Next, we need to see that the practical expression of the church must be local. It must be in the place where we Christians are. This is extremely important. If we would have the practice of the church and therefore have the practicality of the church, we must have the local expression of the church. There is no other way. This means that we need to see the locality of the church.
Can you find a verse in the New Testament telling us that the church is in the heavens? There is no such verse. The New Testament speaks of the church in Jerusalem, the church in Antioch, the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), the church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1), and the church in other cities (Rom. 16:1). All these churches may be called local churches. At the end of the New Testament, we have a picture of seven churches in seven cities (Rev. 1:4, 11; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). In the New Testament it is very clear that the practical expression of the church must be local. We need to see this.
Because the situation today regarding the church is very complicated and confusing, we need to pray that we would see the church in a proper way according to the New Testament. We should avoid the complications and all the confusion and simply pay attention to what is revealed in the New Testament.
We may use driving a car as an illustration. If you drive on the highway, you will be clear about your direction. However, if you drive into the woods, you will not be clear but rather will be in a complicated situation. Concerning the church, some brothers who regard themselves as smart like to get into the "woods," into the complications. Eventually, they become very complicated and cannot get out of the "woods" of their complications. We need to learn to be simple and keep ourselves away from the complications. Simply read the New Testament, which speaks again and again about the locality of the church. Those who refuse to be simple in this matter but raise questions about the locality of the church end up in the "woods." Instead of raising questions and being complicated, we need to see a vision of the locality of the church.