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With respect to knowing the church, we have covered three lessons concerning what the church is, the expression of the church, and the oneness of the church. Now we come to the fourth lesson on the ground of the church. This matter can be said to be the key to knowing the church in today’s chaotic situation. If someone desires to know the church, he must know the ground of the church.
Every matter, whether according to fact or according to principle, depends first on its ground and then on its condition. For example, if we want to determine whether a family is the Chang family, we should not look at its condition but rather at its ground. If the members of this family are descendants of the Changs, having the Changs’ lineage and calling themselves Changs, this family has the ground to be Changs. On the one hand, the condition of this family may be desolate and improper, but as far as the ground is concerned, they are still the Chang family. On the other hand, the Wang family may be very proper, but they do not have the ground of the Chang family. Hence, we should not acknowledge them as the Chang family. This shows that condition and ground are two separate matters.
From the seventeenth century until now, pursuers of spiritual life acknowledge that Madame Guyon was a spiritual person, and many people received some amount of help from her. Madame Guyon and those who were with her at that time, such as Father Fenelon and Francois LaCombe, were quite spiritual. When they gathered together to fellowship and pray, they truly touched the presence of the Lord. As far as their condition is concerned, it was truly spiritual. But we must ask, where were they? They were in the Roman Catholic Church. We should never assume that as long as people are spiritual, there is no problem with their ground. It is quite possible for people to be spiritual yet their ground be wrong. If we want to know the church, we must separate condition from ground and never confuse the two.
In fact, in determining the correctness of a church, the matter of condition is secondary; the primary matter is the ground. Sadly, people’s knowledge of the church is mainly based on the condition of the church, and they neglect the ground of the church. When speaking concerning a certain Christian group, they feel that there is no problem if the people are zealous, holy, and spiritual. This is to know the church based on condition, not on the ground. This is dangerous.
Our sight will be blurred if our discernment of the church is based merely on condition. If we do not want the church to be divided, we must pay attention to the matter of the ground. Using the example of the Chang family, can we say that a family is the Chang family simply because its condition is good? Absolutely not. If we want to determine whether a family is the Chang family, we must take a look at their genealogy, lineage, and name. This is a matter of the ground. If this family actually has the Changs’ genealogy, lineage, and name, every member of the Chang family must admit that they are the Changs, even if their condition is very poor. They can do their best to improve and build up their family, but they will always be Changs. Likewise, in order to know the church, we must recognize the ground of the church. Condition is relative, but the ground is absolute. Some may say that a Christian group has no problem because its condition is good. However, condition is a relative matter because there is no standard for measuring a good or bad condition. If the condition is good, it is good, and if it is very good, it is still good. There is no standard for determining what degree of good is truly good. Moreover, different people have differing judgments on what is good and what is bad. We may think that something is good, but someone else may not agree; we may think that something else is very good, but others may think that it is not good enough. Different standards cause disagreements. Similarly, there are no definite standards for what is spiritual. A slight degree of spirituality is spiritual, a higher degree of spirituality is spiritual, and an even higher degree of spirituality is spiritual. This also applies to loving the Lord and living for the Lord. We cannot say that a person absolutely does not love the Lord or live for the Lord. Neither can we say that a person fully loves the Lord and lives for the Lord. There is no standard for these things; they are all relative.
In the church in Corinth some thought that Paul was spiritual and wanted to be of Paul, others thought that Apollos was more spiritual than Paul and wanted to be of Apollos, and yet others thought that Cephas was the most spiritual, so they wanted to be of Cephas. This is a relative matter. One person thinks that Paul is spiritual, another thinks that Apollos is spiritual, and yet another thinks that Cephas is more spiritual. But is it possible to determine who is the most spiritual? This is troublesome.
Moreover, conditions may change. Someone may not love the Lord today, but perhaps tomorrow he will love the Lord very much. A particular group may not be spiritual today, but next year they will become very spiritual. Therefore, the assessment of a church can never be based on its spiritual condition but on its ground. Its ground is absolute and can never change. If a family has the ground of the Chang family, whether they are highly educated or illiterate, they have the ground of the Chang family. Being a millionaire or being penniless does not change the fact that they have the ground of the Chang family. Likewise, the local ground of the church is absolute and cannot be altered.
If the children of God can abandon all conditions and keep the local ground, the church would not be divided. Whenever we deviate from ground to condition, the church will be divided. This is a dangerous matter. Let me repeat, whenever we leave the ground and pay attention to spiritual condition, the church will be divided.
This does not mean that we should not be spiritual and good. We need to ask the Lord for His mercy that our condition would progress and improve day by day. Whether a church is proper does not depend on its condition but on the ground of the church. Whenever we leave the ground, our assessment of the church will immediately become unstable.
