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Since the local churches are one new man, in deciding a matter in our local church, we need to consider the churches throughout the whole earth—Rev. 22:16a; 1 Thes. 2:14; Rom. 16:4; 2 Cor. 11:28.
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The churches will progress in the divine life to such an extent that eventually they all will be absolutely the same—Rev. 1:4, 11-12; 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 14:33b:
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“We may not want to be the same as the other churches because of our pride, but according to the divine economy, the more that we are the same, the more glorious we are. It is glorious to imitate others, to follow others, and to be one with others in the spirit. We must learn from one another, be adjusted by one another, and receive grace from one another” (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984, vol. 3, “The Divine Economy,” pp. 105-106).
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“I do expect that the day will come when all the local churches look alike, and I believe that when that day comes, the Lord will return” (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1975-1976, vol. 2, “The Church—the Reprint of the Spirit,” p. 459).
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What is here in the Lord's recovery is nothing but Christ, and this Christ is all and in all; this vision will rescue us from all things other than Christ—Col. 1:18b; 3:10-11.
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The Lord intends to raise up His believers throughout all the world to seek Him, and when we seek Him, we will see that what He wants is the one new man expressed in the local churches—Phil. 3:7-16; Eph. 4:24.
Morning Nourishment
1 Thes. 2:14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus…Rom. 16:4 Who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
2 Cor. 11:28 …The crowd of cares pressing upon me daily, the anxious concern for all the churches.
What is here in the Lord's recovery is nothing but Christ, and this Christ is all and in all. You cannot be an individual believer, and you cannot keep your local church separate from all the others. Today is the day to have a new man constituted with all the local churches, including all the saints as one in Christ, who is all and in all. This vision will rescue us from all things other than Christ. If you have seen this vision, you will count all things as refuse compared with Christ (Phil. 3:8). You could not care for anything other than Christ. As we all live Him out, we will see the perfection of the new man on the earth.
The Lord's recovery today is not an ordinary Christian work. Rather, it is something particular and uncommon. This is the space age. Human culture has come from the river to the sea, from the sea to the ocean, and from the ocean into space. After this, where shall human culture go? This space age is the end time. At this end time the Lord is going to bring forth the new man. The Lord today is going to raise up His believers throughout all the world, in so many countries, to seek after Him. When we seek after Him, we will see that what He wants is such a new man. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “The One New Man,” pp. 492-493, 497)
Today's Reading
If we have all seen the vision of the new man and have seen that all the churches are not merely individual local churches but the one new man, we will be willing to say, “Lord, I want to receive grace and mercy with all the saints as the one new man, taking You as the person in all of us.” If you take Christ in this way as the person of this corporate new man, you will not decide anything in your life by yourself….Since you are a part of the new man, your decisions and your living should not be yours; they should be the decisions and the living of the corporate new man. This is not merely a matter of individual localities and individual churches; it involves all the churches on earth corporately…. All the churches on the earth are the one new man.[Brothers], when you are deciding about a certain matter and living a certain kind of life, as you fellowship, pray, and consider together, do you think about the churches on the whole earth? Have you ever thought of the churches in Australia or in New Zealand? Have you thought of the churches in Germany, England, and other places in Europe? Have you thought of the church in Ghana, Africa? Moreover, have you thought of the churches in Brazil, South America, and the churches in Canada and the United States, North America? Have you ever thought about them in this way? I would dare to guarantee that you have never thought anything like this. At most you have thought about the brothers and sisters in [your locality], and you have considered how the brothers and sisters in [your locality] would feel about your decisions. Although this too is a requirement, it is not a very high one. However, when you put yourselves into the new man and realize that the new man is not only the church in [your locality] but includes all the churches on the whole earth, you will see that the requirement is extremely high as you consider your decisions and your living. I truly hope that from now on every local church, when it is considering, praying, and fellowshipping about a certain decision, will take care of all the churches on the earth and will realize the fact that we are all one new man. Then your decision and living will certainly be of a high standard, requiring you to pay the highest price. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” pp. 321-323)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” ch. 6; CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “The One New Man,” chs. 3-4