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THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN,
A Sermon, written by Bev. T. B. Coopeb, for the
General Meeting of the Third District of the
Middle Association. October 31st, 1875, on the
question, 1 'What is meant by the Kingdom of
Heaven, as spoken of in various places in the
New Testament?”
THE KING A "D THE KINGDOM.
The King. G 1 the Father says of
this King, ,: yet Lave I set My King up.
on My holy hill of Zion.” David calls
him “The Holy One, our King.” Of him
Jeremiah prophesied, saying, “Behold
the days come, saith the Lord, that I
will raise unto David a righteous
branch, and a King shall reign and
prosper, and shall execute judgment
and justice in the earth. In his days
Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall
dwell safely, and this is his name,
whereby He shall be called, The Lord
our Righteousness.” This is He of
whom Zachariah exclaimed, “Rejoice,
greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy
King cometh unto thee.” And Math
ew, in the fullness of time, taking up
the song of the prophet, in view of the
King in person, cried, saying, “Tell ye
the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King
cometh unto thee;’' and the people lifted
up their voices and shouted, “Hosanna
in the highest: blessed is He that com
eth in the name of the Lord : Hosanna
in the highest.” This is the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
wise God, to whom be honor and gloiv
forever and ever.
The King is one.
Of the Son the Father saith, “Thv
throne, O God, is forever and ever.”
The Son saith, “I and My Father are
one.”
The kingdom is one.
The kingdom of Heaven is the king
dom of God. This may be readily ob
served bv noting that where Matthew
uses the first title, in almost every in
stance, the other Gospel writers employ
the second, without exception. If
there were any difference in meaning
intended by Matthew it would not thus
be disregarded by Mark, Luke and
John. Upon this authority we hold
the proposition to be true.
“The kingdom of Heaven—the kingdom
of Ood — is the Father's kingdom.”
“Then,” says our Lord, “shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father.” “I will not
drink henceforth of this fruit of the
vine, until the day when I drink
it new with you in my Father’s king
dom.” I will drink no more of the
fruit of the vine, until the day that
I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of Heaven is the king
dom of Christ, the Son.
“For this ye know,” says Paul, “that
no whoremonger, nor unclean person,
nor covetous man, who is an idolater,
hath auy inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and of God.” The same apos
tle also assures us that it is God the
Father,“who hath delivered usfrom the
power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”
The kingdom of Heaven is the Heav
enly kingdom.
Paul comforts himself in the follow
ing language, “And the Lord (Christ)
shall deliver me from ever}' evil work,
and shall preserve me unto His Heav
enly kingdom.”
The kingdom of Heaven is, therefore,
the heavenly kingdom; the kingdom of
God, the Father; the kingdom of
Christ, the Son.
The Old Testament is in harmony
wit h the New on this doctrine.
David, in his prayer before the con
gregation, blessed the Lord, saying,
“Thou art the King, O Lord, and thou
art exalted, as head above all.” It was
he who said, “The kingdom is the
Lord’s, and He is the Governor among
the nations,” and, “The Holy One of
Israel is our King.” Obadiah prophe
sied, “The kingdom shall be the
Lord’s,” and Isaiah, the evangelical
prophet, wrote, “For unto us a child is
lorn, unto us a sou is given; and the
government shall be upon his shoulder;
and his name shall be called, Wonder
ful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The
Everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace.”
Our Lord’s prayer on the kingdom.
Our Saviour, looking backward to
the Old Testament, and forward to the
New, teaches his disciples to pray, “Our
Father who art in Heaven—Thy
kingdom come —for Thine is the king
dom, the power, and the glory.”
In the above we may note how close
the connection is between the Old and
the New Testaments. We observe,
also, why this kingdom is styled the
kingdom of Heaven. He, whose throne
is in the Heavens, must be the sov
erign of a heavenly kingdom.
The preaching of the kingdom.
