"That is very good," Edwin's wife remarked.
Drawing a chair beside his own for her, Edwin said:
"Never mind the supper. Sit down, and we will eat later."
Then he read: "In Exod. 19:5 God says that his people will be a peculiar treasure unto him above all people. This great favor is bestowed upon all those who obey his voice. When we see how much people have cost him, we can comprehend, in a measure, how precious we must be in his sight. Naturally we value anything by its cost. If this rule be applied here, truly God must place great value upon his people; for he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. He must therefore estimate our value by his Son."
Next he read under the heading God's Church: "No one thing on earth is complete enough in its nature to fully represent the church of God. Neither is the human mind able to grasp singly a name that would express every feature of the church. For this reason God has made use of many relative names, such as kingdom, Zion, holy city, house, body of Christ, bride of Christ, family, sheepfold, vine and its branches, and other similar illustrations.
"First, let us consider the word 'church.' It means a congregation of people separated from the world (John 15:19). Next, God's church is characterized by being separate from the world and all its evils (2 Cor. 6:14), and Christ is the head (Eph. 1:22), the door (John 10:9), the foundation (1 Cor. 3:11), and the chief corner-stone (Eph. 2:19,20)."
For a moment the paper dropped idly in Edwin's hands, for the truth of God was streaming down into his heart. Ever since his talk in the summer-kitchen with Mrs. Miller, when she said that she was converted at the time when she joined church and in answer to Edwin's question as to what the church was replied that the church was the little building where the roads met, he had felt that there was such a thing as "the church," but he could not get it settled that it was the building on the corner, as Mrs. Miller had told him that it was. But whenever so situated that he could do so, he had continued to be a regular attendant of every religious service either at that place or in some adjoining community. In his heart he felt that as the meaning of eternity, prayer, and conversion had been revealed to his entire satisfaction, God would in his own good time help him to discover the true meaning of the word "church."
Presently he read under another heading: "The gospel of salvation that Christ preached penetrated the dark places of sin and idolatry like sun rays driving back the darkness of night. Wickedness in the hearts and lives of men gave way to grace and truth. Christ then established his church. True holiness adorned her fair brow. Unity and purity were her chief characteristics. Of her it is said, 'Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee' (S. of Sol. 4:7). And again, 'My dove, my undefiled, is but one' (S. of Sol. 6:9). 'He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church … that in all things he might have preeminence' (Col. 1:18).
"Having purchased, founded, and built the church, God claims exclusive right to the government. She is not 'our church,' but 'God's building,' owned by God alone. All her members are the sons of God and bear his holy image. 'God hath set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him' (1 Cor. 12:18), for 'ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.'"
For a moment Edwin paused to meditate upon what he had read; then he continued: