LECTURE II.

A.

Wherein I was made a member of Christ.

Of the changes wrought within us and for us, by the mercy of God, through the Sacrament of Baptism, the first is, that we are made members of Christ; on the meaning of which I purpose now to enlarge. You will probably remember that in several passages of the New Testament, Christ is represented as the Head, and we as members of one and the self-same body; which body is the Church.

Thus St. Paul, in speaking of the exaltation of Christ, writes, "God hath put all things under his feet, and given Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His body." And again, in speaking of the relative duties of husbands and wives, he writes, "The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church; and He is the Saviour of the body." And further, he speaks of Christians as being members of

this body he says, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, "Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." And in his epistle to the Romans, he compares this spiritual body to the natural body of man, and says, "As we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." Now, this union with Christ, and communion with our fellow Christians, here spoken of, are effected by the Sacrament of Baptism; for again, to use the words of St. Paul, "For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." Thus by baptism we are made members of Christ; for we are then received into the Church, and the Church is His body; and if we are made members of that body of which He is the head, we become members of Himself also. In this sense, therefore, all baptized persons are members of Christ. I will next point out the blessings to ourselves from this spiritual union with Christ-from this membership in His mystical body. And first, in consequence of it, we may receive, if we will, food and nourishment sufficient and proper to maintain our spiritual life and health. The virtue, everlastingly inherent in the Head, will be communicated through the body to the several members, so that they will derive fresh

energies, fresh powers of production; thus they, who before were as wild olive trees growing in the wilderness of the world, rank and barren, and incapable of bearing good fruit, become through their union with Christ, as goodly cedar trees, as "trees of righteousness," capable of "bringing forth much fruit, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred fold." This we are taught in the parable, in which our Lord speaks of himself as the vine, and his followers as the branches grafted on it—“I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." This, then, is one benefit arising from our union with Christ, that we are enabled to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God. But we can continue to do so only so long as we abide in Christ, for "without Him we can do nothing." "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can we, except we abide in Him." Now, the necessity of abiding in Christ, here so plainly enforced, suggests the lamentable consequences of rending his body asunder; of withdrawing, that is, from the communion of the Church. We well know that any limb withers and is dried up immediately after its removal from the body, just as any branch decays that is torn away from the parent tree. Now, as St. Paul draws the comparison between the natural body of man and the mystical body of Christ, is it not reasonable to suppose that what

occurs to a limb of the one, upon its removal from it, will also occur to the member of the other, which is disunited also? I do not indeed say that each and every one, who wilfully detaches himself from the Church must, therefore, necessarily and absolutely perish. God forbid that such should be the case! But it is a most perilous thing to slight and despise those especially-appointed means, through which life and health and support are ordinarily conveyed to the soul. It is tempting God to cast us off, and to leave us to perish here in the wilderness. Men have no right to expect that they shall " grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," when they seek to obtain their spiritual growth and increase, by other means than those which God has ordained. Besides, in withdrawing from the communion of the Church, they are directly dishonouring Him who is its head; they thereby seem to say that the nourishment and support, which He has provided for all its members, is too weakly or too insufficient. But I pass on to another point. As we are made members of Christ's body, it is our duty to render obedience to Him, because He is the head; to Him is given all power, and wisdom, and authority; He is the author of all life, and sense, and motion; and therefore, because we derive all our powers and capacities from Him, we are bound to obey His will and laws-we are bound to submit ourselves to His

guidance and teaching. The members of the natural body, even the more excellent, as the eye, or hand, or foot, always submit to the judgment of the head, and carry out its desires and purposes; and the same immediate and implicit obedience ought the several members of the body of Christ to yield to Him, their head, especially in those regulations and appointments made for the government and well being of the whole body. It is not for one member to rise up and resist His will and authority; it is not for any, be their position what it may, to introduce division and dissension, and so mar the order and beauty, and perfect symmetry of the body to which they belong. In so doing they are guilty of the sin of schism, and thus subject themselves to its heavy and fearful punishment. May God dispose the hearts of all to live henceforth as devoted members of Christ, in close and faithful communion with the Church! One point more I will briefly notice: in being made members of Christ, we are also made members one of another, There should, therefore, be a bond of union and sympathy between us. As in the natural body, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one receives an injury, or is touched with disease, the whole body is affected; the derangement of any one part will often affect the whole constitution;-so it should be in the body of Christ. There should be mutual feeling and sympathy between all the members.