ground of the truth," 1 Tim. iii. 15.
"Might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God," Eph. iii. 10.
"In the midst of the Church will I sing praise unto thee," Heb. ii. 12.
In which, and such like places, we must needs understand, that one
general visible Church of Christ.

2. By such passages of scripture as evidently compare all visible
professors and members of Christ throughout the world to one organical
body, having eyes, ears, hands, feet, &c., viz., several organs,
instruments, officers, &c., in it, for the benefit of the whole body; as,
"He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," Eph. iv.
11, 12. "There is one body," Eph. iv. 4. "As we have many members in one
body, and all members have not the same office; so we being many are one
body in Christ, and every one members one of another," &c., Rom. xii.
4-9. "As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of
that one body being many, are one body; so also is Christ," (i.e.,
Christ considered mystically, not personally,) "for by one Spirit are we
all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we
be bond or free," &c., 1 Cor. xii. 12, to the end of the chapter, which
context plainly demonstrates all Christ's visible members in the world,
Jews or Gentiles, &c., to be members of one and the same organical body
of Christ, which organical body of Christ is the general visible Church
of Christ; for the invisible church is not organical.

II. That the edification of the Church of Christ is that eminent scope
and end, why Christ gave church government and all other ordinances of
the New Testament to his Church. This is frequently testified in
scripture. 1. The apostle, speaking of this power generally, saith, "Our
authority which the Lord hath given to us for edification, and not for
the destruction of you," 2 Cor. x. 8. The like passage he hath again,
saying, "according to the authority," or power, "which the Lord hath
given to me for edification, and not for destruction," 2 Cor. xiii. 10;
in both which places he speaks of the authority of church government in
a general comprehensive way, declaring the grand and general immediate
end thereof to be, affirmatively, edification of the church; negatively,
not the subversion or destruction thereof. 2. In like manner, when
part