As I have said, it is interesting that these two apostles sent out from Antioch were not elders at Antioch. Therefore, if they wanted to work, they had to become travelers, continually going out from place to place. They also returned to Antioch, but they did not return very quickly. When Paul stayed in Ephesus, he stayed for three years. If they had been elders in Jerusalem when they went to Ephesus, they could have stayed for three weeks at the most before returning; they could have gone out from Jerusalem, but they would have had to return soon after. Because they were apostles, they could go out. But if they had been elders, they would have had to return.
Paul and Barnabas were apostles. Therefore, they went out. It could be a long time before their return because they were not elders at Antioch. This is very clear.
Peter and John were both apostles and elders in Jerusalem. For this reason, whenever they went out, they had to return quickly because the responsibility of Jerusalem was upon them. They had to go out because they were apostles. They could not help but return because they were elders. This is very significant. Let me tell you, this is a beautiful thing. Because they were apostles, they continually went out. Because they were elders, they continually returned. They could not go too far because they had to bear the local burden in Jerusalem.
Paul and Barnabas were only apostles, not elders. Therefore, they could go out for a period of years without any problem. Wherever the Holy Spirit led them, they could go because they were only apostles and not elders.
Why do we need to spend so much time to talk about this one matter? It is because this has much to do with our work. We must receive this principle. If we begin to bear responsibility in a region and establish local churches there, we need to learn to be apostles, on the one hand, and elders, on the other hand. This is because we need to have a strong meeting in this region. Many Bible expositors have often told us that Antioch was the strongest church at that time. Furthermore, many have told us that the church in Antioch was a model church. I remember that when I was young, there was a book called The Model Church, which spoke about Antioch.
If someone does not bear the responsibility in a local church, he must be an apostle exclusively, continually going out freely, and then returning. It does not matter if he takes a long time. However, some need to return soon after they go out, as Peter did when he went to Samaria and Caesarea. After a short time, he had to return because he was also an elder.
From now on, when brothers among us go out, you must remember that those who are apostles can go, but those who are elders need to return. I feel this way is very pure. It is definite with no difficulties.
The local church in this locality is still the same as the local churches elsewhere. If there is a difference, the difference is that there are apostles living in the regional center. Perhaps at the same time these apostles are also elders. Once you have clearly seen this point, you can realize that there may be a slight difference between the general local church and the local church at the center of the work in the matter of the message meeting. Because the apostles are there, they may be willing to give a special supply, special messages, or special ministry of the word. There can be such a thing because the apostles are there. This is something that a general local church does not have. This is the difference between a local church at the center of the work and a general local church.
I think we must recognize that when the co-workers met at Hankow, the light regarding Jerusalem was still not sufficient. Of course, there are still many other things that we have not seen. But today at least we can say that we see the light concerning Jerusalem which we did not see in Hankow. We can now add to it. We see that the church is local and that the work is regional. God chooses a locality to be the center of the work. The church in that locality is slightly different from the churches elsewhere because there are apostles who are also elders in that locality.
This is what we wanted to bring up concerning the arrangement of a local church at the center of the work.