Category: The Church, the Ministry, and the Work
Articles showing the distinction between yet harmonious functioning of the churches, the ministry, and the work in and for the Body of Christ.
The Apostle Paul’s ministry shows us Christ as the center of God’s economy, the cross as the center of God’s operation in His economy, and the church, the Body of Christ, as the product of God’s economy (1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 3:1; Eph. 3:8-10). Realizing this has profound implications for … Continue reading Christ, the Cross, and the Church
Just as there is a definite distinction between Living Stream Ministry (LSM) and the local churches, there is also an important distinction between LSM and the ministry and the work in the recovery. In a broad sense the Bible uses the word ministry to refer to the service that God’s … Continue reading The Relationship of Living Stream Ministry to the Ministry and the Work
The boundary of a local church is one of the basic principles upon which the practice of the Lord’s recovery is based. From the beginnings of the Lord’s recovery in China, it has been our practice to have one church with one eldership in a city. In 1934, after observing … Continue reading Concerning the Boundary of a Local Church
To say that once a church is established the apostles, that is, the leading co-workers, should never “interfere” in that church’s affairs is inconsistent with the Bible and with the whole body of the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. This crucial matter relates to God’s administration and therefore … Continue reading The Ongoing Relationship between the Apostles and the Local Churches
The Collected Works of Watchman Nee [CWWN], vol. 22: The Assembly Life & The Prayer Ministry of the Church p. 30: The books of Timothy tell us, “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses” (1 Tim. 5:19, KJV). In this matter, we should pay … Continue reading Selected Ministry on the Apostles’ Ongoing Role in Established Churches
The local churches in the Lord’s recovery function according to the principles of the Body of Christ as an organism, not as a hierarchical organization as some have mistakenly claimed. We should not confuse the proper organic order of the Body with worldly hierarchical organizations. To say that the church … Continue reading Concerning Hierarchy and Organization