festation of the Spirit to profit withal." The entire chapter is given to explanations of this diversity of gifts and ministrations. All believers are in one Spirit baptized into one body of Christ, and all are made to drink of one Spirit. Each particular member needs the coöperation of every other member, and so apostles, prophets, teachers, powers, gifts of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues are set in the church for the edification of the whole body. The same lesson is taught by means of the same figure in Rom. xii, 4-8. The church conceived as the body of Christ and perfected in heavenly beauty and excellence is in itself a glorious ideal, "not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing" (Eph. v, 27), but in the actual conditions of its development and working in this world, it is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an end. As our Lord said of the sabbath (Mark ii, 27) so we may say of the church: it was made for man and not man for it. The same is true of all sacred institutions. They exist for the highest culture and advantage of the children of God. The church is the congregation and communion of those who are "called to be saints" (Rom. i, 7),' and the fellowship which the members enjoy together, the solemn vows they take, the worship they observe, the counsels and instruction they give and receive, the "speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with the heart to the Lord and giving thanks always for all things" (Eph. v, 19, 20; comp. Col. iii, 16), and all the varied ministries of apostles and prophets and teachers are so many direct means of cultivating the religious spirit, and strengthening every element of Christian character.

2. The Sacraments. The sanctity of this churchly fellowship and the solemnity of the bonds which knit all the members of this body to one another are perpetually evidenced by the two sacred rites of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These, being regarded as signs and seals of a holy covenant relationship before God, are commonly called sacraments, because they involve solemn obligations, like the taking of an oath of allegiance and fidelity. Various forms and ideals of baptism were current among the Jewish people before the time of Christ. The rite took on peculiar solemnity in connection with the ministry of John, the forerunner of Jesus, and the whole teaching and work of that remarkable prophet is called "the baptism of John" (Matt. xxi, 25; Mark xi, 30; Luke vii, 29; xx, 4; Acts i, 22; xviii, 25; xix, 3), and "the baptism which John preached" (Acts x, 37). It is also called "the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins" (Mark i, 4; Luke iii, 3). John baptized great multitudes of the people, who 'On the word ikkλnoía, church, see Biblical Hermeneutics, pp. 74, 75.

confessed their sins, recognized John as a prophet, and “were willing for a season to rejoice in his light" (John v, 35). But the steadfast testimony of John was that he himself was but a voice in the wilderness to make ready the way of the Lord, and to baptize with water unto repentance; but there was a mightier One coming after him who should baptize with the Holy Spirit.

(1) Christian Baptism. Jesus himself did not perform the ceremony of baptism with water, but according to John iv, 1, 2, his disciples made and baptized more converts than John. This they would not have been likely to do without his sanction, although it is noticeable that not a word is said about it in the synoptic records of his appointing and sending forth the twelve to preach the gospel of the new kingdom (Mark iii, 13-15; vi, 7-13; Matt. x, 1-15; Luke vi, 12-19; ix, 1-6; x, 1-16). In the commission recorded in Matt. xxviii, 19, and Mark xvi, 15, 16, however, baptism receives distinctive mention, and the Acts of the Apostles shows an apparently uniform practice of baptizing all Christian converts upon confession of sin and of belief in Jesus the Christ (ii, 38, 41; viii, 12, 38; ix, 18; x, 48; xvi, 15, 33; xviii, 8; xix, 5). A saving significance seems to be given to the water of baptism in 1 Pet. iii, 21, where it is called "an antitype" of the water of the flood, by means of which Noah and his family were saved. But the writer takes pains to say that the baptism of which he speaks is "not a putting away of the filth of the flesh, but a question of good conscience toward God." No ritual washing in water can save a soul from sin, and baptism, in this text as in a number of other places, is best understood of that inner washing and purification of which the outward rite is only a symbolic sign. So, too, in those passages in the Pauline epistles where the main reference is to the death unto sin and the newness of life which the believer realizes in Christ, the allusion to baptism is metaphorical, the formal ceremony being mentioned as the sign and symbol of the work of grace in the soul. "As many as were baptized into Christ put on Christ" (Gal. iii, 27). "In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Cor. xii, 13). "All we

The last-named passage occurs in the appendix to Mark's gospel, is of uncertain origin, and certainly no part of the original gospel according to Mark. See notes to the critical editions of the Greek Testament by Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford, Westcott and Hort. Inasmuch, also, as no use of the trinitarian formula for baptism occurs elsewhere in the New Testament, and the common method of reference in the Acts of the Apostles is to baptism "into the name of the Lord Jesus" (ii, 38; viii, 16; x, 48; xix, 5), it is believed by some scholars that the language of Matt. xxviii, 19, is not an exact version of the words of Jesus himself, but a clothing of them in the words of a formula which came into early use in the church. Similarly, the doxology of the Lord's Prayer in Matt. vi, 13, came to be interpolated, probably, from the common prevalence of such formulas in acts of public worship. But these facts do not in the least take from the value of the prayer, or from the nature and purpose of the rite of baptism.

