Equality and Order.

Nor does it create confusion.

I I

'God,' says the

Apostle, is the God not of confusion, but of peace,' as in all the churches of the or confusaints: a sentiment which he uttered, in

sion.

the first instance, in immediate connection with the avowal of the perfect equality of all the members of the church. There was in the Corinthian church a diversity of gifts, and all claimed the right to exercise them. That equal right the Apostle allowed. 'Ye may all prophesy,' was his decision. Disorder, therefore, was to be corrected, not by denying the right, but by teaching each Christian himself to control it. Exercise your gifts,' says he, in substance, one by one, and remember that the spirits of the prophets are subject not to one head prophet, but to the good sense and pious feeling of the prophets themselves.' Of course, if any one spoke from vanity, and without an inward call or obvious fitness, the man was rebuked, and, if necessary, even silenced; not, however, because he was not of the teaching order, but because he had no sufficient qualification for the work. God had given him no message, and the rule of equality, as well as of common sense, decided that he should hold his peace.

13. This equality of the members of the church must not be interpreted, of course, so as to deny God's right to make distinctions; or, so as to withhold the reverence due to

Its equality further defined.

His gifts. Scripture recognises the fact that some are to be very highly esteemed for their work's sake, and to some of them there is to be given even double honour. There are inequalities even in a society of equals, and the very principle of equality may compel us to make them. In well-governed communities men are equal in the eye of the law; they are alike subject to its authority; they are alike entitled to all the privileges it has to confer. Communism is an abuse of this ordinance, and is practically subversive of it. Equality lets men create differences, though itself creates none; and, indeed, if in any state men share alike, whatever their honesty, or their diligence, or their skill, there is equality of rights no more; inequality, and consequent injustice, has begun.

Applied to the church, this principle is easily explained. All Christians, members of the church, stand in the same relation to God. They have been redeemed by the same blood, and renewed by the same Spirit; they have undergone the same change; and are heirs of the same glory; they are all kings and priests unto God; they are all sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty; and compared with the distinction which these dignities imply, all other distinctions are insignificant. Thus far Christian men are equal. Further, there is in the church no ruling class; all are really subject to the same laws, and all stand on a level before God. Thus far they

Equality and its Limits.

13

are equal. Further still, the only ground of distinction that remains is based upon the power of rendering service to the body; and that, all can render, while the grace that enables them to render it is itself the ground of new obligation. Hence, each Christian is to think of himself with humility and sobriety, according to the measure of the grace he possesses; and in memory of the fact that that grace is itself a gift, and a gift bestowed not for the honour of him who exercises it, but for the honour of the Lord, and for the good of the church. When even the apostles are praised for self-denying toils, it is in these terms, and they magnified the grace of God in them.' He that is least in this kingdom is the man who breaks God's commands, and teaches men so; while the chief is the man who in toil and in love is the servant of all.

The equality, therefore, of the members of the church is not irrespective of character and holiness, but irrespective of everything else, and is modified by these only in a small degree. What men are by birth, or wealth, or social standing, or intelligence, is nothing in the church if they are not Christians; and if they are Christians, their Christianity is their great glory, a glory they share with the poorest of their brethren,—and every natural gift is an honour, just so far as it is consecrated to the good of the whole. To give men more than this is to forget the dignity due to a Christian, and to disown the

equality for which we plead; to give them less, is to deny the grace which is entitled, wherever we find it, to our reverence and love.

14. And as every member of the society is thus free, because bound to judge for himself The church in matters of faith and practice-the brethren being equal, and the Bible their common law-so each society has the

an independent association of

equals.

right to carry out its discipline and faith, without the control of any man or set of men. The church is an association of men as equals: it is also independent—-independent of all authority but Christ's, and bound to obey only His laws. This independence is the birthright of the society, as liberty of thought is the birthright of each of its members. It rests upon the same principles, and, if given up, can be given up for such reasons only as must supersede the law, or destroy thought, inquiry, and conscience. The whole question may be put in the simplest form:-Is any Christian to take the belief or the practice of any other man as obligatory upon his conscience or practice? Is any church to take the belief or the practice of any other church as obligatory upon their conscience or practice? Or are not both to take the decisions of the Master as their sole rule? And the answer is plain. There is not a single text which bids men take their faith or their practice from their fellows; on the contrary, men and communities are freed

from all earthly authority on such questions, that they may be subject to Christ.

If it be said that this assertion is true of essentials, but that in things indifferent we

may submit to one another, the reply

Explained.

again is plain. Such submission even the apostles

did not claim.*

Things indifferent cease to be so when once made binding upon the conscience, while each lessens the number of things lawful, brings the conscience of man into bondage, multiplies sin in the world, makes the way narrower than God has made it, and divides the church.'t More mischief, in truth, has been done to the cause of Christian unity by this tendency, than probably by all other causes combined. Really Christian men can hardly be said to be divided by anything else. There is, moreover, a beauty in 'diversities of operations,' provided only there is the same Spirit.'

The church is independent, I repeat, each church of other churches: nor only so; each

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* "I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my judgment" (opinion) as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful." (1 Cor. vii. 25.) "Whom I would have retained with me; but without thy mind would I do nothing." (Philem. 13, 14.) "As to Apollos, I greatly desired him to come to you; but his will was not at all to come at this time." (1 Cor. xvi. 12.) In Rom, xiv. the rule

as to things indifferent is laid down : "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." (Verse 5.) "Ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." (Gal. v. 13.) "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy." (2 Cor. i. 24.)

† Dr. Whichcote.