assembly of men, to be in some peculiar sense His own- MY Church"-my assembly. And he promises, in some manner, to make use of St. Peter as an instrument in accomplishing this. Thus much cannot be disputed by any.

Turn next to the 18th chapter, v. 17 and 18, and you will find the second case in which our Lord employs the word in question. He is giving directions as to the course to be pursued with any of His disciples who may fall into sin. Such an one is first to be admonished by his brethren; and then, it is added, "If he neglect to hear them, tell "it to THE CHURCH; and if he neglect to hear THE "CHURCH, let him be to you as an heathen man "and a publican." From which we learn something further concerning this Church, or assembly, which Christ promised to gather by means of the Apostle. We learn this-that this assembly, which Christ calls "My Church" is not an Invisible institution, not a mystical corporation held together merely by secret bonds and spiritual affinities. The Church here mentioned is plainly a Visible Body; an institution which could take cognizance of complaints made against any of its members, and deal authoritatively with offenders. In the following verse (18) a solemn assurance is given that this

sentence of Christ's Visible Church shall be ratified by God himself. "Verily I say unto you, what"soever YE (including all the Apostles) shall bind on "earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever YE shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' Thus much, then, we learn from our Lord's own use of the word CHURCH, in the only two places where He is recorded to have used it. He intended to establish, by means of his Apostles, and to endow with awful privileges, a Visible society of men, with which, as we afterwards find, He promised to continue for ever. It is certain from Scripture that He afterwards said to these same Apostles, at the most solemn hour of His life-just before He left them "As my Father hath sent Me, so send I "you." "Whosesoever sins YE remit they are re

mitted, and whosesoever sins YE retain they are "retained," John xx. 21-23. Again, just before His last agony, "I have chosen you and ordained

you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and "that your fruit should remain," John xv. 16. And again, His very last words, which one Evangelist mentions, are these, Matt. xxviii. 20: "Go and "teach all nations, baptizing them.... and teaching "them to observe all things whatsoever I have com"manded you," which expression ("whatsoever I

"have commanded you") being undefined, leaves to the Apostles, and some persons to the end of time, an indefinite power; for it is added, "and, lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world."

Observe, then; Immediately after our Lord's ascension, we find the fulfilment of the promise, that a Visible Church should be established by St. Peter. The very first thing done, by his advice, as if of the first importance,' was, the filling up of the vacant Apostleship, or "Bishoprick," as it is called; thus seeming at the very beginning to check the notion that the Apostleship was to die away gradually. After this St. Peter preached most powerfully at Jerusalem, and converted multitudes of the people; but he did not stop here; this was only the first step. He was not satisfied, it seems, with converting men to Christian truth; they were to become members of a new "Visible Society." Thus we read at the opening of the Acts of the Apostles, "that they who gladly received the word were baptized," Acts ii. 41. They that believed were "added to the "Lord." "The Lord added to the Church daily," Acts ii. 47. It was evidently thought to be not enough to keep to the doctrine of the Apostles ; it was necessary to preserve their fellowship. Thus

1 See the Second Lesson for this Morning's Service.

we read, Acts ii. 41, 42, that the three thousand who "gladly received the word" were baptized, and "continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and "fellowship, in breaking of bread (i. e. the Holy "Communion) and prayers," the Daily supplications of the Church. In this manner was the first CHURCH established, "Built on the foundation of "the apostles and prophets," Eph. ii. 20.

Such are the facts of Scripture and history; and from these we gather the first Christian meaning of the word Church, and the Christian duty of Church membership. Now the Apostles, in their life-time, extended this same institution, i.e. established many "Churches" throughout the world; which, however, had a similarity and oneness, which constituted them in a general sense ONE Church; and they were derived from one Apostolic origin, and had

ONE Body and ONE Spirit, ONE Lord, ONE "Faith, ONE Baptism." And when the Apostles drew near to the end of their course, we find that they ordained SUCCESSORS; because, you will remember, Christ had promised His presence, with His Apostles and Church, to the end of time. Thus St. Paul ordained Timothy; St. Peter ordained Ignatius; St. John ordained Polycarp; and thus it was in all the churches and thus it

continued.

These bishops ordained others.' It is an incontrovertible fact, that for many hundreds of years no new Church, as such, was voluntarily set up by any Christians. The very idea implies a contradiction. Every Church on the face of the earth was necessarily descended from the Apostles; indeed any institution, not apostolically descended, could not have been thought a "CHURCH" in any primitive sense. It would have been unlike what, as we have seen, was first accounted "Christ's CHURCH," however good an institution it might be in other respects. It would have had no promise of His presence. History, moreover, is decisive on the matter. If we are wrong in so saying, point out the fact. Tell us where to find the first voluntary Church; but if it cannot be found for very many centuries after Christ, surely a man who does not wish for a new religion,—a man who wishes to follow the primitive Christians, and the Apostles, must adhere faithfully to The Church descended from them, and to none other.

Our time will not permit us to fill up this outline of the nature and authority of the Church. Thus much however was necessary, to explain, hereafter, the notion of Catholicity. Enough has, now,

See Lecture IV., where this argument is continued.