merely functional character, that it is merely a means to an end. As I understand the New Testament, the Church can never be so regarded, for it is itself the place where we enjoy, now, fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit. It is even now God’s family where we are to be at home. But it is so in what one must call a provisional and anticipatory sense, in a sense which looks towards fulfilment of God’s purpose for all men. The Church is thus neither a mere instrument, nor is it an end in itself.