The Recovery of the Local Churches

The Brethren

Often times a sure indication of the Lord’s hand and blessing is the fact that he is working along the same lines in a number of different places, yet achieving the same results. Not only were there stirrings in Dublin, Ireland and in Plymouth, England—the two places usually associated with the Brethren’s beginning—but there were also a number of similar stirrings abroad. Interestingly, all of these meetings bore the same characteristics. Witness Lee explains:

At that same time God worked simultaneously in British Guiana and Italy to raise up the same kind of meetings. In 1829 there were also meetings in Arabia. In 1830 in Great Britain’s London, Plymouth, and Bristol, there were also meetings. Later, many places in the United States had meetings, and in the continent of Europe there were also many meetings. Not long afterwards, in almost every place in the entire world, all those who loved the Lord were meeting in this way. Although there was no outward union, yet all were raised up by the Lord.

One feature that marked the rising up of these brothers was that those who were titled and lorded gave up their titles and lordship, those with position gave up their position, those with degrees forsook their degrees, and everyone abandoned any worldly class or rank in the church and became simply the disciples of Christ and brothers one to another. Just as the word “father” is widely used in the Roman Catholic Church and “reverend” in the Protestant churches, so the word “brother” is commonly used in their midst. They were attracted by the Lord and thus met together; because of their love toward the Lord, they spontaneously loved one another.

(Watchman Nee, Orthodoxy, 72)

Unfortunately, the Brethren’s golden years would come to an end. W.H. Griffith Thomas once remarked of their eventual decline, “The Brethren are remarkable for rightly dividing the word, but remarkable for wrongly dividing themselves.” Due to various disputes among its leaders, the Brethren eventually divided into three principle groups: the Open Brethren, the Closed Brethren, and the Congregation under the guidance of Benjamin Newton. Over the next hundred years this movement, which had such glorious beginnings, would eventually see itself divided into over a hundred different assemblies on the following passages. Watchman Nee and Witness Lee reflect on this disheartening episode in the Brethren’s history, pointing out that such division as occurred, even among them was the result of the lack of clear vision of the scriptural ground and boundary of the local church, the simple ground of locality.

Furthermore, I believe the lack at that time was that the brothers did not see the “local” ground and boundary of the church. They clearly saw the sins of the church on the negative side, but on the positive side, they did not adequately see how the church should love one another and be of one accord on the ground and boundary of locality. The Roman Catholic Church pays attention to the oneness of a united church on this earth, while the Brethren paid attention to an idealistic oneness of a spiritual church in heaven. They did not see or did not see clearly enough that the love for one another in the epistles is the love for one another in the church in one locality; the oneness is the oneness of the church in one locality; the joining together is the joining together of the church in one locality; the edification is the edification of the church in a locality; and even the excommunication is the excommunication of the church in one locality. In any case, only these two kinds of people talk about the oneness of the church: The Roman Catholic Church speaks of the unity of all the churches on this earth, while the Brethren speak of the spiritual oneness in heaven. As a result, the former is but a oneness in outward appearance, while the latter is an idealistic oneness that is, in fact, divisive. Both have not noticed the oneness of each and every local church in each and every locality as recorded in the Bible.

Main

The Reformation

The Moravian Brethren

The Plymouth Brethren

A New Beginning

Watchman Nee’s Calling

Watchman Nee’s Revelation

Watchman Nee’s Care for the Local Churches

The Local Church in Foochow, China

Witness Lee’s Revelation

The Spread of the Local Churches

Bibliography

Links