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I. God’s plan for the church.
II. The church as God’s hidden mystery.
III. Christ’s loving the church.
IV. The producing of the church.
V. The beginning of the church.
VI. The establishing of the church.
VII. The essence of the church:
А. The Body of Christ emphasizing the universal aspect.
B. The house of God emphasizing the local aspect.
VIII. The functions of the church.
IX. Those included in the church.
X. The church and sects.
XI. The oneness of the church:
А. The essence of the oneness of the church.
B. The reality of the oneness of the church.
XII. The fellowship of the church:
А. Being the fellowship of the apostles.
B. Being the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
C. Being the fellowship of the Body.
D. Being the fellowship of the one faith.
E. Removal from the fellowship of the church.
XIII. The expression of the church.
XIV. The ground of the church:
А. Being the oneness of the church.
B. Being local.
XV. The designation of the church.
XVI. The organization of the church:
А. Gifts for the universal church, emphasizing the Body of Christ:
1. Apostles.
2. Prophets.
3. Evangelists.
4. Shepherds and teachers.
B. Offices for the local churches, emphasizing the house of God:
1. Elders:
а. The duties of the elders.
b. The number of elders.
c. The appointment of the elders.
d. The discipline of the elders.
e. The qualifications of the elders.
2. Deacons:
а. The duties of the deacons.
b. The number of deacons.
c. The gender of the deacons.
d. The appointment of the deacons.
e. The qualifications of the deacons.
C. The relationship between the various local churches:
1. Local administration.
2. Universal fellowship.
3. In one accord.
XVII. The service of the church:
А. All being priests.
B. The coordinated service of the Body.
XVIII. The authority of the church.
XIX. The meetings of the church.
XX. The desolation of the church.
XXI. The maturity of the church.
XXII. The result of the church.
XXIII. Ten golden principles concerning the church.
The church is a very important subject in the New Testament. The church is a central topic from Matthew to Revelation. If we read the New Testament carefully, we will see that an important goal of the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of the New Testament, is to reveal the church. Therefore, we must study the New Testament in order to see the church. We will briefly look at twenty-two major points and ten golden principles concerning the church.
1. “The church, according to the eternal purpose which He made” (Eph. 3:10-11).
Ephesians specifically speaks of God’s plan and heart’s desire for the church in eternity past. God planned the church before the foundation of the world in eternity past. Before anything was created, before the beginning of time, God planned to have the church. Therefore, the church is according to His eternal purpose.
Any plan that a person makes comes out of his heart’s desire. This is true of God’s plan for the church. According to the Bible, the church is something that God desires. This desire did not arise after the creation of the world in time; it was always present in eternity. Thus, God planned to have the church according to His eternal heart’s desire.
According to our understanding, we regard the church as something in this age. Many think that the church came into being when sinners became Christians; thus, the church is also regarded as something related to our needs. These concepts are very shortsighted and not according to God’s revelation concerning the church. In God’s New Testament revelation He clearly and definitely shows that the church comes out of His eternal heart’s desire and that the church exists because of His eternal desire and plan. The church is not an idea or arrangement made by God after the creation of the world, nor does it exist because of man’s needs. The church is not temporal, temporary, or accidental. It did not happen by chance. The church exists because of God’s deep, eternal, and holy plan according to His deep, eternal, and holy desire. Therefore, we should not look at the church from our perspective based on our feelings. In order to properly see the church, we must see it from the perspective of God’s eternal desire and according to His eternal plan.
1. “The economy of the mystery...which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things,...the church”; “The mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit” (4-5, Eph. 3:9-10).
In eternity past God planned the church according to His heart’s desire, and in time He created all things to accomplish His plan for the church. Although He wanted to gain the church to satisfy His heart’s desire, He did not tell anyone or any creature about His purpose. His plan was a mystery hidden in Him. Only He knew that the purpose of creation was to gain the church. He did not reveal the church to anyone in the Old Testament. He did not tell any of the patriarchs who feared Him or any of the prophets who spoke for Him. The church was not spoken of specifically in the entire revelation of the Old Testament. Thus, the church was a mystery hidden throughout the ages until the time of the New Testament when it was revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit through the Holy Spirit.
The secrets that a person hides in his heart and does not tell others are often quite precious and important. This is how God views the church. The church is a very important matter that God treasures in His heart. Therefore, He was unwilling to speak of this great matter until the time was full. Instead, He kept it hidden in Himself as a hidden mystery. This is the reason that people throughout the ages have been perplexed concerning the meaning of the universe and the things in it. Not only did those who were far from God in the age of the Old Testament not know the meaning of the universe but even the patriarchs who walked with God as His friends and the prophets who spoke His words did not know. Even today in the age of the New Testament, many are ignorant of this matter. Today many people still regard the universe as a mystery, and even many believers do not truly understand the meaning of the universe. With the exception of a few believers who have received revelation from God, human beings do not know that the universe exists for the sake of the church. In the age of the church, the church is still hidden to most people, including most believers. Despite the fact that God has made known the mystery, many have not seen the revelation of this mystery. The church is hidden to them. If we want to know the church today, we need God’s subjective revelation, because we cannot know the church, which is a great mystery in God, without revelation from God.
1. “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25).
The Bible reveals that the Lord loves the church. The Lord’s love for the church is compared to a husband’s love for his wife. This is a sweet and tender love. Because the Lord loves the church, He was willing to sacrifice Himself and give Himself up for the church so that He might gain the church as His beloved spouse. His love for the church was His motivation for going to the cross and giving Himself up for her. The emphasis in this verse is not on redemption but on the producing of the church. He gave Himself up for the church because of His love for the church and for the purpose of producing the church.
2. “Finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:46).
In the Lord’s eyes the church is like a pearl of great value. In the Lord’s eyes the church is not only a pearl but also a pearl of great value. The Lord went to the cross and gave all that He had to purchase this pearl of great value because of His love for the church. The Bible says that this pearl was “bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). The price that He paid was His precious blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19). The church is a pearl that He bought with a great price, His own blood (Acts 20:28). From the great price that He paid, we can see how highly the Lord values the church and how much He treasures her.
3. “But nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church” (Eph. 5:29).
Because Christ loves the church, He not only gave Himself up to produce her and gave His all to obtain her, He is now nourishing and cherishing the church. Nourishing is related to His feeding, and cherishing is related to His caring. Christ continuously nourishes and cherishes the church because He loves the church. For the past two thousand years He has been nourishing and cherishing the church, just as a person nourishes and cherishes his own body. Christ not only loves the church as His wife but also nourishes and cherishes her as His own Body, as a part of Himself. These verses speak of the great love that Christ has for the church. The church is the object of His heart’s desire and the apple of His eye.
1. “Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. And Jehovah God built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman and brought her to the man” (Gen. 2:21-22).
Ephesians 5 shows that Eve being produced from Adam is a type of the church being produced from Christ. Adam is a type of Christ, and Eve is a type of the church. Just as it was not good for Adam to be alone, it is not good for Christ to be without the church. Just as Adam could not find a counterpart from among all the birds, beasts, and animals, Christ could not find a counterpart among all creation. Just as God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs to build Eve as his counterpart, God caused Christ to die and pierced His side to release His resurrection life to build the church as His counterpart (John 19:34). Just as Eve was presented to Adam when he awoke from his sleep, the church was presented to Christ when He resurrected from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3). Just as Adam considered Eve to be bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, being a part of himself and being joined to her as one flesh, Christ considers the church as bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh, being a part of Himself and being joined to her as one Body. The church is produced through Christ’s death and resurrection, which released His resurrection life. The church comes out from Christ as a part of Christ so that she can match Him and be one with Him.
2. A “pearl” (Matt. 13:46).
In the Lord’s eyes the church is a pearl. Pearls are produced when an oyster is wounded by sand in the sea. The church was produced when Christ was wounded by sinners in the world. Thus, the church was produced by Christ being wounded and by Christ releasing His resurrection life through His resurrection from the dead. Following His death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit brings people to touch the death wounds Christ received on the cross and then imparts Christ’s resurrection life so that they will be regenerated to become the pearl, the church, that Christ treasures and loves.
1. “I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18).
The first time that the Lord referred directly to the church is in Matthew 16:18. Although this is the beginning of His speaking concerning the church, it is not the beginning of the church. In verse 18 the Lord said that He would build His church, not that He had started to build it. Thus, He was prophesying concerning the future building of the church.
In Matthew 18:17 the Lord spoke of the church for the second and last time in the Gospels. His word shows that the prophecy concerning the church in chapter 16 would shortly become a reality, because He told the disciples that they would be able to bring matters to the church.
2. “The Lord added together day by day those who were being saved”; “Great fear came upon the whole church” (Acts 2:47; 5:11).
These verses refer to the time of Pentecost. When Pentecost came, the Holy Spirit descended, and the church was established. Then the Lord added together day by day those who were being saved. The Holy Spirit later called all those who believed in the Lord and were saved “the whole church” in a collective sense (v. 11). This proves that the church began when the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost.
Even though Christ was on the earth, He had to pass through death, resurrection, and ascension, and then descend as the Spirit in order to produce the church. Without Christ’s incarnation, there could be no church. Without His death on the cross, there could be no church. And without the descension of the Holy Spirit, there could be no church. The church was produced in reality by Christ’s passing through death and resurrection to become the Spirit, and the church began in practicality when the Spirit descended on Pentecost. Today the principle is still the same; that is, the reality and practicality of the church depend upon Christ, the cross, and the Spirit. These three elements are essential to the existence of the church. If we want to know the church, we must know Christ, the cross, and the Spirit.
1. “I will build” (Matt. 16:18).
