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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 1:1-2; Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 14:33; Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rev. 1:11; 1 Cor. 1:12-13; 3:4-8, 21-23; 4:1, 6; Acts 28:30-31
With any kind of practice there is the need of two things: the life and the way. In the preceding chapters, we have seen the life for the practice of the church life. This is the life of Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit. We have this life within us. Now we need the way to match this life. In the next few chapters, we will cover the proper way for the practice of the church life.
We may liken the life to the wine and the way to the wineskin (Matt. 9:17). When you have the wine, you need the wineskin to contain the wine. We may also liken the life to the tea and the way to the teacup. If you have the tea, you need the teacup. We appreciate the tea, and we are going to drink the tea, but we also need the teacup. This is why we are burdened concerning the way for the practice of the church life.
In order to help us understand this matter in an adequate way, I would ask you to read a number of passages from the Scriptures. First, we want to read 1 Corinthians 1:1-2: “Paul, a called apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother, to the church of God which is in Corinth...” In this passage I would ask you to pay attention to this term the church of God which is in Corinth. The apostle uses two phrases to qualify the church. First, it is the church of God, and then it is the church in the place where the saints are. The saints of Corinth were in the place of Corinth, so their church was called the church in Corinth. Hence, we have “the church of God...in Corinth.” Then Romans 16:16b says, “All the churches of Christ greet you.” Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “As in all the churches of the saints.”
So in these three passages we have three terms: the church of God, the churches of Christ, and the churches of the saints. God, Christ, and the saints — these are the owners of the church. The church is owned by God, by Christ, and by the saints, because the church is called the church of God, the church of Christ, and the church of the saints. In the Scriptures you cannot find a passage that says the church is the church of the apostles. You cannot find such a term because the church or the churches are not something of the apostles. The church is something of God, of Christ, and of the saints. The apostles are not the owners of the church. They are servants or ministers of the church. God and Christ are the Owners of the churches, and the saints are also the owners of the churches.
In Acts 8:1 we have this expression — the church which was in Jerusalem. In the early days, the church in Jerusalem had more than ten or twenty thousand members (21:20 and footnote 1). One day they had about three thousand baptized (2:41), and then on another day they had about five thousand (4:4). We are also told that the believers were all the more being added to the Lord and that they multiplied greatly (5:14; 6:1, 7). They had such a large membership, and they met in many homes, “breaking bread from house to house” (2:46). Yet they were still called the church, the one church (not the churches), in Jerusalem.
Now let us turn to Acts 13:1. This verse says, “Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers...” Here it does not say “in Antioch, in the local churches” but “in Antioch, in the local church.” This indicates that in one locality, in one place, in one city, there is only one local church.
Now let us read Revelation 1:11: “Saying, 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.” Verse 20 says, “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” In these two verses we can see two things. The first thing is that there were seven churches in seven cities, indicating one church for one city, one city with only one church. The other thing is that the seven churches were seven lampstands. This indicates that the lampstand signifies the church. Regardless of how weak the churches are, they are still the lampstands. Even though John did have a strong and rich ministry, his ministry was not the lampstand. The lampstand is the church, not the ministry.
We have seen that God’s eternal goal is to work Christ Himself into us so that we may be the real parts of Christ as the living members of the Body of Christ, which is the church as the living expression of Christ. Now we have to see the proper way, the right way, the best way, for us to come together to practice this wonderful church life. We are not talking about the way to organize or to form something. We are talking here about the proper way for us to practice a living expression of Christ.
We all know that in the whole universe the church is one. There is one Christ, one Head, and one church, one Body. You cannot have one Christ and more than one church. You cannot have one Head with more than one Body. In the universe there is only one Christ, and this one Christ has only one Body. However, although the church is one in the universe, it is expressed on this earth in many places. This one church has many expressions. Because the church in the universe is one, the expression of the church in any place must also be one.
Let us illustrate in this way: Today if you go to Tokyo, which is a big city with millions of people, you cannot find two American embassies there. You can find only one American embassy in Tokyo. Regardless of how big the city is, there can be only one American embassy. If there were two, that would mean that America is divided. When I go to Tokyo, there is no need for me to ask which American embassy I should go to. There is only one embassy in Tokyo representing America. The United States embassy in Tokyo is the very expression of the United States in that city. The United States is one, not two. So in any place, any embassy representing the United States must be one.
