in
the appointed way, by which they also might be brought into the one
Body (1 Cor. xii. 13).

CHAPTER VII.

THE PARABLES EXEMPLIFIED IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE CHURCH.

"To Him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
His Kingdom still increasing,
A Kingdom without end."

We have seen that our Lord described in His Parables the general
character and nature of "The Kingdom of Heaven." Consequently, if the
Church established by the Apostles under the guidance of the Holy
Ghost is "The Kingdom of Heaven," it will necessarily be found to
agree with the description thus given. Let us therefore now consider
how far the history of the Church, in the Acts of the Apostles and the
Epistles, agrees with the picture of "The Kingdom of Heaven" drawn
beforehand by the King.

The Parable of the Sower admits of frequent illustration if we
understand the seed to refer, in a general sense, to the good news of
salvation through Jesus Christ, whether it is preached to men outside
the Kingdom or to those within it. The birds are continually carrying
off the seed from thoughtless and hardened hearers; opposition and
persecution and temptation still scorch up the seed in others; and
worldliness and love of money still choke that which was beginning to
grow well in many hearts. And we can see all these characters, in
those who were first called to be members of the Church of Christ. The
Jews, generally, in all places visited by S. Paul, from whom he was
forced to turn away in despair of producing any effect (Acts xiii.
46), were like the wayside on which the seed fell only to be devoured.
Such also was Felix, who "trembled" as he heard S. Paul reasoning "of
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come," but went away and
"left Paul bound" (Acts xxiv. 25-27); and Agrippa "almost persuaded to
be a Christian" (Acts xxvi. 28). Of hearers in whom the seed is
scorched up by the fire of temptation or persecution, we may see
instances in Ananias and Sapphira, who fell under the temptation to
appear zealous whilst being really worldly (Acts v. 3); or in John
Mark, who was disheartened at the seeming difficulties before him,
and turned back from Pamphylia (Acts xiii. 13), leaving S. Paul and S.
Barnabas to go on without him. Of those in whom the seed is choked by
the weeds of worldliness and love of money, there were many examples.
Simon Magus, who after renouncing his sorcery and being baptised,
thought t