200 CHURCH UNITY 



truth, and yet there is another truth still 

 more profound. The basis of the natural is 

 the spiritual. A more exact statement of 

 what Paul meant would be, first, the spirit- 

 ual ; then the spiritual in its manifestation 

 through the natural ; then the spiritual 

 freed from the limitation of the natural. 

 Behind all development is a spiritual force. 

 The ideal of the Church will not be real- 

 ized by its being united in one body, obe- 

 dient to one human will, and moving as 

 one mass : the ideal of the Church will be 

 realized when its members are harmonious, 

 not because in one organization, but be- 

 cause filled with one spirit. The only 

 power which really can unify is spirit. 

 Unity which is not first spiritual is only 

 formal, has no vitality, and cannot endure. 

 It is our duty to pray and work not only 

 for Christian unity, but also for the unity 

 of the Church of Christ ; but in my opinion 

 that object will not result from Lambeth 

 " Quadrilaterals," National Council Arti- 

 cles, or any other purely mechanical devices. 

 Such declarations may help the cause by 

 stimulating discussion, and they may hin- 

 der it by obscuring the real question at 

 issue. Something vital and vitalizing is\ 



