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Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:1; Mal. 1:1-2; Matt. 1:1; 16:16-18; 18:17; John 1:1, 14; 20:17; Acts 8:1a; 13:1a; 14:23; 1 Cor. 1:2a; Gal. 1:2; Rev. 1:4-5a, 11, 20; 3:22; 22:17a
In the foregoing chapters we have devoted much attention to various portions of the Old Testament. In this chapter we need to have an overall view of the New Testament concerning the ultimate revelation of the local oneness and its recovery.
If we have a bird’s-eye view of the Bible and consider the Bible as a whole, we will see that it reveals four main figures. First, the Bible reveals God as the Creator. The very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God was in the beginning, and all things were created by Him. Malachi 1:1 and 2 reveal that this very God is also the One who loves Israel. Hence, the Old Testament reveals God as the Creator of all things and as the One who loves a particular people, Israel. In a sense, this is a summary of the revelation of God in the Old Testament. We may call this God the God of Israel. This term is even used in the Old Testament. The Jews, of course, love the Old Testament very much because it reveals that the unique God in the universe, the One who created the heavens and the earth, is also the very One who loves Israel.
As we all know, the New Testament goes on to reveal much more of God. For this reason, we who believe in Christ cannot say that the revelation of God in the Old Testament is fully a revelation of our God, for it is actually only a partial and incomplete revelation of Him.
Matthew 1:1 says, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” How different is the opening of the New Testament from the first verse of the Old Testament! The One spoken of in Matthew 1:1 is revealed further in Matthew 16. In this chapter the Lord Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (v. 13). After the disciples made some reply, the Lord directed His question to them specifically: “But you, who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Receiving the revelation from the Father in the heavens, Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). The Lord acknowledged that this revelation did not come from flesh and blood but from the Father. Then He went on to say, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (v. 18). What we have here is not Israel loved by God — we have the church built by Christ.
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In verse 14 we are told that “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us...full of grace and reality.” This Word who was in the beginning with God and who became flesh is the very God who created all things, but He is much more. In our preaching of the gospel we need to tell our Jewish friends of this. We need to teach them the truth that the God who created all things became a man through incarnation. We must tell them that God did not stop simply with being the One who loved Israel. According to the Gospel of John, He became a man. Hence, to know God only as God is to know Him in an incomplete way.
After living on earth for thirty-three and a half years, Christ was crucified and then entered into resurrection. On the day of His resurrection, Christ said, “Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (20:17). In Matthew we have Christ and the church. In John we have the Son of God and His many brothers, who are the church. After His resurrection Christ began to call the disciples brothers, for through His resurrection they had been regenerated (1 Pet. 1:3) with the divine life released by His life-imparting death, as indicated in John 12:24. He was the Father’s only Son, as the Father’s individual expression. Now, through His death and resurrection, the Father’s only Begotten has become “the Firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29). His many brothers are the many sons of God and the church (Heb. 2:10-12), as a corporate expression of God the Father in the Son.
At this point we see from the revelation in the Bible three main characters: God, Christ, and the church. God is embodied in Christ, and Christ is expressed through the church. This is the revelation at the end of the Gospels.
Now we must proceed from Acts through the book of Revelation. Here we see not only God, Christ, and the church; we also have the churches. In Matthew 16 the Lord said, “I will build My church.” This church is the unique, universal church typified by Zion. But just as Zion has many peaks, so the universal church has many local expressions. In Matthew 18, where the Lord spoke of taking a matter to the church, we see one of these local expressions. We may also liken the universal church to a tree and the local churches to the branches of the tree. In Matthew 18 we see one of the branches of this universal tree. Here is a local church to which we can go with our problems. Furthermore, such a church can also deal with certain ones and even cause them to be regarded as Gentiles and tax collectors.
In the book of Acts we read of the church in Jerusalem (8:1) and of another church in Antioch (13:1). According to Acts 14:23, the apostles ordained elders in every church. The churches referred to here are those established in the provinces of Asia Minor. First Corinthians 1:2 speaks of “the church of God which is in Corinth.” Furthermore, in Galatians 1:2 Paul refers to “the churches of Galatia,” a region of the Roman Empire that included many localities. Just as there are many local churches in the state of California today, so there were a number of churches in the region of Galatia at the time of Paul.
