Date: May 15, 1948, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.Place: Hardoon Road, ShanghaiSpeaker: Watchman Nee
The sphere of the church is a locality, and the sphere of the work is a region. A church is local. That is why we have the church in Ephesus, the church in Colossae, and the church in Corinth. But the work is more than local. The book of Acts shows us that the first group of workers went from Jerusalem to Samaria, and then to all the other places. These workers were not limited to the locality of Jerusalem, but they were limited to the region of Judea. Hence, this shows us that their work was regional.
At Antioch there was a new beginning. There we see Paul and Barnabas going out to start the work among the Gentiles. In the Gentile world there were the churches in Galatia and the churches in Asia. These churches form one region. Hence, in the Bible there is not only the company of Peter preaching the gospel; there is also the company of Barnabas preaching the gospel. Philippians even speaks of another group of people (1:15-17) working in a different region. Paul said that the measure apportioned to him allowed him to reach even as far as the Corinthians (2 Cor. 10:13-14). In other words, Paul had his region of work.
There are regions to the work, and each region includes certain localities. Under normal circumstances, though the regions are different, there is still a oneness between the regions. When the relationship is normal, all the works in the different regions maintain the one fellowship. Jerusalem is one with Antioch. Although they belong to different regions, they still have fellowship before the Lord. When people were saved in Antioch, Jerusalem sent some men over to help (Acts 11:20-28). Jerusalem also sent out Barnabas and Paul (9:28-30). Antioch was something that came out of Jerusalem and returned back to Jerusalem. When Jerusalem was short of money, Antioch sent money from the Gentiles to Jerusalem (11:27-29). Barnabas went from Jerusalem to Antioch (v. 22), and Paul returned from Antioch to Jerusalem (15:2). Here we see that although regions are different, the fellowship remains one.
The elders are responsible for the church in a locality (Titus 1:5), whereas the apostles are responsible for the work in a region. Peter and his co-workers were in charge of the work in Judea, whereas Paul and his co-workers were in charge of Antioch and the work in the Gentile world. The apostles worked within the regions assigned to them by God (2 Cor. 10:13).
How should we handle the church finances? All the money that the brothers and sisters designate for a local church should be placed in the church offering box. Whatever is designated for the poor brothers should be marked clearly. Whatever is designated for individuals or for the work in another region should likewise be clearly marked. You can separate the offerings for local use and for the work by using two offering boxes, or the two can go into the same offering box. The church has full liberty to distribute these offerings in whatever way it chooses, and individuals have full liberty to give according to their faith.
Witness Lee: What is the meaning and the sphere of the church?
Watchman Nee: There are two meanings to the word church. The first is the universal church, and the second is the local church. The universal church is the general church, which includes the church of yesterday and today, both here and elsewhere. It even includes the church in the future. The local church is the church that appears in each locality.
There are two aspects to the universal church. One aspect refers to the church that includes all of God's children both yesterday and today, both here and everywhere. However, we have to realize that today we are neither in yesterday nor in the future. God's children are living on earth today. When all these children of God are added together, we also have the general church. What was there yesterday is past, and what will be there in the future is not here yet. Between the past and the future, there are all the children of God on earth today. God's children must not only practice the oneness in the locality, but they must learn to be one with all God's children on the whole earth today.
If Nanking develops a problem with Shanghai, that is, if the church in Nanking is at odds with the church in Shanghai, you can only say that they are maintaining a local testimony; they have not maintained God's testimony on earth. We must not only maintain a local testimony; we must also maintain God's testimony on earth. We cannot isolate Shanghai and try to keep it out of trouble. Shanghai belongs to the general church on earth. The Body spoken of in 1 Corinthians is different from the Body spoken of in Ephesians 4. The Body in Ephesians 4 includes all the believers past and present, here and everywhere, but the Body in 1 Corinthians only refers to all the believers on earth at that time.
The church is local, whereas the work is regional. A local church cannot encompass the work of a region, because a region involves more than one local church. However, all the local churches plus all the regional works equal the general church. In order for us to practice the oneness of the church, we must practice the oneness of the general church. This requires that we learn to follow others and learn to be one.
