The confession should not be extended so as to include more than this great truth. Mr. Russell extended that confession. He taught that the Christ is Jesus and the church; with him, Jesus was only the head of a body that is called “the Christ.” With him, it took both the head and the body to constitute the Christ. Some gospel preachers took up with that idea and thus weakened their faith by extending their confession. Certainly, if a man believes that theory, his confession is not full and complete when he says: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That is really not what he believes. If he makes his confession as broad as his faith, he will say: “I believe that Jesus and the church is the Christ.” Do the foregoing points seem to you to be matters of small import? If so, I envy not your discernment. Notice carefully the purpose for which John wrote: “Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.” (John 20:30, 31.) Pointed Paragraphs: “For ye were going astray like sheep.” The idea expressed in the original Greek is not that they were going astray, but they were astray. When a living thing is astray, it is lost; at least, it is not in its proper place, not where it belongs. Sin is not the proper element for people; they do not rightly belong there; it is not their natural habitat. Righteousness is man’s natural habitat; that is where God originally placed him. When he wanders off into sin, he is on foreign soil. The Hebrew kingdom never would have been divided if all had adhered strictly to the law of God. People do not divide when all are determined to do right. When churches divide, there is unrighteousness somewhere. THE CHRIST OF THE FUTURE-KINGDOM ADVOCATES