
 within a man, that he originates and formulates, or does 
 ' not come from without by hearing is not Christian faith 
 but personal faith, and can not be made the way to Chris¬ 
 tian unity. Furthermore, faith may come from without 
 by hearing, and still not be Christian faith; it must come 
 by “ hearing the word of God.” This brings us to the 
 word of God for the source and statement of Christian 
 faith. The source of this faith will be considered in this 
 chapter, and the statement in a later chapter, Chapter II 
 of Part Two. 
 
 The only sure and reliable source for the word of God 
 is the Bible, “ the Scriptures inspired of God.” While 
 some claim to have received the word of God from other 
 •sources, their credentials for the same are not convincing, 
 so we are shut up to the word of God as revealed in the 
 Holy Scriptures for the faith that unites, which all Chris¬ 
 tians accept as a true revelation of God’s word. What¬ 
 ever later revelations any one may claim to have they 
 cannot be made the basis of unity, because other people 
 cannot be convinced of their authenticity; but for all that 
 
84 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 believe the Christian canon to be the sacred Scriptures of 
 God, there is ground for unity. However some people 
 seem to think, that they are the only people in the world 
 that really believe and teach the word of God as revealed 
 in the Scriptures; and to show that this is not true the 
 following statements from leaders in the various churches 
 to-day are herein given. They show conclusively that 
 they believe the Scriptures to be the word of God, and 
 are willing to come to them for the faith that unites. 
 
 “ We must go back to essential New Testament principles, for 
 their ancient program, re-emphasized in the largest way, is the 
 conquering program of the future.”— Rev. Oliver Huckel, D.D. 
 (Congregationalist), Baltimore, Md. 
 
 “ The only solid basis of church union is the general abandon¬ 
 ment of doctrines, traditions, theories and rites not found in the 
 New Testament. So long as Christians cling to the traditions 
 of the latest fathers, and refuse to go back to the plain teachings 
 and simple ordinances of the New Testament, there will be irre¬ 
 concilable divisions in the body of Christ. The true basis of the 
 union of Christendom, for which so many to-day are longing, is a 
 general return to primitive Christianity. It is not difficult to 
 determine what that is, for it is writ large on the pages of the 
 Book. Let us all cheerfully give up every dogma, every cere¬ 
 monial, not found there, and Christian and church union will 
 come of itself. Any attempt at union on a lower plane will prove 
 a failure.”— Examiner (Baptist). 
 
 “All things are calling us just now to give ourselves and our 
 church to primary things, and to keep out of the way all second¬ 
 ary things, however good and true, however much we prize them. 
 It is time to rally to the defense of our common Christianity, and 
 let our private, partisan and denominational peculiarities shift for 
 themselves. If they die, so much gain for the kingdom of God.”— 
 Dr. Wm. P. Merrill (Presbyterian). 
 
 “ We, the representatives of the Presbyterian, the Methodist and 
 the Congregational branches of the church of Christ in Canada, 
 do hereby set forth tihe substance of the Christian faith as com¬ 
 monly held among us. In doing so we build upon the founda¬ 
 tion laid by the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being 
 the chief cornerstone,”— From “The Published Basis of Union 
 
 “ There is a necessity of a return to first principles; we must 
 get behind the prejudices, interests, errors and associations of his¬ 
 tory to the fountain-head of Christianity; we must sit at the feet 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY PRACTICABLE? 35 
 
 of the Master, and move again in the company of the apostles. 
 We must become in temper and in spirit, and not merely in name 
 and in claim, an apostolic church .”—Canon Hensley Henson 
 (Episcopalian). 
 
 “ The church that we need is a church that stands for the sim¬ 
 plicity and the sufficiency of the religion of Jesus Christ, calling 
 itself by no name but one. The best men in all the churches are 
 seeking to a common basis of union, to come together on some 
 large Christian confession, and to live with one another as 
 becomes disciples of Christ.”— Dr. John Hunter, of Trinity 
 Church, Glasgow, Scotland. 
 
 “ We do hereby affirm that Christian unity, now so earnestly 
 desired by the memorialists, can be restored only by the return 
 of all Christian communions to the principles of unity exemplified 
 by the undivided catholic church during the first ages of its 
 existence, which principles we believe to be the substantial deposit 
 of Christian faith and order committed by His apostles to the 
 church unto the end of the world, and, therefore, incapable of 
 compromise or surrender by those who have been ordained to be 
 its stewards for the common and equal benefit of all men.”— 
 ' The Bishops of the Episcopal Church to the Whole Church. 
 
 “ We want a Christianity more pure, more practical, more con¬ 
 formed to the original gospel .”—Catholic Modernist. 
 
 This willingness on the part of all to follow the faith 
 that comes by hearing the word of God as revealed in 
 the Christian Scriptures is an important step toward 
 unity; and furthermore Paul assures us that “ the Scrip¬ 
 tures inspired of God * * * completely furnish the 
 
 man of God unto every good work.” 2 Tim. 3: 16. So 
 then, if they do, they will completely furnish us unto the 
 greatest of good works, Christian unity. When we 
 come to examine the Scriptures for teaching on this sub¬ 
 ject, we find that they speak clearly and fully. The Bible 
 has much to say on the subject of unity. The following 
 quotations are some of the important passages bearing 
 upon unity: 
 
 “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee; for 
 we are brethren.” Gen. 13 :8. 
 
 “ Behold, how good and how excellent it is 
 
 For brethren to dwell together ki unity! 
 
 It is like the precious oil upon the head, 
 
36 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 That ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s head, 
 
 That came down upon the skirt of his garments; 
 
 Like the dew of Hermon, 
 
 That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion: 
 
 For there Jehovah commanded the blessing, 
 
 Even life forevermore.” Ps. 133. 
 
 “Two 1 are better than one, because they have a good reward 
 for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; 
 but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not 
 another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have 
 warmth; but how can one be warm alone? And if a man pre¬ 
 vail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a 
 threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecc. 4:9-12. 
 
 “ The voice of thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, they sing 
 together; for they shall see eye to eye, when Jehovah returneth 
 to Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of 
 Jerusalem.” Isa. 5218-9. 
 
 “ For one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren.” Mat. 23 :8. 
 
 “ If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom can not 
 stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house can 
 not stand.” Mark 3 124-5. 
 
 ‘"Now this he (Caiaphas) said not of himself; but being high 
 priest that year prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; 
 and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together 
 into one the children of God that are scattered abroad.” John 
 2:51-52. 
 
 “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also 
 I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be 
 one fold, and one shepherd.” Jno. 10:16. 
 
 “ Holy father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given 
 me, that they may be one, even as we are.” Neither for these 
 only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their 
 word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, 
 and I in thee, that they also may be in us; that the world may 
 believe that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou 
 lovedst me.” John 17:11, 20-23. 
 
 “Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, that there be no 
 divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the 
 same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been signified 
 unto me concerning you, my brethren, by them that are of the 
 household of Cloe, that there are contentions among you. Now 
 this, I mean, that each one of you sayeth, I am of Paul; and I of 
 Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? 
 was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name 
 of Paul?” I Cor. 1:10-13. 
 
IS CHRISTIAN UNITY PRACTICABLE? 37 
 
 “ For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the 
 members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. 
 For in one Spirit were ye all baptized into one body, whether 
 Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to 
 drink of one Spirit.” I Cor. 12:12-13. 
 
 “ I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk 
 worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, with all lowli¬ 
 ness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in 
 love; giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond 
 of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as also ye 
 were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one 
 baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through 
 all, and in all.” Eph. 4:1-6. 
 
 “ Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of 
 Christ: that whether I come and see you or be absent, I may 
 hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul 
 striving for the faith of the Gospel.” 
 
 “ Make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the 
 same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing 
 through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind 
 each counting the other better than himself; not looking each 
 of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of 
 others. Phil. 1:27; 2 :2-4. 
 
 “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and 
 every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He 
 that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Herein was 
 the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only 
 begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. 
 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and 
 sent the Son to be the propitiation for ous sins. Beloved, if God 
 so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” John 1 7-11. 
 
 “ And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred 
 and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the 
 children of Israel. After these things I saw, and behold, a great 
 multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and 
 of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne 
 and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their 
 hands; and they cry with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto 
 our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb. Amen.” 
 Rev. 7:4, 9-10. 
 
 In addition to the above passages there is Paul’s Letter 
 to the Ephesians, the major theme of which is the unity 
 of the church. In this letter Paul deals directly and spe¬ 
 cifically with the subject of Christian unity, and gives a 
 
38 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 complete solution of the problem, that, as he states, the 
 man of God may thoroughly furnish unto the good work 
 of unity. Not that the church was divided in Paul’s day, 
 but the Christian Scriptures were written for all ages and 
 needs of the church. Paul was directed by the Holy Spirit 
 to write this letter, that, when division came, the church 
 might know how to restore unity. This brings us to the 
 study of this letter, of which this book is an exposition, to 
 bring out Paul’s teaching on the subject of Christian unity. 
 
 Now, in conclusion of this chapter, we have shown that 
 Christian faith by its nature and content makes Christian 
 unity practicable, because faith follows the course of rea¬ 
 son, and is, therefore, practical in its leadings; and Chris¬ 
 tian faith leads all to the Christian Scriptures, which 
 clearly and definitely reveal the word of God, which all 
 Christians accept as the only practical way or basis of 
 unity. Furthermore, since the Christian Scriptures, which 
 are the source of Christian faith, abound in teaching on 
 the subject of unity, and thereby “ thoroughly furnish the 
 man of God unto the good work ” of unity, and since 
 Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, as we will show in the 
 following chapters, is a clear and definite solution of the 
 problem of unity in the church, for these reasons and 
 others, Christian unity is clearly practicable. While it 
 is a great task and a difficult problem, it is made both- 
 possible and practicable through this working combina¬ 
 tion, “ faith working through love.” Faith and love 
 working together can solve any Christian problem and 
 perform any Christian task. Love gives the vision that 
 makes unity possible; and faith opens up a practicable 
 way to unity. The details of this way are clearly set out 
 in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which we now propose to 
 study under the following heads or divisions: The 
 Church For AH and All For The Church. 
 
IV 
 
 A PERSONAL WORD 
 
 A FEW words in advance of this study of Paul's 
 Letter to the Ephesians in explanation of the 
 divisions of the letter will help in the study of 
 the same. Also the reader might be interested in know¬ 
 ing how the author came by this division. It is not 
 altogether original. While the author is not a dreamer, 
 as was Joseph, nor a believer in dreams, as was 
 Nebuchadnezzar, this division of Paul's letter came to the 
 ' author in a dream; and at the risk of being thought per¬ 
 sonal and sentimental for the sake of explaining and em¬ 
 phasizing the above divisions of Paul’s letter, this dream, 
 which grew out of my thinking and work, is given. This 
 personal word will also be suggestive, we trust, of prac¬ 
 tical ways and means of working in the interest of Chris¬ 
 tian unity. There is a widespread desire on the part of 
 many Christians to-day to do something for unity; but 
 they are at a loss to know what to do and where to take 
 hold of the work. The following is an account of the 
 author’s personal work in the interest of Christian unity, 
 which is given in introduction to the study of Paul’s 
 Letter on unity in hope of suggesting practical ways and 
 means of working for Christian unity. 
 
 I have been working in the interest of Christian unity 
 for several years, and have tried several ways and means 
 of advancing the cause of unity. This work has been 
 necessarily, for the most part, educational and inspira¬ 
 tional. While there is a widespread interest in unity, 
 
 39 
 
40 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 few are ready and prepared for any definite steps toward 
 the same, or have any well-defined correct ideas a3 to 
 what Christian unity is and how it may be attained. This 
 necessitates an educational and inspirational propaganda 
 on the essentials of Christian unity and on the ways and 
 means of realizing the same. This was undertaken first 
 through the religious press and by meetings in the vari¬ 
 ous churches in the interest of unity; but there is a sec¬ 
 tarian denominational atmosphere about every church and 
 church paper that counteracts and defeats any real unity 
 work therein. 
 
 To get away from these ecclesiastical barriers I began 
 the use of tracts, and secured a tent for meetings in the 
 interest of unity, which I found more effective and accept¬ 
 able. For some reason, the people look upon a tent as a 
 religious “ no man’s landand they come to this open 
 forum more freely and open-mindedly and without de¬ 
 nominational bias and alignment. Also things that could 
 not be properly mentioned in the churches could be freely 
 and openly discussed without offense to any one. 
 
 However, the greatest difficulty that I have had to 
 overcome has been to convince the people that I was there 
 in the interest of unity. We are so strongly organized 
 and strictly aligned along denominational lines that all 
 our thinking and work are in denominational channels 
 and for sectarian ends, which makes a purely undenomi¬ 
 national work in the interest ®f unity hard for the people 
 to understand and accept. They are at first suspicious of 
 such a work, believing that you have a sectarian card up 
 your sleeve that you will sooner ©r later play to their 
 undoing. This sectarian suspicion is the first great bar¬ 
 rier to unity, and must be overcome before any effective 
 work for unity can be done. Almost all churches are 
 interested in unity; but we have not yet reached the point 
 
A PERSONAL WORD 
 
 41 
 
 where we can trust the sincerity of the other party in his 
 professions of interest in unity. The establishment of a 
 mutual confidence along this line is a pre-essential to any 
 unity work; and, when this is thoroughly done, the work 
 is comparatively easy, because people, divorced from their 
 denominational affiliations, are about the same in mind 
 and heart, and are agreeably surprised to find themselves 
 of one mind and one heart with so many people. 
 
 In the interest of a mutual understanding and confi¬ 
 dence I used many signs and placards at the tent, such as 
 Christian Unity, Not To Antagonize But To Harmonize, 
 Not Your Church Nor My Church But Christ’s Church, 
 Why Not One Church For This Community, For Our 
 Lord’s Unanswered Prayer, We Have The Right To 
 Differ But Not To Divide; but all these were more or less 
 misunderstood and misconstrued by suspicious sectarians. 
 Being at a loss for a better statement of the motive and 
 purpose of the work that I was trying to do, I had the 
 following dream. I dreamed that I was on my way 
 down the street to the tent for the night meeting; and, 
 as I came in sight of the tent, I saw above it in flaming 
 letters this sign, The Church For All and All For The 
 Church, which so impressed me that I woke up, and 
 thought the dream and statement over. The next day, 
 following the suggestion and leading of the dream, I 
 went and had the sign made and placed over the tent. 
 It was, I suppose, just an ordinary dream, born of my 
 thinking and work; yet I have found it a striking and 
 cerrect statement of unity work,—a better statement, in 
 fact, than I had been able to frame, when awake, so there 
 might have been in it the leading of the Spirit. 
 
 In addition to its being a striking and true statement 
 of Christian unity, I found it to be also the major theme 
 and logical divisions of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, 
 
42 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 which we were engaged in studying at the tent with the 
 view of bringing out his teaching on unity. Accordingly, 
 
 I found that, in the first half of the letter, he sets forth, 
 The Church For All, and in the latter half, All For The 
 Church . I thereupon began the study of Paul’s letter under 
 these two heads and the exposition of the same verse by 
 verse and chapter by chapter in these unity meetings, 
 making application of his teaching to the problem of unity 
 to-day. Such an exposition of Paul’s teaching on the 
 subject of Christian unity brings the solution of the unity 
 problem to the people in an authoritative way, which com¬ 
 mands their attention and acceptance. There is no realm 
 of religion in which people are more careful to be sure 
 of their grounds than in Christian unity. Individually 
 and as a denomination they will proceed without so much 
 care, precision and caution; but in respect to unity they 
 must be sure of their footing, and are ready to draw back 
 at the least appearance of doubtful ground. So, for this 
 reason, it is useless to teach anything in the interest of 
 unity except that which is authoritative. If you speak for 
 unity, you must speak “ as one having authority.” Ac¬ 
 cordingly, in my preaching in the interest of unity, I have 
 confined myself to an exposition of Paul’s letter to the 
 Ephesians; and I shall do the same in the following chap¬ 
 ters of this book. Paul’s letter is addressed to “ the faith¬ 
 ful in Christ Jesus,”—that is, to all Christians of all ages; 
 and to no age is his teaching more applicable and needed 
 than to and by the age in which we are now living. This 
 book proposes to be simply an exposition of Paul’s letter 
 with an application of the teaching of the same to the 
 church of to-day. It proposes to show that the teaching 
 of this letter is a complete and practicable solution of the 
 problem of Christian unity, which is so much desired to¬ 
 day by all communions. 
 
A PERSONAL WORD 
 
 43 
 
 The church, and especially the unity of the same, is 
 the major theme of the letter; and, while many other 
 things are treated, they are set forth in their bearing on 
 the unity of the church. The first three chapters of the 
 letter are devoted to the church as an institution; and the 
 last three chapters to the people that compose the church. 
 In the first half of the letter, according to our division 
 of the same, Paul sets forth, The Church For All, and in 
 the latter half, All For The Church. We propose to show 
 that Paul has herein completely provided for the estab¬ 
 lishment and maintenance of a united church and that an 
 application of his teaching to the church to-day will re¬ 
 store it to its original unity. If this book, which has 
 grown out of my experiences, thinking and work in behalf 
 of Christian unity, proves to be a helpful contribution to 
 this great cause, for which Christ prayed, and Paul 
 planned and taught, I shall be humbly glad; and to this 
 end it is written and sent out on its mission of peace. 
 That it may be so read and used is the earnest prayer of 
 the author. 
 

 
 
 
 
PART I 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 Eph. 1-3 
 

V 
 
 THE CHURCH PLANNED 
 
 P AUL, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will 
 of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the 
 faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace 
 from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly 
 places in Christ: even as he chose us in him before the founda¬ 
 tion of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish 
 before him in love: having foreordained us unto adoption as 
 sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good 
 pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which 
 he freely bestowed upon us in the Beloved: in whom we have 
 our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our tres- 
 Dasses, according to the riches o>f his grace, which he made to 
 abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known 
 unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure 
 which he purposed in him, unto a dispensation of the fullness 
 of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the 
 heavens, and the things in the earth; in him, I say, in whom 
 also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained accord¬ 
 ing to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the coun¬ 
 cil of his will; to the end that we should be unto the praise of 
 his glory, we who before hoped in Christ: in whom ye also, 
 having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,— 
 in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy 
 Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto 
 the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his 
 glory.” i: 1-14. 
 
 In the above Paul sets forth the church planned, and 
 states that it was planned “ before the foundation of the 
 world.” Without entering into the intricacies and mys¬ 
 teries of foreordination and predestination, which have 
 
 47 
 
48 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 been major themes in the theology of the past, we note 
 first that “ God chose us in Christ ” Those in Christ 
 constitute the Church of Christ, which was planned 
 “ before the foundation of the world.” In this planning 
 of the church before the foundation of the world, we see 
 the true dignity and worth of the church. It was of 
 first importance and consideration with God in His crea¬ 
 tion of the world and every thing thereon, and, there¬ 
 fore, of more value than every thing else. The world 
 and every thing on the earth were of secondary impor¬ 
 tance and value in the sight of God, and were made con¬ 
 tributory to the church. Of course, Paul is not speaking 
 here of the church as an organization, but of those in 
 Christ, the people that compose the church. This insti¬ 
 tution, consisting of “ those in Christ,” is that which 
 claimed the supreme consideration and valuation of Al¬ 
 mighty God in his incomprehensible plans for the world. 
 Accordingly, the people of the world to-day need to see 
 and value the church as God sees and values it; then 
 they could not be indifferent toward it. 
 
 Paul, furthermore, shows that God chose and planned 
 the church " in Christ.” This phrase appears in almost 
 every clause of his long statement of the plan of the 
 church, and explains, as far as can be explained, all the 
 mysteries of His plans. He “ blessed us in Christ;” He 
 “ chose us in Christ;” He “ adopted us through Christ 
 He “ freely bestowed his grace upon us in Christ He 
 “ redeemed us in Christ;” He “ forgave us in Christ;” 
 He “ purposed,” or planned beforehand every thing in 
 Christ; and “summed up all things in Christ ” In other 
 words, Christ is the final explanation and sum of every 
 thing in the world, of every thing that God has done in 
 time and eternity; and no thing or fact can be under¬ 
 stood and explained, except it be seen in connection with 
 
t 
 
 THE CHURCH PLANNED 
 
 49 
 
 Christ. He is the explanation of foreordination and pre¬ 
 destination as well as every other plan and purpose 
 of God. 
 
 While God chose those in Christ and made his plans 
 for the church before the foundation of the world; yet 
 it required centuries and ages for the full development 
 and unfolding of these plans. This awaited “ a dispensa¬ 
 tion of the fullness of the times,” when all things were 
 ready for the full revelation of these plans. Thereupon 
 Christ came to earth in human form to reveal and ex¬ 
 ecute God’s plans for the redemption of the race; and 
 to this end he announced the establishment of the church, 
 saying, “ Upon this rock I will build my church; and the 
 gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The church 
 then was planned to prevail against all the opposition of 
 the powers of the evil world; and during the first cen¬ 
 turies of its history it did triumph over all the hosts of 
 the prince of this world. Acts of the Apostles, written 
 by Luke, record the history of these early victories; but 
 finally Satan succeeded in dividing the church; and since 
 then its victories have not been so great, because only 
 through unity can there be complete victory. Fortu¬ 
 nately, however, the builders of the church left plans and 
 directions for the restoration of unity in the church; and 
 to this end Paul, the wise master-builder of the church, 
 anticipating the needs of the church along this line, wrote 
 the Ephesian letter, teaching us how to secure and main¬ 
 tain unity in the church. 
 
 Thus all God’s plans for the race found full realization 
 in Christ,—“ to sum all things in Christ,” as Paul ex¬ 
 presses it, or, as translated by some, “ all things were 
 gathered up, or reunited in Christ,” which shows that all 
 things were centered in Christ, and reunited in the 
 church, all of which calls for unity in the church. 
 
50 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 Paul states also that all the plans and purposes of God 
 were, “ to the end that we should be unto the praise of 
 his glory; we (Jews), who had before hoped in Christ, 
 in whom ye (the Gentiles) also, having heard the word 
 of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, were sealed with 
 the Holy Spirit of promise.” So then, this church 
 planned in Christ before the foundation of the world, 
 was for both Jews and Gentiles, for all ages and races 
 of men. This was not true of the Mosaic “ church in 
 the wilderness,” which was for Jews only, the blood de¬ 
 scendants of Abraham; but in Christ God planned and 
 built a church for all, which Paul reveals as such in the 
 first half of his letter to the Ephesians. Accordingly, on 
 the day of Pentecost, the beginning day of this church, 
 Peter, to whom Christ gave “ the keys of the kingdom,” 
 opened the doors of this church to the Jews; and at the 
 house of Cornelius a short time later he did the same 
 for the Gentiles; and since then it has been the church 
 for all; and all people “ out of every nation and of all 
 tribes and peoples and tongues” have continued to pour 
 into it, and it has been truly a cosmopolitan church, The 
 Church For All. 
 
 However, it required many years to convince the Jews 
 that the church of Christ is for all, in fact, many of them 
 were never convinced. They had been so long accus¬ 
 tomed to the seclusive and exclusive Mosaic church that 
 they were unable to comprehend a cosmopolitan church 
 such as the church of Christ. It took a miracle to con¬ 
 vince Peter, to whom was committed the keys of the 
 church; and he in turn had much trouble in convincing 
 his apostolic contemporaries. 
 
 Furthermore, the Jewish church had been divided into 
 many seclusive and exclusive sects; and these divisions 
 were destructive of the idea of universality and unity 
 
THE CHURCH PLANNED 
 
 51 
 
 in a church. There was from the very beginning a Juda- 
 izing element in the church that sought to make the 
 church Jewish and to drive the Gentiles into a separate 
 church; but against all such sectarianism Paul stood out 
 always in bold opposition, and declared for the univer¬ 
 sality and unity of the church of Christ, which consti¬ 
 tutes the major theme of his letter to the Ephesians. 
 
 There is a great need to-day of re-emphasizing this 
 universality and unity of the church of Christ. Sectarian 
 denominations have become so numerous and exclusive 
 of each other that the unity and the universality of the 
 church have been greatly obscured and largely forgotten. 
 We need to see The Church For All, planned by God, 
 executed by Christ and established by the Apostles, a 
 'truly cosmopolitan united church. The sectarian concep¬ 
 tion of the church to-day is small, often limited to the 
 little sect to which the member belongs; and the idea of 
 unity has largely been lost. Accordingly, many sectarians 
 speak of their sect as " the church of Christ.” They had 
 as well fill a bathtub with water and call it the ocean 
 as to attempt to limit the church of Christ, which is for 
 all, to such narrow boundaries. Nor is Christian unity 
 a unity of any sect or sects, but a unity of all the 
 disciples of Christ. We need to get back to the original 
 universality and unity of the church as set forth by Paul 
 in the letter under study. 
 
VI 
 
 THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH 
 
 F OR this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the 
 Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you 
 show toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for 
 you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto 
 you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; 
 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know 
 what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of 
 his inheritance in the saints, and what the exceeding greatness 
 of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working 
 of the strength of his might, which he wrought in Christ, when 
 he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right 
 hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, 
 and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not 
 only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and he 
 put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be 
 head over all things to the church, which is his body, the full¬ 
 ness of him that filleth all in all.” 1:15-23. 
 
 In the above paragraph Paul sets forth the head of 
 this church for all, which was planned by God before the 
 foundation of the world. The head of an institution is 
 of first importance and consideration in planning and 
 building, wherefore Paul sets out first the head of the 
 church. “ For this cause,” namely, that Jesus Christ is, 
 as set forth in the preceding paragraph, the explanation 
 and sum of all things, “ I make mention of you in my 
 prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
 Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom 
 and revelation in the knowledge of him,” that they may 
 
 be able to comprehend Christ and thereby know the plans 
 
 , 52 
 
THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH 
 
 53 
 
 and purposes of God. For this understanding there are 
 three essentials as follows: 
 
 (1) “Wisdom,”—intellectual comprehension and in¬ 
 
 formation. 
 
 ( 2 ) “ Revelation,”—from God as to the nature and 
 
 character of Christ. 
 
 (3) “The eyes of your heart enlightened,”—because 
 
 Christ is “ spiritually discerned ” with the eyes 
 
 of the soul. 
 
 With these three essentials one may “ know the hope of 
 his calling, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in 
 the saints and the exceeding greatness of his power, 
 * * * which he wrought in Christ, when he raised 
 
 ,him from the dead.” This Christ, who is the explana¬ 
 tion and sum of all things, God placed in supreme “ au¬ 
 thority, rule, and dominion far above all,” and made him 
 to be the head of the church. 
 
 Inasmuch as this church is for all, it must, therefore, 
 have a head that satisfies all. A universal church with¬ 
 out an all-sufficient and all-satisfying head would have 
 been an early and certain failure. Wherefore, God 
 selected Christ Jesus to be the head, who is “ of the full¬ 
 ness of him that filleth all in all,” “ the effulgence of 
 his glory and the very image of his substance,” and “ in 
 whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” 
 Surely then, such a head satisfies all, for no fault can 
 be found with such a being as head of the church. In 
 fact, he is eminently qualified both by nature and training 
 to be the head of the world church. 
 
 Note, furthermore, that Christ is the real head and 
 not the mere figurehead of the church, as many of his 
 followers would make him. He was given supreme au¬ 
 thority, “ not only in this world, but also in that which 
 
54 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 is to come.” Peter failed to get this lesson even on the 
 mount of transfiguration. He wanted to put Moses and 
 Elijah on equal authority with Christ by building a taber¬ 
 nacle to each; but God spoke out of the heavens, saying, 
 “ This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; 
 hear ye him.” He is placed in supreme authority over 
 Moses and Elijah and all other heads of the church in 
 the past; and in the future he is to be heard over all. 
 This was a distinct shock to the Jews, who held Moses 
 and the Prophets in highest authority; and many of them 
 took offense at Christ’s assumption of supreme authority; 
 and he thereby became “ a rock of stumbling ” unto them. 
 In the foundation of this new spiritual Temple, the 
 world-church, they rejected “ the head or chief corner¬ 
 stone.” Even after the establishment of the church there 
 were Judaizers in the church, who attempted to place 
 Moses on equal authority with Christ; but those inspired 
 to speak the word of God always spoke out against such 
 action; however, it took a long time and much teaching 
 on this point to divorce the Jews from Moses and wed 
 them to Christ as the supreme and only head of the 
 church. 
 
 Now, if neither Moses nor any of the Prophets was 
 allowed to share the authority of Christ as head of the 
 church, then there is even less grounds for anyone’s 
 claim to-day to be the earthly head of the church; how¬ 
 ever some to-day are disposed to assume this authority 
 under the claim and office of Pope, Bishop, Presbyter, 
 Elder, Editor, etc.; but Paul left no place for any such 
 ecclesiastical authority in the church. Christ and Christ 
 alone was made the head of the church in this world as 
 well as the world to come; and, whenever anyone else 
 assumes to be the earthly head of the church, or to share 
 in any way this supreme authority, trouble and division 
 
THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH 
 
 55 
 
 result, because Christ is the only head that can satisfy 
 all. This was the cause of first division in the church; 
 and there is no truth that the people to-day need more 
 to realize than the absolute and exclusive supremacy of 
 Christ as head of the church. He never appointed or 
 delegated anyone to be the earthly head of the church in 
 his absence. Not even one of his inspired apostles ever 
 made such a claim for himself. Paul always spoke of 
 himself as “ the apostle and servant of Jesus Christ,” and 
 never assumed any authority beyond being the mere 
 spokesman of Jesus Christ in the revelation of the will 
 of God, for which he was ready at all times to give his 
 credentials, no one of which can any professed earthly 
 representative of Christ to-day give. So, therefore, let 
 .all presumptive earthly heads of the church to-day step 
 down in deference to the supreme authority of Christ as 
 the head of the church, and the cause of unity will be 
 greatly advanced thereby, because a church for all must 
 have a head that satisfies all. 
 
 Note also that Christ is “ head over all things to the 
 church,” over the little things as well as the big things. 
 While no one would assume any authority with respect 
 to the great and important things of the church, yet many 
 do not hesitate to take control and supervision of the 
 small matters; but after all it is the little things that 
 really test one's loyalty; and besides no matter upon 
 which Jesus Christ has spoken can be called a small 
 thing. For instance, some ecclesiastical authorities, look¬ 
 ing upon the organization and ordinances of the church 
 as small matters, have changed these from what Christ 
 and his apostles prescribed, on the grounds that these 
 things are non-essentials, and, therefore, subject to the 
 authorities that be in the church to-day; but remember 
 “God put all things in subjection under his feet;” and 
 
56 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 “ who art thou, O man,” to assume authority over even 
 the least things that were committed to Christ? On the 
 other hand, there is no better way to manifest one’s sub¬ 
 jection and loyalty to Christ as head of the church than 
 by a strict compliance to the seemingly small things of 
 the church. This was the cause of Saul’s downfall. He 
 was subject to God in all things except what he con¬ 
 sidered small matters; yet God rejected him from being 
 king because of his failure to obey these small com¬ 
 mands. Likewise, Christians are required to “ hearken 
 unto Christ, the prophet like unto Moses, in all things 
 whatsoever he shall speak; and it shall be that every soul 
 that shall not hearken unto that prophet shall be utterly 
 destroyed from the people.” Such a recognition of the 
 absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ as “ head over all 
 things to the church ” is greatly needed to-day to restore 
 unity in the church; and to this end Christ must be made 
 the real head of the church. 
 
 i 
 
VII 
 
 TERMS OF ENTRANCE INTO THE CHURCH 
 
 A ND you did he make alive, when ye were dead through 
 your trespasses and sins, wherein ye once walked ac¬ 
 cording to the course of this world, according to the 
 prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now 
 worketh in the sons of disobedience; among whom we also all 
 lived in the lusts of your flesh, doing the desires of the flesh 
 and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even 
 as the rest:—but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love 
 wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our 
 trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have 
 we been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit 
 with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: that in all the 
 ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace 
 in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: for by grace have ye 
 been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the 
 gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we 
 are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, 
 which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” 
 2 : 1 - 10 . 
 
