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Whenever we speak of the testimony and the ground of the church, we need to look at the history of the church and the actual condition of the church today. Everyone who truly desires to know the church must look at it not only from the standpoint of the Word of God and the light of God but also from the history of the church and the actual condition of the church. Only when we have looked at all these aspects can we have a complete and thorough view of the church. Therefore, we need to spend some time to look at the degradation and the recovery of the church, that is, to look at the history and the present condition of the church.
Before we look at the degradation and the recovery of the church, we need to consider the original condition of the church. Only after we understand the original condition of the church can we know how the church has degraded and deviated, and only then can we know the matters that have been recovered and corrected and even what matters still need to be recovered and corrected.
I need to say a few words here. Today when matters such as man’s salvation and the pursuit of spirituality are spoken of among most Christians, most people quickly respond because they feel that these matters are related to them personally. But when the matter of the church is brought up, they feel that it is not related to them personally. As long as they are saved and spiritual, it is good enough for them, and it seems unnecessary to be concerned regarding the church. There are also some who think that the matter of the church can never be made clear because it is too troublesome and too complicated. But brothers and sisters, if we know the word of God, we can clearly see that the goal of God is to obtain the church. God saves people for the church, and God edifies people for the church. In the age of the church everything God does is for the church. God’s desire is to gain a church in each locality in this age so that He may express Himself through the church. We should not remain in our own feeling; rather, we must enter into God’s feeling. Our feeling may be that it is sufficient to be saved and spiritual, but God’s feeling is related to the church. Man’s salvation is a procedure and so is man’s spirituality; only the church is the goal of God. If we only pay attention to the procedure and neglect the goal, we will be “halfway” people. If we pay attention only to matters that we feel are closely related to us and do not care for God’s intention to focus on God’s goal, we are somewhat lacking as the children of God. Everyone who understands God’s heart cares for God’s desire. A fundamental principle for being a Christian is to seek God’s heart in everything and to obey God’s will. Since this is the case, we cannot be loose in the matter of the church; we cannot simply ignore it. We need to ask: What is God’s intention concerning the church? What is God’s purpose for the church? This is very reasonable. Therefore, brothers and sisters, I beg you to not consider that this matter is unrelated to you. As Christians, we cannot be alone; we must be in the church and serve the Lord together with all the saints. After we are saved and become Christians, we are confronted with the matter of the church, and we must deal with it properly.
The church is still a mystery, even though it is a matter involving revelation. However, in the past two thousand years the church has passed through many places, many people, and even the hands of many people so that it has become something exceedingly complicated, confused, and divided. Under the present circumstances, in order to know this mystery, something with such a long history and with such a broad sphere, we cannot be clear if we look at it only in a simple and brief way. We need a strong desire and a willingness to make an effort; we also need a pure and simple heart and a sober and careful mind. Finally, we need patience to study it point by point.
In the foregoing chapters we looked at some of the points spoken of in the Word of God concerning the church. We looked at God’s desire concerning the church, specifically how God desires the church to be the Body of Christ as a vessel to express Him. We looked at how God is working in this age to build up churches in locality after locality. We also saw how the church is an entity of oneness, how the ground of the church is related to oneness, and how everything sectarian results in the loss of the ground of the church. We saw that the ground of oneness rests on the locality of place, that whatever is greater than a locality loses the ground of the church, and that whatever is smaller than a locality also loses the ground of the church. We briefly covered these important points. Now we need to look at the original condition of the church and then look at the degradation and recovery of the church.
Concerning the original condition of the church, we cannot possibly cover everything; rather, we can look only at some important points related to the testimony and the ground of the church so that through them we can know the church, including her principle, her constitution, and her ground. According to these aspects, we need to look at seven points briefly.
One of the characteristics of the original church was that there was no hierarchy among the saved ones. They were all members one of another, coordinating mutually and serving together. There are three sub-points related to this.
First, all the saved ones are brothers without any distinctions in rank. When the Lord was on the earth, He told the disciples clearly, “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you [that is, in the church]; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave” (Matt. 20:25-27; 23:8-11). Do you want to be high? Then you need to be low. Do you want to be great? Then you need to be little. All the believers are brothers on the same level; there are no distinctions involving some who are higher and some who are lower.