Let me say a few solemn words. If the Lord delays His coming, we will one day go to the Lord, and this testimony will spontaneously fall on the shoulders of the young ones. If we do not stand firm on the ground of the church with absolutely no deviation, these young ones will be confused regarding the church. Not only so, there will be divisions among us. If this word is tragically fulfilled one day, please remember that the reason for such a division is that we have paid attention to spirituality and put the ground aside.
In regard to knowing the church, if we depart from the ground and focus our attention on anything else, regardless of how good it is, danger awaits us in the future. Sooner or later there will be division. No doubt we should pay attention to spirituality and the pursuit of life, but we should set our pursuing feet firmly on the ground of the church. This is our safeguard against any division. Whenever our hearts pursue spirituality and our feet are set on spirituality, division will follow. Once we leave the ground, our pursuing and our spirituality will turn into something dangerous.
I do not know if these words are clear enough. Whether a church is proper does not depend on its condition but on the ground. If the ground is correct, the church is proper even if the condition is poor. If the ground is not correct, the church is improper no matter how good and spiritual its condition is. This is a crucial point.
This matter is not for ourselves; it is for God’s recovery at the end of this age. A strong recovery involves fierce warfare. We must see that the ground is much more important to the church than its condition. If we desire to know the church, we must know the ground of the church.
The church must have a ground. What do we mean by the ground? The ground is where something is placed. This podium needs to be placed somewhere. That place is the ground of the podium. Similarly, the church, being something so great in the universe, needs a definite place, a site where it can be placed. The church is real, concrete, great, and weighty. In order for the church to be expressed in the universe, it must be on a site; this site is its ground. Without a ground, speaking of the church is vanity because there is no way for the church to be displayed. In order for the church to be displayed, there must be a ground. This is a principle, a law.
The Bible says that the church is a house built by God as His dwelling place. In order to build a house, there must be a base. This base is the ground. We must differentiate the base of a building from its foundation. The foundation is the lowest part of a building, but the base is the piece of land that is underneath the foundation. Therefore, as the house built by God, the church needs a ground.
When discussing the ground of the church with people, some quote 1 Corinthians 3:11, which says, “Another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” From this verse they concluded that the Lord Jesus is the ground of the church. Their speaking has confused the ground with the foundation. The ground and the foundation are two absolutely different things. The foundation is the lowest part of a building, and the ground is the base upon which the building is placed. Since the church is the dwelling place of God, the building of God, it not only needs a foundation but also needs a ground.
Even from the point of view of individual believers, it is not good to be a wandering Christian. Nevertheless, some people are “wandering” Christians; they do not belong anywhere but come and go from place to place. They are like the wandering stars spoken of in Jude 13. This is not acceptable. As a Christian, we need to be stable and settled. In order for us to be settled, we need a place, a ground. Because conditions change, we cannot be settled merely based on a condition. We can be settled only in a place. Therefore, both the church and even individual believers need a ground.
The ground of the church must be local because the expression of the church is in a locality. In lesson 14 we saw that the expression of the church is in a locality. Since the expression of the church is in a locality, the ground must also be local. For example, as I am standing at the podium, I am being expressed at the podium; consequently, the podium is spontaneously my ground. Since the church is expressed in a locality, the locality is the ground of the church. The universe is not the ground of the church. If the church is not expressed in a locality, it cannot exist in the universe because the universe is something in the air, without a solid ground.
This is a point of dispute that others have had with us in the past few years. They always speak concerning the universal church, but we insist that there must be local churches. Sometimes I have said to them, “You speak concerning the universal church, but can you show me where it is? When I speak concerning local churches, I can immediately point out definite places, including Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Rome, London, New York City, and Taipei. However, you cannot show me the universal church. You may speak concerning the universe, but really, you are in a locality, and if you were not in a locality, you would not be in the universe.” Do we see this? Speaking of the universe is too vague; only a locality is practical. Thank the Lord that the ground of the church is local, not universal.
Where does the Lord place the church? We need to see clearly that the Lord places the church in localities. Therefore, in the New Testament there are many churches in different localities, such as the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (13:1), the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), the church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1), the church in Smyrna (v. 8), the church in Pergamos (v. 12), the church in Thyatira (v. 18), the church in Sardis (3:1), the church in Philadelphia (v. 7), and the church in Laodicea (v. 14). All these churches were in different localities. It is a pity that people do not see the word in when they read these verses in the New Testament.
