The Recovery of the Local Churches
The Recovery of the Local Churches |
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The Spread of the Local ChurchesIn the past two thousand years, if the people in the church had been willing to be limited by locality, there would not have been the difficulties and confusion. If man had submitted to God’s authority, neither Catholicism nor Protestantism could ever have been established. Neither could the more than one hundred denominations in China and more than six hundred major organizations and five thousand minor organizations in the world today have been established. All would have been restricted by the boundary of locality. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 55, 162) Concerning the formation of churches along national lines, Watchman Nee says: The same holds good for Britishers, Americans, and all other nationalities, provided they are born again. The Word of God recognizes the church in Rome, the church in Ephesus, and the church in Thessalonica, but it does not recognize the Jewish church, or the Chinese church, or the Anglican church. The reason the names of cities appear in Scripture in connection with the churches of God is that the difference of dwelling place is the only difference recognized by God among His children. Their life is essentially one, and is therefore indivisible, but the place in which that life is lived cannot but vary as long as they remain in the flesh. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 92-93) On the one hand, there is no church of the Gentiles in Scripture; on the one hand, we read of “the church of the Thessalonians.” It is suggestive that this is the only expression of its kind used in the New Testament. The Word does not speak of the church of the Greeks (a race, or a nation), but of the church of the Thessalonians (a city). There is no such thing in the thought of God as the church of the Chinese, but there is such a thing as the church of the Pekinese. Scripture knows nothing of the church of the French, but it does recognize the church of the Parisians. A clear apprehension of the divine basis of church formation—according to the difference of cities and not of countries—will save us from the misconception of the indigenous church. There should be no distinction whatever between Chinese and foreign Christians, between Chinese and foreign workers, or between Chinese and foreign money in any given locality. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 94-93) I would like you to see that congregationalism is the result of brothers seeing the truth in the Bible only in part. There is no congregationalism in the Bible. Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Thyatira, and Laodicea are all localities. Throughout many years of church history, the Lord’s light has become clearer and clearer: from the international church to the national church, from the national church to the independent church, and from the independent church, somewhat beyond the normal standard, to congregationalism. Within these last twenty to thirty years, the Lord has led us to see the local church. It is clear enough. The church today is taking the apostles’ way. The church is local. We should not be proud to say that this is preached by us. This is the grace of God. God allowed His children to grope for more than a thousand years. Thank God! We have inherited what they gained and have found the way. Thank God! Although Congregationalism is wrong, it is an improvement. They saw that the “one church” of Roman Catholicism is wrong, but their improvement is beyond the standard. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 56, 376) | ||||