In the further progress of Christ’s
ministry, the gospel is styled “the gos
pel of the kingdom,” and the preaching
of the gospel “the preaching of the
kingdom.” Mark, in accord with
Matthew, writes, “Now, after that John
was put in prison, Jesus came into Gal
ilee, preaching of the gospel of the
kingdom of God.” Luke’s record is
the same, viz., “And (Jesus) said
unto them, I must preach the kingdom
of God to other cities also, for there
fore am I sent.”
The meaning of the expression “king,
dom of Heaven."
Our Saviour affirms that he was sent
to preach the gospel of the kingdom of
God. That kingdom, therefore, about
which the gospel is concerned, is the
kingdom of Heaven. We have shown
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
that everywhere, both in the Old and
the New Testaments, this is styled
“the kingdom of God,” “the heavenly
kingdom,” “the kingdom of the Fath
er, “the kingdom of Christ,” “the king
dom of the Son.” It is the government
of which the Triune God is the King ;
whose laws, doctrines and ordinances
are contained in the Gospel; whose
subjects are the children of God—the
heirs of this inheritance. But we pro
ceed to a more particular description.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS KING
DOM.
It is an absolute soverignty.
Thus it is written, “There is no
power, but of God.” The Sou of God
exclaimed, “All power is given unto
me in Heaven and in earth.” He
has no superior, no predecessor, and
no successor in office. He is the
“ King of kings and Lord of lords.”
He doeth according to His will in the
army of Heaven, and among the inhab
itants of the earth ; ,*nd none can stay
His hand, or say unto Him, “ What
doest thou ?” His throne is estab
lished in the Heavens; and His king
dom ruletli over all.”
It is a spiritual kingdom.
The King is declared to he invisible
“ the King eternal, immortal, invisi
ble.” “ God is a Spirit, and they that
worship Him must worship Him in
spirit and in truth.” Allegiance to
Him, therefore, mast be a spiritual
allegiance ; and obedience, a spiritual
obedience. Its manifestation is an or
derly walk and a godly conversation.
Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says
that “ flesh and blood cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God.” Our Lord said
to the Pharisees: “ The Kingdom of
God cometh not with observation;
neither shall they say, “ Lo, here! or
10, there! for behold, the Kingdom of
God is within you.” He said to the
disc : ples, that “ it is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle, than
for a rich man to enter into the King
dom of God-.” And to Nicodemus, He
spake these memorable words: “Ex
cept a man be born again, he cannot
see the Kingdom of God.” And, “Ex
cept a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God.”
This testimony could not be true, il
this kingdom were any visible, earthly
organization; for here the rich do
enter more easily than all others;
and here, also, hosts are found unborn
again.
Mark the words, and behold the ini
posibilitv that the expression “born of
water” can refer to the ordinance of
baptism, or that the tide “kingdom of
Heaven” can apply to a visible church,
for a visible church can be seen,
a,though it may not be entered, without
baptism. The allusion must be to the
fountain of the Water of Life, opened
unto the house of David, and to the in
habitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for
uncleanness ; to the spiritual drink of
the spiritual rock—Christ; and to the
kingdom which is within its subjects.
Paul explains it when he says, “The
kingdom of God is not in word but in
power.” “For the kingdom of God is
not meat and drink, hut righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
And Christ determines its meaning,
when he says, “My kingdom is not of
this world.”
The subjects of this kingdom are spirit
ual subjects.
We hear Jesus saying, “Blessed are
the poor in spirit; for theirs’ is the
kingdom of Heaven.” “Except ye be
converted and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
Heaven.” “Except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the
Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall, in no
case, enter into the kingdom of Heav
en.” These, and the above scriptures,
show that membership in this kingdom
is attainable only by a fitness of spirit
ual character —that no one can he its
subject by virtue of any other quality.
“Without holiness no man shall see
the Lord.” Hence
The subjects of this kingdom are, of
necessity, holy subjects.
