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

At the beginning of 1937, Brother Nee began to see not only the boundary of a local church but also the ground of a local church. Because of the confusion in Christianity, Brother Nee went back to the New Testament to research the truth concerning the practical expression of the church. According to his study and research of the New Testament, he found out that one city should have only one church. A local church is a church in a city. The ground of a local church is the ground of unity, which also may be called the ground of locality. If we are in Los Angeles, we should meet as the church in Los Angeles. If we are in San Diego, we should meet as the church in San Diego. This is not only scriptural but also logical.

(Witness Lee, History of the Church, 50)

Please remember that a church can only be established in a locality where there is no church. If there is a church in a certain locality, we can only join it; we cannot set up another one. Once we set up another one, that is a division, a sect, which is condemned by God. I want to ask, “What is the difference between a woman who is a man’s wife and a concubine?” Everything is the same, except the position. Only the ground is different; everything else is the same. Though outwardly they may appear alike, something is lacking in one—the ground.

(Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 22)

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.

We have seen that God’s eternal goal is to work Christ Himself into us that we may be the real parts of Christ as the living members of the Body of Christ, which is the church as the living expression of Christ. Now we have to see the proper way, the right way, the best way, for us to come together to practice this wonderful church life. We are not talking about the way to organize or to form something. We are talking here about the proper way for us to practice a living expression of Christ.

We all know that in the whole universe the church is one. There is one Christ, one Head, and one church, one Body. You cannot have one Christ and more than one church. You cannot have one Head with more than one Body. In the universe there is only one Christ, and this one Christ has only one Body. However, although the church is one in the universe, it is expressed on this earth in many places. This one church has many expressions. Because the church in the universe is one, the expression of the church in any place must also be one.

(Witness Lee, Life and Way, 101)

The Lord has opened our eyes, and we have seen the principle of oneness: one Head, one Body; one husband, one wife; one Christ, one church. Wherever we go, wherever we are, there is only one church. In a small village, there is one church; in the biggest city, there is also one church. When we get into the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth, there is still one church! There will be no more confusion, no more division.

(Witness Lee, Living and Practical, 54)

[When a woman marries a single man, she is his wife; if she marries a man who is already married, she is not his wife. When we go to a place where there is no church, we can establish one. But in a place where there is already a church, we can only join it, we cannot set up another one. This is a basic principle in the Bible. If we do not care for the boundary of locality, everything is finished. If we discard this basic ground, we have no ground.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 55, 161)

In the Bible only the smallest administrative unit is related to the church—only a locality or a city has a church. The church in one locality cannot combine with the church in another locality to become one church. Each city can only be matched with one church, just as a husband can only be matched with one wife. Therefore, in Antioch, there is the church in Antioch, not the churches in Antioch. It would be wrong to say the churches in Antioch. According to God’s arrangement, a locality can only be matched with one church, not many churches. In the Bible we can never find the churches in Corinth or the churches in Antioch. But the Bible does say the church in Antioch, the church in Philippi, and the church in Philadelphia. All of these churches are referred to in the singular. There were not multiple churches in Antioch, Philippi, or Philadelphia.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 55, 158)

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 | Bibliography | Links

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