St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-09

Christians did not develop hymnology.
His society was not founded upon ora
tory, though indeed He spake as never
man Spake," but it was not because of
any rhetorical graces, it was rather
that He spake with authority.
consist in congenial. social
fellowship. Whatever may be true of
some organizations in modern times. no
church of the first century would ever
have been Sneered at as social club.
Indeed, men worked together who we're
personally uncongenial. us for example,
Peter and Paul, Barnabas and James.
The fundamental basis of His society
was personal allegiance to Himself.
Whom do men say that | ann, he in
QuireS. Thou art the Christ" replies
feter. Upon this rock, >" he concludes,
Il will build My church, aud the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it.
The new society. by its relation Of
loyalty to Him, was to become the eX-
preston of His spiritual morality. In
its relation to all reforms it was not to
be society for relief, but it was to be
society for prevention. All who Joined
the society were to become helpers. and
thus the helpless were to disappear.
1t was an ideal commonwealth whose
basis was humanity. The poor were
welcome, but the rich were not ex-
Guided; beside the fisherman at CALI
lee there was Joseph of Arimathea,
ZacheuS. and Matthew, the publican.
The ignorant might come, but there
were also Luke. the physician, and Paul.
the rabbi. The symbols OF the new
community were made Of two simple
sacramentS, which were not essentially
new, but only adopted and Simplifed
out of former custom. The real life of
tI,.ac infr To INo rad -
thought, the toll and the sorrow of uni
versal humanity. 1t may seem that
such an institution was SO scanty that
it could scarcely be expected TO live:
yet never was there leader of
men who put forth such exclusive
claims, and never was there a society
founded which asserted for itself such
lasting supremacy. The church from
the beginning until now, within It's own
sphere asserts, and will continue tO as
sert, its superiority to all other iusttu-
tons. 1t asserts Its supremacy over all
crafts and guilds, and over all social,
educational and political institutions.
The church crowns its leader the King
Of Kings" it fills the title full of mean
ing and it will be content with nothing
less. 1t is of the highest importance
therefore to society, and of still more
Importance to the church Itself. that its
sphere shall be plainly recognized as
spiritual and its dominion as moral.
Though we fight against municipalities
and powers, the weapons of our war
fare are not carnal.
My text speaks of the church as the
body of Jesus Christ, and this familiar
figure of the New Testament will help
us to understand the relation of modern
organizations to the primitive society
of Jesus, The church has soul and
body. The soul of the church is the
thought, the love. the life of Jesus
Christ. The body is that external man
Hesitation of this soul. by which men
have sought to express their under
standing of what Jesus meant. With
the same soul the body finds for itself
great variety. The apostle announced
the natural law when he said, God
giveth to each seed body Of its own
There is all ideal body for every human
soul, but that body, under the
conditions of life, never finds
more than a partial realization.
Some bodies are so unfayOrably
affected by the conditions under which
they are born. that the soul never has
chance. and the man becomes an idiot.
There are churches which have suffered
similar experience. In nature the life
Of every vegetable seed prophesies for
IISCll d OQilCiU4C DOuH. DuI lllt ildlll-
feStation of that body depends upon
suitable conditions and it varies greatly
owing to circumstances. Palms are one
thing under the tickle conditions Of a
Minnesota greenhouse, they are some
thing quite different in the glorious
freedom of their native hauntS. If the
church is not what men would have it,
let them give more summer for its viz
tues and better conditions for the eX-
preston of its life. Whether the church
Is obsolete or not does not depend upon
the present state of this or that body in
which it may happen to find its home.
Ii depends upon the worlds ideal rela-
ton to the primitive institution. The
church can never become obsolete until
the world has a different ideal of hui
mainly than that found in the gospel.
The church will live until Jesus is OBJ
Solete, until love is outgroWn. until self
sacrifice has lost its power.
The secularists undoubtedly underes-
innate the present value of existing
churches, and probably even the friends
of the church who live in its light do
not evnce by the warmth Of their own
devotion full recognition of the justice
of its claims. With all its faults. the
history of the church is noble and pre-
ciouS heritage. Imagine the eli urch eX-
tlnct, and scholars would write its eulo-
gums, poets would find from its past
material for new epcs, and all the
world would vie in its praises. Sculp-
tors would contend with one another
until some master genius should make
visible i'll marble the incarnation of
Christianity. But the church is not
dead and will not die, because it is a
living organism. And in every genera
ton God will give it a body until it finds
complete realization in that new earth
dreamed of by prophets and seerS,
wherein dwelleth righteousness.
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