Christians Returning from Division to the Ground of the Church, the Ground of Oneness

The return of the children of Israel to the good land signs the return of Christians from division to the ground of the church, the ground of oneness, to build up the church as the house of God and the kingdom of God. Amen!

In His wisdom, God chose one place where to put His name in the Old Testament, the city of Jerusalem and in particular His temple and all the people of Israel had to go to worship God at that place.

This was for the keeping of the oneness of God’s people, and this preserved them one under one God.

Three times a year all the males had to go up to Jerusalem for the feast, and when they did this, they were blessed and preserved by God in the good land.

However, the history of the children of Israel as recorded in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles show us that the people of Israel left God to pursue after other gods.

Starting with the king, the people of Israel went after other idols; they sought to drink from other fountains besides God as the fountain of living waters.

Therefore, God allowed them to be overtaken and conquered by other nations, and eventually, they were taken into captivity in Babylon.

God promised, however, through His prophet Jeremiah, that the captivity will be only for seventy years, after which time He will return them to their land and to Jerusalem.

God was angry with His people and disciplined them through the nations that conquered them, but He did not want them to be completely destroyed; rather, He still wants them to be His people and build His habitation and temple.

When the seventy years were about to be completed, Daniel started praying in captivity, and there was an intense war going on in the heavens.

Eventually, God raised Cyrus the king who was charged by God to build Him a house in Jerusalem, so he made an edict asking all those of the people of God who are willing to go back to Israel and rebuild the city and the house of God (2 Chron. 36:23).

This was truly something amazing, for a king to release an entire nation from captivity and ask them to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple and city.

Therefore, some of the children of Israel were stirred in their spirit and returned to Israel; there were a few waves of people returning to the land, and the city and the temple were rebuilt.

The history of the captivity and the return from captivity of the children of Israel is a type of the history of the church.

The church has been taken into captivity in Babylon, which typifies the confused, mixed, and divided Christianity today.

Among so many denominations, free groups, sects, Christian groups, and “religions” within the umbrella of “Christianity” there are many genuine believers in Christ who yearn to worship God in spirit and truthfulness (John 4:24).

The Lord wants to bring these ones back to the ground of oneness, the ground of the church, for them to be built up as the church, the Body of Christ, to fulfil God’s eternal purpose.

The Returning of Christians from Division to the Ground of the Church, the Ground of Oneness

In the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, so that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia.

He made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing encouraging all those of the people of Israel to go back to their land and country and build up the city and house of God (see 2 Chron. 36:22-23).

The return of the children of Israel to the good land is a sign of the return of Christians from division to the ground of the church, the ground of oneness.

As seen in Deut. 12:1-32, God has a particular place where He wants to set His name and where His house and temple should be, and this is Jerusalem, the place of His choice.

Therefore, He wants all His people to return to the ground of oneness.

Many of us in the church life today used to be in Christianity somewhere, in a denomination or a Christian group, but the Lord sought us out and unveiled us to see the place of His choice.

We may have been seeking after the Lord or we may have simply wandered around this supermarket of churches, not finding our home in reality until we found the church life.

And we left the degraded Christianity, leaving all the division to return to the ground of the church, the ground of oneness.

In the beginning, we may have not realized that God has a particular choice, a particular ground of oneness, for His people to meet on and keep.

We may have just seen something of God’s purpose, His economy, and His riches in the saints, and we were drawn.

Then, as we meet with the saints and practice the church life in spirit, we realize that this is what the Lord desires to gain today, the recovery of the building up of the church on the ground of oneness.

All genuine believers need to return from division to the ground of the church, the ground of oneness.

The local ground of the church is the unique oneness of the Body of Christ practiced in the local churches.

It is not something apart from the Body; it is the oneness of the Body, which is unique, and which is practiced locally in the local churches.

There is only one Body in the universe, for there is only one Christ who has one Body, and this Body is expressed in each locality as the local church in that locality.

Just as the people of Israel who were in captivity in Babylon had to return to Jerusalem to build up the temple and the city of God, so the believers in Christ today need to return from division to the ground of the church, the ground of oneness.

The ground of oneness is here among us, but we need to return to it.

The oneness of the Body is the oneness of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3), and it is practiced in the local churches.

The oneness practiced in a local church must be in the move of the Spirit under the government of the Spirit.

The Spirit is a basic element of the ground of the church.

Also, the local church is very much involved with the locality, so the locality of the local church is also a crucial element of the church ground.

The ground of the church – the ground on which a local church is built – must be constituted with and prevail in the oneness executed by the Spirit and the oneness safeguarded by the locality.

Thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for bringing us into the church life in the Lord’s recovery to be with the saints on the ground of the church, the ground of oneness. Hallelujah, we have returned from division to the ground of the church to build up the church as the Body of Christ! We give ourselves to You, Lord, to be one with You and to be one with the saints for the fulfilment of Your purpose. We want to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. We want to remain in the one accord with the saints on the ground of the locality where you have placed us. Lord, keep us in spirit and on the ground, keeping the oneness and building up the church for You to gain the Body of Christ, Your corporate expression!

The Church Ground is Constituted with the Unique Oneness of the Body, the Unique Ground of the Locality, and the Reality of the Spirit of Oneness

Aren’t you glad to be in the local church, the practical expression of the Body of Christ? Thank the Lord that He brought us here.

There is no perfect local church on the earth, but the local churches are the local expressions of the Body of Christ.