“Kuow ye not,” says the apostle
Paul, “that unrighteousness shall not
inherit the kingdom of God.” “Be
not deceived ; neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effemi
nate, nor abusers of themselves with
mandind, nor theives. nor covetous,
nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extor
tioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God.” “Now, the werks of the flush
are manifest, which are these : Adul
tery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciv
iousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, se
ditions, heresies, envvings, murders,
drunkenness, revelings, and such like ;
of the which, I tell you before, as I
have told you in time past, that they
which do such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God.”
Such is the universal instruction of
the New Testament—“the gospel of the
kingdom.” Christ Jesus is the King,
reigning over the hearts and conscien
ces of the heirs of glory, and not over
earthly territories, dominions, or or
ganizations, whose subjects are flesh
and blood; swaying a sceptre of
righteousness, and not of gold or iron :
wearing a crown of glory, and not of
diamonds, jewels or precious stones;
whose throne is in the Heaven of heav
ens, whose watchword is holiness, and
whose banner is love.
This kingd/mn is an eternal kingdom.
The King Eternal is its Sovereign.
“He shall be called the Son of the
Highest; and the Lord God shall give
Him the Throne of His father David ;
and He shall reign over the house of’
Jacob forever, and of His kingdom
there shall be no end.” “Of the in
crease of His government and peace,
there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon His kingdom, to
order it, and to establish it with justice,
from henceforth even forever." “For
so an entrance shall be administered
unto you, abundantly, into the ever
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Sav
iour Jesus Christ.”
Lehold, now, a kingdom, unraeas
uiud by time, unbounded by geo
giaphieal lines, unknown by experience
to all by whom it is not spiritually dis
cerned, and undisplaved in its fullness
of power and glory, until the King
shall be revealed from Heaven, with
His mighty angels, in flaming fire,
taking vengeance on them that know
not God, and that obey not the Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ”—a kingdom
prepared from the foundation of the
world, for the blessed of the Father ;
coining throughout the ages ; at hand,
under the preaching of the King in
person; consummated on earth, when
His will shall here be done as it is in
Heaven, when the kingdoms of the
world shall have become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of His Christ; then to
he delivered up by the Son to the
Father, in its mediatorial aspects and
reltaions, and, thenceforward, to be the
everlasting possession of the “ saints
in light.”
OBJECTIONS.
Having now explained wliat is mani
festly the Scriptural view of “the
Kingdom of Heaven,” and stated some
of its characteristics, let us proceed to
examine some objections that might
occur to the casual reader.
Is not the Messiah styled the King
of the Jews ? Was it not written upon
his Cross, “ This is Jesus, the King of
the Jews ?"
Yes, the Jews were the chosen peo
ple of God, and highly favored among
the nations; but the Messiah never
reigned in person over Judea, nor in
the universal Jewish heart. “ Christ
is preached unto the Jews, a stumbling
block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
but unto them which are called both Jews
and Greeks, the power of God and the
wisdom of God.” “ For there is no
difference between the Jew and the
Greek ; for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him.” To
the Jews as well as the Gentiles, Christ
said, “My kingdom is not of this
world.” To the Jews He said, “ The
Kingdom of God cometh not with ob
servation ” To a Jew He said, “ Ex
cept a man be born again, he cannot
see the Kingdom of God.” Of the
Jews was He, therefore, also the King
invisible, as well as eternal and im
mortal.
Are not persons said to enter into,
and to press into the Kingdom of
Heaven ?
Yes, but “ Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot en
ter into the Kingdom of God.” There
is, therefore, no admittance her: by the
door of any palpable organization ; nor
by the agency of any |material element,
nor by the manipulations of any hand
or succession of hands, nor at the bid
ding of any Pope, Piiest, or Bishop,
but by the Door, which is Christ; by
being born into the kingdom—“ not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God.”
Are not certain persons said to be
cast out of this kingdom ? And do not
some of the parables teach that this
kingdom does not contain some who
are not born again ?
If it is impossible for certain char
actors to enter, it is equally impossible
for them to be ejected. Christ and His
inspired penmen, everywhere teach
that the wicked, unregenerate, cannot
enter into the Kingdom of God—that
they cannot be its subjects—hence,
they can never be exiled, expatriated,
or excommunicated. But this can be
done from a visible organization.
