Witness Lee Illustrates the Ground of the Local Church

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

Illustrations of the Ground of the Local Church

We have seen that the New Testament speaks of the church in a house four times. What do all these actually mean? We must see whether or not the house is the unit for the jurisdiction of a church by examining this matter from another angle. I do not know whether or not you understand what a “unit of jurisdiction” means. For example, when we weigh things, we use the pound as the unit of measurement; thus, the pound is the “unit of weight.” When we measure things, we use a foot as the unit. Thus, a foot is the “unit of length.” A pound is a unit of weight, and a foot is a unit of length. Is a house the unit of jurisdiction for the church? As I have said before in other places, the unit of jurisdiction for the church is a city, or a locality. This is based upon God’s teaching.

(Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 37)

If a foot is one unit of measure, then an inch is not sufficient to be the unit, because it is less than a full unit. If we take an inch to be the unit, a foot can no longer be the unit, because a foot equals twelve units. Likewise, if the unit for the church is locality, then the many houses in one locality cannot be many churches. One locality with one house has but one church; one locality with one hundred houses also has but one church. With one hundred houses there are not one hundred churches. If the house is the unit, then there is one church with one house, and there are one hundred churches with one hundred houses. In this case a locality with one hundred houses could never have only one church. These two, house and locality, are completely different units. Either we take the house as the unit or locality as the unit. There must be a unit, but we cannot have both. The house and the locality cannot both be units for the church.

(Watchman Nee, Further Talks, 44)

Just as Christ and the church are one Head and one Body, they are also one Husband and one wife. Christ does not agree with polygamy. Christ agrees with the principle of one husband and one wife…. They must see that according to God’s eternal plan, the very anointed One of God should have only one Body, one wife, the church. In the entire universe the church must be one. This is the universal aspect of the church.

(Witness Lee, Young People, 23-24)

The first item we need to discern is the bread on the Lord’s table. The bread on the Lord’s table should be a symbol not only of the Lord’s physical body, but also of the Lord’s mystical Body, which is universally one (Eph. 4:4). Although we may take the Lord’s table in many different cities around the globe, we all are taking just one bread, because the bread we partake of is a symbol of Christ’s mystical Body, which is universally one. Thus, 1 Corinthians 10:17 says, “We who are many are one bread, one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.”

Any bread on the Lord’s table that does not signify the Lord’s one universal Body but the body of a certain sect is divisive. The denomination in which I grew up in mainland China had their “communion” at regular intervals of time. Each time they made a strong announcement that whoever was not a member of that denomination had to leave the premises. The bread that they partook of was not a symbol of the Body of Christ; it was a symbol of the sect of that denomination. We should not partake of that kind of bread, that kind of “communion,” or that kind of table. We should not have any share in it; it is a sign of a sect.

(Witness Lee, Brief Presentation, 54-55)

If the Jews living in New York would claim to be part of the nation of Israel, I would tell them to go back to Jerusalem. But they may say, “I love Israel, but I still want to live in New York City so I can make more money. I may live in New York, but I give money to support the nation of Israel.” No matter how much money they give, still they are not the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel is the nation of Israel. As long as they are in the land with the proper government, they are the nation of Israel. The number of people is not the determining factor. Let us also use the illustration of the Smith family. Suppose there are twenty-eight members in the Smith family, but most are scattered all over the country and just three remain at home. Are these three not the Smith family? Certainly they are. Those members of the Smith family living in Hawaii may say, “Does not the Smith family also include us? You three are not the only members of the Smith family.” Yes, the Smith family does include those in Hawaii, but they need to return home to be with the other members of the family. As long as they are in Hawaii, they are away from the family. If those members of the Smith family living at home are not the Smith family, then what are they? In like manner, we are the church. If we are not the church, then what are we? Yes, the church in Cleveland should include all the real Christians in Cleveland. But the majority of genuine Christians will not come back home. Rather, they prefer to stay in their divisions, and only a small number have returned. Those who have returned are the church in Cleveland. For them to take a name would be a mark of division. They should not call themselves anything other than the church in Cleveland.

(Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 184)

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

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