In the book of Revelation the divine revelation in the Bible reaches its consummation. The universal church, as the Body of Christ, is expressed through the local churches. The local churches, as the expressions of the one Body of Christ (1:12, 20), are locally one. Revelation 1:4 says, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia.” Asia was a province of the ancient Roman Empire in which were the seven cities mentioned in 1:11. The seven churches were in those seven cities respectively, not all in one city. Revelation does not deal with the universal church but with the local churches in various cities. We have seen that the church is first revealed as universal in Matthew 16:18 and then as local in Matthew 18:17. In Acts the church was practiced in the way of local churches, such as the church in Jerusalem (8:1) and the church in Antioch (13:1) and the churches in the provinces of Syria and Cilicia (15:41). Without the local churches, there is no practicality and actuality of the universal church. The universal church is realized in the local churches. Knowing the church universally must be consummated in knowing the church locally. It is a great advance for us to know and practice the local churches. Concerning the church, the book of Revelation is in the advanced stage, for it is written to local churches. If we would know this book, we must advance from the understanding of the universal church to the realization and practice of the local churches.
In 1:11 the voice said to John, “What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” This verse is composed in a very important way. Here we see that the sending of this book “to the seven churches” equals sending it to the seven cities. This shows clearly that the practice of the church life was that of one church for one city, one city with one church. In no city was there more than one church. The jurisdiction of a local church should cover the whole city in which the church is; it should not be greater or lesser than the boundary of the city. All the believers within that boundary should constitute the unique local church within that city. Hence, one church equals one city, and one city equals one church. This is what we call the local churches.
Revelation 1:4 and 5 are very significant verses: “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth.” According to these verses, grace and peace are transmitted to the seven churches from the Triune God. Notice that in these verses there are three froms: from Him who is and who was and who is coming (the Father); from the seven Spirits (the Spirit); and from Jesus Christ (the Son). What a full, complete revelation of the Triune God! As God the eternal Father, He was in the past, He is in the present, and He is coming in the future. As God the Spirit, He is the sevenfold intensified Spirit for God’s operation. As God the Son, He is the Witness, the testimony, the expression of God; the Firstborn of the dead for the church, the new creation; and the Ruler of the kings of the earth for the world. From such a Triune God grace and peace are imparted to the churches.
The revelation of God in these verses is much more complete than the revelation in Genesis 1:1. The God revealed in Genesis could not be called Jesus, for in Genesis we do not yet have the incarnation. According to John 1, the very God who is the Creator in Genesis 1 is the Word who became flesh and tabernacled among us. When the Word became flesh, He was given the name Jesus. In Revelation 1:5 Jesus is the faithful Witness and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. Revelation 1:4 and 5 contain the ultimate revelation in the Bible. The revelation in the Scriptures begins with God as the Creator and consummates with the processed Triune God imparting grace and peace to the local churches. According to Revelation 1:4, the Spirit has become the seven Spirits, that is, the all-inclusive Spirit. Furthermore, the Son has become the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. Having passed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, He has been enthroned above all kings. This processed Triune God is related not primarily to individuals or to the church in a general way but to the churches. For this reason, Revelation 1:4 and 5 specifically say that grace and peace come from the Triune God to the seven churches.
God’s revelation began with God Himself and continued with Christ and the Spirit until it reached its goal in the local churches. Without the local churches we do not have the goal of the divine revelation. Here the shortage among the Jews, many Christians, and even many so-called spiritual people becomes evident. The Jews have God, most Christians have God and Christ, and the improved Christians also have the Spirit, but very few Christians have the proper church life in the local churches. Today in the local churches we have God, Christ, the Spirit, and the church.
The issue of the progress of the manifestation of God is the church. God is embodied in Christ, Christ is realized and experienced as the Spirit who imparts life to us, and the Spirit issues in the churches. When we experience and realize Christ as the life-giving Spirit, the issue is the church life. The church is the Body, the fullness, of Christ. The progress of this revelation is God, Christ, the Spirit, the church, and the local churches. This is the revelation of God in His holy Word.