 In the above paragraph Paul sets forth the conditions 
 of entrance into the church. In as much as the church, 
 of which Jesus Christ is the head, is for all, both Jews 
 and Gentiles, the conditions of entrance into this church 
 must be such as will admit all. The conditions of en¬ 
 trance into the Jewish church under Moses, “ the church 
 in the wilderness,” did not admit all on the same terms, 
 because it was for the Jews only. Furthermore, in as 
 much as the church includes all the saved through Christ, 
 the conditions of entrance into the church must be the 
 same as the conditions of salvation. These conditions of 
 salvation and entrance into the church were therefore 
 
 made to admit all, both Jews and Gentiles, upon the same 
 
 57 
 
58 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 terms, which Paul sets forth in the above paragraph. 
 Paul shows that neither the Jews nor the Gentiles could 
 enter on the grounds of merit, because the Gentiles were 
 “ dead through their trespasses and sins,” and the Jews 
 were by conduct and nature “ children of wrath, even as 
 the rest.” Both the Jews and the Gentiles were alike 
 under the condemnation of sin, as Paul shows in more 
 detail in his letter to the Romans, and, therefore, ex¬ 
 cluded on the grounds of meritorious works. “ But God, 
 being rich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he 
 loved us, even when we were dead through our tres¬ 
 passes made us alive together with Christ (by grace have 
 ye been saved).” Accordingly, God had mercy on both 
 Jews and Gentiles, and saved both alike by His grace, 
 which admitted both Jews and Gentiles on the same 
 terms. 
 
 Having set forth grace as the general condition oU 
 salvation and entrance into the church, Paul adds the 
 specific conditions, “ faith ” and “ good works.” The 
 general condition of grace, or mercy would admit all men 
 irrespective of conduct and character, because “ God 
 would have all men saved, and come to a knowledge of 
 the truth;” but salvation is further conditioned by 
 “ faith,” which limits salvation to those that believe, and 
 also by “ good works,” which further limit the saved to 
 those that do good. Paul, however, is careful in drawing 
 the distinction between meritorious faith and good works 
 of the law on the one hand and good works of faith and 
 obedience on the other hand. Lest some one might con¬ 
 clude that we are meritoriously saved by faith, that is, 
 merely because we believe, Paul adds, “ and that not of 
 yourselves, it is the gift of God;” and, lest some one 
 think that we are saved because of our good works on 
 the grounds of merit, he adds, “ not of good works that 
 
TERMS OF ENTRANCE INTO THE CHURCH 59 
 
 no man should glory.” This, however, does not exclude 
 Christian good works of faith and obedience, for which 
 Paul says, “ we were created in Christ Jesus, which God 
 afore prepared that we should walk in them.” These 
 good works are made conditions of salvation and en¬ 
 trance into the church; and, that we might know what 
 these good works are, God sent Jesus Christ into the 
 world the prophet like unto Moses, to make known to 
 all the way of salvation; and whatever he prescribed to 
 be done is required of all who would be saved, and enter 
 the church. See Acts 3 : 22-23. 
 
 The question as to the conditions of entrance into the 
 church has greatly disturbed, and often divided the 
 church; and the different views and teaching on this sub¬ 
 ject have been the cause of much strife and division. 
 Some have taught that the conditions of entrance into 
 the church are different from the conditions of salvation. 
 Accordingly, they make baptism the means, or door of 
 entrance into the church, and then take a vote of the 
 church to receive. Baptism is a means of entrance into 
 the church, I Cor. 12:13; but it is also a condition of 
 salvation. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; I Pet. 3:21. Like¬ 
 wise every other condition of entrance into the church 
 is made a condition of salvation. The conditions that 
 save automatically and simultaneously enter into the 
 church, as they evidently did on the day of Pentecost. 
 “ The Lord added to them day by day those that were 
 being saved.” Acts 2:47. When a person complied 
 with the prescribed conditions of salvation, the Lord 
 added him to the church, so no ordinance or vote of the 
 church puts one into the church; but Christ alone adds 
 to the church those that are saved; He alone is the door 
 into the church (see John 10: 1-9) ; and He alone ad¬ 
 mits and excludes from the same. It is man’s part to 
 
60 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 comply with the conditions of salvation, prescribed by 
 the Lord, and thereby present himself for entrance into 
 his church. Allowing the Lord to thus enter all into the 
 church eliminates all ecclesiastical entrances by voting 
 or by opening the doors by priest or minister; and what 
 the Lord does ought to satisfy all, and restore unity in 
 the churches disturbed and divided over this question. 
 
 But the church has been disturbed and divided over 
 the conditions of salvation, which present one for en¬ 
 trance into the church. Some have held to “ the doc¬ 
 trine of salvation by grace alone,” which Paul makes the 
 general condition of salvation, and have ignored the 
 specific conditions, “ faith ” and “ good works,” which 
 Paul also prescribes as conditions of salvation, and have 
 thereby missed the full teaching of Paul on this sub¬ 
 ject. Whereas, an acceptance and compliance with both 
 the general condition of salvation, “ grace,” and the 
 specific conditions, “ faith ” and “ good works,” on the 
 part of all would settle this question, and restore unity in 
 the church at this point. 
 
 But what faith and what good works are made con¬ 
 ditions of salvation and entrance into the church? For¬ 
 tunately, inspired teachers have settled these disturbing 
 questions for us also. That “Jesus is the Christ the 
 Son of the living God,” is the faith (see Mat. 16: 16-18; 
 John 11:27; Acts 9:37; 16:31); and the good works 
 are defined in the following: “ All things whatsoever he 
 (Jesus) shall speak unto you.” Acts 3:22-23. How¬ 
 ever, none of these things should be exalted and empha¬ 
 sized above others, or ignored as has been the case with 
 baptism, one of the things spoken or commanded by 
 Jesus. Mat. 28:19. Some have overemphasized this 
 command by their much preaching on this subject to the 
 neglect of other things; and others have ignored it as a 
 
TERMS OF ENTRANCE INTO THE CHURCH 61 
 
 non-essential, notwithstanding Jesus makes it a condition 
 of salvation. Mark 16: 16. Consequently, these extreme 
 and divergent positions on baptism have caused trouble 
 and division in the church; whereas, if it had been ac¬ 
 cepted and followed by all simply as a command of the 
 Lord, or one of the good works of faith and obedience, 
 there would have been unity in the church at this point, 
 which would bring great peace to the same. 
 
 In conclusion, Paul must have realized the trouble that 
 the church would have over the conditions of salvation 
 or entrance into the church, wherefore he made these 
 conditions plain and simple, namely, “ grace,” “ faith ” 
 and “ good worksand accordingly all those that accept 
 and comply with these conditions are saved, and there¬ 
 upon added by the Lord to His church; and then there 
 is unity in the church as to this question as well as all 
 others, about which the Lord has spoken. Wherefore 
 Paul, in outlining the church for all , prescribed condi¬ 
 tions of entrance that would admit all upon the same 
 terms, both Jews and Gentiles; and he thereby opened up 
 the way whereby all may come together and dwell to¬ 
 gether in the church for all. 
 
VIII 
 
 THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 
 
 W HEREFORE remember, that once ye, the Gentiles 
 in the flesh, who were called Uncircumcision by that 
 which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by 
 hands; that ye at that time were separate from Christ, 
 alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from 
 the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in 
 the world. But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off 
 are made nigh in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who 
 made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, 
 having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of com¬ 
 mandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in him¬ 
 self of the two one new man, so making peace; and might 
 reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, 
 having slain the enmity thereby: and he came and preached peace 
 to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh: for 
 through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the 
 Father. So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but 
 ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of 
 God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
 Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner-stone in whom each 
 several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy 
 temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are budded together for 
 a habitation of God in the Spirit.” 2:11-22. 
 
 The above paragraph contains Paul’s plan for uniting 
 the church. Inasmuch as the church is for all, and sal¬ 
 vation and entrance into the church are offered to all on 
 the same terms, consequently all kinds and classes, races 
 and colors, sects and parties are gathered together in the 
 church, which necessitates a plan for uniting this mixed 
 multitude. When Peter opened the doors of the church 
 on the day of Pentecost to the Jews and to the Gentiles 
 at the house of Cornelius, both Jews and Gentiles poured 
 into the church from all the religious sects and parties 
 among them; and the church became a mixed assembly 
 
 62 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 63 
 
 of all the religious elements in the world. The church, 
 however, was not intended to be a conglomerate mass of 
 discordant religious elements but a harmonious union of 
 all integral parts, which necessitated a plan for uniting all 
 the religious sects and parties that came into the church. 
 The merging of these into one harmonious whole was the 
 stupendous task of the Apostolic church. The Apostle 
 Paul was the chosen leader in uniting the Jews and Gen¬ 
 tiles ; and fortunately he left on record, as quoted above, 
 his plan for uniting them. While this union was slow in 
 progress, and much teaching and diplomacy were re¬ 
 quired to bring them together, nevertheless they were 
 finally united in one harmonious body, and continued so 
 for four hundred years. Now, a plan that united all 
 ,the sects and parties among the Jews and Gentiles, who 
 were poles apart, and hated each other with all the ani¬ 
 mosity and bitterness, of which the human soul is capable, 
 can do the same for the sects in the church to-day; and 
 to this end we propose in this chapter a study and appli¬ 
 cation of Paul’s plan for unity to the divided church of 
 to-day. 
 
 Before Christian unity can be made practical, a prac¬ 
 tical plan, by which, and upon which, all Christians can 
 unite, must be found. This seems to be the one thing 
 lacking to-day to make unity practicable. In answer to 
 this demand for a practical plan for Christian unity, five 
 plans have so far been offered. The Roman Catholic 
 Church proposes a return to the mother church, where, 
 they claim, there was unity until Luther and other re¬ 
 formers broke it up. This plan would undoubtedly 
 secure unity, but it would do so at the price of two 
 things in the world that are worth more than unity; 
 namely, loyalty and liberty, without which it would not 
 be Christian unity; and besides, such a unity would not 
 
64 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 satisfy the requirements of Scriptural faith, and could 
 not, therefore, be Scriptural unity. The Episcopalians 
 also have a plan to bring the Christian world together. 
 The Protestant Episcopal Church has always claimed to 
 be a sort of half-way house between Catholicism and 
 Protestantism, and has hoped to bring Rome down and 
 Geneva up to this common level; and to this end this 
 communion offers what is known as the Lambeth Quadri¬ 
 lateral as a practical plan for Christian unity. But one 
 of the items in this plan is the Historic Bishopric, or 
 Apostolic Succession, which excludes its acceptance by all 
 congregational or democratic communions. The Presby¬ 
 terians, Congregationalists and Methodists propose a 
 federation of all the churches, which, of course, is not 
 unity at all, and, for this reason, has not been seriously 
 considered by the churches. Another plan, first proposed 
 by the Campbells and advocated to the present by those 
 committed to this plan, is a restoration of the apostolic 
 church and unity upon the same. But there have arisen 
 differences as to what the apostolic church was in all re¬ 
 spects, and some doubt the propriety of restoring the 
 apostolic church in some respects, so this plan has so 
 far failed to unite the churches. The latest plan to be 
 offered is the Philadelphia Plan, recently formulated and 
 adopted by representatives of many of the leading de¬ 
 nominations assembled in Philadelphia to devise a plan 
 for unity. This plan provides for what some consider a 
 super-church with governmental authority, to which 
 many communions object, and are not likely to accept. 
 In fact, there have been more or less criticisms and ob¬ 
 jections to all the plans; and all have so far failed to 
 unite the church. There is much to be commended and 
 accepted in all the above plans; but all of them together 
 have so far failed to bring the churches into any visible 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 65 
 
 unity; however they have taught us some very important 
 lessons. 
 
 In the first place, the failure of the above plans has 
 taught us that Christian unity can not be an ecclesiasti- 
 cism, where one man or a number of men constitute the 
 head of the church; that has always been religious 
 tyranny and spiritual despotism. Not a union of de¬ 
 nominations, where one denomination swallows up all the 
 others ,* that would be a denominational monster, or mon¬ 
 strosity. Not a federation of sects, where each sect is 
 fitted into its allotted niche and place, and agrees to 
 occupy as little space as possible; that would be stagna¬ 
 tion and death. Not an aggregation of unreconciled 
 sects, where each has signed an armistice ; that has always 
 resulted in renewed hostilities. Not a peace by compro¬ 
 mise, where all agree to maintain a respectful silence such 
 as the tombs of a graveyard; that would be a living 
 death. Not a bargain, where one thing is given up by 
 one, and another thing is given up in return by another; 
 that would be selling out. Not a forced union, where all 
 speak the same thing through slavish fear; that would 
 be a new edition of “ The Book of Martyrs/’ Not a uni¬ 
 formity of opinions, where each one sneezes when the 
 other takes snuff; that would be religious hypocrisy. Not 
 a union of all the theories and philosophies of the relig¬ 
 ious thinkers and dreamers of the past; that would be 
 a religious museum. Not a union of all the modern cults 
 and isms; that would be fanaticism, of which the world is 
 full already. Not a union in theory or name only; but 
 a real, practical, organic union of the dismembered parts 
 of the divided body of Christ; and that which is needed 
 most to effect such a union is a practical, acceptable plan. 
 
 In view of the failure of the above plans, which were 
 wrought out of the best thought and experience of the 
 
66 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 past, and in view of the fact that the churches of to-day 
 have no other to offer, where shall we look for a better 
 plan? When we have exhausted all human resources of 
 the past and the present, where do we usually look for 
 help ? “ My help cometh from Jehovah, who made heaven 
 and earth.” Yes, but God has not given us any help at 
 this point; He has left us in the darkness to find our way 
 out of the confusion of division into the light of unity. If 
 this be true, Christian unity is indeed a hopeless under¬ 
 taking. However, is it not strange that Christ would 
 have prayed for the unity of all His disciples, and com¬ 
 manded them to work for the same, without giving them 
 some plan and basis for unity? Furthermore, if “ the 
 scriptures furnish us completely unto every good work,” 
 as Paul says they do, is it not strange that they do not 
 give us a practical working plan for Christian unity, the 
 greatest of good works? To be sure, they do give a plan 
 for unity, as stated by Paul in the above paragraph, which 
 we now propose to study. Inasmuch as a plan for unity 
 is the one thing needed to-day to realize Christian unity, 
 Paul’s plan will be considered in detail, which will make 
 this chapter of considerable length; but the whole plan 
 will be crowded into one chapter in order to preserve the 
 unity of this plan. 
 
 Paul’s plan for Christian unity maintains the strictest 
 Christian loyalty, yet grants the largest liberty, and in¬ 
 sures the fullest unity. An analytical study of this plan 
 will show that it contains seven basic items or funda¬ 
 mental principles (a heptagon instead of a quadrilateral), 
 the first of which is, 
 
 A Common Standard of Authority 
 
 “For he [Christ] is our peace , who made both [Jews 
 and Gentiles] one” The only way that peace can be 
 
THE PLAN FOE UNITY OF THE CHURCH 67 
 
 made between religious sects is by bringing them to agree, 
 “ for how can two walk together, except they agree ? ” 
 and the only way to bring them to agree is to bring them 
 to accept a common standard of religious authority, be¬ 
 cause without such a standard there is no point of contact 
 or common ground on which to stand. As long as the 
 Jews had one religious standard, and the Gentiles an¬ 
 other, there was no hope of peace and unity among them, 
 so Paul brought both to accept Christ as their peace, or 
 common standard of authority, which made both one. 
 Paul did not call an assembly and conference of all the 
 religious leaders and authorities of that day to discuss 
 Moses and the prophets and Socrates and Baal, to see 
 how much they held in common, thereby hoping to formu¬ 
 late a common standard that all could accept and unite 
 upon; but he set up a new standard of religious authority, 
 Christ Jesus, and brought both Jews and Gentiles to ac¬ 
 cept Him as “their peace,” or common standard of author¬ 
 ity in all matters of religion, and thereby “ made both 
 one.” The acceptance of Christ by all sects as the com¬ 
 mon standard of authority in religion is, therefore, the 
 first step in Paul’s plan for Christian unity. But do not 
 all Christian sects to-day so accept Christ? Yes, theoretic¬ 
 ally they do; but really they do not. Christ said, “ All 
 authority in heaven and earth is given unto me;” and 
 Paul said, “ He is head over all things to the church.” 
 These words do not permit of any divided or delegated 
 authority, such as claimed by the Pope, the bishop, the 
 editor of the church paper, or any other modern ecclesi¬ 
 astical authority that claims to speak with authority for 
 the church. Christ, and Christ alone, is our peace, or 
 common standard of authority. But Christ is not here 
 to-day to speak His mind and thereby make peace, so, 
 therefore, can not be our real or visible standard of 
 
68 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 authority. Neither was He here in Paul’s day; yet He 
 was their “ peace.” Paul, in discussing the religious 
 standards of his day, says, “ The Jews seek after a sign ” 
 —the supernatural, which was the Jewish test of author¬ 
 ity; and, “the Greeks seek after wisdom”—human 
 philosophy, which was the Greek standard; but “ we have 
 the mind of Christ,” which is the Christian standard of 
 authority. Paul claimed to have the mind of Christ, and 
 was ready at all times to give his credentials for the 
 same; and he called upon all, both Jews and Gentiles, to 
 accept this as their common standard of authority in relig¬ 
 ion. Likewise, we have “ the mind of Christ,” which 
 has come down to us from the inspired writers of the 
 Bible. The mind of Christ is found in the words, deeds 
 and character of Christ, as set forth in the Christian 
 Scriptures, which fully reveal His mind on every essen¬ 
 tial matter that has to do with the work and worship of 
 the church to-day. Any one to-day that claims to have 
 an added revelation of the mind of Christ should be able, 
 as Paul, to give his credentials for the same; otherwise, 
 it is no part of the mind of Christ. Such claims have 
 been a fertile cause of divisions in the church; so the 
 only sure way to unity is by a return to the mind of Christ 
 as revealed in the Christian Scriptures, which is the only 
 Christian standard of authority that all can accept. The 
 mind of Christ as herein revealed is clear and definite 
 on every essential that has to do with the church; and 
 an acceptance of His mind as final in religion on the 
 part of all is the first step toward unity according to 
 Paul’s plan; and this first step prepares the way for the 
 second, which is 
 
 The Removal of Differences 
 u And brake down the middle wall of partition, having 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 69 
 
 abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of com¬ 
 mandments contained in ordinances; that he might create 
 in himself of the two one new man, so making peace!' 
 The tearing down and the removal of “ the middle wall 
 of partition,” or differences, was the second step in Paul's 
 plan for unity. The chief differences, or the highest wall 
 of partition, between Jews and Gentiles was the law oi 
 Moses, which Christ fulfilled and took out of the way, 
 “ nailing it to the cross.” The law of Moses was very 
 exclusive and inclusive; and it had walled the Jews in 
 from the religious world for centuries, and thereby pre¬ 
 vented any union with those on the outside, so this bar¬ 
 rier to unity had to be removed before Christian unity 
 could be effected. The breaking down of middle walls 
 ' of partition, or the removal of differences, is not an easy 
 step to take nor a pleasant undertaking to accomplish; 
 yet it is folly to try to unite without settling this mat¬ 
 ter of differences. What shall we do with our differ¬ 
 ences?, is a baffling question; yet it can not be ignored in 
 any practical plan for unity. To say nothing about dif¬ 
 ferences in a discussion of Christian unity is like the city 
 man that hired to a farmer, and, on being ordered to 
 grease the wagon, greased it all over except on the axles, 
 the only places that needed greasing. Just so with our 
 differences, the points of friction are the places to oil; and, 
 if the unity wagon ever rolls, it must be greased at the 
 places of our differences. This is not the popular plan 
 for unity, as Dr. Armitage states in the following: 
 
 “ It is a popular idea that kneeling on the same floor, sitting 
 on the same bench, singing the same hymn, uniting in the same 
 prayer (when we have never been divided at all as to the floor, 
 the bench, the hymn or the prayer), and being as different in all 
 other respects as possible, constitutes Christian union. Men of 
 every hue of faith and opinion, and every variety of practice, too, 
 happen to meet in one board, or on one platform, or under one 
 
7a 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 roof, and because they are not bitter, and feel kindly toward each 
 other, they consider that they are making great attainments in 
 the mysteries of Christian union. Yet not a point of difference is 
 yielded in any respect; and this is looked upon very generally 
 as good, fair Bible union.” 
 
 However, before such a union can be effected all essen¬ 
 tial religious differences must be broken down; and, if 
 this was done in Paul’s day, there is no good reason why 
 it can not be done to-day. Christians ought to at least 
 be able to discuss amicably their differences with this end 
 in view. Business men do so, and often settle their dif¬ 
 ferences in this way; and shame on Christians, if they 
 can not do the same. However, Christian differences are 
 often exaggerated and over-emphasized. Differences 
 among Christians ought to always be discussed in con¬ 
 nection with their agreements to be seen in their true 
 light and value. To this end let us first see some of our 
 agreements and keep these in mind as we consider our 
 differences, as follows: 
 
 1. We all believe in the Holy God, Jehovah, the God 
 
 of the Bible, our Father. 
 
 2. We all believe in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, 
 
 our teacher. 
 
 3. We all believe in the Holy Son, Jesus the Christ, our 
 
 Saviour. 
 
 4. We all believe in the Holy Book, the Bible, our rule 
 
 of faith and practice. 
 
 5. We all believe in the Holy Church, the body of 
 
 Christ, the institution for Christian work and 
 
 worship. 
 
 6 . We all believe in the Holy Ordinances, Baptism and 
 
 the Lord’s Supper. 
 
 7. We all believe in the Holy day, the Lord’s day. 
 
 8. We all believe in the Holy life, Christian life. 
 
 These agreements could be further increased; but these 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 71 
 
 are sufficient to show that we are largely agreed already. 
 In fact, the above are the great essentials of Christianity; 
 and shows that we are nine-tenths united as we are. Fur¬ 
 thermore, when we come to an open, frank confession and 
 statement of our differences, many of them will be found 
 to be either imaginary, nominal or historical. Many dif¬ 
 ferences among Christians that used to be pronounced and 
 divisive have passed away, and others are passing; but 
 there are yet others that must be removed before Chris¬ 
 tians can unite. 
 
 What are these remaining differences? Nine out of ten 
 Christians do not even know what these differences are; 
 and in nine cases out of ten, when you do find one that 
 knows, he is ashamed of the differences. But whether 
 the differences be many or few, essential or non-essen¬ 
 tial, Paul teaches us in his plan for unity how to remove 
 the same, thus, let “ Christ break them down.” Through 
 his words, deeds and character, as revealed in the Chris¬ 
 tian Scriptures, he has expressed his mind on every es¬ 
 sential matter that has to do with the church; and this 
 should be final with all that accept his mind as the 
 Christian standard of authority. No difference can be 
 settled without a common standard of authority. With¬ 
 out a common standard of weights and measures business 
 differences could not be settled; but with it differences in 
 business can be settled. Just so religious differences can 
 be removed by submitting them to the mind of Christ for 
 settlement. But the trouble is, we are not always willing 
 for Christ to break down our differences; we want to be 
 heard ourselves, and are not always willing for Christ, 
 who is our peace, to break them down. 
 
 Yes, but we differ as to the meaning of what Christ 
 has said on many things about which we differ. Christ 
 expressed his mind so clearly and simply on most things 
 
72 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 that there is practically no differences among the well- 
 informed as to His meaning; but the most of our differ¬ 
 ences are over matters upon which He did not speak at 
 all. What shall we do with these differences? Well, if 
 neither Christ nor His inspired apostles said anything 
 about these things, or did any thing about them; nor no 
 light can be had from His character on these things, then 
 these things are non-essentials; and our differences over 
 such are immaterial, and should be treated as such. We 
 therefore must say nothing about these things, nor do 
 nothing about them that will disturb the unity of the 
 church. For instance, differences over such things as 
 missionary and benevolent societies, Bible schools, church 
 papers, church buildings, organs, choirs, song books, tun¬ 
 ing forks, orders of worship, etc., are of this class. They 
 belong to the class of things spoken of by Paul in his 
 letters such as “ eating meat,” “ keeping days,” etc., the 
 faith we have about such things, Paul says, “ Have thou 
 to thyself before God;” and it must be exercised in such 
 a way as to “ cause no one to stumble or falland when 
 such comes up for congregational action, the will of the 
 majority should be accepted; yet the will of the minority 
 must be respected “ for the sake of the conscience of the 
 
 -L 
 
 weak brother,” if there be any that make it a matter of 
 conscientious faith. In such cases Christian love is to 
 determine the wise thing to do. 
 
 On the other hand, so far as all matters upon which 
 Christ has spoken are concerned, differences must be set¬ 
 tled by His expressed mind as revealed in the canonical 
 Christian Scriptures, “ rightly divided,” or rationally in¬ 
 terpreted. This will settle every essential difference; and 
 all other differences can be adjusted by common sense 
 and Christian love. 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 73 
 
 The Removal of Our Feelings 
 “And might reconcile them both in one body unto God 
 through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and 
 he came and preached peace to you that were far off , 
 and peace to them that were nigh” The third step in 
 Paul’s plan, as stated above, provides for the removal 
 and destruction of all religious sectarian feelings that 
 stand in the way of Christian unity. We usually think 
 of our differences as the greatest barrier to unity; but 
 not so,—our feelings will be found to be the last and 
 hardest obstacle to remove. What shall we do with our 
 feelings ?, is a more baffling question than, What shall we 
 do with our differences?, because religious feelings have 
 a stronger hold than religious convictions on people. 
 Out of the feelings springs sectarianism, the worst pest 
 that grows in the human heart. It chokes out all good 
 impulses, and fertilizes all evil passions. It has kindled 
 martyr flames, pierced innocent hands, broken gentle 
 hearts, crowned with thorns and crucified the Saviour of 
 the race. Like a vampire it has sapped the life out of 
 religion and the spirituality out of worship, and left the 
 church an empty shell and the soul a dry husk. Its his¬ 
 tory is the history of “ the seven woes ” in the annals of 
 the church; and it has been the chief agent and factor 
 in all the divisions of the church; “ for, where there is 
 envying and strife,” says Paul, “ there is confusion and 
 every evil work.” Most of the confusion and evil work 
 in the church have grown out of sectarianism that is de¬ 
 structive of the peace, progress and development of the 
 church. Paul found the rankest sectarianism gone to 
 seed in the hearts of the Jews and Gentiles, who hated 
 each other with all the bitterness and animosity of which 
 the human soul is capable, and he had to purge their 
 
74 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 hearts of all such feelings before they could be reconciled 
 and united. 
 
 Religious feelings are the result of competition and 
 rivalry in religion, which engenders partisan prejudiced 
 feelings. No person can be an active loyal member of 
 a party either social, political or religious without becom¬ 
 ing partisan. This is one of the worst features of 
 division in the church; it makes people prejudiced and 
 sectarian; and no prejudiced sectarian can unite with all 
 the people of God. If there were no other barrier to 
 keep him out, prejudice would isolate him. The heart 
 must be emptied of all sectarian feelings to unite with 
 Christians of every Church. 
 
 Wherefore, Paul put into his plan for unity >an item 
 - for the eradication of sectarianism from the hearts of 
 both Jews' and Gentiles. “ Pie reconciled them both.” 
 “ Reconcile ” is a strong word that calls for the emptying 
 of the heart of all hostile prejudiced feelings. No mere 
 covering up or ignoring these feelings for the sake of 
 appearances and politeness will suffice. The heart must 
 be emptied of all sectarian bitterness, and filled and 
 sweetened with brotherly love. 
 
 Also, “ He reconciled them both unto God” One 
 must be truly and genuinely reconciled unto God before 
 he can become reconciled to his brethren. The churches 
 to-day are full of people that are not reconciled to God. 
 It is useless to undertake to reconcile these unto each 
 other until they first become reconciled unto their God. 
 They must make their peace with God first, must remove 
 everything between them and God; and then it will be 
 an easy matter to reconcile them to each other. The peo¬ 
 ple that live closest to God never cause trouble in the 
 church, but those whose lives and characters are at vari¬ 
 ance with God are the ones that sow strife and discord 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 75 
 
 among brethren. Wherefore, Paul, writing to the Corin¬ 
 thian Christians, says, “ We are embassadors, therefore, 
 on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by 
 us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled 
 unto God.” In no other way can peace and harmony 
 be maintained in the church, because the unreconciled 
 unto God will soon become the unreconciled in the 
 church. The man that is at war with God will sooner 
 or later be at war with his brethren. So Paul went to 
 the fountain-head of strife and discord, the personal re¬ 
 lationship between man and God, and established peace 
 there; and this peace flowed out in streams of harmony 
 among brethren. So then, the question of unity among 
 brethren is primarily a matter of unity with God. Those 
 that are one with God will be one with each other. So, 
 therefore, Paul “ reconciled them both unto God,” that 
 they might be reconciled unto each other. 
 
 Furthermore, Paul says, “ He reconciled them both 
 in one body ” In other words, Paul did not put the Jews 
 in one church and the Gentiles in another church, but 
 he put both together “in one body;” and in so doing 
 he precluded another source of hostile religious feelings 
 among Christians. Separate worshipping bodies, or 
 churches, have been a fertile source of prejudiced feel¬ 
 ings among Christians. The overlapping of these 
 churches and the consequent rivalry and competition 
 between the same have brought Christians into conflict, 
 strife and hard feelings with each other. A multiplicity 
 of religious bodies results always in a multiplicity of bit¬ 
 ter feelings between the members of the same; so this 
 source of bitterness must be removed to stop the flow 
 of prejudice among Christians. Wherefore, all must find 
 their way back to this one original body of Christ, and 
 there live together and work and worship together as 
 
76 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 the one family or household of God. Surrounded as we 
 are to-day by a great multiplicity of Christian bodies, it 
 is hard to think and trace our way back to this original 
 body of Christ. Some claim to be able to stand in the 
 church in which they worship and shake the chain of 
 ecclesiastical descent and hear it rattle in the streets of 
 Jerusalem; but no one but themselves can hear it. In 
 fact, the body of Christ can not be thus identified by 
 historical continuity, because there have been so many, 
 many departures and fallings-away in the same that this 
 can not be relied upon; besides Christ did not provide nor 
 intend any such identification of His church; but He as¬ 
 sured us that, “ where two or three are gathered together 
 in my name, there am I in the midst of themand there 
 is to be found the church of Christ. So, when all the 
 Christians in a community come together in the name of 
 Christ to worship God, this is undoubtedly the church or 
 one body of Christ. 
 
 One of the great hindrances in the way of Christians 
 doing this is the many separate church buildings in every 
 community. These must be abandoned for a common 
 church home. As long as Christians worship apart, they 
 will drift further and further apart; and bitter feelings 
 will grow and multiply. What to do with these build¬ 
 ings and church property in general is a great problem 
 and obstacle to Christian union and one that so far has 
 baffled human solution. If a cyclone could be sent 
 through every community as at Flat Creek, Tenn., and 
 blow all of them away except one, or still better all, then 
 all would be in a position to come together and build a 
 common church home, and thereby remove this fertile 
 source of prejudice among Christians. Paul knew the 
 evils of separate worshipping bodies, so he put both Jews 
 and Gentiles “ in one body.” 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 77 
 
 Note also that all prejudice and bitterness between 
 Jews and Gentiles were removed “ through the cross, 
 having slain the enmity thereby.” Paul held up before 
 both the cross of Christ, or Christ crucified, the vision 
 of which slew all enmity in their hearts, for no one can 
 cherish any bitterness in the presence of the cross. No 
 one can behold Jesus dying on the cross for the salvation 
 of the world, and hear Him utter with His last breath, 
 “ Father, forgive them; they know not what they do,” 
 and hold bitter feelings in his heart against any of the 
 followers of Christ. In the presence of such forgiveness, 
 one cannot hold bitterness and hard feelings in his heart 
 against others. The cross of Christ is the only influence 
 in the world that can empty the heart of all bitterness, 
 and fill and sweeten it with love for God and man. The 
 love that overshadows the cross warms, softens and melts 
 the hearts of all that believe in Christ, and welds them 
 together in the bonds of Christian unity. So then, if 
 Christians ever unite, it will be at the foot of the cross 
 of Christ, because nowhere else can his followers lay 
 aside all feelings that keep them apart. This is another 
 reason for keeping the cross prominent in the hearts and 
 lives of all Christians; and to this end the Lord’s Supper 
 was placed in the worship of the church. Christ said, 
 “ If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto meand he 
 will draw all together into Christian unity through his 
 exaltation on the cross, “ having slain the enmity 
 thereby.” 
 