Witness Lee: What is the authority of the church, and who can represent the church?
Watchman Nee: The authority of the local church is in the hands of the elders, whereas the authority of the work is in the hands of the apostles.
Since you are the church, you have the authority. God's authority is with the church. Do not think that an individual believer does not have any authority. As long as an individual believer is one with the general church, he can have authority also, and he can even be the authority. Suppose Brother Lee has offended me. While I am alone with him, I point out his mistake, and the matter is taken care of. While I am taking care of the matter, the church is brought in; the reality of the church is brought in. Of course, in terms of the actual procedure, the church is not involved. In the Bible not only can an individual represent the church; the principle of two or three can also be a principle of the church. When two or three are one, that oneness makes them the church. When these two or three deal with anything, it will be the church dealing with the matter. The only difference between that and the church actually dealing with the matter is that the church has not said anything directly. In actuality, these two or three are one with the church, but the church is not directly involved. However, what they say becomes what the church says. Hence, the two or three become the church.
Here we can see a unique fact of oneness: An individual can have the authority of the church, two or three can have the authority of the church, and the whole church can also have the authority of the church.
Other than these authorities, we see before the Lord that God has established some special authorities. These authorities have to give an account before God in the future. First, God established the elders as the authority. God has also established the apostles as the authority. Accusations against an elder should be presented to the apostles (1 Tim. 5:19). The elders are the authorities, and the apostles are also the authorities. Moreover, the elders have to submit to the authority of the apostles. A man should learn coordination before God.
We believe that a man should submit to the authority of the Head in the church. A believer should learn submission in the church to such an extent that his submission means more than his sacrifice. We should look for opportunities to submit. Every believer should practice submission. If they do this, others will see that there is a group of people who bear a proper testimony in the schools, the hospitals, and so forth. Here is a group of people who have not overstepped and who maintain their proper standing. In the homes you do not see the children dominating the parents or strong wives dominating their husbands. If we have the light, we will see that God hates confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). Whether or not we like it, we have to recognize authority. Once there is authority, there is submission. When we hand ourselves over, not only do we have to offer up our money, but we have to learn coordination as well. We have to pursue submission, not only to the Lord, but to those whom the Lord has placed in our path. If we do this, we will find grace before God, and we will be able to go on in a proper way. As long as there are four or five brothers living together, some have to learn to exercise headship, and some have to learn submission. Whenever man fails to recognize the sovereign arrangements of the Head, everything falls into confusion. Whenever we find submission, we find a proper testimony.
A brother asked: A while ago you said that an individual brother can be one with the church, and that once there is oneness, there is authority. What kind of oneness does that refer to?
Watchman Nee: This oneness is an identification. Strictly speaking, not only can one individual not call himself the church; even if all sixteen hundred saints in Shanghai are put together, it is equally presumptuous for them to call themselves the church. In Revelation 7, it speaks of those who are clothed in white and who stand before the throne as being countless in number. The largest number in the book of Revelation is two hundred million. This means that this countless number is larger than two hundred million. The population of China is only five hundred million, or more precisely, four hundred fifty million. If among all the Chinese, three thousand of them would set up a flag and declare that they are China, would that not be a joke? Hence, the church is not a matter of numbers.
If I am one who has been disciplined by the Holy Spirit and one who has learned the lesson of fellowship, and if I am one who rejects not only the self but all individualism, and if I am one who has been dealt with in all these areas, then I will surely be one with the church. No matter how large a number we have, when this number is compared with the whole, it is worth nothing. The question is whether or not we are the same as all the other children of God. If we are, we can say that we are the church. If not, even if we have sixteen hundred people, we cannot say that we are the church. When a man is in the Holy Spirit, he can be one with the church. When a man is not in the Holy Spirit, there is no oneness of the church. If there is no oneness of the church, even if the number is ten times sixteen hundred, there is still no church.