In Revelation 22:17 we read a marvelous expression: “The Spirit and the bride say...” Here we have a compound subject — the Spirit and the bride. The Spirit is the processed, all-inclusive, life-giving Triune God, and the bride is the church composed of all the churches with all the saints. The fact that the Spirit and the bride speak the same thing indicates that the Triune God has become utterly one with His redeemed people. How wonderful!
We need to be deeply impressed with the progress of the divine revelation in the Bible. We have pointed out that in the Old Testament we have God as the Creator and as the One who loves Israel. Then in Matthew and John we read of the genealogy of Jesus Christ and of the Word becoming flesh and tabernacling among us. Furthermore, in these books we read of the church built by Christ and of the many brothers of the Son of God who are the church. In Acts the church is established in various cities. Most of the Epistles were written to particular local churches. Finally, in the book of Revelation we see that grace and peace are imparted to the local churches from the processed Triune God. Ultimately, according to Revelation 22:17, the Spirit and the bride speak as one, indicating that the Triune God is truly one with His redeemed people.
If we are clear about the revelation in the Bible, we will realize that the proper place to enjoy God today is in the local churches. In particular, we need to be in a definite local church that we can say is our local church. Although I love all the churches, I must be honest and testify that no church is as dear and lovable to me as the church in Anaheim because the church in Anaheim is my local church. We should all feel this way about the church in our locality.
How pitiful is the situation of most Christians today! Because they are not in the church life, they are orphans without a home. This was our condition before we came into the church life in the Lord’s recovery. Not only were we orphans — we were wanderers. Before we came into the local churches, we never had the sense that we had come home or that we had reached our destination. But the day we came into the church life, we knew that we had come home. After wandering for years, we had finally reached our destination. Something deep within said, “This is the place.” Many seeking Christians today, on the contrary, are still travelers; they are traveling from one denomination or group to another. But the day we came into the church life, our wandering ceased. The local churches are what God desires today. This is the last station of His revelation.
All genuine Christians believe that Christ is the very God who created the universe, who became a man, who died on the cross for our redemption, and who was resurrected bodily from among the dead. All real Christians have received this Christ as their Savior and Redeemer. However, it is possible to be such a genuine Christian and still be experientially either in the Gospels or in Acts. We must be Christians in the book of Revelation; that is, we must be those in God’s ultimate and consummate revelation. We must be Christians who enjoy the processed, all-inclusive, life-giving Triune God mingled with the churches. If we are in this reality, then we are Christians in Revelation.
It is easy for believers to see the universal church, but it is difficult for them to see the local churches. The revelation of the local churches is the Lord’s ultimate unveiling concerning the church. It has been given here in the last book of the divine Word. To fully know the church, believers must follow the Lord from the Gospels, through the Epistles, to the book of Revelation until they are enabled to see the local churches as unveiled here. In Revelation the first vision is concerning the churches. The churches with Christ as their center are the focus in the divine administration for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose.
We have seen the four main figures revealed in the Bible: God, Christ, the church, and the churches. Our God is not merely the Creator in Genesis 1. He is the processed God in Revelation 1:4 and 5. He is the One who is and who was and who is coming; He is the seven Spirits; and He is Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. How blessed we are to know God in this way and to have such a bird’s-eye view of the Bible! What a privilege to hear such a word concerning the ultimate revelation of God in the Scriptures! Today in our local church we can enjoy the processed, all-inclusive, life-giving Triune God.
In Revelation 2 and 3 we are told again and again that the Spirit speaks to the churches. This is very different from the Old Testament expression Thus says Jehovah. Since the Spirit today is speaking to the churches, we must be in one of the local churches in order to hear His speaking. The Spirit today is speaking directly to the churches. Therefore, it is vital for us to be in one of the churches, in a church that we can designate as our local church.
