Matt. iii. 9). Similarly,
on the other hand, if men carelessly weaken "The Kingdom of Heaven" by
forming factions, or so-called denominations, under different leaders,
and known by the names of their founders, they are clearly bringing
themselves under the rebuke of S. Paul, "While one saith, I am of
Paul; and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal[19]?" (1 Cor.
iii. 4); or if they propose to themselves to form a holier society,
by expelling the tares from the wheat in the Lord's field, they are
disregarding the teaching of His parable (S. Matt. xiii. 24-30), the
meaning of which cannot be doubtful. And, at the same time, all who
will take pains to study Holy Scripture will find that to be a member
of "The Kingdom of Heaven," or Church of Christ, is no mere matter of
choice, but of vital importance; because no other way has been
revealed whereby we may be saved, but by accepting the Gospel of the
Kingdom, and by being admitted into it, as those first converts were,
to whom S. Peter said, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation"
(Acts ii. 40, 41).

We are now in a position to sum up what has been gathered from Holy
Scripture about the essential unity of "The Kingdom of Heaven."

The idea of a Kingdom implies the necessity of unity. And it was
provided that the essential unity of "The Kingdom of Heaven" should be
maintained through the Headship of the one King over all. The King
commissioned His Apostles to make all the nations of the world His
subjects, and assured them of the authority to do this by promising to
be with them and their successors to the end of the world. And
wherever the Church spread, however defective and imperfect it might
be, it was still part of one and the same Kingdom, owning the Lord
Jesus Christ as King. Besides this bond of union, one Holy Spirit was
working with more or less success upon all the subjects, wherever they
might be; one Hope was held out before all, of salvation; one Faith in
the ever-blessed Trinity was taught to all, and professed by all; one
Baptism enrolled all; one God was the object of the worship of all.

But the unity of a Kingdom depends not only upon the King and the laws
and ordinances of the Kingdom, but also upon the loyal obedience of the
subjects. And the subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven" have, in past
times, so far forgotten this duty, that it has come to pass that for
centuries the great branches of the Church of Christ have had little,
if any, o