 When, through the influence of the cross, they were 
 reconciled, Paul’s plan provided also a way to keep them 
 reconciled, as follows: “ And he came and preached 
 peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that 
 were nigh.” It was just as important to maintain this 
 reconciliation as it was to effect it, otherwise unity would 
 
78 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 have ended with the reconciliation. Reconciliation was 
 to be maintained by the preaching of peace to all parties 
 alike. Paul knew that numberless things would arise in 
 the church that would disturb and disrupt, so he enjoined 
 the preaching of peace—the pouring of oil on the troubled 
 waters. “ So then let us follow after the things that 
 make for peace,” “ giving diligence to keep the unity of 
 the Spirit in the bonds of peace.” Paul knew that this 
 was the only way to keep unity in the church. The 
 church is the most inflammable institution in the world, 
 and the preaching and following of peace is the only way 
 to keep down and quench the flames of strife and divi¬ 
 sion in the church. “ Blessed are the peacemakers: for 
 they shall be called the sons of God.” Some in Paul’s 
 day preached Christ even of envy and strife, and some 
 to-day preach a military gospel, and wage unceasing war 
 on the sects, either not knowing or having forgotten that 
 the gospel of Christ is a message of peace and good will, 
 and that Christians are nowhere commanded to fight 
 people. We are commanded to “fight the good fight 
 of the faith,” but nowhere are we told to fight the sects. 
 Sectarianism can not be destroyed in this way. The 
 preaching of the cross of Christ and peace and good will 
 among all men is the only way to destroy sectarianism and 
 maintain unity in the church. The fourth item in Paul’s 
 plan for unity is 
 
 A Common Access Unto the Father 
 “Through him (Christ) we both have our access in 
 one Spirit unto the Father!’ The question as to how to 
 come to the Father, or what to do to be saved, has been 
 a disturbing issue in the church from the beginning. In 
 fact, the church has often divided at this point; and there 
 can be no hope in the future for unity in the church 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 79 
 
 unless this question can be agreeably settled. As it is 
 to-day, almost every church has a different way or some¬ 
 thing distinctive in its way of bringing people to the 
 Father. But what difference does it make anyway, just 
 so they reach the Father, and are saved? “There are 
 many ways to heaven, so it matters little which you take, 
 just so you reach there.” This may or may not be true; 
 but there is one thing certain, namely, we can never have 
 Christian unity as long as we have these many ways of 
 coming to God for salvation. If Paul had not provided 
 for a common access to the Father in his plan, we would 
 know this by experience, because there has been much 
 trouble in the church over these different ways of salva¬ 
 tion. But Paul anticipated everything that would dis¬ 
 turb the unity of the church, and provided for the same. 
 Accordingly, he required that both Jews and Gentiles 
 come to the Father in the same way. In other words, 
 the Jews did not come to the Father in one way, and the 
 Gentiles in another; but “ through him we both have our 
 access in one Spirit unto the Father.” Just so all to-day 
 must have a common access to the Father, if we are to 
 have Christian unity; and Paul in the above statement 
 opens up the way by which all may come to God together, 
 and thereby have unity. 
 
 Note first that “through him (Christ)” both came to 
 the Father. Both Jews and Gentiles were required to 
 come to God through Jesus Christ. The Jews were not 
 permitted to come to God through Moses and the High 
 Priest of the Temple, as they had been accustomed, nor 
 were the Gentiles allowed to come through the person of 
 their choosing and religion; but u through him (Christ) 
 we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.” 
 Christ himself emphasized the necessity of this, saying, 
 “ I am the door of the sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto 
 
80 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 you, he that entereth not by the door into the fold of 
 the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is 
 a thief and a robber.” There is no other approach to 
 God except through Jesus Christ, so all must come 
 through Him, who alone is “ the way ” of salvation. This 
 all of the followers of Christ believe and teach and prac¬ 
 tice in bringing people to God. 
 
 But note also that both were required to come “ in one 
 Spirit ” the Holy Spirit, that is, according to the teach¬ 
 ing of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus Christ sent into the 
 world after his departure to teach through the Apostles 
 the way to the Father, or the way of salvation. John 
 14:16-26. The Apostles under the inspiration of the 
 Holy Spirit began their teaching on the day of Pente¬ 
 cost ; and their teaching and acts under the leadings of the 
 Holy Spirit were written by Luke in his Acts of the 
 Apostles, which is the teaching of the Holy Spirit on how 
 to come to the Father. In almost every chapter there is 
 an account of how the Apostles brought people to God; 
 and in every case the way was the same. The way was 
 so plain and well-known that it was known as “ the way 
 and this way will be as well known to any one to-day 
 who studies Acts of the Apostles to learn the way to the 
 Father. Any one, therefore, that comes to God accord¬ 
 ing to the teaching of this book comes “in one Spirit” 
 as Paul requires for unity. A study of the teaching of 
 the Holy Spirit in this book will reveal these successive 
 steps, required of all in coming to the Father, namely, 
 faith, confession, repentance and baptism. Accordingly, 
 all churches require these things of those who would 
 come to God to-day; and there is a difference only as to 
 the place of baptism in their ways of bringing people to 
 God. Every church except the Quakers gives it some 
 place on the program for bringing people to the Father. 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 81 
 
 Some, however, give it a merely nominal place, claiming 
 that it was merely an incidental and accommodation to the 
 Apostolic age; others that it is a non-essential ordinance 
 that may or may not be observed in any form that one 
 chooses; yet they are not willing to leave it off altogether 
 as do the Quakers. They would have to leave off faith 
 and repentance also, because they are co-ordinately united 
 with baptism in the Scriptures, Mark 16:16 and Acts 
 2:38; and all look upon these as essential steps in com¬ 
 ing to God, so baptism for the sake of its connection in 
 the Scriptures is continued in the many churches. That 
 it formed a part of the original way of coming to the 
 Father cannot be gainsaid. Christ himself came by the 
 way of baptism, Mat. 3: 13-17; and he put baptism in 
 his great commission to his disciples, Mat. 28: 19; Mark 
 16: 15-16. Paul and all the other apostles came to the 
 Father by the way of baptism, Acts 22:16; and they all 
 emphasized its significance and important Acts 8:38, 
 10: 47; Rom. 6: 1-17; Gal. 3:27; I Pet. 3:21; Jno. 3:5; 
 I Jno. 5:8. But why stickle, argue and divide over the 
 place of baptism in bringing people to God? Cannot all 
 that desire to come to the Father comply with this simple 
 command, and trust Jesus Christ to put it for the proper 
 purpose? Surely he knows the place and reasons for 
 this ordinance, and will make no mistake as to its design 
 for all those that trust him in their obedience to this 
 command. Some contend that it is a form, and it is, 
 Rom. 1:17; others claim that it is a door into the church, 
 and it is, I Cor. 12:13; and still others insist that 
 it is for the remission of sins, and it is, Acts 2: 38. Why 
 can not it be for all these things, and everybody stand for 
 the whole truth of baptism, and thereby stand together 
 instead of standing for only a part of the truth and stand¬ 
 ing apart? Besides there is no reason for people being 
 
82 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 divided over the design of baptism anyway, because this 
 belongs in the realm of the purposes of God, where it is 
 not the part of man to argue but to do. 
 
 But we further differ as what the act of baptism is. 
 There is no difference among the well-informed as to 
 what it was in Apostolic times, namely, immersion in 
 water, because this is revealed plainly in the New Testa¬ 
 ment ; but many contend that other forms will do as well. 
 Inasmuch as all accept the validity of immersion, why 
 can not all unite on this form? The bishops of the Epis¬ 
 copal Church make this proposition to the Christian 
 world; and it seems that all those that desire unity ought 
 to accept the same. The proposition to give all their 
 choice of forms for the sake of unity is folly, for the his¬ 
 tory of the church and the experience of the past show 
 conclusively that we can never have a united church 
 upon a divided baptism. This proposition would divide 
 more than it would unite. There is but one truly 
 catholic baptism, which is immersion; and, unless we can 
 come together upon this, we will remain hopelessly 
 divided over the way to the Father. Surely all those who 
 are willing to come to the Father as Paul directs, 
 “through him (Christ) we both have our access in one 
 Spirit unto the Father/’ will be willing to come by the 
 form of baptism, prescribed by the Holy Spirit speaking 
 through the Apostles. No other form can ever satisfy 
 all, and insure unity in the church; and we can never 
 have unity in the church without a common access to the 
 Father. Wherefore Paul says in his plan for unity, 
 “ Through him we both have our access in one Spirit 
 unto the Father.” The next item in this plan is, 
 
 A Democratic Church 
 
 “So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners , 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 83 
 
 but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the 
 household of God Accordingly, the Gentiles were re¬ 
 ceived into the church on the same plane with the Jews, 
 with no racial or class distinction whatever; they were all 
 fellow-citizens with the saints, and brethren in the house¬ 
 hold of God. The words “ fellow-citizens ” and 
 “ brethren ” are democratic words, and express a demo¬ 
 cratic relationship in the church. As to governmental 
 form, the church of Christ is a democratic institution—a 
 theocracy, over which Christ is head—and all are fellow- 
 citizens, or a great household of God, over which the 
 Father is head, and all are brethren. There were no 
 ranks, castes or ruling classes in the apostolic church. 
 However, the apostles had great difficulty in establishing 
 this democracy in the church. The Jews and the Gen¬ 
 tiles who came into the church had never known any¬ 
 thing except a monarchical or class form of government in 
 both church and state, so they had to be taught the very 
 first principles of democracy. In almost every letter to 
 the churches, Paul emphasized the democracy of the 
 church, saying: “ Where there can not be Greek and 
 
 Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scy¬ 
 thian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all and in all.” 
 Every possible class and distinction are herein prohibited 
 in the church; such as racial, neither Greek nor Jew; 
 religious, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision; edu¬ 
 cational, neither barbarian nor Scythian; civil, neither 
 bondman nor freeman; all are Christians, and Christ is 
 in all, which is all-sufficient for all races and classes in 
 the world. One of the most touching and most beauti¬ 
 ful incidents in the apostolic church was Paul’s letter to 
 Philemon, in which he endeavours to put master and slave 
 upon the common plane of Christian brotherhood. Every 
 word in the New Testament, referring to the brotherhood 
 
84 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 in Christ, is a democratic word, such as “ disciples/’ 
 “ saints,” “ brethren,” “ fellow-citizens,” “ God’s fellow- 
 workers,” etc. However, in spite of all this democratic 
 teaching, the church has not always been a democratic 
 institution, nor is it so to-day in many respects. Such 
 classes and distinctions as popes, cardinals, priests, 
 bishops, pastors, clergy and laity have no place in a demo¬ 
 cratic church of Christ as revealed in the New Testament. 
 To maintain the above classes in the church, the denomi¬ 
 nations have built up great ecclesiasticisms—“ a towering 
 structure, gradation above gradation—a living pyramid— 
 on whose summit is enthroned a ruling mind, at whose 
 base is stretched out a kneeling and obedient world.” 
 
 However, even among those that claim to be demo¬ 
 cratic, class rule often asserts and maintains itself through 
 organized presbyteries, associations, societies, boards, re¬ 
 ligious papers, etc. Besides this ecclesiastical rule from 
 without by the above agencies, there is also often hier- 
 archal rule within by domineering elders, who “ lord it 
 over God’s heritage,” which was forbidden in the apos¬ 
 tolic church, because such has no place in a democratic 
 church (I Pet. 5:3). This is one of the worst forms of 
 domineering ecclesiasticism that has ever risen in the 
 church, and the hardest to get rid of, because an evil 
 within is always worse and more tenacious than one with¬ 
 out. Many elders, intoxicated on Scriptural references 
 to the rulership of elders, which they neither rightfully 
 understand nor fully appreciate, forget that they are only 
 the servant rulers of the congregation (I Pet. 5:1-5), 
 and assert their divine (?) right and lifetime rulership 
 over the congregation, for which there is not a vestige 
 of Scriptural authority. Any church officer or board that 
 makes such a claim, and refuses to listen to the voice of 
 the congregation, is a usurper of a democratic authority, 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 85 
 
 and should, therefore, be removed by the same voice or 
 vote that placed him in office. Lifetime office tenure has 
 no place in a democratic government, and the right and 
 power to elect carries with it the right and power to 
 remove; however, many congregations have suffered 
 themselves to be robbed of these democratic rights by a 
 domineering eldership or board. The church has suffered 
 from this hierarchal rule within as much, perhaps, as 
 from that without; and between these upper and lower 
 ecclesiastical millstones the democracy of the church has 
 often either been crushed out or reduced to a minimum. 
 
 There seems to be an innate desire in man for power 
 and position, which, from the very beginning, has been 
 destructive of the democracy of the church; but, without 
 real democracy in the church government there can be no 
 unity in the church, or at least no Christian unity. An 
 enforced unity may exist under monarchical and hierarchal 
 forms of church government, but this is not Christian 
 unity. The Christian is God’s freeman, and he must, 
 therefore, have a unity consistent with freedom, which is 
 possible only in a democratic church. The close of the 
 great World War virtually marked the end of monarchical 
 and hierarchal forms of government in state, and the 
 end of the same in church will soon follow. There is a 
 strong and loud cry in every denomination to-day for a 
 more democratic church, which must be heard and 
 answered by the restoration of the democracy of the apos¬ 
 tolic church, which is an essential item in Paul’s plan for 
 Christian unity. “Ye are no longer strangers and 
 sojourners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and with 
 the household of God.” 
 
 The Foundation of Unity 
 
 “Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 
86 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 prophets, Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.” 
 Paul thus lays the foundation for Christian unity, which 
 is the sixth item in his plan for unity. Nothing can be 
 better and more lasting than the foundation on which it 
 is built. If the foundation is rightly and properly laid, 
 the superstructure will stand every strain; but, if it is 
 poorly and wrongfully founded, it cannot stand or last. 
 Christ emphasized this in his Sermon on the Mount, say¬ 
 ing a wise man “ built his house upon a rock: and the 
 rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
 blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it 
 was founded upon the rock. * * * And a foolish 
 
 man built his house upon the sand: and the rain de¬ 
 scended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and 
 smote upon that house; and it fell; and great was the 
 fall thereof/’ This explains the fall and failure of many 
 plans for Christian unity in the past. They were not 
 rightly founded; nor did they stand for anything definite 
 and worth while. People can not unite and stand together 
 except they stand for some things that are true and last¬ 
 ing. Wherefore, Paul, “ the wise master-builder laid the 
 foundation; and another buildeth thereon; but let each man 
 take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation 
 can no man lay than that which is laid ” for Christian 
 unity, which is “ built upon the prophets and apostles, 
 Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone.” This 
 is the personal foundation of Christian unity. There can 
 be no religious unity without an agreement on the per¬ 
 sonal religious authorities that underlie and stand back 
 of that religion, and constitute the authoritative founda¬ 
 tion of the same. 
 
 First, Paul put “ the prophets ” in the foundation of 
 Christian unity, the prophets of the old or preceding 
 dispensation, the Jewish religious authorities. Christ 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 87 
 
 did the same in his sermon on the mount, which is the 
 constitution of Christianity, saying, “ Think not that I 
 came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not 
 to destroy but to fulfill.” This word, “ fulfill,” does not 
 mean to bring to an end but to “ develop, perfect.” Christ 
 not only stated and defined his attitude toward the law 
 and the prophets of the Jewish dispensation, but he illus¬ 
 trated the same by specific laws, showing his further 
 development and perfection of the same. Wherefore 
 Paul put “the prophets ” in the foundation for unity. 
 In fact, no man inspired of God ever rejected “ Moses 
 and the prophets;” notwithstanding some to-day want to 
 leave them out of everything that is Christian. In fact, 
 you had as well read a last year’s almanac to some as 
 Moses and the prophets; but Christ and Paul did not so 
 teach. They quoted them, and stood for them. How¬ 
 ever, we do not incorporate the law of Moses and the 
 Old Testament prophecies into Christianity, except in the 
 way and to the extent as defined and set out by Christ 
 and Paul in the New Testament Scriptures, which was 
 a troublesome question in the Apostolic church, and is 
 beyond the scope of this treatise except as it touches 
 the unity of the church to-day. On this point it suffices 
 to say that all Christians who desire to unite and stand 
 together must stand for “ the prophets,” whom Paul put 
 into the foundation of Christian unity. 
 
 Paul put also “ the apostles ” of new dispensation into 
 the foundation of Christian unity. Christ had spent 
 three years in training and teaching the twelve chosen 
 for this apostleship; and after his departure he sent the 
 Holy Spirit to “ lead them into all truth and bring to 
 their memory all things whatsoever he had taught them,” 
 so they were thoroughly qualified as religious authorities 
 for the foundation of Christianity. However, in these 
 
88 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 latter days there has arisen a sect of modernists, “ higher 
 critics/’ “ modern viewpointers,” “ new-thought advo¬ 
 cates,” who cry, “ Back to Christ,” and refuse to hear 
 “ the apostlesbut no one can consistently accept the 
 Christ of the New Testament without accepting the 
 apostles as his authorized spokesmen. They were ready 
 at all times to give their credentials “ by signs and won¬ 
 ders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy 
 Spirit.” Besides they were “ eyewitnesses of his 
 majesty,” who “ declared what they heard and saw.” 
 “ We have the mind of Christ,” says Paul. “ We speak 
 God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath 
 been hidden. * * * But unto us God revealed it 
 
 through the Spirit.” They were of the “ men that spake 
 from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” So, there¬ 
 fore, to refuse to hear them is to refuse to hear the Holy 
 Spirit, which is the highest blasphemy. 
 
 Lastly, Paul put Christ in the foundation of Christian 
 unity as “ the chief cornerstone,” or keystone, connecting 
 “ the prophets ” of the old dispensation with “ the 
 apostles ” of the new. Christ was the connecting link 
 between the two and the final religious authority, to 
 whom each looked. So it would be, of course, the height 
 of inconsistency to leave Christ out of anything that 
 claims to be Christian. No one would openly do this; 
 but some endeavour to substitute a Christ of their own 
 imagination and fabrication for the historic Christ of the 
 Bible. The Christ of the Scriptures is the only Christ 
 that we know anything about. There is no “ Christ of 
 to-day,” or “ Christ of the Middle Ages,” or “ of the 
 first century.” “ But thou art the same,” yesterday, to¬ 
 day and forever. Christ is not an undefined abstract 
 ideal of any one’s conceiving, but a historic character, 
 or being, that came from God, and lived and died among 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 89 
 
 men, and then returned to God, of whom the Christian 
 Scriptures are the only authentic history; and, when this 
 account is rejected or changed to suit the ideas of any¬ 
 one, “ the chief cornerstone ” of Christianity is removed, 
 and the whole superstructure falls to earth as all the false 
 religions of the past have done. 
 
 The foundation for Christian unity as laid by Paul the 
 wise master-builder, is, therefore, “ the prophets and 
 apostles, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner¬ 
 stone.” You will observe that there is no place left in 
 this foundation for any modern religious authorities such 
 as the Pope, the Bishop, Mrs. Eddy, Pastor Russell, etc.; 
 and union on them cannot, therefore, be Christian union, 
 though it is falsely so called. If Christians ever unite, 
 they must unite upon the foundation laid by Paul, be¬ 
 cause “ other foundation can no man lay than that which 
 is laid;” and any unity built upon any other foundation 
 cannot, therefore, be Christian unity; and “ Let each man 
 take heed how he buildeth thereon.” The final or seventh 
 item in Paul’s plan for unity is. 
 
 The Units of Union 
 
 “In whom each several building, fitly framed together, 
 groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also 
 builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.” 
 Wherever Paul went and preached, he built a church, a 
 congregation of disciples of Christ; and he here refers to 
 them as “each several building;” and each one of these 
 local congregations “ fitly framed together, groweth into 
 a holy temple in the Lord,” that is, each local congrega¬ 
 tion, properly built and set in order, is a unit in the “ holy 
 temple of the Lord,” or church universal, which is made 
 up of all congregations of Christians as integral parts. 
 Each one of these congregations is made up of individual 
 
90 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 Christians as integral parts, or as stated by Paul, “in 
 whom ye (Christians) are builded together for a habi¬ 
 tation of God in the Spirit;” or as stated by Peter, “ Ye 
 as living stones are built up a spiritual house.” The 
 individual Christians are, therefore, the units of con¬ 
 struction in the local church, just as the individual con¬ 
 gregation is the unit of construction in the church uni¬ 
 versal, or the holy temple of Christ. These two units, 
 the individual congregation and the individual Christian, 
 are the only units of construction in the New Testament 
 church; and these units are, therefore, the only units of 
 union in Christian unity. These units of union need to 
 be clearly understood, because there has been much time 
 wasted in efforts to unite larger religious units, or bodies, 
 
 i 
 
 such as Convocations, Assemblies, Conferences, Presby¬ 
 teries, Associations, Conventions, etc., all of which are 
 unknown in the organization of the Apostolic church. 
 They may be expediences of a divided church; but they 
 cannot be made units of union in a united church. All 
 such are denominational organizations that belong to a 
 divided church, but can have no place or part as units 
 of union in a united church. All such organizations will 
 have to be dissolved, and all return to the simple polity 
 of the New Testament church, which had no organiza¬ 
 tion above the local congregation, before Christian unity, 
 according to Paul’s plan, can be realized. This does not 
 mean the dissolution of organizations for Christian work, 
 such as missionary and benevolent societies, which are 
 agencies of the church and not ecclesiastical organiza¬ 
 tions. The church may employ any righteous agency, 
 but must conform to the divine pattern in organization. 
 “ See that thou make all things according to the pattern 
 that was shown thee in the mount,” was the instruction 
 given to Moses in building the Tabernacle; and the 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 91 
 
 writer of the letter to the Hebrews enjoins the same upon 
 the builders of the church. In fact, denominationalism 
 with all its machinery, paraphernalia and language is the 
 price of Christian unity; and nothing less will secure it. 
 Denominationalism is the offspring of division, so, of 
 course, could not be brought over into a united church. 
 
 Furthermore, a return to the simple polity of the New 
 Testament church makes Christian unity easy and feas¬ 
 ible, because it is an easy matter to unite individual con¬ 
 gregations and individual Christians; whereas it is almost 
 impossible to unite the great denominational units. If we 
 have to sit and wait for unity, until the great denomina¬ 
 tions decide and vote to unite with all others, we will be 
 divided unto the end; but, if every individual congrega¬ 
 tion and Christian in a community could be made free 
 and willing to act for themselves, Christian unity would 
 be greatly facilitated. For instance, there are numbers 
 of congregations and Christians in many communities to¬ 
 day that want to unite, and would unite; but each is tied 
 up to some greater ecclesiastical organization, and has to 
 wait until these larger bodies act. Christian unity has 
 practical meaning only with reference to the local con¬ 
 gregations and individual Christians of a community. 
 With reference to the congregation, it is a union of all 
 congregations of disciples of Christ in a community; 
 and with reference to the Christian it is a union of all 
 Christians in the same. When the Christians of a com¬ 
 munity come together, and as individual units or “ living 
 stones ” are organized into a church, they “ are builded 
 together for a habitation of God in the Spiritand 
 “each several building, (thus) fitly framed together, 
 groweth into a holy temple in the Lord/’ or becomes a 
 unit in the united universal church of Christ. These two 
 units, the congregation and the Christian, are the only 
 
92 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 Scriptural units in Christian unity, so all efforts for unity 
 ought, therefore, to be directed toward the union of 
 these. 
 
 Recapitulation 
 
 To summarize Paul’s plan for Christian unity, as each 
 individual Christian and congregation, animated by the 
 love of God that knows no alienation nor defeat, accept 
 Christ as the common standard of authority, and thereby 
 remove their differences, and become reconciled in one 
 body through the cross, and thereby have a common ac¬ 
 cess to the Father, and form a democratic brotherhood 
 or church, built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 of the prophets, Christ Jesus being the chief cornerstone, 
 they are prepared, according to Paul’s plan, to enter into 
 the unity of the one fold of Christ, for which Christ prayed 
 and Paul worked; and, under these essential conditions of 
 unity, they automatically enter into the same. 
 
 This is Paul’s plan, so let no individual or denomina¬ 
 tion make claim to the same, but let all accept it, and 
 unite by it. It is the only undenominational plan, be¬ 
 cause it was formed centuries before any of the modern 
 denominations existed, so it has no denominational bias 
 or sectarian associations to prejudice any one against it. 
 It is also the only Scriptural plan, because all that is 
 claimed for other plans is that they are only deductions 
 from the Scriptures, while every step or item in the 
 above plan was expressly prescribed verbatim by the 
 divinely inspired apostle Paul. While we have analyzed 
 and commented on the several items or steps in this plan, 
 we were careful to add to or take nothing from it. The 
 comments are ours; the plan is Paul’s. Furthermore, it 
 is the only truly catholic plan, the only plan that all can 
 accept. It contains nothing more nor less than the final 
 essential deposit of Christianity, as conceived and stated 
 
THE PLAN FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH 93 
 
 by Paul, the master-builder of Christianity. No other 
 plan offers a program that appeals to all communions. 
 It is also the only practical plan, because no other plan 
 has succeeded in uniting a divided church, while it suc¬ 
 cessfully united all the sects of Paul’s day, and main¬ 
 tained unity in the church for several hundred years; and 
 it will do the same to-day, if it is only given a fair trial. 
 Unity by this plan, of course, would be a drastic and far- 
 reaching step on the part of the churches to-day—one 
 that involves many denominational sacrifices. This is 
 what makes all hesitate and draw back from such a 
 union. To be sure, only by the sacrifice of everything 
 sectarian and denominational, can Christian unity be real¬ 
 ized, because unity, purchased at any less price, would 
 be only a continuation, more or less, of sectarianism. 
 'Lastly, Paul’s plan is the only perfect plan, lacking noth¬ 
 ing necessary to unite the whole Christian world, except 
 to be accepted and tried. So therefore let us all accept 
 it, and unite upon it. 
 
IX 
 
 THE DYNAMIC FOR UNITY 
 
 F OR this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in 
 behalf of you Gentiles,—if so be that ye have heard of 
 the dispensation of the grace of God which was given 
 to you ward; how that by revelation was made known 
 unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby, 
 when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery 
 of Christ; which in other generations was not made known unto 
 the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy 
 apostles and prophets in the spirit; to wit, that the Gentiles are 
 fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-par¬ 
 takers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel, 
 whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that 
 grace of God which was given me according to the working 
 of his power. Unto me, who am less than least of the saints, 
 was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearch¬ 
 able riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the dis¬ 
 pensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God, 
 who created all things; to the intent that now unto the princi¬ 
 palities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known 
 through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to 
 the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 
 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our 
 faith in him. Wherefore I ask that ye may not faint at my 
 tribulations for you, which are your glory. 
 
 “ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom 
 every family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant 
 you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be 
 strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 
 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end 
 that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to 
 apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and 
 height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passeth 
 all knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God. 
 
 “ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above 
 all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh 
 in us, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ unto all 
 generations for ever and ever. Amen.” 3:1-21. 
 
 04 
 
THE DYNAMIC FOR UNITY 
 
 95 
 
 In the above paragraphs Paul sets out at some length 
 the dynamic for Christian unity, which is Christian 
 prayer. Every one realizes the greatness of the task of 
 uniting the church. In fact, many look upon it as im¬ 
 possible ; and even those who know most about the situa¬ 
 tion and problem, and are working for the solution of 
 the same, admit that it is a stupendous undertaking, and 
 there are yet mountains of difficulties and obstacles in 
 the way to be removed before Christian unity can come. 
 Furthermore, when we consider the high plain and strict 
 requirements of Paul’s plan for unity, as set forth in the 
 preceding paragraph, the task grows upon us, until we 
 are ready to say it can never be. It is, indeed, a great 
 task, and no one knew this better than the Apostle Paul. 
 He knew that nothing could accomplish it except the very 
 power, or dynamite of God, which is Christian prayer. 
 Christian prayer is the only power or dynamic in the 
 hands of man that can break down all the walls of oppo¬ 
 sition, and blow up and level down all the mountains of 
 difficulties in the way. 
 
 The church to-day does not seem to realize the power 
 of Christian prayer. It brings one into direct touch with 
 God, who is omnipotent power. It is the spiritual medium 
 or connection between God and man, connecting man 
 with the great power-house of God. Wherefore, Paul 
 writes, “ I can do all things through him that strength- 
 eneth me.” This was his approach to all the great tasks 
 which he undertook and accomplished, the greatest of 
 which was no doubt the unity of the church. “ For this 
 cause I bow my knees unto the Father,” he writes in the 
 beginning of his prayer for Christian unity; and he de¬ 
 votes more space to prayer than to any other subject, 
 which shows the importance and value attached to prayer 
 in his plan for Christian unity; and he prayed his longest 
 
96 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 recorded prayer, vs. 14-21, for Christian unity, which 
 is also significant. It is also a significant fact that 
 Jesus Christ our Lord prayed for the unity of His 
 disciples. He did not command it; nor did He argue for 
 it; but He simply prayed for it. Jno. 17:20-21. Both 
 Christ and Paul approached the problems of Christian 
 evangelization and unity on their knees, and so com¬ 
 manded his followers, saying, “ Pray ye therefore the 
 Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into 
 his vineyard,” “ Neither for these only do I pray, but 
 for them also that believe on me through their word; 
 that they all may be one; even as Thou, Father, art in 
 me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, that the 
 world may believe that Thou didst send me.” ■ 
 
 Prayer is the golden key that unlocks the doors for the 
 Christian evangelization of the world, and opens up the 
 way for the unity of all the disciples of Christ. Where¬ 
 fore, Paul never went forth upon his missions of evan¬ 
 gelizing and uniting the world without this miraculous 
 key. He trusted nothing else to lead him to victory. 
 He knew the power of the Gospel and the drawing in¬ 
 fluence of the church, which, as he shows in this letter, 
 is all-sufficient in plan and purpose, head and terms of 
 entrance to bring together and unite all; and he unfolds 
 a practical plan for the unity of the church; yet he real¬ 
 ized that prayer was the only power that could bring 
 this about. In other words, there must be a great dynamic 
 from within to execute the above plans and purposes of 
 the church, which is prayer; and in no other way can 
 the world be wrought to Christ and unity in him. We 
 have tried debates and discussions, but have made little 
 progress in evangelizing and uniting the world. You 
 can not argue people into Christ and unity, but you 
 can pray them into the same. So therefore Paul writes* 
 
THE DYNAMIC FOR UNITY 
 
 97 
 
 “ For this cause,” giving at length his reasons for prayer, 
 and then offered a prayer in behalf of unity such as 
 never before nor since was uttered by man. It is a mar¬ 
 vel of wisdom and devotion, and lifts one up into the 
 mysteries, devotions and glories of the eternal Father. 
 It calls out all that is highest and best in man, and opens 
 up the great possibilities and reaches of the soul in its 
 quest of God through Jesus Christ. This prayer and 
 his reasons for prayer let us now consider. 
 
 The first reason Paul gives for his praying is “ the 
 grace of God.” Paul had received not only the good¬ 
 ness of God in general that is poured out upon the whole 
 race; but also a special “ dispensation of that grace of 
 God was given me to you ward,” in that he was the 
 divinely chosen apostle to the Gentiles, and received by 
 direct revelation “ the mystery of Christ, * * * the 
 
 Gospel, whereof I was made a minister according to the 
 gift of that grace which was given me according to the 
 working of his power.” Accordingly, whenever Paul 
 thought thus of God’s goodness to him, it brought him 
 to his knees. No one can fully realize the goodness of 
 God without praying; but only the appreciative grateful 
 souls like Paul seem to realize what God has done for 
 them. 
 
 Another reason for Paul’s praying was his weakness 
 and insignificance. “ Unto me, who am less than the 
 least of all the saints, was this grace given.” Paul, like 
 all truly great souls, realized his littleness and weakness, 
 his utter dependence upon God, which brought him to 
 his knees before God, the giver of all blessings. This 
 explains these enigmatic words in another letter, “ My 
 grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect 
 in weakness. Most gladly will I therefore glory in my 
 weaknesses, * * * for when I am weak, then am I 
 
98 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 strong.” The realization of his weakness brought him 
 in prayer to God, who was his strength; and then he was 
 strong. This gave him confidence to undertake great 
 things for Christ, “ in whom we have boldness and con¬ 
 fidence through our faith in him,” as he states it. Paul 
 realized his weakness and need of divine strength in 
 working for the unity of the church, so he prayed a fer¬ 
 vent, wonderful prayer in behalf of unity, which contains 
 many important lessons for those that are working toward 
 the solution of this problem. 
 
 Note first that he prays “ unto the Father, from whom 
 every family in heaven and earth is named.” God is 
 the universal Father, the head of all the families of 
 earth, so all belong to one family, and ought, therefore 
 to be one. There is nothing worse than a divided family; 
 and for the great family of God to be divided is the 
 greatest injury that can befall the cause of Christ. 
 
 He prays first “ that ye be strengthened with power 
 through his Spirit in the inward man.” Paul, realizing 
 the greatness of the task of uniting the church, knew 
 that great spiritual strength would be required to accom¬ 
 plish so great a work. It is a Herculean task; and only 
 strong men need to undertake it. However, it is encour¬ 
 aging to know that the strong men in every communion 
 are working at the task; and, if the whole church would 
 join with Paul in praying that they be given "a mighty 
 increase in strength,” the thing can and will be done. 
 
