THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Body of Christ

Message Eight
The Body of Christ Expressed Practically
 as Many Local Churches 

Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Matt. 16:18-19; Eph. 4:11-12; Rom. 14:1-15:13

I. The church of God, as the universal Body of Christ, the universal house of God, and the kingdom of God, is expressed practically as many local churches—Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Matt. 16:18-19.

A. All the local churches are the one Body of Christ—Eph. 1:22-23.

B. Separated by localities for their existence, they express the same one Body, not respectively but corporately—Matt. 16:18.

II. The ground of the church denotes the site on which the foundation of the church is laid, which keeps, in practicality, the genuine oneness of the church both locally and universally, without any division or confusion—1 Cor. 3:11:

A. According to the divine revelation of the New Testament, the church ground is constituted of three crucial elements—Eph. 4:3-6; Rev. 1:11:

1. The first element is the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ, that is, the oneness of the one Spirit as the unique essence of the Body, with the one Lord as the unique element of the Body, and with the one Father as the unique source of the Body—vv. 4-6. 

2. The second element is the unique ground of locality of a local church, that is, the very locality—a city, a town, or a village—as the boundary within which a local church is established and exists, with each one locality having only one church in order to preserve the oneness and prevent division—Deut. 12:5-18.

3. The third element is the reality of the Spirit of oneness by whom the oneness of the Body of Christ becomes real and living and through whom the ground of locality is applied in life and not in legality—Eph. 4:3-6.

B. The church ground is therefore a spiritual fact and practical necessity, being the base of the genuine and proper fellowship of all the believers, the unique fellowship of the Body of Christ locally and universally—Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:1-3.

III. The church of God is the called-out assembly composed of all His children, appearing in many localities on the earth as the local churches—cf. Acts. 15:11; 1 Cor. 16:19; Rev. 1:11: 

A. The Body of Christ needs the local churches for its existence, expression, and practice—1 Cor. 2:27: 

1. A local church is one that exists in a locality, its jurisdiction for its administration being within the boundary of the locality in which it exists. 

2. The unique church of God is expressed as many local churches throughout the whole earth, yet they still express the same one universal Body of Christ, not respectively but corporately—1 Cor. 12:27. 

3. The local churches are scattered in different places by geography, yet they are not divided by any doctrine or matter into sects or denominations—1 Cor. 1:10-13; 10:16-17.

4. Among the local churches there is no head church, high church, or low church, but all the local churches are on the same level; there can be no absolute autonomy in any local church nor can there be a federation among a group of churches.

B. All the local churches, composed with the believers to be the Body of Christ, are the golden lampstands, which are identical in nature, shape, and function to be the one expression of Christ—Rev. 1:11-12: 

1. Although the local churches are autonomous to a certain extent in business affairs, their testimony for Christ and fellowship of the Spirit should be not only local but also universal.

2. Hence, the local churches in certain districts should be clustered as much as possible in a blending way for the spiritual benefits in the mutual building up of the Body of Christ, as the Lord Jesus clustered the seven neighboring churches in Asia—Rev. 1-3. 

3. Such a blending is not social but the blending of the very Christ whom the churches enjoy, experience, and partake of.

4. Such clustering also stirs up the neighboring churches in mutual love, mutual care, mutual intercession, and mutual shepherding. 

C. A local church is administered by a group of elders appointed by the gifted persons who have established the church and is ministered to by all the gifted saints for its building up as a living testimony of Christ—Acts 14:14a, 23; 13:1: 

1. The administration of a local church under the leadership of the elders should be carried out in an organic way, not by any worldly, organizational way—1 Tim. 3:1-5; 5:17.

2. Among the churches there are the apostles who set up the churches, and in every church there are elders who manage the church and deacons who serve the church; although there is the order of these holy services, there should not be any hierarchy—religious organization or a system of rank—1 Cor. 9:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:1-13.