In the same principle, the church in the whole universe is one. So in any place, in any locality, if there is some expression of the church, that expression must be one. If we want to be in the proper way to practice the church, we must first remember that the church in the whole universe is one. So if we are going to express the church in any place, we must be one. In any locality there must be only one local church as a living expression of the Body of Christ. If there is more than one, that means division has taken place. This is exactly what has happened today. If you go to Tokyo, there is no need for you to inquire about which American embassy you should visit. But today when people go to a city, they ask about which church they should attend. There are many different kinds of churches today. This means divisions have occurred. Any denomination is a division. There should not be many different churches in one locality, that is, many different expressions of the Body of Christ in one city. In one city there should be only one expression of the one Body of Christ.
Divisions come into existence due to two factors. One factor is related to the Lord’s servants. There is no doubt that the ministers, the servants, of the Lord work for the Lord by trying their best to help people through preaching and teaching. But eventually, nearly all the servants of the Lord keep the results of their work in their hands. A servant of the Lord may be called by God and sent by the Lord with a real ministry and a real commission. Then he goes out to work for the Lord. He works hard and effectively to help people, and he eventually gains some real results. But the problem or the danger here is that this very servant of the Lord may keep the results of his work in his own hands to form something as a support to his work. If this happens, a division is created.
Let us illustrate in this way: Here is the apostle Paul, who is sent by the Lord with a real commission. He comes to Los Angeles and works very hard with much effectiveness. As a result, a great number of people are saved through him. So his work issues in a great result, and he keeps the result of his work in his hands for his ministry. Then after three years, Apollos comes. He is also sent by the Lord with a real commission. He works hard and effectively, and a great number of people are saved through him. Like Paul, he keeps his work in his hands and forms something in Los Angeles other than what Paul has formed. So now in Los Angeles there is something of the apostle Paul, and there is something else of the Lord’s servant Apollos. After another two years Peter comes, and he does the same thing as Paul and Apollos. So now in Los Angeles there are three groups of Christians. You should not call them churches. The best you can say is that they are three groups. No matter what you call them, whether denominations, missions, sects, congregations, assemblies, or “churches,” they are divisions, and even if you call them nothing, they are still divisions.
Here the servants of the Lord have to learn the lesson from history. None of us should keep the work in our hands. We have to work for the Lord, for His church, and for the saints. The result, the issue, of the work must go to the saints. Nothing should be kept in the hands of any of the Lord’s servants. Paul did go to Corinth and worked there effectively. Although many were saved through him, he did not set up his own group. He worked for the local church which was in Corinth. Apollos and Peter also did the same thing. There were not three “churches” in Corinth, one of Paul, another of Apollos, and still another of Peter. There was only one church in Corinth.
However, although Paul, Apollos, and Peter did not do this kind of divisive work, the pitiful Corinthian believers did something to separate themselves from one another (1 Cor. 1:12-13). Some would say, “I appreciate Paul. Paul is wonderful. I am of Paul.” Others would say, “I appreciate Apollos. He is an eloquent man and is powerful in the Scriptures. I am of Apollos.” And still others would say, “Peter is the greatest one. I am of Peter.” Eventually, some would say, “You are all wrong. We do not belong to anyone. We belong to Christ alone, so I am of Christ.” So there were four groups in Corinth, and they were condemned by the apostle for being carnal, fleshly (3:3-4). Look at today’s Christianity, and you will see that the same situation exists there.
We must realize that the local churches do not belong to the apostles or the workers. As the churches of God (1:2), the local churches belong to God; as the churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16b), they belong to Christ; and as the churches of the saints (1 Cor. 14:33b), they belong to the saints. The churches must not belong to any of the workers. The churches are neither for the workers, the ministers, nor for the work, the ministry. Rather, the workers or ministers and their works or ministries must be for the churches. If I come here to carry out a work, and I keep the results of my work in my hands, this is absolutely wrong. After much laboring, the apostle Paul had nothing in his hands. Everything was left in the hands of the local church.
