The Recovery of the Local Churches

The Reformation

Crucial to the understanding of the recovery of the local church is the period known as the Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a remarkable period in history. Through it many items of truth and practice which had been obscured by centuries of tradition were recovered, due in large part to the newfound availability of the Bible. Prior to the sixteenth century, the Bible had never known a circulation beyond a very few copies in Latin. The return to God’s Word was one of the hallmarks of the Reformation. Thanks to this access to the Bible, many of the Lord’s children were able to re-evaluate from the perspective of the Scriptures the Romish doctrine that they had previously considered beyond question. The result was the recovery of numerous truths such as justification by faith by the Lutherans, baptism by immersion by the Anreformation-more-quotes-aptists, and the proper eldership, or presbytery by the Presbyterians, among many others.

As a tragic legacy, the Protestant Reformation left the church with as many divisions as recovered truths. Because God’s children in that age lacked a clear understanding of His corporate goal, the universal church expressed in many local churches, a number of divisions arose. Sadly, the very groups who were initially used of the Lord to recover some particular item of truth tended to defend it tenaciously, often persecuting in turn those who went beyond them to see something further. The Reformation’s pattern thus became one of recovery followed by institutionalization, succeeded by yet another recovery and further institutionalization.

Concerning the practice of the proper local church life, it would be two more centuries before any significant advances were made. The Reformation recovered many truths and practices, but the recovery of the proper church life was not among them. There were some advances in the practice of the local church life, mainly among smaller and lesser known groups, but so strong was the influence of Rome that nearly no Reformer escaped its influence. Even Martin Luther, who recovered the truth of justification by faith, erred in his affiliation with the German government. This affiliation resulted in the formation of the state church of Germany, which has become today’s Lutheran Church. Because the recovery of truth was gradual and progressive, the early reformers were not yet enlightened to see that the state churches produced by the Reformation were unscriptural.

Later in the Reformation—like the Roman Catholic Church—after a number of state churches had been formally institutionalized, rather than returning to the scripturally ordained practice of the local church life, they demanded conformity. Those who refused were persecuted and at times branded as heretics. This persecution provoked the rise of independent and private churches such as the Ana-Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and others in protest against the state churches.

In the following passages Witness Lee follows the thread of the Lord’s intended recovery of the proper local church life through the period of the Reformation, beginning with Martin Luther. He also points out how this recovery was frustrated by the establishing of state and private churches rather than scriptural local churches.

At the time of the reformation, the Lord’s recovery came into a definite form. Martin Luther was a great servant of God. The Lord used him to recover the truth concerning justification by faith and to make the Bible open to the general public. Thank the Lord that justification by faith has been fully recovered. It will never be lost again. At the cost of his life, Luther stood for this truth, but when he came to the truth concerning the church, he was weak. He did not bring us back to God’s genuine intention to have the church life.

Luther realized that it was wrong to be joined with the German government, yet he still did it. Due to this big mistake, the state churches were produced. Besides the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church, there are also the state churches. All the state churches are Lutheran churches except the Church of England, which is an Episcopal church. The German state church, the Danish state church, the Norwegian state church, the Swedish state church, and the Anglican state church were the issue of the seed sown by Luther. I respect Luther as one of the great servants of the Lord, but his mistake shows us that if we are short in our vision and knowledge of the church, we will have no safeguard. We may do the best thing and still make some mistake. Our safeguard is to know the church in an adequate way.

(Witness Lee, History of the Church, 30-31)

The Reformation was a pivotal period in the history of the church, one during which great strides were made in the recovery of Biblical truths and Christian practice. In the centuries following the Reformation, the Lord has continued His work of recovery by operating within His seekers, drawing and directing them to His pure Word to receive the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment in order that further recovery could be realized. Watchman Nee and Witness Lee were such seekers, along with many others in the early twentieth century who were willing to forsake the divisions and come back to meet in oneness in the local church. Through their vision and work, the Lord was able to raise up hundreds of local churches where believers simply met in oneness as the church in their city, the local church.

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