Because the Body of Christ is one and all the local churches are the local expression of the one Body of Christ, there cannot be “autonomous local churches”; rather, the local churches are for the expression of the Body, and the Body is first while the local churches are second in our consideration.
When we all remain under the teaching of the apostles and in the fellowship of the Body of Christ, we will be one, for there is one God, one fellowship, one Body, and one organism of the Triune God.
There are many teachings in the Bible and there are many Christian teachers who teach many things on earth today, but there is only one healthy teaching – the teaching of the apostles, the healthy teaching of God’s economy.
The Lord Jesus spoke many words, and His words are the healthy words; furthermore, He is still speaking today in and through the apostles and the members of His Body.
Yes, the Lord Jesus is not here physically, but He is here as the Spirit of reality to guide us into all the reality of what He is.
The apostles’ teaching is joined to God’s eternal economy, which is God’s plan to carry out His eternal purpose.
The holding factor of the one accord in the church life is the teaching of the apostles; as we remain under the apostles’ teaching, the entire revelation of the New Testament, we have one heart, one way, and one goal.
May we be those who are holding the faithful word, which is according to the teaching to the apostles.
And in our speaking, may we speak the things which are fitting to the healthy teaching of the apostles, the teaching of God’s economy (Titus 2:1; 7-8).
May we stay away from the different teachings, the teachings which are not in line with God’s economy.
The degradation and disorder in the church are due mainly to the deviation from the apostles’ teaching; if we hold the faithful word taught in the churches according to the apostles’ teaching, we will be kept in oneness for the building up of the Body.
It is not an easy thing for us to deny ourselves, put aside our preferences and opinions, and join ourselves to the Lord in His word, remaining in the teaching of the apostles, but when we do this, the church is kept in order and in oneness.
In particular, as we remain in the Lord’s up-to-date speaking in the seven annual feasts, we are blended into one, we are up-to-date with the Lord, and our love for the Lord is rekindled, and we live a life for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
Especially in this darkened and confused situation in Christianity today, may we cleave to the enlightening and ordering word in the New Testament, which is the apostles’ teaching, and may we continue steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles!
To Teach that the Local Churches are Absolutely Autonomous is to Divide the Body of Christ
In the 1980s there was a great turmoil among us in the church life in the Lord’s recovery, for a leading co-worker brother held some conferences and told the saints that every local church is autonomous, being directly accountable to the Lord Himself.
He taught that each local church has its own administration in its locality, and each local church is a pure golden lampstand, being directly accountable only to God.
Such teaching sounds good and nice, but the real intention was that no one would interfere with other local churches, thus dividing and separating the local churches. Oh, Lord!
Such a speaking divides the Body of Christ, causing separation among the churches.
The erroneous teaching concerning the absolute autonomy of a local church has crept into the Lord’s recovery.
Such a speaking divides the Body of Christ, severing the relationship between the elders (who serve in the local churches) and the apostles (who serve the entire Body of Christ). It is subtle teaching.
In the 19th century a teacher among the Brethren, G. H. Lane, wrote a book, The Churches of God, in which he said that the churches are not united but autonomous; such teaching sounds nice but, strictly speaking, according to what God has shown us today, it is a sleight of men to deceive people, bringing people into a system of error. Oh, Lord.
To teach that the local churches are absolutely autonomous is to divide the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5); we need to be assured in this matter, for the teaching of the autonomy of the local churches is absolutely a different teaching.
Such teaching concerning autonomy has corrupted, misled, and deceived Christians and has created many divisions (Jude 19).
The Brethren, who were so much used by the Lord to open up the riches and depths in the word of God, have this history of division and separation based on differing teachings.
God greatly used the Brethren to recover many precious truths, but often because of their contentions in doctrines, they became closed to each other, being unwilling to receive one another.
They were separated to such an extent that in one city there were 5-6 Brethren assemblies; they were in division even without realizing it, thinking that they were practicing autonomy by having separate administrations.
Thus, they divided the Body of Christ and they were deceived. We need to realize that the church is the Body of Christ and, as the Body of Christ, no part of the church can be autonomous (1 Cor. 1:2; 12:12-13).
The church is not a religious organisation but the Body of Christ; every local church is part of the organism of the Triune God.
Christ doesn’t have hundreds or thousands of bodies – He has only one Body, and every local church is part of this unique Body.
We can’t say that our fingers don’t have anything to do with our toes; rather, we all are in the same Body, in the same circulation, in the same fellowship.
Even though we may have different functions and statuses, even though some churches are larger while others are smaller in size, we all are joined together organically.
The Lord has blended the Body together, and we practice to be blended together so that we may be both built up and blended together for the building up of the Body.
Autonomy is actually a word used in politics, being a political expression used in the political realm; for example, the fifty states of the USA are autonomous.
But the local churches cannot be autonomous, for as soon as they are autonomous, they cut themselves from the fellowship of the Body. May we bring this matter to the Lord and pray,
Lord Jesus, thank You for placing us in the Body to be members of the Body. Hallelujah, all the local churches are part of the Body of Christ, and the Lord has blended the Body together. Save us, Lord, from thinking that our local church is absolutely autonomous in the Body. Save us from dividing the Body or bringing in division in the Body by teaching different teachings. Keep us in the oneness of the Body as we continue steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles. Save us from repeating the pitiful history of division and separation in Christianity. Hallelujah, the church is the Body of Christ, and no part of the church and no local church can be autonomous!
