Page:Swedenborgs Maximus Homo.pdf/71

 Thus may the New Jerusalem be seen descending from God out of heaven, not as a new and visible institution, not as a new and separate church organization, but rather as new and higher wisdom—as new light and new life—entering into the heart of Christendom and moulding it anew; a Church not antagonistic to the Old organizations, but renewing, enlightening, and reanimating them all; a Church not distinguished merely by its new doctrines, new ministry, and new ordinances, but the entire body of professing Christians becoming more and more Christlike in purpose, thought, and deed—filled, or gradually becoming filled, with the Divine Master's spirit, "beautiful as a bride adorned for her husband."

the question, "What is the New Christian Church?" should first be considered, as the answer to this question would go far toward showing us where this church is. Many believe it to be a visible body consisting exclusively of those who accept the new doctrines revealed through Swedenborg. That these persons constitute the nominal or professed New Church no one is