IV. FIGURES UNDER WHICH THE CHURCH IS PRESENTED.
1. THE BODY OF CHRIST. 2. THE TEMPLE OF GOD. 3. THE BRIDE OF CHRIST.
V. THE ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH.
1. BAPTISM. 2. THE LORD'S SUPPER.
VI. THE VOCATION OF THE CHURCH.
1. TO WORSHIP GOD. 2. TO EVANGELIZE THE WORLD. 3. PERFECT EACH MEMBER. 4. TO WITNESS. 5. FUTURE GLORY.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH.
There is great danger of losing sight of the Church in the endeavor to emphasize the idea of the Kingdom of Heaven or Christendom. We are prone to think it a small thing to speak of the Church; the Kingdom and Christendom seem so large in comparison. We are tempted to distinguish and contrast Churchism, as it is sometimes called, and Christianity, to the disparagement of the former. It is well to remember that Jesus Christ positively identifies Himself with the Church (Acts 9) and not with Christendom; He gave up His life that He might found the Church (Eph. 5:25). The Apostle Paul sacrificed himself in his endeavors to build up the Church, not Christendom. He speaks of his greatest sin as consisting in persecuting the Church of God (1 Cor. 15:9). The supreme business of God in this age is the gathering of the Church. Some day it will be complete (Eph. 4:12), and then the age will have served its purpose.