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

Those who say that they are of Christ would not agree with those who say they are of Peter, of Apollos, or of Paul. They would say, “The names Peter, Apollos, and Paul are the wrong names. We should not keep those names. Christ is the proper name. Hence, we are of Christ.” However, Christ is the foundation, not the ground (1 Cor. 3:11). We need to see the difference between the foundation and the ground. The ground is the site upon which the building is constructed, whereas the foundation is the bottom part of the building itself. All the groups claim that their foundation is Christ. Even those who say that they are of Peter, of Apollos, and of Paul would claim that Christ is their foundation. However, they are all on different grounds. This means that they place their foundation on different sites. The proper ground is the ground of unity. It is correct to say that Christ is the foundation, but it is incorrect to say that He is the ground.

(Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 208-209)

The oneness, the priesthood, the kingship, and the altar are the preparation for laying the foundation. According to typology, this foundation is nothing but Christ. They laid Christ as their foundation. They did not care for anything but Christ, and we must be the same. We do not care for prophesying, we do not care for healing, we do not care for speaking in tongues, and we do not care for foot-washing or head-covering. We do not care for anything but Christ. Our foundation is nothing but Christ. Yes, we take the ground of the church, but we are not for the ground. The ground is for the foundation, and the foundation is Christ and Christ alone.

(Witness Lee, Recovery of God’s House, 27-28)

The problem today is not the foundation but with the ground. This is why we say that if we would have the church life, we must consider the ground as the second essential point we must take into account. Without Christ as our life and content and without the ground of unity with the saints in the locality in which we live as our definite standing, we cannot practice the church life.

(Witness Lee, Ground of the Church, 7)

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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