You have to realize that as long as you keep the results of your work in your hands, you have a sect, a division, in your hands. You have to keep your hands off the results of your work and leave the results to the local saints. Let us follow the footsteps of the apostle Paul. Many churches were established through him, yet in the end he kept nothing in his hands. So Paul did not create any division.
Now we come to the second factor of divisions, which is related to having specialties. The divisions came into being because of the saints’ having something special. According to church history, it is clear that soon after the time of the early apostles, the church deviated from the right track. It degraded and became strictly an organization with the formation of the Roman Catholic Church. Then from the time of the Reformation, the state churches came into existence. These state churches are also organized churches. After the state churches, many saints saw particular spiritual things, such as baptism by immersion, the presbyterial system, and holiness, sanctification, by faith. Those who saw something about baptism formed something to represent and maintain baptism. They made a mistake by making baptism by immersion something special, and they stood for this specialty. Then there were the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and so many other denominational churches. Thus, many divisions were created, and every division was for something special.
I was told that in a certain place there were two groups of believers. They were the same in nearly everything, but in one thing they were different. One group insisted on not having a piano or organ, but the other group insisted on having some kind of instrument for the music. Because of this, the original group was split into two — one group without any piano or organ and another group with a musical instrument.
I was brought up in Christianity and had learned to behave in the meetings in a quiet and nice way. One day in 1932, I attended a meeting which was somewhat under the influence of the Pentecostal movement. Brother Watchman Nee was invited to speak there. When I went into the meeting, some were laughing, clapping, and shouting Hallelujah in a corner, some knelt down and were crying and weeping, some were dancing, and some were even rolling on the floor. I said to myself, “My goodness, what is this?” Then after a while, they all quieted down to listen to the message given by Brother Nee. After the meeting was over, while Brother Nee and I were walking back to the place where we stayed, I said to him, “Brother Nee, I cannot go along with that kind of meeting.” He replied, “You cannot find any kind of regulation or any kind of form from the Scriptures concerning how we Christians should meet.” That stopped my speaking. I must make it clear, however, that this does not mean that Brother Nee agreed with that kind of dancing, laughing, shouting, weeping, and rolling on the floor.
My point is that we all have to learn not to make ourselves special in anything. We do not represent anything but Christ. Christ is the center, Christ is the circumference, and Christ is everything. Whenever we come together as the church, we do not and should not represent anything but the all-inclusive Christ. We are not for baptism, for speaking in tongues, for the breaking of bread, or for the order of the meetings. We are for Christ alone. This is easy to say but not easy to practice. One time a brother from a local church that uses grape juice for the Lord’s table went to another locality where the saints use wine for the Lord’s table. When he noticed the difference, he first hesitated, and then he spoke much to express his disagreement. Brothers and sisters, we must maintain the proper attitude not to make anything special in the practice of the church. If you make something special, that means you become sectarian in that particular matter.
You may be in your locality going on in the way that you believe is decent, good, and in order. But if you go to some other places where they have some other ways to conduct their meetings and to arrange the seats, will you be able to refrain from saying anything and just go along with them? This is the biggest problem.
In conclusion, first, we have to realize that the church is one in the universe, so the expression of the church in any place must be one. As Christians coming together to express Christ in any locality, we should be one with one another. We should not keep ourselves separate from other Christians in the same locality. Second, all the workers must keep their hands off the work. They should leave the results of their work to the saints in the local church. Third, all the local churches must be very common, general, without anything special. If you keep anything special, you will be sectarian.
I believe in unity, but I do not believe in uniformity. Perhaps the saints in the church in Los Angeles meet in one way, and the saints in other localities meet in other ways. Do not try to make every place the same in everything. One local church may practice in one way, and another may practice in another way, yet they are still one. They are in the oneness, the unity. All these things seem complicated, but actually it is quite simple. In the early days, the Christians were very simple. They had no forms, no organization, no division, no regulations, etc. But they had the living Spirit within them. Wherever they went, they just gathered together to worship the Lord according to the leading of the Holy Spirit within them.
