accepted, there is no doubt ci ■,■■ _ M ttiKkiK-v. Immediately after the As< . n . i ■ appears'a
« ell defineif ' • • \ i ue Apostles
(Ac l"-'"). • this body is
fully constituti'ii my u^ nn-^i'in. .uid receives a large acce.ssion of niinilifis. TIh' mention of de- finite numbers (Ac 1'= 2^' 4*) shows that there was no doubt who the persons were who belonged to the society. Nor is there any doubt, from the constant mention of baptism throughout the book, that this was the invariable means of acquiring membership. It is expressly mentioned even in the exceptional case recorded in 10^"-. Through- out the whole narrative the Apostles appear as the leaders and teachers of the whole community. Membership implies ailherence to their teaching and fellowship, \vith ' the breaking of bread ' and common prayer as a bond of union (2'-). The practice of community of goods is an evidence of the closeness of the bond, while the fact that this was voluntary shows that ' neither the com- munity was lost in the individuals, nor the in- dividuals in the communitv' (Hort, Christian. Ecdesia, p. 48). The meetings of the Church must have been in houses, and none in Jeru- salem can possibly have contained all the dis- ciples ; but no importance is attached to the jdace of meeting, nor are house congregations ever spoken of or alluded to as separate units of Church life. A theory has been formed that the Church as a society arose out of a federation of house assemblies, but there is absolutely no trace what- ever of such a iiossibility in the Acts : the whole body of disci]ilc^ i- the only unit. The word errksia occurs for the lir-t tiiin' in Ac 5", and there it is the whole body « hi.li i. -|nikcn of. In the cour.se of time the iiKiin-.' in liic number of adherents led to an aihanr. in ■.utilization, the Apostles delegating some ..i i Inii innitions to a lower order of ministers, an. I soon ati. iwardspersecution caused an extension ol tin- ( liiin li to other parts of Pales- tine. But there is as yet no subdivision ; nues- tions which arise in Samaria and Joppa are dealt with at Jerusalem (Ac 8" 11"-). This state of things, however, could not last. When the pro- ce.ss of extension had gone further, it became impossible to administer all the affairs of the com- munity from a .single centre. And so when ji body of Christians established themselves in Antioch, a
I new use of the word ecdesia appears ( 12-^). Hitherto it has meant the whole body of the brethren ; now it is applied also to parts of the whole. Each centre is capable of .separate action, and deals with local affairs, while remaining in close union with the whole. And so the step which was perhaps the most momentous of any that have been taken in Church history — the mission of Paul and Bar- nabas— was apparently the work of the Church in Antioch alone, without any reference to Jeru- salem (l.Si^-)- This mission led to the foundation of a large number of local ecclesice, each of which was provided by the Apostle with a local ministry (14'''), while he exercised a continual supervision over them, and visited them as often as circum- stances would allow. The difficult questions which arise out of this gieat extension of the Church are referred to the ' Apostles and presbyters ' at Jeru- salem. The precise relations between the authority of the whole body and the legitimate independence of the local communities are undefined, but the recognition of the unity of the whole Church and of the Apostolic authority is unmistakable. In the Epistles of St. Paul the term ecelesia is constantly used of the local communities, of which he had frequent occasion to .speak ; the cliiuch in a city (I Co 1=) or even in a house (Ro 16', Col 4'^) is a familiar expression, and the churches of a region are spoken of (1 Co 16'-'') in a way that possibly
of which these several churches are only local divi- sions. It is in the Epistle to the Ephesians that his doctrine of ' the Clmreh ' culminates. It is particularly with reference to this teaching that a distinction has been drawn between the actual and the ideal Church. This distinction is a real one, if it means that the ideal of the Church has never yet been realized in fact. But neither St. Paul nor any other NT ■writer draws any distinction, or ap- pears to be conscious of the need of any. The Clnirch, like the individual Christian, is regarded as bein^- tliat wliirh it is becoming. As the indi- vidual ( liri^liaii, in spite of his imperfections, is a saint. ~.. ihc i\i-^ting body of Christians whom he is a.l.lii--inu i^ tlie Body of Christ, which is to bo |.r.~.nti.l .1 ulciiious Church, holy and without bliMiii-li (1 ('., IJ-., Eph 5"). See ORGANIZATION. ii. Tin: 111 \i;.\CTERisTics of the Church.— As^iiiiiiiit; iicnv that the Church is a society founded by Christ to carry on His work for the redemption of mankind, the characteristic notes of the Church, as they have been embodied in the Creeds, may be considered with reference to the teaching contained in the Gospels. It is convenient to state at the outset what the principal passages in the Gospels are which bear upon the subject. In the first place, all the teaching relative to the Kingdom of God bears more or less directly on the Church. Some points with regard to this have already been noticed. Then there are the two passages in which the word errhaia is use,]. Mt IG''-^ and IS''"*. In connexion with thr finiiiir, the other two ' Petrine' texts, Lk '-'-'^^ - .nil .In J I "", may be considered. There arc al^.. iln' .Imucs given "to the Apostles in general, .Mt lo, Mk a""'" 6"-l^ Mt 28'«-2», Jn 20='-=', antl the accounts of the institution of the Eucharist. And there is the long passage Jn 14-17, which specially bears upon the relations of Christ to the Church. The authenticity or credi- bility of some of these passages has been disputed on various grounds, but it will be assumed for the present purpose that they contain a credible record of till I. :n liin- .if Christ. It will be convenient to ci.ii 'li I .I'hing under the heads of those