The next morning I flew to Dallas. In the evening I held a meeting there. While I was speaking, a bold woman asked me about water baptism. I found out she was from the Church of Christ and was totally for water baptism in their water. In Los Angeles someone had been completely against water baptism, and the very next day in Dallas there was someone completely for water baptism. Such is today's situation. People build a so-called church on their kind of ground.
All the different denominations came into existence on their different grounds. Their different names—Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Pentecostals, and others—are the grounds on which they build their church. On what ground are you being built? Do not say on Christ. Every Christian says that. Whatever denomination or group you go to, they will say that their foundation is Christ. But what about the ground where the foundation is laid?
What is our ground? The ground from the very beginning of the Christian era, from the time of the apostles, is the unique oneness of the Body of Christ, kept and expressed in each local church at its locality (Rev. 1:11). This means we Christians, in whatever locality we are, come together to be the church there. We have no other ground than that of the unique oneness of the Body of Christ. A local church is an expression of the universal church. The church universally is one, and this one Body of Christ is expressed in many localities. In every locality where there are a number of saints, these saints should come together as the church there, not to take the ground of baptism by immersion, tongue-speaking, the presbytery, a method, the episcopal system, or any ground except that of being one with all others meeting there as a local expression of the Body of Christ.
This unique oneness should be the ground on which we are being built. We should not be sectarian; we should not be exclusive. We must be all-inclusive, open and loving to all the dear saints. As long as they are Christians, they are our brothers. Our brothers have been scattered to many denominations. In spite of this, we still love them. We should not have an attitude or spirit of fighting, opposing, or debating. That is wrong. We should always hold a spirit and an attitude of loving all Christians. As long as they bear the name Christian and believe in the Lord Jesus, they are our brothers and sisters. In the local churches we do not have any wall. We have no fence. We consider all the dear Christians as our brothers.
We must learn the truth, grow in life, and go out to contact people. What we say will depend on our discernment. If the person is not saved, we will preach the gospel. If we find out he is a Christian, we can present the truth we have learned. Christians greatly appreciate the truth. Maybe we could present the truth of transformation as in 2 Corinthians 3:18. Then, if possible, we can minister life to him by witnessing, telling him how we have received Christ and how we experience Him as life. A testimony will minister life to people. Do not expect to bring people to the meeting to have an increase for the church. Leave the matter of increase in the Lord's hands. Our testimony is not a great number. Our testimony is a group of saints living in the spirit, walking according to the spirit, and being the living expression of Jesus in the family, at school, on the job, and in the church life. Our burden is to present the gospel to the unsaved, the truth to the saved, and life to the seeking ones. Leave the church matter to the Lord. Let each person choose for himself according to his discernment. No one can manage today's Christianity. It is too big. We have to realize our smallness. We are to live Christ and walk in the spirit, being the living testimony to Him. In this way we shall be a benefit to all those whom we contact. We should not expect to have them come to our meeting. If they would like to come, of course we do not refuse them. I hope we are all clear about where we stand and how we practice the church life. May the Lord bless us all.