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Believers are described by Peter as lively stones built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. "Ye are (says the apostle) a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people." 1 Peter ii. 5, 9.

The apostle to the Corinthians represents the church as "the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Cor. vi. 16; See also 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17.

N. B. It may be worth observing to the unlettered reader, that the term church, as used in the New Testament, signifies an assembly-a number of persons convened together for any purpose whatsoever. It is the same word which is applied to the mob which was raised by the interested Demetrius to oppose the teaching of Paul, (Acts xix. 32, 39). Believers are called the church-the assembly, by way of eminence and the assembly of Ged, as having God for their head.

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THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS.

THE authority of Jesus in the church, is to be traced to the circumstance of his being the highly favoured individual by whom the divine intentions were communicated to man; he was indeed remarkably distinguished by Deity, when it was miraculously declared, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleasedHEAR YE HIM!" Thus distinguished from his fellows, Jesus could with confidence assert, "all things are delivered unto me of my father; and no man knoweth the son but the father; neither knoweth any man the father save the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him." Possessing thus the divine confidence, as the medium of communicating it to man, Jesus is with much force of figure described as ascending up into heaven-as coming down from heaven -as being in the bosom of the Father. By the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, did Deity seal, as it were, his appointment over his family and kingdom, the church-then it was, and in reference to this appointment, that Jesus declared all power was given unto him in heaven and in earth-then it was that, as the first born from the dead, the apostle asserted him to be the head of the body, the church-that Deity had put all things under his feet, and given him to he head over all things to the church-that God had highly exalted him, and given him a name above

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every name-that in the name (to the authority) of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess his power over the affairs of his kingdom, to the glory of God.*-Phil. ii. 9, 11; Matt. xi. 27; xxviii. 18; John i. 18; iii.13, 18; Acts ii. 36; Ephes. i: 22; Col. i. 18. Ephes 5-22-23-25

* Most of the passages of the New Testament, which are adduced in favour of the divinity of Jesus, resolve themselves into expressions and descriptions of the elevated situation Deity had appointed him to as head of the church, and the accredited teacher of Christianity.

UNITY OF THE CHURCH.

THE church of God is one and indivisible. Its members, however scattered, its societies however numerous, form but one body. Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, were alike the members of the kingdom of God, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth was named, (Ephes. iii. 15). The kingdom of God was not a kingdom divided against itself: mutual esteem and brotherly love, the true foundation of unity among men, were to characterize the followers of Jesus. "By this (said he) shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another."-"Be kindly affectioned one towards another," was the recommendation of Paul to the Christians of his day. The same apostle enforces this disposition in the most persuasive manner to the church at Philippi-" therefore if encouragement in Christ, if the comfort of love, if a spiritual union, if affection and compassion, have any power, fill ye up my joy by having the same dispositions, the same love, the same soul, the same mind." (Phil. ii. 2, Wakefield).

All dissensions, every thing that could tend to disturb the unanimity of the followers of Jesus, or to create parties in the church, were particularly repro bated. When in the apostolic age, the folly of the church of Corinth induced its members to attach them

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selves to particular leaders, Paul exclaims, with a mixture of pity and indignation, “ is Christ divided 2”

It is worthy of observation, that every expression descriptive of unity is uniformly, applied to the Christian church in the New Testament. It is spoken of as God's husbandry-his family-his house-his temple-his people-his kingdom!!

This principle of unity extended and prevailed among societies as well as individuals. The primitive Christian assemblies were not independent assemblies ; they were united together, corresponded together, assisted each other under persecution and distress-were acquainted with each others' concerns -deliberated together on important matters which af fected their interests-were written to, visited, and confirmed in their principles and order by the same apos tle-that same apostle to whom the multifarious concerns of the numerous assemblies of Christians appeared so familiar, owing to the admirable plan of confederation that must have subsisted among them, that he could adopt this language (the best evidence certainly of such confederation) when speaking of his cares and perils in the cause of Christ" and besides those outward things, this pressure upon me daily, the anxiety for all the churches."* (2 Cor. xi. 28, Wakefield.)

* These facts speak more unequivocally than any other reasoning we could possibly bestow on the subject. In the Acts, Paul and Barnabas are represented in their travels as confirming the minds of the disciples, as ordaining elders in every church. On the question of circumcision, THE CHURCH “determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question." We find them brought on their way by the churchwe observe them passing through Phenice and Samaria, de