Church is the development of individual. Christians from spiritual infancy to spiritual manhood; the second is the consolidation of the several megibers of the Church into the one body of Christ-the ~nward growth to the stature of the fulness of Christ, the outward growth of the various parts of that great organism of which Christ is the Head. I. THE INWARD GROWTH OF SPIRITUAL MANHOOD. Individual Christians must grow if the whClle Church is to grow. 1. The characteristics of the growth. It is the gradual attainment of manhood. There are babes in Christ among men who are olJ in years. The work of the gospel is not accomplished till it has made strong men of us. A religion of soft sentiment and imbecile intelligence, such as some would commend as a rebuke to our pride, would find no favour with St; Paul. He "-:\Sa man of robust intellect and vigorous energy. The childlikeness of the Christian !s iar from the childishness of the sen\imeutal religionist. Many of the greatest 1,~r,>es hin-e had a singular childlikeness which has only enhanced the ma.nliness or their li,es. The perfect Christian- is just the perfect man. In particular he must ha,e: (1) Increase of knowl,ed,gB. (2) Stability of beUef; the lack of personal convictions t.hat is so common among us is a symptom of intellectual feebleness. We do not want rigid do.,<Tillatism, but surely as our thinking and experience progress some truths should emerge out of the mist of doubt clear and certain, some gtound should be securely won, though much must still be beyond our comprehension. . (3) Fidelity; "speaking the truth," or rather "dealing truly ; " for this a manly firmness must be acquired. ( 4) Love; "in love," etc. 2. The relation of this growth to Christ. (1) Christ is the object of our gtowing knowledge; we have to grow in" the know- ledge of the Son of God." (2) Christ is the standard of. Christian manliness. "The measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ " is what :we are called to grow up to. (3) Christ is the end of Christian effort. We have to grow " into him." 'fhe <legree of our Christian progress may be determined by our nearness to Christ. Apparent increase of knowledge, energy, etc., is real decline if we are drifting further from Christ. The perfect Christian is at once he who is most Christ-like in character and he who is nearest t.o Christ in living communion. II. THE Ol7TWARD GROWTH OF THE CHURCH. The whole body gtows with the gradual increase of its several parts. But this general increase has a character and a hk--tory of its own. '!'he Church gtows up to manhood. Through all the ages of Ch:ri;;tendom it has been the object of Christ to develop and educate his people till the infant C'nnrch of the first age should become the manly Church of the last. Tnis thought warns us against the foolish Yeneration for antiquity which Lord Bacon repudiated, reminding us that these later days are the truly ancient times when the world has grown old in experience. Doubtless we may learn much by the study of patristic and primitive Christianity. But we shall be ill: error if wo i~crine that all we have to do is to revive the days of the Church's childhood; and we shall be far from the broad. strong, spirit of St. Paul if we timidly shrink from those new advances that make for the increase of the Church's manhood. The Church. as well as the individual Christian must gtow in knowledge; it should also grow in fixity of established faith, in fidelity, and in love. The true growth of the Church will also show (1) more harmony and. unity, of sympathy and co-opera.tion in work--" fitly framed and knit t.ogether;" (2) at the same time more elasticity, versatility, and variety of life and action-" every joint" supplying its own share of work· (0) enlargement in numbers and size-" increase of the body;" and (4) closer wnwr: with Christ-the whole body must" gtow up in all things unto him which is the Head."-W. F. A. Ver. 21.-.J.B the truth ia in Jesus. These words describe the method, not the 6ubstance, of Chrifitian teaching ; the latter is adverted to in the ne~t ver~~ '!'he bbt.,rical Lam~, "Jesus," instead of the more common official name, "Christ," indicates t':iat_ thIB,t~ching is given through_ the life _of oar Lord ~n earth. _We_.com~ (u :'-~ ~r,c,,nedge c,f troth by hearing hnn, by bewg taught of him, by secmg 1t as 1t 1s I[; IllIIL.
L THE K:SOWLEOOZ OF TRUTH 18 OF SUPRE)II': B!PORTANCE TO us. The means i.£ prvp<Jrtic,ned tv the end. If the life of Chriot is necessary for the revelation OIi. IV, 1-32,] THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 205