Today we often discover that brothers and sisters like having distinctions in rank very much. Originally the elders in the church were not a distinctive group; they were merely saints who were responsible for the administration and the leading of the church. The term elder emphasizes that the elders are saints who are more mature spiritually; it is not a title of a particular rank in the church. However, in recent years some brothers and sisters have frequently used elder as a title, such as “Elder Liu” or “Elder Chang,” in their correspondence and conversation. This is altogether a concept of rank which completely contradicts the condition of the original church. I dearly hope that among us there are those who really are elders, who love the church of God, shepherd the flock of God, and who lead the brothers and sisters. But we must not use elder as a title to address anyone. To do so is altogether related to the human concept of class distinctions, and it should never be brought into the church.
The aged apostle John, who was the last of the original group of apostles, was approximately ninety-five or ninety-six years old when he wrote the book of Revelation. At that time the apostle Paul had been gone for about thirty years. Therefore, John was the oldest apostle. Furthermore, he had actually been an elder in a local church. Since he was approaching the age of one hundred, he could be considered the most senior among the Christians at that time, not only in one locality but even in all the localities. However, when he wrote the epistles to the seven churches, he still said, “I John, your brother” (1:9). Therefore, we must always see this one thing: one of the characteristics of the original church is that all the saints were brothers, without any concept of hierarchy.
Second, all the believers are members of the Body of Christ; as such, they coordinate with each other on an equal level, and each of them fulfills his particular function. This is shown very clearly in Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, and Ephesians 4:16. Without exception, every saved one is a member of the Body of Christ. Since all the saved ones are members of the Body, no one is without a function. If a person is saved but has no function in the church, surely he must be a degraded Christian, a brother who is in trouble. As long as a person is saved, he is a member with a particular function in the church and should serve the Lord in coordination with all the saints. In our physical body even the smallest member is useful. Similarly, the smallest brothers and sisters in the church, even those who are newly saved, also have a useful portion.
In addition, the coordination of every member is also on equal standing in the church as the Body of Christ. In the coordination, although there is an order in position, this is not rank. For example, in the human body the eyes are in a higher position, and the nose is in a lower position; however, this is absolutely not a matter of higher or lower rank but merely the order in the arrangement of functions. If the nose were placed above the eyes, how ugly it would be and how inconvenient! In the original church the coordination was beautiful, and it was so fitting with everyone keeping his place, not making any distinctions in rank and being in mutual coordination as members.
Third, all the believers are priests to God. In the Old Testament, among the people of Israel there was a group who served as priests, and the rest of the Israelites were common people. At that time there was a so-called intermediary class among the people of God. But in the New Testament, in the church, there is no longer such an intermediary class; rather, all the believers are priests to God, without any distinctions between the so-called clergy and laity.
The normal condition is for all the people of God to be priests to Him. It is abnormal if only a small number of the people of God serve as priests, but the majority are merely common people. The Bible shows that originally everyone could offer to God without a need for others to serve as a priest for him. When Abel offered sacrifices, did someone act as a priest for him? When Noah offered sacrifices, was there someone acting as his priest? When Abraham offered sacrifices, did someone act as his priest? When Isaac and Jacob offered sacrifices, did they have others serving as priests? When the people of Israel kept the feast of the Passover, every house offered a sacrifice. Did others serve as priests for them? None of them had a priest! As a rule, everyone who received God’s grace was a priest before Him, and they could all approach God directly and serve God directly. They began to have priests after they failed because of worshipping the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. From that time onward, God separated a tribe—the Levites—out of the children of Israel; furthermore, even out of the Levites, He separated the house of Aaron to be the priests. From that time on, the children of Israel could no longer approach God directly; instead, they needed priests to handle the service of God in their place. When the children of Israel wanted to offer sacrifices, they could not do it themselves; they needed to find a priest to do it for them. When they wanted to inquire of God, they could not do it themselves; instead, they needed to ask the priests to do it on their behalf. Thus, among the children of Israel, there were two separate groups of people: a class of priests and a class of common people. The priestly class became the intermediary between the children of Israel and God. This situation was abnormal; it was a deviation.
In the New Testament age, God wants all His chosen and saved people to be His priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). The Lord bought us with His own blood to be priests to God (Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10). Therefore, the saved ones are priests to God, and as such, we can all draw near to God directly, serve God directly, and offer spiritual sacrifices to God directly. This was the situation involving service to God in the original church. All were brothers, all were members one of another, and all were priests. A saved person was a member and a priest, fulfilling his function and serving. Therefore, the original church was living and strong. This was the first characteristic of the original church.
