y whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to
every man" (1 Cor. i. 12; iii. 1-5).

The tendency to form divisions in the Church which so early appeared,
increased rather than diminished as years went on; though it was
checked, under the Providence of God, by the frequent persecutions
which broke out against the Christians. The inevitable result
followed. "The Kingdom of Heaven" was weak, and unable to maintain
the conflict against the heathenism of the world around it, as it
ought to have done. Christendom was divided against itself. The
National Churches, which had been founded as Branches of one and the
same Church, were engaged in contests between themselves. Then one
Church usurped an authority over other Churches, provoking in course
of time further disunion. And in our own days, after eighteen
centuries have passed since the Church was founded, it is calculated
that not one-third of the inhabitants of the earth profess the faith
of Christ. So greatly have the unhappy divisions which prevail amongst
Christians weakened the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

But as Englishmen we are chiefly interested in the Church of our own
country. Consequently, we must now come to the consideration of a
question which, probably, has already troubled the minds of many
readers of these pages--If the Church is one, what is the position of
those who have separated from their own National Branch of this one
Church, or Kingdom of Christ?

It is a question of much difficulty, because those who have been
outwardly separated from their brethren have been brought into a
position altogether different from any which is described in the New
Testament. For the subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ are described
therein as subjects of one Kingdom, bound together by the closest ties
of loyalty to the King, and of brotherhood with one another. At the
same time, the names by which Christians in this country are divided
into Church-people and Dissenters, only add to the confusion. For to
suppose, as these names suggest, that Dissenters do not belong in any
sense to the Church of Christ, is an idea which is repugnant to the
minds of all who know anything of their work. But though the
difficulty of the question is so great, it is hoped that the previous
chapters will have prepared the reader to see his way to the answer,
which Holy Scripture enables us to form.

But first let us clear the way by calling to mind the origin of the
present