body, the Church. " You," says the Apostle, " are the body of Christ and members of member; and as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ.,, This bond of union, this identity of Christ with His Church, entails a corresponding indestructibility on her part, and justifies us in saying of her that having risen with Christ from the dead she dieth now no more and death shall no more have dominion over her.
Brethren, Christ's Church is indestructible. That Christ founded a Church every Christian must necessarily admit, and no fair-minded infidel can possibly deny. Many, however, contend that the Church's existence depending on our free will, not even Christ Himself could have foretold whether we should ever change, abandon, or destroy her. The Church dependent on our free will! God forbid. Or what is free will? Does it mean entire independence of God? It would be a curse rather than a blessing. Free will was not given to us that we might be able to choose between good and evil, or defeat the designs of an all-powerful God. The blessed in heaven, the angels, God even, cannot will evil for evil's sake, and yet they represent the highest, sublimest types of moral freedom. The essence of free will consists in the power to choose, not between good and evil, but between one good and another. Hence, if God in an excess of that mercy which surpasseth all understanding, restrains us from such deeds as the destruction of His Church, He