This verse shows that the church is established by the Lord Himself. On the surface it appears as if the believers establish the church, but actually the Lord is building the church in and through the believers. The church is built and established by the Lord as the Spirit moves in people. If the Lord does not move within believers to cause them to build, whatever comes out of their work will not be the church.
The Lord spoke of the church in Matthew 16 and showed that the church is not only out of Him and built upon Him but also built and established by Him. He is the source and foundation of the church. He is also the Builder of the church. The church is built by Himself upon Himself. Man cannot build the church. Anything man can build is not the church. Man can build a house, and man can establish a club, but man cannot build and establish the church. Only Christ is the source and foundation of the church, and only Christ can build and establish the church. Christ must initiate and move within man to cause him to build and establish the church. In the matter of building and establishing the church, man can only “second” the Lord’s motion, agree with the Lord, and follow the Lord. Man cannot initiate or take the lead in building. Initiating something and taking the lead are matters for the Head, Christ. He is the Director of the building; we are only His servants and co-laborers.
2. “The Lord added together day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
The church is built with those who are saved, but the One who adds those who are being saved to the church is the Lord, not man. Outwardly, it appears as if we are testifying for the Lord and preaching the gospel to cause people to be saved, but the actual work of salvation can be done only by the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Only the Lord Himself can save people. Therefore, He is the One who adds those who are being saved to the church. He builds the church with those He saves.
3. “God has blended” (1 Cor. 12:24).
First Corinthians 12:12-13 speaks of the church as the one Body, and verses 14 through 23 illustrate this in the context of the human body. Then verse 24 speaks of God blending the body. Just as our bodies have been blended by God, so also the church, the Body, has been blended by God. Today a person can build a machine, but no one can build a human body. Similarly, no one can build the church, the Body. This work belongs to God exclusively; no one can take His place. The most that we can build is a community, not the church. Only God can produce the church, and only God can blend the church together.
4. “God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9 see also Eph. 2:22; 1 Pet. 2:5).
Christ’s building of the church is God’s building of the church. The church is a living house built with living stones, just as a body is a living organism composed of living members. No man can do this building work. Even the apostles were merely workers used by God. The building of the church is accomplished by God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Triune God alone is the Builder of the church. The church is built and established by Him. If we would know the church, we must know that only God can build and establish it. With respect to this matter, we must be dealt with and give God His full rightful position.
1. “The church, which is His Body” (Eph. 1:22-23 see also Col. 1:24).
The church is not a chapel, a meeting place, or any kind of building. The church is not a mission board or a gospel organization. The church is the Body of Christ. A body is a living organism. Therefore, the church is not a dead, physical building or a dead, formal organization. It is a living organism with life, just as our body is a living organism. Just as our body cannot be separated from us, the church as the Body of Christ cannot be separated from Christ. Our life is in our body, and our body is our expression. In the same way, Christ’s life is in His Body, the church, and the church is His expression.
2. “He is the Head of the Body, the church” (Col. 1:18 see also Eph. 5:23).
The church is Christ’s Body, and Christ is the church’s Head. Therefore, Christ and the church are one Body. They are a mysterious, great, universal Body with one life and one nature. Christ is seated in the heavenlies (1:20-21), and the church is also seated with Him in the heavenlies (2:6). Christ received all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18), and the church shares in His authority (Luke 10:19). Now the life of the church is hidden with Christ in God, but in the future the church will be manifested with Christ in glory (Col. 3:3-4). All that Christ has obtained and attained is available to the church. Christ is the life and content of the church, and the church is Christ’s organism and expression. The church receives everything from Christ, and Christ expresses everything through the church. The two are joined and blended together, abiding in and with each other. Just as the head uses the body to do all things, accomplish all things, and manifest all things, Christ uses the church to do all things, accomplish all things, and manifest all things. This is the reason that the Bible identifies the church, as the Body of Christ, with the Christ (1 Cor. 12:12).
When the Bible speaks of Christ, sometimes it refers to Christ Himself and sometimes to Christ and the church. The Bible joins Christ and the church together and speaks of them as one great mystery. Christ is the Head of the mysterious Christ, and the church is the Body of the mysterious Christ. Together the two are a great mysterious Body, the universal Christ. This great, mysterious, universal Christ is comprised of Christ as the Head and the church as the Body. All believers throughout the ages are the Body of the great mysterious, universal Christ. We must know the church as the mysterious Body of the mysterious Christ.
3. “Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Cor. 12:27 see also Rom. 12:4-5; Eph. 4:11-16; 5:30; Col. 2:19).
The church as the mysterious Body of Christ is composed of all the saved ones who have the life of Christ and who are thus joined together in the life of Christ. All the saved ones who have the life of Christ are members of Christ’s mysterious Body. With respect to us as individuals, we are members, but we are members one of another; with respect to us corporately, we are the Body of Christ. As saved ones, we are members of the mysterious Body of Christ who corporately constitute this mysterious Body. Every saved one is a part of the Body of Christ.
1. “The house of God, which is the church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15).
In one aspect, the church is the Body of Christ, and in another aspect, it is also the house of God. With respect to Christ, the church is a body; with respect to God, the church is a house. A body is the manifestation of a person, whereas a house is the dwelling place of a person. On the one hand, the church is the Body of Christ as His expression, and on the other hand, the church is the house of God as His dwelling place. The former expresses the fact that the church is one with Christ, having Christ’s life and nature; the latter expresses the fact that the church is one with God, having God’s life and nature. The life and nature of Christ are the same as the life and nature of God but are seen from a different perspective.
2. “You are...members of the household of God...a dwelling place of God in spirit” (Eph. 2:19, 22 see also 1 Pet. 2:5).
Since the church is the house of God, those in the church are members of the household of God and are the dwelling place of God in spirit. The members of a man’s family are born of him and out of him. They have his life and nature, and they are part of his house. Similarly, the members of the household of God are born of Him and out of Him. They have His life and nature, and they are part of His house. Since the church is born of God and out of God, having His life and nature, the church is the household of God, the dwelling place of God in spirit.
The word house in both English and Greek has two meanings. One meaning is that of a household, and the other is that of a dwelling place. The church as the house of God reflects these two meanings. On the one hand, the church is the household of God, and on the other hand, the church is the dwelling place of God. When the word house refers to a household in common usage, it does not include the dwelling place itself. With regard to its usage in relation to the church as the house of God, however, house refers to both a household and a dwelling place. The church, which is composed of the members of God’s household, is the dwelling place of God. Believers are the dwelling place, the building, and the house. All believers are living stones. Living things can grow, but dead things cannot. Every believer has the life of God. We are living, not dead. Therefore, we can grow to become a living building, a living house, as God’s dwelling place.
3. “My brothers; in the midst of the church” (Heb. 2:12).
Just as Christ’s Body is composed of all those with the life of Christ, God’s house is composed of all those with the life of God. Those with the life of Christ are those with God’s life. They are members of the Body of Christ, members one of another, and brothers in the house of God, brothers one of another. They are members of the Body of Christ because they have the life of Christ and are out of Christ. They are brothers in the house of God because they have the life of God and are born of God. All those with the life of God are part of the house of God. Individually, they are brothers; corporately, they are the house of God. Together they are God’s house.
Thus, the Bible shows that the church is the Body of Christ and the house of God. The church is the Body, and the church is the house. The church is the Body with respect to Christ and the house with respect to God. The emphasis of the Body is universal, while the emphasis of the house is local. In the entire universe, the church is the Body of Christ, the expression of Christ. In the different localities, the church is the house of God, the dwelling place of God. Of course, in all the localities, the churches are miniature expressions of the Body of Christ, and in the entire universe, the church is completely the house of God, a complete dwelling place. However, the emphasis of the Body of Christ is on the universal aspect of the church, and the emphasis of the house of God is on the local aspect of the church. When we refer to the universal church, we refer mainly to the Body of Christ, and when we refer to the local church, we refer mainly to the house of God. The Body of Christ is a living organism, and the house of God is a living constitution.
Both the Body of Christ and the house of God speak of God coming to live within man, becoming one with man, and mingling with man to form a mysterious union of God and man. Therefore, in 1 Timothy 3:15-16 Paul says, “The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth. And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh.” The apostle’s word here means that the church as the house of God is the dwelling place of the living God. The living God dwells in the church, and the church expresses all that He is. Thus, the church is the pillar and base of the truth concerning what God is. The church is the supporting pillar and holding base of the truth of what God is. All that God is, is in the church, and all that God is, is expressed through the church. Therefore, the church is the great mystery of godliness, an expression of God Himself, manifesting the great mystery of God. This great mystery is God manifested in the flesh; it is God dwelling in redeemed men of flesh and corporately expressing Himself out from them. The true meaning of the church involves the mingling of God and man, the union of God and man, which is a great mystery through which God is expressed in man (Eph. 5:32).
The church is the enlargement of Christ, the magnification of Christ. Christ is the mingling of God and man, and the principle of Christ is God manifested in the flesh, that is, God mingled with man, divinity mingled with humanity to be manifested in and expressed through humanity. The church is the enlargement of this principle. She is the enlargement of the manifestation of God in the flesh, the enlargement of the mingling of God and man. She is the enlargement of divinity mingled with humanity to be manifested in and expressed through humanity. Christ is God manifested in the flesh and mingled with a man, a Nazarene; the church is God manifested in millions of redeemed people and mingled with them. Therefore, the church is the enlargement of Christ from the individual Christ to the corporate Christ. The individual Christ involves the mystery of godliness, and the corporate Christ, the church, involves the great mystery of godliness. The individual Christ was born in Bethlehem, and the corporate Christ was produced on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was the enlargement of Bethlehem in that the living God was mingled with thousands of redeemed people in the flesh and then manifested in these believers. This is the church.
