the foot instantly moves, the hand is raised and the
lips open. Even so our Lord ordained that His Church, composed of many
members, should be all united to one supreme visible Head, whom they are
bound to obey.

The Church is compared to a vine. "I am the Vine, ye the branches; he that
abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit, for without Me ye
can do nothing."(24) All the branches of a vine, though spreading far and
wide, are necessarily connected with the main stem, and from its sap they
are nourished. In like manner, our Saviour will have all the saplings of
His Vineyard connected with the main stem, and all draw their nourishment
from the parent stock.

The Church, in fine, is called in Scripture by the beautiful title of
bride or spouse of Christ,(25) and the Christian law admits only of one
wife.

In fact, our common sense alone, apart from revelation, is sufficient to
convince us that God could not be the author of various opposing systems
of religion. God is essentially one. He is Truth itself. How could the God
of truth affirm, for instance, to one body of Christians that there are
three persons in God, and to another there is only one person in God? How
could He say to one individual that Jesus Christ is God, and to another
that He is only man? How can He tell me that the punishments of the wicked
are eternal, and tell another that they are not eternal? One of these
contradictory statements must be false. "God is not the God of dissension,
but of peace."(26)

I see perfect harmony in the laws which govern the physical world that we
inhabit. I see a marvelous unity in our planetary system. Each planet
moves in its own sphere, and all are controlled by the central Sun.

Why should there not be also harmony and concord in that spiritual world,
the Church of God, the grandest conception of His omnipotence, and the
most bounteous manifestation of His goodness and love for mankind!

Hence, it is clear that Jesus Christ intended that His Church should have
one common doctrine which all Christians are bound to believe, and one
uniform government to which all should be loyally attached.

With all due respect for my dissenting brethren, truth compels me to say
that this unity of doctrine and government is not to be found in the
Protestant sects, taken collectively or separately. That the various
Protestant denominations differ from one another not only in minor
details, but in most essential princ