who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried with him through baptism into death" (Rom. vi, 3, 4; comp. Col. ii, 12). As a suggestive symbol of this profound conception of entrance into the new life of Christ the rite of baptism in water was divinely significant in the mind of Paul; but apart from the spiritual reality of which it is the sign the ceremony in itself would be an empty form. The "one baptism" referred to in Eph. iv, 5, is the one genuine baptism "into Christ," and so necessarily supposes the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for no immersion of the body in water, and no pouring or sprinkling of clean water on the body, can effect a change of heart, or bring the soul into fellowship with Jesus. Paul's mystic nature apprehended the deep spiritual truth figured in baptism, but he was so far from exalting this rite above the ministry of the word, that he declares that Christ sent him "not to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (1 Cor. i, 17). The rite of baptism has been regarded as in some sense taking the place of the older rite of circumcision. Abraham "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision" (Rom. iv, 11; comp. Gen. xvii, 10, 11), and the ceremony obtained formal recognition in the Mosaic legislation (Exod. xii, 48; Lev. xii, 3). It was also conceived as a symbol of the purification of the heart before God (Deut. x, 16; xxx, 6; Jer. iv, 4; Rom. ii, 29). So far, therefore, as both these rites symbolize heart-purity, and are signs and seals of a covenant relation, and tokens of formal union with the people of God, they serve to illustrate each other. But the older rite of circumcision has been abrogated by the gospel of Christ, and all the purpose it may have served as the sign and seal of covenant relations and of sanctification of heart is now met by the simpler and more suitable rite of baptism in water. Specific confirmation of this is, perhaps, to be recognized in the language of Col. ii, 11, 12: "Ye were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." The deep spiritual experience expressed by these figures of death and resurrection in Christ supersedes all the carnal ordinances of Judaism. The rite of baptism has received almost universal recognition in the Christian Church, and even without the authority of a specific commandment of the Lord, would be a beautiful and appropriate form of public initiation into the covenants and fellowship of the children of God. But it is the more impressive and binding by reason of the sanction it received from Christ and the apostles,

and the reverential observance it has commanded through all the Christian centuries.'

(2) The Lord's Supper. As the rite of baptism in the Christian Church takes in some measure the place of circumcision in the Jewish community, so the Lord's Supper (vglakòv deiπvov; 1 Cor. xi, 20) takes the place of the Jewish feast of Passover. According to Paul, Christ has become the Christian's paschal lamb (1 Cor. v, 7), and in the mystic symbolism of the Lord's Supper the believer signifies in a formal way the vital union he enjoys with Christ. This blessed union is forcibly expressed in the words of Gal. ii, 20: "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, which is in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me." In the light of this confession we perceive the deep spiritual import of 1 Cor. x, 16, 17: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion. (KOLVwvía) of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?-seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we all partake of the one bread" (ek Tov έvòs åpтov: share from the one common bread), and so participate in the one common life of one great organism. The spiritual unity of all believers is thus most plainly affirmed, as also the fact that they all derive their spiritual subsistence from one common source. Paul himself has given us the earliest record we possess of the institution of the Lord's Supper (see 1 Cor. xi, 23-26), and it agrees in substance with that of the synoptic gospels (comp. Matt. xxvi, 26-29; Mark xiv, 22-25; Luke xxii, 14-20). The Passover was a memorial of Israel's deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt; the Lord's Supper is a memorial of our redemption "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet. i, 19). In the observance of this sacred rite the believer recognizes a divinely ordained means of showing forth his faith in the atoning death of Christ, and his abiding spiritual fellowship with him. In the mystic way of

1 The age of serious controversy over the questions of time, place, subjects, and mode of baptism seems to be past. The allusions to immersion, affusion, and sprinkling are numerous in the Scriptures, and all these modes of ceremonial purification have their sufficient warrant to justify the personal choice of the individual believer. In the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (chap. vii) it is commanded to baptize in running water; but if that is not at hand, other water may be used, either cold or warm. It is also permitted to perform the rite by pouring water on the head. The practice of infant baptism is without any specific commandment, and also without the record of any clear example, in the New Testament. It has, however, been inferred from the mention of household baptisms, and from the analogy of circumcision, and may find a sufficient reason for itself in the obvious propriety of a public and formal consecration of children to God. We hold, accordingly, that, with or without scriptural warrant, it “is to be retained in the church.

stating it, he eats the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son of man, and so comes to have life in himself (John vi, 53).

3. The Ministry of the Word. The fellowship and communion, which are enhanced by these symbolic signs of the new covenant, must needs be very helpful in developing the spiritual life of the children of God. But far more important than the formal observance of any outward rites is the faithful ministry of the word of God, a preaching and teaching of the great eternal truths which have to do with the moral and religious nature of man. Many of these are treasured in the scriptures of the Old Testament, and, according to Paul, "were written for our learning" (Rom. xv, 4). "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work" (2 Tim. iii, 16, 17). The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms may therefore be profitably searched for religious instruction and edification. The record of creation in Genesis is full of richest suggestions touching the personality and power of God, and implies his immanence in all the world. The promise to the woman (iii, 15), and the symbols of judgment and mercy in flaming sword and cherubim (iii, 24) are prophetic of a divine purpose to redeem from sin and death. The familiar story of Cain and Abel is freighted with moral lessons of imperishable value. The covenant with Noah and its symbolic sign of the bow in the cloud (ix, 9-17) illustrate the ancient ideas of divine compassion and the doctrine of communion between God and man. The various rites of the Levitical worship, the vows and the purifications, the sabbath, the new moons, the sacred seasons and pilgrimages and fasts, the solemn assemblies and the sacrifices, all witness to the religious culture of the Israelitish people, and along with the lively oracles of the prophets and the spiritual songs of the psalmists furnish numerous lessons for instruction in righteousness. Or if we look for special illustrations from individual life and character, we may cite the examples of Enoch, who walked with God; of Abraham, the friend of God; of Jacob and his wrestling with the angel; of Joseph, the honored servant of God; of Moses, who spoke face to face with Jehovah; of Samuel, the venerable prophet, and David, the man after God's own heart. The Psalms and Prophets abound with pious utterances which show that at various periods of the Old Testament history human hearts in Israel were led through remarkable experiences of conviction of sin, repentance, faith, and turning unto

'See these lessons more fully indicated in Biblical Apocalyptics, pp. 38-67.