Thus, the church is the mingling of God and man, the addition of God in man. The church has two natures, produced by God being imparted into and mingled with man. If the church had only humanity, it would not be the church, and if the church had only divinity, it also would not be the church. God must be mingled with man and man must be mingled with God in order for the church to exist. The church is the most marvelous thing in the universe because the church contains both the elements of humanity and divinity. The church is both man and God, and God and man. The church has the life of God, which is expressed through the actions of man. The church is God living in man and being mingled with man, moving and living in a way that expresses Himself and accomplishes His purpose. The church is man cooperating with God, taking God as her all and being filled with God (3:19) to be controlled and regulated for the expression of the fullness of the Godhead so that others would say, “Indeed God is among you” (1 Cor. 14:25). This is the proper condition of the church. This is the essence of the church that came into being on the day of Pentecost.
On the day of Pentecost the church was the expression of God. She was the pillar and base of the truth, manifesting God before many people. She was also the great mystery of godliness, because people could sense that God had filled some men inwardly and was dwelling within them, moving and living through them, and manifesting His glory and power upon them. In them God manifested His glorious person and His powerful works. Since the day of Pentecost, whenever the church is in a proper condition, God is manifested because the church is the mingling of God and man. She is the crystallization of the mingling of God and man.
1. “The church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23).
The church being the Body of Christ not only speaks of her relationship to Christ but also of her function toward Christ. A body is the fullness of the head; it is the continuation of the head. Without a body the head is incomplete. In the same way, the church is the fullness and continuation of Christ. Without the church Christ is incomplete. According to God’s thought, it was not good for Adam to be alone, and it is not good for Christ to be without the church (Gen. 2:18-24; Eph. 5:23-32). Adam needed Eve, and Christ needs the church. Just as Eve was the fullness of Adam, the church is the fullness of Christ. Just as the body is a continuation of the head, the church is the continuation of Christ. The church’s function with respect to Christ is to be His continuation. With respect to time, the church is the extension of Christ; with respect to space, the church is the enlargement of Christ. Without the church it would not be possible to know Christ today. Without the church it would not have been possible to know Christ outside of Judea. Without the church it would be possible to see Christ only in one place at one time; it would not be possible to see Him in many places at the same time. However, in this universe Christ has a Body, and this Body is the church. Although Christ ascended into heaven, He is on the earth through His Body. Through His Body He has extended Himself into every age and enlarged Himself throughout the entire earth. Through His Body people could see Him in the first century, and they can see Him in the twentieth century. Through His Body people can see Him in Taipei as well as in Jerusalem. Through His Body today people can see Him at the same time all over the earth. Just as the four Gospels show His living in Jesus the Nazarene, the book of Acts shows His living in the church. Actually, the book of Acts is not the story of the apostles; it is the story of the continuation of Christ. This story continues after the Gospels, and it records Christ’s movements in many places on earth through His Body, the church. Just as we see Jesus the Nazarene in the Gospels, we see the church in Acts. Just as Acts is the continuation of the Gospels, the church is the continuation of Christ, the fullness of Christ, and the surplus of Christ. The church is Christ continuing, Christ overflowing, and Christ with surplus. Christ conquered sin and death; He conquered the world and the authority of darkness, and the church has inherited these accomplishments. Christ went to the cross, fulfilled God’s purpose, and dealt with Satan, and the church inherits these matters on a universal scale. The church inherits Christ’s accomplishments and continues Christ.
The first function of the church in the universe is to inherit Christ, extend Christ, and spread Christ; the church does this in time and space — the universe — to be Christ’s fullness for the expression of Christ. The church is the development of Christ so that all things in the universe would know Christ’s fullness and riches. The millions of believers throughout the ages are part of His universal great Body for His full expression.
2. “All the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord...into a dwelling place of God in spirit” (Eph. 2:21-22).
The second function of the church is to be God’s holy temple, the dwelling place of God on earth. God’s dwelling place is in the heavens, but God wants to express His glory and to carry out His will on earth, so He needs a dwelling place on earth. In the Old Testament God used the tabernacle and the temple among the children of Israel to express His glory and to carry out His will. The tabernacle and the temple are types of the church. In the New Testament the church is God’s dwelling place on earth through which He can express His glory and carry out His will. The church on earth expresses God’s glory and causes God’s will to be carried out.
3. “You...are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices” (1 Pet. 2:5).
In the Old Testament the temple in which God lived was a building, and the priests who offered sacrifices to Him were a group of people, but in the New Testament both the temple in which God lives and the priests who offer sacrifices to Him are the church. The church is God’s dwelling place to express His glory and to carry out His will, and the church is also a holy priesthood that offers spiritual sacrifices to God, which includes praise, caring for the needs of the saints (Heb. 13:15-16), faith toward God (Phil. 2:17), the believers themselves (Rom. 15:16), and the practical service of the believers (12:1). Thus, the church’s function on earth is to be a group of people who are God’s dwelling place and who serve Him.
4. “The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).
The church on earth is the dwelling place of God; the church is His house. As the house of God, the church speaks not only of the church’s relationship to God but also of the church’s function with respect to God. In a house one finds a dwelling, obtains rest, expresses his heart’s desire, and accomplishes his will. As the house of God, the church’s function toward God is for Him to find a dwelling, obtain rest, express His heart’s desire, and accomplish His will on earth. In a proper local church God will gain these four things.
When the church provides these four things, God is able to dwell and place all that He is in the church. In this regard the church functions as the pillar and base of all the truth related to God. On the earth the church supports and maintains all the truth concerning God. All the truth concerning God is supported and maintained by the church. If people on earth today want to know God and the things concerning Him, they must come to the church. This is another great function of the church with respect to God. On the earth today the church is a place for God to make His home, and the church also testifies concerning the things of God.
5. “To Him be the glory in the church” (Eph. 3:21).
All the functions of the church with respect to God are so that He may be glorified. To glorify God is to express God. The church expresses God in the universe. Although all things express a part of God, the church is the only thing that fully expresses Him. All the fullness of the Godhead — His heart’s desire, nature, wisdom, and work — is expressed through the church so that He may be completely glorified for eternity.
6. “In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church” (Eph. 3:10).
The church also makes known the multifarious wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies, especially to Satan and the angels who followed him in his rebellion against God. Through the church God wants to display His wisdom to Satan and his followers. Although Satan rebelled against God, damaged the man created by God, and hindered and damaged God’s works, God brought forth the church from among damaged humanity to be His dwelling place on earth for His habitation and fullness, to be mingled with Him to express His glory, and to carry out His purpose to deal with His enemies. This is God’s great wisdom! Through the church God makes His wisdom known to Satan and his angels in order to put them to shame.
7. “My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).
The final function of the church is to deal with God’s enemies, which include Satan and the authority of Hades. Because of this function, Satan and the authority of Hades seek to damage the church in many ways, but the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. The church will overcome because the church is produced, built up, joined, and mingled with the overcoming Christ. The church on earth today has a great mission to deal with Satan and his authority by relying on the victorious Christ. This is another great function of the church with respect to God.
1. “Those who believed” (Acts 2:44 see also 4:32).
The church includes those who have believed. Only those who believe are included in the church. To believe does not mean to merely believe the truth of the gospel, much less to believe a religion. It is to believe in the Lord Jesus and to receive Him as the Savior, thereby obtaining His life. Only those who believe and who receive the Lord are included in the church.
2. “Those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
Those who have believed are those who are being saved. Once a person believes in the Lord, he is saved; once he receives the Lord as His Savior, he receives the Lord’s salvation. The church includes only those who are saved by faith. A false believer, one who has not been saved, is not included in the church.
3. “Disciples” (Acts 11:26).
A person who believes in the Lord and is saved wants to follow the Lord and to receive His teaching. Thus, believers are the Lord’s disciples. Only those who have been saved by the Lord and who want to follow the Lord and to receive His teachings are included in the church. Those who are Christians in name only are not in the church because they have not believed or been saved.
4. “Those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints” (1 Cor. 1:2).
All who have believed in the Lord and are saved are sanctified in Christ. They are sanctified by God; they are saints called out of the world by God. Those in the church are sanctified, the called saints. False believers are not in the church.
5. “Members of His Body” (Eph. 5:30 see also 1 Cor. 12:27; Rom. 12:5).
The church is the Body of Christ; consequently, those who are in the church are members of the Body of Christ. In order to be a member and to participate in Christ, one must be saved, which is to obtain the life of Christ and to be joined to Christ. Since nominal Christians do not have the life of Christ, they are not members of the Body of Christ. Thus, they have no part in the church. They can participate in Christianity as a religion, but they cannot participate in the church as the Body of Christ. The church is the Body of Christ, which is joined to Christ through His life and nature; false believers cannot be members of the Body of Christ, because they do not have the life of Christ. All true believers have the life of Christ and are joined to Christ. Only believers who are joined to Christ as members of the Body are in the church.
Today people may have false teeth, false eyes, or false legs. These things appear to be members of the human body, but they do not have the life of the human body and cannot be joined in oneness with the body. In the same way, many false believers have been brought together into so-called “churches.” They appear to be members, but they do not have the life of the church, which is the life of Christ and the life of the Body of Christ. Therefore, they are not members of the Body of Christ and cannot be joined in one Body with the church. Strictly speaking, they are not in the church. They are merely in Christianity and have a false name of being those in the church.
6. “My brothers...‘the children whom God has given to Me’” (Heb. 2:12-13).
Since the church includes only those who are saved and have the Lord’s life, the church includes those who are the Lord’s brothers and God’s children. Since the church is the house of God and is joined to God with His life and nature, those who are in the church must be born of God and be God’s children in order to be the Lord’s brothers and heirs of God with the Lord. Anyone who does not have a life relationship with God has no part in the church and is not a member of the church as the Body of Christ.
