徒一8　但圣灵降临在你们身上，你们就必得着能力，并要在耶路撒冷、犹太全地、撒玛利亚，直到地极，作我的见证人。

　　八1　就在那日，在耶路撒冷的召会大遭逼迫，除了使徒以外，门徒都分散在犹太和撒玛利亚各地。

　　召会一扩展，难处就去掉了。那些狭窄的眼光、偏隘的心情、区域性的观念以及不合身体的要求，都得去掉。犹太人就是因着哥尼流家的扩展，而去掉了狭窄的眼光。五旬节的召会还不成形，但到哥尼流家的人得救后，召会就成形了。

　　因着召会是宇宙的，所以召会也是扩展的。最蒙恩的召会，乃是扩展最多的召会。若是有一个地方的召会，一直没有扩展，那个召会的难处定规越来越多，至终就会变得非常软弱。一面来说，在工作的行动上，在召会的扩展上，我们应该谨慎、慎重，不可随便、轻忽，也不可用人的手去鼓动，而要让主来作工；但另一面，我们都该清楚，召会需要扩展，我们必须尽力在各地，兴起主的召会。……召会基本的原则是永远的、宇宙的；召会必须在地上、在时间里、在空间上，不断地扩展。召会的长大和召会的建造就是基于这个扩展（召会的历程，三六至三七页）。

　　Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

　　8:1 ...And there occurred in that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

　　Once the church spreads, problems will disappear. Because of the spreading to the household of Cornelius, the Jews expanded their narrow view. Their narrow view, prejudiced hearts, regional concepts, and things not up to the standard of the Body were eliminated. The church was still not fully formed on the day of Pentecost. After the household of Cornelius was saved, however, it was fully formed.

　　Because the church is universal, it is also spreading. The most blessed church is the church that spreads the most. If there is a local church that never spreads, it will have more and more problems until it becomes very weak. On the one hand, we must be careful and serious about the spreading of the church, not being loose or careless and using human methods to promote it. We must allow the Lord to work. On the other hand, we must be clear that the church needs to spread, and we must do our best to raise up churches in every place....The basic principle of the church is that it is eternal and universal; the church must constantly spread on the earth. The growth of the church and the building up of the church are based on spreading. (Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, pp. 32-33)

　　一个地方上的召会，若是不扩展，那个地方召会的性质就会低落，就会失去其宇宙性和永远性。……〔这〕扩展不是用人的办法鼓励出来，或用人的手作出来的。召会的扩展，乃是借着主生命的长大而有的。……当耶路撒冷的召会兴起不久，神就使祂的儿女因受逼迫而分散各处。

　　召会的扩展，能冲破许多障碍，消除许多弊病。然而，有许多召会兴起的地方，却是心肠狭窄的，比方耶路撒冷就是如此。在那里，有许多旧约的遗传、教训，使他们故步自封，闭关自守。……他们故步自封，藐视任何人，并且不和任何人来往。……当召会一扩展时，这些错误的观念，就都被冲破了；无论是地域的、种族的或彼此歧视的观念，召会一扩展，这一切就冲破了，就都没有了。……借着扩展，所有的封闭就被除去。新约给我们看见，耶路撒冷的召会兴起不久，神就将一块大石头丢在他们中间。那实在是块大石头，好似大“炸弹”一样，把他们都击打分散了，逼得他们离开耶路撒冷。这是神的手，因为召会不是犹太的，不是耶路撒冷的；召会乃是宇宙的。

　　行传八章告诉我们，门徒分散的第一步，也就是分散的头一个地方，不是伯利恒，乃是撒玛利亚（1~25）。撒玛利亚介于犹太地和外邦地之间，并且撒玛利亚人是犹太人和外邦人的混血种。……撒玛利亚人蒙恩以后，在耶路撒冷的圣徒非常惊讶，就派使徒们去看望；使徒们一去，为他们祷告后，圣灵立即降下来，神自己也出来印证这事（16~17）。……从八章我们可以看见，召会第二步的扩展，乃是借着腓利传福音给埃提阿伯的一个太监；福音就此传到了非洲（26~39）（召会的历程，二八至三一页）。

　　参读：召会的历程，第二篇。

　　If a local church does not spread, the nature of that church is too low, and it will lose its universal and eternal character....This spreading is not promoted by human methods, nor is it worked out by human hands. The spreading of the church is brought about by the growth in the Lord's life....Not long after the church in Jerusalem was raised up, God caused His children to be scattered to various places by persecution.

　　The spreading of the church can break through many barriers and eliminate many undesirable practices. In many places where the church is raised up, however, the saints may be narrow-minded. This was the case in Jerusalem. They had many Old Testament traditions and teachings that caused them to close themselves off from others....They sealed themselves up and despised other people; moreover, they did not communicate with others.

　　When the church begins to spread, erroneous concepts are shattered, regardless of whether the concepts are regional, racial, or mutually discriminatory.

　　It is through spreading that all our close-mindedness is eliminated. The New Testament shows that not long after the church in Jerusalem was raised up, God seemed to throw a huge stone into her midst; it seemed like a big "bomb," scattering the saints by its impact and forcing them to leave Jerusalem. God intervened because the church is neither of the Jews nor of Jerusalem; the church is universal.

　　Acts 8 shows that the first step in the disciples' scattering—that is, the first place to which they were scattered—was not to Bethlehem but to Samaria (vv. 1-25). Samaria lies between Judea and the Gentile lands, and the Samaritans were a racial mixture of Jews and Gentiles....After the Samaritans were saved, the saints in Jerusalem were very surprised and sent the apostles to visit them. When the apostles came and prayed for the Samaritans, the Holy Spirit immediately descended; thus, God Himself confirmed this spread (vv. 15-17)....From Acts 8 the second step of the church's spread was through Philip's preaching of the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch; thus, the gospel spread to Africa (vv. 26-39). (Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, pp. 26-28)

　　Further Reading: Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, ch. 2