528 THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHEEPFOLDS

7. (1) What are the distinctive characters of the Invisible Church? That is to say, What is it which makes a person a member of this Church, and how is he to be known for such? Wide question-if we had to take cognizance of all that has been written respecting it, remarkable as it has been always for quantity rather than carefulness, and full of confusion between Visible and Invisible: even the Article of the Church of England being ambiguous in its first clause: “The Visible Church is a congregation of Faithful men.” As if ever it had been possible, except for God, to see Faith, or to know a Faithful man by sight! And there is little else written on this question, without some such quick confusion of the Visible and Invisible Church;-needless and unaccountable confusion. For evidently, the Church which is composed of Faithful men is the one true, indivisible, and indiscernible Church, built on the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.¹ It includes all who have ever fallen asleep in Christ, and all yet unborn, who are to be saved in Him: its Body is as yet imperfect; it will not be perfected till the last saved human spirit is gathered to its God.

A man becomes a member of this Church only by believing in Christ with all his heart; nor is he positively recognizable for a member of it, when he has become so, by any one but God, not even by himself. Nevertheless, there are certain signs by which Christ’s sheep may be guessed at. Not by their being in any definite Fold-for many are lost sheep at times; but by their sheep-like behaviour; and a great many are indeed sheep which, on the far mountain-side, in their peacefulness, we take for stones. To themselves, the best proof of their being Christ’s sheep is to find themselves on Christ’s shoulders; and, between them, there are certain sympathies (expressed in the Apostles’ Creed by the term “communion of Saints”), by which they may in a sort recognize each other, and so become verily visible to each other for mutual comfort.

¹ [Ephesians ii. 20; 1 Corinthians xv. 18.]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]