3. A local church is built up directly by the functioning of all its members with the perfecting of the gifted persons, such as the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers through the following four things—Eph. 4:11-12: 

a. Preaching the gospel to have sinners saved and regenerated to become the members of Christ. 

b. Feeding the new believers for their growth in life and in truth—John 21:15, 17; 1 Thes. 2:7.

c. Perfecting the saints that they may mature and be built up—Eph. 4:12.

d. Prophesying in the church meetings for the building up of the church—1 Cor. 14:1-5, 23-26, 31. 

4. The above-mentioned God-ordained way to build up the church is best practiced in the vital groups and the small groups day by day and from house to house—Acts 2:46; 5:42. 

5. The building up of a local church is for the building up of the entire Body of Christ. 

IV. The following points are some crucial practices in the local churches under today's divisive and confusing degradation of Christianity—Rom. 14:1—15:13: 

A. We should not participate in the Catholic heresy, the Protestant denominations, and any kind of free groups of Christians. 

B. We should recognize and receive the individual believers in Christ who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, being redeemed by His blood and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who are not factious, not making divisions, not worshipping idols, nor living in sin, even if they are still related to any of the above-listed divisions—Rom. 14:1—15:13; Titus 3:10; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 5:11. 

C. We should be one with all the believers who are in the Lord's recovery throughout the world—12:12; Rom. 12:5. 

D. We should not have any creed but only the unique Bible properly translated and interpreted by and according to the Bible itself. 

E. We should take the eternal economy of God as the central line to bear the unique testimony of Christ, not teaching any doctrine that is unrelated to the eternal economy of God and has nothing to do with the testimony of Christ—1 Tim. 1:3-4. 

F. We should practice the one accord by being in one spirit with one soul and by being attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion—Matt. 18:19; Acts 1:14; Phil. 1:27; 2:2.

G. We should enjoy righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit as the reality of the kingdom of God—Rom. 14:17. 

 


 

Ministry Excerpts:

 

THE LOCAL GROUND OF THE CHURCH

The local ground of the church is basically the unique oneness of the Body of Christ practiced in the local churches. Both the universal Body of Christ and the local churches are uniquely one. There is one unique Body of Christ in the universe, and there is one unique local church in each locality. This unique oneness is the basic element of the church life. Since the oneness of the Body of Christ is the oneness of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3), the oneness practiced in a local church must be in the move of the Spirit and under the government of the Spirit. Hence, this Spirit is also a basic element of the church ground. In addition to this, since a local church is very much involved with its locality, the locality of the local church is also a crucial element of the church ground. So, the church ground on which a local church is built must be constituted with and prevail in the oneness executed by the Spirit and the oneness safeguarded by the locality.

In addition to the oneness of the Spirit and the oneness practiced in the locality of a local church as mentioned above, there is another aspect of the oneness, which is "the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God," as revealed in Ephesians 4:13. Concerning this, footnote 132 in Ephesians 4, Recovery Version, says, "In v. 3 the oneness of the Spirit is the oneness of the divine life in reality; in this verse the oneness is the oneness of our living in practicality. We already have the oneness of the divine life in reality. We need only to keep it. But we need to go on until we arrive at the oneness of our living in practicality. This aspect of oneness is of two things: the faith and the full knowledge of the Son of God. As revealed in Jude 3, 2 Tim. 4:7, and 1 Tim. 6:21, the faith does not refer to the act of our believing but to the things in which we believe, such as the divine person of Christ and His redemptive work accomplished for our salvation. The full knowledge of the Son of God is the apprehension of the revelation concerning the Son of God for our experience. The more we grow in life, the more we will cleave to the faith and to the apprehension of Christ, and the more we will drop all the minor and meaner doctrinal concepts that cause divisions. Then we will arrive at, or attain to, the practical oneness; that is, we will arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." To keep this aspect of the oneness we need to endeavor to "drop all the minor and meaner doctrinal concepts [the winds of teaching] that cause divisions. Then we will arrive at, or attain to, the practical oneness; that is, we will arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