7. “As living stones” (1 Pet. 2:5).
Those who have been regenerated by God to have His life and nature are living stones. Living means that they have been made alive in their spirit; they are not deadened in spirit without the life of God. It is not difficult to know whether a person has been made alive in his spirit, just as it is not difficult to know whether a person is living or dead. As soon as we touch a person’s body, we know whether it is living or dead. Similarly, it is easy to tell whether a person is living or dead spiritually. Our spirit has a spontaneous sensation. We speak with people before they get baptized in order to sense whether they have truly been made alive in spirit. This is not difficult to discern or sense. Anyone who has touched God inwardly will be alive in spirit; anyone who has simply believed some doctrines will be dead. The spirit cannot be made alive through doctrinal teachings. The Holy Spirit must be imparted into the human spirit in order for it to be living. Once the Holy Spirit is imparted, the human spirit is made alive. Doctrinal teachings cannot enliven the spirit. The church includes only those who have an enlivened human spirit.
There are many denominations in Christianity today, such as the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, and the Episcopalian Church. These denominations are divisions, and divisions are sects. We need to see what the Bible says about denominations and sects.
1. “Holy Father, keep them...that they may be one” (John 17:11 see also vv. 21-23).
Before His death the Lord prayed to the Father that His disciples, the church, would be one. This shows the Lord’s desire for the church to be one, rather than to be divided. He desires that the church on earth would be like the Triune God, completely without division and wholly one. The divided condition of today’s Christianity goes against the Lord’s heart’s desire and will, and it damages the Lord’s plan.
2. “There shall be one flock” (John 10:16).
The Lord not only prayed for the church to be one, but He also made the believers, who are His sheep, into one flock, whether they were saved from among the Jews or from among the Gentiles. Originally, the Jews could not be one with the Gentiles, but in the church the Lord wants the Jews and the Gentiles to be one and does not allow them to be divided. Thus, sects or divisions in the church go against the Lord’s way for the church. They damage the unifying work of the Lord that gathered His believers into one flock.
3. “Those who believed were together...with one accord”; “The heart and soul of the multitude of those who had believed was one” (Acts 2:44, 46; 4:32).
Based on the Lord’s prayer and work to make the church one, the church was one when it was first produced. In the beginning the church was one in every place, and the believers were together in one accord, having one heart and one soul; there was absolutely no situation involving sectarianism. The presence of sects in the church is the result of the church deviating from God’s plan and losing its initial oneness. This is absolutely improper.
4. “Each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:12-13 see also 3:3-4).
The original condition of oneness in the church began to disappear with the church in Corinth. At that time there were sectarian parties among them. Some said, “I am of Paul”; others said, “I am of Apollos”; and still others said, “I am of Cephas”; whereas another group was formed, seeming to say, “You are all wrong. We are of Christ.” This division into sects damaged the essential oneness of the church. Therefore, the apostle rebuked them, saying, “Is Christ divided?” Since Christ is one and not divided, those who are in Christ, who are joined to Christ, and who have Christ as their life should not be divided either. Sectarian matters that divide the Body of Christ are not of Christ or the Holy Spirit. They are of man’s flesh and should be condemned. The apostle clearly pointed out this sectarian situation to the church in Corinth.
The Corinthian believers said, “I am of Paul,” “I of Apollos,” “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” They were all rebuked and condemned by the Holy Spirit through the apostle. How can believers who say, “I am Baptist,” “I am Lutheran,” “I am Presbyterian,” and “I am Anglican,” be approved and justified by the one Holy Spirit? Regrettably, many believers think that they can openly denominate themselves. They seem to think that sects are not improper. All the sects and denominations in today’s Christianity use denominational titles to officially name and designate themselves without the slightest feeling of shame. They think that their names are proper and glorious. They are truly filled with the spirit of Corinth and should be rebuked. May the children of God set their mind on the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit in condemning the sectarian spirit and the denominational names that divide the Body of Christ until all God’s children feel the shame of sectarianism and reject these denominational names.
5. “One Body”; “We who are many are one Body” (Eph. 4:4; 1 Cor. 10:17).
The church is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the church. There is only one Head, and there is only one Body. Although there are many in the church, there is only one Body. There are millions of people here and abroad and throughout the ages who have been saved and who are part of the church. Although there are many members, there is only one Body. Therefore, the church should be one; it should not be divided into denominations. Any sect in Christianity, no matter how good or high it is, violates the principle of the Body of Christ and damages the oneness of the Body of Christ.
6. “Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3).
The Holy Spirit lives within the believers, making them one Body, and gives the believers an intrinsic oneness. The Spirit who makes us one leads us to be one with the children of God. We should not damage the oneness of God’s children by not keeping the oneness of the Spirit. God requires us to bear a great responsibility toward the church by being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit, which we already have, and by not damaging this oneness. God wants us to diligently keep the oneness of the Spirit in the Body of Christ by avoiding any sectarian element. In order to understand the nature of a sect, we need to consider six factors related to sects. If any one of these six factors is present among a group of Christians, it is a sect. These six factors include:
1. Special names — In the universe the church is unique and has no need of a special name. The church is just the church. No matter where it is, it is only the church. Once the church takes a special name, it loses its unique character and becomes a sect. A special name separates out and gathers a group of believers into that name. This separates them from other believers. Some groups in Christianity are named after a belief, such as the “Justification-by-faith Church” and the “Holiness Church”; some are named after their system of administration, such as the Presbyterian Church and the Congregational Church; some take their names from their rituals, such as the Baptist Church; some denominate themselves according to a man’s name, such as the Lutherans and Wesleyans; some are named after countries, such as the Anglican Church and the Chinese Christian Church. Regardless of its source, a special name divides the believers into sects because it separates a group of believers from other believers.
2. Special creeds — The church includes all those who share the common faith that saves us, the one faith spoken of in Ephesians 4:5. This faith is held in common by all who are saved (2 Pet. 1:1). This faith causes the believers to be one and does not divide them. Any creed or system of teaching that goes beyond the common faith divides the believers. Even the exposition of the Bible can cause the believers to become a sect if it goes beyond the faith. Furthermore, opinions related to doctrines that go beyond the common faith, such as baptism by sprinkling, baptism by immersion, keeping the Sabbath, keeping the Lord’s Day, head covering, foot-washing, and the posttribulation rapture or pretribulation rapture, divide the believers into sects if they become a requirement for fellowship and a central point around which a group of believers gathers. Even if some of these teachings and opinions are right and scriptural, we cannot make them a requirement for fellowship with other believers or the central point around which we gather. If these teachings become requirements or a central point, they become special creeds that create sects.
3. Special fellowship — Everyone who is saved and has the life of Christ is a member of the Body of Christ; therefore, these ones can participate in the fellowship of the Body, which is the fellowship of the church. If a Christian group considers that a person who is saved and who has the life of Christ must also believe in a special creed as a requirement for fellowship, this special fellowship makes them into a sect.
4. Isolated rather than universal fellowship — The Body of Christ is universal, so the fellowship of Christ’s Body, the church, is also universal. Any fellowship that is limited to one locality and does not extend to the other local churches on the earth, even if it does not have a special creed that dictates a special fellowship, is isolated and is not part of the universal fellowship. Isolated fellowship causes believers to become a local sect.
5. Separate administration in the same locality — The church in each locality should be one; it should not be divided. This oneness is maintained by one administration. Even if there is a need to meet in several places within one locality because of the number of people, the administration of the local church should still be one. If the administration in a local church is divided, the believers will be divided into sects.
6. Belonging to an organization — The church in any locality must only be a local church; it should not belong to any Christian organization. Although a local church should have fellowship in Christ with the churches in other localities, it should not have an organizational relationship with any Christian organization. Once it has an organizational relationship with a Christian organization, it takes on the background of that organization and becomes a sect.
Any of these items divide the Body of Christ and cause believers to become a sect. Therefore, these items should be condemned and rejected. In order to keep the oneness of the church, we must avoid these things. God hates sects and divisions in the church. God’s work in the church is to eliminate these kinds of things (1 Cor. 12:24-25). He also wants us to care for His heart’s desire and to join together without being sectarian (1:10). Although it is difficult to avoid sects, we must hate the divisions of denominations and be one who is approved by God (11:19).
1. “The oneness of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3).
The church is formed by the Holy Spirit bringing the life of Christ, which is Christ Himself, into the believers, joining them in oneness in Him. The Holy Spirit makes the church one Body (1 Cor. 12:13). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the church’s intrinsic oneness, which is the essence of the church’s oneness. The Holy Spirit as the church’s intrinsic oneness is possessed by every believer. Every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Since we have the Holy Spirit, we have the intrinsic oneness of the church. The Holy Spirit within us is the oneness of the church. Since we have this oneness within us, we do not need to seek to gain the oneness of the church; we need only to live in the Holy Spirit and not break the oneness of the Holy Spirit. The oneness of the Holy Spirit must be kept and manifested among us.
1. “One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:4-6).
The church has not only the essence of oneness but also the reality of oneness, which has several aspects. First, the Body is one Body. Second, the Holy Spirit is one. Third, the hope of the church to enter into glory is one. Fourth, the faith that saves the church out of the old creation and into the new creation is one. Fifth, the baptism by which the church leaves Adam and enters into Christ is one. Sixth, the Lord to whom the church belongs and serves is one. Seventh, the God who is through the church and lives within the church and who is the Father who begets everyone in the church is one. Since every aspect of the reality of the church is one, the church is one and cannot be divided. Division violates the reality of this oneness and damages the church by causing her to suffer loss. Division does not perfect the church or benefit her.
1. “They continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles” (Acts 2:42).