God wants our self to be broken. Individualism must go, and we cannot act according to our own will; our outward shell must be broken. The Body is a matter of consciousness. God has to bring a man to the point where he realizes that he is the church. This is what we mean by the Body consciousness. One has to be brought to the point where he feels that he is the Body. When one member of your body moves, the whole body moves as well. This is something very real. The Lord said to Paul, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads'' (Acts 26:14). Perhaps Paul only remembered that he persecuted Stephen. He did not realize that while he was persecuting Stephen, he was persecuting the Lord. Later, he understood that in persecuting Stephen, he was persecuting the Lord. This is why Paul later said that when one member suffers, the whole Body suffers (1 Cor. 12:26). When the whole Body is rejoicing, will not each member rejoice? When the whole Body is suffering, will not each member suffer also? We have to stand on the ground of a receiving one, and we should receive the other members of the Body. Pride goes before destruction (Prov. 16:18). Those who sit on the high chair of a judge can surely not be runners of the race. Only those who receive, who are humble, and who step down from their throne can identify themselves with others and with the church. Otherwise, any oneness is but an outward performance.
When a man is one with the church, if others are in the flow, he will surely be in the flow. When others receive a certain guidance, he will receive the same guidance. All the brothers and sisters will receive the same grace and take the same way. If everyone is hot, and you are the only one that is cold, it proves that you are not in the Body. If everyone is going in one direction, you have to follow them. If everyone is burdened for Manchuria, spontaneously you will have the same burden. If everyone is afraid of touching a certain matter, you will not dare to touch the same matter. This is the church. The church is something that issues from within. It is not something that is arrived at by outward consensus. Hence, every child of God is the church. If we follow the footsteps of the flock in this way, God will lead us on. We cannot withdraw ourselves simply because of our unwillingness to submit in certain matters, and we cannot fall behind or draw back. Among God's children the most precious thing is this sense of identification. If all God's children see something one way and I feel another way, I should resolve not to fall behind the others, and I should be ready to identify myself with others.
Yu Cheng-hwa: Is this identification the result of the work of the Holy Spirit? Why do we not say that we should be identified with the Head, but rather that we should be identified with the Body?
Watchman Nee: Identification is not a oneness of the will. For example, if the feeling within me is different from yours, we will not be the same no matter how much we try to talk things over with one another. Water is water, and wine is wine. One does not see the water turned into wine every day. Whenever we do not submit to the discipline of the Holy Spirit through our circumstances, we will fall behind in the matter of identification. When a platoon of soldiers is marching along, and one of them disobeys the captain, he will automatically become out of step with the rest of the platoon.
With Christians there is no such thing as circumstances; there is only the discipline of the Holy Spirit. The Lord has given us His Spirit. Everything around us is under His sovereign arrangement, and nothing is a coincidence. What the Holy Spirit is doing within us matches what He has sovereignly arranged outside of us. The discipline of the Holy Spirit is for our good (Rom. 8:27-28). Whatever He sees that we need, He arranges these things outside of us. If a man does not submit to the discipline of the Holy Spirit, he will come into conflict with the brothers. If he is not under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, there is surely no possibility of identification, and he will not be able to identify himself with the Body.
The believers' identification with the Head is a doctrine that has been preached for years, but we have to say that the result is quite abstract. For example, I consecrate myself to the Lord today. Tomorrow I may take back my consecration, and nobody will know anything about it. This is mystical. Everything that is mystical has to be turned into something practical. Once something is turned from the mystical to the practical, it will no longer be so easy to dispense with the matter. For example, if a person has consecrated himself in a practical way, it will no longer be easy for him to take back his consecration. If he does, everyone will see that this brother has drawn back.
We have to realize that the oneness of the Body is something that is visible; it is not empty talk. In fact, if we are identified with the Head, we will surely be identified with the Body. When a person identifies himself with the Body, he is identifying himself with the Head. This is something visible and measurable. John said that if a man cannot love the brothers whom he has seen, he cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20). It is impossible to have two persons submitting to the Head yet fighting with one another. I would rather declare that I am submitting to the Body than to declare in a falsely spiritual way that I have no problem with the Head and that I am submitting to the Head.
We see men everywhere living in deceit. These ones should learn to go along with the church. If you go along with the church, you will be blessed. If a man identifies himself with the Body, he will surely be identified with the Head. But if a man says that he is identified with the Head yet does not identify himself with the Body, he is living in deceit.
