林前十二14 身体原不是一个肢体，乃是许多肢体。

　　徒十三1　 在安提阿当地的召会中，有几位申言者和教师……。

　　宇宙召会就是所有地方召会的总和。……你若把地方召会一个一个都减掉了，就没有宇宙召会了。……把一切的地方召会加起来，所得的总和，就是宇宙召会。这宇宙召会，就是基督的身体（弗一22~23）。

　　在新约的时候，神是要在每一个地方都设立召会，以表显祂永远的心意。神是要每一个地方召会，各自在她们所在的地方，代表基督的身体，为基督作见证。每一个地方召会，都是宇宙召会在那个地方上的出现。所以，在耶路撒冷的召会（徒八1），在安提阿的召会（十三1），在哥林多的召会（林前一2），或在任何地方的召会，都是宇宙召会的一部分。在每一个地方的召会，都是宇宙召会在那个地方的一点出现。……每一个地方召会，都是宇宙召会在那一个时候，在那一个地方，所显出的一部分（李文集一九五七年第二册，二○一至二○二页）。

　　1 Cor. 12:14 For the body is not one member but many.

　　Acts 13:1 Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers…

　　The universal church is the sum total of all the local churches…If we subtract all the local churches one after the other, there would be no universal church…When we add up all the local churches, the total is the universal church. This universal church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23).

　　In the New Testament age God wants to establish the church in every place to express His eternal intention. God’s desire is that every local church would represent the Body of Christ to testify on behalf of Christ in their respective localities. Therefore, every local church is the expression of the universal church in that locality. Therefore, the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (13:1), the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), and the church in any other locality are part of the universal church. The church in a locality is a small expression of the universal church in a particular locality… Every local church is part of the expression of the universal church at a particular time in a given locality. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Testimony and the Ground of the Church,” p. 153)

　　宇宙召会的性质和原则，就是地方召会的性质和原则。整个的宇宙召会，性质怎样是属神的，各地的地方召会，性质也照样都是属神的。所以，宇宙召会称作“神的召会”（林前十32），地方召会也称作“神的召会”（一2）。

　　召会在宇宙中如何是唯一的，在各地方上也如何都是唯一的。召会的原则就是一。在宇宙中是一，在地方上也是一。若是在台北

　　这一个地方上，有了两个以上的召会，那就是有了毛病。正如在台北这一个地方，若有了两个以上的市政府，也定规是出了问题。在一个地方，只能有一个召会，不能有两个以上的召会。

　　地方召会是宇宙召会的雏形。……宇宙召会是彰显基督的，地方召会也是彰显基督的，不过小型一点就是了。每一个地方召会，都是宇宙召会的一个代表，在她所在的地方，代表宇宙召会，活出基督的身体所该有的生活，以彰显基督（李文集一九五七年第二册，二○三至二○四页）。

　　如果我们坚持地方召会自治的观念，认为一封写给任一地方召会的书信只属于那个地方，这就是说没有一封书信是要给我们这个时代的信徒。换言之，这意味着整本圣经都不是为着我们的。这完全不切实际。

　　在以弗所一章十七节，保罗祷告求父赐给信徒“智慧和启示的灵”，指明信徒也需要看见他所看见的异象，尤其是关于基督身体的异象（三3~4）。当我们在美国各地区的地方召会中劳苦作工，我们不是仅仅建造众地方召会；我们的工作是要建造基督的身体。

　　倪柝声弟兄在他的职事里所强调的中心事项之一是基督的身体。他解释说，人偏好不受规范、不顾身体的感觉来建造召会，因而不作身体的工作。许多人建立这样的召会成为他们的小王国。我们要在倪弟兄所强调之事的光中，考量我们的工作。……要作正确的工，我们必须有真理的基础（李文集一九九一至一九九二年第二册，一六一、一六三页）。

　　参读：李文集一九八三年第一册，成全圣徒传扬福音、陈明真理、供应生命并照着灵而行，以担负耶稣的见证，第四章。

　　The nature and principle of the universal church are the nature and principle of the local church. Just as the nature of the entire universal church is of God, the nature of the local church in every locality is also of God. Therefore, the universal church is called “the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32), and the local church is also called “the church of God” (1:2).

　　Just as the church is uniquely one in the universe, it is also uniquely one in each locality. The principle of the church is oneness. In the universe the church is one, and in each locality the church is also one. If there are two or more churches in Taipei, there is a problem, just as there would be a problem if there were two or more city administrations in Taipei. In one locality there can be only one church, not two or more churches.

　　The local church is a miniature of the universal church…The universal church expresses Christ, and the local church also expresses Christ, except on a smaller scale. Every local church is a representative of the universal church, representing the universal church in its locality by living out the proper life of the Body of Christ and thus expressing Christ. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Testimony and the Ground of the Church,” p. 154)

　　If we hold on to the thought that the local churches are autonomous, considering that an Epistle written to any one locality belongs only to that locality, this would mean that no Epistle is intended for the believers in our time. In other words, it would mean that the entire Bible is not for us. This is altogether impractical.

　　In Ephesians 1:17 Paul prayed that the Father would give the believers “a spirit of wisdom and revelation,” indicating that the believers also need to see the vision that he saw, especially concerning the Body of Christ (3:3-4). As we labor in the local churches in the various regions of the United States, we are not merely building up the local churches; our work is to build up the Body of Christ.

　　One of the central items that Brother Watchman Nee stressed in his ministry was the Body of Christ. He explained that instead of doing the work of the Body, people prefer to build up churches without any kind of regulation or consciousness of the Body. Many establish such churches as their small empires. We need to consider our work in light of Brother Nee’s emphasis…In order to do a proper work, we must have the base of the truth. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, pp. 122-123)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “Perfecting the Saints to Preach the Gospel, Present the Truth, Minister Life, and Walk according to the Spirit in Order to Bear the Testimony of Jesus,” ch. 4