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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman NeeFirst Corinthians 1:10 says: “Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same things...'' To whom does you refer? It refers to the Christians at Corinth, the brothers at Corinth. “...and that there be no divisions among you...'' Again, you refers to the Christians at Corinth. “...but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.'' This also refers to the Christians in Corinth....According to Paul, the minimum requirement for speaking of unity is in the context of the local church. If the Christians in Corinth want to talk about the unity of the Body, they should not talk about it in Rome or talk about it in Jerusalem, but talk about it in Corinth. (Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 105-106) 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) Acts chapter fifteen shows us that when one local church has a problem, and the problem is such that it affects the other churches, the question should be solved by the apostles and the elders together. In that particular instance in Jerusalem, the apostles did not make independent decisions apart from the elders. The apostles decided on the matter in conjunction with the elders. The reason for this is that the matter originated from the church in Jerusalem. Apart from the elders in Jerusalem, the apostles had no way to deal with the difficulty of the church there. Here we can see the importance of the elders' authority. The apostles do not have direct authority to deal with affairs of a local church. The authority of a local church is fully in the hands of the elders. (Witness Lee, Elders' Management, 19) The conclusion of all the aspects of the church revealed in the foregoing twenty-six books of the Bible is that the church in this age is signified by the lampstand....A local church is a lampstand, signifying the Triune God embodied in human beings. This is the great mystery of godliness revealed in 1 Timothy 3:16--God manifested in the flesh. This not only transpired in Jesus Christ as an individual person, but this also transpires in all the local churches. (Witness Lee, NT Economy, 271) An apostle establishes a local church and appoints the elders....The apostle Paul established churches, and he appointed the elders in the churches (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). (Witness Lee, Leadership, 47-48) We need to turn to our spirit and respect the fact that our spirit is a spirit of revelation. To see the church is simple when you use the proper organ. In the spirit the matter of the church is very clear. The local church is different....You may not be able to explain the difference, but when you turn to the spirit and see the church, you will know the difference, and you will know that you have seen the church. (Divine and Human Spirit, 169) But 1 Corinthians 12 shows us that, even in such an earthly environment, the church is still to operate on the principles of the heavenly Body. For the local church is not merely an outward type, it is a real manifestation of Christ in the earth today. “Ye are the Body of Christ.'' Here in Corinth you Corinthian believers are called to be the whole Body in essence. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 40, 96) The first twelve chapters of Acts have become clearer to us than ever before. Just as the local churches after Acts 13 have never been seen with such clarity as in the time at Hankow, the work has never been seen with such clarity as it is today. (Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 144) Acts 8:1 And Saul approved of his killing. And there occurred in that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. This was the first church established in a locality (see note 11 in ch. 5) within the jurisdiction of a city, the city of Jerusalem. It was a local church in its locality, as indicated by the Lord in Matt. 18:17. It was not the universal church, as revealed by the Lord in Matt. 16:18, but only a part of the universal church, which is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). The record concerning this matter (the establishing of the church in its locality) is consistent throughout the New Testament (13:1; 14:23; Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 8:1; Gal. 1:2; Rev. 1:4, 11). (Witness Lee, Footnote, Recovery Version, 509) | ||||