The unity of the flock.
To bring about unity in thought is the aim of the thinker; to bring about unity in life and action is the aim of the practical man, who is called to be the leader and ruler of his fellow-men. Christ, as the good Shepherd, who has shrunk from no effort, from no sacrifice, to secure the welfare of his sheep, contemplates and designs, in the exercise of his spiritual authority, the consolidation of the grandest unity of which mankind is capable.
I. THE SUBJECTS OF THIS UNITY. They are the spiritual sheep, the members of the true flock. All like sheep have gone astray, all have been sought and recovered by the Shepherd and Bishop of souls, all rejoice in and abide under the tendance and care of the Divine Savior.
II. THE DIVERSITIES BLENDED IN THIS UNITY. The Lord Christ was the Son of man, and in the aim of his compassion and redemption transcended the distinctions which separate man from man. More especially he designed to bring the Gentiles into the fold; these may have been the "other sheep" whose inclusion he graciously purposed. The wall of partition was very high and very strong; only he could break it down. But no nationality, no education, no previous religious associations, were to be allowed to stand in the way of the unity which he came from God in order that he might effect in this distracted race.
III. THE GROUND OF THIS UNITY. Men endeavor to base oneness of action upon community of association or of interest, etc. But in the Christian scheme the basis of the new fellowship and brotherhood is Divine. 'The one Shepherd alone can account for the one flock. His Divine nature, his priceless redemption, his spiritual authority, these lie at the foundation of the Church's unity, and for such an edifice no narrower foundation could suffice.
IV. THE NATURE OF THIS UNITY. This has been more misunderstood than almost any part of Christianity. The translators of the Authorized version went out of their way to render "one fold," for which there is no justification. The unity Christ desires is not a unity of form, but of spirit; not a matter of mechanism, but of vitality. One Church and another may claim the "note' of universality, but the existence of such Churches side by side is a disproof of the claim. And even within separate Churches there are parties, or schools, distinguished by peculiarities more or less important. But in the spiritual, what is called the "invisible" Church, there is a unity of faith in Christ and a subjection to Christ. The temple is harmonious; it has its several parts, yet it is one. The body is symmetrical, and each member has its function; yet it is one. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism."
V. THE HINDRANCES TO THE MANIFESTATION OF THIS UNITY. So far as the people of Christ fail to exhibit the one spirit, it is owing mainly to these two causes:
The closer the flock draw around the Shepherd, the less is there of misunderstanding, and the more of fellowship. Watchfulness and prayer alone can check the spirit of dissension, and hasten the prevalence of peace.
VI. THE PERFECTION OF THIS UNITY. That this is assured we gather from the emphatic words of Christ, "They shall become one flock." Deferred this glorious realization of the purposes of the Redeemer may be; yet it is certain. The predicted unity shall be accomplished in the brilliant and hoped-for future, of which we know but dimly the time, the scene, the circumstances. The wandering sheep shall be restored, the divided sheep shall be united. And the one flock shall then witness to the faithfulness and the love of the one Shepherd, whose voice all at last shall recognize, and beneath whose sheltering care all shall at last "lie down in green pastures," and be led "beside the still waters."—T.