Witness Lee Speaks on the Definition of the Ground of the Local Church

Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee

NOT WIDER THAN A LOCALITY

We have just seen that the boundary of a church cannot be narrower than the locality to which it belongs. On the other hand, its boundary cannot be wider than the locality. In the Word of God we never read of the church in Macedonia, or the church in Galatia, or the church in Judea, or the church in Galilee. Why? Because Macedonia and Galilee are provinces, and Judea and Galatia are districts. A province is not a scriptural unit of locality; neither is a district. Both include a number of units; therefore, they include a number of separate churches and do not constitute one church. A provincial church or a district church is not according to Scripture, since it does not divide on the ground of locality, but combines a number of localities. It is because all scriptural churches are local churches that there is no mention of state churches, provincial churches, or district churches in the Word of God.

"Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria” (Acts 9:31, KJV). The Holy Spirit did not speak here of the church, but of the churches. Because there were a number of localities, there were also a number of churches. It was not God’s plan to unite the churches of different places into one church, but to have a separate church in each place. There were as many churches as there were places.

"He passed through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the (60)churches” (Acts 15:41). Again the reference is not to one single church, because Syria and Cilicia were vast districts, each comprising a number of different places. It is permissible in political circles to unite many different places into a district and call it Syria or Cilicia, but God does not unite the believers in a number of different places and call them the church in Syria, or the church in Cilicia. There may be unions or mergers in the commercial or political world, but God sanctions no combinations among the churches. Each separate place must have a separate church.

"All the churches of the Gentiles” (Rom. 16:4). The churches of God were not formed on national lines but on local lines; therefore, there is no mention of the church of the Gentiles, but of the churches of the Gentiles.

"The churches of Asia greet you” (1 Cor. 16:19). “The churches of Macedonia” (2 Cor. 8:1). “The churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2). “I was still unknown by face to the churches of Judea, which are in Christ” (Gal. 1:22). Asia, Macedonia, Galatia, and Judea were all areas comprising more than one locality-unit; therefore, the Word of God refers to the churches in these areas. A church according to the divine thought is always a church in one locality; any other kind of church is a product of the human mind.

God sanctions no division of the church within any one locality, and He sanctions no denominational combination of the churches in a number of localities. In Scripture there is always one church in one place, never several churches in one place, nor one church in several places. God does not recognize any fellowship of His children on a basis narrower, or wider, than that of a locality.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 55-60)

Hence, whether a church is big or small, its unit is the locality. Anything smaller than the locality cannot be the unit of the church, nor can anything bigger.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 27, 192)

Witness Lee: According to the Bible, a church should be local. The boundary of the locality is determined by the boundary of its civic administrative unit. The Bible shows us local churches, but it does not have churches on a street or churches in a district. The justification for starting a church is not based on its number of members. A local church may cover a large geographical area and may have a large number of people, but it is still one church.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 62, 287-288)

They had such a big membership and they met in many homes, “breaking bread from house to house” (2:46). Yet they were still called the church, the one church (not the churches), in Jerusalem.

Now let us turn to Acts 13:1. This verse says, “Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers…” Here it does not say “in Antioch, in the local churches,” but “in Antioch, in the local church.” This indicates that in one locality, in one place, in one city, there is only one local church.

Now let us read Revelation 1:11: “Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Verse 20 says, “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” In these two verses we can see two things. The first thing is that there were seven churches in seven cities, indicating one church for one city, one city with only one church. The other thing is that the seven churches were seven lampstands. This indicates that the lampstand signifies the church.

(Witness Lee, Life and Way, 100-101)

Introduction to the Ground of the Local Church

Definition of the Ground of the Local Church

Ground of the Local Church and Foundation of the Local Church

Importance to the Ground of the Local Church

Illustrations of the Ground of the Local Church

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