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

The universal aspect of the church is mentioned in Matthew 16:18. When Peter recognized that the Lord Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God, the Lord told him that He would build His church on this rock. The church here is universal, comprising all the believers of all times and in all places, including Paul, Peter, and all the saints throughout these twenty centuries (1 Cor. 12:13).

The local aspect of the church is referred to by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 18:17. The Lord Jesus in the four Gospels mentions the church only twice: once in Matthew 16:18, referring to its universal aspect, and the second time in Matthew 18:17, referring to its local aspect.

In Matthew 18 the Lord Jesus said that if we have any problem that we cannot solve, we should tell it to the church. This refers to the church in a certain locality. It would be hard to tell a problem to the universal church. Today many Christians who love the Lord care only for the universal church. In their concept, as long as they are members of the Body of Christ, that is good enough; but we would ask, practically speaking, where is their church? If we have any problem which needs the church’s help to be solved, where shall we go? We must have a local church that we are part of, from which we can get help and to which we may go with our problems.

The Local churches

Universally, the church is one. But locally, the churches are many. In Acts 8:1 there is the church at Jerusalem. In Acts 13:1 there is the church at Antioch. Then there are churches mentioned in Acts 14:23 and 15:41; here the word churches is used because there were a number of cities in these regions. In Romans 16:1 there is the church at Cenchrea. There is the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2). In Galatians 1:2 we have the churches in Galatia; there were several, because Galatia was a province of the ancient Roman Empire with many cities. In Revelation 1:4 and 11 there are the seven churches in Asia. Asia was also a province.

Verse 11 says, “What you see write in a book 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.” This verse reveals that a local church equals a local city. To write to the church in Ephesus means to write to the city of Ephesus. These are local churches. A local church is not a term used as a name, but it describes the fact of one church in a locality. The church does not have a name, just as the moon does not have a name. There is no such thing as an American moon or a Chinese moon. The moon in China is the same moon as in other countries. When it is over China, it is the moon in China. When it is over Britain, it is the moon in Britain. It is the one moon. In like manner, the church is one; it is unique. The church is both local and universal.

(Witness Lee, Basic Revelation, 67-68)

Now we must proceed from the Acts through the book of Revelation. Here we see not only God, Christ, and the church; we also have the churches. In Matthew 16 the Lord says, “I will build My church.” This church is the unique, universal church typified by Zion. But just as Zion has many peaks, so the universal church has many local expressions. In Matthew 18, where the Lord speaks of taking a matter to the church, we see one of these local expressions. We may also liken the universal church to a tree and the local churches to the branches of the tree. In Matthew 18 we see one of the branches of this universal tree. Here is a local church to which we can go with our problems. Furthermore, such a church can also deal with certain ones and even cause them to be regarded as heathen or publicans.

In the book of Acts we read of the church in Jerusalem (8:1) and of another church in Antioch (13:1). According to Acts 14:23, the apostles ordained elders in every church. The churches referred to here are those established in the provinces of Asia Minor. First Corinthians 1:2 speaks of “the church of God which is at Corinth.” Furthermore, in Galatians 1:2 Paul refers to “the churches of Galatia,” a region of the Roman Empire that included many localities. Just as there are many local churches in the state of California today, so there were a number of churches in the region of Galatia at the time of Paul.

In the book of Revelation the divine revelation in the Bible reaches its consummation. The universal church as the Body of Christ is expressed through the local churches. The local churches, as the expressions of the one Body of Christ (Rev. 1:12, 20), are locally one. Revelation 1:4 says, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia.” Asia was a province of the ancient Roman Empire in which were the seven cities mentioned in 1:11. The seven churches were in those seven cities respectively, not all in one city. Revelation does not deal with the universal church, but with the local churches in various cities. We have seen that the church is firstly revealed as universal in Matthew 16:18 and then as local in Matthew 18:17. In Acts the church was practiced in the way of local churches, such as the church at Jerusalem (8:1) and the church at Antioch (13:1) and the churches in the provinces of Syria and Cilicia (15:41).] Without the local churches, there is no practicality and actuality of the universal church. The universal church is realized in the local churches. Knowing the church universally must be consummated in knowing the church locally. It is a great advance for us to know and practice the local churches. Concerning the church, the book of Revelation is in the advanced stage, for it is written to local churches. If we would know this book, we must advance from the understanding of the universal church to the realization and practice of the local churches.

In 1:11 the voice said to John, “What you see write in a book 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.” This verse is composed in a very important way. Here we see that the sending of this book “to the seven churches” equals sending it to the seven cities. This shows clearly that the practice of the church life was that of one church for one city, one city with one church. In no city was there more than one church. The jurisdiction of a local church should cover the whole city in which the church is; it should not be greater or lesser than the boundary of the city. All the believers within that boundary should constitute the unique local church within that city. Hence, one church equals one city, and one city equals one church. This is what we call the local churches.

(Witness Lee, Genuine Ground, 126-128)

We all must improve from knowing the church in a general way, or a so-called universal way, to knowing it in a local, specific, and practical way. Many Christians do not know anything about the church. Some Christians know something about the church, yet they know only about the universal church. But there is a small number of Christians who not only know the church but also know the local churches.

The universal church is more or less something in doctrine, in teaching, and in theory. But the churches are the practicality of the universal church. Many Christian teachers have spoken many messages and have written many expositions on the book of Ephesians regarding the church. Of all the expositions that have been written regarding the church, the majority are on Ephesians. But when we move from Ephesians to 2 Corinthians, we move from the church to the churches. There are very few expositions on the book of 2 Corinthians. The church, we may say, is the ABCs, while the churches are more advanced. Some have said that 2 Corinthians shows us the sufferings of the apostle Paul. This is true, but they do not see the reason that Paul suffered. Paul was suffering for the churches. You may have been taught about the church, but have you ever been taught about the churches? To know the churches is a great improvement. Some of us may know the church only in a doctrinal, general, weak, and even vague way. But we do not know the churches in a practical, particular, and specific way. We need to go on from knowing the church in Ephesians to knowing the churches in 2 Corinthians.

(Witness Lee, Christ as Life, 115-116)

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