The word in, which many people often miss when they read the Bible, is used in two important ways in the New Testament. The first in relates to being in Christ: “There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1); “so then if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17); “obey your parents in the Lord” (Eph. 6:1); “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4). Many people read obey your parents but do not read in the Lord; they read rejoice always but do not read in the Lord. The second in relates to the churches in a locality: “the church in Jerusalem,” “the church in Antioch,” etc. We need to see the significance of the second in. Being in Christ is a matter of our redemption and enjoyment of God, and being in a certain locality is a matter of our knowing the church.
Over the past twenty years it has become very clear that if we do not resolve this matter of locality, the problem of the church will never be solved. When we first studied church history, we received significant help on the matter of the church from the light the Brethren received over one hundred years ago. But the help they gave us did not solve all the problems, because their light regarding locality was not very clear. In 1933 after spending much time and effort in the Word, Watchman Nee saw the second in. The believers are in Christ, and the church is in a locality. Once we are detached from Christ, we lose our position of salvation; once we are detached from a locality, we lose the ground of the church. It is true that in the spiritual aspect, the church is also in Christ, but in the aspect of practicality, the church is altogether in a locality. Without being in a locality, the church cannot be contacted and touched. Since the church is expressed in a locality, the locality is the ground where the church is placed. Let me repeat, the ground of the church is local. Concerning this matter, we need to pay attention to several points.
The local ground of the church is the ground of the Body. Since a local church is the expression of the Body of Christ in that locality, the ground of the local church is also the ground of the Body of Christ. We should never think that the local ground is detached from the Body of Christ. No, even though it is the local ground, it is the ground of the Body, not the ground of a sect. The ground of locality never results in a sect.
There is only one Body of Christ. Since the local ground of the church is the ground of the Body of Christ, it is the unique ground. Moreover, since a locality should have only one expression of the church, there can be only one ground of the church in a locality. This one ground of the church is the local ground. There should not be two churches or two grounds in one place. Therefore, the local ground is the unique ground. Besides this local ground, there should not be any other ground in a place. Once there are other grounds, there will be divisions into different sects and denominations.
Regardless of the place, if there are two “churches” in a certain locality, either one of them or both of them are wrong. Once there are two congregations, there are two grounds. Once there are two grounds, there is at least one sect or denomination. The local ground is of the Body and cannot be divided; therefore, it is also the unique ground.
Since the local ground is the unique ground, it is also the ground of oneness. Wherever there is the local ground, there is oneness. Nothing apart from the local ground can cause Christians to be one. The local ground is the only place where Christians can practice oneness.
For example, some who practice the Sabbath take the Sabbath as their basis of oneness. This kind of “oneness” divides them from others. Others come together because they have the same opinion concerning head covering. This kind of “oneness” also divides them from others. Still others come together because they have the same opinion concerning baptism, whether it is by immersion or by sprinkling. Once they come together in this way, they divide themselves from others.
We must see that apart from the local ground, any kind of “oneness” that is based on the same opinion is actually a division. When we are united with a group of people based on a certain opinion, we are automatically divided from other believers. Only on the local ground can there be oneness without division. For example, in the locality of Taipei there are brothers who agree on baptism by immersion, brothers who agree on baptism by sprinkling, and brothers who keep the Sabbath, pursue holiness, and focus on the Pentecostal experience of the Holy Spirit. Even though these believers have different opinions, they are all in Taipei. If they stand on the local ground, however, they will spontaneously be one. But this is not the actual situation. When some who agree on baptism by immersion come to Taipei, they form the Baptist Church. This shows that they have a ground other than the local ground, which divides them from other Christians. Those who agree on baptism by sprinkling, keeping the Sabbath, pursuing holiness, or focusing on the Pentecostal experience of the Holy Spirit also gather together with others of the same opinion. Each group has its own ground apart from the local ground. They take their opinion as the ground. As a result, the local church in Taipei is divided.
I believe that the brothers and sisters can see clearly that when we stand on a certain opinion, rather than on the local ground, there is division. When we stand only on the local ground rather than our opinions, there is oneness. Therefore, the local ground is the ground of oneness. It would be a great blessing if the brothers who agree on baptism by immersion would not take this as their ground, even though baptism by immersion is scriptural. It would also be a great blessing if the brothers who agree on baptism by sprinkling would not take this as their ground. Similarly, it would be a great blessing if those who keep the Sabbath, pursue holiness, and focus on the Pentecostal experience of the Holy Spirit would also abandon their ground. If they would all give up their ground as a result of seeing that their different opinions cannot be the common ground of oneness among Christians, all the brothers with different opinions would be on the local ground, and everyone would spontaneously be one. Therefore, the ground of oneness can be preserved only on the local ground.
