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42 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH.
cisive, and is enough, as the Word of God, to compel
our assent, we refer to that which is our motto: " There
is one body " (Eph. 4 : 4). St. Paul was exhorting the
Ephesian disciples to Christian unity: " I, therefore,
the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with
all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the spirit in the bond of peace." This exhortation
he enforces by several powerful considerations : " There
is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one
hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through
all, and in you all." Here are no less than seven reasons, supposed to be familiar and admitted, for the enforcement of Christian unity. At the head of these
stands our motto, " There is one body"
There was, then, but one Church recognized by
these Ephesian disciples, and in this fact was a constraining motive to unity. The phrase "one body"
has reference to the external organization of the
Church, its outward unity and discipline ; for the word
" body " is never employed in reference to any internal
emotion or affection ; and, besides, it is followed by the
assertion, " there is one spirit," as a separate and independent idea. For still another reason, it cannot mean
" one body " in respect of affection, because the fact of
there being " one body " is adduced for the very purpose of recommending a unity of affection, and there
would be no argument at all, if the apostle is supposed
to say: " Be ye all united in affection, because ye are all
united in affection." St. Paul was never so weak, so
| Title | The comprehensive church |
| Creator | Vail, Thomas H. (Thomas Hubbard) |
| Publisher | Appleton |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000046 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 42 THE COMPREHENSIVE CHURCH. cisive, and is enough, as the Word of God, to compel our assent, we refer to that which is our motto: " There is one body " (Eph. 4 : 4). St. Paul was exhorting the Ephesian disciples to Christian unity: " I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." This exhortation he enforces by several powerful considerations : " There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Here are no less than seven reasons, supposed to be familiar and admitted, for the enforcement of Christian unity. At the head of these stands our motto, " There is one body" There was, then, but one Church recognized by these Ephesian disciples, and in this fact was a constraining motive to unity. The phrase "one body" has reference to the external organization of the Church, its outward unity and discipline ; for the word " body " is never employed in reference to any internal emotion or affection ; and, besides, it is followed by the assertion, " there is one spirit," as a separate and independent idea. For still another reason, it cannot mean " one body " in respect of affection, because the fact of there being " one body " is adduced for the very purpose of recommending a unity of affection, and there would be no argument at all, if the apostle is supposed to say: " Be ye all united in affection, because ye are all united in affection." St. Paul was never so weak, so |
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