The Unique Oneness
 of the Universal Body of Christ

The first element of the constitution of the church ground is the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ, which is called the oneness of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:3 says, "Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit." We need to be diligent to keep this oneness. This oneness is what the Lord prayed for in John 17. It is a oneness of the mingling of the processed Triune God with all the believers in Christ. The oneness of the Triune God is in the name of the Father (John 17:6, 11), denoting the Father's person in which is the Father's life. In John 17:2 the Lord said He gave the eternal life to all the believers. The Father is the source not only of life but also of this oneness. The oneness of the believers originates from the Father Himself. Man is not the source of this oneness. The Father is the source.

The Unique Ground of Locality
 in Which a Local Church Is Established and Exists

The second element of the ground is the unique ground of locality in which a local church is established and exists. The New Testament presents a clear picture that all the local churches as the expression of the universal church, the Body of Christ, are located in respective cities. Hence, we see the church in Jerusalem in Acts 8:1, the church in Antioch in Acts 13:1, and the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1:2. Revelation 1:11 shows us the seven churches in Asia in seven respective cities. The city is the ground on which the church is built.

The Unique Ground of Locality
 in Which a Local Church Is Established and Exists

The third element of the church ground is the reality of the Spirit of oneness, expressing the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ on the unique ground of locality of a local church. The Spirit is the living reality of the Divine Trinity (1 John 5:6; John 16:13). It is by this Spirit that the oneness of the Body of Christ becomes real and living. It is also through this Spirit that the ground of the locality is applied in life and not in legality. And it is by this Spirit that the genuine ground of the church is linked with the Triune God (Eph. 4:3-6). These three elements — the oneness of the Spirit, the ground of locality, and the reality of the Spirit — keep the genuine oneness of the church. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, "1993 Blending Conference Messages Concerning the Lord's Recovery and Our Present Need," msg. 1)

A LOCAL CHURCH BEING THE GOD-CALLED-OUT PEOPLE
 GATHERED TOGETHER IN A LOCALITY

All the Churches Being the Same in Fellowship,
 in the Lord's Testimony, and in the Building Up

How wonderful it is that we are in the local churches! The Lord desires to have many local churches, and this conference is a gathering of many churches. When the Lord gains a lampstand in a city, it is a real victory to the Lord and a real shame to the enemy; and when a number of the churches in different cities come together and are in one accord, it is a glory to the Lord.

The Lord's recovery is a matter of the local churches. For us to experience the Lord's recovery, we must be in the local churches. However, a single local church, a single lampstand, in a single city is not adequate to express the testimony of Christ, nor is it adequate for the fellowship. The testimony and fellowship of the church are something of the Body. These matters need all the churches. For this the churches need to be able to come together; they need to be clustered. Some may like to be alone and isolated, but this is wrong. The churches should be clustered, and the saints should be blended together. In the blending there is a great spiritual benefit and a mutual building up. This is something that belongs to the Body, to all the churches. The clustering of the churches also stirs up our mutuality. All the churches should be the same in fellowship, in the Lord's testimony, and in the building up. Also, when the churches are clustered together, there is a stronger testimony, and there are the impact and the encouragement. This is good for the impact of the gospel.

A local church is the God-called-out people gathered together in a locality—a city, a town, or a village. The Body of Christ is one. According to Ephesians 4:4, there is one Body and one Spirit. Because both the Body and the Spirit are only one, there should be only one local church in every city. It is very simple: one city, one church. The New Testament is absolutely consistent on this point; there is no deviation (Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 8:1; Gal. 1:2; Rev. 1:4, 11). In a given city, there should be only one church. This is similar to the divine principle that for one husband there should be only one wife.

