Date: 1934Place: Foochow
There are many advantages in having the city as the unit of the church. Although not all the cities in the Bible have walls, cities historically experience the least amount of changes. There should be only one church in the city of Foochow, yet it can have seven or eight meeting places. All seven or eight places are under the same administration of the one church, and there is only one set of elders and deacons for this one church. A city, a town, or a village is the sphere of administration of a church. When speaking of the province of Galatia, the Bible refers to the churches in Galatia (1 Cor. 16:1). But in regard to Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonica, and the seven cities in Revelation, the Bible speaks of the church in each locality; the names of the churches are derived from the names of the cities. In England there are two cities which are very close together; they have two churches. In the United States, New York City is composed of three former cities which were combined to form one greater New York City. Before they were combined, there were three churches, but after they were combined, there should only be one church.
The local church is the highest administration on earth; it is directly responsible to God. If a problem occurs in a locality, the church can only try to deal with it by itself; there is no higher place of appeal. Other churches can only give their advice. For example, Paul could not interfere with the fornicator spoken of in 1 Corinthians 5. He could only deliver the sinning one in his spirit to Satan. Acts 15 gives us another example. At that time, some people went from Jerusalem to Antioch and taught that believers should be circumcised and keep the laws of Moses. Paul went up to Jerusalem to settle this dispute, but this does not mean that Jerusalem was the center. It merely means that the matter originated from Jerusalem. (August 1)
God ordains that the church should take the locality as its unit. No unit that is greater than a locality or smaller than a locality can form the basis of a church. The table meeting at Pai-Ya-Tan (White Teeth Lake) has the following extra-local characteristics: (1) It can hire pastors, (2) it pays salary, (3) it can dismiss workers, and (4) all decisions are made by itself. (July 31)
The principle of the oneness of the church lies first in considering others better than oneself, and second in keeping all the good things of the Adamic old man from creeping into the church.
The Bible never commands us to like people; it only commands us to love others. Likes and dislikes are things in the Adamic realm. We cannot base our choice on our own disposition, and we cannot associate ourselves only with those who have our same disposition. We can see the work of Christ in every believer's character. For example, Americans are different from Englishmen (e.g., consider Dr. Stearns and his wife). It would be a disaster if we did things in the church according to our own disposition.
Elders and deacons are restricted to a locality, whereas truth is a matter for all the churches; therefore, it must be ascertained by the teachers. All those who are led by the Holy Spirit will surely have the same revelation. If any one individual does not accept a truth, he alone has to bear the responsibility for his refusal. After a teacher has ascertained a truth, all the churches should follow and submit to this truth.
The principle in ascertaining a sect: (1) It has its own distinctive name, (2) it has its own distinctive organization, and (3) it has its own distinctive fellowship. (July 31)
When Dr. Stearns discussed the matter of leaving the denominations with Mr. Sparks, he was asked, "If you are truly under the headship of Christ, would you come under the Presbyterians?" This made Dr. Stearns clear about the matter of leaving the denominations.
We should speak to students about the church. We should let them know that we fellowship with all the saints and that we take care of the Body life. (August 2)
If a worker cannot work together with another worker, there must be something wrong with his spiritual life. We should learn to work together with others. This is like a couple living together; both have to learn to rub off each other's rough spots.
Any problem in the church that cannot be solved by the brothers should be settled by prayers of authority. It should never be settled by the consent of the majority. Prayers of authority should constitute at least half of all our prayers.
It is better to break the bread in the evening. The reasons are as follows: (1) We labor in the day for the Lord and enter into the enjoyment in the evening, and (2) indifferent ones also are screened out by holding the meeting in the evening.
If you are a guest in a place and only stay there temporarily, it is permissible to break bread and remember the Lord with the ones who are there. But once the matter of receiving arises, it touches the matter of church ministry. We have to be careful and not act rashly.
There are three things to watch for in preparing a message: (1) the message, (2) the material, and (3) the method.
It is better for believers to personally conduct the funerals of their fellow believers. For example, in the Bible we have the Lord's death, Stephen's death, and the death of the condemned couple Ananias and Sapphira. All of their funerals were handled by the believers.