Today many Christians say, “We are all one in Christ.” Although this sounds nice and spiritual, we cannot be one if we are only in the Lord but not in a locality. There is an annual convention in England called the Keswick Convention that is attended by many people from different denominations and sects. At this convention they often like to sing a hymn, which basically says, “We are one in Christ.” However, once the convention is over, each believer returns to his respective sect or denomination, and once again they are divided. Their oneness is temporary. Once they leave the Keswick Convention, they are divided again. This confirms that oneness cannot be practiced only “in the Lord,” without the local ground.
Over the past thirty years I have met many such believers. They shake hands joyfully with me and say, “Brother Lee, we are one in the Lord.” I often have replied, “Brother, when we are in the Lord, we are one, but if we are in the denominations, we are not one.” To merely speak of oneness in the Lord is not practical; it is an empty theory. If we are still in denominations, the oneness in the Lord is damaged. We may hold other people’s hands and say that we are one in the Lord, but this is a oneness only in word, not in reality. In order to have the oneness in reality, we must leave every division and come to the local ground. Is merely holding hands and declaring that we are one in the Lord sufficient for the oneness if we remain Baptists, Lutherans, and Wesleyans? This is not possible. Let me repeat: to be one merely in the Lord is not practical; in order to be one in reality, we must come to the local ground. When we abandon all grounds other than locality, we will be one.
All the matters related to the church are real only on the ground of locality. Even the universality of the church is real only on the ground of locality. Those who speak only concerning the universal church have not touched the universal church in actuality. They are touching sects and divided groups. The genuine universal church must be expressed in localities. Therefore, the local ground is universal. Although this ground is local, the universality of the church is real only on this local ground.
The local ground is the unique ground, the ground of oneness. It is also the ground of the Body and of the universal church. Consequently, all the benefits of the church come from this ground. Once this ground is lost, the church suffers severely. We greatly benefit by standing on the ground, because several problems can be avoided.
In lesson 14 we saw that the churches in each locality should be independent, each living directly before the Lord and not forming organizations, such as federations or headquarters (Rev. 1:11-20). The local ground is the best safeguard against forming organizations and federations. The local ground always restricts the local churches in every locality from forming federations beyond the boundary of a locality, thus losing the nature of locality. The church in every locality should be administered locally; there should be one church in one locality. The church in Jerusalem did not interfere with the church in Antioch; neither did the church in Antioch interfere with the church in Jerusalem. These local churches did not form a federation. Hence, Revelation 1 shows that the seven churches, signified by the seven lampstands, are independent, each on its local ground. Once the local ground is abandoned, the churches in different localities can immediately be united to form a large, “unified” church. This is how the Roman Catholic Church was produced. The Roman Catholic Church became so influential because the restriction of the local ground was not kept. They do not have the local ground; they only have the ground of the Roman Catholic Church. Since they have abolished the local ground, all the localities are unified into a large religious sect. Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Church is like a religious kingdom, with the pope as the head. This kingdom has its own judicial body, its own police force, and also its own administrative authority. In 1929 Mussolini signed a treaty with the Holy See to formally acknowledge the Roman Catholic Church as an independent nation. Such a large kingdom developed when the local ground of the church was abandoned. The Catholic Church is not standing on the ground of locality but rather on the ground of the Roman Catholic Church. They establish the Roman Catholic Church in many places. They do not establish a local church in a locality. Rather, all the problems in every place are brought to Rome to be settled. The Holy See is their imperial court.
We should not damage the local ground, because it guards against this kind of unification. If the church in every locality stands firm on the local ground, it will be impossible to have large organizational unification. If the churches in each locality are administered locally and are not ruled by other localities or ruling over other localities, the local nature of the church will be preserved.
The church in a locality should not be divided into many groups. For example, here in Taipei, there is a Ho Ping East Road Church and a Chungshan North Road Church. There are many “churches” on different streets and alleys; these are small divisions. In lesson 15 we saw that according to the Bible, there should be only one church in a locality, not many “churches.” There should be only one local church in a locality; there should not be many “churches” on different streets and alleys in the same locality. If there are many “churches” on different streets and alleys in a locality, these are small divisions.
The open Brethren had many such divisions in a locality. If there were different opinions in a gathering, they would say, “We should not argue or quarrel. We should love one another in the Lord, but since we now have different opinions among us, let us meet separately. You meet on that road, and we will meet on another road. Then we can love one another and not strive with one another.” Because of this way, they had many meetings in one locality.
Because of this practice among the open Brethren, we encountered the problem of determining what the boundary of the church in a locality should be. In 1933 after much studying of the Word, Watchman Nee found that the boundary of the local church should be neither larger nor smaller than the locality itself. Anything larger than a locality is an unscriptural federation, and anything smaller than a locality is an unscriptural division. By keeping the local ground, we guard against organizational unification or small divisions.
