Many religious people think that the church is a physical building, perhaps with a high tower and a bell. When people say, “Let’s go to church,” they are referring to a physical building of bricks, stones, wood, and steel. My impression of the church as a youngster growing up in China was that it was a western bungalow with a high tower and a bell. When the bell would ring, my mother would tell us that it was time to go to church. To say that a physical building is the church is absolutely and thoroughly off from the divine revelation of the church. When John Wesley preached outdoors in England in the eighteenth century, he was opposed by the so-called Anglican Church, the Church of England. They accused him of making the holy Word profane since to them the holy Word should only be taught in a holy place, a sanctuary, a dedicated place. They were appalled that John Wesley would preach the holy Word on the street corners. They considered that the physical building was the church.
In the nineteenth century the Brethren were raised up by the Lord. They saw that the church was not a physical building and that the word church in Greek was ekklesia, which means the gathering of the called-out ones. They referred to the church as the assembly. The Assembly of God followed the Brethren in this matter. I also prefer to use the word assembly because the word church has been fully spoiled, damaged, and polluted. But to say that the church as an ekklesia is the gathering of the called-out ones of God is still a definition of the church that is too superficial.
The Brethren also saw the Body of Christ. After the Brethren, some saints were raised up by the Lord who saw something concerning Christ as our inner life. They also saw that the church is the Body of Christ as an organism (Eph. 1:22-23). The church is not merely a gathering but a divine organism, the Body. Based upon this, some began to see that the church is the continuation of Christ, the enlargement of Christ, and the spreading of Christ. The church is also the fullness of Christ (1:22-23) and the fullness of God (3:19).
We need to realize that we have been born of God (John 1:12-13). Those human beings who have been born of God, today are the sons of God. Regeneration means that God has been born into our being. Now we have God’s divine life (1 John 5:11-12) and divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). How could we be the continuation of Christ, the enlargement of Christ, or the spreading of Christ unless we have Christ in us (Col. 1:27), unless we are a part of Christ (Eph. 5:30)? It is only possible for us to be Christ’s continuation, Christ’s Body, if we have Christ within us. The Body of Christ is surely a part of Christ. The church has Christ within. The church has the life of Christ and the nature of Christ, so the church is the Body of Christ, the continuation of Christ, the enlargement of Christ, and the spreading of Christ.
For centuries, however, no one has seen, not even the deeper saints, that the church is the reproduction of Christ. We can say this because the lampstand in Exodus was one, and the lampstands in Revelation are seven. The one lampstand has been reproduced. The unique lampstand in Exodus became a model, out of which came seven lampstands. The seven lampstands are exactly the same as the unique lampstand in nature, essence, shape, and in every respect. Cakes may be made by putting the batter into a mold. By using the mold the same cake may be made again and again. Christ is the mold and the church is the reproduction of Christ. What is the church today? To say that the church is the Body, and the continuation, the enlargement, and the spreading of Christ is not enough. We all have to see that the church is an exact reproduction of Christ. Christ was the unique lampstand, and all the churches are the lampstands in the same nature, essence, model, shape, and function. According to the lampstand in Exodus we can say that the church is the reproduction of Christ, and according to the lampstand in Zechariah the church is the reprint of the Spirit. The ultimate definition of the church is that the church is the reproduction of Christ and the reprint of the Holy Spirit.
When we say that we are the church, we have to realize that the church is the reproduction of Christ and the reprint of the Spirit. When we say that we are the church, we must realize that we have to be fully in the Spirit. Even if we are only partially in the flesh, we become a poor reproduction, a poor reprint. When we brothers and sisters come together, if we all are in the Spirit, we are the church. If we are outside of the Spirit, we are not the church. Whether or not we are actually the church depends upon whether or not we are in the Spirit. If we are in the Spirit, we are the church. We have to admit that when we are outside of the Spirit, we are merely the fallen race and the descendants of Adam. None of us in our natural being is a dove. The dove is the Spirit. Are we standing as the church in our locality? Then we must be in the Spirit. If we are not in the Spirit, we are through with the church because the church is the reproduction of Christ and the reprint of the Spirit.
The wisdom of the Lord can be seen in the book of Revelation. He knows that a picture is better than a thousand words. Before He wrote the seven epistles to the seven churches, He showed John a picture of seven golden lampstands (Rev. 1:11-12). What is the church? The church is the lampstand. In the Lord’s recovery we all have to see that the church is so high and so pure. The church is nothing less than Christ and the Spirit because both Christ and the Spirit are the lampstand and the church is also the lampstand. This is a picture of regeneration and transformation. Christ has been regenerated into our being, and we are being fully transformed into His Being (2 Cor. 3:18). He is the lampstand and the church is also the lampstand. We have to see what the church is to such an extent. If we see this vision of the church, we will be afraid to exercise our flesh. We need to see that the church is absolutely something of Christ and in the Spirit. It is the lampstand, a reproduction of Christ and a reprint of the Spirit.