CHAPTER I
The foundation of the Church among the Jews
A.D. 33-A.D. 38
Before entering upon an account of the Foundation and After-History of the Christian Church, it may be well to consider what that Church really is.
Section 1. Definition of the Church.
Twofold nature of the Church.
The Church may be regarded in a twofold aspect, as an external Corporation, and as a spiritual Body.
1. An external Kingdom.
In the first light it is a Kingdom, in the world, though not of the world, extending through different and widely-separated countries, often seemingly divided by outward circumstances, but, in reality, having all its parts subject to the same Invisible King, governed by laws which He has given, and by means of those whom He has appointed to be His representatives on earth.