 Next he prays “that Christ may dwell in your hearts 
 through faith.” The indwelling of Christ in the hearts 
 of Christians is an essential to unity, because it is an 
 easy matter to unite people that really have Christ in 
 their hearts. There are so many people in the church, 
 to whom Christ and Christianity is a mere theory, a 
 system of doctrine or philosophy, and in whom there is 
 
THE DYNAMIC FOR UNITY 
 
 99 
 
 no real indwelling of Christ through faith, that unity is 
 made difficult. Christianity is not a system of moral 
 and religious philosophy but a spiritual indwelling life, 
 the Christ-life, the germ of which is planted in the heart 
 through faith in Christ thus, “ Whosoever believeth that 
 Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God;” and, when he is 
 “ born of the water and the Spirit,” he is “ a new crea¬ 
 ture,”—a new living religious being that grows and de¬ 
 velops in the heart and life of man. Without this Christ- 
 life in the heart, one cannot be a real living Christian, 
 (“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath 
 not the Son of God hath not life.”) Christian unity has 
 no meaning with reference to the latter; and it is futile 
 to undertake to unite such people. In fact, these are the 
 very people in the church that cause trouble and division; 
 while on the other hand the people that cause little or 
 no trouble in the church are those that have Christ in 
 their hearts, and live the Christ-life; and it is an easy 
 matter to unite and keep united all those that have Christ 
 dwelling in their hearts and reigning over their lives. 
 Christian unity is, therefore, a matter largely of making 
 real Christians out of people; and then Christian unity 
 will come of itself. 
 
 Paul’s next petition in his prayer is, that they be 
 “ rooted and grounded in love.” This is a far step 
 toward unity, because, when people are “ rooted and 
 grounded in love,” they are prepared to unite with all 
 Christians. Love is the motive passion that makes Chris¬ 
 tian unity possible; and the fervent heat of true Christian 
 love is the only influence that can melt and unite human 
 hearts in a lasting bond of unity. So then, the stronger 
 the passion and the warmer the flame the easier and more 
 lasting the unity. Wherefore Paul prays for much and 
 strong love, that they be rooted and grounded in love, 
 
100 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 that they grow up out of love as plants out of the soil, 
 and that love be of their very nature and being as the 
 plants are of the soil, from which they spring. When 
 love is thus in the hearts and lives of Christians, they will 
 gladly and naturally unite. 
 
 Lastly, Paul prays that they “be strong to apprehend 
 with all the saints what is the breadth and length and 
 height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which 
 passeth knowledge/’—in other words, that they be 
 strong enough and big enough to take in the vision of 
 the love of God. When people get this vision clearly 
 in their minds and hearts, that God’s love is immeasur¬ 
 able and includes the whole redeemed world and not the 
 little sect alone, of which they are members, then they 
 will follow this vision into the one fold of all God’s peo¬ 
 ple. However, only big and strong men are able to ap¬ 
 prehend thus the vision of God’s love and to know the 
 love of Christ which is beyond human comprehension. 
 This vision staggers and overwhelms the ordinary soul 
 in its climb toward God. Many of us will have to grow 
 into bigger and stronger souls, before we can take it in, 
 and follow its leadings toward Christian unity. Chris¬ 
 tian unity is, therefore, a matter of making little souls 
 into big souls,-—big enough to take in God and all his 
 people. How big does God expect Christians to become ? 
 Paul says, “ filled unto all the fullness of God.” But 
 this is beyond the possible for man’s development. 
 Notice, however, that Paul says, “ be filled.” Man can 
 not fill himself to this extent; but God can; so, if man 
 will open his heart and soul to God, and place his soul 
 in the hands of Jesus Christ, the soul has infinite possi¬ 
 bilities. John says, “ It doth not appear what we shall 
 be.” At any rate, man reaches his highest development 
 in contact with other souls; and the larger the fellow- 
 
THE DYNAMIC FOR UNITY 
 
 101 
 
 ship the larger the growth of the soul. This is why 
 sectarianism produces little souls, and unity big souls. 
 God, therefore, planned “ one fold and one Shepherd ” 
 for his people, that “ they may go in and out, and find 
 pasture for their souls,” and grow “ into the fullness of 
 God.” 
 
 In concluding his prayer Paul seemed to realize that 
 many would think that he had asked for too much, even 
 the impossible; but he assures us that God “ is able to 
 do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,” 
 —even more than he had asked for or thought of. God’s 
 arm is not shortened; nor is the soul that is committed 
 to Jesus Christ limited in its reaches toward God. 
 
 But God does not propose to do all this, or, in fact, 
 anything for man without man's co-operation. What 
 He does is “ according to the power that worketh in us 
 We cannot sit idle wfith folded hands, and expect God 
 
 to do wonders in us and for us, because He works ac- 
 
 • 
 
 cording to and through the power that is in us. In 
 other words He uses the powers of men and women to 
 do His work; and through Jesus Christ He leads all those 
 that commit themselves by prayer to Him into marvelous 
 victories and wonderful achievements. “ In all these 
 things ye are more than conquerors through him that 
 loved us.” “And greater works than these (the works 
 of Christ) shall ye do; because I go unto the Father.” 
 “ And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of 
 the world.” Thus Jesus Christ and the Father co-operates 
 with his disciples to do the will of God. So “ We are 
 workers together with God,” says Paul; and God “ is 
 able to do exceeding abundantly more than we ask or 
 think;” and He will do wonders through us, if only we 
 pray and work. 
 
 Paul herein gives us the secret to the solution of the 
 
102 
 
 THE CHURCH FOR ALL 
 
 problem of Christian unity and every other great work 
 that is assigned the disciples of Christ. Accordingly, 
 Christian unity will come, when all Christians begin to 
 pray and work for the same; and Paul tells us, further¬ 
 more, that it will come “in the church and in Christ 
 Jesus ”—“ unto him be the glory in the church and in 
 Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. 
 Amen.” In no other institution, such as the Y. M. C. A. 
 or Knights of Columbus, etc., can Christian unity be real¬ 
 ized ; and in no other person, such as Mrs. Eddy, Pastor 
 Russell, etc., can it be realized. It must be a unity in 
 and of the church and in and of Jesus Christ; and this, 
 too, “ unto all generations for ever and ever.” 
 
 Thus Paul concludes the first half of his letter,'setting 
 forth the church for all . He has shown it to be all- 
 sufficient in plan and purpose, in head and in terms of 
 entrance for all, has outlined a complete, practicable plan 
 for the unity of the same, and has given the key to the 
 realization of this unity, which is prayer. The church 
 as herein conceived and set forth is a church for all,—a 
 truly catholic cosmopolitan church. This was the ideal 
 for the church as conceived by God and executed by 
 Paul, the wise master-builder of the church. Christ in 
 founding this church and Paul in building it rose above 
 their religious and racial environment, and organized a 
 church for all ages and races of men,—a church that 
 meets all the needs of the universal man. It contains 
 nothing sectarian, racial or national, and appeals to all 
 alike. However, on account of division it has been sec- 
 tarianized, and in some places nationalized, so it is the 
 task of the church to-day to restore its original univer¬ 
 sality and unity; and Paul in this letter has opened up 
 the way. 
 
PART II 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 Eph. 4-6 
 
X 
 
 CHARACTER 
 
 » 
 
 W ITH chapter three Paul closes the first part of 
 his letter, setting forth The Church For All; 
 and with chapter four he begins the last part, 
 which he devotes to the people that make up The Church 
 For All. Having set forth The Church For All, he com¬ 
 pletes his letter with an exposition of the complementary 
 theme, All For The Church. Having shown that the 
 church of Christ is for all and is all-sufficient in all re¬ 
 spects, he shows next that all must be for the church, 
 which completes the ideal for the church. 
 
 The Church For All, as conceived and set forth by 
 Paul in the first part of his letter is a high ideal; but, 
 had he stopped here, such a church would have been 
 weak, worthless and selfish. To be in the church and not 
 for the church weakens and degrades the church. In 
 fact, herein lie the weakness and selfishness of the church 
 to-day. There are so many in the church that are not 
 for the church that it is burdened with its own weight, 
 and all such members look upon the church as existing 
 for them, which is religious selfishness. Weakness and 
 selfishness are the inevitable results of being in the church 
 and not for the church. Strength is not gained through 
 numbers, but efforts; nor is efficiency secured by enlist¬ 
 ing a multitude but by leading those enlisted into active 
 service. It is one thing to be in the church and another 
 to be for the church. Paul required both in his ideal for 
 
 the church. He set forth the church for all, and then 
 
 105 
 
106 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 required all to be for the church, which he makes the 
 theme of the latter half of his letter. 
 
 However, few people in the church seem to realize that 
 they must be for the church. Many have been in the 
 church for years, and have been regular attendants upon 
 the services of the same; but they have seldom or never 
 done anything for the church; they have never realized 
 the active practical side of church membership. Unless 
 people are for the church, it is useless to be in the church. 
 Church membership in and of itself is worthless and 
 amounts to nothing, unless it goes further and proves to 
 be actively for the church. Wherefore Paul teaches that 
 all in the church must be for the church, which is the 
 theme of the last part of his letter. 
 
 This theme, All For The Church, like the preceding 
 theme, The Church For All, is a logical part of the major 
 theme of the Ephesian Letter, Christian Unity; and it is 
 so treated by Paul. The two themes are complementary 
 halves of the major theme, Christian unity. The Church 
 For All is an essential prerequisite to unity; and All For 
 The Church is the practical realization of the same. 
 Without the latter Christian unity would be a mere 
 theory. The former is an essential means to the latter; 
 and each is an essential to Christian unity. Without a 
 church for all Christian unity would be impossible; and 
 without all being for the church it would be stagnant, 
 impractical and worthless. A church with everybody in 
 it with no one for the church would be static and stag¬ 
 nant ; and such a unity would not be Christian unity. 
 There is such a unity of waters in the Dead Sea,—a unity 
 of inactivity and death; while on the other hand there is 
 a unity of waters in the Sea of Galilee,—a unity of ac¬ 
 tivity and life. Such is Christian unity,-—a unity of 
 Christian lives and characters in ceaseless activity and 
 
CHARACTER 
 
 107 
 
 life, a great stream of redeemed humanity flowing on 
 toward the Sea of Eternal Life. This active realization 
 of Christian unity Paul sets forth in the latter half of his 
 letter, which we now propose to study. He teaches that 
 all must be for the church, and prescribes the essential 
 respects in which everyone must be for the church, the 
 first of which is Character. 
 
 “ I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk 
 worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, with all lowli¬ 
 ness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another 
 in love; giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the 
 bonds of peace.” 4:1-3. 
 
 Paul in the above enjoins upon all members of the 
 church “ lowliness, meekness, long-suffering, forbear¬ 
 ance, love, diligence and peace,” which are distinctively 
 Christian traits of character,—the first essential respect 
 in which all must be for the church. All must possess 
 or develop a character that will be for the church and 
 not against the church; and Paul prescribes the above as 
 the kind of character that will be for the church. With¬ 
 out a character “ worthy of the calling wherewith they 
 were called ” the church would be stultified and brought 
 into disrepute and reproach, because the church stands 
 first of all for Christian character; and all that come into 
 the church must, therefore, be true to this high calling. 
 No greater injury and betrayal can befall the church 
 than to be placed in a false light before the world by the 
 unworthy characters of professed members. Christians 
 are “ epistles of Christ, known and read of all men,” so 
 all, therefore, must see to it that their lives and charac¬ 
 ters properly and truly represent and portray Christ and 
 his church, and are thereby for the same. 
 
 Paul, therefore, prescribed character as the first essen¬ 
 tial respect in which all must be for the church; and in 
 
108 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 so doing he followed the example and teaching of Christ 
 Himself, who gave character the primacy over everything 
 in ethics and religion. According to Christ character 
 was of paramount and superlative importance, and was 
 the first essential requirement of those who would enter 
 His kingdom. He rejected in strong words those who 
 sought to enter without a becoming character. To the 
 self-righteous corrupt Scribes and Pharisees, who posed 
 as religious leaders, he spoke his severest words. “ Woe 
 unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye 
 cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but 
 within they are full from extortion and excess. Thou 
 blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of 
 the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean 
 also. Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
 for ye are likened unto whitened sepulchres, which out¬ 
 wardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead 
 men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also 
 outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye 
 are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Here were men that 
 had everything except character; but according to Christ 
 without this they were despicable. Christ in all His teach¬ 
 ing and conduct declared for the sovereignty of charac¬ 
 ter, and founded His kingdom upon character; and to 
 have admitted people without worthy characters into His 
 kingdom and church would have been suicidal for His 
 cause. In founding His kingdom on the sovereignty of 
 character He gave radiant and conclusive proof of His 
 wisdom and divinity; and the rapid spread and progress 
 and the universal appeal of this kingdom to all men of 
 all ages and races have fully confirmed the wisdom of 
 this foundation. 
 
 Christ Jesus not only declared for the sovereignty of 
 character and founded His kingdom upon the same, but 
 
CHARACTER 
 
 109 
 
 He revealed a new and definite type of character for His 
 followers. In delivering the constitution or manifesto of 
 Christianity in His Sermon on the Mount He gave first 
 the following traits of character, namely, humility, pa¬ 
 tience, meekness, righteousness, mercy, purity, peace, and 
 loyalty to conscience as constituent parts of Christian 
 character. Heretofore many of these traits had not been 
 looked upon as even desirable, much less being worthy 
 of being put into the foundation of a new kingdom and 
 religion; but Christ even made them sources of happiness. 
 Such a character and such happiness were never thought 
 of before; and to make them the foundation of a new 
 kingdom and religion was inconceivable to the people of 
 that day with their standards and prepossessions. No 
 such kingdom was ever before conceived and built; but 
 it is the most real and most powerful kingdom in the 
 world to-day; and it has been so almost from the begin¬ 
 ning, because it was founded upon character which is the 
 source of all true happiness. 
 
 Accordingly, Christ in his teaching spent much time in 
 emphasizing and elaborating Christian character, which 
 he put into the foundation of Christianity. He analyzed 
 it, illustrated it, and revealed it in every possible way. 
 He incarnated it in Himself; and inspired His biogra¬ 
 phers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to record it for all 
 future ages; and it has come down to us as the blessed 
 heritage of the race. Also those sent out under the great 
 commission likewise taught it. Paul embodied and re¬ 
 vealed it in almost every sermon and letter that he wrote. 
 According to his statement above from his letter to the 
 Ephesians, Christian character consists of: 
 
 (i) “All lowliness ,”—deep and genuine humility that 
 is the sure mark of a great soul. Every 
 truly great soul realizes his human limitations. 
 
110 
 
 ALL FOE THE CHURCH 
 
 and assumes a lowly attitude of mind and 
 body; but the little soul that is unable to see 
 anything greater than himself is proud and 
 haughty. 
 
 (2) “Meekness” —that inner trait of the soul that 
 
 shuns arrogance and presumption. It is the 
 inner trait of which lowliness is the outer. 
 
 (3) “Long-suffering” —the patience that bears up 
 
 under all the burdens and responsibilities of 
 life with a fortitude that does not wince nor 
 whine. 
 
 (4) " Forbearing,” —that rare trait of character that 
 
 can bear and forgive personal offences and in¬ 
 juries. 
 
 (5) “Love,” —that greatest of traits without which a 
 
 man is nothing, which Paul sets forth in 
 I Cor. 13. 
 
 (6) “ Diligence,” —that energy of body and soul that 
 
 keeps one active “ about the Father’s business.” 
 
 (7) " Peace,” —that perfect poise of the soul that 
 
 comes from the adjustment of the inner man 
 to the stress of all things outward, and mani¬ 
 fests itself by maintaining peace with self and 
 all others. 
 
 The above seven traits are distinctively Christian, be¬ 
 cause they are the distinctive traits in the character of 
 Christ. 
 
 In addition to the above statement of Christian char¬ 
 acter, Paul gives similar statements in his other letters. 
 To the Corinthians he writes, “ Now abideth faith, hope 
 and love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” 
 To the Galatians, “ The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 
 peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 
 meekness, self-control , against such there is no law.” To 
 
CHARACTER 
 
 111 
 
 the Philippians, “If there is therefore any exhortation in 
 Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of 
 the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassions, make 
 full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same 
 love, being of one accord (agreeableness) ; doing nothing 
 through faction or through vainglory (peaceful humil¬ 
 ity), but in lowliness of mind each counting the other 
 better than himself (modesty); not looking each of you 
 to his own things, but each of you to the things of others 
 (altruism). Have this mind in you, which was also in 
 Christ Jesus, who existing in the form of God, counted 
 not the being on an equality with God a thing to be 
 grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a 
 servant (sacrifice). * * * Finally, brethren, whatso¬ 
 
 ever things are true, whatsoever things are honourable, 
 whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 
 whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of 
 good report; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, 
 think on these things.” Phil. 2:1-7; 4:8. 
 
 Peter also gives an analysis and statement of Christian 
 character in his letters as follows: “ Finally, be ye all 
 like-minded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tender¬ 
 hearted, humble-minded; not rendering evil for evil, or 
 reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing * * *. 
 
 Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that 
 they speak no guile: And let him turn away from evil, 
 and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it.” I Pet. 
 3:8-11. “Yea, and for this very cause adding on your 
 part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in 
 your virtue knowledge; and in your knowledge self- 
 control; and in your self-control patience; and in your 
 patience godliness; and in your godliness brotherly kind¬ 
 ness; and in your brotherly kindness love.” 2 Pet. 
 
 1: 5-7. 
 
112 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 As to the content or constituent traits of Christian 
 character, the above passages are clear and definite ; and 
 all these traits are so well known to-day that they scarcely 
 need any further definition, elaboration or comment. 
 They are analytically and synthetically stated in the 
 Scriptures, illustrated in the lives of Christians, and in¬ 
 carnated in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the ideal 
 character for all ages and races of men. Any one, there¬ 
 fore, that knows Him knows Christian character. The in¬ 
 spired teachers and writers have revealed not only what 
 Christian character is, but how it may be acquired. Paul 
 says, “ Be not fashioned according to this world, but be 
 ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye 
 may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect 
 will of God.” And again, “ We all with unveiled face 
 beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are trans¬ 
 formed into the same image from glory to glory, even as 
 from the Lord the Spirit.” Furthermore Peter says, “ In 
 your faith supply virtue.” 
 
 The words “ transform ” and “ supply,” indicate a pro¬ 
 cess of growth and development. “ Transform ” is a 
 sculptor’s term, showing that we are “ as clay in the pot¬ 
 ter’s hands,” moulded into the likeness of the ideal char¬ 
 acter, Jesus the Christ, as we behold His glory; and 
 “ supply ” is a theatrical word, expressing the part that 
 the person plays in character building. He furnishes or 
 builds into his character the Christian traits, and each 
 grows out of the other. It is a development or unfold¬ 
 ing from within outward such as the growth of a tree. 
 It is not wholly a gift but a growth where the person is 
 the cultivator of the Christian graces. Wherefore Peter 
 says, “ Grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ;” and “ As newborn babes, long for the spir¬ 
 itual milk of the word, which is without guile, that ye 
 
CHARACTER 
 
 113 
 
 may grow thereby unto salvation.” It is a natural normal 
 growth of the soul under the influence and teaching of 
 Christian ideals. 
 
 While Christian character is a natural progressive 
 growth, it begins in regeneration, which differentiates it 
 from mere morality and ethical culture. It is the living 
 fruit of “ a new lifeand no artificial character and 
 life, however beautiful, is Christian. Like all living 
 growth, it begins in birth. “ Except one be born of the 
 water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
 God,” said Jesus to all that desire to become Christian 
 in life and character. Only a regenerate life and charac¬ 
 ter can stand the strain and stress of this world, and lift 
 the degraded outcasts of society up out of the depths of 
 sin. The skeptical Gibbon paid a great tribute to Chris¬ 
 tian character in the following: “The friends of Chris¬ 
 tianity may acknowledge without a blush, that many of 
 the most eminent saints had been before their baptism 
 the most abandoned sinners. * * * Tertullian, with 
 
 an honest pride, could boast that very few Christians had 
 suffered by the hand of the executioner, except on ac¬ 
 count of their religion. * * * It is a very honourable 
 circumstance for the morals of primitive Christians, that 
 even their faults, or rather errors, were derived from an 
 excess of virtue.” 
 
 During the days of persecution of the early church, it 
 was Christian character that enabled Christians to stand 
 for the church in the midst of the horrible fiery trials of 
 that day. “ Women received their dead by a resurrec¬ 
 tion : and others were tortured, not accepting their deliv¬ 
 erance ; that they might receive a better resurrection; and 
 others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yea, more¬ 
 over of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they 
 wore sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain 
 
114 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goat¬ 
 skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (of whom the 
 world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and moun¬ 
 tains and caves, and the holes of the earth.” Only the 
 strongest and most stalwart character could have passed 
 through such trials without breaking down, which is suffi¬ 
 cient to show that Christian character is not only ethic¬ 
 ally ideal but truly heroic. This virtuous heroic char¬ 
 acter was the wonder and admiration of the world, so 
 that the blood of martyrs became the seed of the king¬ 
 dom. No one could behold such a character without ad¬ 
 miring and embracing it; and thus the people were 
 brought to the Author of this new and living type of 
 character, Jesus the Saviour. True Christian character 
 has always been the strongest apologetic for Christianity; 
 and in no way can one be more effectively for Christ and 
 His church than in developing and manifesting a char¬ 
 acter that is truly Christian. 
 
 Consequently, Christian character became the distin¬ 
 guishing trait and test of a Christian, and was the bond 
 of unity between the followers of Christ. Subjectively 
 Christian unity is a union of like characters, formed and 
 fashioned after Christ as the ideal, or of kindred spirits 
 that are born of the Spirit of Christ; and there is no 
 unity so close and binding as the affinity of united souls. 
 The problem of Christian unity is, therefore, a matter of 
 planting and developing Christian character in the hearts 
 and lives of the members of the church, or in other words 
 of getting all to be for the church in character. When 
 all are of one character, they are naturally, that is, psycho¬ 
 logically and spiritually, drawn and tied to each other; 
 and this inner tie of souls in Christ is strong and lasting. 
 This is the first bond of Christian unity; and, unless peo¬ 
 ple are thus bound together by things within, it is useless 
 
CHARACTER 
 
 115 
 
 to try to bind them by things without. So Paul, there¬ 
 fore, provided first for this inner tie of character, and 
 required all to be for the church in this essential respect. 
 All must not only theoretically accept and approve of the 
 Christian graces, but must actually possess and cultivate 
 the same in their hearts and lives; and, when this is done 
 by all, all will come into unity as naturally and surely as 
 “ birds of a feather flock together.” 
 
XI 
 
 DOCTRINE 
 
 T HERE is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were 
 called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, 
 one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over 
 all, and through all, and in all.” 4:4-6. 
 
 The above is Paul’s statement of the essential doc¬ 
 trines, which constitute the second essential respect, in 
 which all must be for the church. Paul puts character 
 first, and emphasizes it accordingly; and he follows his 
 statement of the essential traits of Christian character 
 with a statement of the essential doctrines of the church, 
 for which all must stand. He places doctrine next to and 
 alongside of character. We have set forth in the preced¬ 
 ing chapter Christian character as the first essential re¬ 
 spect, in which all must be for the church; and we now 
 come to the study of the second essential, Christian doc¬ 
 trine, which Paul states in the above. 
 
 Character and doctrine are vitally related and con¬ 
 nected, the one being largely determined by the other. 
 Doctrine, taught and believed, forms character, or, in 
 other words, what one believes and teaches determines 
 largely what he is. You cannot divorce character and 
 doctrine, because they are psychologically and Scriptur- 
 ally united. The one can not develop without the other; 
 and, when one is emphasized to the neglect of the other, 
 each is weakened. Paul placed them together; and they 
 must be kept together in the minds and hearts of the 
 members of the church as co-ordinate essentials to the 
 
 progress and unity of the church. 
 
 116 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 117 
 
 However, there is a prejudice in the minds of many 
 to-day against doctrine as an essential of Christianity. 
 This is doubtless due to an over-emphasis of doctrine in 
 the past. During the nineteenth century and for many 
 preceding centuries doctrine was the major theme in the 
 teaching and preaching of the religious leaders. Ortho¬ 
 doxy in doctrine was the test of discipleship; and con¬ 
 formity to dogma was the essential requirement of church 
 membership. Many were persecuted, and a few mar¬ 
 tyred, because of their refusal to subscribe to the dogmas 
 of the various sects in the church. Character was not 
 emphasized; and the moral and ethical requirements were 
 lax. But to-day the pendulum has swung to the opposite 
 extreme of emphasizing character to the neglect of doc¬ 
 trine. The tendency is to preach and require Christian 
 character, and say little or nothing about Christian doc¬ 
 trine. “ It matters little what you believe and teach, but 
 much what you are and do,” is a popular tenet to-day. 
 The greatest laxity and the broadest liberty are granted 
 with reference to everything doctrinal; and religious 
 dogma is scoffed by many that profess to be Christian 
 preachers and teachers. 
 
 While orthodoxy in character is not to be depreciated, 
 yet orthodoxy in doctrine is not to be ignored, according 
 to the inspired authorities of the New Testament, who 
 stress the importance of not only Christian character but 
 Christian doctrine as well in all their teaching and preach¬ 
 ing. The following passages show what importance 
 Christ and His Apostles attached to doctrine. “Jesus 
 therefore answered them and said, My teaching is not 
 mine, but His that sent me.” “ Heaven and earth shall 
 pass away; but my words shall not pass away.” “ For 
 whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words in this 
 sinful and adulterous generation, the Son of man also 
 
118 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory 
 of his Father with the holy angels.” “ Whosoever goeth 
 onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath 
 not God; and he that abideth in the teaching, the same 
 hath the Father and the Son.” 2 Jno. 9-10. “ If any 
 
 man teacheth a different doctrine, and consenteth not unto 
 sound words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he 
 is puffed up, knowing nothing, but doting about question¬ 
 ings and disputes of words.” I Tim. 6:3-5. “Every 
 Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, 
 for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in 
 righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, 
 furnished completely unto every good work. ~ I charge 
 thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who will 
 judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and 
 his kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season, out 
 of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffer¬ 
 ing and teaching. For the time will come when they will 
 not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, 
 will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; 
 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn 
 aside unto fables.” II Tim. 3:16 to 4:4. These state¬ 
 ments from Christ, John and Paul show clearly what im¬ 
 portance they attached to the true sound doctrine. They 
 did not insist on Christian character any more emphatic¬ 
 ally than they did upon Christian doctrine. They treated 
 both as co-ordinate essentials, and required all others to 
 do the same. 
 
 In fact, Christ established his religion through teach¬ 
 ing. “ He went about in all Galilee, teaching in their 
 synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” 
 He was first of all a teacher; and his doctrine was as 
 vital and essential to his religion as seed is to vegetation. 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 119 
 
 In the parable of the Sower the Son of Man is the sower, 
 and his words are the seeds of the kingdom; and in the 
 parable of the Tares he declares all other seed to be tares. 
 All seed produces true to its kind, consequently the need 
 of great care as to the kind of seed we sow. This is as 
 true in the spiritual realm as it is in the physical. For this 
 reason Christ and Paul left the above emphatic words 
 on the true sound doctrine, which all are required to 
 teach. You cannot have a lasting living religion without 
 a vitalizing doctrine from which it springs and grows. 
 To this end Christ came to earth to reveal and teach this 
 essential doctrine; and after his departure he sent the 
 Holy Spirit to “ teach the Apostles and bring to their re¬ 
 membrance all things that he had taught them.” Accord¬ 
 ingly, they were sent out under the commission of teach¬ 
 ers and preachers, Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16: 15-16; and 
 their teaching is bound upon all those that are subjects 
 of the Gospel, or Christian salvation. Matt. 16: 19. 
 Anyone, therefore, that rejects or esteems lightly this doc¬ 
 trine as revealed through Christ, the Holy Spirit and the 
 Apostles is a false teacher and preacher of Christianity, 
 and denies the essential faith of the same. This doctrine 
 is the only true and effective propaganda for Christianity. 
 No new interpretations or restatements of it will do. It 
 needs only to be taught “ as it is written ” to win disci¬ 
 ples; and any Christian teacher or preacher that is silent 
 or “ puts on the soft pedal ” in his preaching on this doc¬ 
 trine is false to the commission under which he preaches. 
 On the other hand, this does not mean that one must be 
 offensively dogmatic. Blatant dogmatism is as false to 
 this doctrine as purposed silence. When one teaches 
 plainly and kindly just what Christ and the Apostles 
 taught, he is only dogmatic as they were dogmatic. He 
 
120 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 is truly dogmatic, when he is silent on this teaching, and 
 endeavours to teach his own views and theories. 
 
 All the divinely inspired teachers and preachers spoke 
 and wrote clearly and definitely on the fundamental doc¬ 
 trines of the church. Paul, “ the master-builder ” of the 
 church and the chief theologian among the Apostles was 
 the expositor of these doctrines, which he summarizes 
 in the text of this chapter. The seven “ one ” things, as 
 stated by him, constitute the essential deposit of Chris¬ 
 tian doctrine, for which all in the church must stand. 
 Many in the church to-day do not even know what these 
 doctrines are, much less stand for them. In recent years 
 there has been so little emphasis of these doctrines that 
 many of the members of the church have no religious 
 convictions. They are religiously spineless. They are 
 religious “ children, tossed to and fro and carried 
 about with every wind of doctrine/’ whom Paul exhorts 
 to become “ full-grown men ” truly and soundly indoc¬ 
 trinated with Christian teaching; they are like the 
 Athenians, whom Paul found to be mere philosophic epi¬ 
 cureans, tasting of every “ new thing ” in religion and 
 accepting none. They have not been taught the funda¬ 
 mental doctrines of the church or any other religious 
 teaching except a little philosophic liberalism that is close 
 to skepticism. As a result the church to-day is filled with 
 people that have no religious convictions. Religiously 
 they do not stand for anything. They need to be taught 
 and indoctrinated with Christian truth that they may 
 know and stand for the essential doctrines of the church, 
 the first of which, according to Paul, is 
 
 One Body 
 
 “There is one body,” which, he says, is the church, 
 2:22-23. The church itself as the one body of Christ 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 121 
 
 is an essential doctrine of the church. Paul mentions this 
 first, not because it is the most important, but because the 
 church is the major theme of his letter, and logically 
 comes first in his statement of the essential doctrines of 
 the church. Paul states this doctrine in regard to the 
 church in more detail in his letters to the Romans and 
 the Corinthians. Rom. 12:4-5; I Cor. 12:12-26. The 
 church is fundamental and essential to Christianity ac¬ 
 cording to the Scriptures; and the whole history of the 
 church attests the same. Christianity never would have 
 gotten beyond Jerusalem without the organized church. 
 It would have died still-born. In fact, no religion can 
 exist without some organized active body or institution to 
 represent and propagate it. This has been the essential 
 function of the church, which is vital to Christ’s religion. 
 To this end Christ said, “ I will build my church.” Any¬ 
 one, therefore, that regards the church lightly, or looks 
 upon it as non-essential to Christianity, either does not 
 understand the church, or is an enemy of the same. God 
 planned the church “ before the foundation of the world,” 
 which makes everything in the world secondary and con¬ 
 tributory to the church; and “ Christ loved the church, 
 and gave himself for it.” This is heaven’s estimate of 
 the church; and man, for whom it was planned and built, 
 ought to esteem it even more highly. Whenever anyone 
 fails to stand for the church, or is indifferent toward it, 
 it is a sure evidence of his enmity to or disbelief in the 
 same. “ He that is not for me is against me,” is true of 
 the church. 
 
 While Christ’s kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, it is 
 not an invisible kingdom, as some seem to think. The 
 church is the visible organized form of the kingdom, es¬ 
 tablished for Christian work and worship; and Paul says, 
 “ There is one body,” which excludes all other bodies that 
 
ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 122 
 
 profess to do the work and worship of the church. In 
 the realm of religion the church has jio rival institutions, 
 or should have none according to Paul. Any other body 
 or institution that aspires to do the work and worship of 
 the church is, therefore, a usurper knd an enemy to the 
 church. “ This is religious bigotry/’ say some. No. It 
 is mere consistency. Christianity could not be what it 
 professes to be, and recognize the legitimacy of other 
 religious bodies. Christianity claims to be the only true 
 religion; and, if it is, there must be one authorized body 
 to represent it. Rut many other bodies claim to be Chris¬ 
 tian. Yes; but they are not divinely authorized as the 
 church. “ There is one (divinely authorized) body,” 
 which is the church. The church is the only institution 
 planned by God and built by His Son; and no other in¬ 
 stitution has the authority and right to represent Them. 
 Every member of the church, therefore, must stand for 
 this “ one body,” which is the church, and be content to 
 work and worship in it, and endeavour to get all others 
 to do the same. 
 
