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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee
We will probably ask: Is it not enough to express and
live under the authority of the Holy Spirit? Is this not enough to establish
the church? No, it is not. The Bible clearly shows us two things which must
exist in order to establish the church: first, the authority of the Holy
Spirit, and second, the boundary of locality. If we do not see this, we do not
understand the church ground. Does this seem strange? Does this seem like
falling ten thousand feet from heaven to earth? Yes, but remember that the
church is also on earth. It is part heavenly and part earthly. The heavenly
part concerns the authority of the Holy Spirit; the earthly part concerns the
boundary of locality. This is a very wonderful matter in the Bible. The Bible
clearly shows us this one thing: The church absolutely belongs to a locality,
such as the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), which is a place; the church in
Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), which is a place; the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1),
which is a city; and the church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1), which is a seaport. In
the Bible the ground of the church is the locality where the church is. The
churches all take locality as the boundary.
Here is a special point; please pay attention to it.
If the brothers and sisters in Shanghai desire to stand on the church ground,
they can only stand on the ground of the Holy Spirit and the ground of
Shanghai. They must stand on the ground of the Holy Spirit and also on the
ground of Shanghai because Shanghai is the locality in which they live. Once
we disregard locality, we immediately lose the ground of the church. Let me
give a few illustrations.
Acts 9:31 speaks of the churches in Judea. The church
spoken of here is plural in Greek, English, and Chinese. It is the churches in
Judea. It is plural in number because at that time Judea was a province of
Rome. Since a province included many localities, there were many churches.
Thus, the Bible does not speak of the church in Judea, but the churches in
Judea. In the Scriptures there is only a local church, not a provincial
church. The same is true of Galatia, which was a province consisting of many
localities; therefore, Galatians 1:2 says, “The churches of Galatia.” Ephesus
is a seaport, a locality; therefore, the church in Ephesus is referred to in
the singular. This point is very clear in the Bible. Philadelphia was a city,
and only one church existed there. Asia, which is Asia Minor today, was a
large province; therefore, the Bible says, “The seven churches which are in
Asia,” not the church which is in Asia (Rev. 1:4).
There is one thing we must all notice: The world does
not have a church; therefore, the Roman Catholic Church is wrong. A country
does not have a church; therefore, the Anglican Church (i.e., the Church of
England or the Episcopal Church) is wrong. A province does not have a church,
nor does a race. In the Bible only the smallest administrative unit is related
to the church—only a locality or a city has a church. The church in one
locality cannot combine with the church in another locality to become one
church.
(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol.
55, 156-158)
Verse 34 says, “For He whom God has sent speaks the
words of God, for He gives the Spirit not by measure.” In this verse we see
two things: the Lord Jesus ministers the words of God to His people, and He
gives the Spirit to God’s people without measure. Some versions render this
verse incorrectly, saying that God the Father gives the Spirit to the Son
without measure. However, if you study the best manuscripts, you will see that
it means that the Son gives the Spirit without measure to God’s people. The
Lord Jesus ministers the living Word and the immeasurable Spirit.
In the local churches we need just two things—the
living Word and the immeasurable Spirit. Today, as the Head of the church,
Christ is still ministering these two things. I believe that He has especially
burdened us with the ministry of the living Word. Although we speak the Word,
it is not we who minister the Word. We speak, but He ministers. He ministers
His rich Word in our speaking. He is the divine speaker and the divine
dispenser. He ministers the rich Word and dispenses the living Spirit without
measure. He is the One who ministers the living Word to nourish all of His
members. He is the One who dispenses the Spirit into all His members in order
that they might function in a full way. No one else can do this. He is the
all-inclusive Spirit and the all-inclusive Christ. He is unlimited.
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