However, the situation among Christians today is altogether different. In a small city of only fifty thousand people, there may be over one hundred different "churches," that is, different denominations. All these denominations are divisions. God ordained that in one city all the called-out ones should gather together as the one church, as the unique expression of the one Body of Christ in that locality. Some say that in a city where there are many thousands of believers, it would be impossible to have only one church. However, in Jerusalem there were myriads (ten thousands) of believers (Acts 21:20), but there was only one church (8:1). In Jerusalem three thousand were saved, baptized, and added to the church on the day of Pentecost (2:41), and shortly thereafter at least five thousand more were added (4:4). Still, there was only one church in Jerusalem.

In Romans 16:3-5a the apostle Paul greeted Prisca and Aquila and the church, which was in their house. The fact that the believers in Rome met in the home of Prisca and Aquila indicates that the number was small. However, although the number was small, they were still the one local church in Rome. The principle of "one city, one church" is God's way, to which we say Amen. The oneness of the Body should be expressed locally in every city. It is wrong to have divisions (1 Cor. 1:10). It is wrong to have the denominations. There should be just one church in a city.

Not only so, all the local churches should not be independent or isolated. They should not be locally a local sect. They should be blended. They should come together. We should not think that it is good enough merely to be in the local church in our city. We need to be in the churches, that is, in the Body.

All the Local Churches Being the One Body of Christ
Separated by the Localities of Their Existence,
but Still Expressing the Same One Body,
 Not Respectively but Corporately

It is a wonderful thing to be saved, to have the divine life. When we received the divine life, that was marvelous. But that divine life in us brought us to the local church. It brought us to meet with the Christians in our locality to stand there as a testimony for God in that locality. But still, there is more than just the local churches. The local churches individually do not express the Body of Christ. But when the local churches come together to be coordinated and knit together, there is the expression of the Body; there is the expression of the one new man on the earth. We are not merely for our locality. We are not individual Christians, and we are not even individual churches; we are the Body of Christ. We are the one new man.

We need to see that all the local churches are the one Body of Christ separated by the localities of their existence but still expressing the same one Body, not respectively but corporately. All the local churches are the one Body of Christ, and they are separated from one another only by the localities in which they exist. Otherwise, there is no separation in the Body of Christ. In our human body there is no separation of our hand from our foot, except that they are located in different places in the body. Likewise, the local churches are separated from one another only because they exist in different geographical locations. However, all the churches have the same life, the same nature, the same essence, the same element, the same source, and the same Triune God. Just as the Triune God cannot be divided, so the local churches as the Body of Christ cannot be divided.

The local churches are separated by the localities of their existence, but they express the same one Body; and they do this not respectively but corporately. Collectively, corporately, the churches express the Body of Christ. In each locality there is some expression of the Body, but each local church, respectively, is still only a part of the Body. God desires to have the whole Body expressed. For this we need to come together to be blended together, to be knit together, and to be coordinated so that God can have His unique expression. When God has His expression, both He and we are satisfied.　

All the Local Churches Being Identical
 in Nature and in Function

The Local Churches Being Autonomous
in Business Affairs but Not in the Testimony
 for Christ and in the Fellowship of the Spirit

The local churches are autonomous in business affairs, but not in the testimony for Christ and in the fellowship of the Spirit. The testimony for Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit should be not only local but also universal. In such matters all the local churches are identical in nature and in function, as illustrated by the seven golden lampstands.

The local churches are autonomous in business affairs. However, the local churches are not for business affairs; business affairs are necessary so that the local churches can be the testimony of Christ. Concerning business affairs, it is obvious that each local church has its own needs and its own situation. Some churches may have a large number of young people. That creates a particular situation. Other churches may have many older saints. This creates a different kind of situation. The different situations among the churches may affect the way they conduct their business affairs. In many practical matters decisions can be made at a local level. Thus, each church can be considered autonomous in business affairs.

However, the fact that the local churches are autonomous in business affairs does not give them the license to become independent in their testimony or in their fellowship. The local churches are autonomous in business affairs, but not in the testimony for Christ and not in the fellowship of the Spirit. If a local church stresses its autonomy in order to isolate itself from the other churches and to have its own particular testimony and fellowship, this is altogether wrong. We need to be clear that autonomy does not apply to the church's testimony or to the church's fellowship. In these matters the churches are identical. The churches may differ in business affairs, but this does not mean that their testimony and fellowship are different. The testimony and the fellowship of all the local churches are one, for all the churches are in one Body.