In Revelation the churches, signified by the golden lampstands, are the testimony of Jesus (1:2, 9) in the divine nature, shining in the dark night locally yet collectively. The churches should be of the divine nature — golden. They should be the stands, even the lampstands, that bear the lamp with the oil (Christ as the life-giving Spirit), shining in the darkness respectively and collectively. They are individual lampstands locally, yet at the same time they are a group, a collection, of lampstands universally. They are not only shining locally but also bearing universally the same testimony both to the localities and to the universe. They are of the same nature and in the same shape. They bear the same lamp for the same purpose and are fully identified with one another, not having any individual distinctiveness. The differences of the local churches recorded in chapters 2 and 3 are all of a negative nature, not of a positive nature. Negatively, in their failures they are different and separate one from another; but positively, in their nature, shape, and purpose they are absolutely identical and connected one to another.
Throughout the centuries few Christians have touched the depths of the significance of the lampstands as symbols of the local churches. According to our natural concept, a lampstand is simply an object holding a lamp that shines in the darkness. The lampstand in Exodus 25 is pure gold, and the lampstands in Zechariah 4 and Revelation also are golden. Substantially, the lampstand is golden. With the lampstand we see three important things: the gold, the stand, and the lamps. The lampstand implies the significance of the Triune God. Gold is the substance with which the lampstand is made, the stand is the embodiment of the gold, and the lamps are the expression of the stand. The gold signifies the Father as the substance, the stand signifies the Son as the embodiment of the Father, and the lamps signify the Spirit as the expression of the Father in the Son. Thus, the significance of the Triune God is implied in the lampstand. Substantially, the lampstand is one, but expressively, it is seven because it is one lampstand with seven lamps. At the bottom the lampstand is one; at the top, it is seven. Should we argue about whether it is one or seven? In substance the lampstand is one piece of gold, but it holds seven lamps. This mysteriously indicates that substantially the Triune God is one. In substance He is one, but in expression He is the seven Spirits. The Father as the substance is embodied in the Son as the form, and the Son is expressed as the seven Spirits.
How can we prove that the seven lamps are the Spirit expressing Christ? The seven lamps are first mentioned in Exodus. If we only had the record in Exodus, however, it would be difficult to realize that these seven lamps are the Spirit. But as we proceed from Exodus to Zechariah, we see that the seven lamps are the seven eyes of Christ and the seven eyes of God (Zech. 3:9; 4:10). As we continue on to Revelation, we see that the seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven Spirits, which are the intensified Spirit of God. Hence, we have a strong basis for saying that the seven lamps are the sevenfold intensified Spirit as the expression of Christ.
We have seen that the lampstand implies the significance of the Triune God; it symbolizes the Triune God embodied and expressed. God the Father as the divine gold is embodied in Christ the Son and then is fully expressed through the Spirit. The expression differs from the embodiment. The embodiment must be uniquely one because our God is uniquely one. Thus, the embodiment must be one stand. The expression, however, must be complete, and it must be complete in God’s move. Recall that seven is the number for completion in God’s move. Throughout the centuries God has been expressed in His move. This is the reason that the seven lamps signify the intensified Spirit as the expression of Christ in God’s complete move. This is the practical understanding of the Trinity.
The Trinity is for the dispensing of God into humanity. God, the Divine Being, is first embodied in Christ and then expressed through the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Now we have not only the Triune God; in the lampstand we have the Triune God substantially and solidly embodied and expressed. The gold has been formed into the solid stand. It once was just gold, but now it is the stand. The gold has been formed into a stand for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Without the stand there is no way for God’s purpose to be fulfilled. As we have seen, this stand, which is a type of Christ, is expressed through the seven lamps signifying the seven Spirits of God. The seven Spirits of God are not separate from God; they are the seven eyes of God and of the Lamb, the Redeemer. They are also the seven eyes of the building stone (Zech. 3:9). Hence, they are the seven eyes with the redemption of Christ for God’s building. Whenever these eyes look at people, people are redeemed and built into God’s house.