The church in Corinth, for example, was a typical church, and it was a genuine church on the ground of the church in Corinth.

If we think of the problems they had in the church in Corinth, we may consider our local church as being much better; it is typical to have problems in the church, as long as the church remains on the ground of oneness.

Just because we are different people with different tempers and backgrounds who come together to practice the church life, things may happen, and problems may arise.

There’s a difference between realism and vision; the church life is not something perfect or ideal, but we practice the church life according to the vision of God’s economy.

In the church life, we’re not illusionists who want to live an ideal church life; rather, we are learning to remain on the ground of the church and practice the church life according to the vision that God showed us.

According to the divine revelation in the New Testament, there are three crucial elements that constitute the ground of the church.

First, there is the unique oneness of the Body; second, there is the unique ground of locality, and third, the reality of the Spirit of oneness.

The first element of the constitution of the ground of the church is the unique oneness of the Body of Christ, which Paul calls “the oneness of the Spirit” in Eph. 4:3.

The Lord Jesus prayed for this oneness in John 17.

The oneness of the Spirit is the oneness in the name of the Father (vv. 6, 11), in the Triune God through sanctification by His holy word as the truth (vv. 14-21), and in the divine glory (vv. 22-24).

Our oneness is in God Himself and is the Triune God.

We are one in the name of the Father, denoting the Father’s person, the Father’s life. We are one in the Triune God through sanctification by His holy word as the truth.

We are one in the divine glory for the expression of the Triune God. We all have this oneness, for it was imparted in our spirit through regeneration with the life of Christ.

The second element of the ground of the church is the unique ground of locality where a local church is established and exists.

In the New Testament, we see the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (13:1), the church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1), the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), and the seven churches in Asia in seven respective cities (Rev. 1:4, 11).

The Lord has ordained that the boundary of the city is the local ground of the church, and such a unique ground of locality preserves the church from being divided by many different matters as different grounds.

What makes us one or keeps us on the ground of oneness is not a doctrine, a practice, or a teaching; it is what God ordained.

If we don’t keep the ground of the church, we may be in divisive denominations such as the Baptists, the Anglican, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, the Episcopalians, etc.

May we return from division to the ground of the church to practice the church life according to God’s desire and His ordained way!

The third item of the ground of the church is the reality of the Spirit of oneness, which expresses the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ on the unique ground of the locality of a local church.

It is the reality of the Spirit, who is the living reality of the Divine Trinity (1 John 5:6; John 16:13).

The ground of the church is not something legal, set, or doctrinal which we must keep outwardly and fight for in doctrine.

We apply the ground of locality in life and by the Spirit, not in legality.

The ground of the church is intrinsically related to life; as seen in Psa. 133:1-3, it is there, where the brothers dwell in oneness, that the Lord pours out His blessing.

It is by this Spirit that the genuine ground of the church is linked with the Triune God, and we should practice living the church life on the ground of the church by being in spirit.

Lord Jesus, we return from any division to the ground of the church, the ground of oneness, to practice the genuine church life for the building up of the Body of Christ. Hallelujah, we have the oneness of the Spirit in our spirit, and we can just keep the oneness by exercising our spirit. Praise the Lord, we are in a certain locality, and we can take the boundary of that locality to be the unique local ground of the church. Amen, Lord, we want to keep the ground of the church, the ground of oneness, through the Spirit as the reality of our oneness. We simply want to express the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ on the unique ground of locality of a local church. Praise the Lord, the ground of the church is intrinsically related to life, for the Lord pours out His blessing – life forever – upon the brothers dwelling in oneness!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1990, vol. 2, “A Brief Presentation of the Lord’s Recovery,” pp. 408-409, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (2022 winter training), week 2, entitled, Crucial Aspects of Living in the Good Land after Returning from Captivity in Babylon.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – The ground of locality being for oneness not for division, a portion from, Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee.
  – Assailing the Ground of Oneness (6): The Ground of the Church Being for the Building Up of the Body of Christ, a portion via, Shepherding words.
  – Closing the back door to divisions, a portion from, The Ground of the Church and the Meetings of the Church, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee.
  – The Genuine Ground of Oneness, Message 9: The Recovery and Testimony of the Ground of Oneness, the message is online via youtube.
  – How do we keep the oneness with our fellow believers? Read at, Living to Him.
  – The Church on the Ground of Oneness, article via, Holding to Truth.
  – Principles Concerning the Lord’s Table in View of the Oneness of the Body of Christ, a portion via, A Faithful Witness.
  – Crystallization-Study of 1 and 2 Kings—Week 11, a pdf portion via, The Church in Regina.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Eat the bread, ye people of the Lord: / Praise His name, for He has made us one. / Now we come to eat in one accord / As the church which He has made His own. / Eat the bread and drink the wine, ye saints! / We are one in Him fore’er. / Stand in oneness on the local ground, / Eat and drink in oneness there! (Hymns #1108 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – This oneness is the Church’s ground, / The ground of common standing, / The only ground of unity / The Spirit is demanding. / The Church in actual practise thus / May keep her vital union, / And her expressions locally / Be built up in communion. (Hymns #831 stanza 4)
  – We are for the Lord’s recovery / Of the local church; / We are for the Lord’s recovery / Of the city and the earth. / Standing on the ground of oneness, / Oneness in the Lord, / We are building up the temple / Of our glorious Lord. (Hymns #1255 stanza 1)