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

This practical building is also universally in the oneness of the Divine Trinity, prayed for by the Lord (John 17) and accomplished by His lovers (John 17:26b) for the carrying out of God's eternal economy according to His good pleasure (Eph. 3:9-10; 1:9). There is the possibility of having the one accord in the local church and of enjoying the oneness universally in the Body of Christ. This all depends upon how much we love the Lord, how much we receive the Lord, how much we love His cross, and how much we live not by our energy, power, strength, and might, but by the power of His resurrection. The death of His cross and the power of His resurrection both are compounded in the compound Spirit (cf. Exo. 30:23-25). When we live by the Spirit and follow the Spirit, we have the cross and the power of Christ's resurrection.

(Witness Lee, Constitution, 99)

The church on earth today is one. Those who are in the church are men who are separated from the world. Under normal circumstances, every brother and sister should be serving God; this should be their proper occupation. Every one should be a consecrated one, and everyone should have everything in common. Under such a proper living, the gifted ministries such as the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, as listed in Ephesians 4, are produced. Although these gifted ones are scattered in different places, they are still in the same church. This is like electric current being one, yet transmitted throughout many places. Although the intensity of light may be different from one house to the other, the electricity itself is one. The light expressed in different places is different, but the nature of the electricity is the same. This is the same with the church. Although the churches in the various localities are different as far as their localities are concerned, there is nevertheless only one church. The church exists for the testimony of oneness. When we say the "local church," our emphasis is the church and not the local-ness. The life that all the churches possess is a life of oneness. For this reason all the churches should be one among themselves. Although there were the manifested churches in Corinth, Ephesus, and other places, they were all one church. This is the normal situation.

(Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, Resumption, 252-253)

Now we are in a city, and we simply need to come together to meet. We can say we are a local church, but we are not separated from the church of God. We are just a part of the church of God.

The local churches are just one. When you live in a certain town, you meet with the saints in that town. You are still a part of the one church of God.

(Witness Lee, Organic Union, 75)

We practice the local churches, and each of the local churches is autonomous in business affairs. But this does not mean that the local churches are divided. In a sense they are local churches, but all the local churches on this globe are just one church. Every local church has its own freedom and jurisdiction to make decisions concerning, for example, the times of the meetings. However, this does not mean that the local churches are different. Paul taught all the churches in the same way (1 Cor. 4:17).

(Witness Lee, LS of Samuel, 65)

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