The churches' testimony for Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit should not only be local but also universal. In such matters all the local churches are identical in nature and in function, as illustrated by the seven golden lampstands. In Revelation 1, when John turned to see the voice that spoke with him, he saw seven golden lampstands (v. 12). This shows that regardless of its particular condition, as developed in chapters two and three of Revelation, and regardless of the diversity in the churches' negative situations, each local church was represented before the Lord as a golden lampstand. All the lampstands were golden, signifying that in nature all the churches are divine. In reading Revelation 2 and 3 we can see many things related to the churches that were not divine. Nevertheless, all the churches stood before the Lord as golden lampstands, meaning that in His eyes, in His view, each local church is divine in nature. This is a wonderful fact. The church in each locality is divine in nature and is represented by a golden lampstand.

The Function of Every Local Church
Being to Stand and to Shine
 as an Expression of Christ in This Dark Age

The local churches are not only identical in nature but also identical in function. The function of a golden lampstand is to stand and to shine with light, to shine by the burning oil. This shining is the expression of Christ. The function of every local church is to stand and to shine as an expression of Christ in this dark age. Each local church has the same identical nature and the same identical function.

The diversity among the seven local churches in Revelation 2 and 3 is all in negative things. Some churches were under a situation of suffering. One church had lost its first love. One church was even married to the world. Another was absolutely in a state of apostasy. One had a name that it was living, yet it was dead. Each church was different, but different only in the negative condition and situation. Surely we would not want such negative things to be universal. But what is universal is that in each situation the Spirit was speaking to a particular church, and the Spirit also spoke to all seven churches. It is a wonderful fact that regardless of the condition and situation of the churches, the same one Spirit spoke to them and the same Lord portrayed in Revelation 1 ministered to their situation by coming in to trim the lamps so that the light could shine brighter. Still, the function and nature of each church remained identical with all the other churches. Therefore, regardless of what the local situation and condition of each church may be, each local church is a golden lampstand. In nature the churches are all divine, and in function the churches all express Christ.

The Neighboring Local Churches
Being Clustered as Much as Possible
 in the Blending Way

Hence, the neighboring local churches should be clustered as much as possible in the blending way for the spiritual benefits in the mutual building up of the Body of Christ, as the Lord Jesus clustered the seven neighboring churches in Asia.

There is only one Body in this universe. This one Body is the one church of God manifested in many localities as many local churches. Although the local churches are many in existence, they are still one universally in element, and they all express that one element.

The base of the one Body is, first, the Triune God. There is only one God, who is triune. The Triune God is for the Body. The Father is the source of the Body, the Son is the element of the Body, and the Spirit is the essence of the Body (Eph. 4:4-6). This Triune God cannot be divided; therefore, neither can the one Body be divided.

Second, there is only one incarnation, and there is only one Christ in His incarnation. Third, there is only one crucifixion, and fourth, there is only one resurrection. Finally, there is only one Christ in His ascension. Today all these elements as the base of the one Body are in the one Spirit. First Corinthians 12:13 shows us that we were all baptized in one Spirit into the one Body and were all given to drink the one Spirit.

If we truly see this, we will not only have the one accord in our own locality, but we will also keep the oneness of the Body, which is the oneness of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). Before the day of Pentecost one hundred twenty saints could pray together for ten days steadfastly in one accord because they saw the base of the one Body. They saw with their own eyes the Triune God in His incarnation. They also saw Christ's crucifixion, Christ's resurrection, and Christ in His ascension. This is the reason that they could be in one accord. This one accord brought in the outpouring of the Spirit, which resulted in three thousand being saved on the day of Pentecost. What an increase and what a blessing came in through the one accord!