In Exodus 25 the emphasis is on the stand, in Zechariah 4 the emphasis is on the lamps, and in Revelation 1 the emphasis is on the reproduction. In both Exodus and Zechariah the lampstand is one, but in Revelation it has been reproduced and has become seven. First, in Exodus the emphasis is on the stand — on Christ. Second, in Zechariah the emphasis is on the lamps — on the Spirit. Eventually, in Revelation both the stand and lamps, that is, both Christ and the Spirit, are reproduced as the churches. In Exodus and Zechariah there are just seven lamps, but here in Revelation there are forty-nine lamps, for every lampstand has seven lamps. Hence, the one lampstand has become seven, and the seven lamps have become forty-nine. The lampstands with their lamps in Revelation are the reproduction of Christ and the Spirit. When Christ is realized, He is the Spirit, and when the Spirit is realized, we have the churches as the reproduction.
The church is not only universally one but also expressed locally in many cities. In the whole universe there is only one Christ, one Spirit, and one church. There are the seven churches because of the need for an expression. For existence, one is sufficient, but for expression, many are needed. If we would know the church, we must know its substance, existence, and expression. Substantially, the church, and even all the churches, are one. In expression, the many churches are the many lampstands. What is the church? The church is the expression of the Triune God, and this expression is seen in many localities on earth. The church is signified not by just one lampstand but by seven lampstands. In Revelation 1 there are seven lampstands with forty-nine lamps shining in the universe. This is the testimony of Jesus.
The church is the testimony of Jesus. This means that the church is the expression of the Triune God substantially and expressively. Substantially, it is of one substance in the whole universe; expressively, it is many lampstands with the lamps shining in the darkness to express the Triune God. The Father as the substance is embodied in the Son, the Son as the embodiment is expressed through the Spirit, the Spirit is fully realized and reproduced as the churches, and the churches are the testimony of Jesus. If we see this vision, it will govern us, and we will never be divisive.
We have seen that the lampstand is the divine gold embodied in a substantial form to fulfill God’s purpose in His move. The expression of the stand is in the shining of the light. As the expression shines, the shining fulfills God’s eternal purpose. Thus, the lampstand signifies not only the Triune God but also the move of the Triune God in His embodiment and expression. We have also seen that the local churches are the reproduction of the embodiment and expression of the Triune God. We should not be satisfied with saying that the local churches are the lampstands shining in the dark night. Although this is correct, it is rather shallow. We must see that the local churches are the reproduction of the embodiment and expression of the Triune God.
We have pointed out that when God’s people in the Old Testament lost the ground of oneness, they spontaneously lost so many spiritual and holy things. However, when they returned to Jerusalem, to the ground of oneness, all these holy and spiritual things spontaneously returned. The principle is the same in the Lord’s recovery today. Today our God, the Triune God, is the Father embodied in the Son and the Son realized as the all-inclusive Spirit. Today this Spirit is speaking to the churches. Hence, in order to hear the Spirit’s speaking, we must be in one of the churches. Eventually, the Spirit and the bride, constituted of all the churches with all the saints, will be one and will speak with one voice. Today we are listening to the speaking of the Spirit. But the day is coming when together the Spirit and the bride will say, “Come!’’ Praise the Lord for this vision! With such a clear vision in front of us, we know where we must be today — in the local oneness, that is, in the local church on the ground of oneness.
If we are not in the local oneness, we are not in the church in a genuine and practical way. Furthermore, we cannot have the full experience of the processed, all-inclusive Triune God. The reason many Christians today are in spiritual poverty is that they have neither the genuine oneness nor the full experience of the all-inclusive Spirit. They have the Bible, but they do not have much experience of Christ as life. They have the name of Christ, but they have very little reality of His person. So many spiritual things are lacking because the ground of oneness has been damaged and even lost. Only on this ground can we have the full experience of the processed Triune God. Remember, the dispensation of the Triune God, according to Revelation 1:4 and 5, is to local churches.
The ground of oneness about which we have been speaking is the ground of locality. More than twenty years ago in Taipei, a certain Christian from America, an intimate friend of ours, was our family physician. Although he heard me deliver thirty messages concerning the ground of the church, he told me one day that he simply was not able to understand this matter of the ground of locality. I explained this to him very carefully, but still he did not understand it. Eventually, he admitted that he had some understanding of the ground of oneness but not of the ground of locality.