We need to see that this is not a simple matter. If the light concerning the local ground is not sufficiently strong among us, sooner or later we will be divided. The Taiwanese brothers may say, “Since we cannot communicate with those from other provinces, and our temperament is not compatible, why should we suffer? Others can form a Mandarin ‘church,’ and we will form a Taiwanese ‘church.’” If this happens, we will be divided immediately.
Only the local ground can guard against such a danger. There can be only one church in one locality. There is no basis for any division. There were Jewish and Gentile believers in the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1). Niger was a Gentile and so was Manaen, the foster brother of Herod. Out of the five prophets and teachers there, at least two were Gentiles. However, neither a Hebrew-speaking church nor a Greek-speaking church were formed in Antioch. In the church in Corinth as well, there were Greeks and Jews. But they did not form a Greek-speaking church and a Hebrew-speaking church. There was only one church in Corinth. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 12:13 says, “Whether Jews or Greeks.” In one locality there can be only one church. Languages cannot be the ground, and neither can ethnicity be the ground; only the locality can be the ground. If we are not clear concerning this matter and do not hold fast to this matter, sooner or later we will be divided.
For thirty years the Lord has preserved us from division. This is not because we are in absolute agreement in all our opinions; rather, it is because we have all seen that no opinion is good or sufficient enough to be our ground for establishing the church. The church has no other ground but the local ground. There can be only one church in a locality, and there should not be any division regardless of the reason.
Therefore, the local ground has a great advantage of guarding against small divisions. If we are not satisfied with the church in a locality, we cannot form another church in that locality. The only thing we can do is to move to another locality. If we are not satisfied in Taipei, we can go to Tainan. If we are not satisfied again with Tainan, we can go to Chiayi. Regardless of the situation, we can only leave, not divide.
This is a serious matter. If there is no local ground, the church will have no protection and can be divided at any time. The reason for the formation of different sects and denominations in Protestantism is the lack of emphasis on the boundary of the local ground. At the time of the church in Corinth, there were four parties: those belonging to Paul, those belonging to Apollos, those belonging to Cephas, and those belonging to Christ, but they were not yet divided into four churches. Nevertheless, the apostle Paul still reprimanded them severely. Today, however, people openly put up signs of the “Lutheran Church” and the “Methodist Church.” This is because of a lack of light. Therefore, we must see that the local ground is a serious matter; it guards against large federations and also avoids small divisions. The Roman Catholic Church has forsaken the local ground and has thus become a large federation; the Protestants have neglected the local ground and have thus become many small divisions.
The local ground can also guard against confusion. The situation of the church today is chaotic. Some people open their homes and gather a few people to pray together and thus form a house “church.” Some professors gather a few students to meet together and thus form another type of “church.” For this reason I sometimes say that today it is more convenient for people to establish a church than to open a tea house. In order to open a tea house, one needs to register with the government, but anyone can establish a “church.” In order to avoid this kind of confusion, there must be the local ground. Once the local ground is confirmed, there cannot be unification, division, or confusion. However large a locality may be is the size of the church in that locality, and however small a locality may be is the size of the church in that locality as well. Thus, there will not be a federation that is larger than a locality, nor will there be a division that is smaller than a locality. At the same time, there will not be confusion related to the ground. If there were only one ground and one church in each locality, there would not be such confusion today. These are the benefits of the local ground.
Since the local ground is the unique ground, all other grounds must be forsaken. Therefore, we need to forsake all other grounds and return to the local ground. This is what we mean by leaving the sects and denominations. Today it is not sufficient for us to merely love the Lord, be fervent, preach the gospel, perfect others, and be holy and spiritual while ignoring the matter of the ground. Speaking in lofty tones, many people today say that it is sufficient to love the Lord, be fervent, preach the gospel, perfect others, and be holy and spiritual. If there were no church, it might be acceptable merely to be such individual Christians. However, Christians are not alone; they must live a corporate life. The church is a reality. Hence, we must take care of the matter of the ground. In order to take care of the ground of the church, we must forsake all other grounds and return to the local ground.
As Christians, we need a ground for everything. We need a ground to fellowship with others, to meet, to serve God, to coordinate, to pursue holiness and spirituality, to work, and even more, to build up the church. The ground that is required for all of these is the local ground. The local ground is needed for fellowship, meeting, serving God, coordination, pursuing holiness and spirituality, working, and all the more, for building up the church. Only by being on the local ground can we be in the church. Therefore, we must forsake all other grounds and return to the local ground.