The secret of the practice of the church life is not only the one accord in the local churches but also the oneness in the universal Body. Today some insist on saying that every local church has its own jurisdiction and administration and that no one else should touch any of its affairs. To say such a thing is to make all the local churches separate from one another. This is separation; this is not oneness.

Practicing the Oneness of the Body
 by Being Blended Together

If all the local churches are one and every local church is in one accord, we will have the blessing. We all love the Lord and we are in the Lord's recovery, and we all keep the truth and teach the truth; yet the rate of increase among us is too low. Nearly everywhere it is the same. The rate of increase measures where we are. How much we need to consider our ways (Hag. 1:5, 7) and humble ourselves before the Lord! How much we need to come out of our local boundaries, out of our independence, and practice the oneness of the Body by being blended together! The blending through the clustering among the churches, and the fellowship among the churches, should be as much as practicality allows, without boundaries of cities, states, provinces, or nations.

The clustering of the churches for blending does not mean that we practice the federation of the churches by uniting the churches, like the federation of the fifty states of the United States. We do not practice federation, but we do practice the local churches as the one Body of Christ. In this practice the clustering and moving together of the neighboring churches should be as much as possible without the abolishing of the local administration in business affairs. In Southern California there are fifty-one local churches. Some are very small, with not more than fifteen saints. Others have twenty-five, thirty, or fifty, and a few have one or two hundred. Furthermore, these churches are close to one another geographically; that is, they are in the same neighborhood with one another. Recently, the churches in Southern California have begun to practice to be blended together by clustering on the Lord's Day. The result has been that in this blending the churches are strengthened and the impact is brought in.

In the blending of the churches we receive nourishment, we receive revelation, and we receive a vision of God's eternal purpose concerning Christ and the church. Such a blending is not only for our own mutual spiritual benefit but is also for the mutual building up of the Body of Christ.

The Clustering of the Churches Stirring
 Mutual Intercession and Mutual Shepherding

The clustering of the churches stirs up the neighboring churches in mutual love, mutual care, mutual intercession, and mutual shepherding.

Romans 16 and the end of 1 Corinthians 16 contain greetings to saints in different localities. By considering these greetings we can see that they express the mutual love among the saints in the churches. Then, in Acts 11:27-30; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3; 2 Corinthians 8:1-4; and Romans 15:25-27 we can see examples of mutual care among the churches. Such mutual care was demonstrated in the fellowship of the giving of material things. When the churches are clustered together, this kind of genuine mutual care among the churches is stirred up.

Also, through the clustering the saints hear of the needs among the churches and receive the burden to pray for them. This is an example of the mutual intercession in the Body of Christ stirred up by the clustering of the churches. When the churches cluster together, there is also the mutual shepherding through the mutual fellowship among the saints and the leading ones, so that the riches of Christ in each individual church are communicated and supplied to all the clustering churches.

When the churches cluster together, they experience the mutual love, the mutual care, the mutual intercession, and the mutual shepherding. How wonderful that in the church life the Lord is recovering this matter of the clustering for the blending of the churches! This issues in the practical building up of the Body of Christ in these four items.

Rendering a Stronger Testimony
for Christ in the Eyes of the Unbelievers,
 Thus Speeding Up Their Salvation

The clustering of the churches renders a stronger testimony for Christ by the churches in the eyes of the unbelievers, thus speeding up their salvation. The Lord's prayer in John 17 reveals that there is oneness only in the Triune God (vv. 21-23). The Triune God is truly one: the Father and the Son are one, the Son and the Spirit are one, and the Spirit and the Father are one. We have no oneness in ourselves. The only true oneness is in the Triune God. Today this Triune God lives in us. In the clustering of the churches we enjoy the Triune God as the very source and factor of our oneness. This oneness displays a visible testimony to the world, and especially to the unbelievers. Such a testimony is the expression of Christ and ministers Christ to people. According to the picture of the seven golden lampstands in Revelation 1, each lampstand shines individually as a testimony of Christ. However, when the lampstands are clustered together, the testimony becomes stronger and is intensified. With the seven golden lampstands, the shining testimony was intensified sevenfold.

