We have been dwelling chiefly upon the characteristics of the Church as the Body of Christ. Enough has been said, we trust, to emphasize in the minds of God's people this transcendent theme. When once the grandeur, the dignity, and the amazing grace displayed in this great fact take hold of the soul, there will be no need to complain of indifference or unworthy thoughts on the part of the saints.

Beloved brethren, have we or have we not to deal with God as to these things? Has He revealed His mind to us -His heart? Has Christ our most blessed Lord been made known to us, not merely as our personal Saviour, but as the risen, glorified Head of His body, the Church? If so, we cannot, we dare not, be indifferent to what He has thus made known. It is for us, for every child of God, to own the truth of which we have been seeking to speak, and to let our lives in a practical way answer to the grace thus laid upon our hearts.

Let us not apologize for giving prominence to these things, nor be ashamed to emphasize them in our conversation and testimony. Anyone who despises "Church truth," despises Him who has revealed it. Along with the crying need for a genuine revival among the people of God, the great necessity for a true awakening on this theme stands out prominent.

Let us mark, too, how these varied gifts of the Body have as their goal our display in perfection with Christ in glory:"Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." So there cannot be the thought that present day conditions have abrogated these original endowments, that they have been superseded by expedients suggested as more suitable to modern problems.

The church as the body of Christ began at Pentecost, on the basis of the cross, with its twofold testimony to a perfect accomplished redemption, and the complete setting aside of the first man, with all his works and capabilities. That was its beginning, in the testimony of the Holy Spirit come down from a risen, glorified Christ. That was the terminus a quo; the ending, the terminus ad quern, is the goal, the prize of the calling on high at His coming again, the being with our Lord in the glory, forever associated with Him there. This, and this alone, is the "perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Till He comes thus to display the Church, these gifts are for its growth and upbuilding, "in the unity of the faith," -there can be no other upbuilding-"and of the knowledge of the Son of God"-for He is the first and the last, the all and in all.

The vacillations of human thought are the marks of spiritual infancy; they lead to the deceptions of men with their various systems of error, which abound wherever the truth of God is unknown, neglected, or forgotten. Their wreckage strews the shores of the Church's history.

In contrast with all that, we have the provision of perfect love at which we have been looking-"Speaking the truth in love,"-living in the atmosphere of the truth of God, and nourished by the ministrations of His love- "may grow up unto (not into, for we are already in Christ) Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ, from whom the whole Body, fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint (rather, "joining," as the blood vessels and nerves unite the body in one vital organic whole) supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4:13-16).
What is lacking in this provision of divine grace? Where then is the difficulty of making actual proof of its sufficiency in the Church to-day? Shall we not address ourselves anew to the simplicity of subjection to God's order?

II.-the church as the house of god

We come next to consider the Church as the House of God, and here too we will find food for thought and room for exercise of soul.

We will begin with the teaching of Ephesians which has given us much of that which has already occupied us. Chapter one is closely linked with the beginning of chapter two, the first part of which we may say is the enlargement of the general statement in chap. 1:22, 23. Here we see the Church, composed of living members who have been quickened out of death with Christ, raised and linked with Him, and with each other, to be the vessel for the display of His eternal love and kindness in the ages to come. We are His workmanship, and that workmanship suggests the functioning of the whole body in its walk and activity here-"Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:1-10).

The next portion of the Epistle (chap. 2:11-22) opens up a new, yet closely allied theme. The apostle dwells upon the former distance and enmity of the Gentile believers, and contrasts it-not with the outward nearness and privileges of the Jews-but with the present nearness, peace and unity of all believers, who thus have access to the Father by the Spirit through Christ Jesus.

How beautiful is every detail here of the grace which has wrought for and in us. Let us take the briefest of glances at them, for we are to "remember" the mercy that has been shown us.

We were "Gentiles in the flesh," by nature as well as position away from God. Those who were outwardly the people of God spoke of such as "the uncircumcision," with no covenant relation to Him. Our wretched condition is described in the briefest of solemn words-we were "without Christ," therefore aliens from the commonwealth of His people, strangers from the covenants made with the fathers. If without Christ, we were without hope, without God. How absolutely dark and hopeless was our state.

Then the contrast to all this is set forth with equal clarity and blessedness.

"In Christ" describes us, and as in Him the distance has been annihilated, on the righteous ground of His accepted sacrifice, "made nigh by the blood of Christ." Here we have the suggestion of the House of God, the temple and sanctuary of His presence; "Having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus."