Another marked feature of the early church was that it was completely separated from the world; it was in the world but not of the world, just as the Lord said in John 17:14-17 and 18:36. This separation from the world was not merely a matter of not loving the things of the world; even more, it was a matter of not being mixed with the world and thereby being completely separated from the world.
The original church also completely forsook idols. Whereas idols are adversaries of God, the church is the testimony of God. If the church has idols, the nature of the church has been changed. This is a certain fact. From Acts 15:29 we can see that the original church forsook idols in a very thorough way.
Completely allowing God to speak was another important characteristic of the early church. In the original church there was no human opinion and no human system; instead, the believers completely allowed the Spirit to speak through the Scriptures. They allowed the Holy Scriptures of God to have their position, and they also allowed the Holy Spirit of God to have His position. Because at that time the New Testament books were not yet completed, they frequently read the Old Testament (Acts 17:11). Whenever they faced important issues, they would make decisions according to the Old Testament (15:15-16). At the same time, the Holy Spirit was present with them. Therefore, their original condition involved their completely allowing God to speak. The church as the expression of Christ is the place where God expresses Himself. If the church does not allow Christ to speak, the church is no longer the church. The early church was not like this; rather, it completely allowed God to express His mind.
The original church also had another notable feature; there was only one expression in each locality. This means that there was only one church in each locality. It was one in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), one in Antioch (13:1), one in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1), and one in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2). It was one in every locality (Rev. 1:11). Every locality had only one church, one fellowship, and one ground. In other words, in a locality there was only one group of Christians; there were not two groups of Christians, and even more, there were not numerous groups of Christians. It was not like the situation today, for example, where in Taipei alone, there are countless groups of Christians. Originally, one locality had only one group of Christians, one church. This principle is very strict; that is, in one locality there should be only one church.
This principle of “one locality, one church” prohibits God’s children from being divided. If we are in Jerusalem, we need to be in the church in that city since there is only one church in Jerusalem; we cannot be separated from it. If we are going to Antioch, we should not be separated from the church there. We can also use the names of the cities today as illustrations. If all of us keep the principle of “one locality, one church,” when a brother comes to Taipei, he is a brother in the church in Taipei; when he goes to Tainan, he is a brother in the church in Tainan; when he goes to Taichung, he is a brother in the church in Taichung. Wherever this brother goes, he cannot start a second church. If the church does not take “one locality, one church” as its principle or take the locality as its jurisdiction and ground, there surely will be division and confusion. For example, there is a church in Taipei. What would happen if another group of brothers came and called themselves a church because they considered that it was sufficient for two or three to meet together in one accord? And what if, after a period of time, other brothers also came here and met together, calling themselves a church? If this were the case, the church would be in confusion. Moreover, forming a church would become too easy; anyone could set up a church at will.
The churches were not like this in the early days. There was one church in each locality. After Paul went to Corinth and many were saved through his gospel preaching, he established the church in Corinth, not “the church of Paul.” After Apollos went to Corinth and did some work there, preaching the word and helping many people, he did not set up “the church of Apollos”; instead, he turned the people whom he helped over to the church in Corinth. Later Cephas went and worked there, but he also gave the results of his work to the church in Corinth instead of setting up “the church of Cephas.” No matter who went to Corinth and regardless of what labor they did, they all gave the fruit of their work to the church in Corinth. Furthermore, when saints went to Corinth, whether they were from Rome, Ephesus, or Jerusalem, they considered themselves to be brothers in the church in Corinth. In the locality of Corinth, there was only one church. The church in that locality had only one expression, one ground, and one fellowship. In this way all the divisions were annulled. It was not like the situation today. After a group of Christians comes to Taipei, they set up their kind of “church”; when another group comes, they set up their kind of “church”; and when yet another group comes, they also set up their kind of “church.” Consequently, when people look at the church in Taipei, they can only see this kind of “church” and that kind of “church”; thus, in Taipei the church is in a state of confusion.
I think that when brothers, who were not acquainted with each other, met in the early church in Jerusalem, one would ask, “Are you a brother?” The other would reply, “Yes, I am. Praise the Lord!” After that, there were no further questions. Surely they did not ask, “Which church do you go to?” or “Which denomination do you belong to?” This would not have happened. But what about today? When two Christians meet in a public place and realize that they are believers in the Lord, the next question is almost always, “To which church do you belong?” In the early days there was no need for such a question, because in those days there was only one church in each locality; it was enough simply to ask whether one was a brother. But today the church has been divided. There are too many “churches”; there is a “church” on a street, a “church” in an alley, a “church” in a house, and a “church” in a school dormitory. Today the church is divided, and the “churches” are so numerous that it is hard to tell which is the real church.