Such a stronger testimony for Christ will speed up the salvation of the unbelievers. According to the Lord's prayer in John 17, the testimony of the oneness of the believers will cause the world to believe that the Father sent the Son. This is for the salvation of the unbelievers. Furthermore, according to 1 Corinthians 14:24-25, in a meeting of the church, if all prophesy and some unbeliever or unlearned person enters the meeting, he will be convicted and examined by all, and falling on his face, he will declare that indeed God is among us. In the clustering of the churches, the testimony of the church is intensified. Such an intensified testimony will speed up the salvation of the unbelievers.

The speeding up of the unbelievers' salvation results in the increase to the Body of Christ. The increase comes through the clustering, as mentioned in Acts 9:31. This verse says, "So then the church throughout the whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it was multiplied." Here the word church, not churches, was used, denoting the church in the universal aspect. Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were not cities; they were provinces. Within each province there were many cities. There must have been churches in the local sense in a number of the cities in these three provinces (Gal. 1:22). All the local churches throughout the whole of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were considered here as one church. In Acts 9:31 we may consider that all these churches were clustered. These clustered churches were being built up and were also being multiplied. When the unbelievers see, experience, enter into, and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the life-giving Spirit in the genuine oneness, the prophesying, and the mutual love, mutual care, mutual intercession, and mutual shepherding of the clustered churches, the impact of the stronger testimony for Christ will surely speed up their salvation. This is one of the marvelous results when the churches gather together and cluster in the blending way.

Needing the Leadership of the Elders
 in order for the Local Churches to Go On

The Elders Needing to Look Diligently after the Church

In order for the local churches to go on, they need the leadership of the elders. The New Testament reveals that the elders are not voted in by their congregations, but they are appointed by the apostles in every city, that is, in every church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5), according to their maturity in life. The elders are the overseers in the churches (Acts 20:17, 28; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-2; Titus 1:5, 7). As overseers, the elders should look diligently after the church to be aware of the practical and spiritual situation of the church and the saints. The main responsibility of the elders as overseers is not to rule over but to shepherd, to take all-inclusive, tender care of the flock, the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). The church as the flock of God is not the elders' possession but God's possession, allotted to the elders as their allotment, their portion, entrusted to them by God for their care. The elders should also take the lead in the church by becoming a pattern in preaching the gospel, in shepherding and perfecting the saints, in growing in life, in laboring in the Word, and in serving and caring for the church, so that all the saints can follow (1 Pet. 5:3).

The Local Churches Needing to Be Ministered to
by All the Gifted Members in the Body
 for the Perfecting of the Saints

In addition to the leadership of the elders, the local churches also need to be ministered to by all the gifted members in the Body for the perfecting of the saints that they may participate in the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12, 16). In Ephesians 4:11 Paul mentioned that Christ, the Head of the church, gave four kinds of gifted persons to the Body—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. These four kinds of gifts were given to the Body for the perfecting of the saints, that all the saints may be equipped and furnished with organic functions and thus be able to do the direct work of building up the Body of Christ.

An apostle is one who is sent out by the Lord with the Lord's authority to preach the gospel of God, to teach the divine truth, and to establish the churches. According to the clear revelation of the New Testament, after the churches are established by the apostles, they need the continual care and ministry of the apostles for the perfecting of the saints and the appointing, instructing, and leading of the elders (Acts 18:1, 11; 20:17-38).

A prophet is not one who primarily predicts the future, but one who speaks for the Lord and speaks forth the Lord to minister Christ to people. The saints in the churches need to be perfected by the prophets so that all will be able to prophesy for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 14:3-4, 31).