 But where can this “ one body,” of which Paul speaks, 
 be found to-day ? The church has suffered so many divi¬ 
 sions from within, it is difficult to find one’s way back 
 to this original body of Christ or to trace it down to the 
 present. On account of the great multiplicity of religious 
 bodies to-day, and all claiming to be Christian, this “ one 
 body ” has been lost sight of; and Paul’s doctrine of 
 “ one body ” has been discredited; yet this does not dis¬ 
 prove the doctrine nor justify one in rejecting the same. 
 The very fact that the church has been divided is proof 
 of its original unity; and the incompleteness of the 
 divided parts of the church is proof of the need of the 
 unity to-day. While the church is divided, nevertheless 
 Paul’s doctrine on the unity of the same is still true. 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 123 
 
 and should be accepted by all. Whenever we reject this 
 doctrine, or fail to stand for it, and admit the legitimacy 
 of a multiplicity of bodies, such as we have to-day, we 
 become apologists for division and denominationalism, 
 which Paul severely condemned, and which is the curse 
 of the church to-day. One cannot stand for both de¬ 
 nominationalism and Paul’s doctrine, “ There is one 
 body,” because they are contradictory. To say that the 
 various denominations are “ the members ” of the “ one 
 body ” of Christ is Scripturally untenable, because Christ 
 and Paul made it clear that the individual disciples are 
 “the members” of his body. John 15:1-6; I Cor. 
 12:12-26. In fact, there is no suggestion of denomina¬ 
 tionalism in the New Testament; and every form of 
 division is condemned. I Cor. 1:10-13; Gal. 6:19-20. 
 “ The church, which is the body of Christ,” does not 
 admit of legitimate division any more than the human 
 body; and division results in weakness and death in each 
 alike. The only remedy for this weakness and threat¬ 
 ened death of the church from division is a restoration 
 of the original unity of the body of Christ. 
 
 This doctrine of the “ one body ” of Christ has a vital 
 bearing on the problem of unity in the church to-day. 
 Unless the members of the church accept this doctrine, 
 and endeavour to bring the church to conform to the 
 same, there is no hope for Christian unity; while on the 
 other hand, if they do accept it, and endeavour to realize 
 it, Christian unity is highly probable. The people need 
 to be pointed away from the denominations that clamour 
 for prestige and dominion on all sides back to the original 
 “ one body ” of Christ and to be enlisted in an effort to 
 return to the same; and Christian unity will be greatly 
 advanced thereby. 
 
124 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 One Spirit 
 
 “ There is one Spirit,”—the Holy Spirit of God. There 
 is no doctrine more vital and fundamental in Christian 
 teaching than that regarding the Holy Spirit. To deny 
 or even question His power and authority is the unpar¬ 
 donable sin according to Christ; and the presence and 
 power of the Holy Spirit are manifest in the world from 
 the beginning to the end. The Bible begins with an ac¬ 
 count of the work of the Spirit of God in creation, and 
 closes with the Spirit’s invitation to all to come and par¬ 
 take of the eternal things of God. Rev. 22: 17. The 
 Bible is a historical record of the doings of the Holy 
 Spirit in the life of man. Men filled with the Holy Spirit 
 have spoken and wrought for God in the upbuilding of 
 the world. Christ received the Holy Spirit at his bap¬ 
 tism, and through the same did the mighty works of God. 
 The Jewish and Christian Scriptures are “ spirit-filled ” 
 and “ spirit-breathed,” and are in substance the teaching 
 of the Holy Spirit. “ God revealed them through the 
 Spirit,” says Paul. In fact, Christianity is differentiated 
 from all other religions by the presence and work of the 
 Holy Spirit, so the doctrine of the one Spirit is, there¬ 
 fore, vital and essential. 
 
 There have been wide differences in doctrine on the 
 Holy Spirit. We touch here the borderland of the un¬ 
 known and mysterious; and the tendency is to theorize 
 and speculate, which leads to irreconcilable differences. 
 Accordingly, there have been much speculating and wide 
 differing as to the personality, work, indwelling, opera¬ 
 tion, etc., of the Holy Spirit. While the Bible contains 
 much teaching regarding these functions of the Spirit, 
 some of which, like the teaching of Paul according to 
 Peter, is hard to comprehend; yet Paul’s statement, 
 “ There is one Spirit,” is clear and comprehensive, and 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 125 
 
 is sufficient for agreement and unity at this point. This 
 is Paul’s summary of Christian doctrine with reference 
 to the Spirit; and for all that accept the Holy Spirit as 
 the one Spirit of God there is common ground and hope 
 of unity. 
 
 Paul does not mean, of course, that there is only one 
 Spirit, because the world is full of spirits both good and 
 evil, but that relatively and comparatively there is one 
 Spirit. There is no spirit that can be classed and com¬ 
 pared with the Holy Spirit. In all respects and relation¬ 
 ships the Spirit of God is supreme, or “ one.” 
 
 For instance, “ There is one Spirit ” of power. Spirit 
 is more powerful than physical force or anything else in 
 the world. It dominates matter, and rules the world. For 
 this reason man was given dominion over the world and 
 everything in it. This power often makes man proud, 
 boastful and domineering, as it did Pilate; and he needs 
 to be told, “ Thou wouldst have no power, except it were 
 given thee from above.” All power is originally from the 
 Spirit of God, who is omnipotent, so any power that man 
 may possess is merely a delegated power. The Spirit of 
 God is the one Spirit of power. Accordingly, those to 
 whom the Holy Spirit was especially given were endowed 
 with great power that manifested itself in “ signs and 
 wonders and by manifold powers and by gifts of the 
 Holy Spirit.” There is no other spirit that can give 
 power, and is the source of power. There is one Spirit 
 of power,—the Spirit of God. 
 
 Again, “ There is one Spirit ” of truth. Jesus empha¬ 
 sized this in His promise of the Holy Spirit. “And I will 
 pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, 
 that he may be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, 
 whom the world cannot receive, for it beholdeth him not, 
 neither knoweth: ye know him; for he abideth with you, 
 
126 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 and shall be in you. * * * But the Comforter, even 
 the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, 
 he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remem¬ 
 brance all things that I said unto you.” “ However, 
 when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you 
 into all the truth; * * * and he shall declare unto 
 
 you the things that are to come.” In these days of many 
 spirits that pose as revealers of truth there is a need of 
 heeding John’s admonition, “ Beloved, believe not every 
 spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; be¬ 
 cause many false prophets are gone out into the world. 
 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that con- 
 fesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 
 and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus in the flesh is 
 not of God; and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, 
 whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in 
 the world already.” The standards of truth to-day have 
 become so lax and liberal that almost anything with a 
 show or semblance of truth passes as true irregardless of 
 the spirit from whom it comes. Furthermore, many, like 
 Pilate, with no standard of truth, flippantly and cynically 
 ask, “ What is truth ? ” without stopping to consider the 
 question honestly and seriously. The only true and reli¬ 
 able answer to this question that has ever been given is 
 Christ’s answer, “Thy (God’s) word is truth;” and the 
 only authorized revealer and teacher of God’s v/ord is 
 the Holy Spirit, who was sent to teach and guide the 
 Apostles into all truth. Therefore Paul says, “ There is 
 one Spirit ” of truth, the Holy Spirit of God. 
 
 Also, “ There is one Spirit ” of holiness. The Spirit 
 of God is called the Holy Spirit, because absolutely there 
 is but one Spirit of holiness. Other spirits are relatively 
 holy in a more or less degree; but the Spirit of God is 
 absolutely holy. “ None is good, save one, even God,” 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 127 
 
 said Jesus. Perfect goodness or holiness belongs to God 
 alone; and in this respect there is one Spirit of holiness. 
 “ There is one Spirit ” of power, of truth, of holiness, 
 etc., which, according to Paul, is an essential tenet of 
 Christian doctrine, for which all must stand. The next is 
 
 One Hope 
 
 “ Even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” 
 There is one hope, which Paul says is “ the hope 
 of eternal life.” The resurrection through Christ and 
 eternal life with the Father is the star of hope that shone 
 “dimly in the ages before Christ; but, after Christ came 
 and “ brought life and immortality to life through the 
 gospel,” it became “ the bright morning star ” leading the 
 children of God out of the darkness of doubt and death 
 into the day of eternal life. Without this hope, Paul 
 says, Christianity is “ false ” and “ vain,” and “ we are 
 of all men most pitiable.” There is no tenet more vital 
 and essential to Christianity than this hope of the resur¬ 
 rection through Christ and eternal life with the Father. 
 This is “ the hope of salvation,” which gleams on the 
 countenance of Christians like a shining “ helmet,” and 
 is “ an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stead¬ 
 fast and entering into that which is within the veil.” 
 Every other hope of man ends this side of the veil of the 
 great beyond; but the Christian’s hope lights the way 
 “ through the valley of the shadow of death,” and leads 
 out into the golden glories of the eternal home of the 
 soul. This is the “ one hope ” of the Christian’s calling, 
 for which Paul prays, “ that the God of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit 
 of wisdom and revelation, * * * that ye may know 
 
 what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the 
 glory of his inheritance in the saints.” These riches are 
 
128 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 “ unsearchable and past finding out;” but we can look 
 forward to the same in confident hope; and “ if we hope 
 for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait 
 for it.” 
 
 But Christians need not only to know and look forward 
 to this hope; but they need to stand for it. In this age 
 of doubt concerning the life to come, this hope needs to 
 be taught and defended, “ being ready always to give an 
 answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the 
 hope that is in you.” This hope is the touchstone of 
 infidelity and the divine seal of the children of God. 
 There is no place in the church of Christ for the doubt¬ 
 ing and unbelieving. All in the church to-day like the 
 martyrs of old must stand loyally by this hope and for 
 the doctrine of the same. The next essential doctrine is, 
 
 One Lord 
 
 “ There is one Lord,” the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 is “ Lord of lords and King of kings.” The lordship of 
 Jesus Christ in all the relationships of life is a fundamen¬ 
 tal doctrine of the New Testament; in fact, it is the dis¬ 
 tinctive teaching of Christianity. The lordship of Jesus 
 was the principle item in the gospel, proclaimed by the 
 angels, Luke 2: 11, and formed the major theme of the 
 sermons preached by the Apostles. See Acts of the 
 Apostles. It is of the very essence of Christianity, and 
 is distinctive of Christ’s religion. 
 
 In all the realms of being Christ is supreme Lord. 
 He is supreme in the realm of intellect. No man ever 
 thought and spake as He. He is supreme in the realm 
 of character. “ He is the fairest of ten thousand, and 
 one altogether lovely.” “ There is no beauty that you 
 could desire him.” “ He was tempted in all things as 
 we, yet without sin.” Sinless perfection was an attribute 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 129! 
 
 of Him alone. He is also supreme in rule, dominion* 
 power and authority. “ All authority in heaven and earth 
 is given unto me,” said Christ; and Paul wrote in the 
 letter that we are studying, “ God raised him from the 
 dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in heavenly 
 places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and 
 dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this 
 world, but also in that which is to come.” “ And he is 
 the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, 
 the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might 
 have the pre-eminence.” The supremacy of Jesus Christ 
 in the realm of religion was the major theme of all Paul’s 
 teaching and preaching. 
 
 There is no essential doctrine of the church that needs 
 to be emphasized more to-day than the Lordship of Christ. 
 He needs to be made the “ one Lord ” of life in reality 
 and not in mere theory. The trouble with the religious 
 world to-day is, it has many lords instead of one. Theo¬ 
 retically Jesus is Lord; but in reality some earthly eccle¬ 
 siastic such as the Pope, Bishop, Pastor, Prophet, Priest, 
 Editor, etc., is lord of the church. Whenever the word 
 and rule of man or any body of men is exalted above or 
 substituted for the word and will of Christ, the doc¬ 
 trine of the supreme Lordship of Christ is rejected. The 
 claim of the Pope to be the earthly representative of 
 Christ and the claim of Apostolic Succession by the Col¬ 
 lege of Bishops have no Scriptural justification, but are 
 in fact a virtual denial of the Lordship of Christ. “ There 
 is one Lord,” says Christ, “ not only in this world, but 
 also in the world to come.” It seems that some in Apos¬ 
 tolic times were inclined to deny the Lordship of Christ 
 “ in the world to come;” whereas some to-day reject His 
 Lordship “ in this world;” but according to Paul, “ There 
 
130 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 is one Lord ” both “ in this world and the world to 
 come.” Next there is 
 
 One Faith 
 
 The doctrine of faith occupied a large place in the 
 teaching of Christ and His Apostles. Such passages as 
 the following show what importance they attached to 
 faith: “ Without faith it is impossible to please God.” 
 “ Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.” “ Accord¬ 
 ing to thy faith be it unto thee.’* “ Thy faith hath saved 
 thee.” “ To him bear all the prophets witness that 
 through his name every one that believeth on him shall 
 receive remission of sins.” “ Being justified by faith, we 
 have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith.” _ 
 
 In his letters to the Romans and Galatians Paul sets 
 forth in detail the doctrine of faith in the Christian sys¬ 
 tem of salvation; but in these letters he deals with faith 
 in the abstract, or subjective faith; while in his state¬ 
 ment above, “ There is one faith,” he speaks of objective 
 faith, which has to do with the things to be believed, the 
 creed. Excepting degree faith on its subjective side is 
 the same in all; but on its objective side it varies with 
 the things believed. With respect to the things to be 
 believed Paul says, “ There is one faith,” one creed; and 
 Jude adds that this creed was “ once for all delivered 
 unto the saints.” This makes it fixed and unchangeable. 
 The saints did not conceive or state it,—-it was deliv¬ 
 ered to them; and the words, “ once for all,” forbid any 
 restatement of it. The only faith, or creed, that fulfills 
 these requirements is the statement of faith, or confes¬ 
 sion, of Peter, “ Thou art the Christ the Son of the living 
 God.” Of this creed Christ said to Peter, “ Flesh and 
 blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 131 
 
 is in heaven.” God first revealed this creed at Christ’s 
 baptism, saying, “ This is my beloved Son, in whom I 
 am well pleased,” and again on the Mount of Transfigura¬ 
 tion. As people became convinced of his divine Sonship, 
 they confessed this creed; and we find it recorded many 
 times in the New Testament. See Mat. 26:63-64; Jno. 
 2:27; 20:31; Acts 8:37; 10:43; J 6: 21, etc. 
 
 This divine creed is faith in a person, Jesus Christ, 
 and consists of only one article of faith. While it is very 
 brief and simple, yet it is broad and comprehensive in 
 scope and profound in subject-matter. It is a con¬ 
 densed statement of Christian faith, and includes every¬ 
 thing to be believed by a Christian. It implies faith in 
 the living God of the Bible, and states a definite and 
 specific faith in Jesus, who is the chief object of Chris¬ 
 tian faith. It requires faith in him as the Christ (not a 
 Christ) and as the Son of God (not a Son of God). 
 “ The Christ ” is, of course, the Christ of the Chris¬ 
 tian Scriptures, and “ the Son of God ” is the Son of 
 God of the same. This Christ and this Son of God is 
 'dearly and definitely revealed in the Scriptures; and any 
 one that rejects this account of Him rejects and denies 
 “ the one faith ” of Christianity, which Paul prescribed 
 as an essential doctrine of the church. He is revealed 
 as begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin 
 Mary, the divinely sent and inspired prophet like unto 
 Moses, “ the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of 
 the world,” crucified, buried, resurrected on the third 
 day and ascended into heaven as the Advocate of man. 
 While all this and more is stated and implied in the one 
 article of faith, it needs no elaborated statement or inter¬ 
 pretation by man or any assembly of men. This has given 
 rise to the many creeds of Christendom, which have been 
 divisive of the church. The only creed or statement of 
 
132 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 faith that all Christians accept is the “ one faith ” of the 
 Scriptures, namely, “ Thou art the Christ the Son of the 
 living God.” Any one that believes less than this is an 
 infidel; and any one that believes more goes “ beyond 
 that which is written ” and “ delivered unto the saints.” 
 This is the “ one faith,” which Paul prescribed for all. 
 Next there is 
 
 One Baptism 
 
 For some reason there is a strong prejudice against 
 baptism as an essential doctrine of the church, notwith¬ 
 standing Pauls putting it in his statement of the seven 
 “ one ” things, or essential doctrines. It is popularly 
 classed to-day as a non-essential; and there is little said 
 of it except in depreciation of its value and importance; 
 but it was not so considered and treated by the authori¬ 
 ties of the New Testament, as is evident from the fol¬ 
 lowing statements: “For thus it becometh us to fulfill 
 all righteousness.” “ Whosoever believeth and is bap¬ 
 tized shall be saved.” “ Except one be born of the water 
 and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” 
 Jesus. “ Repent ye and be baptized every one of you in 
 the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; 
 and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” “ In 
 the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein 
 few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water; which 
 also after a true likeness doth now save you, even bap¬ 
 tism.” Peter. “ For as many of you as were baptized 
 into Christ did put on Christ.” “ For in one Spirit were 
 we all baptized into one body.” Paul. Baptism was a 
 vital doctrine in the teaching of Christ and His Apostles; 
 and there is no subject more frequently mentioned by 
 the New Testament writers. Paul classes baptism as 
 “ one ” of the essential doctrines of the church, saying, 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 133 
 
 “ There is one baptism,” so let us, therefore, so treat it, 
 and find out what this “ one baptism ” is. 
 
 There are only two religious baptisms spoken of in the 
 New Testament, one a baptism in water and the other a 
 baptism in the Holy Spirit, Mark i: 8, so a choice must 
 be made between these two baptisms as the “ one bap¬ 
 tism ” to be taught and practised to-day. If one is 
 chosen, the other must be discontinued in practice and 
 teaching. Accordingly, the Quakers say that the “ one 
 baptism” is Holy Spirit baptism, and they do not teach and 
 practice water baptism; but all other churches, so far as I 
 know, teach and practice water baptism, which commits 
 them to the view that the “ one baptism ” is water bap¬ 
 tism, which, I think, is the baptism that Paul meant, for 
 the following reasons: First, Holy Spirit baptism was 
 for a specific time and purpose. There were but two 
 instances of it in the Apostolic church,—on the day of 
 Pentecost and at the house of Cornelius. On the day of 
 Pentecost the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit 
 in fulfillment of Christ’s promise to send the Holy Spirit 
 to teach and guide them into all truth; and at the house 
 of Cornelius the Gentiles were likewise baptized as the 
 divine seal of their acceptance to God. One baptism was 
 sufficient in each case for all time and races, so it passed, 
 and thereafter there was, as Paul states, “ one baptism,” 
 —water baptism, which the Apostles continued to prac¬ 
 tice under Christ’s great commission, “ Go ye therefore, 
 and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into 
 the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
 Spirit.” See Acts n to 28. Second, water baptism is 
 the only way of carrying out the great commission, which 
 was “ unto the end of the world,” because it is the only 
 baptism that can be practised and obeyed. No man can 
 baptize in the Holy Spirit, or have himself baptized in 
 
134 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 the same. This was administered from above; and those 
 thus baptized were entirely passive. The Gentiles, who 
 were baptized in the Holy Spirit at the house of Corne¬ 
 lius, were also baptized in water, Acts 10:47; and ah 
 alike were required to be baptized in water, which is 
 Christian baptism, or the “ one baptism,” which was pre¬ 
 scribed for teaching and practice in the church for all 
 ages and races. 
 
 There is nothing, however, in the word “ one ” in 
 favour or against any form of water baptism, either sprink¬ 
 ling, pouring or immersion. This is determined by the 
 Scriptural meaning of the word “ baptism ” itself, which 
 was not an issue in Paul’s day; nor can it be among 
 those that understand the Greek language, of which it is 
 an untranslated word. All that know Greek know that 
 the only form of baptism that the original meaning of the 
 word admits is immersion; and, furthermore, all that 
 know the references to baptism in the New Testament 
 know that immersion is the only form that meets the 
 conditions of the same. As to the original meaning of 
 the word and Apostolic practice in conformity to the 
 same there is no reasonable doubt; but the ecclesiastical 
 claim of authority to change the form raises a question 
 that does not admit of settlement by the Scriptures that 
 contain the mind of Christ and his Apostles, who are the 
 only authorities recognized in this treatise that seek the 
 unity of those that accept these standards of authority. 
 However, among all those that do accept these authori¬ 
 ties there is a reasonable hope of unity on the baptism 
 question as well as on all others that have disturbed and 
 divided the church. 
 
 However, there is an effort on the part of many to-day 
 to discard baptism as an essential to Christian unity and 
 to unite irregardless of differences on this question. They 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 135 
 
 speak of the “ immersion dogma ” as an “ unjustifiable 
 barrier to unity,” and call on all to give up their opinions 
 on baptism for the sake of unity. But what makes bap¬ 
 tism any more a dogma than faith or any other of the 
 “ one ” things prescribed by Paul as essential doctrines 
 of the church? The same authority prescribed both, so 
 they all, therefore, either stand or fall together. And 
 what makes baptism by immersion a personal opinion, 
 when both Christ and his Apostles so taught and prac¬ 
 tised it? Any unity that ignores baptism is false to the 
 authority and teaching of Christ, and is contrary to 
 Paul’s statement of the Christian doctrines essential to 
 unity, of which “ one baptism ” is one. Also unity with¬ 
 out Christian baptism would be false to all past Christian 
 experience and history, which records the failure of all 
 efforts to unite without baptism, and shows that we can 
 never have a united church on a divided baptism. Such 
 a unity would divide more than it would unite, and would 
 defeat the very unity that it was intended to promote. 
 It seems more feasible and reasonable for all to accept 
 and practice the one catholic baptism by immersion, be¬ 
 cause all accept this as valid baptism, and can unite upon 
 the same. The College of Bishops of the Episcopal 
 Church propose, in their Lambeth Quadrilateral, such a 
 solution of the problem, which seems to be the only 
 practicable and Scriptural solution. This is at least com¬ 
 mon ground; and, unless there is a disposition on the 
 part of all to come together on common ground, there 
 is no hope for unity. “ For in one Spirit we were all 
 baptized into one body,” says Paul, “ which is the church.” 
 This is not “ open membership ” nor “ common member¬ 
 ship,” but Scriptural membership; and that which brings 
 all into the universal body of Christ can bring all into 
 
136 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 Christian unity. The last essential doctrine in Paul's 
 statement is, “ There is 
 
 One God 
 
 The doctrine of “ one God ” is the major theme of the 
 Bible. It is this teaching that distinguishes the Bible 
 and the religion of the same from all other books and re¬ 
 ligions. The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation is 
 monotheistic in its teaching, and was written to reveal 
 “ the one God,” Jehovah, the Great I Am, the Beginning 
 and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. In the Old Tes¬ 
 tament He speaks all things into existence in the morn¬ 
 ing of creation, provides for and watches over the human 
 race, delivers His monotheistic Decalogue and Law of 
 Moses for man’s control and development, blesses the 
 righteous and punishes the wicked, and during all the 
 history of the race is “ one living God ” ruling and reign¬ 
 ing in the world. 
 
 In the New Testament we find the same “ one living 
 God.” Christ did not come to reveal a new God but to 
 make a further revelation of the God of the Jews. He 
 came to supplement or complete the revelation of the God 
 of the Old Testament. To the revelation of God in the 
 Old Testament he adds the revelation of Him as “ the 
 Father of all.” God as a Father was a new conception 
 and revelation of God, which was Christ’s chief contribu¬ 
 tion to man’s knowledge of God. He called God Father, 
 and revealed Him as such. In fact, the universal Father¬ 
 hood of God was fundamental in his teaching, and was 
 the keynote in his message to man. In this one word, 
 “ Father,” Christ revealed God in all His relationships 
 with man, and brought man into closest relationship to 
 God. This one word took theology out of the schools of 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 137 
 
 the Prophets and Rabbis, and placed God in the home, 
 where little children cry, “ Abba, Father.” 
 
 God is not only “the Father;” but He is “Father of 
 all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” This 
 also was a new conception and revelation of God. The 
 God of the Old Testament was revealed as the God of 
 the Jews only; but Christ came to reveal Him as the God 
 of the whole human race,—the universal Father. “ That 
 God is no respecter of persons, but is the Father of all,” 
 was a hard doctrine for the seclusive and exclusive Jews 
 of Christ’s day to accept. Paul emphasized this, saying, 
 “ He is over all (watches over and provides for all), and 
 through all (works through all), and in all (in vital 
 touch with all).” 
 
 The universal brotherhood of man is a logical deduc¬ 
 tion from the universal Fatherhood of God; and upon 
 these two great doctrines, which were the major themes 
 in the teaching of Christ and his Apostles, rests the 
 foundation of Christian unity. If God is Father of all, 
 then all are brethren, and all, being of the same family 
 with a common Father, ought to be one. This is the fun¬ 
 damental reason and motive for unity; and, unless all 
 believers in God through Christ accept and practice this 
 fundamental doctrine of Christ, there is no hope for 
 unity. We need, therefore, to teach and emphasize the 
 Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man as the 
 essential motive and foundation for Christian unity, and 
 thereby bring all to realize that “ there is one God and 
 Father of all, who is over all, and through all and in 
 all.” 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 “ There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye were 
 called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, 
 one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over 
 
138 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 all, and through all, and in all.” This is Paul’s statement 
 of the essential doctrines of the church, for which all in 
 the church must stand, that the church may have unity 
 and victory. Christian doctrine is as essential to Chris¬ 
 tian unity as Christian character. Christians cannot 
 stand together except they stand for something,—some 
 great truths that bind them together; and Paul states the 
 doctrinal truths, for which all in the church must stand. 
 Any union that is merely moral and ethical is not Chris¬ 
 tian union; it must also be doctrinal and dogmatic to be 
 Christian. Union on Christ’s morality and ethics alone 
 would admit all extreme sects and parties, and even 
 rationalists and all those that teach and believe as they 
 please. Such a union would be a world-wide ethical 
 society but not the universal church of Christ.' There 
 must be an orthodoxy in doctrine as well as character for 
 Christian unity. 
 
 However, many contend at this point that doctrine is 
 destructive of unity, that it has been the bombshell that 
 has scattered and divided the followers of Christ, or at 
 least it has been productive of partisan debates and 
 strifes, which have been largely responsible for many 
 divisions in the church. This is true; but at the same 
 time morality and ethics cannot exist without doctrine 
 that gives a divine basis and authority for the same. 
 Otherwise they would be changeable and unstable, and 
 become themselves fertile sources of debates and strife. 
 Morality and ethics must be founded in divine teaching 
 or authoritative truth to be true, lasting and binding. 
 
 So, then, if Christian doctrine is essential to Christian 
 unity, whose statement of the essential doctrines of the 
 church shall we accept, if not the Apostle Paul’s? Just 
 here lies one of the great difficulties in the way of Chris¬ 
 tian unity. The differences at this point are wide and 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 139 
 
 seemingly irreconcilable. Some say that we must take 
 the statement of the Pope; others the statement of the 
 divinely inspired Synods, as a representative of the Greek 
 Church states in the following: “ The holy Nicene Creed 
 and the dogmatic decrees of the seven great Ecumenical 
 Synods form a divine basis, infallible and of indisputable 
 validity. By those Synods the Church of Christ, then 
 one and united, spoke the final words on the question of 
 faith. Any change of these doctrines constitutes, not 
 progress and completion, but perversion of the substance 
 of the faith, pernicious and perilous innovation. In the 
 Ecumenical Synods the truth of the faith was interpreted 
 rightly and crystallized definitely, after long investigations 
 and discussions by the Church, on the basis of the Holy 
 Scripture and the genuine ancient and catholic tradition.” 
 While many other communions would not go as far as 
 the above statement for the divine authority of the as¬ 
 sembled church and established tradition, yet they do not 
 accept the finality of the New Testament on these mat¬ 
 ters ; but look elsewhere for “ the leading of the Spirit.” 
 Some do not look to the New Testament at all for 
 authority but to “ the inner consciousness.” But, after 
 all, when we have considered all the authoritative state¬ 
 ments of Christian doctrine, the only statement that all 
 can accept and unite upon is the New Testament state¬ 
 ment, which is summarized by Paul as follows: “ There 
 is one body, and one spirit, even as ye were called in one 
 hope of your calling; one Lord; one faith; one baptism; 
 God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, 
 and in all.” 
 
 However some that profess to accept the New Testa¬ 
 ment authorities as final demur at Paul’s statement as 
 fixed and complete. Some desire to omit one or more 
 of the “ one ” things, prescribed by Paul, while others 
 
140 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 desire to add to the same. For instance, some on account 
 of their devotion to their denomination, would like to 
 omit the “ one bodyalso some on account of their re¬ 
 spective denominational creed, would like to omit the 
 “one faith;” and others on account of their prejudice 
 would like to omit the “ one baptism.” While, on the 
 other hand, some would like to add “ one order of wor¬ 
 ship ” and “ one polity of administration.” On these 
 two items in the church there have been wide differences; 
 and the church has often divided over things of this 
 nature. Almost every sect has something distinctive and 
 different in their worship and organization; and many are 
 strong in their convictions on these things, most all of 
 which are merely customs and traditions without divine 
 warrant and authority; but people have always been more 
 insistent on established tradition than on divine revela¬ 
 tion. Many insist on a prescribed ritual with fixed forms 
 and ceremonies; and some go so far as to insist on minor 
 details, such as “ one kind of music,” vocal music, and 
 “ one way of leading the music,” by a man with a tuning- 
 fork—a woman with an organ would not do. Some are 
 sticklers for one kind of organization for work and gov¬ 
 ernment, insisting on one way of doing missionary work, 
 some with and some without any organization except the 
 local congregation, and many other minor matters of 
 administration. While items of worship and matters of 
 administration are important in the work and worship of 
 the church, yet they are not essentials of Christian unity. 
 Paul did not put any of the above “one” things that have 
 to do with the worship and administration of the church 
 in his statement of the essential doctrines for unity. In 
 fact, the New Testament authorities give very little teach¬ 
 ing or legislation on such things. So far as worship is 
 concerned, any worship of God, according to Christ, is 
 
DOCTRINE 
 
 141 
 
 acceptable that is “in spirit and in truth/’ Jno. 4; and 
 any order and ritual is good according to Paul that is 
 “ edifying ” and “ decently and in order/’ I Cor. 14. 
 Also any church polity is permissible that is democratic 
 and expedient. Eph. 2:19; Col. 3:11; I Cor. 10:23; or 
 at least such matters are not made essentials of Christian 
 unity by New Testament authorities; yet they have dis¬ 
 turbed and divided the church from the very beginning; 
 and to-day they constitute some of the greatest barriers 
 to unity, such as Priestly Orders, the Historic Bishopric, 
 ecclesiastical and denominational organizations that domi¬ 
 nate the members and congregations, iron-clad rituals 
 and prescribed items and orders of worship, etc. All such 
 things do not rightfully come within the scope of essen¬ 
 tial doctrines of the church. No one of the seven “ one ” 
 things prescribed by Paul can be interpreted to cover 
 these matters of worship and administration; and one’s 
 teaching and convictions on these things should not be 
 allowed to interfere or prevent Christian unity. 
 
 If the figure, seven, means anything in the Scriptures, 
 it means all, completeness. At any rate, the above seven 
 “ one ” things, prescribed by Paul, are all the Christian 
 doctrines that l^ave to do with Christian unity. There 
 are other essential doctrines in the teaching of Christ 
 and His Apostles, such as love, repentance, etc.; but they 
 do not touch the problem of unity, because there can be 
 no such thing as two loves and two repentances, so there 
 is, therefore, no grounds for differences on these things 
 that make it necessary to prescribe “ one love ” and “ one 
 repentance.” But not so with the seven “ one ” things 
 that Paul prescribes. Unity could not be without “ one¬ 
 ness ” on these things. For instance, “ There is one 
 body,”—a multiplicity of bodies is the very opposite of 
 unity; “ one Spirit,”—if there were more, some would 
 
142 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 follow one, and some another, and unity would be lost; 
 “ one Lord,”—if there were two, there could be no unity, 
 “ for you cannot serve two mastersand so on. Unity 
 is impossible without oneness of teaching and practice 
 with respect to the seven “ one ” doctrines, which Paul 
 prescribes for Christian unity, as reason and experience 
 also attest. 
 
 So any one, therefore, that either adds to or takes 
 from these seven essential doctrines for unity needs to 
 read the warning of Rev. 22:18. They either stand or 
 fall together. If one can be eliminated, then all may be 
 omitted; and there is no doctrinal foundation for Chris¬ 
 tian unity, which is absurd; and, if one essential doctrine 
 can be added, then many can; and the doctrinal founda¬ 
 tion for unity would have to contain all the religious doc¬ 
 trines in the world, which is ridiculous. Paul’s state¬ 
 ment is the essential deposit of Christian doctrine, and 
 contains nothing more nor less than that which is essen¬ 
 tial to Christian unity. So let all, therefore, that accept 
 the authority of Paul as final, accept it, and unite upon 
 it. 
 