Therefore, the kingdom of God is not
a visible organization.
What then does our Saviour mean,
when He says, that “ Many shall come
from the East and West, and shall sit
down with Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven, but
the children of the kingdom shall Ire
cast out into outer darkness?” Mani
festly, He does not have reference to
the children of the kingdom of Heaven,
but to “ the children of the wicked
one,” whose “ kingdom is full of dark
ness.” This can be seen in the para
ble of the man who sowed good seed in
his field. Our Saviour explains that
“ the good seed are the children of the
kingdom,” meaning the kingdom of
Heaven ; that “ the tares are the chil
dren of the wicked one;” that, “ at the
end of the world, the angels will gath
er out of His (Christ’s) Kingdom, all
things that offend, and them which do
iniquity, and cast them into a furnace
of fire.” Those that will be cast out,
are not the children of Christ’s King
dom, but of the wicked one—“those
that offend and which do iniquity.”
But these could never enter Christ’s
Kingdom, how, then, shall they be east
out ?. Our Saviour explains. “ The
field is the world.” In this, and not
in the kingdom, are sowed both the
good seed and the tares. The gather
ing out of, or rather out from the king
dom, is to take place at the end of the
world, and is the separation of the
righteous from the wicked, as they
dwell together in the world—“ in
the field”—and not in the kingdom.
This is most plainly illustrated by our
Lord’s description of the general judg
ment, in the twenty-fifth chapter of
Matthew. John also explains it, when
he says, “ They went out from (ex) us,
but they were not of (ex) us; for if
they had been of us, they would, no
doubt, have continued with us; but
they went out, that they might be made
manifest that they were not of us.”
The words, “uo doubt,” were inserted
by the translator. John expresses no
doubt about the matter. He says, “If
they had been of ns. they would have
continued with us.” If they had been
the children of the kingdom of Heaven,
they would have remained, acceding to
his testimony, without doubt. There is
no falling from grace, out of this king
dom—there are no ejectments here.
They who are justified by works, as the
apostle states, are fallen from it—are
fallen away from it —but not out of it;
just as the renegades, in John’s ac
count, went out from, but not out o/the
body of the true disciples. So the
tares are to be gathered out from, hut
not out of the wheat; so the bad fish
are to he separated from the good, as
in the parable of the net; so the five
foolish virgins are to be shut out from
the wise, not after they shall have en
tered into the marriage supper, but be
fore their entrance; so he who has not
on the wedding garment, is at once to
be recognized as an intruder among, but
not of, the invited guests; and so, in
the endkff the world, shall the Judge
sit upon the throne of His glory, and
shall separate His children from the
children of the wicked, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats ; and
shall say to the one, “ Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre
pared for you from the foundation of
the worldand, to the other, “ Depart,
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre
pared for the devil and his angels.”
Did not Christ give to the Apostle
Peter-the keys of the kingdom of
Heaven, and say to him, “ Whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be Uffuld
in Heaven; and whatsoever thou sty It
loose on earth shall he loosed in
Heaven ?” And are not these the keys
of the Christian church, by means of
which, the door into the church and
kingdom, is opened or shut, by apos
tolical and Divine sanction, and by men
claiming to have the power by right of
succession in office ? And is there
not here proof that the Cnristian
church is the Kingdom of Heaven ?
So millions of deceived men and
women, now believe. So Americans are
taught to-Ja;, by a numerous class of
men whose most apparent weakness is
an inveterate passion for female attire.
But there was never a greater heresy,
pr swindle conceived, in the benighted
brain of the prince of iniquity. Christ
says, “ Thou art Peter”— petros, “ a
piece of rock”—“ and upon this Petra
—■isassive rock” —whom thou hast
TfoLG-bSed, 1 Will build my church, and,
the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.” That the word here trans
lated church, means the spiritual, in
visible assembly which is identical with
“ the kingdom of Heaven,” and that
the rock, upon which this church is
built, is Christ, is most lucidly proved
by tbe following Scriptures: Paul says,
“As it is written, Behold Hay in Sion
a stumbling stone ( lithos ) and rock
(Petra) of offense; and whosoever
believeth on Him shall not bo ashamed.”
