Ver. 5.-The Church's edification the object sought in the trust of Christian gifts. "That the Church may receive edifying." In classifying the Christian gifts, talents, and endowments, the first broad distinction to be made is between such as direct atten- tion to the possessor, and such as give the possessor a gracious power of influ~nce on others. Gifts which glorify the man who has them are not to be despised ; but the· apostle conceived that gilts which take men out of themselves, and only fin,\ their exercise in the help and blessing of others, are rather to be sought. The man who can speak in ecstatic language or in an unknown tongue, may seem to be supremely endowed, and men may be disposed to envy his gift; but it only draws attention to him; it only excites feeling; it bears no relation either to intellectual or moral culture. It serves its ends, and possibly these are simply to call attention to Christian preaching, and bring men into relation with the Christian teachers. 'l'he question which decides our estimate of the value of the differnnt gifts is this-How does each be::i.r upon spiritual profit; upon the edifying of the Church?. "The teacher of religious truth to others, who thereby builds up the whole edifice of the body of Christ, is a greater one than he who is himself benefited by being possessed of profouud but uncommunicable emotion." Opening this point, we notice- I. THE INTEREST OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE CHURCH. The Church is a body made up of units; but it is not a mere aggregation of lmits; every unit is related vitally with every other unit, and in mutual helpfulness a common life is maintained. Schism comes when the interest. of the individual is centred in self. The useless members of a Church are those who are satisfied to get, not to give. Each m€ll1ber ought even to nourish his own personal piety with a view to aid the healthiness and vigour of the whole body. Illustrate by the morlern discovery of the formation of living beings from germ-cells. These do not lie side by side; they divide and form new cells, so that every single cell may be said to bo in the whole creature, interested in the vitality of the whole. II. THE PROOF OF THAT INTEREST IN THE DEVOTION AND USE OF Il\DIVIDUAL GIFTS. Gifts are not personal privileges, signs of special favour to indi viduais ; they are al ways trusts committed to individual members of the Church for the :ise and benefit of the whole. A man only looks at his gift aright when, in the presence of tho Church, he says," This gift is for you; I hold it for your use. Find me the sphere iu which I may serve you best in the use of the gift." How sublime the ·riches and strcn~th of Christ's Church would be if each endowed man and womnn would lay his gifts on the altar of the Church's service ! Ill. THE CULTURE AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH ARE ONLY SECURED DY SUCH DEVOTION AND usE OF GIFTS. Illustrate by taking the separate endowments ,md fittiug them to their parts of the Church's edifying. Take: 1. The resthctic or artistic gift . show bow it bears upon the culture of the Church's sense of the beautiful, helping thus to worthy conceptions of one side of the Divine nature. 2. 'l'he musical gift; showint how it bears upon edifying by the relief of overcharged feelinii;, and ai,ls in kuitting tl16 Church together by the common expression of common emotions. 3. 'l'he prcacbin:;. -l80 TIIE FIRST EPISTLE 'l'O THE CORINTHIANS. [cu. xiv, 1-40.
and teaching gift; which stands rel:tted to mental culture, intellectual edification. 4. The literary gift; which in these days becomes the great defeusive agency, by which the evils of the Church are kept off from her, so that she may duly thrive and grow. Others may he mentioned, or subdivisions of these may be taken. Press the importance of encouraging in each member full loyalty to the Church; and show that this becomes .a valuable ag<'ncy in spiritual edification, because it ensures the full and self-denying devot.cment of all the members' powers to the Church's well-being. The true and full npbuilding of a Church includes many things, great and small, and so there is need for the use of what we estimate as lesser and greater gifts.-R. 'l'.