 This chapter is unduly long, not because it is of more 
 importance than other essentials of church membership, 
 but because it covers so much disputed ground, and in¬ 
 cludes so many barriers to Christian unity to-day that 
 must be noticed and treated in any frank, worth-while 
 discussion of the subject of Christian unity. While Paul 
 states the essential doctrines of the church in one brief 
 sentence, yet it takes a volume, “ line upon line, precept 
 upon precept,” to bring all to-day to accept his statement 
 as the final deposit of Christian doctrine and to unite 
 upon it. 
 
XII 
 
 SERVICE 
 
 B UT unto each one of us was the grace given according" 
 to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he 
 sayeth, When he ascended on high, he led captivity cap¬ 
 tive, and gave gifts unto men. 
 
 “Now, this, he ascended, what is it that he also descended intd 
 the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is also the 
 same that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill 
 all things. And he gave some to be apostles; and some, proph¬ 
 ets ; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for 
 the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto 
 the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto 
 the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 
 unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
 fullness of Christ: that we may be no longer children, tossed 
 to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by 
 the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but 
 speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, 
 who is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly 
 framed and knit together through that which every joint sup- 
 plieth, according to the working in due measure of each several 
 part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of 
 itself in love.” 4:7-16. 
 
 The above is Paul’s statement of Christian service, 
 which is the third essential respect in which all in the 
 church must be for the church. All must be for the 
 church in active service; or, as he states it in his letter 
 to the Romans, must “ present your bodies a living sacri¬ 
 fice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual 
 service.” Paul not only besought all members of the 
 church to do this; but he did it himself. “ I have been 
 crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but 
 Christ liveth in me; and that life which I now live in 
 
 the faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved 
 
 143 
 
144 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 me and gave himself up for me.” From the time that 
 Christ spoke to Paul out of the sky, and he answered, 
 “ Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do ? ”, he always 
 referred to himself as “a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, 
 called to be an apostle,” and conducted himself as such. 
 According to Paul, faithful consecrated service is an es¬ 
 sential requirement of all those that come into the church. 
 “ We are saved to serve,” is the Christian ideal for 
 church membership; and everyone that enters the church 
 must dedicate himself accordingly to the service of Christ 
 and humanity. Also, according to Christ, one’s place and 
 rank in the kingdom here is determined by his service, 
 which is the Christian standard of greatness. “ Whoso¬ 
 ever would become great among you shall be your serv¬ 
 ant; and whosoever would be first among you shall be 
 your bond-servant: even as the Son of man came not 
 to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom 
 for many.” Furthermore the reward in the world to 
 come is to “ the good and faithful servant,” who is bid¬ 
 den to “ enter into the joys of thy Lord.” Service 
 is the key that unlocks the door to life here and also 
 hereafter. 
 
 Wherefore Paul sets forth Christian service in detail 
 in his statement of the essentials of church membership, 
 two of which, character and doctrine, we have studied in 
 the preceding chapters; and we now come to the study 
 of the third, service , as set forth by Paul in the above 
 text. Many in the church are for the church in doctrine 
 and character, that is, they accept and possess a Christian 
 character, and believe every Christian doctrine; but they 
 never do anything for the church,—they are not for the 
 church in service. They lack the third essential, Chris¬ 
 tian service, which Paul sets out in the above. He 
 speaks first of 
 
SERVICE 
 
 145 
 
 Gifts 
 
 “ But unto each one of us was the grace given accord¬ 
 ing to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he 
 sayeth, 
 
 When he ascended on high, he led captivity, 
 
 And gave gifts unto men. 
 
 (Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also 
 descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that 
 descended is the same that ascended far above all the 
 heavens that he might fill all things.”) When Christ 
 ascended into the heavens, he left all the affairs of his 
 kingdom in the hands of his disciples; and he gave gifts, 
 or talents unto them that they might be qualified to con¬ 
 tinue the work which he had started. He spoke of this 
 himself in the parable of the Talents, saying, “ For it is 
 as a man going into another country, called his own 
 servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto 
 one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; 
 to each according to his several ability; and he went on 
 his journey.” Paul calls these gifts or talents for service 
 “ the grace,” a favour from the Lord, so Christian service 
 is more a favour than an obligation; however all are held 
 to a strict account for the use of his talents. To the one 
 that failed to use his for the benefit and glory of the Lord, 
 He said, “ Thou wicked and slothful servant, * * * 
 
 out into the outer darkness, where there shall be weeping 
 and gnashing of teeth.” There is no one in the church 
 so weak and humble that he is not expected to serve to 
 the extent of his ability; and, if he uses his one small 
 talent in faithful service of Christ and humanity, he shall 
 receive the same plaudit and reward as the five-talent 
 man, “ Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
 into the joys of thy Lord.” 
 
146 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 The Work and Workers 
 
 “ And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; 
 and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” 
 These were the workers (not officers) in the church; and 
 to each Christ gave a gift to equip and qualify him for 
 his respective work, which was defined by the meaning 
 of the word. For instance, if he was an apostle, his work 
 was that of one sent to represent Christ; if he was a 
 prophet, his work was speaking for Christ; if an evangel¬ 
 ist, his work was proclaiming the gospel of salvation 
 through Christ; if a pastor, his work was shepherding the 
 flock of Christ; and, if a teacher, his work was teaching 
 the doctrine of Christ. While these respective fields are 
 not sharply defined from each other, but rather overlap, 
 yet taken together they cover all the work to'be done in 
 the church. However, we do not have two of these 
 workers, namely, apostles and prophets, in the church 
 to-day, because their work was completed by the original 
 apostles and prophets, and recorded in the New Testa¬ 
 ment Scriptures, which, Paul says, “ thoroughly furnish 
 the man of God unto every good work,” so we do not 
 need anyone to-day to act and speak for Christ. How¬ 
 ever, some to-day claim to represent Christ; but God does 
 not “ bear witness with them by signs and wonders and 
 by manifold powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit,” which 
 were the divine credentials of the original apostles and 
 prophets, Mark 16: 17-18; and less would not be required 
 of those to-day that claim to be apostles and prophets. In 
 the absence of these divine credentials the claims of Apos¬ 
 tolic Succession and Prophetic Speaking, which are bar¬ 
 riers to Christian unity to-day, are without justification, 
 and therefore false. 
 
 But the work of evangelizing, shepherding and teach¬ 
 ing is still needed in the church to-day, so provisions were 
 
SERVICE 
 
 147 
 
 made for the continuation of these workers in the church. 
 See Titus i: 5-9; I Tim. 3:1-13; Acts 20: 17-18, 28-31; 
 II Tim. 2:1-2; Acts 8:1-4; Gal. 1:6-12. While this 
 work was primarily the work of the Elders, Deacons and 
 Evangelists, the official ministry of the church; yet there 
 were no distinct lines drawn between their work and the 
 work of other members of the church, except that of 
 oversight and leadership, which was a difference in posi¬ 
 tion more than in work. All were required, according 
 to their gift and ability, to teach, evangelize and care for 
 the flock; and all members of the church to-day are like¬ 
 wise required to help in this service. This work was not 
 intended to be monopolized by the official ministry of 
 the church; and, wherever this is done, Christian service 
 is greatly weakened; and Christian unity is hindered. All 
 to the extent of their gift and ability are expected to be 
 teachers, pastors and evangelists, as they at Jerusalem that 
 were scattered abroad by persecution went everywhere 
 preaching the word of Jesus. Some of the most effective 
 and efficient teachers, pastors and evangelists that have 
 been in the church never held an office in the church, but 
 gave themselves heartily and zealously to this service, 
 wherever and whenever the opportunity to serve pre¬ 
 sented itself. All can do this work, if only they will; 
 and there is much work to be done. “ The harvest indeed 
 is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Pray ye there¬ 
 fore the Lord of the harvest that he send forth labourers 
 into his harvest.” “ Go work to-day in my vineyards,” 
 says the Lord of the harvest, who said of himself, “ I 
 must work the works of him that sent me,” while it is 
 day, “ for night cometh, when no man can work.” And 
 Paul says, “ My beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, im¬ 
 movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for- 
 
148 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 asmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the 
 Lord” 
 
 The Goals 
 
 First, “for the perfecting of the saints” is a goal of 
 Christian service, for which the pastors and teachers in 
 the church work. They care for, feed and cultivate the 
 souls of the saints, and do everything in their power for 
 the spiritual development and perfection of “ the flock, in 
 which the Holy Spirit made them overseers.” Every 
 member enters the kingdom by birth, Jno. 3: 3-5, and is 
 “ a babe in Christ ” that must be fed first “ with milk ” 
 and then with “ solid food which is for full-grown men;” 
 and, as he develops, must be put to work and exercise in 
 the church. The church is a spiritual gymnasium (“ Ex¬ 
 ercise—gymnaze—thyself unto godliness ”), 'where the 
 soul is trained and developed. It is the school for the 
 soul, where the truth that has to do with the life, welfare 
 and destiny of the soul is taught and practised. It is a 
 spiritual garden, where “ God’s husbandmen ” cultivate 
 souls, plucking out the ugly weeds of the flesh and plant¬ 
 ing the beautiful flowers and fruits of the spirit. It is 
 God’s studio, where spiritual artists chisel away the fleshy 
 dross that covers the soul, and mould it into the beauty 
 and perfection of the likeness of God. So, for all pas¬ 
 tors and teachers in the church, who work “ for the per¬ 
 fecting of the saints,” there is the highest goal of human 
 endeavour; and they ought to realize the nature, the 
 greatness and sacredness of such a service. There is no 
 higher or more sacred calling. 
 
 Next, “ unto the work of ministering ” is another goal 
 of Christian service. In the Apostolic church there was 
 “ the ministry of tables,” “ the ministry for the relief of 
 widows,” Good Samaritan ministries, etc.; and the church 
 
SERVICE 
 
 149 
 
 to-day, as it was then, is in the midst of need on all sides, 
 for the relief of which the church is in the world. For 
 such service, even though it be little and humble, Christ 
 offers the highest reward, saying, “ Then shall the king 
 say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my 
 Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave 
 me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was 
 a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and ye clothed 
 me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and 
 ye came unto me.” The world has always been full of 
 such need; and the stupendous task of relieving the same, 
 which was placed upon his disciples, calls for the active 
 service of all in the church. This service begins with 
 those nearest at hand, and extends to all that one can 
 reach; and there is no service that brings greater returns 
 of joy and peace here and hereafter. 
 
 “ Unto the building up of the body of Christ,” is an¬ 
 other goal of Christian service, which is largely the work 
 of the evangelists in the church. They labour under the 
 great commission of Christ, “ Go into all the world, and 
 preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, 
 and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth 
 shall be condemned,” or, “ Go ye therefore, and make 
 disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of 
 the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teach¬ 
 ing them to observe all things whatsoever I have com¬ 
 manded you.” Every soul saved, or every disciple made, 
 is a spiritual stone built into the Holy Temple of the 
 Lord, the church, “ Ye, as living stones, are built up a 
 spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spirit¬ 
 ual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 
 To the builders of the church Paul writes, “ According 
 to the grace of God, which was given unto me, as a wise 
 
150 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 master-builder, I laid a foundation; and another buildeth 
 thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth 
 thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than 
 which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if any man 
 buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, 
 wood, hay, stubble; each man’s work shall be made mani¬ 
 fest ; for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed 
 in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work 
 of what sort it is. If any man’s work shall abide which 
 he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s 
 work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself 
 shall be saved; yet so as through fire.” However the 
 building of this world temple is too big a task for a few 
 professional evangelists. It is the task of the whole 
 church; all must be preachers of the gospel, as they were 
 in the beginning at Jerusalem; and all must work to¬ 
 gether “ unto the building up (the completion) of the 
 body of Christ,”—a goal for Christian service that calls 
 for the united efforts of all Christians. 
 
 The Ideals 
 
 First, “ till we all attain unto the unity of the faith and 
 of the knowledge of the Son of God,” is an ideal for 
 Christian service. Paul mentions this first, because 
 Christian unity is the major theme of his letter. His 
 statement of this ideal is very definite and specific, and 
 shows clearly for what unity Christians should work. It 
 is “ the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the 
 Son of God,” (not a unity of a faith and knowledge of a 
 Son of God). Everybody knows, and believes something 
 about Jesus Christ; but Christian faith and knowledge 
 are a definite and specific faith and knowledge,—“ one 
 faith ” and knowledge; and Christian unity requires that 
 all believe and know the same things about Him. This 
 
SERVICE 
 
 151 
 
 faith and knowledge were “ once for all delivered to the 
 saints,” and recorded in the New Testament Scriptures. 
 For all to attain unto the unity of this faith and knowl¬ 
 edge as herein contained and expressed is a high ideal for 
 the church, in fact, one that the Apostolic church did not 
 fully reach, because Christ had not been fully revealed 
 and comprehended by all in the church. Accordingly, in 
 the beginning of his letter Paul prays “ that the God of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give 
 unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowl¬ 
 edge of him,” which shows that “ the faith and the 
 knowledge of the Son of God ” were no easy attainment. 
 It is perhaps easier to-day, because He is more fully re¬ 
 vealed in the New Testament than He was to the Apos¬ 
 tolic church; however, the New Testament does not 
 reveal Him in all His fullness and glory, so to reach this 
 ideal of faith and knowledge completely we would have 
 to have a perfect faith and absolute knowledge of Jesus 
 Christ, which is beyond the reach and grasp of human 
 souls and minds; but we can know and believe in Him 
 as we see Him revealed in the New Testament, and 
 thereby press on toward this ideal of faith and knowl¬ 
 edge ; and, if all do this we shall thereby “ attain unto the 
 unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of 
 God,” which is Christian unity here; and, as we grow 
 and develop, and finally pass over to be with Christ, we 
 shall “ know Him as He isand our minds and souls 
 shall embrace the whole Christ, the Son of God. 
 
 Second, “ unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of 
 the stature of the fullness of Christ,” is the ethical ideal 
 of all Christian service, which every member of the 
 church strives to realize. Such a high ideal lies far 
 beyond human reach; but all can do as Paul, who, in 
 speaking of his efforts to realize this ideal in his life, said, 
 
152 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 “ Not that I have already obtained, or am already made 
 perfect; but I press on, if so be I may lay hold on that for 
 which I also was laid hold on by Jesus Christ, Brethren, 
 I count myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, 
 forgetting the things that are past and stretching forward 
 to the things that are before, I press on toward the goal 
 unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. ,, 
 This is indeed “ a high calling,” or ideal, in fact the high¬ 
 est that can be conceived by the human mind, as even 
 infidels have confessed, as follows: 
 
 “ Beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christ, as 
 it gleams and shines forth in the Gospels, men will never 
 pass.”— Goethe. 
 
 “ The coming ages will proclaim that among the sons 
 of men there is none born greater than Jesus.”— Renan. 
 
 “ The ethical principles of Christ will never be im¬ 
 proved upon.”— Payne. 
 
 “ If Christ were followed by his disciples, I would be¬ 
 lieve on him.”— Ingersoll. 
 
 But, if the disciples of Christ could follow Him com¬ 
 pletely and fully, He would no longer be the ideal of the 
 race ; but, as He is, He is the ideal of all human endeavour, 
 which all strive to realize. He is the ideal, toward which 
 the pastors and teachers work in their service of others 
 in the church, endeavouring to develop each member 
 “ unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature 
 of the fullness of Christ.” 
 
 The realization of this ideal is a matter of Christian 
 growth into spiritual manhood, “ that we may be no 
 longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with 
 every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in crafti¬ 
 ness after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love 
 may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even 
 
SERVICE 
 
 153 
 
 Christ/’ This growth is slow and natural; but it must 
 be cultivated; and herein lies the ideal of Christian 
 service. 
 
 The ideal of the church as a whole is stated by Paul 
 as follows: “ From whom all the body fitly framed and 
 knit together, through that which every joint supplieth, 
 according to the working in due measure of each several 
 part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building 
 up of itself in love.” This ideal is expressed by the figure 
 or illustration of the human body with every member and 
 part, “ fitly framed and knit together ” and working in 
 perfect unison, harmony and love, and thereby building 
 itself up in growth and progress. The growth and 
 progress of the human body is natural, active, harmoni¬ 
 ous, co-operative, unified, progressive, and everything 
 else that is necessary to make the church as a body or 
 whole what it should be. The human body is ideal in all 
 respects, because God made it so; and it is the pattern 
 for the body of Christ, the church. And “ As Moses is 
 warned of God, when he is about to make the Tabernacle 
 (the church in the wilderness), See that thou makest ail 
 things according to the pattern that was shown thee in 
 the mount.” So Paul warns us; and the pattern that 
 is shown us is the human body. He cautions that the 
 church be given the right head, “ even Christ ” and that 
 all members work in harmony and unity for the increase 
 and building up of the body in love. See also I Cor. 
 12: 12-31, where Paul elaborates this ideal. Such an 
 ideal calls for the active service of every member of the 
 church, and unites all in active, faithful loving service 
 for the increase and development of the church. This is 
 Christian unity, which is the major theme of Paul’s 
 letter. 
 
154 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 The paragraph of Paul’s letter, which we have analyzed 
 and studied under the above heads, sets forth the prac¬ 
 tical side of Christian unity,—unity in Christian service. 
 And after all is said, this is the very heart of Christian 
 unity. If Christian unity does not mean this, and pro¬ 
 duce this, it is nothing. “ We are God’s co-workers, or 
 workers together for God,” says Paul; and this is Chris¬ 
 tian unity in its real and final meaning. Many seem to 
 think of Christian unity as existing in the minds and 
 hearts of Christians, as being a subjective state (and it 
 does have its essential subjective conditions) ; but Chris¬ 
 tian unity itself is more a unity of hands and tongues 
 than of heads and hearts. Accordingly, there is Chris¬ 
 tian unity in any community, where all the Christians of 
 the same are working together for God in order, harmony 
 and love; and without such a unity of service there can 
 be no Christian unity. Wherefore, Paul teaches that all 
 in the church must be for the church in active Christian 
 service, and thereby realize practical Christian unity. 
 
XIII 
 
 CONDUCT 
 
 P AUL devotes nearly all of the remainder of his 
 letter to Christian conduct, showing that all must 
 be for the church in conduct, or, in other words, 
 must live such lives that their conduct will be becoming 
 Christians and for the church. Wherefore Paul writes, 
 “ Look therefore carefully how ye walk,” because “ ye 
 are an epistle of Christ, known and read of all men.” No 
 one can be for Christ in theory and against him in prac¬ 
 tice. He must make his conduct conform to his profes¬ 
 sion, otherwise his religion is not Christian; and his 
 church membership is libelous of the church of Christ. 
 
 The reason for this is evident. Conduct, unbecoming a 
 Christian, in a member of the church cancels his claim 
 of Christian character, repudiates his stand for Christian 
 doctrine, and makes hypocrisy of his service in the 
 church.' Christian conduct is the final test of all Chris- 
 tion profession. It matters not how much he admires and 
 professes to have Christian character, how strongly he 
 believes and defends Christian doctrine, and how dili¬ 
 gently he engages in Christian service; it will profit him 
 nothing, unless he lives the Christian life. He may truly 
 accept the holy character, he may valiantly stand for the 
 holy doctrine, and he may actively engage in the holy 
 service; yet, unless all this finds expression in the holy 
 life, his whole Christian profession is a sham and a sub¬ 
 terfuge. True Christian conduct, according to Christ and 
 Paul, is the final sine qua non of a disciple of Christ, and 
 
 155 
 
156 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 is required of all that profess to be in and for the 
 church. 
 
 There was great need of teaching Christian conduct 
 in the Apostolic church, because the standards of living 
 in that age were very low. Even the prevailing religions 
 of that day, which for the most part were a deification 
 of the fleshly appetites and passions, were degrading and 
 demoralizing; and there were few moral restraints placed 
 upon the people in any way. They became so desolute 
 that “ God gave them up unto vile passions ” and 
 “ a reprobate mind,” because “ they refused to have God 
 in their knowledge and lives.” Paul’s moral indictment 
 of that corrupt age in the first chapter of his letter to the 
 Romans is revolting and almost unbelievable; yet all his¬ 
 tory of this age shows it to be true. It was into such a 
 moral environment that Christianity was born; and it 
 was from such degraded society that the early church 
 drew its members. It was a herculean task, a moral 
 miracle, to lift people from such depths of moral degrada¬ 
 tion and commit and keep them true to Christian stand¬ 
 ards of living. It necessarily required much teaching, 
 exhortation and examples of Christian living; and yet, 
 notwithstanding the efforts of the Apostles to make and 
 keep the church morally upright and clean, there were 
 now and then gross immoralities, such as incest, fornica¬ 
 tion, drunkenness, etc,, in the churcji. However, on ac¬ 
 count of the wicked environment of the church, Christian 
 patience and toleration were shown toward those that 
 fell; and every effort was made to restore such to Chris¬ 
 tian living. See I Cor. 5 and II Cor. 2: 5-11. To this 
 end Paul wrote Gal. 6: 1-5; and all his letters abound in 
 commands and exhortations to Christian living. 
 
 Christ was no less strict in his moral requirements. 
 The holy life, Christian conduct, was the final test of dis- 
 
CONDUCT 
 
 157 
 
 cipleship. To those that made professions of orthodoxy 
 in religion, saying, “ Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy 
 in thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and 
 by thy name do many mighty works?” He said, “De¬ 
 part from me, ye that work iniquity.” In no other way 
 can we “ let our lights shine ” truly for Christ and His 
 church. Christian conduct is the flaming torch that lights 
 the way of those in the darkness of this world who would 
 “ glorify the Father who is in heaven.” On the other 
 hand, nothing can injure the church more than the false 
 living of its members. In fact, no one can be for the 
 church, and live a life contrary to the moral and ethical 
 standards of the same. 
 
 For this reason Paul sets out at length and in detail 
 Christian conduct, or conduct that will be for the church. 
 He sets forth both what members of the church should 
 do and what they should not do. He teaches first the 
 becoming conduct of Christians in general, and then the 
 becoming conduct of the specific classes in the church, 
 such as husbands, wives, children and servants. His 
 teaching is so simple and clear that it needs no comment 
 or elaboration, so it is merely quoted under the follow¬ 
 ing heads: 
 
 (i) The Conduct of Christians in General: 
 
 “ This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that 
 ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the 
 vanity of their mind, being darkened in their under¬ 
 standing, alienated from the life of God, because of the 
 ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of 
 their heart; who being past feeling gave themselves up 
 to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greedi¬ 
 ness, but ye did not so learn Christ; if so be that ye 
 heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is 
 in Jesus; that ye put away, as concerning your former 
 
158 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 manner of life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after 
 the lusts of deceit; and that ye be renewed in the spirit 
 of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God 
 hath been created in righteousness and holiness of 
 truth. 
 
 “ Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye the 
 truth each one with his neighbour: for we are mem¬ 
 bers one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let 
 not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give 
 place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more; 
 but rather let him labour, working with his hands the 
 thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give 
 to him that hath need. Let no corrupt speech proceed 
 out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying 
 as the need may be, that it may give grace'to them that 
 hear. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom 
 ye were sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all 
 bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and 
 railing, be put away from you, with all malice: and be 
 ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each 
 other, even as God also in Christ forgave you. 
 
 “ Be ye therefore imitators of God as beloved chil¬ 
 dren ; and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, 
 and gave himself up for us, and offering and a sacrifice 
 to God for an odour of a sweet smell. 
 
 “ But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetous¬ 
 ness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh 
 saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, 
 which are not befitting: rather giving of thanks. For 
 this ye know of a surety that no fornicator, nor un¬ 
 clean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolator, 
 hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 
 Let no man deceive you with empty words: for be¬ 
 cause of these things cometh the wrath of God upon 
 
CONDUCT 
 
 159 
 
 the sons of disobedience. Be ye partakers therefore 
 with them; for ye were once darkness, but are now 
 light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the 
 fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness 
 and truth), proving what is well pleasing unto the 
 Lord; and have no fellowship with the unfruitful 
 works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; for 
 the things that are done by them in secret is a shame 
 even to speak of. But all things when they are re¬ 
 proved are made manifest by the light; for everything 
 that is made manifest is light. Wherefore he sayeth, 
 Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, 
 and Christ shall shine upon thee. 
 
 “ Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as un¬ 
 wise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days 
 are evil. Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand 
 what the will of the Lord is. And be ye not drunker* 
 with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit l 
 speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spir¬ 
 itual songs, singing and making melody with your heark 
 to the Lord: giving thanks always for all things in th£ 
 name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even th£ 
 Father; subjecting yourselves one to another in the 
 fear of Christ. 
 
 (2) Conduct of Wives and Husbands: 
 
 “ Wives, be in subjection unto your husbands, as 
 unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the 
 wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being 
 himself the saviour of the body. But as the church 
 is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their 
 husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, 
 even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself 
 up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it 
 by the washing of water with the word, that he might 
 
160 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 present the church to himself a glorious church, not 
 having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it 
 should be holy and without blemish. Even so ought 
 husbands also to love their own wives as their own 
 bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself; 
 for no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth it 
 and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church; be¬ 
 cause we are members of his body. For this cause 
 shall a man leave his mother and father, and shall 
 cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. 
 This mystery is great; but I speak in regard of Christ 
 and of the church. Nevertheless do ye also severally 
 love each one his own wife even as himself; and let 
 the wife see that she fear her husband.” 
 
 ( 3 ) Conduct of Children and Parents: 
 
 “ Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this 
 is right. Honour thy father and mother (which is the 
 first commandment with promise), that it may be well 
 with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 
 And ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath; 
 but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of 
 the Lord.” 
 
 (4) Conduct of Servants and Masters: 
 
 “ Servants, be obedient unto them that according to 
 the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in 
 singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; with good 
 will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; 
 knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, 
 the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether 
 he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same 
 things unto them, and forbear threatening, knowing 
 that he who is both their master and yours is in 
 heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him.” 
 There are two lives that run through the whole of 
 
 v 
 
CONDUCT 
 
 161 
 
 Paul’s teaching on Christian conduct, namely, the life of 
 “ the old man,” the man of flesh, and the life of “ the 
 new man,” the man of spirit, which is Christian life. 
 Christian life is a “ new ” life,—“ We arise to walk in 
 newness of life;” and this new life of the spirit is given 
 by contrast with the old life of the flesh, which is forbid¬ 
 den Christians. The conduct of “the old man,” the things 
 that Christians must not do, and the conduct of “ the new 
 man,” the things that Christians must do, as gathered 
 from Paul’s statement above, are as follows: 
 
 The conduct of “the old 
 man ”: 
 
 Lying; anger ; stealing; cor¬ 
 rupt speech; grieving the 
 Holy Spirit; bitterness; 
 wrath; clamour; railing; 
 malice ; fornication ; un¬ 
 cleanness ; coveteousness; 
 filthiness ; foolish talking; 
 jesting; drunkenness; eye- 
 service ; threatening; etc. 
 
 The conduct of “ the new 
 man ”: 
 
 Telling the truth; work; 
 almsgiving; edifying 
 speech ; kindness; tender¬ 
 heartedness ; forgiveness; 
 thanksgiving; righteous¬ 
 ness; truth; praising God; 
 love; obedience to parents 
 and masters; honour of 
 parents; etc. 
 
 It is evident from the above that Christian conduct is 
 just the old question of right and wrong, sin and right¬ 
 eousness. There are only two lives to live, the evil and 
 the good; only two masters to serve, the corrupt Prince 
 of this world and the holy Prince of life; and only two 
 classes of people in the world, saints and sinners, the 
 world and the church; and everyone must choose and fol¬ 
 low the one or the other in his life, and conform his con¬ 
 duct according to his choice. Christian conduct consists 
 of “ Abhorring that which is evil and clinging to that 
 which is good.” “ Let not sin therefore reign in your 
 mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof; 
 neither present your members unto sin as instruments of 
 unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as 
 alive from the dead, and your members as instruments 
 
162 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 of righteousness unto God.” This is Christian conduct; 
 and, when all members of the church do this, there is 
 unity of conduct in the church, which is a vital part of 
 Christian unity. 
 
 Christian conduct has a vital bearing on Christian unity 
 in many ways. Christ recognized this in his prayer for 
 the unity of his disciples. “ I pray not that thou shouldst 
 take them from the world, but thou shouldst keep them 
 from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I 
 am not of the world.” Christian conduct is one of the 
 things that distinguishes the church from the world, and 
 makes the disciples of Christ one in him. Furthermore, 
 there is nothing that is more disturbing and divisive of 
 the church from within than the “ disorderly walk ” of 
 members; and, on the other hand, when all are united in 
 living the Christian life, each helping the other to shun 
 the evil and choose the good, there is no stronger tie and 
 bond of unity. The unity of kindred lives as expressed 
 in the unity of Christian conduct is an essential of Chris¬ 
 tian unity as taught by Christ and the Apostle Paul; and 
 all in the church must, therefore, be for the church in 
 Christian conduct, and thereby unite for Christ and 
 righteousness. 
 
XIV 
 
 BATTLE 
 
 F INALLY, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of 
 his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye 
 may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For 
 our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against 
 the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers 
 of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the 
 heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armour of God, 
 that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and, having done 
 all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with 
 truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and 
 having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of 
 peace; withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall 
 be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take 
 the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the 
 word of God; with all prayer and supplication praying at all 
 seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance 
 and supplication for all the saints, and on my behalf, that utter¬ 
 ance may be given unto me in opening my mouth, to make known 
 with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an 
 ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly as I ought 
 to speak. But that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, 
 Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, 
 shall make known to you all things: who I have sent unto you 
 for this very purpose, that ye may know our state, that ye may 
 comfort your hearts.” Eph. 6:10-22. 
 
 In the above Paul sets forth Christian battle, or war¬ 
 fare, which is the last essential of church membership. 
 The preceding essentials, Christian character, doctrine, 
 service and conduct, which have been studied in the pre¬ 
 ceding chapters, make Christian warfare necessary, be¬ 
 cause they all involve effort and struggle. The develop¬ 
 ment of Christian character is a high endeavour that calls 
 
 for the fartherest reaches of the soul; the defense of 
 
 H63 
 
164 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 Christian doctrine is an undertaking that requires all the 
 abilities of the mind; the work of Christian service is a 
 task that requires all the powers and faculties of the body 
 to fulfill; and the living of the Christian life, or Chris¬ 
 tian conduct is an effort that demands all the strength of 
 the body, mind and soul. All this means effort and strug¬ 
 gle,—a battle wherein great spiritual strength, strong 
 moral courage and the best religious training and equip¬ 
 ment are required. Without such a battle Christian char¬ 
 acter would be low, Christian doctrine weak, Christian 
 service ineffective and Christian conduct deficient. Chris¬ 
 tian battle, as set forth by Paul in the above, is the 
 essential means of realizing all the other essentials of 
 Christianity. 
 
 However, there are few in the church that seem to 
 realize that the church is a militant institution. They 
 seem to look upon it as a place for spiritual rest and 
 recreation; but nothing could have been further from 
 Paul’s conception of the church; and the Old Testament 
 prophets say, “ Woe unto those that are at ease in Zion.” 
 “ Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the 
 eternal life, whereunto thou wast called, and didst make 
 the good confession before many witnesses,” wrote Paul 
 to Timothy. While the teaching of Christ and His 
 Apostles was against all physical and fleshly warfare; yet 
 they enjoined a spiritual warfare, in which every disciple 
 must be a soldier. While Christ commanded Peter to 
 “ put up the sword,” and said to Pilate, “ My kingdom 
 is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, 
 then would my servants fight, that I should not be de¬ 
 livered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from 
 hence;” yet He also said, “ Think not that I came to send 
 peace on the earth; I came not to send peace, but a 
 sword;” and “ Now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, 
 
BATTLE 
 
 165 
 
 and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell 
 his cloak, and buy a sword.” These statements are not 
 contradictory, but refer to two kinds of warfare, the one 
 carnal and the other spiritual. The church in the world 
 is the Lord’s visible army, which is organized to fight His 
 battles. It is set for the overthrow and defeat of all 
 the forces of evil in the world, which Paul says are 
 mighty. “ For our wrestling is not against flesh and 
 blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, 
 against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the 
 spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.” This 
 warfare began in heaven, when the prince of evil was 
 cast out, and has continued on earth from the Garden of 
 Eden throughout all the ages of the past, and will con¬ 
 tinue, until the final and complete victory over Satan, 
 when he and all his hosts will be bound and cast into the 
 abyss and lake of fire and brimstone. Rev. 20. 
 
 Every one, therefore, that comes into the church comes 
 for battle, comes as soldier of Jesus Christ to “ stand at 
 Harmageddon, and do battle for the Lord.” Church 
 membership, then, is no child’s play, but a man’s battle, 
 where courageous souls fight for God against Satan, for 
 the right against the wrong, for the church against the 
 world. Every one in the church must, therefore, be for 
 the church in this mighty battle. There is no neutral 
 ground. “ He that is not for me is against me,” says 
 Christ, the Captain of our salvation. The clarion call, 
 “Who is on the Lord’s side?”, is sounded forth to all; 
 and all that answer “ I ” by coming into His church, the 
 army of the Lord, must stand for the church in all its 
 efforts and battles. 
 