Again, “And they (the Israelites) did
all drink the same spiritual drink ; for
they drank of that spiritual rock (petra )
that followed them, and that rock
{petra) was Christ.” Peter, whom
Christ addressed as Petros, makes the
following record, in his letter to the
elect strangers: “To whom {Christ)
coming as unto a living stone (lithos),
disallowed indeed of men, but chosen
of God and precious, ye also, as lively
stones {lithos) are built up a spiritual!
house, a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ.” “ Wherefore, also,
it is contained in the Scriptures, be
hold I lay in Zion a chief corner stone
{lithos) elect, precious, and he that be
lieveth in Him shall not be confound
ed.” Unto you, therefore, which believe
He is precious, but unto 1 hem which be
disobedient, the stou-* {lithos) which
the builders disallowed, the same is
made the head of the corner, and a
stone {lithos) of stumbling, and rock
{petra) of offense, even to them which
stumble at the word, being disobedient,
whereunto also they were appointed.”
“ Now, therefore,” says Paul, agreeing
with Peter, “ ye are no more strangers,
but fellow citizens with the saints and
of the household of God ; and are built
upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself be
ing the chief corner ston a—lithos, in
whom all the building, fitly framed
together, growetb up unto a holy temple
in the Lord, in whom ye also are bnilded
together for a habitation of God,
through the Spirit.” “ For othe:
foundation can no man lay than is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.”
These abundant Scriptures most
clearly demonstrate, that the church
which is built upon the rock ,petra, not
petros, is the “ general assembly whose
names are written in Heaven,” the
“spiritual house,” the “ holy priest
hood,” the “holy temple in the Lord,”
“fellow citizens with the saints, and of
tbe household of God ;” and that the
rock— petra, tbe chief corner stone, the
only foundation, is Christ, whom
Peter confessed as the Son of the living
God.
Peter is petros, “a piece of rock or
a stone,” but not the petra —firm,
massive, substantial, permanent rock,
upon which the church, against which
“ the gates of ifaell shall not prevail” is
built. The disciples are called “lively
stones”— lithos, and are said to be
“ built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets,” as the teachers
of the Word; but Christ, the Word
itself, is “ the precious corner stone,”
the only petra, “ in whom all the budd
ing is fitly framed together.”
The Apostle John, in Revelations,
represents the walls of the city as built
upon “ twelve foundations,” having
written upon them “ the names of the
twelve apostles.” “ The Lord God Al
mighty and the Lam! , are the temple
of it.” “The glory ot ©on did light
en it, and the Lamb is the light there
of.” “And her light wa- like a stone
most precious, even like a jasper stone,
clear as crystal.” “ Ye,” the true dis
ciples of Jesus, are “lively stones”—
lithos, in this wall, whose foundations
are the twelve apostles, p'itluuit dis
tinction , and in this temple, whose chief
corner stone and indwelling Divinitv is
Christ. The church, symbolized bv
this city, “the new Jerusalem”—and
by this temple, “eternal in the Heav
ens,” has for its foundation, other than
which no man can lay, “ the Rock of
Ages,” “ the Lamb of God.”
Mark the testimony of Liddell and
Scott, the authors of the standard Greek
lexicon. “ Petros, a piece of rock, a
stone, and thus distinguished from
petra.” “ There is no example in good
authors of petra in the signification of
petros, for n single stone.” In proof of
tho correctness of this statement, you
will observe that, in the Sacred Writ
ings, petros is never employed as the
title of Christ, and that petra is never
used as the name of Peter. Litlios,
meaning either a large ora small stone,
is used indifferently lor Christ, for the
disoiples, and for the apostles and
prophets.