But the apostle enlarges upon the character of this nearness, both in its aspect Godward and manward. Christ Himself is our peace, embodying in His person the measure and the character of this wondrous new relationship. He has united the two discordant elements of Jew and Gentile, not by making all Gentiles Jews, or all Jews Gentiles, but by making one new man, in Himself. The former impassable barrier of legal ordinances has been abolished by His cross. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of value, but "a new creation."
Here indeed is true peace, in Christ Himself. Here is the reconciliation of both Jew and Gentile to God, in one Body. Thus we find the essential identity of the though:of the Body and the House. They interlace, and so far from being contradictory, are mutually complementary. At this we will look later.

All is by the Cross, which has set aside all connected with the first man, and opened the way for the full outflow of divine love in and through the blessed Son of God. How completely this eliminates human schools of thought, and all the differences of natural men. What room is there for "I of Paul, and I of Apollos," where all that is set aside by the Cross?

Here is indeed a reconciliation resting on a solid basis -it is a reconciliation to God, suited to His holiness and displaying His love. It is a reconciliation which applies to Jew and Gentile alike, for all were alike away from God. And both have access through Christ, in the power of the Spirit, to the Father; not merely to God, but to Him whom the Son has made known in this most precious relationship, borne witness to by the Spirit.

Thus we have another thought of the House. It is not merely the sanctuary of God's presence, but it is where the Father is known, worshiped, and obeyed. What grace is shown in all this! Hand in hand the erstwhile enemies of God and of each other enter into His presence on the ground of the blood, to enjoy and to worship-the Father!

The apostle now (vers. 19-22) sums up these various truths and, after the manner of Scripture, adds further features. We are no longer strangers and foreigners, as Gentiles, but fellow-citizens-not with Israel in an earthly commonwealth-but of the saints, all the children of God. We are members, not of the house of Israel, but of God; children of God, united together in Christ and by the Spirit in a divine fellowship.

But we are a building as well as a family. The apostles and prophets who have been used of God to reveal these wondrous truths are the foundation of a new structure. Christ Himself is the essential element in this building. He is the chief corner stone, and it is in Him and on Him that the whole building-not "every several building," as the Revised Version would have it-but one complete structure, fitly framed together, is growing up to a holy temple in the Lord.

Here again we have a thought closely related to that of the Body. Like that, the building is not yet complete. All goes on toward that time when God's abode, His house, will be seen in its heavenly glory.

We see thus the material of which this house is formed -believers, Jew and Gentile, made nigh to God and united to one another:"To whom coming as unto a living Stone, ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:4, 5).

While the full display and completion of the house awaits the coming of the Lord, the characteristic features and responsibilities are true at the present time. "In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." The Spirit here and now has formed the Church for the house as the abode of God. We are "builded together," which shows the absolute unity of the house. "Together" suggests the fellowship which belongs to the house, a fellowship characterized by the presence of God, the holiness that becometh His house, and the unity of all who are His in this the day of His amazing grace.

We have thus gathered the general features of the Church as the house of God. It is a divine unity of once discordant elements brought together, and brought to God in all the nearness of Christ on the ground of His redeeming work, in the complete setting aside of the flesh, and in the power of the Spirit; as thus made nigh forming the building, the holy temple of God, who is revealed in all His perfection as Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our God and Father, for time and eternity.

What shall we say to these things? How all that is of man, the wood, hay, and stubble of his vain architecture is, in the anticipation of faith, burned, leaving in its majestic grandeur the abode of God in the midst of His adoring and obedient children. "The temple of His body" has a wondrous meaning, for in it we see not only the perfection and glory of the Son of God, but His redeemed people resting upon and united with Him-"a holy temple in the Lord."

Compared with this stately and enduring structure, what are the vast piles of ecclesiastical fabric, whether buildings of stone or systems of human pride? What are the efforts of men to erect some "altar to see to," something in which they can boast?

Rather let us dwell upon the solid and enduring foundation, upon those living stones, "polished after the similitude of a palace." Let us think of our priestly nearness to God by the blood of Christ; of our unity in one body as thus reconciled to God and to each other. Let us realize in the power of the Spirit our perfect access to Him whom we call Abba, Father. Surely in even a fuller, higher way than the prophet we should say, "The Lord is in His holy Temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him." S. R.

(To be continued.)