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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman NeeThe affairs of the local church are entirely independent of the apostles. Once elders have been appointed, all control passes into their hands, and while thereafter an apostle may still instruct and persuade, he can never interfere. But this did not hinder Paul from speaking authoritatively to the Corinthians. Even a casual reader will notice how authoritative his statements were in both Epistles. It was quite within his province to pass judgment where doctrinal and moral questions were concerned, and when Paul did so he was most emphatic; but the actual enforcing of such judgments was outside his province and entirely a matter for the local church. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 45) If this committal of elders to the Lord is to be of spiritual value, and no mere official ceremony, a vital knowledge of the Lord will be required on the part of the apostles. It is easy to become so occupied with the problems and needs of the situation, that one instinctively takes the burden upon oneself, even while admitting the truth that the Lord is responsible for His own Church. We need to know Christ as Head of His Church in no mere intellectual way if we are to let all its management pass out of our hands at the very outset. Only an utter distrust of themselves, and a living trust in God, could enable the early apostles to commit the affairs of every local church into the hands of local men who had but recently come to know the Lord. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 40-41) The apostles were to keep their hands off of the administration of the local church in its business affairs, not in its need of the apostles’ teaching, instruction, and charge. (Witness Lee, Leadership, 33-34) Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are gifts and are given to the whole church; they are given by God and are not restricted to one locality. Elders (overseers) and deacons are offices and are for a local church; these are appointed by men and function within a locality. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 1, Vol. 17, 207) Elders were local men appointed to oversee affairs in the local church. Their sphere of office was limited by the locality. An elder in Ephesus was not an elder in Smyrna, and an elder in Smyrna was not an elder in Ephesus. In Scripture there are no local apostles, nor are there any extra-local elders; all elders are local, and all apostles are extra-local. The Word of God nowhere speaks of apostles managing the affairs of a local church, and it nowhere speaks of elders managing the affairs of several local churches. The apostles were the ministers of all the churches, but they had control of none. The elders were confined to one church, and they controlled affairs in that one. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 44) The Word of God makes it clear that the oversight of a church is not the work of apostles, but of elders. Although Paul stayed in Corinth for over a year, in Rome for two years, and in Ephesus for three years, yet in none of these places did he assume responsibility for the work of the local church. In Scripture we read of the elders of Ephesus, but never of the apostles of Ephesus. We find no mention made of the apostles of Philippi, but we do find reference to the bishops of Philippi. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 41) Let us note carefully that there are no elders in the universal Church and no apostles in the local church. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 46) In a local church the highest authority is the elders. All the matters are handled by the elders. The apostles cannot directly interfere with a local church; they cannot deal with the affairs of a local church. For example, there was a person in Corinth who needed to be removed, and yet Paul could not remove him. This is a very crucial example. Do you see from this the relationship between the local church and the work, as well as the relationship between the local church and the apostles? In other words, what the apostles want to do must go through the elders; the things which the apostles want to do cannot be done directly. God has not asked a local church to receive the commands of the apostles directly. God only asks the brothers and sisters in a local church to receive the commands of the elders. If the spiritual condition of an elder is right, he should receive the commands of the apostles. On the spiritual side the elders should listen to the apostles. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 51, 141-142) | ||||