Those who believed on Pentecost kept not only the apostles’ teaching but also the apostles’ fellowship. The teaching of the apostles is the teaching given to the apostles by the Lord in His commission to them. The fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship given to the apostles by the Lord. The fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship of the church. Whoever has a part in the church has a part in this fellowship. Whoever is in the church is in this fellowship.
2. “(We...report to you the eternal life)...that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:2-3).
The fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship with God and with the Lord Jesus. The apostles report the Lord’s eternal life so that we may have fellowship with them. When we receive the eternal life that they report, we are brought into their fellowship so that we may have fellowship with them. This fellowship is the fellowship of the church. Whoever receives the Lord’s eternal life participates in this fellowship and is in the fellowship. Therefore, this fellowship is the fellowship of life.
1. “The fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14 see also Phil. 2:1).
Since the Holy Spirit makes the believers one Body (1 Cor. 12:13), the fellowship of the church as the Body is also the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Whoever receives the Holy Spirit by believing in the Lord participates in this fellowship. Whoever lives in the Holy Spirit also lives in this fellowship.
1. “The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16-17).
The church is the Body of Christ; therefore, the fellowship of the church is also the fellowship of the Body. Whoever becomes a member of the Body of Christ through being saved, regardless of his race, nationality, or social class, participates in this fellowship (12:13).
1. “One Body...one faith” (Eph. 4:4-5).
We become part of the Body of Christ through faith. This one faith is the basic faith through which we are saved. Therefore, the fellowship of the Body of Christ is also the fellowship of this one faith. Whoever has this one faith, regardless of his views, beliefs, and opinions on any other point of the truth, participates in this fellowship. This fellowship receives all who have this one faith (Rom. 14:1-6; 15:7).
1. “Not to mingle with anyone who is called a brother, if he is a fornicator or a covetous man or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a rapacious man, with such a one not even to eat” (1 Cor. 5:11).
If a believer commits any of the sins listed in verse 11, he should be removed from the fellowship of the church lest he corrupt the entire church (vv. 1-8).
2. “Those who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in the flesh...Everyone who goes beyond and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not say to him, Rejoice! For he who says to him, Rejoice, shares in his evil works” (2 John 7, 9-11).
If a person says that he is a Christian but does not believe Christ is God incarnate, he goes beyond the teaching of Christ and does not abide in it. Today’s so-called modernists who accept this teaching should be removed from the fellowship of the church lest the believers share in their evil works.
With the exception of the gross sins described in 1 Corinthians 5 and the belief that Jesus Christ has not come in the flesh, any failure, weakness, error, or improper opinion concerning the truth that a believer may have does not constitute sufficient reason for removing him from the fellowship of the church. Although the apostle Paul ordered the church in Corinth to remove the person who had committed one of the sins in 1 Corinthians 5, he did not tell the church to remove those who were sectarian (1:11-12; 3:1-4), the one who went to court against another brother (6:1-8), or those who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead (15:12). The fellowship of the church is a fellowship of oneness that includes all believers who are saved by faith and have the Lord’s life and the Holy Spirit. Apart from the reasons listed above, no one should be excluded from participating in this fellowship.
1. “The church which was in Jerusalem”; “The church of God which is in Corinth” (Acts 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2).
According to the Bible, the essence of the church is one universally, and the expression of the church is one locally. In this age the expression of the church is according to locality. The first expression of the church was in Jerusalem, and later the church was expressed in many localities in Judea and in Gentile regions, such as Antioch, Ephesus, and Corinth. Wherever the church is expressed, it is the church in that locality. Every local expression is a local church. A locality can have only one expression of the church; it cannot have two or more expressions. In the universe the church is essentially one; therefore, in this age the expression of the church should also be one in a locality. In the early days Jerusalem was a very large city with thousands of believers (Acts 21:20), but there was only one expression of the church in that city. The many believers, although meeting in many homes (2:46; 5:42), were the one church in Jerusalem. If the believers had separated into two or more churches in that city, they would have brought division into the church and caused the church to lose its expression of oneness in that locality. The Bible speaks of a city having not more than one expression of the church. When it speaks of churches, it is in reference to a province or region, which includes several cities and thus several churches, such as “the churches of Asia” (1 Cor. 16:19), “the churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2), or “the churches” in other provinces and regions (Acts 15:41; Gal. 1:22; Rom. 16:4; 2 Cor. 8:1). In one locality there can be only one expression of the church. The expression of the church cannot be larger than a locality, nor can it be smaller than a locality. If it is larger than a locality, the churches will become a federation, and the churches will lose their purity, which comes from living directly before Christ the Head in one locality. If a church is smaller than a locality by being divided into two or more churches, the church will lose its one expression in that locality. In order to preserve the purity of the local church and the oneness of the church in a locality, there cannot be national, provincial, or regional churches that are larger than a locality, nor can there be street, neighborhood, or house churches that are smaller than a locality. There can only be one church in one locality.
The Bible refers to a church in a believer’s house because the church in that locality was small and met in a believer’s home. Thus, it was referred to as the church in a believer’s house. In this case the church in the house was equivalent to a local church. In other words, even in a locality with a small number of believers, there can only be one church in a house; there cannot be churches in two or more houses. The church that met in the house of Prisca and Aquila in Romans 16:5 was the church in Rome. The church that met in the house of Aquila and Prisca in 1 Corinthians 16:19 was the church in Ephesus, because Prisca and Aquila moved from Rome to Ephesus (Acts 18:2, 18-19). Later, in the Lord’s epistle to the church in Ephesus in Revelation, He spoke of only one church there (2:1), proving the foregoing fact. The church in the house of Nymphas in Colossians 4:15 was the church in Laodicea mentioned in the second half of verse 16. Later, in the Lord’s epistle to the church in Laodicea in Revelation, He also spoke of only one church there (3:14). The church in the house of Philemon mentioned in Philemon 2 was the church in Colossae at that time (Col. 1:2; 4:17, pay attention to Colossae and Archippus). Thus, the churches in the Bible that were in houses were local churches.
There can only be one manifestation of the church in a locality. This is clearly revealed in the New Testament. If there are many believers in one locality, they can be divided into different meetings, but they cannot be divided into different churches. In a locality that has a church, two or three believers can meet in the Lord’s name. However, this does not mean that they alone are the church, because if there are difficulties, they must still tell these matters to the church (16-17, Matt. 18:20). In one locality there can be only one church.
The ground of the church is the oneness of the church. Whoever loses the oneness of the church, the oneness of the church’s fellowship, loses the ground of the church. Any ground apart from the oneness of the church and the oneness of her fellowship is not the ground of the church. The divisive, sectarian ground of Roman Catholicism and of many Christian denominations is not the ground of the church.
Since the expression of the church is local, the church’s practical ground is also based on locality. The universal oneness and fellowship of the church is expressed locally. There should be only one church in a locality, and in a locality the church should have only one fellowship. This ground is the ground of oneness in a locality. Any ground apart from the local ground of oneness is not the ground of the church.
Since the church is uniquely one in her universal essence and in her local expression, she should not have a name, either universally or locally. The church is the church; she does not need another name, just as the moon is the moon and does not need another name. Although the Bible uses a few phrases to describe the persons to whom the church belongs and the places where the church is, these descriptions are not the church’s name. Let us examine these descriptive phrases.
1. “The church of God”; “The churches of God” (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 10:32; 15:9; 11:16).
The first description of the church is “the church of God,” or “the churches of God.” This means that the church belongs to God and includes all God’s children.
2. “All the churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16).
The second description is “the churches of Christ.” This means that the church was purchased by Christ for Himself by the shedding of His blood. It also means that He has regenerated and made the church His Body by His life. The church includes all whom He has redeemed and who possess His life.
3. “The churches of the saints” (1 Cor. 14:33).
The third description is “the churches of the saints.” This means that the church is composed of the saints and includes all the saints.
4. “The church which was in Jerusalem”; “The church of God which is in Corinth” (Acts 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:2).
With the exception of the preceding three descriptions, which tell us to whom the church belongs, the Bible describes a church in relation to its location. For example, it says “the church which was in Jerusalem” and “the church of God which is in Corinth.” These expressions merely describe the location of a church but do not denominate the church by the name of its locality. The name of the locality is not the name of the church. The Bible uses these four descriptions to indicate to whom the church belongs and where a church is located, but these descriptions are not names. A name encloses a small number of God’s children, separating them from the rest of God’s children and forming them into a sect. The many names in Christianity today are sectarian names that prove the existence of division.
The church is the Body of Christ and the house of God. The Body of Christ emphasizes the universal aspect of the church. The house of God emphasizes the local aspect of the church. Since the church has these two aspects, the organization of the church also has two aspects: gifts, which emphasize the universal aspect of the Body of Christ, and offices, which emphasize the local aspect of the house of God. These two aspects are related to each other, but there is a clear distinction as well.
1. “He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).
The Lord gave gifts for the building up of His Body. These gifts are spiritual abilities given to the believers through the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, the Lord through the Holy Spirit gives spiritual abilities as gifts to certain believers in order to enable them to build up His Body; on the other hand, He gives certain believers who have these spiritual abilities as gifts to His church for the establishing and building up of the church. These people, who have special spiritual gifts and who are given as gifts by the Lord to the church, are for the building up of the churches everywhere. They are given for the building up of the universal church, not just for the building up of one local church. These gifts consist of four kinds of people.
