willing to do marvels as mighty through each believer.
And as this life permeates us all alike, it makes us not only one with
the blessed God, but one with all who believe, as the blood makes all
the members of the body one, and the sap the branches of the tree.

IV. _THE MEANS OF THIS SPIRITUAL UNITY ARE THE INFLUENCES OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT._--Influence means _inflow_. It was by the Holy Spirit that our
Lord's human nature was made one with His Father's. And this same Holy
Spirit He has bequeathed to us, that He may be the same bond of
spiritual life between us and our Lord as He was between our Lord and
His Father. May not this be the meaning of His words: "The glory
which Thou gavest Me I have given them, that they may be one as we are
one"? May not that glory have consisted in the oneness of His human
nature with God the Father, by the Holy Spirit? And if so, it may be
shared by us. The more that believers receive the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit, the more clearly will they appreciate this great mystery,
and the more closely will they be drawn to all other believers, hushing
jealous thoughts and uncharitable words, and "endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

_It is abundantly clear, then, that this unity cannot be broken unless
we break away from Christ_. Men have used that word schism with
terrible effect. If a man has broken away from some visible church,
they have pointed to him as a schismatic. But what is schism? It is a
breaking away from the Body of Christ. But what is the Body of Christ?
The Roman Catholic will tell you that it is the Church of Rome; the
Anglican will tell you that it is the Church of England; the High
Churchman will tell you that it is the collection of churches which
hold the doctrine of Apostolic Succession. What vestige of Scriptural
proof is there for these assertions? What an absurdity it is to be
told that we must submit to an outward rite, or we cannot belong to the
Body of Christ! What then would become of all the saints and martyrs
who died without membership with one of these visible organizations?
No, the Body of Christ, as Scripture plainly teaches, is that great
multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and
peoples, and tongues, and sects, and eras, who are united by faith with
the Saviour. The Church of Christ is not conterminous with any earthly
or visible organization; it is long as the ages, wide as the po