Paying the Price for the Local Church

Paying the Price to Stand on the Ground of Oneness

Taking the way of the local churches is neither easy nor convenient. Witness Lee, speaking as one who has gone before, encourages and inspires his fellow believers to pay the price to take the way of the local churches:

We must see this vision, and we must be ready to pay the price, even the price of our life, for it. I can say with full assurance that until the day you are clear in this vision and settled with the saints upon the unique ground of unity, your Christian life will never be settled. You will be continually wandering and changing your position. In the morning you will have one position, and in the evening you will have another. You must come to the place where you can say: “I do see the heart desire of God; I see that the church is so practical and so local; and I do see in the midst of so many divisions and so much confusion the proper standing, the local ground of the unique unity. I don’t care if others despise and refuse this ground. I will take it, and I will stand upon it.” Ask the Lord to give you a clear vision regarding the church.

(Witness Lee, Vision of the Church, 13-14)

In the past years I have been criticized very much. Many times when I was in Taiwan, friends came to rebuke me: “Brother Lee, we know you do not care for anything but the local churches. You are building up a local church sect.” This is what they said. I never argued; I just nodded my head. I said, “Brother, you are one hundred percent right. I am here for nothing but the local church. I am sold, wrecked, and spoiled for Christ and the church. Don’t expect me to come to help you. If I did, I would cause you much trouble. Save your time and mine also.” I was very frank to speak the truth.

Some of the missionaries in China said, “That is a marvelous piece of work, but….” There is a big “but.” To them, the “but” is like a dead fly in the ointment. What is the dead fly? The church ground. Some have said to me that if I would not say anything about the ground I would become a wonderful and popular speaker. But I told them that I do not like to be so popular and wonderful. I like to be faithful and speak about the ground!

Some say, “Brother Lee, why must you offend others? Just preach Christ—that is sufficient. Why do you have to speak about the ground? This really offends people.” I said, “I know I offend you, because you came here to build up the Presbyterian Church, and I am for the local church. Your aim is to build up a missionary church, and our goal is to build up the local church. How can I please you?”

If we do not take the Lord’s way today to build up the local church, what shall we do? There is no way to go on. In 1933, when I was raised up by the Lord in this way, I was much criticized. Even my dearest friends became so antagonistic to me. It was really a burden. Then I went to the Lord and became so clear. I said to myself, If I am going to be a human being, I must be a Christian. Otherwise, it is better for me to die. There is no need to be a man without being a Christian. And if I am going to be a Christian, I must take the way of the local ground. If I do not take the way of the local church, I have no way. It is better for me to quit being a Christian. It is so simple.

(Witness Lee, Recovery of God’s House, 34-35)

Unlike others in the past who may have seen the matter of the local church but failed to practice it, Witness Lee fully practiced the vision he saw. Although it brought him much opposition, Witness Lee was faithful not only to teach the truth regarding the local church, but also to pay the price to practice the local church life.

1. Not Condition, but Standing

In the following passage, Witness Lee uses the example of marriage to illustrate the importance of the standing, or ground of a local church as opposed to its condition in establishing its legitimacy as a local church:

The condition of a local church may fluctuate and may differ from that of all the other local churches, just as the conditions of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 differed from one another. The church in Ephesus was in one condition, and the church in Smyrna was in another condition. All the seven churches were different in their conditions. However, although the conditions of the churches may differ, the ground of the local churches remains the same. Because the condition of a church may fluctuate, our recognizing of a local church should be based upon its nature and ground and not upon its condition.

A local church is preserved from being divided by its ground, not by its condition. The unique ground—the unique oneness of the Body of Christ, plus the unique ground of locality—preserves a church from being divided. The condition of a certain church may be good, but that does not assure that the ground of that church is right. A local church may be low in its condition, yet it is still a genuine local church as long as it keeps the genuine ground of the oneness of the Body. On the other hand, a local church may be high in its condition, but it is a division, a local sect, as long as it does not care for the genuine ground of the oneness of the Body of Christ expressed in its locality. We may use marriage as an illustration of this principle. The ground of a marriage is the chastity of the wife. As long as a wife is chaste, she has a proper standing, even though her character may be rough. She may not be loving or kind—this is her condition—but this does not annul the ground of her marriage. However, if her husband’s name is Smith, and she begins to call herself Mrs. Jones, even if she is loving, kind, humble, and submissive toward her husband, her calling herself Mrs. Jones annuls the ground of her marriage. A wife’s base in her marriage is her chastity. In Revelation 3:8 the Lord praised the church in Philadelphia for not denying His name. It is a terrible thing for a wife to deny her husband’s name. That annuls the base of their marriage. Regardless of how good a wife may be in character or in daily life, if she denies her husband’s name, she has lost her base in the marriage life. The ground of a local church is the very base upon which we recognize that church. We recognize a church not because its condition is according to our preference. Our recognizing of a church depends upon its ground, and this ground is composed of two things: the oneness of the Body and the locality in which the church exists. Concerning the ground of locality, the principle in the New Testament is “one city, one church.” In a particular city there should not be more than one church. The condition of a local church can change, and sometimes it does change; but the ground of a local church should remain unchanged permanently.

(Witness Lee, Brief Presentation, 51-52)

2. Not Numbers, but Standing

Drawing from First Corinthians chapter one, Witness Lee demonstrates that the standing of a local church is also more significant than its numbers.

Let us go further and suppose that the church of Peter had two thousand members, that the church of Apollos had four thousand, that the church of Paul had three thousand, that the church of Christ had five hundred, and that those meeting as the church in Corinth had only fifteen. Those in the church in Corinth might say, “We are so small in number. The other groups have anywhere from five hundred to four thousand, but we have only fifteen. What shall we do? Can we say that we are the church? The church in Corinth should include all the saints. But the vast majority of them are not with us. How can we say that we are the church?” In such a situation many would be weakened and reluctant to claim that they are the church in Corinth. If those standing on the ground of unity numbered five thousand, they would all be bold to say that they are the church in Corinth. But if the number were small, perhaps only fifteen, they would be weakened in this matter and afraid to say that they are the church. Nevertheless, the fifteen saints standing on the church ground are the church. If they are not the church, then what would you call them?…

Being the church is not a matter of how many saints there are. Even if there are just a small number coming together in a particular city, they are the church in that locality. For more than forty-five years I have been standing on this ground. The more I preach and teach it, the more bold I am to say that those standing on the proper ground are the church in that locality.

(Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 209-210)

Witness Lee uses two more examples to illustrate the irrelevance of the size of a local church as opposed to its standing.

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)

Witness Lee’s examples shed much light on the matter of the standing of the local church. Even if only a few believers come together on the proper ground, they are a genuine, scriptural local church.

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