E
Every local church is a part of the unique, universal Body of Christ, a local expression of this Body—Eph. 4:4; 1 Cor. 1:2; 12:27:
１
Universally, all the local churches are one Body, and locally, every local church is a local expression of the universal Body; therefore, a local church is not the Body but only a part of the Body, an expression of the Body.
２
The universal Christ has a part of Himself in every local church; every local church is a part of Christ, and all these parts constitute the Body—Eph. 1:23; 2:22.
F
The local ground of the church is basically the unique oneness of the Body of Christ practiced in the local churches—4:4; 1 Thes. 1:1:
１
Both the universal Body of Christ and the local churches are uniquely one.
２
There is one unique Body in the whole universe, and there is one unique local church in each locality respectively.
３
This unique oneness is the basic element in the church life—Acts 1:14; 2:46; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27; 2:1-2.
G
The churches in different localities are for the universal expression of Christ—Eph. 1:23; Rev. 1:4, 11; 22:16a:
１
A local church that makes everything local and that expresses only its locality has become a local sect, a local division.
２
All the basic things for the Body are not local—the Spirit, Christ, God, the Bible, the apostles’ teaching, and the apostles’ fellowship.
H
In our consideration the Body should be first and the local churches should be second—Matt. 16:18; 18:17; Eph. 4:4, 16; 2:21-22; 1 Cor. 12:12; 1:2:
１
Local churches are the procedure God takes to reach the goal of His economy—the Body of Christ—Rom. 16:1, 4, 16; 12:4-5.
２
We should consider our local church as a part of the Body of Christ—1 Cor. 1:2; 10:16-17; 12:12-13, 20, 27.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 4:4 One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling.1 Cor. 12:27 Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually.
All the local churches constitute the one Body of Christ (Eph. 4:4). In Matthew 16:18…the church is…singular…, indicating… the universal church. But in the Acts and the Epistles, a number of times the Bible says “the churches.”…The Bible [can] refer first to one church and then to many churches… because the one church, the universal church, is the totality of all the churches, and all the churches are local constituents of the one universal church. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life,” p. 490)
Today’s Reading
We need to consider what the genuine ground of the church is. The ground denotes the site on which a building is built…. The church has spread to many nations in Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia. In all the different nations the church is built upon the proper ground. The proper ground for the building of the church is the ground of locality…. The church is now being built in Seoul, [Korea]. Thus, the city of Seoul has become its ground. We may say that there are many churches, yet the many churches are still just one church…. Locally speaking, we are in many churches, but universally speaking, we are all in one church. Are you in the local churches, or are you in the universal church? It is wise to answer, “I am in the universal church by being in a local church.” We are not in the Roman Church, the British Church, the American Church, or the Korean Church; we are in the universal church by being in the local churches. Since we are now in the city of Seoul, we should say that we are in the universal church by being in the church in Seoul. Although my wife and I reside in Anaheim, we should remember that during our stay with the saints in Seoul, we are not in the church in Anaheim but in the church in Seoul.You are a member of the universal church, which Jesus Christ is building, by being a member of a proper local church. While we are in Seoul, we are members of the universal church by being members of the church in Seoul. This is the proper practice of the church…. As long as we are members of a proper local church, we are members of the churches universally.
The ground of the church should not be merely local; it should also be universal. Locally, the ground of the church is the ground of locality; universally, the ground of the church is the genuine oneness. Christ has only one Body. The oneness of Christ’s Body is the universal ground of the church.
Suppose all the local churches in Korea are one with each other but are not one with the churches in other continents. If this were the case, the churches in Korea may have the local ground, the ground of locality, but they would not have the universal ground, the ground of the oneness of the Body. In the entire universe Christ has only one Body. All the local churches in the six continents—in North America, in South America, in Europe, in Africa, in Australia, and in Asia—are one Body. This is the universal ground of the genuine oneness.
The churches in England may say to the churches in Germany, “We are the churches in England, and you are the churches in Germany; therefore, don’t bother us.” Locally, they may be right, but universally, they are wrong. They may keep the local oneness, but they destroy the universal oneness. Locally, the ground of the church is the ground of locality, and universally, the ground of the church is the oneness of the universal Body of Christ. Hence, there is the local aspect of oneness, and there is also the universal aspect of oneness. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life,” pp. 490-493)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “A Genuine Church,” pp. 373-382; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” chs. 1-4