Apostles are the first gifts given by the Lord to the church. They represent the highest office that God established in the universal church (1 Cor. 12:28; Rom. 1:5), and they have the authority to establish churches in every locality. The apostles are ordained by God Himself, not by man; they are sent directly by God, not by man. God specially appoints and sends them to work for Him in every place in order to establish churches (Acts 8:14, 25; 13:2; 14:14, 21-23). These apostles are not limited to the twelve apostles appointed by the Lord in the beginning. In addition to these twelve, many other apostles were appointed by God, such as Paul, Barnabas (v. 14), Silvanus, Timothy (1 Thes. 1:1; 2:6), the Lord’s brother James (Gal. 1:19), “our brothers” (2 Cor. 8:23), and so on. In addition to the many apostles appointed by God, there are self-proclaimed apostles; but these are false apostles (Rev. 2:2; 2 Cor. 11:13).
Although the highest office established by God relates to the apostles, these apostles should not be regarded as a special group of exceedingly excellent men. They are merely workers commissioned by God to preach the gospel and establish churches. Whoever has been commissioned by God and has been sent by God to preach the gospel, to bring salvation to others, to impart the Holy Spirit, to increase and spread the Body of Christ (vv. 4-5), and to preach God’s word to others is an apostle (2 Pet. 3:2). The proof of one’s apostleship is in the fruit of his work (1 Cor. 9:1-2) and in his power — the power of the life that bears all things and the miraculous power to work miracles (2 Cor. 12:11-12).
Prophets are gifts with the ability to speak for God to build up the church (1 Cor. 12:28). Primarily, they speak for God in an ordinary way through the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:6), but they also can receive the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit to foretell the future (1 Cor. 12:10). Whether they foretell the future or preach in an ordinary way, prophets speak for God in the power of the Holy Spirit; therefore, they have the authority of God, the ability to impart the revelation of God, the ability to establish and build up the church, and the ability to convict unbelievers (14:24-25).
Although a prophet fulfills his ministry of speaking for God in a local church (Acts 13:1), he can speak for God as a prophet in any place. Agabus, Judas, and Silas were prophets in the church in Jerusalem, but they also could speak for God when they went to Antioch or Caesarea. They spoke in an ordinary way to edify others and also in a miraculous way (11:27-28; 21:8-11; 15:22, 30, 32).
Prophets are the greatest gift for the building up of the church because their speaking imparts a spiritual supply (1 Cor. 14:1, 4-5). Just as apostles are the highest office for establishing the church, prophets are the greatest gift for the building up of the church. The Bible acknowledges the importance of these offices by saying that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).
Evangelists are appointed by God to preach the gospel. They have a particular gospel work as their ministry. Philip was such a person (Acts 21:8). The work of the prophets and teachers is directed primarily toward those who are the church for their building up. The work of the evangelists is directed primarily toward unbelievers for their salvation to be brought into the church. Such a gospel work must be carried out in many places. For example, Philip was originally in Jerusalem, but later he went to Samaria and to other cities to preach the gospel (8:5-12, 26-40; 21:8). Although evangelists may save many through their preaching of the gospel, the establishment of local churches is not part of the measure of an evangelist. The responsibility of establishing local churches has been measured to the apostles (cf. 8:5-12, 14-17). Evangelists can go to many places to preach the gospel, but apostles must establish churches in these places.
Shepherds and teachers are also gifts to the church. Shepherding the church involves teaching the church, and teaching the church involves shepherding the church. A shepherd and teacher is one person with a gift that involves two aspects. Shepherds and teachers receive grace from God to have a heart to care for the believers, and they understand God’s Word and can lead believers according to the teachings of the Bible. In their ministry they shepherd and teach by using God’s Word to feed, cultivate, and teach the church. Prophets preach the word of God according to revelation, whereas shepherds and teachers preach the revealed word of God. Prophets speak God’s revelation; shepherds and teachers teach what God has revealed. They teach the church according to God’s revealed truth so that the believers might be established and built up in the light of God’s truth. Like prophets, shepherds and teachers principally exercise their ministry in a local church (13:1) but can also shepherd and teach the church of God in every place. In the early days Apollos was a shepherd and teacher. Whether he was in Ephesus or Corinth, he taught and watered people with God’s word (18:24—19:1; 1 Cor. 3:6).
Gifts are given to the church by Christ; they cannot be appointed by man. They can be given only by Christ, the ascended Head. In the giving of gifts, there is room only for the authority of Christ the Head.
To build up His church God not only gives gifts to the universal church but also provides different offices for a local church. The gifts that are given involve God’s sending or appointment. Gifts are for the universal church, whereas offices relate to the local churches. The universal church emphasizes the aspect of the Body of Christ, and the local churches emphasize the aspect of the house of God. The Body of Christ is an organic constitution; it is spiritual and of life. Being organic, it cannot be organized by man. It is altogether under the headship of Christ, and the gifts that are given to the Body come directly from Christ. Their appointment is completely apart from human hands. The house of God, however, involves an element of human administration. In this regard, the local aspect of the church involves the participation of human hands because the offices of the house of God are arranged and appointed by God through men — the apostles. A gift involves the organic aspect of the Body of Christ and cannot be based on an appointment by human hands. An office related to the house of God is administrative and therefore involves appointment by human hands. Although a person cannot arrange the members of his human body, he can arrange the members of his household. The focus of the Body of Christ is related to growth, but the focus of the house of God is related to building. Since the Body is not a dead organization but a living organism, it does not need the human work of an organizational arrangement in order to spontaneously grow in life. However, a house always involves some element of administration. Although the house of God is built up by the growth in life of the children of God, it must have some element of administrative arrangement. There are two offices in the house of God.
Elders oversee and administrate a local church (1 Tim. 5:17; 3:5). Thus, they are also called overseers (Acts 20:28). The term elders refers to their person, meaning that they are mature. The term overseers refers to their responsibility to oversee. Oversee means “to look upon from above, or to care for from above.” In the house of God — the local churches — the overseers are stewards (Titus 1:7). They are responsible for the administration of a local church, directing and caring for all people and matters related to the church. Therefore, they surely represent a local church.
Elders must not only administrate a local church but also teach and shepherd the local church (1 Tim. 5:17; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:1-2). In administrating, the emphasis is on business affairs; in teaching and shepherding, the emphasis is on the spiritual aspect. In the church there are many matters that require administration, and there are also many believers who need teaching and shepherding. Some elders “take the lead well” (1 Tim. 5:17), whereas others are “apt to teach” and can “exhort by the healthy teaching and...convict those who oppose” (3:2; Titus 1:9). They are responsible for the preaching, teaching, and shepherding in a local church. The strength of a local church depends on whether or not its elders take the lead well and are apt to teach. May there be brothers in every locality who aspire to be this kind of person (1 Tim. 3:1).
Since the elders are the administrators of a local church, they must also care for the financial affairs of the local church (Acts 11:29-30). Since the elders are the shepherds of the local church, they need to pray over sick believers, anointing them with oil (James 5:14). The elders direct the local church, so they join the apostles to resolve the problems that arise between their locality and other local churches (Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22-23; 16:4). Since the elders are the representatives of a local church, they lay hands on others together with the apostles (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6).
There should be more than one elder in each locality. The Bible speaks of elders (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2; 20:17; 1 Tim. 5:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14), presbytery (1 Tim. 4:14), and overseers (Phil. 1:1). God does not want only one person to lead a local church, because it would be easy for him to move independently according to his will and become puffed up. God wants several brothers to be elders in a locality so that they can coordinate together under Christ the Head, submitting to one another to preserve the mutual nature of the church and to avoid the pitfall of individualism.
Elders are appointed by the apostles. Sometimes they are chosen by the apostles themselves (Acts 14:23), and sometimes they are appointed by others at the command of the apostles (Titus 1:5). First, there will be some brothers in a local church who are more willing to pay the price and whose spiritual growth and weight are expressed in their spiritual growth and maturity. As they take the lead in spiritual matters, the apostles or those commanded by the apostles will appoint some as elders in that local church according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Thus, elders are not appointed according to human will despite the fact that they are appointed by the human hands of the apostles or those with the command of the apostles. Elders are appointed according to the will of the Holy Spirit and are placed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28). The Holy Spirit shows that certain ones are elders among the brothers, and the Holy Spirit leads the apostles and those with the command of the apostles to appoint them as elders. Thus, man follows what the Holy Spirit makes known.
Strictly speaking, the elders of a local church grow into their function as an elder. Among the brothers, the spiritual life of certain ones grows into the shape of an elder. For the sake of emphasizing their responsibility and to avoid confusion, the apostles confirm this spiritual arrangement. This is completely different from the way of Christianity, which often chooses elders by general election. An election by ballot is not based upon life and spiritual weight; instead, it follows the way of the world by focusing on a person’s position, political power, education, or talent. The appointment of elders in a local church, who are manifested and set apart by the Holy Spirit, is related only to their level of life and spiritual weight so that the church might obtain edification in life and leading in spiritual matters.
Since elders are appointed by the apostles, brothers and sisters should make an accusation against an elder only to the apostles (1 Tim. 5:19-20). The ones who sin in verse 20 refers to the elders. Since the eldership involves the highest office in a local church, the brothers and sisters do not have the authority to appoint elders or the authority to deal with them. Discipline is related to the apostles’ authority and responsibility.
The verses in 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-9 speak of the principles that an elder must manifest, including being orderly, sober-minded, self-controlled, experienced, hospitable, apt to teach, and able to administrate.
The second office in a local church relates to deacons. There are only the offices of elders and deacons in a local church. In the church in Philippi, there were only overseers (elders) and deacons serving the saints (Phil. 1:1). The apostles commanded that only overseers (elders) and deacons be appointed in the local churches (1 Tim. 3:1-13). There are five points concerning the office of the deacons.
The Greek word translated “deacon” means “serving one.” Therefore, the duty of the deacons is to serve a local church, to bear responsibility for the general affairs of a local church. Elders bear the responsibility for managing a local church; deacons bear the responsibility for handling the general affairs of the local church. In the local church the elders make decisions and direct people, whereas the deacons carry out matters under the elders’ direction. The deacons serve the local church under the management and leading of the elders.
