The church has two aspects: the universal aspect and the local aspect. As far as the universal aspect is concerned, the church is as big as the universe. Ephesians 1:23 says that Christ is the One who fills all in all. Since the church is His fullness, certainly it is also universal. In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus speaks of the church, referring to its universal aspect; the Lord will build His church on “this rock,” the revelation Peter received concerning Christ as the Son of the living God. Since the Lord is building the church upon this revelation, the church is certainly universal. Modern physicists such as Einstein define the universe as all space and time. The Chinese refer to the whole universe as “ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign.” In the church, which encompasses “ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign,” Paul was ancient, and you and I are modern; Paul was foreign, while you and I are Chinese. This is the universal church. The universal church has a progression of two thousand years. Regardless of time and space, all those who have believed in the Lord—from ancient to modern, from Chinese to foreign—added together are the universal church. This is the church in its universal aspect.
The church in another aspect is local. The local aspect is very easy to see. When we are in Taipei, we are the church in Taipei; this is local. Simultaneously, there are the church in Kaohsiung and the church in Hong Kong. This is the local aspect. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 18:15-17 that if a brother sins against you and he does not listen to two or three witnesses, you should tell this to the church. This certainly does not refer to the universal church, the church that encompasses ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign. Rather, it refers to the church that is in your locality. If a brother sins against you, it would be very troublesome to tell it to the universal church, because it is difficult to find the universal church. But praise the Lord, there is an expression of the universal church right in your locality! This expression is the church in your locality. If you are in Taichung, you can go to the church in Taichung conveniently. Today many countries have established district courts for deciding local affairs. Similarly, the universal church is expressed in the local churches. This is the local aspect of the church.
In referring to the church, we speak of a designation but not a name, because the church in fact has no name. For example, the moon does not have a name; the moon has only a designation, which is “the moon.” At most, we may say that the moon in Taipei is rounder than the moon in Kaohsiung, or the moon in the United States is bigger than the moon in Taiwan. In reality, though, it is the same moon. The one seen in the United States is the moon in the United States, and the one seen in Taiwan is the moon in Taiwan. Apart from this, the moon is unique and does not have any special name. It is the same with the church. Sadly, the various denominations in Christianity all have their special, unique names, such as the Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, the Anglicans, the Lutherans, and the Evangelical Lutherans. Once there is a difference, there is a separation, and once there is a separation, there is a sect. For this reason, we realize that we cannot hold on to any names. The church is uniquely one in the universe without any special name.
The Bible shows us that since the church is expressed in a locality, we can use the locality as a designation. For example, the church located in Taipei is the church in Taipei. The one situated in Hong Kong is the church in Hong Kong, and the one positioned in London is the church in London. To designate a church after its locality is for people in the world to know where the church is. This is clearly indicated in Revelation 1:11. In the New Testament there are many of these designations. For example, in Acts 8:1 there is the church in Jerusalem, and in Romans 16:1 there is the church in Cenchrea. There are also the church in Colossae, the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, and so on. All of these are the one church in each locality.
Question: Since the church can have a designation, when the meeting hall needs to put up a sign, how should we designate it? This is a testimony to let the newly baptized ones know which church they belong to.
Answer: Due to administrative government regulations, every meeting hall requires a registration. Churches also require registration, so for this purpose we need a name. Therefore, we use “Assembly Hall” as our name to register with the government. For example, the church in Taipei is registered as the “Juridical Party of Taiwan, the church in Taipei Assembly Hall.” This is due to the requirement of the law, society, and administrative procedures.
If the newly saved ones ask questions concerning the church, we need to give them a proper answer, telling them what the church is and the two aspects of the church. At the same time, we need to tell them that in Taipei there is only one church, and since the church in Taipei has so many people, it is subdivided into different district meetings. There are meetings in the hall, meetings in the districts, and also meetings in the homes. We can go to home meetings during the week, district meetings on the Lord’s Day, and if we are willing, we can also go to the meetings in the meeting hall. In this way, we will answer the questions in their heart.
(A message given on March 10, 1987 in Taipei, Taiwan)