The Roman Catholic notion that this
is the visible church, and that it is
built upon petros, a piece of rock, one
of “ the foundations,” falls infinitely
below the high Scripture concepti >n of
the subject—it is a monstrous fiction,
abhorriug investigation, and vanishing
before it, as the morning darkness be
fore the comiug sun. For the proof, I
earnestly refer you to a treatise on
“The Pope’s Supremacy,” by Isaac
Barrow, D D., a book sold by Smith,
English & Cos., Philadelphia, at $1.50,
but, at the present time, worth its
weight in diamonds, to every American
citizen.
But, to resume. Whst theu, did our
Lord mean, when He said to Simon,
“ Thou art Petros,” “ a piece of rock?”
He meant simply to make allusion to
the meaning of His surname, and then,
by way of eoulrast, to direct his at
tention to the petra., “rock of offense,”
laid from eternity, as the “ chief Cor
ner Stone,” in Zion. He did not mean
to assign any pre eminence to him, for
He styled him only “ a piece of rock,”
or “a stone,” as the other apostles and
prophets and disciples. He meant to
give him no precedence of the other
apostles, for otherwise the Apostle Paul
could not aver that he himself was
“ not a whit behind the very ehiefest
apostles.” He could not have intended
to give him any authority or jurisdic
tion over the other apostles or the
church, for otherwise our Saviour could
not have said, “ One is your Master,
even Christ, and ail ye are brethren.'’
It could not have been His purpose to
give him supremacy, else He could not
have said, “ Whosoever will be great
among you, let him he your minister,”
or servant.
What special meaning did Christ in
tend when He said to Peter, “I give
unto thee the keys outlie kingdom of
Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt
biud on earth, shall be bound in Heav
-1 on, and whatsoever tbou shalt loose
on earth shall be loosed in Heaven. ”?
What did He intend when He gave to
the other apostles exactly the same pow
er of the keys, saying, “Whatsoever ye
shall bind on earth shall be bound in
Heaven;and whatsoev, rye shalllooseon
earth shall be loosed in Heaven, ”? and
“Whosesoever sins ye remit they are
remitted unto them ; and whosesoever
sins ye retain, they are retained.”?
Certainly be did not mean, in either
case, to confer upon them the power to
open and shut the door of the kingdom
of Heaven, by absolute remission or
retention of sins; for Christ himself is
that door, as He certifies in the 10th
chapter of the Gospel by John ; and
they who enter by that door are “born
again,” “not of the will of man hut of
God.”
Now, if Christ lias been put under the
lock and key of St. Peter, and his pre
tended successors—the Pope —and if
power of regeneration, and consequent
remission, has been transferred to them
bv the “grace of ordination,” then, and
then only, can they give titles to mem
bership in tbe Kingdom of Heaven.
But, who is there upon earth with the
Bible in his hand, a mind in his head,
and an honest heart in his breast, that
can entertain for a moment this blas
phemous heresy. How can rational
men believe, as many do profess to be
lieve, that the powers anil graces of
Divinity have been pul; under contri
bution to the wills and fancies of a
stuperstitious and fanatical priestorate?
Is it necessary to suggest that the
world-wide-slaudered Apostle Peter
had no conception of any such power,
as communicated to him? Shall I
say that, he, the receiver of the
keys, expressly disclaims every such
power, honor and prerogative ? Hear
. him in his own defense, both in lan-
guage already quoted, and when he
says more explicitly, “Be it known un
to you, and to all the people of Israel,
that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom
God raised from* the dead, even by
Him doth this man stand here before
you whole.” “This is the Stone
(lithos) whith was set at naught by
you builders, which is become the head
of the corner.” “Neither is there salva
tion in any other; for there is none other
name, under Heaven, given among
men, whereby we must be saved.”
Where, then, are the keys, 0, most
misrepresented and slandered Apostle?