There are many deacons in a local church because the Bible speaks of “deacons” (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8, 12). Since deacons must serve the church and bear responsibility for the general affairs of the church, it is not possible for one deacon to take care of all the needs. Therefore, there should be several deacons in a local church, and there should be more deacons than elders. The number of deacons in a local church depends on the number of people in that locality and the volume of its general affairs. The number of deacons is determined by need. If there are many saints and many general affairs, there is a need for more serving ones.
For propriety in serving the sisters and caring for them in a thorough way, a local church must have some deaconesses. Therefore, the Bible shows that there are deacons and deaconesses (vv. 11-12; Rom. 16:1). Elders must be brothers, but deacons can be brothers or sisters. Since man is the head (1 Cor. 11:3), the elders who head up matters in a local church must be brothers, not sisters. However, the deacons who serve in a local church can be both brothers and sisters.
Deacons are also appointed by the apostles or by those under the command of the apostles (1 Tim. 3:8-13). There are certain brothers and sisters in a local church who manifest more love toward the Lord, more genuine spirituality, and more willingness to serve the church and the saints. As this is revealed by the Holy Spirit, the apostles follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to appoint them as deacons. Their appointment, like that of the elders, is according to the will of the Holy Spirit, but it passes through the hands of the apostles. The Holy Spirit reveals the serving ones among the brothers and sisters and then leads the apostles to appoint them as deacons. As with the elders, man follows what the Holy Spirit makes known.
The record in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 tells us that deacons must be grave, pure, faithful, and not double-tongued, and they must hold the mystery of the faith.
The administrative arrangement that God has ordained for a local church is marvelous. There is no appointment or termination of service by human election, nor is there a mission board that approves and directs. The administrative arrangement of a local church is completely a matter of the Holy Spirit exercising the authority of the Head. It is arranged neither democratically nor tyrannically, neither according to the opinion of the majority nor the will of an individual. Instead, a group of brothers and sisters under the authority of the Holy Spirit submit to His authority and follow His leading as to who should lead and serve. Everyone submits to the authority of the Holy Spirit and remains under His control to stand in his position and fulfill his responsibility in the service so that the church might carry out its function to serve God and express Christ.
1. “To the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea”; “The seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Rev. 1:11, 20).
We also should understand the relationship between local churches. The New Testament clearly shows that local churches are independently administrated and directly responsible to the Head, Christ. This can be seen with the seven churches in Asia Minor in the first century; each was an individual lampstand living directly before its Head, Christ, and was directly responsible to Him. They did not have a regional board, a central board, a unified council, or other kind of organization. There is no such thing as a head church, branch church, superior church, inferior church, or other form of differentiation. All the churches are equal. No church can control the affairs of another church, nor should any church control the affairs of several other churches. The administration of a church is local and directly under the authority of Christ the Head. In the province of Galatia there were only churches (Gal. 1:2); there was no regional board or general council. In Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, there were churches throughout the region (Acts 9:31); there were no regional boards or general councils. [See footnote 1 on verse 31, Recovery Version.] The church in Jerusalem was not the head church of the churches in Judea, nor was the church in Antioch the head church of the Gentile churches. The churches in Ephesus and Corinth were not head churches in their respective regions. Every local church, regardless of its size, is administrated locally and is managed directly by the Head; it is responsible to Him.
God wants every local church to be administered locally so that Christ the Head can have the absolute position in every local church and so that the Holy Spirit can exercise complete authority in every local church. Whenever the church has a general council, a regional council, a unified council, or any kind of organization, it cannot be controlled directly by Christ the Head and cannot be directly under the authority of the Holy Spirit. This kind of organization damages and frustrates the position of Christ the Head and the authority of the Holy Spirit in the church. All general boards, regional councils, unified councils, and other such organizations in Christianity are against the teaching of the Bible. They also damage the position of Christ as Head in the church and frustrate the Holy Spirit in the exercise of His authority in the church. This offends the Lord very much!
Although the local churches are administered locally, they have the same life and fellowship because they are the one Body of Christ. Although there are many outward expressions of administration, they have only one inward life. Despite the fact that their administration is distinct, their fellowship is not separate.
If a local church is normal and spiritual, her fellowship with other local churches will be sufficient and thorough even though her administration is absolutely independent. She may supply other local churches with the supply of life, spiritual help, and the light of the truth, or she may receive the same from other churches. Furthermore, a strong and large local church should bear responsibility to help a weaker and smaller local church in spiritual matters. A weaker and smaller local church should also be willing to receive help from other churches. In conclusion, there should neither be administrative unification or administrative interference in matters between local churches, but there should be the fellowship, mutual help in spiritual matters, and the leading and following of one another in the truth.
A local church should maintain her administrative independence as well as keep the oneness of the fellowship. The administration of a church is local and thus independent; the fellowship of the church is the fellowship of the Body and thus is one. On the one hand, a local church should not lose her local independence in administration, and on the other hand, she should not lose the oneness of the Body in her fellowship. If a local church loses its administrative independence, it will lose its local character. If a local church loses the oneness of its fellowship, it will become a local sect. A local church must not lose its local character nor become a local sect. Therefore, it must preserve the independence of its administration and the oneness of its fellowship. Preserving the local independence of administration as well as the oneness of the fellowship in the Body is the normal condition of a local church. A local church should preserve the independence of its local administration and preserve the oneness of the fellowship of the Body with other local churches.
Since the local churches are the Body of Christ, their actions should be in one accord for the sake of God’s testimony and the Lord’s work even though their administration is local. When Paul wrote the Epistle to the church in Corinth, he also addressed it to all those who call upon the name of the Lord (1 Cor. 1:2), and when he commanded the church in one locality to do something, he gave the same command to the other local churches (7:17; 16:1). Additionally, the practices of a local church are held by all the local churches (11:16; 14:34), and a local church should imitate the testimony of all the churches of God (1 Thes. 2:14). Furthermore, the word that the Holy Spirit speaks to one local church is addressed to all the local churches (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).
The Bible shows that the God-ordained arrangement of the church is marvelous, spiritual, and simple. God appoints apostles and sends them out to establish churches. Then He works through the apostles to appoint elders for administration and deacons for service in the local churches that have been established. At the same time, He raises up prophets in the local churches to reveal His will and to speak His truth for the strengthening and building up of the saints in the localities. He also raises up evangelists in the local churches in order to bring sinners into the church as material for the increase and spread of the church. He raises up shepherds and teachers to shepherd and teach, using the word of God to cultivate and water the saved ones in every locality. These arrangements are very thorough, satisfactory, spontaneous, simple, practical, and flexible. Each local church is independent in its administration and universal in its fellowship, and each local church moves in one accord with other local churches. This arrangement is so free, yet there is no division or confusion. This is entirely unlike the organization carried out according to man’s will in Christianity today.
1. “Made us...priests to His God”; “You are a...priesthood” (Rev. 1:6; 1 Pet. 2:9 see also Rev. 5:9-10).
The church is constituted with all who are redeemed by the Lord’s blood, and those who are redeemed by the Lord’s blood have been saved to serve Him. The service of the believers is the service of the church to God. In the service of the church all members serve as priests; all believers serve God equally. This is different from the service of the Israelites in the Old Testament in which only one tribe served as priests, whereas most of the people could not serve God. In this way a small number of priests became a mediatorial class between the majority of the people and God. But in the New Testament service of the church, there is no mediatorial class; all believers are priests, and all can serve God equally. There is no differentiation based on the concept of clergy and laity. The priestly system in Roman Catholicism, the ministerial system in Protestantism, and the pastoral system in independent Protestant churches today violate the principle of all believers being priests. These systems destroy the reality of God receiving service from all the members and are against the teaching of the New Testament.
1. “Just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another...Whether prophecy...or service...or he who teaches...or he who exhorts...Be burning in spirit, serving the Lord”; “Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love” (Rom. 12:4-8, 11; Eph. 4:16 see also 1 Cor. 12:12-27).
The service of the church is not merely service from every member but a service of the Body. The service of the Body is a coordinated service. It is not simply a matter of all the believers serving but of serving in coordination. Although everyone serves, no one serves individually; all are coordinated together in service. Each one who serves is a member, not the Body; therefore, all the members must coordinate together. Every member has a function, but each member must be coordinated in the Body for this function to be exercised. Therefore, a member cannot be individualistic; every member must be coordinated with the other members of the Body so that they can serve effectively according to their ministries, or functions. Whenever a believer is individualistic in his service, the service of the church is damaged. It is not enough for each individual believer to serve; all the members must be connected together and mutually coordinated for the service of the Body to come forth.
The service of the church is a universal service. It is not a service of a few individuals but the coordinated service of the Body. Although there are gifts who have a particular portion in the building up of the church, they do not replace the saints in their service to God. They only perfect the saints so that all may serve God. Moreover, they are coordinated with all the saints in their service to God (vv. 28-30). Although there are some who bear particular responsibilities in the administration of a local church, they do not replace the saints in their service to God. They lead the saints and are coordinated together with them in their service to God. Elders teach, make arrangements, and lead the brothers and sisters in service to God. Deacons help the brothers and sisters to serve God. It is not the responsibility of the elders and deacons to take care of all the service in the church. Most of the church service is carried out by the brothers and sisters. All the brothers and sisters, including the elders and deacons, must carry out their functions according to their ministry. Those who serve more should do so out of their spiritual capacity to bear more responsibility, and those whose function is manifested in one area should serve according to their capacity, but in all the service, there is no replacement of others and no killing of others’ functions. There is only the leading of the saints into service so that they would develop in function and serve in coordination.
