The man That could surround the sum of things, and spy The heart of God and secrets of His empire, Would speak but love. With love the bright result Would change the hue of intermediate things, And make one thing of all theology.
EPHESIANS III. 17-19 175
It was " the Bloody Advocate, Mackenzie," who, whatever his illiberality of action, rose to true liberality of thought when he said, " I am none of those who acknowledge no temples but in their own heads. To chalk out the bordering lines of the Church militant is beyond the geography of my religion." It was Dr. Chalmers who, in the very heat of the great Disruption of the Scottish Church in 1843, asked the question, " Who cares about any Church, but as an instrument of Christian good ? " It was the Scotch Episcopalian, Archbishop Leighton, who declared that " the mode of Church government is unconstrained ; but peace and concord, kindness and good-will, are indispensable." It was the founder of Irish Presbyterianism (Edward Bryce) who insisted most on " the life of Christ in the heart, and the light of His Word and Spirit on the mind." It was Zwinglius who loved to dwell on " the meeting in the presence of God of every blessed spirit, every holy character, every faithful soul that has existed from the beginning of the world even to the consummation thereof." It was the " main, fundamental, overpowering principle " of Wesley's life, not to promote particular doctrines, but to " elevate the whole Christian world in the great principles of Christian holiness and morality." It was the solemn proclamation of a message of " unity and comprehension" — "in necessary things unity, in doubtful things liberty, in all things charity" — which Eichard Baxter carried to " a stormy and divided age," that gave the great Non- conformist leader his pre-eminence.
This was the spirit in which Stanley delighted to see men rise above the spirit of parties.^
(3) It secures completeness of apprehension. — St. Paul's prayer for the Ephesians is that they may apprehend the whole extent of the love of Christ. Individually they might see one or more aspects of that love : what they needed, what he wanted, was to see Christ as all the saints saw Him. He wanted to see with this saint the righteousness of Christ, with that saint His mercy. He wanted to see with this other saint the crucified Christ, with that other the glorified Christ. Here was a saint who saw Christ as the reformer of social things — Paul wanted to know that Christ ; here was another who saw Him as the King of Glory and the Lord of heaven — Paul wished to see Christ as this. His desire for these Ephesians was that they should not have a partial Christ, but the whole Christ. What Paul seems to say is that no individual saint has apprehended the whole Christ. No single individual has been 1 K. E. Prothero, The Life of Dean Stanley, ii. 242.
176 THE LOVE OF CHRIST
large enough to apprehend Him : else were that saint greater than Christ. No ; to know what Christ is we must seek to apprehend what all the saints have known. This saint has seen this in Him, that saint has seen another aspect. To apprehend Him we must strive to know what all the saints know.
^ The richest individual life is poor in comparison with the manifold experience of " all the saints." Of the Churches which call themselves catholic, what can compare in catholicity with that which includes all the saints, and places at the disposal of every struggling soul, for its guidance and inspiration, all the wise thoughts with which they have ever been visited, all the heroic endurance, even unto death, with which they have sealed their testimony, all their love, hope, faith, joy, triumph, all their vision of eternal things unseen ? ^
^ One mighty intellect of Newton may sketch the plan of the solar system ; one Laplace may demonstrate its permanent equilibrium ; one Herschel map out the nebulae of the southern sky ; one Dalton unfold the laws of atomic combination ; one Darwin assign the clue to the partial unfolding of the mystery of successive lives in nature. But no single soul is capable of comprehending the love of Christ, for the vision and experience of each is limited, and in morals we are members one of another. God has gifts which He bestows on the solitary students of Divine truth, and gifts which He bestows on His solitary petitioners in the closet or under the fig-tree. But, in general, the law of understanding the love of Christ is united study, united work, united conference, united prayer.^
^ In considering Christ, His character and work, men in various ways grasp special aspects of it. They are fascinated by Him in various fashions ; and when they see Christ, they often see Him in one particular way. We cannot discuss fully these various ways ; all we can do is just to notify a few of them ; you can add to their number. One man looks at Jesus Christ and what he especially sees is His tenderness, the sympathy He extends to sinners ; his neighbour looks at Christ and what he especially sees is His righteousness ; but another looks at Jesus Christ and he sees Him as a social reformer', thousands to-day see Christ especially as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. Christians meet at the Cross ; it is the centre of the Church. Christ dying for men that they might be free from the thraldom of sin and be reconciled to God fascinates them. Then there are others who, while seeing the Cross and glorying in it,