kingdom of God, then, has its place in man's renewed heart
and mind, and can therefore never be a thing of observation. But let
us look a little further. The most precious and valuable things of
earth are worthless until brought out into use. Of what good are all
the mineral treasures of earth while hidden in the mines? Just so "the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in the field."

But our heavenly Father has prepared a body, a visible, organized body
for his kingdom on earth, so that it may become active, useful, and in
every way promotive of man's highest good on earth and his highest
bliss in heaven. This body is the Lord's visible church. Like the
human body, it is composed of members, and each member has his place
and office of service in the body. The church is composed of those who
do the Lord's will; and he owns all such as his brethren. On one
occasion he exclaimed: "Who are my brethren?" And immediately he said:
"Behold my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father
which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Thus the church is composed of such as hold a relationship with him,
symbolized by that of brother, sister and mother. It is for his church
that Jesus offered that wonderful prayer recorded in the seventeenth
chapter of John. He there says: "I have manifested thy name unto the
men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou
gavest them me; and they have kept thy word." The church, then, is
composed of such as keep the Lord's Word.

He said: "My kingdom is not of this world." Neither is the church,
which is the visible, active, use-loving and use-performing body of
the kingdom, of this world. It is not organized according to the order
of human institutions and laws, but according to God's order. Human
laws and customs have really and legitimately nothing to do either
with its organization and government or with the admission of members
into its body and their retention and conduct in the body. But the
church is _in_ the world. By its being _in_ the world, where sin and
sorrow and suffering abound; where there is so much pain to assuage,
so much want to relieve, so much evil to combat, so much ignorance to
dispel by the light of truth, numberless and boundless opportunities
and demands are presented for "the good man, out of the good treasure
of his heart to bring forth good things."

And in the world is just where the Lord wants his chu