Today we should also make everything simple. Wherever we go and wherever we are, we have to be one with the other saints. In any place you should not separate yourself from other saints. As long as they are not divisive, you have to join them and be one with them. We may say that we are free, that we are not denominational, and that we are not sectarian, yet we are separated and would not come together as the one expression of the Body of Christ in this one city. This shows that we are wrong, and this is a real test to us, proving that we still have something that is not of the Lord. If we are really for the Lord and are absolutely of the Lord, we will come together in our locality as the one expression of the one Body of Christ. There is no reason and no right for anyone to keep his group separated from others. This is the test.
Now I want to add a little word concerning the relationship among the co-workers. In the Scriptures, in Acts and in the Epistles, you can see many people working for the Lord. But they were not organized together. There was no organization for the churches or for the co-workers, the apostles. Peter and some brothers worked in Jerusalem and in Judea, and Paul and others worked in the different places of the Gentile world. There was no organization of the co-workers, and there was no central control over them. They were all sent by the Lord, and all worked for the local saints, for the local churches. None was organized with others, and none would keep any work in his hands. So there was no problem. As long as we have organization, the problems will come.
Peter worked for the Lord, and Paul also worked for the Lord, but they were not organized together. Sometimes Paul went to Jerusalem to help the church there, and sometimes Peter came to other places where Paul worked to help the churches there. Peter and Paul, however, never formed an organization. Of course, we realize that Peter had a group of co-workers with him, and Paul had another group of co-workers with him. But their grouping was not an organization. They just went together to serve the Lord. There was neither financial control nor central control. Paul received the supply from the Lord for his own living, and his co-workers received the supply from the Lord for their own living. They just took care of one another in love. Since there was no organization among them, everything was so clear, free, and simple.
As long as we do not have any kind of organization, everything will remain simple and without trouble. Suppose I go to a certain locality to work. Eventually, I leave the results of my work in the hands of the local saints there. Then another brother goes there and works in the same way, and a third brother goes there and works in the same way. The church in that locality is not in the hands of any one of us.
Furthermore, we three even do not have any kind of organization. We are just working together for the Lord. By the Lord’s guidance at the present time, we have to stay here to work together and go on together, but this is not an organization. I do not give either of them a salary, nor do they give me a salary. If you feel led by the Lord to work with me, let us go on together. If I feel guided by the Lord to work with you, let us go along together. If we do not have any guidance from the Lord to work together, we just go on with the Lord. It is so simple.
All the saints also come together on their own within their own jurisdiction to go on with the Lord. Maybe they feel that they have to invite me to help them. Then they just do it. When they invite me, and I feel guided by the Lord, I just go to them. Maybe they feel to invite another brother. Then they just do it, and this brother can go if he feels led of the Lord. So we see that there is nothing organized and that nothing is kept in the hands of the co-workers. All the results of the work are in the hands of the local saints meeting together as the local expression of the Lord’s Body. This is according to the New Testament teaching and pattern.
Finally, I would speak a little word concerning the ministry meetings. The ministry meetings are meetings of the ministry to help the saints and the local churches. These meetings are for the local churches, but they are not local church meetings and are not in the hands of the local churches.
According to the pattern set up in the book of Acts, there are three ways for the servants of the Lord to work and minister to the saints. One is that, as a servant of the Lord, you can go to any locality to help the church there. You can attend the church meetings and take the opportunity to minister to the saints.
Another way is that you can be in a place where there is a local church, yet at the same time you can rent a place for your ministry. Paul did this when he was in Rome. In Acts 28 we are told that while Paul was in Rome, for two years he rented a house for himself to work and “welcomed all those who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 30-31). Paul did not form another group by his ministry. The fruit of his ministry was for the church in Rome. Remember that you should not form anything of your own to keep the results of your ministry. All the results of your ministry must go to the local church.
The third way is that if you stay in a locality for a long time, spontaneously you become a member of the local church there and serve the Lord as a local member. Peter was an example of this. He stayed in Jerusalem for a long time, so he automatically served the Lord in the church in Jerusalem as a local member.
I hope this simple word may make the situation and the way clear to us.