Brother T. Austin-Sparks had the same difficulty. Many years ago he and I had about twenty long conversations, lasting two or three hours each, regarding the ground of the church. At one point he told me that he was not able to understand this term, the ground of locality. I pointed out to him that, as he no doubt realized, the children of Israel were allowed to build the temple only on one particular site, on Mount Moriah, where Abraham had offered his son Isaac. That unique site was the ground on which the temple was built. That ground preserved the oneness of God’s people. I went on to say that God’s people were not allowed to build a temple in Babylon, even if the temple would have been the same in size and design as the original temple in Jerusalem. A temple constructed in Babylon could not have been the center of oneness. On the contrary, such a temple would have been a center of division. All those who returned from captivity were required to go back to the ground of oneness, to Mount Zion, where the temple was rebuilt. Hence, the temple on Mount Zion was built on the ground of oneness. This portrays the genuine oneness of believers today, a oneness on the proper ground, on the ground of locality. I believe that Mr. Austin-Sparks understood this but was not willing to admit it. Actually, it is not difficult to understand what is meant by the ground of locality. The reason many have difficulty with this is that they are not willing to give up their concept.
According to the book of Revelation, the oneness of the believers in Christ is a local oneness. Anyone who is not in the local oneness is not actually in the oneness at all. Those who are not in a local church are not truly in the church. In order to be in the church we must be in a local church. In the same principle, if we would be in the oneness, we must be in the local oneness, in the practical oneness in our locality. The local oneness is very practical and personal. If you are not personally in this oneness, you are not really in the oneness, and you are not actually in the church. For this reason, in the title of this chapter we spoke of the ultimate revelation of the local oneness. How we praise the Lord for the revelation and recovery of this oneness!
This local oneness was damaged and altogether lost by the time the Catholic Church was formed. The emperor Constantine the Great initiated the formation of the Catholic Church early in the fourth century. In A.D. 325 he called a council at Nicaea to settle theological disputes, which were a cause of strife throughout his empire. He used his political influence to bring about a certain kind of unity. By the end of the sixth century the Catholic Church was fully formed with the establishment of the papal system. At that time the local oneness was absolutely destroyed and lost.
During the following centuries, a period known as the Dark Ages, the Bible was locked away from the people, and the truth of salvation was obscured. Then with the Reformation the Bible was released in the language of the people, and the truth of justification by faith was recovered. In the matter of justification, Martin Luther was bold. However, in the matter of the church, he was cowardly. He was even instrumental in the formation of the state church in Germany. The first state church was that formed in Germany through the assistance of Luther. Luther not only made such a terrible blunder, but he persecuted those believers who emphasized the experience of life. For example, Schwenckfeld was called a devil. In the decades that followed, many faithful ones were persecuted and even martyred for their faith, sometimes at the hand of the state churches that had been established in a number of European countries.
Early in the eighteenth century a number of believers fled to Bohemia to escape persecution. Zinzendorf had both the love and the burden to care for these refugees. However, among them there were disputes over doctrine and practice. When these disputes made it impossible for the believers to go on together peacefully, Zinzendorf required all the leaders to sign a statement that they would set aside their differences and live together in oneness. During the next meeting for the Lord’s table, they experienced a mighty outpouring of the Spirit. In this way the practice of the church life was recovered, at least in a beginning way.
Another kind of reaction to religious formality and deadness was that of mystics such as Madame Guyon and Father Fenelon. Although this reaction took place in the seventeenth century, there was no recovery of the church life until the eighteenth century. The practice of the church life under the leadership of Zinzendorf was very good, but it was not adequate. Therefore, early in the nineteenth century the Lord took a further step toward the recovery of the church life with a group of believers in Great Britain, especially those with John Nelson Darby. For approximately twenty-five years the Brethren under the leadership of Darby experienced a wonderful recovery of the church life, a recovery that was more complete and adequate than that under Zinzendorf a century earlier. However, due to debates over doctrine, the oneness was lost, and the Brethren were divided. As the years went by, the Brethren were divided into more than a hundred divisions. Because the oneness was so seriously damaged, the presence of the Lord with them was greatly diminished.