 Such a warfare requires great spiritual strength, strong 
 moral courage and the best religious training and equip¬ 
 ment. Wherefore, Paul says, “ Be strong in the Lord, 
 
166 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 and in the power of his might.’’ A mere strength of 
 body and mind will not avail. There must be strength 
 of soul, and that, too, “ in the Lord, and in the strength 
 of his might,”—that strength that was in Paul when he 
 wrote, “ I can do all things through him that strengthen- 
 eth me.” As to one’s religious training and equipment 
 for Christian warfare, Paul adds, “ Put on the whole 
 armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the 
 wiles of the devil. * * * Wherefore take up the 
 
 whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in 
 the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, there¬ 
 fore.” Paul’s repeated and emphasized command “ to 
 stand ” shows that steadfastness is the most important 
 trait in a Christian soldier as it is in all soldiers. That 
 standing or staying quality which enables a soldier to 
 stand by his post of duty at all hazards is the first essen¬ 
 tial in a good soldier; and all soldiers must be trained and 
 disciplined to this end. Hence Paul’s oft-repeated com¬ 
 mand, “ Be ye steadfast, immovable,” in every letter that 
 he wrote to Christians. Unless one will stand by the 
 guns he is worthless as a soldier; and this is especially 
 true of a Christian soldier. It takes moral courage and 
 spiritual bravery to stand out “ against the wiles of the 
 devil ” and “ against the principalities, against the powers, 
 against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the 
 spiritual hosts in heavenly places.” Often, in comparison 
 with such array of powers and forces of the devil, the 
 army of the Lord seems small and weak; but be it re¬ 
 membered that “ God and one more ” constitute a major¬ 
 ity, and are able to win the victory, provided that one 
 stands loyally by his post of duty. “ Jehovah the Lord 
 God of hosts will fight for you,” is just as true of God’s 
 people to-day as it has ever been; and He has never lost 
 a battle, when his people stood obediently and loyally by 
 
BATTLE 
 
 167 
 
 Him. That Christian soldiers may be able “ to stand,” 
 Paul commands all “ to put on the whole armour of 
 God.” 
 
 The Christian armour, the religious equipment of the 
 Christian soldier, is, therefore, of paramount importance. 
 Accordingly, Paul prescribes and describes each piece by 
 comparison to the armour of the Roman soldier, with 
 which all were familiar. First there was the girdle or 
 belt about the loins to give the soldier strength, agility 
 and confidence, which, Paul says, is “ truth.” Truth 
 strengthens and enables the Christian to use his powers, 
 and thereby gives him confidence in battle. Without this 
 divine truth the mightiest are helpless in their fight against 
 error and evil; but with it the weak are mighty to the 
 tearing down of the strongholds of the adversary. 
 
 Next, there was the breastplate,—a heavy metal coat 
 or jacket to protect the body, which, for the Christian 
 soldier, is “ righteousness.” There is no protection for 
 the soul so impenetrable as true righteousness. It re¬ 
 pulses the attacks of the enemy, and awes them into 
 retreat. Even the devil fears to strike a righteous man; 
 and, even if he does, he cannot hurt the soul that is 
 clothed in righteousness. Christ’s shield of righteousness 
 often protected him from the murderous attacks of his 
 enemies, who shrank back from his holy presence. The 
 white light from his perfect holiness blinded and awed 
 them into retreat and flight. When the hired murderer 
 was about to strike Cato, he withdrew, when he heard 
 the words of the righteous man, “ Dost thou strike 
 Cato ? ” Everyone, though he be a demon, fears to strike 
 the righteous; and, even when they do strike, they are 
 unable to wound the soul. 
 
 Next were the sandals or shoes for the feet, which 
 enabled the soldier to stand and advance over difficulties. 
 
168 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 This in the Christian is “ the preparation of the gospel of 
 peace.’' Preparation in the knowledge and proclamation 
 of the gospel enables the Christian to progress, because 
 the gospel is the good news that brings recruits and addi¬ 
 tions into the army of the Lord, and thereby strengthens 
 and advances the cause of the right against the wrong. 
 For this reason it was written, “ How beautiful are the 
 feet that bring glad tidings of good things! ” 
 
 Also, there was the shield, a large metal disk, worn on 
 the arm, to protect any part of the body in danger, which 
 was the most important piece of the defensive weapons. 
 This is “ faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all 
 the fiery darts of the evil one." No arrow, however 
 sharp and well aimed, can strike the man that holds “ the 
 shield of faith;" however, without faith he is'vulnerable 
 at all points. Every soldier must believe in his leader; 
 and, whenever an army loses faith in its head, it is lost. 
 ■Likewise the Christian soldier must hold a believing atti¬ 
 tude toward God and Christ, the Captain of his salvation; 
 otherwise he cannot “ fight the good fight of the faith;" 
 but will be lost in the hostile attacks of infidelity. While 
 Christian faith is reasonable, reason cannot take the place 
 of faith; and, whenever any one doffs “ the shield of 
 faith " for the shield of reason, he is undone, because he 
 has “ the cart before the horse," or rather the shield at 
 his back where it is not needed. Reason is a weapon to 
 be used behind the shield of faith; and, when thus used, 
 it is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Christian 
 soldier. When God said, “ Come now, let us reason to¬ 
 gether," He did not mean for man to cast aside the shield 
 of faith for reason; but He invites man to a reasonable 
 faith, or a “ reasonable service," which, Paul says, is 
 expected of every Christian soldier. Rom. 12:1. There 
 is no antagonism whatever between Christian faith and 
 
BATTLE 
 
 169 
 
 reason; nor nothing about either, when rightly seen, to 
 prevent the Christian soldier from using both together in 
 his battle for God against Satan. 
 
 Furthermore, “ take the helmet of salvation,” which 
 was a metal hat or covering for the head, and bore the 
 emblem or ensign of the cause for which the soldier 
 fought. This in Christian warfare is “ salvation.” No 
 harm can come to the saved; and the salvation of the 
 world is the great cause for which the Christian soldier 
 fights; and this salvation he wears as a helmet with an 
 ensign for the salvation of the world. 
 
 Then, “ the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 
 God.” This is the only offensive weapon of the Chris¬ 
 tian soldier; but he needs no other. Christ used no 
 other; and he repulsed every attack of the devil, Mat. 
 4: 1-11. No one can withstand the withering strokes of 
 the word of God as “ it is written.” “ For the word of 
 God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged 
 sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and 
 spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern 
 the thoughts and intents of the hearts.” With silch a 
 weapon skillfully used the Christian soldier is invin¬ 
 cible. 
 
 Lastly, there must be prayer in the heart and upon the 
 lips of the Christian soldier,—“ with all prayer and sup¬ 
 plication, praying at all seasons in the Spirit.” Soldiers 
 in carnal warfare usually fight with curses in their heart 
 and upon their lips; but Christian soldiers must pray as 
 they fight. They must pray not only for the cause for 
 which they fight, but for their comrades in battle,—“ on 
 my behalf,” says Paul. It is said that God had to remove 
 Stonewall Jackson, before the Confederacy could be de¬ 
 feated, because he prayed before and as he fought; and 
 others were praying for him. There is no way to defeat 
 
170 
 
 ALL FOR THE CHURCH 
 
 a praying soldier, because prayer brings him into touch 
 with the power of God that breaks down all opposition. 
 Prayer is a divine electrical power that fills, permeates 
 and charges the army of God with the very power of God, 
 which is invincible. Christian prayer also gives confi¬ 
 dence, and makes one bold. The Christian soldier must 
 fight and speak “ with boldness, as I ought to speak,” says 
 Paul. 
 
 In the closing words of Paul’s letter, which are of a 
 personal nature, there is a recognition and declaration of 
 the need of unity in the army of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 “ But that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, 
 Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the 
 Lord, shall make known to you all things: whom I have 
 sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye' may know 
 our state, that he may comfort you.” Though Paul was 
 far away and in prison, nevertheless he felt that he was 
 still a part of the Lord’s fighting forces at Ephesus, and 
 that he and they were in an indissoluble union for the 
 cause of Christ; and for this reason they ought to know 
 about each other, so he had sent Tychicus as a personal 
 connecting link between the two. Thus Paul by letters 
 and personal messages brought the church in his day into 
 vital touch and unity with all Christian forces every¬ 
 where, and thereby kept the church united. This unity, 
 as appears from all his letters, was close, active and sym¬ 
 pathetic; and through such a unity of knowledge, action 
 and sympathy the church triumphed over the forces of 
 evil. 
 
 Accordingly, the great need in the church, the army 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ to-day, is such a unity as existed 
 in the Apostolic church. Centuries ago the church 
 divided into separate camps, and has been fighting ever 
 since in separate armies. The army of the Lord has been 
 
BATTLE 
 
 171 
 
 divided and subdivided, until to-day there are over two 
 hundred separate and distinct parts, all fighting for the 
 same cause, when they are not engaged in fighting each 
 other. Could there be a greater farce and travesty of 
 a great cause? No wonder, then, that the church has 
 fought a losing battle against the forces of evil. No 
 army can be victorious when divided into disjointed parts, 
 which often cancel and counteract the work and influence 
 of each other. This was shown to be true even in the 
 late world war, where there were only four or five sepa¬ 
 rate armies fighting for a common cause. But, when they 
 all united under the leadership of Gen. Foch, victory 
 began to come their way; and soon the victory was com¬ 
 plete. It seems that spiritual soldiers fighting for eternal 
 things ought to have as much sense and love for their 
 cause as carnal soldiers fighting for this world and the 
 things thereof. Are “ the sons of this world for their 
 own generation wiser than the sons of light ? ” It must 
 be confessed that it does appear so in many cases; but 
 surely the Christian forces will soon find their way into 
 a united army of their common Lord and Captain of their 
 salvation. God hasten the day when it shall be so. 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
XV 
 
 VALEDICTORY SUMMARY 
 
 P EACE be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God 
 the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with 
 all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love 
 incorruptible.” 6:23-24. 
 
 The above is more than a formal, conventional valedic¬ 
 tory. While the letter conforms to the conventionalities 
 of the Apostolic age, yet every word of the same is 
 fraught with meaning; and no part of the letter contains 
 greater significance with respect to Christian unity than 
 the close. In the above valedictory, Paul summarizes 
 much of his teaching on unity, which he had elaborated 
 in the body of the letter. He crowds many of the essen¬ 
 tials of unity into these brief farewell words, as if he 
 would thereby impress and indelibly stamp the same upon 
 the minds and hearts of all Christians. Every significant 
 word and phrase reveal an essential truth of Christian 
 unity. 
 
 First, “ Peace be to the brethren.” This defines what 
 Christian unity is. It is peace among brethren. Not a 
 static, stagnant peace that is born of indifference and in¬ 
 dolence, but an active working peace that fills all the 
 days and hours with Christian work and worship such as 
 Paul had outlined in his letter. Such a peace as is to be 
 found in the busy beehive, where all the members of the 
 colony work together in peace and harmony for the com¬ 
 mon cause. While the church is the army of the Lord, 
 and is set for the defeat and overthrow of the forces of 
 Satan, there must be no fighting within its own ranks; it 
 
 175 
 
176 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 must be at peace with itself that it may win the victory 
 over the enemy. Whenever peace among the brethren 
 is lacking, and they begin to fight each other, as has often 
 been the case, the cause of Satan flourishes, and the 
 church of Christ is put to open shame and defeat before 
 the world. Accordingly, Christ prayed that his disciples 
 might be “ one/’ or at peace with each other, and thereby 
 unite against the common foe and for the common cause. 
 For this peace to be effective it must begin with the 
 individual member, and extend throughout the whole 
 church. Each member must be at peace with himself 
 before he can be at peace with his brethren. There must 
 be that inner calm of the soul that comes from the adjust¬ 
 ment of all things within to the stress of all things with¬ 
 out, which Christ alone can give. “ Peace I leave with 
 you; my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, 
 give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither 
 let it be fearful.” When this peace that “ passeth all un¬ 
 derstanding ” pervades the church; and it moves forward 
 to do the will of God on earth, this is the ideal of Chris¬ 
 tian unity. Wherefore, Paul prays in the closing of his 
 letter, “ Peace be to the brethren.” 
 
 Furthermore, “ the brethren ” defines the scope of 
 Christian unity. Christian unity was not intended to 
 include the whole human race nor all religious fraterni¬ 
 ties of the earth, as some seem to think and teach, but 
 “ the brethren ” only. This Christian fraternity is set 
 forth under many appellatives in the Scriptures, such as 
 “ the disciples,” “ the saints,” “ the children of God,” 
 “ the household of the faith,” “ an elect race, a royal 
 priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own posses¬ 
 sion,” etc. Any plan for unity that transcends or falls 
 short of the scope of these appellatives of the church of 
 Christ is, therefore, fundamentally wrong. One of the 
 
VALEDICTORY SUMMARY 
 
 17T 
 
 great difficulties of Christian unity is to stay within the 
 proper bounds of these words. Some liberalists are dis¬ 
 posed to go beyond and include more than these terms 
 admit; and other narrow sectarians are inclined to draw 
 the lines of demarkation far within these boundaries of 
 Christian brotherhood. “ The brethren,” no less, no more, 
 were those that Paul sought to unite. 
 
 “ Love with faith,” or, as Paul states the same in his 
 letter to the Galatians, “ faith working through love,” is 
 the great essential of Christian unity. These two words, 
 “ faith and love,” carry us back to the beginning of this 
 study, where it was shown that love is the great essen¬ 
 tial motive-power that makes Christian unity possible and 
 that faith is the divine sight and reasonable intelligence 
 that makes it practicable. See Chapters II and III of 
 Introduction. Love gives the hope, the vision; and faith 
 leads the way to a practical realization of the same. Love 
 and faith, working thus together, can do anything, or at 
 least can accomplish any task that Christ assigned his 
 disciples, even their unity. Love and faith are the two 
 great sine qua nons of Christian unity, wherefore Paul 
 puts them in the last words of his letter for the unity of 
 the church, praying that “ love with faith ” may be in all 
 the brethren. 
 
 “ From God the Father,”—God the Father is the 
 spiritual foundation of Christian unity. The universal 
 fatherhood of God, from which the universal brotherhood 
 of man is a logical deduction, is the great fundamental 
 truth underlying Christian unity. Christ continually em¬ 
 phasized this truth as the foundation of his religion; 
 and Paul built upon the same in establishing the church 
 and outlining the principles for the unity of the same. 
 As long as “ God the Father of all, who is over all, and 
 through all, and in all, from whom every family in heaven 
 
178 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 and earth is named,” is kept in mind, the church, the 
 family of God, cannot disintegrate and separate into war¬ 
 ring factions; but all will be drawn together around the 
 common Father, who loves all His children alike, and 
 desires that all unite for the welfare and upbuilding of 
 the divine family on earth. 
 
 “ And the Lord Jesus Christ,”—the Lordship of Jesus 
 Christ is another great fundamental truth of Christianity 
 that must be accepted and conformed to in order to have 
 Christian unity. Any unity that is not centered in Jesus 
 Christ cannot be Christian unity. Christian unity is 
 Christo-centric in authority, in substance, in name, in 
 form, in purpose, in scope, and in every other essential 
 respect. In fact, the acknowledging and conforming to 
 the Lordship of Jesus Christ is the only way to make any¬ 
 thing Christian. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is the only 
 authoritative seal and stamp that proves a thing to be 
 truly Christian. Without this nothing could be Christian; 
 Christian unity would be an empty, meaningless impos¬ 
 sibility; but to all those that accept and conform to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ everything is Christian; and Christian 
 unity is an easy, practicable step, because by following 
 Him we come into unity. The Apostle Paul in all his 
 preaching and writing never lost sight of this guiding 
 star, “ the day-star from on high,” the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who, according to the first Christian prophet, “ shall visit 
 us, to shine upon them that sit in darkness and the 
 shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of 
 peace.” He is the only way of peace and unity for the 
 divided warring sons and daughters of men. 
 
 Finally, “ All that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a 
 love incorruptible.” It is only by loving the Lord Jesus 
 Christ can unity be realized. No perfunctory theoretical 
 acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus Christ will suffice for 
 
VALEDICTORY SUMMARY 
 
 179 
 
 Christian unity; but only a loving, loyal and obedient ac¬ 
 ceptance and performance of his will can unite the fol¬ 
 lowers of Christ. Paul did not attempt to unite those that 
 merely accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, but only those that 
 loved him, and that, too, “ with a love incorruptible,’’— 
 a perfectly sincere love. No pretended, hypocritical love 
 for the Lord Jesus Christ can stand the strain and stress 
 of maintaining the unity of the brotherhood in Christ. 
 So, then, Christian unity resolves itself finally into a mat¬ 
 ter of getting all to love the Lord Jesus Christ supremely 
 and sincerely; and, when this is done, Christian unity will 
 come of itself. Upon all those that are striving to this 
 end Paul prays the grace of God in these closing words 
 of his letter, “ Grace be with all them that love our Lord 
 Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible.” 
 
 In closing his letter with a prayer Paul indicates the 
 place and importance of prayer in the solution of the 
 problem of Christian unity. It is, as he shows in the 
 third chapter of his letter, the great dynamic that can 
 bring Christian unity to pass. “ For this cause I bow 
 my knees unto the Father,” he says; and, when all Chris¬ 
 tians do the same, Christian unity will come. 
 
XVI 
 
 CHRIST’S GLORIOUS CHURCH 
 
 C HRIST also loved the church, and gave himself up for 
 it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the 
 washing of water with the word, that he might present 
 the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot 
 or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and 
 without blemish.” 5:25-27. 
 
 The above reveals Christ’s estimate of the church. 
 Paul began his letter by giving God’s estimate of the 
 same, showing that He planned it before the foundation 
 of the world, making everything else secondary and con¬ 
 tributory to it; and in the fulness of time He sent His 
 own Son into the world to establish it. Christ so loved 
 the church that he made the supreme sacrifice for it, that 
 the church might be what it was planned to be, “ a sanc¬ 
 tified, cleansed, holy church without spot or blemish or 
 any such thing,”—a perfect church, a glorious church. 
 
 This is Paul’s ideal for the church. This high ideal 
 has not yet been realized in its full glory. There are yet 
 many ugly marring spots and blemishes on the church 
 to-day that must be removed before the church can come 
 into her full glory. The worst spot and blemish of all is 
 division,—a damaging blot that mars the beauty and dis¬ 
 sipates the strength of the church. Paul foresaw the 
 coming of this blot, and wrote this letter that we might 
 be prepared to deal with it and finally to remove it. We 
 have studied the letter with this end in view; and we have 
 found it to be a complete treatment and solution of the 
 problem. In the first half of the letter Paul outlines the 
 
 church, showing it to be The Church For All with every 
 
 180 
 
CHRIST’S GLORIOUS CHURCH 
 
 181 
 
 provision to make it such; and in the latter half of the 
 letter he teaches that All Must Be For The Church, giv¬ 
 ing therein the essentials of church membership, namely, 
 character, doctrine, service , conduct and battle, which 
 constitute the essential realms of Christian unity. In this 
 expository revelation of The Church For All and All For 
 The Church, as set forth by the Apostle Paul and analyzed 
 and studied by us under these two heads, we have Paul’s 
 ideal for the church, which is a high ideal, in fact, a per¬ 
 fect church, a glorious church. Although the church has 
 never realized this high ideal, and is still to-day far from 
 it with many imperfections to be remedied and elimi¬ 
 nated ; yet in spite of these spots and blemishes the church 
 is, and has always been, a glorious church. 
 
 In the first place, the church of Christ is glorious in 
 character. It is divine in character. God planned it, and 
 Jesus Christ built it; and it is, therefore, as far above 
 every other institution in the world as the works of God 
 are above the works of man. While it has not always 
 maintained its divine character, but has risen and fallen 
 with the civilization of the age; yet it has always stood 
 out above and beyond every contemporary institution in 
 character. In fact, it is the only institution that makes a 
 community fit to live in. Wherever it has been planted, 
 it has raised the standards of character and living of all 
 those that came in touch with it. It has always stood for 
 the right against the wrong, for the true against the false, 
 for the elevating against the degrading; in fact, for every¬ 
 thing that is for the welfare of the human race against 
 everything that drags it down. 
 
 Next, it is glorious in personnel. In the first place, it 
 has a glorious head, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the 
 living God. No institution can be more glorious than its 
 head, because the head of an institution is either the glory 
 
182 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 or shame thereof. Did any institution ever have a more 
 glorious head? To begin with, He had all the glory and 
 equality with God the Father, of which He emptied Him¬ 
 self, and came to earth to serve, suffer and die that He 
 might achieve higher glory. “ Wherefore God highly 
 exalted him, and gave him a name that is above every 
 name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow 
 * * * and that every tongue should confess that 
 
 Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 
 Accordingly, when Christ had finished his work of re¬ 
 demption, he prayed the Father, saying, “ Father, the 
 hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify 
 thee. * * * I glorified thee on the earth, having 
 
 accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do. And 
 now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with 
 the glory that I had with thee before the world was.” As 
 he ascended and returned to the right hand of God in all 
 His glory, a voice sounded out over the battlements of 
 heaven, saying, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and 
 be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors; and the King of 
 glory will come.” This King of glory is the head of the 
 church; and a church with such a glorious head must be 
 glorious itself, because the body shares the glory of the 
 head. 
 
 The church has not only a glorious head but also a glo^ 
 rious body. The personnel of the membership of the 
 church has always been the best people of every age and 
 every community. While the members of the church in 
 every age have been fallible human beings, with many 
 weaknesses and imperfections, yet they have stood out 
 in life and character far above the rest of the people of 
 that age. In fact, the greatest lives and characters that 
 adorn the pages of history have been members of the 
 church, whose greatness was attributed largely to the in- 
 
CHRIST’S GLORIOUS CHURCH 
 
 183 
 
 fluence of the church. Who stands higher in the history 
 and the affections of the world than Peter, John and Paul, 
 Chrysostom, Constantine the Great, St. Augustine, Peter 
 the Great, Luther, Knox, Calvin, Campbell, Gladstone, 
 Lloyd-George, Wilson, etc. ? What is true of the past is 
 also true of the present. Compare the membership of the 
 church as a whole with those that are not members in any 
 community; and it will be found to contain the best of 
 every community. While there are always some in the 
 church that are a reproach to the church, yet the per¬ 
 sonnel of the church as a body is always the best that the 
 community affords; and the church makes them better. 
 In fact, the church appeals only to the best people, and 
 seeks the worst only to make them better. Wherefore 
 it is a glorious institution. 
 
 Furthermore, the church is glorious in mission. No 
 institution ever had a higher and greater mission. It is 
 world-wide in scope, and reaches from earth to heaven. 
 It includes the regeneration, the elevation and redemp¬ 
 tion of the whole human race, and has to do not only 
 with this world but also the world to come. It is set for 
 the overthrow and defeat of all the forces of evil in the 
 world and for the leadership of all the forces of good. 
 It opposes all wrong, and espouses all good. It is to 
 make men good, wise, clean, just, merciful, faithful, noble, 
 loving, tender-hearted, happy, righteous, holy, patient, 
 long-suffering, kind, meek, true, honourable, pure, strong, 
 manly, energetic, in fact, all that Christian manhood 
 stands for and is. It is sent to “ seek and save that which 
 is lost,”—the outcasts of society, the human wrecks and 
 prodigals of earth, and to restore them to decency, use¬ 
 fulness and happiness. Its mission is to serve and save 
 every creature in all the world, from the urchin in the 
 street to the king on the throne, from the man in the gut- 
 
184 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 ter to the priest in the temple, from the man with a hoe 
 and chain to the man with a book and microscope. A 
 church with such a glorious mission cannot die, but must 
 go on through service to glory. 
 
 Also, the church is glorious in achievement. After all 
 it is achievement that makes it glorious. It matters not 
 how glorious the mission may be, unless the church 
 actually does things, it is due no glory. It is work accom¬ 
 plished that glorifies. Christ recognized this in his prayer 
 for glory. “ Father, I glorified thee in the earth, hav¬ 
 ing accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do. 
 And now, Father, glorify thou me.” In no other way 
 can glory rightfully come to one; and the church must be 
 glorified in the same way. The work and achievements 
 of the church in the past are its crown of glory to-day. 
 History is full of the good that it has done; and its 
 achievements in behalf of humanity have been great. In 
 fact, every good thing that has blessed the race for the 
 past two thousand years has come either directly or indi¬ 
 rectly from or through the church. Education, culture, 
 and civilization, with all its conveniences, comforts and 
 luxuries, have followed in the path of the church. Man 
 has often prostituted these blessings; but they are none¬ 
 theless a boon of the church. The present also reveals the 
 great good and wonderful achievements of the church. 
 You have but to compare the country and community that 
 has not the church with those that have it to see the 
 great good that it is achieving to-day in the lives of men 
 and nations. Every good work accomplished and every 
 blessing achieved is an added jewel in her crown of glory, 
 which it has won by its achievements in the past. 
 
 Finally, the church is glorious in destiny. “ Things 
 that eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered 
 not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God pre- 
 
CHRIST’S GLORIOUS CHURCH 
 
 185 
 
 pared for those that love Him.” God’s plans and pur¬ 
 poses for the church were made before the foundation of 
 the world on the one hand, and extend unto the farthest 
 limits of eternity on the other; and everything in time and 
 on the earth has been and is for the working out and 
 perfecting of these plans and purposes. As the race was 
 prepared for the revelation and appreciation of these 
 things, “ God revealed them through the Spirit.” 
 The New Testament is the fullest revelation that 
 has so far been given; but this contains only a 
 meagre revelation of the golden glories that God 
 has prepared for the church in the great beyond. 
 John, in the closing chapters of the Apocalypse, 
 raises the curtain on a few of these glories, which God 
 has in store for His church. The first scene portrays the 
 return of the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to re¬ 
 ceive His Bride, the Church; and, after the honeymoon 
 of a thousand years on the earth, the new heaven and the 
 new earth and the New Jerusalem, the eternal home of 
 the Bride, are revealed. The imagination in its wildest 
 flights is unable to grasp the beauty, splendour and gran¬ 
 deur of the place. And then Paradise Regained is un¬ 
 folded before our dazed, wondering eyes; and we are lost 
 amid the glories of this Paradise of God. This is the 
 glorious destiny of the church. 
 
 Truly, the church of Christ is a glorious church,—glo¬ 
 rious in character, in personnel, in mission, in achieve¬ 
 ment, in destiny and in every other respect that makes 
 glorious, but not so glorious as it should be, it must be 
 confessed. The glory of the church has been dimmed by 
 the human blots and blemishes that mar its beauty and 
 usefulness, the most damaging one of which is division. 
 Division puts the church in a bad light before the world, 
 and thereby injures its character; it also brings reproach 
 
186 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 upon the personnel of the church by contradicting the 
 claim of one head, the Lord Jesus Christ, and one body, 
 the church; furthermore, it distracts the attention, and 
 dissipates the forces of the church from its divine mis¬ 
 sion, and produces civil warfare instead; also it cripples 
 and hinders the achievements of the church, and clouds 
 its glorious destiny. There is no spot nor blemish on the 
 church that robs the church of so much power and glory. 
 What a glorious church the church of Christ would be if 
 only it were united! Its character would thereby be 
 greatly ennobled; its personnel would be honoured; its 
 mission would be accomplished; its achievements would 
 be greatly increased; and its destiny would be clear and 
 shining. As a result, the church would radiate glory on 
 all sides, until the earth would be full of glory, as the 
 waters that cover the sea, and the millennium would be 
 ushered in. Then the church would realize its divine 
 ideal, “ a sanctified, cleansed, holy church without spot 
 or blemish or any such thing, a glorious church,” a per¬ 
 fect church. That we might be able to remove this dam¬ 
 aging, hindering blot of division, Paul wrote the Ephe¬ 
 sian letter, which we have studied with this end in view. 
 We commend this letter to the reader and to the church 
 as a whole as the only solution of the problem. The ob¬ 
 jective of this book has been to bring out Paul’s teaching 
 therein on the unity of the church and apply the same to 
 the problem of unity to-day; and, if any comment of the 
 author obscures the same, or seems to be in error, let this 
 be overlooked and forgotten; but let what Paul has writ¬ 
 ten and taught on the subject be remembered and heeded, 
 which is the key to the solution of the problem. 
 
XVII 
 
 LIBERTY AND UNITY 
 
 T HE question of liberty naturally arises, whenever 
 unity is proposed, because the two are somewhat 
 antagonistic, and must be harmonized, before 
 there can be any real unity. To have unity and at the 
 same time preserve liberty, or vice versa, is a troublesome 
 question that often stands in the way of unity. It is 
 rather surprising, when we first think of it, that Paul, in 
 his letter to the Ephesians, treating so fully the subject 
 of Christian unity, says nothing about Christian liberty. 
 The reason for this is, Paul in this letter sets forth the 
 essentials of unity, with respect to which there is no lib¬ 
 erty. Liberty has to do with the non-essentials, which 
 constitute the realm of Christian liberty, which is fully 
 treated by Paul in his letters to the Corinthians and Ga¬ 
 latians. In these letters Paul endeavours to define the 
 scope and application of Christian liberty so as to insure 
 unity; and the connecting link between the two is loyalty. 
 Liberty, loyalty and unity constitute the Scriptural trinity 
 of the New Testament Church. Christian loyalty, of 
 course, has to do with the essentials of Christianity, 
 which are fully treated by Paul in his letter to the Ephe¬ 
 sians, as we have seen in this exposition of the same. 
 In view of the fact of the vital bearing of liberty on 
 unity, it is deemed wise to add a chapter in conclusion of 
 this study (on Christian liberty) which can not be passed 
 unnoticed in any full treatment of Christian unity. 
 
 Liberty, loyalty and unity constitute the Scriptural trin- 
 
 187 
 
188 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 ity of the New Testament church, which must be kept 
 in mind together, and preserved in all Christian work 
 and worship; otherwise their Scriptural use and meaning 
 will be missed. Christian unity can not be without the 
 broadest liberty that loyalty will permit; nor is any one 
 of the three truly Christian without the others. The 
 Catholic church has unity without liberty; and the Prot¬ 
 estant church has liberty without unity; but the Apos¬ 
 tolic church had unity with liberty, which was realized 
 and maintained through loyalty. However, when these 
 three become separated, and it is necessary to choose be¬ 
 tween the three, loyalty must be placed before liberty and 
 unity. Luther was offered unity without liberty at the 
 sacrifice of loyalty; and he answered by nailing up his 
 thesis and burning the Papal decree at the gates of Wit¬ 
 tenberg, thereby laying the foundation for his great 
 Reformation upon loyalty and liberty; however, in so 
 doing, liberty was over-emphasized and unity was lost. 
 The over-emphasis of liberty soon led to divisions, which 
 have continued to multiply from that day to this. Luther 
 solved the problem of loyalty and liberty; but he was 
 unable to solve the problem of unity, which has come 
 down to us as an unsolved problem. We have considered 
 the bearing of Christian loyalty upon Christian unity, as 
 set forth by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians; and we 
 now propose in this chapter a study of Christian liberty 
 in its bearing upon the same. 
 
 Liberty is one of the most significant words in the 
 vocabulary of men. It stands for that freedom of body, 
 mind and soul that is dearer than life to all who know 
 its meaning and value. It has been the watchword and 
 battle-cry of many wars with tongue and sword; and 
 there has been enough bloodshed in the cause of liberty 
 to incarnadine the streams of earth. This crimson stream 
 
LIBERTY AND UNITY 
 
 189 
 
 runs through ancient history to the foot of the Cross, 
 where Jesus Christ poured out his blood that men might 
 be free, and thence on down the stream of the ages, 
 bringing the blessings of liberty to the race. This pre¬ 
 cious heritage comes to us stained with the blood of all 
 the heroes, martyrs and saviours of earth, and is, there¬ 
 fore, the priceless gift of the ages to the world of free 
 men to-day. It must be preserved at all hazards; and a 
 way to unity that does not sacrifice it must be found. 
 
 Christ made the greatest contribution to the cause of 
 human liberty. We are largely indebted to Him for our 
 freedom of body, mind and soul; and for this reason the 
 name of Christ has been prefixed to the word, thus, 
 Christian liberty. “ Christian,” in this connection, is not 
 a narrowing limiting adjective, but a defining and enlarg¬ 
 ing one. It stands for all that Christ has contributed to 
 the cause of liberty, which is so much that the word has 
 acquired a greatly enlarged, if not a new meaning and 
 value. Christ, as He promised, has made men and 
 women “ free indeed,” and, for this reason every phase 
 of liberty to-day bears the Christian stamp, and must be 
 studied in the light of Christian teaching. Christ gave 
 the fundamental principles that underlie all freedom; and 
 a study and application of these principles is necessary to 
 the possession and enjoyment of any true liberty. 
 