I remember a story from more than twenty years ago. Some brothers and I were resting in the city of Hangchow, and we often took a walk in the afternoon. Gradually, I noticed that many streets had stores with the name “Chang Hsiao-chuan.” Chang Hsiao-chuan was a seller of scissors, and the scissors of Hangchow were very famous, especially scissors made by Chang Hsiao-chuan. Although there were many stores with the name “Chang Hsiao-chuan,” there were some slight differences: one was called “The Original Chang Hsiao-chuan,” another was called “The Genuine Chang Hsiao-chuan,” still another was called “The Truly Genuine Chang Hsiao-chuan,” and yet another was called “The Uniquely One Chang Hsiao-chuan.” Although they all called themselves “Chang Hsiao-chuan,” they were different kinds of “Chang Hsiao-chuan.” At first I did not understand, but then I learned that everyone wanted this brand because the “Chang Hsiao-chuan” brand was very famous; therefore, many merchants were claiming to be the true Chang Hsiao-chuan. Regardless of their claims, however, we could not tell which one was true.
Brothers and sisters, this is the situation of the church today. There is even a denomination that is called “The True Church of Jesus.” This means that all the other “churches” are false, and only their “church” is true. This is similar to the “Genuine Chang Hsiao-chuan” of Hangchow. Today when we walk out of the meeting hall in Taipei, we can see the “Presbyterian Christian Church at East Gate,” then there is the “Baptist Church,” and a little farther on there is the “Lutheran Church” and “The True Church of Jesus.” This situation is similar to Hangchow, where “Chang Hsiao-chuan” stores could be found everywhere. However, there was no need for the early church to designate itself as such-and-such “church,” much less designate itself as “the true church.” The church was simply the church, and it was one in each locality: in Jerusalem it was one, in Antioch it was one, in Ephesus it was one, and in Corinth it was also one. Wherever it was, the church was one, not two. This was the proper situation; therefore, there was no confusion.
Originally, although the fellowship among the churches was one, they were independent of each other in administration; there was no head church or any federation among them. In principle, a local church should live directly before Christ and honor Christ as the Head. If there is a head church, then the head church would become the authority over the sub-churches. The higher church would rule over the lower church, and the lower church would obey the higher church, disregarding the headship of Christ and the authority of the Holy Spirit. This is most offensive to the Lord, and the Lord absolutely would not allow it. In the early days there was one church in one city, and each church lived before the Lord, just as the seven local churches in the book of Revelation were represented by seven individual lampstands (1:11, 20). The lampstand in the tabernacle of the Old Testament was a single lampstand with seven branches. But in Revelation the lampstands, which represent the seven churches, are seven in number: one locality, one lampstand; seven localities, seven lampstands, each standing alone. They did not form a union; rather, they were all directly responsible to Christ, the Head. This principle is crucial.
Originally, the local church was the highest, and it was also the lowest; the local church was the greatest, and it was also the least. No church was higher than the local church, and no church was lower than the local church. No church was greater than the local church, and no church was less than the local church. The church is expressed in a locality; therefore, the church in a locality is the church. Other than the church in a locality, there is no other church. The church is expressed in locality after locality as the local churches. This situation prevents division, retains the headship of Christ, and allows the Holy Spirit to have the authority.
The church is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 4:15), reigning in the church through the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2; 15:28). It was this way in the early church. There was neither human opinion nor human authority. The believers let Christ be the Head in all things, and they let the Holy Spirit rule in all. They honored Christ as the Head and obeyed the authority of the Holy Spirit; this was the supreme characteristic of the original church.
How beautiful was the situation in the early church! All the saved ones were brothers, members, and priests, serving the Lord together in coordination. At the same time, they were separated from the world, they forsook idols, and they allowed God to speak in their midst. Furthermore, there was only one church in each locality, and although there was fellowship among the churches, the churches did not form a federation; instead, they lived directly under the authority of Christ, the Head, and obeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit. As a result, they spontaneously allowed Christ to be the Head and allowed the Holy Spirit to exercise His authority. This was the situation in the early church. By reading the Acts, we can see that this was the situation of the church. Regrettably, this kind of situation did not last long; after a short time, the church gradually became degraded and lost its original condition.