The evangelists are those who are specially gifted in preaching the gospel of Christ. Philip was such an evangelist (Acts 8:5-40; 21:8). The saints in the churches also need the perfecting of the evangelists so that they may be equipped and stirred up in their spirit to preach prevailingly the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel (Eph. 3:8) by contacting people for the increase of the Body of Christ.

According to the grammar of Ephesians 4:11, the term shepherds and teachers refers to only one class of gifted persons. A shepherd should know how to teach, and a teacher should be able to shepherd. When we preach the gospel, some will believe and be saved. After being saved, the new ones need to be taken care of. They need to be shepherded, and they need to be taught. The shepherds and teachers perfect the saints by teaching them how to feed and nourish the young saints and the new believers, and also how to teach the growing saints (Acts 11:25-26; 13:1), so that the saints may do the work of the New Testament ministry, that is, to build up the Body of Christ, as the shepherds and teachers do.

All the Saints in the Local Churches Needing
 to Be Perfected unto the Building up of the Body of Christ

Today all the saints in the local churches need to be perfected unto the work of the ministry, that is, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. The light concerning Ephesians 4:11-12 and 16 has never been as bright and clear as it is today. The Body of Christ is built up not by the four kinds of gifted persons directly, but by the functioning of all the perfected members of the Body. In the church of God, the Body of Christ, all the members should be living, vital, and functioning members. After being perfected, all the saints become the building members to build up the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, "1993 Blending Conference Messages Concerning the Lord's Recovery and Our Present Need," msg. 2)

OUR PRACTICE TODAY

We need to know what our practice is under today's divisive and confusing degradation of Christianity. We do not and should not participate in the Catholic heresy, the Protestant denominations, and any kind of free groups of Christians. To participate in any of these things is to participate in a division. But we recognize and receive the individual believers in Christ who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who are redeemed by His blood and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and who are not factious (Titus 3:10), not making divisions (Rom. 16:17), and not worshipping idols or living in sin (1 Cor. 5:11), even if they are still related to any of the above listed divisions. Romans 16:17 says that we are to mark those who make, or create, divisions. There are four kinds of people we cannot tolerate: people who are divisive, factious, worshipping idols, or still living in sin. We receive anyone who is not in these categories, because we are not divisive, but we cannot go to their meetings, because their meetings are divisive.

Being One with All the Believers Who Are
 in the Lord's Recovery throughout the World

We are one with all the believers who are in the Lord's recovery throughout the world. Also, we do not have any creed; we have only the unique Bible properly translated and interpreted by and according to the Bible itself. God's Word is inspired. We should interpret the Bible only according to the Bible. For example, the disciples of Confucius have their concept of renewing, but this is different from the teaching of the Bible. The renewing in the Bible is that our old man should be crossed out and consumed so that the new man within us can be renewed. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, "The Divine and Mystical Realm," ch. 6)

The proper one accord in the church is the practice of the genuine oneness of the Body (Matt. 18:19; Acts 1:14). In Matthew 18:19, before the Lord prayed for the oneness in John 17, He trained His disciples to practice the one accord. Actually, as we have seen, to be in the one accord is to practice the oneness. A little more than forty days after the Lord's prayer in John 17, the one hundred twenty disciples practiced the Lord's direction in Matthew 18 by praying together in one accord (Acts 1:14).

When we practice the one accord, we must learn to be in one spirit and with one soul (Phil. 1:27). We may be bodily sitting together in the same room, but if we are not one in our spirit, it is certain that we will not be one in our soul. To practice the one accord, we must learn to turn to our spirit and then to enter into our soul with the spirit that we may be in the one accord.

Being Attuned in the Same Mind and in the Same Opinion

To practice the one accord, we must be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion (1 Cor. 1:10). To be attuned in the same mind is to practically be one in our soul. When the thoughts in our mind are expressed in our speaking, they become our opinions. When the opinions remain in our mind, they are simply our thoughts. When our differences in thinking are expressed as opinions, that may cause a problem. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, "The Intrinsic Problem in the Lord's Recovery Today and its Scriptural Remedy," ch. 2)