The Governing Principles of the Practice of the Local Church

2. Through the Cross

The abundance of the Spirit of life supplied through the application of the Lord’s cross is the real need of believers. Watchman Nee, in his Collected Works, taught this truth as the basis to living a victorious life in the local church .

The problems in the church life are solved when we have an abundance of the Spirit of life. The problems between us and others and between us and God are due to our shortage of the Spirit of life. The reason we are short of the Spirit of life is that we are lacking in applying the death of Christ to our present situation. If most of the saints in a local church do not apply the death of Christ, that church will have many problems. But if we apply the death of Christ to ourselves, this application will bring in the living water to supply our need and solve our problems. Then, with our need supplied and our problems solved, we will live a victorious life in the church.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, 223)

One great governing principle of the practice of the church life is that God solves all the believers’ problems by applying the cross to their differences and opinions. Watchman Nee, in several portions from his Collected Works, Set 2, expounds as follows:

If our hearts are set to preserve the local character of the churches of God, we cannot fail to come up against problems in our work. Unless the cross operates mightily, what endless possibilities of friction there will be if we include in one church all the believers in the locality with all their varying views. How the flesh would like just to include those holding the same views, and to exclude all whose views differ from ours. To have constant and close association with people whose interpretation of Scripture does not tally with ours, is hard for the flesh, but good for the spirit. God does not use division to solve the problem; He uses the cross. He would have us submit to the cross, so that through the very difficulties of the situation, the meekness and patience and love of Christ may be deeply wrought into our lives. Under the circumstances, if we do not know the cross, we shall probably argue, lose our temper, and finally go our own way. We may have right views, but God is giving us an opportunity to display a right attitude; we may believe aright, but God is testing us to see if we love aright. It is easy to have a mind well stored with scriptural teaching, and a heart devoid of true love. Those who differ from us will be a means in God’s hand to test whether we have spiritual experience, or only scriptural knowledge, to test whether the truths we proclaim are a matter of life to us, or mere theory.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 89-90)

Paul, Cephas, and Apollos were true-hearted servants of God who allowed no party-spirit to separate them; it was their followers who were responsible for the separation. Hero worship is a tendency of human nature, which delights to show preference for those who appeal to its tastes. Because so many of God’s children know little or nothing of the power of the cross to deal with the flesh, this tendency to worship a man has expressed itself frequently in the Church of God, and much havoc has been wrought in consequence. It is in keeping with God’s will that we should learn from spiritual men and profit by their leadership, but it is altogether contrary to His will that we should divide the Church according to the men we admire. The only scriptural basis for the forming of a church is difference of locality, not difference of leaders.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 84)

I do not condone sectarianism, and I do not believe we should belong to any sect, but it is not our business to get people to leave them. If we make it our chief concern to lead people to a real knowledge of the Lord and the power of His cross, then they will gladly abandon themselves to Him, and will learn to walk in the Spirit, repudiating the things of the flesh. We shall find there will be no need to stress the question of denominations, for the Spirit Himself will enlighten them. If a believer has not learned the way of the cross and the walk in the Spirit, what is gained by his coming out of a sect?

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 88)

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