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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman NeeThe church receives the saints whom God has received without imposing on them any particular terms. If you believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved, you are a saint. A saint is a saved one. As long as you have been saved, justified, redeemed, and regenerated, you are a saint, a holy one. Because you are a saint already, the church receives you without requiring any special conditions or terms. You were accepted by the church when you believed in the Lord Jesus…. Any group that has a special condition, either a special teaching or practice, for the receiving of the saints, is a sect. (Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 212-213) In the Greek the word rendered “heresies” in Galatians 5:20 [KJV] does not necessarily convey the thought of error, but rather of division on the ground of doctrine. The Interlinear New Testament translates it as “sects,” while Darby in his New Translation renders it “schools of opinion.” The whole thought here is not of the difference between truth and error, but of division based upon doctrine. My teaching may be right or it may be wrong, but if I make it a cause of division, then I am guilty of the “heresy” spoken of here. God forbids any division on doctrinal grounds. Some believe that rapture is pre-tribulation; others, that it is post- tribulation. Some believe that all the saints will enter the kingdom; others believe that only a section will enter. Some believe that baptism is by immersion; others, that is by sprinkling. Some believe that supernatural manifestations are a necessary accompaniment to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, while others do not. None of these doctrinal views constitute a scriptural basis for separating the children of God. Though some may be right and others wrong, God does not sanction any division on account of difference as to such beliefs. If a group of believers split off from a local church in their zeal for certain teaching according to the Word of God, the new “church” they establish may have more scriptural teaching, but it could never be a scriptural church. To bring error into a church is carnal, but to divide a church on account of error may also be carnal. It is carnality that so often destroys the oneness of the church in any place. (Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 88-89) We should not insist on any doctrines apart from the doctrines that constitute the faith. However, we still need to know the pure Word and walk according to it. (Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 222) Furthermore, in the church life we all need to learn not to teach differently (1 Tim. 6:3-5). Anything that causes dissension or division or creates differing opinions must be avoided. We need to go on according to healthy teaching and not be sick about “questions and strifes of words” (1 Tim. 6:4, Gk.). Because we are all for the recovery, we should not teach differently. We are not for doctrines that may stir up opinions about things such as the rapture or the kingdom. Although I teach regarding these things, I do not encourage you to argue with others about them. If anyone wants to argue, you should simply say, “Brother, you just believe according to your way. That is not a problem to me. However, I have a different belief about the rapture.” There is no need to argue with anyone. Be at peace with others and do not create an atmosphere that leads to debate or controversy regarding doctrine. (Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 224-225) Thirty years ago no one in the United States spoke clearly about God’s economy, God’s dispensing, the principle of the Body of Christ, and the practicality of the church life on the genuine ground of oneness with the local churches as the local expressions of the Body of Christ. The Lord opened up these truths to us. Eventually, the Lord showed us the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of the church. Although the New Jerusalem occupies only the last two chapters of the Bible, we have published many messages concerning it… We should also teach people the detailed items of Christ’s redemption through His blood. He redeemed us by washing us, forgiving us, justifying us, and reconciling us to God. We also should minister to people the items of God’s salvation in the life of Christ, in regenerating us, renewing us, sanctifying us, transforming us, conforming us into His image, and glorifying us in Christ as the glory. The people also need to see all the aspects of the church. They need to eventually see how the one universal church, as the Body of Christ, should be expressed as the local churches in many localities. We need to teach with much stress the truths concerning the all-inclusive Christ and the church as the organic Body of Christ. Eventually, the church will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate manifestation of the processed Triune God mingled with the transformed tripartite man to express the Triune God to the fullest in eternity. Our teaching of the divine truths should include the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of God’s dispensing. When we go to Europe, we should teach the central line of the divine truth with the main stresses without making any small point an issue for debating or fighting that causes divisions. (Witness Lee, Direction of the Lord’s Move, 34-41) | ||||