In the 1920s the Lord raised up a group of young people in China under the leadership of Watchman Nee. Brother Nee once told me that the Lord was forced to come to China because, as far as the practice of the church life was concerned, China was still virgin soil, whereas the United States and Europe had been spoiled. There was no way for the Lord to have a proper start for the church life in either Europe or the United States. Therefore, He sowed the seed of the recovery of the church life in the virgin soil of China.
The first church established in the Lord’s recovery was raised up in 1922 in Foochow, Brother Nee’s hometown. After I was saved in 1925, I came in contact with Brother Nee through his writings. His writings helped a number of us to see the mistakes of the denominations. We came to realize that although we held to the Lord’s name, the gospel, and the Bible, we had to drop many other aspects of organized Christianity. Under the leadership of Brother Nee, we studied church history, biographies, and all the important spiritual and doctrinal writings. Through our study we gained a detailed knowledge of Christianity. Gradually, we came to discern those practices that we should adopt: immersion, eldership, practical holiness, and the proper Pentecostal spirituality. Those who visited our meetings were often troubled by the fact that they could not categorize us. To some we appeared to be like Baptists, but to others we resembled the Presbyterians or the Plymouth Brethren.
In 1932 the church was raised up in my hometown, Chefoo. We did not know how to practice the church life. We only knew that we loved the Lord Jesus and that we could not agree with traditional Christianity. We came together simply with a heart for the Lord and with the Bible. We did not know how to meet, in particular how to have the Lord’s table. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the sweetness of the Lord’s presence.
In 1930 Brother Nee visited Europe, Canada, and the United States. During the course of his visit, he saw the confusion and the divisiveness among the Brethren assemblies. Troubled by the situation, he resolved to re-study the New Testament concerning the boundary of a local assembly. Through this study he saw that the boundary of a local assembly must be the boundary of that locality in which that assembly is. This truth of the boundary of locality was put forth in The Assembly Life. In this book Brother Nee placed strong emphasis on what he called the local border.
In 1937 he saw further light regarding the local oneness of the church. From the local border he went on to see the local ground. Calling an urgent meeting of the co-workers, he delivered the messages published later in The Normal Christian Church Life. This book emphasizes the local ground. By 1937 the matter of the local oneness was fully recovered among us. We became utterly clear that the practice of the church life requires us to be on the local ground, that is, on the ground of oneness.
Since this matter of the ground of locality was recovered, a number of Christians have argued with us concerning it. Some have said, “In saying that you are the local church, you are proud. How can you say that you are the church and that we are not? You claim to be the church in Shanghai. Are we not the church in Shanghai also?” At first we were troubled by such criticism. We did not have the experience to deal with it. Later, by contending for the truth of oneness, we learned how to deal with the various criticisms, objections, and arguments.
If someone tries to argue with you concerning the ground of oneness, point as an illustration to the situation of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan. Jerusalem was the unique place, the unique center, chosen by God to maintain the oneness of His people. Eventually, God’s people were carried away into captivity, some to Egypt, others to Assyria, and still others to Babylon. Originally, God’s people were one, with a unique center of worship on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. But they became scattered into at least three major divisions. After the seventy years of captivity in Babylon had expired, God commanded the people to return to Jerusalem. A remnant of the people did return. By returning to Jerusalem, they spontaneously formed a fourth group among God’s people. Before the return from captivity, there were just three groups — those in Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. Although these three groups were divisions, the fourth group, constituted of those who had returned to Jerusalem, was not a division. Yes, the fourth group was a distinct group, but it was a recovery, not a division.
Perhaps some of God’s people who chose to remain in Babylon said, “Brothers, you shouldn’t be so narrow. God is everywhere. We don’t need to go back to Jerusalem to worship Him. Consider Daniel. He loved the Lord and served Him without going back to Jerusalem. If he could stay in Babylon, then we are free to do the same thing.” Under the Lord’s sovereignty, Daniel remained in Babylon even after the year Cyrus issued the decree ordering the captives to return to Jerusalem (2 Chron. 36:22; Dan. 1:21; 10:1). Prior to that time, Daniel prayed daily with his windows opened toward Jerusalem. This indicates that Daniel desired to go back to Jerusalem; however, he was not given the opportunity to do so. Therefore, his case should not be used as an excuse to remain in Babylon, that is, to stay in division.