The Local Churches are the one Body of Christ with no Separation, Autonomy, or Organisation
We need to realize that there is only one church, the Body of Christ, and all the local churches are actually the one Body of Christ, with no separation, autonomy, or organisation.
The local churches are for the expression of the Body of Christ; they are the manifestation of the Body of Christ in various localities (1 Cor. 1:2; 12:27).
Every local church is a miniature, a representative of the Body of Christ; therefore, they can never be by themselves, fully autonomous, without the other local churches. In our living the church life and the Christian life, we need to consider the Body first, and the local churches second (Eph. 2:21-22).
This is not a matter of ranking; rather, in our understanding and feeling, our consciousness should be of the Body of Christ first and of the local churches second.
There are many local churches on the whole earth, and thank the Lord for the local church in the locality where we are.
What a wonderful place is the church life, where we can meet, serve, enjoy the Lord, and grow together in the Lord!
We love the church life, and we love the local churches. However, every local church is for the Body of Christ, for the reality of the Body, not just for that particular locality.
In our consideration, the Body should be first and the local churches are second. What the local churches are doing should not be in conflict with the Body.
Even the financial matters of a local church, though they are to be taken care of by the elders of that church in their fellowship and coordination, even such things shouldn’t be done in an autonomous way.
Rather, the churches should depend on one another; they need to communicate and fellowship with other local churches even in the matter of material needs.
Even in such financial matters and material needs, the churches are not independently autonomous.
All believers should depend on one another, and all the local churches also should depend on one another. In both spiritual and material matters, we need to learn to fellowship in the Body for the building up of the Body in a proper way.
If a local church in a certain locality needs help in spiritual matters, the leading brothers need to fellowship with other local churches and accept help from other churches.
There must be mutual dependence among the local churches, for in this way the Lord is blending the churches together in one Body.
The concept of autonomy and independence is awful, for it causes others to separate from one another.
There is only one church, one Body of Christ, and one new man, so there must be much fellowship among the saints in the churches and among the churches.
Paul practiced this when he spoke; he taught the same thing in all the churches, and he sent Timothy to some local churches to remind them of his ways which are in Christ (1 Cor. 4:17).
He didn’t teach one thing in one church and another thing in another church; he taught the same thing universally, not varying in any place.
The Lord also spoke universally to the seven local churches in Revelation 2 and 3; His word to one church was the word spoken by the Spirit to all the churches.
Yes, the Lord did speak in a specific way to each of the churches, but at the end the Word says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).
The Lord is speaking to all the churches, and we need to have an ear to hear His speaking.
There is the matter of the elders in every church who have the right and the position to carry out the local administration of the churches independently.
However, at the same time, there is the matter of all the churches listening to the word that the apostles have received of God, which is the teaching of the New Testament.
This doesn’t mean that the local churches should be outwardly united in a federation or association and that there should be some organisation to unite or organise the churches.
Rather, we need to meet as the local churches separately according to the principle in the New Testament, but at the same time realize that all the local churches are the one Body of Christ.
If we know the Body and are conscious of the Body, we will realize that the church as the organic Body of Christ has nothing to do with autonomy.
May the Lord inoculate every one of us and keep us in the Lord’s divine revelation today, and may He preserve us into the light of His New Testament economy so that we may be kept and built up in the organic Body of Christ together to prepare the bride of Christ for the Lord’s second coming!
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for putting us in the local church where we can enjoy You and grow in life, having the consciousness of the Body of Christ. Hallelujah, we can meet on the ground of oneness to eat, drink, and breathe Jesus, and we can serve God with the saints in the Body of Christ. Amen, Lord, grant us to know the Body and have the consciousness of the Body. May we realize that the church as the organic Body of Christ has nothing to do with autonomy, organisation, or independence. Hallelujah, the Lord has put us in the Body, we meet in the local churches, and we are dependent on the Head, on the members of the Body, and on the other local churches in the Body! Amen, Lord, keep us in the divine revelation and preserve us under the light of Your economy so that we may be kept and built up in the organic Body of Christ to prepare the bride for the Lord’s coming!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by the brothers for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1988, vol. 3, “A Timely Word,” pp. 68-69, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Intrinsic and Organic Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ (2021 International Chinese-Speaking Conference), week 5, The Intrinsic Factor of the Winds of Teaching for Their Evil Purpose.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, ’til we are in one accord. / Hallelujah—the saints going on! / Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, open hearts we can afford. / Hallelujah—the churches go on! / As the members of / His organic Body, / We need the others to go on. / As local churches, / We do also need / One another for our going on. (Song on, Blend us, Lord, Blend us, Lord)
– The churches are the Body / Of Christ on earth today. / They are His testimony, / That He may have a way. / They are the golden lampstands / In cities far and wide. / They are His fighting army, / And His beloved Bride. / The churches, the churches, / Upon the earth today; / Lord, stir our hearts for Thy desire, / And build us, oh, build us, / Lord, we pray. (Hymns #1265)
– Now in all the churches flowing, / Brotherly love. / Light and life and love bestowing, / Brotherly love. / In the oneness all believing, / Fellowship with all receiving, / Nevermore the Spirit grieving, / Brotherly love. (Hymns #1277)
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