THE RECOVERY OF THE DIVINE REVELATION
CONCERNING THE CHURCH
The sixth item of the Lord’s recovery is the recovery of the divine revelation concerning the church.
The Church Existing Universally
as the Unique Universal Church,
but Being Expressed Locally as Many Local Churches
The church exists universally as the unique universal church (Eph. 1:22-23), but it is expressed locally as many local churches (Rev. 1:4a, 11).
This All Being according to the
Arrangement of God’s Eternal Economy
This is all according to the arrangement of God’s eternal economy (Eph. 3:9-11; 1:9-11).
THE RECOVERY OF THE CHURCH GROUND
Following the above six main items of the Lord’s recovery, I would like to add two more items, that is, the recovery of the church ground and the recovery of the practice of the local churches.
The Definition of the Church Ground
Not the Foundation but the Site
The word ground that we use in reference to the church ground does not carry the denotation of a foundation, like the foundation of a building; it bears the denotation of a site, like the site on which the foundation of a building is laid.
The Three Crucial Elements of the Church Ground
According to the divine revelation of the New Testament, the church ground is constituted of three crucial elements,
as follows:
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” (Eph. 4:3). This is the oneness that 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. This oneness is in the name of the Father (vv. 6, 11), denoting the Father’s person, in which is the Father’s life. This oneness is even in the Triune God through sanctification by His holy word as the truth (vv. 14-21). This oneness is ultimately in the divine glory for the expression of the Triune God (vv. 22-24). Such a oneness was imparted into the spirit of all the believers in Christ, in their regeneration by the Spirit of life with Christ as the divine life; this oneness has become the basic element of the church ground.
The Unique Ground of Locality of a Local Church
The second element of the church ground is the unique ground of the locality in which a local church is established and exists. The New Testament presents us a clear picture that all the local churches, as the expression of the universal church—the universal Body of Christ—are located in their respective cities. Hence, we see the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (13:1), the church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1), the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), and the seven churches in Asia in seven respective cities (Rev. 1:4, 11). Every city, as the boundary in which a church exists, is the local ground of that church. Such a unique ground of locality preserves the church from being divided by many different matters as different grounds in the way that divisive denominations, such as the Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Lutherans, the Methodists, and the Episcopalians, are divide
The Reality of the Spirit of Oneness
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. Briefly, the third element of the church ground is the reality of the Spirit, who 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 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).
The Genuine Ground of the Church
Keeping the Genuine Oneness of the Church in Practicality
The above-defined ground of the church keeps, in practicality, the genuine oneness of the church both locally and universally (v. 3), without any division. This is the only way to avoid today’s situation of division and confusion among the members of Christ.
The Base of the Genuine Fellowship of the Believers
The above-defined ground of the church is also the base of the genuine and proper fellowship of all the believers, which is called “the fellowship of the apostles” in the divine revelation (Acts 2:42), a fellowship that is with the Triune God and with all the members of Christ (1 John 1:1-3). This is the unique fellowship of the Body of Christ locally and universally. Because of the many divisive grounds of today’s Christianity, the fellowship among the members of Christ also is divided into many divisive fellowships. The way to be saved out of all these divisive fellowships is to take and keep the unique, genuine, and proper ground of the church. This is not a matter of doctrine and regulation; it is a spiritual fact and a practical necessity.
THE RECOVERY OF THE PRACTICE
OF THE LOCAL CHURCHES
The Need of the Local Churches
The church of God, as the living Body of Christ, needs the local churches for its existence and function. Without the local churches the Body of Christ has no way to exist and to carry out its function in practicality. Actually, the local churches are the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ is all the local churches.
The Many Expressions of the One Body of Christ
The local churches are the many expressions in many localities of the one Body of Christ. The local churches, being the existence of the Body of Christ for its function, are the many expressions of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ may exist in the heavens, but to express itself, it must become the local churches.
Existing in a Locality as a City
A local church is one that exists in a locality as a city, the jurisdiction of the church being within the boundary of the city. We have seen that all the local churches are located, respectively, in different cities. To locate a church in a city is practical and convenient for its administration and its function. The jurisdiction of a local church for its administration is within the boundary of the city in which it exists, but its work and testimony should not be limited or restricted by any boundary. For its administration the jurisdiction of a local church is local, but the testimony of a local church through its work is both local and universal.
The Administration of a Local Church By the Elders
A local church is administrated by the eldership, composed of a group of elders (1 Tim. 3:1-5; 5:17) appointed by the gifted persons who have established the church (Acts 14:14, 23; Titus 1:5). A local church, being an organic expression of the Body of Christ as the organism of the Triune God, should not be administrated in any organizational way that makes it a worldly organization. It should be administrated by the eldership as an organic body, the components of which are all organic persons who have been regenerated by the living God with His divine life and who are living in and with that life (1 Tim. 3:1-4; Titus 1:5-9). Furthermore, its administration under its eldership should, in everything, be carried out in the organic way, not by any organizational method.
Not under the Control of a High Church
The administration of a local church should not be under the control of any high church. Among the local churches there is no center; there is no high church or low church; there is no archbishop above the bishops and no bishop over the elders. All the local churches are on the same level; all the elders, as the overseers, are also on the same level; and each eldership administrates only its own local church.
With the Ministry of the Apostles,
Prophets, Evangelists, and Shepherds and Teachers
After being established by the gifted persons and having its elders appointed by the gifted persons, a local church still needs the ministry of the gifted persons who established it and appointed its elders, for its building up as a living testimony of Christ. This aspect is fully proven by the case of the church in Ephesus, which received the ministry of the apostle Paul (Acts 20:17-35) without any termination, until the apostle was martyred (Eph. 6:19-22; 2 Tim. 4:6).
Comments