Question: How does the church transcend time and space, and how is it far above all things?
Answer: Let us use an illustration. In the church life in Taipei, hall one always wants hall one to do well, hall two wants hall two to do well, and hall three wants hall three to do well. Every meeting hall wants its own hall to be the best. When we speak of the arrangement for the service and material furnishings, every meeting hall competes with the others. For example, if we want to transfer the service of some brothers to Keelung, the brothers in the church in Keelung immediately say, “We really need them.” However, brothers from other churches say that they also are short of hands. So they begin to quarrel. The only reason that they quarrel is because they have not seen that the church transcends space. There is no such thing as the church that belongs to Keelung, to Kaohsiung, to Taipei hall one, or to Taipei hall two. Although there are local churches on the earth today, they are temporary. The church transcends time and space. Our eyes need to be opened to see that when the church in Keelung is not doing well, the church in Kaohsiung also is not doing well; when the church in Keelung is strong, the church in Kaohsiung also is strong; when hall one in Taipei is rich spiritually, hall two also is rich spiritually. The church transcends time and space.
Several days ago, when we were reading a publication put out by a certain group, we noticed that they used almost all of the spiritual terms that we use. From the time Christianity came to China, no one ever used the term prayer and fellowship meeting; we were the first. However, the schedule of meetings printed in this publication included a “prayer and fellowship meeting.” Moreover, there was also an article that spoke about coordination in the service, that is, the brothers and sisters being coordinated in the service of the Body.
When we come to the Lord and consider this matter, we should sense inwardly that we have been blessed to see something and have invented some spiritual terms. Now other people, because of their seeing, are also using our terms. Because the children of God have been blessed, we should be inwardly peaceful. For instance, some people borrow our gospel training materials and produce Christians who know how to preach the gospel; we should praise the Lord. Even though they do not take this way, God is also blessing them with our messages. We should bow our heads and worship Him. If we see that the church transcends time and space, we will say, “O Lord, I praise You that this is the church. Although C. H. Spurgeon did not stand on the same ground that we do, he is still our brother; although D. L. Moody did not take the same way that we do, he is still our brother. Hallelujah! We are all the church.” In this way, many problems will vanish.
We do not merely sit back, wanting Christianity to remain in confusion; rather, we have been praying to the Lord desperately, “O Lord, vindicate Yourself.” Even though we pray this way, we can still say, “This is the church. The Lord rules; we do not rule. The Lord intervenes; we do not intervene.” If the Lord sees that it is good and fitting for them to do this, what can slaves, who are nothing but dust, say? We can only bow our heads and worship the Lord, saying, “O Lord, this is the church.” This is not our work; this is the church. We are here not to build up any so-called church assembly hall, because we know that the church transcends time and space. The apostles Paul, Peter, and John are in the church; so are Luther, Spurgeon, Moody, Finney, and even those whom we do not esteem highly or who take and use the light we see. This is because the church transcends time and space.
In the new heaven and new earth, will we still see the church in Taipei? In the New Jerusalem, will there still be the church in Kaohsiung? Will there still be the churches of the apostolic age? Will there still be the church of the twentieth century? At that time, all the churches in time and space will be gone, having transcended time and space. If we see this, we will become a broad person, and we will know how to conduct ourselves in the church. If, on the contrary, we have not seen this, we will be small-minded and petty. In the New Jerusalem all these problems will be gone. We will all be able to say, “O Lord, the church transcends time and space. As long as people can be blessed, saved, and know You, as long as You can increase in the church, and as long as the Body of Christ can be built up, we have no problem. Even though we could say something, we will not say anything. We worship You because the church is not in time or space.” Only when we see this will there be no sectarianism; only when we see this will there be no quarrels.
How then is the church far above all? Since the church is far above all, a church that has a meeting hall is the church and a church that does not have a meeting hall is also the church. Whether the church is the church has nothing to do with having a meeting hall or even having a successful work. The church is far above all, and all things are subjected under her feet. I spoke a strong word to the brothers in Manila, saying, “Concerning the purchase of the land, some elders have said that we do not have money. Others have said that only 12,500 dollars in offerings have been received, and still others have said that we have received checks only in small amounts, but not any large checks. This shows that we have not seen that the church is far above all. If we have seen the church, we would not say such things.” If we speak in this way in the church life, we will immediately bring the church into subjection to gold, to mammon. We must realize that the church is far above all. Even if the church is impoverished, she is still far above all.
Hence, if we want to administrate the church, lead the church, and know how to conduct the affairs of the church, we must see what the church is. Otherwise, we will not know how to handle matters in the church, and we will also make the church worthless. The church transcends time and space and is far above all things. First Corinthians 3:21 says, “All things are yours.” In other words, all things belong to the church. The church is above all, and the Head of the church is Head over all things to the church. If we truly see this, we will have the faith that when there is a need, the One who is Head over all things to the church will give all things to the church. Since Christ is Head over all things to the church, how can He not cause all things to work together for good to the church? It is a fact that all things are for the church.
When we know the church, we will know how to administrate the church, lead the church, and conduct the affairs of the church. The things we do must be related to not being disobedient to the heavenly vision that we have seen in regard to the church. Only when the Lord gives us the light will we know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God.