Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee

Question: What does the church in Matthew 18:17 refer to? (Lee, Kiangsu)

Answer: In the four Gospels, only Matthew mentions the church. The Gospel of Matthew mentions the church twice, both of which are words spoken by our blessed Lord. One is in 16:18, and the other in 18:17. There are two biblical meanings for the word church: (1) The church that is composed of all those redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord. The Bible calls this the Body of Christ. (2) The believers in every place being gathered together to become the church in that place; for example, there is the church in Corinth, and there are the churches in Galatia. The first meaning refers to the universal church, whereas the second refers the local church as part of the universal church....The two mentions of the church in Matthew bear these two meanings. Verse 18 of chapter sixteen refers to the universal church, whereas 18:17 refers to the local church.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 1, Vol. 7, 1017-1018)

In Matthew 16:18, the universal church is revealed, whereas in Matthew 18:17, we see the local church. Without the local churches, there is no way to participate in the universal church, and there is no way to have a practical church life. In the book of Acts, in the Epistles, and in Revelation, the church is expressed as local churches, i.e., the church in Jerusalem, the church in Antioch, the church in Ephesus, etc. The government of the church is not universal but local.

(Witness Lee, Seer of the Divine Revelation, 155)

When Christ was on earth He referred to the church two times--in Matthew 16 and Matthew 18. In the first instance, He referred to the universal church, and in the second instance, He referred to the local church. In speaking of the authority of the local church, He said, “If he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector'' (18:17). This verse shows us that the authority of the church is derived from its representation of Christ. Christ has given His authority to the church and authorized the church to execute His will on earth.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 44, 839-840)

Matthew 18:15-17 says, “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone....But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more....And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile.'' Some churches are very lazy and do not care to handle troublesome matters. But the Lord said that the church must take care of disciplinary matters, if it is to be a church at all. The Lord’s teaching in chapter eighteen is regarding the local church because it refers to a place in which we can “tell.'' The local church must take care of these matters.

(Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 55)

2. Revealed by the Apostles in Acts and the Epistles

Universally, the church is one. But locally, the churches are many. In Acts 8:1 there is the church at Jerusalem. In Acts 13:1 there is the church at Antioch. Then there are churches mentioned in Acts 14:23 and 15:41; here the word churches is used because there were a number of cities in these regions. In Romans 16:1 there is the church at Cenchrea. There is the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2). In Galatians 1:2 we have the churches in Galatia; there were several, because Galatia was a province of the ancient Roman Empire with many cities. In Revelation 1:4 and 11 there are the seven churches in Asia. Asia was also a province.

Verse 11 says, “What you see write in a book 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 reveals that a local church equals a local city. To write to the church in Ephesus means to write to the city of Ephesus. These are local churches. A local church is not a term used as a name, but it describes the fact of one church in a locality.

(Witness Lee, Basic Revelation, 67-68)

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