Canst not thou, indeed, open and shut
this door? Art not thou the Petra
upon which the church is built ? Is
there not salvation in thy name ? Ah!
thou hast explained—the “builders”
have made a fatal mistake—they have
set at naught the chief Corner Stone,
the Petra, and have made thee “a piece
of rock,” their foundation ; but thou
hast reminded them that Jesus Christ
of Nazareth is the “Head of the Cor
ner,” and that “there is none other
name under Heaven whereby we must
be saved.” We believe thy word,
truthful apostle, and accept this
Jesus as the Petra of our salvation.
Now, therefore, since Peter affirms
that Christ is the Rock upon which
the Church, the Kingdom of Christ, is
built; and since he most solemnly de
clares, .before all Israel, that there is
salvation in no other name, no other
power tinder Heaven, tell me how any
man can presume to hold in his hand
the dispensation of spiritual life and
death, by virtue of any key or instru
ment whatever.
But, what did Christ mean by giv
ing to Peter the keys —tho symbol of
the power of binding and loosing? He
meant that upon him, as also upon the
other apostles and the prophets, was
bestowed the gift of inspiration, by
which they were, under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, to write out and to
put into operation such precepts and
ordinances as pertained to the King
dom of Heaven, and to tho gospel
churches, by which, as the declared
will of God, all the subjects of that
Kingdom and the members of those
churches should be bound and gov
erned.
I said that the apostles had this
power, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit. I will say, also, under the dic
tation of the Spirit. For they, even
as apostles, the highest officers of the
Christian system, had no authority to
make creeds —articles of faith —or to
institute ordinances for the churches of
God. Paul says, in behalf of the
apostles, “We have not dominion over
your faith” —“we,” the receivers of the
power of binding and loosing, “have
not dominion over your faith, but are
helpers of your joy.” Hear him say
with more solemn emphasis, “But I
certify you, brethren, that the gospel
whieb is preached of me, is not - after''
man, neither was 1 taught it, but (ex
cept) bv the reveiati i of Jesus
Christ.”*
If, therefore, the apostle,', in posses
sion of the power of the k ivs, could
not exercise dominion over the faith of
the deseiples of Christ, how shall
popes, or priests, or bishops, or pastors,
or preachers, or councils, or churches?
But, is it not taught in the 18th chap
ter of Matthew, in the 15th, 16th, 17th
and 18th verses, that the p ever of
binding and loosing is conferred upon
the churches, or upon the local
churches? No, verily, Christ says not of
any church, whether spiritual or local,
whether visible or invisible, but to the
Apostles, “Whatsoever ye shall bind
or loose on earth shall be bound or
loosed in Heaven.” The word chiclesia,
which literally means nothing more
than assembly or congregation, ap
plied to the apostles ; and as this con
versation was held with them the allu
sion was evidently to them in council.
The order was addressed to the indi
vidual apostle offended, “L it him be
to thee as a heathen mao and a publi
can,” as a man with whom thou art
not, to hold social relations; and then
the general power of tbe keys was del
egated to the apostles; “Whatsoever
ye shall biud or loose on earth shall
he bound or loosed in Heaven.” The
power of excommunication is not, there
fore, delegated to the Christian
churches, in this place, as it is not
in the same order to the Apostle Peter,
recorded in 16th chapter, and 18th
verse of this gospel.
Paul recognizes in the Corinthian
church, the right of excommunication
and restoration, in the case of the in
cestuous person ; and here, in the ap
pointed question, “Do not ve judge
them that are within?’ is declared
the express authority yf the churchs
over the fellowship of their members.
Mark you, then, if an apostle would
not presume, as in this instance, to ex
ercise jurisdiction over a local church,
how shall it be done by subordinate
church officials, or man-made tribunals?
There is no power oil earth, the
Apostle Paul being the judge, under
God, except tbe local and visible
churches, that can control their fellow
ship—that can excommunicate or re
store t heir members.
’This being true, as true as tbe gos
pel, that the great apostle of the Gen
tiles had no jurisdiction over member
ship in a particular local church, it is
sacrilege for popes, priests and bishops,
or preachers, to pretend that any such
power has descended to them, by rea
son of any succession of apostolic
[concluded on sixth page.]
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