For God’s people to remain in Egypt, Assyria, or Babylon was to remain in division. Those who returned to Jerusalem did not cause further division. On the contrary, they shared in the recovery of the genuine oneness. Among the four groups, only they could be regarded as the nation of Israel. Although the ones who remained in Babylon may have vastly outnumbered those who returned to Jerusalem, those who returned could be regarded as the nation of Israel, whereas those who remained could not.
In principle, the same is true with respect to the nation of Israel today. It is those who have returned to the good land who are recognized as the nation of Israel, not those who are still scattered throughout the world. For example, the number of Jews in New York City may exceed the number of those in Israel. Nevertheless, as even the United Nations recognizes, the Jews in Israel make up the nation of Israel, whereas the Jews in New York do not. Those in New York may love the nation of Israel and may give generously to support it. Nevertheless, simply because they have not returned to the land of their fathers, they cannot be regarded as the nation of Israel. To be part of the nation of Israel one must be not only a Jew — he must be a Jew on the proper ground, that is, in the good land.
We may apply the principle contained in this illustration to the situation concerning the church today. When we take the standing that we are the church in Anaheim, other Christians may protest. They may ask, “How can you say that you are the church in Anaheim and that we are not?” If someone raises this question, find out where he is. Check to see if he is in a denomination or some other divisive group of Christians. If he is in a division, then in a practical sense he is not part of the church in his locality. Many of today’s Christians are like Jews who have not returned to the land of Israel. Only those Jews who have returned to the original ground of oneness, to the land of their fathers, are part of the nation of Israel. In the same principle, to be part of the local church one must not only be a Christian but must also be a Christian on the ground of oneness. Only those believers who have forsaken every divisive ground and have come back to the ground of oneness constitute the church. No matter how few they may be in number, those who have returned to the ground of oneness are the church in their locality.
If we who meet on the ground of oneness in Anaheim are not the church in Anaheim, what are we? I ask those who dispute our testimony concerning the church to give us a name. The fact is, we do not have a name. We simply meet together as the church in our locality.
When speaking of the ground of oneness, learn to use the illustration of the return of the children of Israel from captivity. Also point to the situation of the nation of Israel today. Many of the Jews in New York City may be better Jews than those in Palestine. Nevertheless, because those in Palestine are on the proper ground, they are the nation of Israel. In like manner, the Christians who have returned to the ground of oneness are the church, not necessarily because they are more spiritual than others but because they have come back to the proper ground, to the ground of oneness.
Do you know why many of God’s people remained in Babylon instead of making the long journey back to Jerusalem? The reason was that they were settled comfortably in Babylon and did not want to pay the price to return to the good land. The same holds true of many Jews in the United States today. They may be very devoted to the nation of Israel, but they find it inconvenient to move there to be part of that nation. Having a settled place in American society, they may prefer to be American Jews. This indicates that they are not willing to pay the price to stand on the unique ground. Sorry to say, the same thing is true of many Christians. A number of them have seen something of the truth of oneness. But the problem is they are not willing to pay the price. Returning to the ground of oneness would cause many to lose their position, name, reputation, or popularity. By the Lord’s mercy, we have chosen to take the narrow way of the cross and to stand on the ground of oneness. We have no choice except to take the Lord’s choice, even though we may be defamed, despised, and criticized. We must pay the price to stand on the ground of local oneness no matter what evil things others may say about us.
Praise the Lord for all the spiritual and heavenly things that have become our experience on this ground! Here in the local, unique oneness we have the Lord’s presence, the altar, the house, and the feasts. Nothing can compare with the enjoyment of the spiritual riches on the proper ground. How happy I am to be with you all in the local oneness! Unless the Lord leads us to make a genuine migration to another locality, we should simply remain in our local church, not moving to suit our taste or preference. Let us simply stay in the church where the Lord has placed us. We praise the Lord for the vision concerning the destruction of the high places and the recovery of the local oneness. Hallelujah for the revelation of the local oneness and its recovery! It is our privilege to have a share in this recovery today.