 In the first place, Christ taught what liberty is, and 
 how it may be acquired. He made it clear that liberty 
 is not license but freedom within law. It does not mean 
 the throwing off and disregard of all law, but rather a 
 state of freedom that is the result of conformity to law. 
 “ If ye abide in my word (by obeying the same), then are 
 ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and 
 the truth shall make you free.” David expressed the 
 same truth thus, “ I will walk at liberty, for I will seek 
 
190 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 thy precepts;” and James speaks of the gospel as “the 
 law of liberty,” because by obedience to the same one 
 is made free. Liberty through the knowledge and obedi¬ 
 ence to truth is, therefore, Christian liberty. In fact, all 
 true liberty is a state of freedom that results from the 
 knowledge of and obedience to the laws of being that 
 form and regulate life. This is true in every realm and 
 department of life,—-in the material, social, intellectual 
 and religious. Anyone, therefore, that would be free in 
 God’s world must conform to the laws of the same; other¬ 
 wise he is under the condemnation and slavery that comes 
 to all lawbreakers. 
 
 Christ not only taught this ; but His whole life was lived 
 in conformity to the same. In all things He recognized 
 God as the supreme Lawgiver of heaven and earth; and 
 He endeavoured to do His will. He was under authority 
 of high heaven, and obeyed the law of both heaven and 
 earth to the last jot and tittle, and was, therefore, free. 
 He walked upon the earth as a free man; and everything 
 that He did and said was by the choice and will of a free 
 man, unafraid and untrammeled by the traditions and 
 standards of the age, in which He lived; and this, too, in 
 spite of those in authority, who hated Him, and sought 
 His enslavement by every known plot and trap; yet He 
 lived and worked in their midst free and unmolested. 
 Often they went to arrest Him; but they feared to take 
 Him, because they found no broken law or fault in Him. 
 Thus, through obedience to both the law of God and man, 
 He lived a life of absolute freedom in the midst of a peo¬ 
 ple that were politically, socially, intellectually and relig¬ 
 iously enslaved; and in the end He died that all might be 
 likewise free. The wonder and glory of His life was its 
 absolute freedom; and the marvel of His death was its 
 power and influence in bringing freedom to all that are 
 
LIBERTY AND UNITY 
 
 191 
 
 in bondage of any kind; and this liberty in life and death 
 was no miraculous gift from above, but a natural achieve¬ 
 ment through obedience to law, which is the only way 
 that men and women can be “ free indeed.” 
 
 Another fundamental principle underlying the freedom 
 of Christ’s life was His Spirit, as stated by Paul thus, 
 “ Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,” which 
 is the supplementary truth to the above. Freedom does 
 not come through mere obedience to law; there must also 
 be the prop9f spirit manifested in this obedience. The 
 spirit of Christ’s obedience was that of deep humility and 
 willing submission to all the laws of His being; and, where 
 this spirit is, there is liberty. Furthermore, the Spirit of 
 the Lord is the enlightening agent in revealing the true 
 laws of life. The Spirit of the Lord was sent to the 
 apostles to make known to them the truth or will of God, 
 which makes men free; and where this Spirit is there is 
 liberty. “Ye shall know the truth; and the truth shall 
 make you free.” Christian liberty is, therefore, freedom 
 that comes through the knowledge of and obedience to 
 Christian truth, which is revealed by the Spirit of the 
 Lord. 
 
 There is, therefore, no liberty to do or not to do the 
 things prescribed by the Spirit of the Lord. Paul was 
 the spokesman of the Spirit on matters pertaining to 
 Christian liberty; but he never granted the liberty to do 
 or not to do what Christ commanded. He insisted on 
 the liberty of doing or not doing what Moses com¬ 
 manded, as, for instance, circumcision and all other re¬ 
 quirements of the Jewish law, saying, “ For freedom did 
 Christ set us free; stand fast, therefore, and be not en¬ 
 tangled again in a yoke of bondage;” but what the 
 Lord Jesus Christ prescribed through the Spirit must be 
 obeyed; and only by obedience thereunto is freedom se- 
 
192 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 cured. “ His commands are not grievous ” but “ reason¬ 
 able, n and insure liberty of the highest type. They con¬ 
 stitute the essentials of Christian unity, and define the 
 requirements of Christian loyalty, which consists of strict 
 obedience and faithful conformity to what Christ re¬ 
 quires. Through such loyalty liberty is gained, and unity 
 is secured, because Christian loyalty requires the same 
 things of all; and the two are thereby connected and 
 harmonized. 
 
 Anyone, therefore, that claims any release from the re¬ 
 quirements of Christ, as revealed by the Spirit in the 
 Christian Scriptures, does not know the meaning of 
 Christian liberty nor the way to Christian unity. 
 
 The only release from the Christian Scriptures, “ the 
 
 law of liberty,” is by obedience to the same; and 
 only by perfect obedience, if such were possible, 
 
 can we reach a state “ without law, where we are 
 
 a law unto ourselves.” As great a teacher and preacher 
 as Henry Ward Beecher, however, claimed release from 
 the ordinances of Christ. In a sermon on Christian lib¬ 
 erty, he said, “ I do not believe that any ordinance is 
 authoritative. If I should form a sect, it would be a 
 sect that exercises liberty in the matter of ordinances.” 
 Of the Lord’s Supper, he says it may be observed or not, 
 just as the worshipper sees fit; and of baptism he says, 
 “ It is nothing in and of itself, whether it be immersion 
 or sprinkling.” But the Spirit of the Lord, as revealed 
 in the New Testament Scriptures, grants no such liberty; 
 but on the contrary the Spirit says, “ A prophet shall the 
 Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, 
 like unto Moses; to him shall ye hearken in all things 
 whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall be that 
 every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet shall be 
 utterly destroyed from among the people.” Christian 
 
LIBERTY AND UNITY 
 
 193 
 
 liberty is, therefore, a dangerous privilege, unless it is 
 properly understood and applied. Paul never spoke of 
 it without warning against its abuse. “ For ye, brethren, 
 were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for 
 an occasion to the flesh; but through love be servants one 
 to another ”; and Peter also says, “As free, not using your 
 freedom as a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants 
 of God.” Both emphasize the fact that it is only through 
 faithful obedience that Christians are free. 
 
 While there is no liberty to do or not to do what the 
 Spirit of the Lord requires; yet within these requirements 
 there is the largest freedom, provided there is a real ob¬ 
 servance of the same. The Spirit prescribes only the 
 broad fundamentals, from which the details of law and 
 conduct are deduced; and with respect to these details 
 there is the broadest liberty that is consistent with these 
 fundamentals. “ The law was given through Moses; 
 grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Any detail 
 of Christian work and worship that is in harmony with, 
 or does no violence to the fundamental truth through 
 Christ is permissible; and Christian unity does not re¬ 
 quire uniformity as to these details. A failure to recog¬ 
 nize this liberty as to minor details has often disturbed 
 and divided the church ; whereas a reasonable, sensible ap¬ 
 plication of this principle of liberty would have preserved 
 unity. 
 
 Furthermore, there are many other things, which the 
 Spirit of the Lord permits on the grounds of expediency 
 and indifference, which constitute another legitimate 
 realm of Christian liberty. See Rom. 14 and I Cor. 8-10. 
 Hall L. Calhoun, of Bethany College, has written so 
 Scripturally and clearly of these things that we quote at 
 length from him, as follows: 
 
194 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 “ All scriptural things are divided into three classes, viz;: 
 Necessary things, expedient things, and indifferent things. 
 Necessary things are things right, advantageous and commanded; 
 expedient things are things right and advantageous, but not 
 commanded; indifferent things are things right, but neither ad¬ 
 vantageous nor commanded. 
 
 I. NECESSARY THINGS 
 
 'In Acts 15 ‘.28 the apostles, elders, and brethren at Jerusalem 
 said: “ It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon 
 you no greater burden than these necessary things.” This shows, 
 beyond doubt, that there are some things which the Bible recog¬ 
 nizes as necessary. These things must be done. In these things 
 the Bible speaks and we must be silent. The Bible speaks by 
 inspired precept, by inspired example, and by necessary infer¬ 
 ence from inspired precept or inspired example. In Matt. 18:18 
 Jesus said to his apostles: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth 
 shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth 
 shall be loosed in heaven.” In Matt. 17:5 God said of Jesus in 
 the presence of Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, and of Elijah, the 
 representative of the prophets: “This is my beloved son; hear 
 ye him.” And in Acts 3:23 Peter quotes the language of Moses 
 referring to Jesus as a prophet and says: “Every soul that will 
 not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.” 
 These scriptures and others equally as plain make it evident that 
 whenever God enjoins anything upon us it must be done, and 
 whatever he prohibits must not be done. If domestic authori¬ 
 ties interfere, we must obey God, for Jesus said, “ He that loveth 
 father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that 
 loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” 
 (Matt. 10:37); and in Luke 14:26 Jesus says: “If any man 
 come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and 
 children and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, 
 he cannot be my disciple.” In John 14:21, 23, Jesus says, “He 
 that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that 
 loveth me;” and, If a man love me, he will keep my words.” 
 If Jesus be the Judge, then, no man loves Jesus who refuses to 
 obey him, no matter who interferes.. If civil authorities inter¬ 
 fere we must obey God. Like Daniel of old when the kings 
 decree conflicted with his duty to God, we must obey God regard¬ 
 less of consequences. (See Dan. 6:1-28.) Jesus says m Matt. 
 22-21 “Render unto Caesar (the civil authority) the things 
 which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” 
 
LIBERTY AND UNITY 
 
 195 
 
 If religious authority interfere, we must obey God. When 
 the highest religious authorities among the Jews had commanded 
 the apostles not to teach in Jesus’ name, Peter and the other 
 apostles answered: “ We ought to obey God rather than men.” 
 
 (Acts 5:29.) In matters of necessity God speaks and we must 
 always obey him. 
 
 II. INDIFFERENT THINGS 
 
 In 1 Cor. 8:8 Paul, speaking of meat, said: “For neither if 
 we eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we the worse.” 
 A thing the doing of which makes one neither better nor worse 
 must be a matter of indifference. At what particular hour on 
 the Lord’s day shall the Lord’s Supper be observed? At 11 
 a. m. or at 8 p. m., or at some other hour? Certainly it may 
 be said of this that the exact hour of the observance of the Lord’s 
 Supper is a matter of indifference. If a man eat it at 11 a. m., 
 he is neither better nor worse than if he ate it at any other con¬ 
 venient hour of the Lord’s day. 
 
 Likewise the position of the body in prayer must be a matter 
 of indifference, since men “ ought always to pray ” and to “ pray 
 without ceasing.” This, of course, can be done only by prayer 
 being acceptable in all different positions of the body. 
 
 Matters of indifference are matters of mere personal privilege, 
 which may or may not be done without sin, so far as the things 
 themselves are concerned. 
 
 This class of things is as clearly recognized and defined in the 
 Bible as necessary things are. 
 
 Nothing can belong to this class of things which is either 
 enjoined or prohibited in the Scriptures. If it is enjoined in the 
 Scriptures, it is a necessary thing and must be done; if it is pro¬ 
 hibited in the Scriptures, it is a sin and it must not be done. 
 Whether one may enjoy his personal liberty in these indifferent 
 things depends upon circumstances. 
 
 In 1 Cor. 8:9 Paul says of the eating of the meat: “Take heed 
 lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block 
 to them that are weak.” If our doing these indifferent things 
 would lead others who think these things are wrong to do them 
 then we must refrain. This is clearly taught in 1 Cor. 8:10-13' 
 where Paul says: lor if a man see thee who hast knowledge 
 sitting at meat in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he 
 is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For 
 through thy knowledge he that is weak perisheth, the brother for 
 
196 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 whose sake Christ died. And thus sinning against the brethren 
 and wounding their conscience when it is weak, ye sin against 
 Christ. Wherefore if meat causeth my brother to stumble, I 
 will eat no flesh for evermore, that I cause not my brother to 
 stumble.” 
 
 If doing these things would grieve or offend others, we must 
 refrain. See Rom. 14:15, 16: “For if because of meat thy 
 brother is grieved, thou walkest no longer in love. Destroy not 
 with thy meat him for whom Christ died. Let not then your 
 good be evil spoken of.” If others even think we do wrong in 
 doing them, we must refrain. In 1 Cor. 10:27-29 this is made 
 plain: “ If one of them that believe not biddeth you to a feast 
 and ye are disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat ask¬ 
 ing no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto 
 you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake 
 that showed it and for conscience sake: conscience I say, not 
 thine own, but the other’s.” 
 
 In things indifferent our brother speaks, and we must always 
 yield to him. Rom. 12:10, “In honour preferring one another.” 
 Rom. 15 :2, “ Let each one of us please his neighbor.” It is to 
 these things, mere personal privileges, that the law of love applies, 
 and the violation of this law is a sin as certainly as is the viola¬ 
 tion of any other law that God has given. 1 Cor. 8:12, “And 
 thus sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience 
 when it is weak ye sin against Christ.” And in 1 Cor. 10:33 Paul 
 lays down a rule to govern our conduct in these things, saying, 
 “ Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own 
 profit, but the profit of the many.” In necessary things Paul 
 would have pleased God even if he had thereby displeased all 
 men, but in indifferent things he always yielded to others. 
 
 III. expedient things 
 
 In 1 Cor. 10:23 Paul says: “All things are lawful for me, 
 but all things are not expedient.” When Paul says all things 
 are lawful, certainly he does not mean to include sinful things, 
 for “sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4.) He 
 must mean that all right things are lawful, but some right things 
 are not expedient, clearly implying that there are other right 
 things which are expedient. 
 
 Expedient things are things advantageous. Nothing can belong 
 to the class of expedient things which is either necessary or indif¬ 
 ferent. If a thing is necessary, it is more than expedient; and if 
 a thing is indifferent, it is less than expedient. All expedient 
 
LIBERTY AND UNITY 
 
 197 
 
 things are right— i. e ., scriptural and advantageous; but they are 
 not commanded— i. e., enjoined or prohibited. In Matt. 18:18 
 Jesus said: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound 
 in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed 
 in heaven.” This passage shows that there are some things bound 
 upon us, and it shows just as clearly that some other things are 
 left loose, and the things left loose are just as right— i. e., scrip¬ 
 tural—as the things bound. Paul recognized this principle plainly, 
 for in i Cor. 7, speaking in reference to Christians not marrying, 
 he says: “ But I speak this by permission and not of command¬ 
 ment.” Here was a thing clearly right in and of itself which a 
 man might do or not, just as he thought expedient. This was 
 not a matter of necessity, neither was it a matter of indifference; 
 it was a question of expediency, and the man himself must decide 
 as to its expediency or inexpediency in his own case. In this 
 class of things human judgment must always decide whether any 
 particular thing is expedient or not. 
 
 What vocation shall a young man choose in life? There is no 
 one vocation enjoined upon any particular person. Each one 
 has to decide this question for himself. Of course he is under 
 obligation to choose a scriptural vocation—that is, one which is 
 right. (But just which one the Bible will never tell him. Neither 
 may I nor any other human being say him, nay, when he exer¬ 
 cises his right of choice, doing what he thinks is expedient for 
 him. 
 
 A thing expedient at one time might be inexpedient or even a 
 sin at another time and under different circumstances— e. g., in 
 1 Cor. 16:1-7 is an account of the manner in which the churches 
 of Galatia and the church at Corinth were to send their bounty 
 to Jerusalem. This they were to do by the hands of special men 
 approved by them for this purpose. This was doubtless the most 
 expedient way for them at that time and under their circum¬ 
 stances. But when the people of Galveston, Texas, were in need 
 of help a few years ago, if the Christian people of the United 
 States had sent aid to them in the way this aid was sent to Jeru¬ 
 salem, it not only would not have been expedient, it would have 
 been a sin; for some, perhaps many, would have died before the 
 aid could have reached them. To allow our fellow-beings to suf¬ 
 fer for the want of this world’s goods when we could prevent it 
 is a sin. (1 John 3:17.) And had we left those hungry people 
 to suffer for food till men could go all the way to Galveston and 
 carry personally our bounty we should have been grossly culp- 
 
198 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 able. We sent our aid in a different way because it was expedi¬ 
 ent to do so 1 . We sent through the United States mail and by 
 express and telegram. This was more quickly and economically 
 done because we have better facilities for sending than they had 
 in Paul’s day. It is our duty to use these more expedient means 
 just as truly as it is our duty to be baptized. One is the obliga¬ 
 tion of necessity, and the other is the obligation of expediency, 
 and both these obligations are scripturally binding upon us. In 
 Gal. 6:10 Paul says: “As we have therefore opportunity let us 
 do good unto all men.” If ten men were to fall into a river and 
 a brother had a way which he believed to be God’s way of saving 
 men from drowning and he felt sure that any other way of try¬ 
 ing to save them was a sin, and if I knew a way which I believed 
 to be right— i. e., scriptural—and by which I felt sure I could 
 save all ten of the men, while by his way I believed we could 
 save only six of the men, if I used his way and let four men 
 drown whom I believed I could have saved from drowning, I 
 would be morally responsible for the death of those four men. 
 It not only would not be a violation of the law of love for me 
 to use the way which I believed to be most expedient', but it would 
 be my duty to do so, for those four men in the water have claims 
 on me which I must recognize. 
 
 In matters of expediency I speak, and no other man may hinder 
 me. The law of love does not and cannot apply in expedient 
 things. 
 
 Expedient things must be done, and to fail for any reason to do 
 them is a sin. The obligation of expediency is just as scriptural 
 and binding as the obligation of necessity. Each operates in its 
 own field, and they never conflict.” 
 
 It is, therefore, evident from the above that we have 
 no liberty as to things necessary except the liberties 
 within these things; and as to things expedient we have 
 no liberty except the liberty of deciding and doing the 
 expedient things; so then things indifferent constitute the 
 only broad realm of Christian liberty, which, though theo¬ 
 retically broad, is practically limited by the welfare of 
 one’s brother. While this narrows the fields of Christian 
 liberties more than we desire; yet they are much broader 
 than they first appear, because in addition to the liberties 
 
LIBERTY AND UNITY 
 
 199 
 
 of things indifferent and expedient there are the many 
 great liberties that come to us through compliance to 
 things necessary, which constitute Christian truth that 
 makes free. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth 
 shall make you freeand, “ If the Son shall make you 
 free, ye shall be free indeed.” Christian loyalty requires 
 the same necessary and expedient things of all, and 
 thereby connects and harmonizes liberty and unity; and 
 Christian charity produces unity in things indifferent, so 
 then with this understanding and application of the prin¬ 
 ciples of liberty and unity there need be no conflict be¬ 
 tween the two, and Christian liberty should be no barrier 
 to Christian unity. 
 
XVII 
 
 THE OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 
 
 "g" N view of the many difficulties and barriers yet in the 
 way of Christian unity, no one except a blind opti- 
 u mist would say that all is well and propitious for an 
 early realization of the unity for which Christ prayed, 
 and Paul worked; yet there are many justifiable reasons 
 for thinking that all Christian people are slowly but 
 surely coming together. There is much to be said both 
 pro and con on the outlook of Christian unity. The out¬ 
 look for anything is determined by things favourable and 
 things unfavourable,—the preponderance of the one over 
 the other; and in the case of Christian unity there is suf¬ 
 ficient evidence on both sides to justify the conclusions 
 of both the pessimist and optimist according to the view 
 one is disposed to take. However, in this chapter we 
 hope to take a broad survey of both sides, that the reader 
 may be in a position to draw his own conclusions. To 
 this end we shall consider both the helps and hindrances 
 to Christian unity. 
 
 The difficulties and barriers in the way of unity in¬ 
 crease and enlarge as we broaden the scope of Christian 
 unity; yet we dare not draw narrower boundaries than 
 Christ Himself, who prayed for the unity of all His dis¬ 
 ciples. Yet to-day there are so many kinds and shades 
 of disciples of Christ that the task of uniting all of them 
 borders on the impossible. Nevertheless, at the risk and 
 daring of undertaking the impossible, all Christian people 
 
 need to enlarge their horizon and vision of Christian 
 
 200 
 
THE OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 201 
 
 unity, until it includes every follower of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. We need to do as the Prime Minister of Eng¬ 
 land advised his associates in government, “ Gentlemen, 
 you must study larger maps.” This must be done by all 
 who are working and praying for unity. Nothing short 
 of the unity of the universal church of Christ must be 
 considered in our ultimate plans for Christian unity; and 
 anything short of this is more or less sectarian. 
 
 In fact, the sectarian vision and conception of the 
 church, which obtains in the minds of people to-day, is a 
 serious barrier in the way of unity. Sectarian divisions 
 are so old and powerful, and the people are so closely 
 and strongly aligned to the same, that it is difficult to 
 think of the church except in sectarian units; but we 
 must all be brought to see the one universal church of 
 Christ, which is older and more powerful than any or 
 all the denominations. People will never go farther than 
 they can see, so we need to look beyond the sec¬ 
 tarian divisions that crowd us in and limit us on all sides 
 to the broad catholic church of Christ that fills and en¬ 
 compasses the earth. 
 
 The sectarian viewpoint and vision of the church is 
 only one of the many barriers that sectarianism has put 
 in the way of unity. In fact, all the hindrances have their 
 roots in sectarianism, which must be uprooted before 
 Christian unity can come. Out of sectarian divisions 
 have come our religious differences, which constitute “ a 
 wall of partition ” between Christians, that must be 
 broken down and removed before unity can come. 
 Through obedience to God and the leadership of Joshua 
 the walls of Jericho were broken down; but far greater 
 and stronger are these walls of partition that divide Chris¬ 
 tians ; however, Paul assures us that “ Christ broke them 
 down ” between Jews and Gentiles; and He can do tfie 
 
'202 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 same for us, if we will all only submit ourselves to His 
 leadership, and thereby bring all together in His world 
 church. 
 
 But there remains a greater barrier to unity than our 
 sectarian differences, namely, our sectarian feelings. 
 Religious prejudice has a stronger hold upon people than 
 religious conviction; but Paul teaches that through the 
 power and influence of the cross even this can be re¬ 
 moved ; and it is a noticeable and accepted fact that bitter 
 religious feelings are softening and crumbling, and giv¬ 
 ing way to a better feeling among all Christian people, 
 which gives promise of their unity. 
 
 Furthermore, established denominationalism, with all 
 its religious organizations, ecclesiastical machinery and 
 church property, is another great hindrance to Christian 
 unity. The Master’s question to Peter, “ Lovest thou 
 me more than these ? ”, is applicable to all denominational- 
 ists to-day, and needs to be thrice or more repeated to 
 transfer the affections of the people from the denomina¬ 
 tions to the church, the one body of Christ. Denomina¬ 
 tionalism, with all things appertaining, is the price of 
 Christian unity; and many of the denominations having 
 great possessions, like the rich young ruler, are not yet 
 willing to pay the price. Like the early Christians in 
 Jerusalem, all denominations must come together, and 
 have all things in common, in order to have Christian 
 unity. 
 
 Denominational pride and devotion cause opposition or 
 indifference to Christian unity, which must be overcome. 
 There are few outspoken opponents of Christian unity to¬ 
 day, but many that are indifferent to the same. They 
 do not oppose it, but they will do nothing to help it 
 along. They will allow you to unite the religious world, 
 if you can, while they are at ease in their respective de- 
 
THE OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 203 
 
 nominations. Such an attitude toward Christian unity 
 is a grat hindrance, because only those that greatly desire 
 to unite can unite. All must become sufficiently inter¬ 
 ested to pray and work for unity before it can be brought 
 about. 
 
 All the above hindrances, and others besides, grow out 
 of sectarianism in the church, which must be uprooted 
 before we can have Christian unity. Division is still 
 firmly established and deeply entrenched in the church; 
 however, there are many indications on all sides that it is 
 weakening and giving way to a broader and more catho¬ 
 lic Christianity, which bespeaks a brighter outlook for 
 Christian unity; and to any one disposed to look upon 
 the bright side of things there are many justifying rea¬ 
 sons for optimism on the subject, which we shall now 
 consider. 
 
 Turning from the dark side of the outlook for Chris¬ 
 tian unity to things that favor the same, we mention, 
 first, the righteousness of the cause. It is right from 
 every viewpoint and standard of righteousness; and to 
 all that believe in the final triumph of the right it must 
 surely come; but only by active work in behalf of this 
 cause on the part of all believers can we hasten this glad 
 day. 
 
 Furthermore, there is to-day a very broad, if not a uni¬ 
 versal, desire for Christian unity, which is very encourag¬ 
 ing and helpful. Only those that desire to unite can 
 unite; and this desire must be sufficiently strong to over¬ 
 come many difficulties in the way. There are few apolo¬ 
 gists to-day for division, while on the other hand there 
 are many eloquent tongues and pens in every communion 
 pleading for unity; and the desire for the same is spread¬ 
 ing and growing rapidly, which is a promising hope for 
 Christian unity. 
 
204 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 But the greatest help and surest hope of unity is Paul’s 
 letter to the Ephesians, which we have shown to be a 
 complete solution of the tangled problem. Without a 
 voice of reason and authority to lead us out of the con¬ 
 fusion and wilderness of division we will wander on in 
 our separate ways toward the promised land and the city 
 of our God,—possibly to land in a religious Babylon; but 
 Paul, through this letter, has opened up the way out of 
 division into the unity of the “ one body, the church of 
 Christ,” so all who will may know the way out, and 
 come to “ the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of 
 the Son of God.” The author of this book has striven 
 in his study of this letter to make this way known; and, 
 if any comment upon the same has tended to obscure this 
 way, or has been beside the mark, let that be forgotten; 
 and let the reader place his own interpretation upon what 
 Paul has written in this letter on Christian unity, and 
 with any rational interpretation of Paul’s teaching the 
 result will be the same, namely, the unity of the church. 
 
 However, Paul’s teaching on the subject of unity can 
 not unite the church, unless it is accepted and followed, 
 and there is an earnest effort on the part of the divided 
 church to realize this unity. Such an effort is being made 
 to-day in almost every church, which is a hopeful sign 
 of ultimate unity. It is true that we are working at the 
 problem from many different viewpoints and ways that 
 seem at times to lead us apart instead of together; but it 
 is encouraging to know that we are all aiming at the 
 same end, the unity of the church. There are yet many 
 “ valleys to be exalted, mountains and hills to be made 
 low, the uneven and rough places to be made plane,” be¬ 
 fore the highway to Christian unity is prepared, “ when 
 the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed;” but it is very 
 heartening to know that many strong men in every com-y 
 
THE OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 205 
 
 munion are working at these tasks. Never before in the 
 history of the church has there been a greater and more 
 earnest effort to find and prepare the way to unity. 
 Almost every communion has some kind of an organiza¬ 
 tion looking toward unity, such as the Episcopalian Con¬ 
 ference On Faith and Order, the Presbyterian Council On 
 Organic Union, the Christian Association For The Pro¬ 
 motion Of Christian Unity, etc.; and there also are many 
 interdenominational organizations at work for Christian 
 unity, as follows: Association For The Promotion Of 
 The Unity Of Christendom; Christian Unity Association 
 Of Scotland; Christian Unity Foundation; Churchman’s 
 Union; Commission On The World Conference On Faith 
 And Order; Council On Organic Union; Federal Coun¬ 
 cil Of The Churches Of Christ In America; Free Church 
 Fellowship; Universal Conference Of The Church Of 
 Christ On Life And Work; National Council Of The 
 Evangelical Free Churches Of England; etc. 
 
 Another advanced step toward unity is conference in¬ 
 stead of controversy. Conferences are succeeding con¬ 
 troversies as a means of unity. Controversy has been 
 tried out in the past, and it has been found to propagate 
 division rather than to promote unity. But to-day Chris¬ 
 tian people are coming together to confer more than to 
 discuss, to harmonize and not to antagonize. We have 
 found out that we can not argue people into unity; but 
 we can come together on the common plain of Christian 
 brotherhood, and confer with each other on the subject, 
 which is a better way to secure unity. The recent World 
 Conference On Faith And Order at Geneva, Switzerland, 
 is an example of such a conference; and many more are 
 to follow. 
 
 Furthermore, in these conferences there is more relig¬ 
 ious tolerance and less sectarian dogmatism than in the 
 
206 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 discussions of the past. On all unsettled questions, such 
 as the Priesthood, the ordinances and the government of 
 the church, there is more liberality manifested to-day than 
 yesterday. We are more willing to consider the position 
 and viewpoint of the other man and to concede truth 
 wherever found. This does not mean a weakening of 
 convictions, but the opening of the doors for an exchange 
 of views and the adjustment of our differences. In our 
 separate pursuit of truth we will never come together. 
 Truth must be sought corporately and collectively to 
 arrive at any unity of faith and knowledge; and we must 
 be willing always to concede the sincerity and truth of 
 the other man, which is essential to all amicable fellow¬ 
 ship. This makes it possible to discover our own errors, 
 which are the most difficult of all to remove. The closer 
 we come together and the more immediate the- contact the 
 better we understand each other, and the nearer we are 
 drawn together. Whenever we are brought close to¬ 
 gether, the religious atmosphere clears; but, when we 
 stand far apart, each appears to be wrapped in a cloud 
 of error like travelers in foggy weather. What we need, 
 therefore, is a closer touch and a more immediate con¬ 
 tact with each other in our efforts to bring about Chris¬ 
 tian unity. 
 
 All things considered, both pro and con, the outlook for 
 Christian unity is brighter to-day than yesterday; yet 
 there remains much to be done to reunite the church. As 
 a practical way of brightening the outlook and hastening 
 the consummation of Christian unity, the following is 
 quoted from Dr. Peter Ainslie, President of the Asso¬ 
 ciation For The Promotion of Christian Unity, and 
 heartily commended to the reader: 
 
 “ There are seven things which every Christian can 
 
THE OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 207 
 
 do and ought to do to brighten the outlook for Chris¬ 
 tian unity and hasten its consummation. These are: 
 
 (1) Praying , earnest praying in public and in pri¬ 
 vate, remembering that in the high-priestly prayer of 
 Jesus He says, “ Holy Father * * * I pray * * * 
 that they may all be one.” 
 
 ( 2 ) Thinking, definite thinking in terms of the 
 brotherhood of all Christians, remembering that Jesus 
 says, “ One is your teacher, and all ye are brethren.” 
 
 (3) Speaking, kindly speaking of those Christians 
 in other communions than your own with a real inter¬ 
 est in their welfare, remembering that the Apostle Paul 
 says, “ Not looking each of you to his own things, but 
 each of you also to the things of others.” 
 
 ( 4 ) Conferring, frankly conferring with those of 
 other communions whenever it is possible, always in 
 the spirit of courteous friendship, and avoiding the 
 dangers attending controversial methods, which belong 
 under the admonition of the Apostle Paul, when he 
 says, “ Shun foolish questionings, and genealogies, and 
 strifes, and fightings about the law; for they are un¬ 
 profitable and vain. A factious man after a first and 
 second admonition refuse; knowing that such a one 
 is perverted, and sinneth, being self-condemned.” 
 
 ( 5 ) Teaching, patiently teaching the principles of 
 Christian brotherhood and the unity of the church 
 * * *, wherever there is the opportunity * * *, 
 remembering that Christ says, “ The Holy Spirit, whom 
 the Father will send in my name, He will teach you 
 all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I 
 said unto you.” 
 
 ( 6 ) Working , heartily working together, especially 
 those communions of nearest kinship, entering into 
 definite negotiations toward their formal rapproche - 
 
208 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 ment and ultimate union, remembering that the Apostle 
 says, “ We are God’s fellow-workers; ye are God’s hus¬ 
 bandry, God’s building.” 
 
 ( 7 ) Believing, sincerely believing that the prayer 
 and purpose of Jesus will find their fulfillment in a 
 united Christendom and indeed they are being ful¬ 
 filled now, remembering that Jesus says, “ All things 
 whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye re¬ 
 ceive them, and ye shall have them.” 
 
 With the whole church thus aroused and at work for 
 Christian unity, it will surely come. If the signs of 
 Christian unity on the religious horizon of the future are 
 to be believed, the unity for which Christ prayed and 
 Paul worked is slowly but surely coming. This is not a 
 passing dream of the dark, closing night, but a sure 
 promise of the red opening dawn, “ when the glory of 
 Jehovah shall be revealed ” in the reunited church of His 
 dear Son, and all shall work and worship God together 
 in the beauty of holiness. To help and hasten this glad 
 day this book is written and sent forth on its mission of 
 unity, with prayers for the unity of the whole Church of 
 Christ. 
 
 Printed in United States of America 
 

 
 
BS2695.C874 
 
 Saint Paul on Christian unity, an 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00013 9727 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 #3523PI Printed in USA