The Lord appointed the church to be His representative on earth, so He gave her great authority.
1. “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you retain, they are retained” (John 20:23).
The authority given by the Lord to the church includes determining whether a person’s sins have been forgiven or not. If a person does not believe in the Lord, he is a sinner and has no relationship with the kingdom of God. Once he repents and believes in the Lord, the church has the authority to determine whether his sins were forgiven and to receive him, confessing that he is one who has been forgiven and received by God. The church has been given this authority because she has received the Holy Spirit (v. 22). Therefore, the church can determine by the Holy Spirit whether a person’s sins have been forgiven and whether he can be received. The Holy Spirit lets the church know whether a person’s sins have been forgiven, whether God has received him, and whether the church can receive him. The church must exercise authority to receive people by the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit the exercise of this authority would be a problem.
2. “If he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector...Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:17-18).
The Lord has given the church the authority to deal with sinning believers. If a brother sins, we should exhort him. If he will not listen, we should go with one or two other brothers to exhort him again. If he still does not listen, we should tell the matter to the church. If he will not listen to the church, the church has the authority to deal with him, bind him, and regard him as a Gentile. According to the verses immediately following this word in Matthew 18, the church’s authority to deal with a sinning brother is in the Lord’s name (v. 20). To be in the Lord’s name means to be in the Lord. Therefore, the church does not deal with a sinning brother by herself but in the Lord and in His name. The Lord’s name is the authority. To deal with someone in the Lord’s name is to deal with him by the Lord’s authority. If a local church is in a proper condition, she has this authority, and the Spirit of the Lord will confirm the church’s dealing. Although the church does not have human, earthly authority of this age, she has spiritual, heavenly authority to cause unrepentant believers to lose the blessing of the church, lose the presence of the Lord, and to fall into darkness like worldly people who do not have the Lord.
3. “Do you not judge those who are within the church?...Remove the evil man from among yourselves” (1 Cor. 5:12-13).
The Lord also gives the church the authority to judge and remove believers from the fellowship of the church. If some believers continuously commit the gross sins mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 and if they refuse to repent, the church has the authority to condemn their sins and to remove them. This kind of removal is not for the purpose of rejection but in the hope of reconciliation.
4. “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?...Are you unworthy of the smallest judgments? Do you not know that we will judge angels, not to mention things of this life?” (1 Cor. 6:2-3).
When the Lord comes again, the believers will have the authority to judge the world and the angels. Therefore, believers can judge disputes among brothers today. This authority has been given by the Lord to the church. The Lord does not want believers to take their disputes to unbelievers. The Lord wants the church to judge disputes among the brothers. Thus, the Lord gave the church the authority to judge.
The different kinds of authority that the Lord has given the church speak of the importance of the church in the Lord’s eyes. The church is very important.
See chapter 30, entitled “Meeting,” in Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, vol. 3.
The Lord treasures the church and desires to obtain the church; Satan envies the church and desires to damage the church. The Lord builds up the church, but Satan tears down the church. The church that the Lord created on the cross and brought forth on Pentecost was spiritual and heavenly, overcoming sin and the world, and was holy and without blemish. However, she quickly became corrupted and desolate because of Satan’s damaging work. Not long after the church began, Satan mixed false believers, tares, into the church (Matt. 13:25) so that the church became mixed and impure. At the same time, he worked in the church to cause people to deceive the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11), to murmur concerning their physical needs (6:1), and to covet glory in spiritual matters (8:18-24) in order to corrupt the intrinsic element of the church. At the time of the church in Corinth, he caused people to create divisions and become puffed up in their flesh (1 Cor. 1:10-13; 3:1-5; 4:6-8), to commit adultery in wanton lust (ch. 5), to sue each other (6:1-8), to willfully eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols (ch. 8; 10:19-22), to doubt the authority of the apostle (9:1-15), to argue about head covering (11:2-16), to eat the Lord’s supper improperly (vv. 17-34), to confuse the order in the church by the abuse of the spiritual gifts and the lack of love (chs. 12—14), to not believe in the future resurrection of the dead (15:12-19), and to be dissimilarly yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14-18). Satan also worked to bring the church back under the law of Judaism, including the practice of circumcision (Gal. 2:4, 11-19; 3:1-5; 4:21; 5:1-12; 6:12-15), so that she would lose the New Testament grace of life, the power of the gospel, and the purity in the Holy Spirit. Satan also brought Gentile philosophy into the church (Col. 2:8, 20-23) so that the element of human thought and philosophical reasoning would be mixed into the church. By the time Paul wrote the Epistles to Timothy, Satan’s corruption of the church was even stronger. He caused people to thrust away a good conscience and to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:19-20), to do evil things to the apostle (2 Tim. 4:14-15), and to overthrow the faith of many by saying that the resurrection had already taken place (2:17-18). Satan did this in order to cause people to depart from the faith, to give heed to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons (1 Tim. 4:1-3; 6:20-21), and to teach heresies and to regard godliness as a means for gain (vv. 3-5). This made people lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure, having an outward form of godliness, though denying its power (2 Tim. 3:1-8). It caused the servants of the Lord to love the present age and to leave their co-workers (4:10). Furthermore, it caused the churches to turn away from the apostles (1:15; 4:16), which means to leave the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. By the time Peter wrote his second Epistle and Jude wrote his Epistle, Satan had caused the church to have false teachers who brought in destructive heresies and even denied the Master who bought them in order to cause the people to follow the way of Balaam, which is to love the wages of unrighteousness (2 Pet. 2:1-3, 15; Jude 11). By the time John wrote his Epistles, Satan had caused antichrists to appear in the church who did not believe that the Lord was God incarnate and who went beyond the teaching concerning the person of the Lord to teach heresies that are reflected in today’s modern schools of unbelieving theology (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7-11). He had also caused those in the church to love to be first, to babble evil words against the apostles, to rampantly defy authority, to do evil, and to deal with the brothers as they pleased (3 John 9-11). By the time of the Lord’s last seven epistles (about A.D. 90), not only had some of the churches left their first love toward the Lord (Rev. 2:4), but some also dwelt where the throne of Satan is and held the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (vv. 13-15). There were churches who held the teaching of Jezebel, committed adultery, ate idol sacrifices, and knew the deep things of Satan (vv. 20-24). There were churches who had a name that they were living but were dead and weak in all things (3:1-2). There were also churches who were lukewarm and self-satisfied to the extent that the Lord was completely shut out (vv. 15-17, 20). Since the church was corrupt and desolate, she could not satisfy the Lord’s heart’s desire, and the Lord was forced to call out some to do what the church was incapable of doing. Therefore, the Lord sent forth a call for believers to be overcomers (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). The man-child that the woman brings forth in Revelation 12 is the overcomers whom the Lord gains in the church. They carry out the church’s function to deal with and defeat God’s enemy Satan to bring in the kingdom of God.
The corruption and degradation of the church on earth has never ceased. In the first part of the fourth century, the Roman emperor Constantine accepted Christianity and made it the official religion of his worldly empire. This caused the church to be wholly joined to the world. She lost her nature of being separated from the world and was instead joined to the world. The Lord referred to this matter in the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13 and in the epistle to the church in Pergamos in Revelation 2. In the sixth century the Roman Catholic Church was officially established, causing the church to become inwardly filled with all kinds of heresies and evils and to lose her pure spiritual nature. The Lord spoke of this matter in the parable of the leaven in Matthew 13 and in the epistle to the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2. Today the “church” is in a condition of corruption and degradation such as has never been seen before. According to the Holy Spirit’s prophecy, the corruption and degradation of the church will continue until the day the Lord returns; only then will it cease.
1. “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
The Bible shows that even though there is degradation in the church on earth, the church is also growing unto maturity. The church will arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. There is desolation because of Satan’s corruption; there is growth because of God’s operation. No matter how much Satan corrupts the church, God continuously operates to cause the church to grow unto full maturity. The past two thousand years of church history is a history of both desolation and growth. Today the church is more desolate than ever, but she is also more mature than ever. Outwardly, the church is more desolate, but inwardly, the church is more mature. In its initial stage at the time of the apostles, the church attained to a high peak, but this temporary attainment did not constitute maturity, so what was gained was quickly lost. After nearly two thousand years of God’s operation, however, many of the things that were lost have been recovered and solidly constituted into the church to the extent that it would be difficult to lose them again. For example, justification by faith was obtained by the church in the beginning but was lost until its recovery at the time of Luther. Now it has been worked into the church to such an extent that it would be hard to lose it again. God continues to work in this way to cause the church to grow until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. We are in the process of being headed up in Him, becoming full-grown and attaining to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
2. “That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:26-27).
From the time the Lord obtained the church by giving Himself up for her, He has been continuously working to make the church glorious, holy, and without blemish. The Lord continuously uses the water of life in His living word to wash away the wrinkles of this age and the spots of the old creation in the church to make her a glorious church, completely holy and without any blemish. He washes away the old things of Adam from the church and fills her with His element and glory until she is just like Him. This is what the Lord can and will eventually accomplish in the church.
1. “I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”; “Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal”; “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations will walk by its light; and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it”; “A river of water of life...proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life...And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him...And they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 21:2, 11, 23-24; 22:1-3, 5).
All the conditions manifested at the appearing of the New Jerusalem are the final result of the church. The New Jerusalem manifests that God in Christ the Lamb is wholly united with His redeemed from all ages to be one entity, completely mingled with them as their life and content and taking them as His dwelling and expression. Inwardly, the church will be completely filled with His life and light; outwardly, the church will bear His full image, expressing His glory to shine on the nations in the new earth. The church will serve God and Christ the Lamb as priests and will exercise authority for God as kings. This is the result of the church!
