We have seen that in the church in Jerusalem there were tens of thousands of believers meeting in many houses, yet they were still under one group of elders, they were still called the church at Jerusalem. They may have had hundreds of meetings, but all these many meetings were still one church. A good illustration of this today is the Bank of America. In the city of Los Angeles it has numerous branches, but still it is only one bank. Every branch executes the administration of one bank. If this kind of arrangement and administration could be executed by a bank, why could it not be done by the church? The church is greater and better than the Bank of America. We must pray regarding this matter. “Lord, build up such a church here in Los Angeles with tens of thousands of believers and with many meetings to show the enemy, to show Thy people, that it is absolutely possible for the Lord to do this today.”
We have seen also from 1 Corinthians 14 that the church and the meeting, the meeting and the church, are identified one with the other. The church equals the meeting, and the meeting equals the church. “In all churches of the saints” (14:33) means in all meetings of the saints in various localities. The meeting in this city is just the church in this city. The meeting in San Francisco is just the church there in San Francisco. This proves that the Christian meeting must be church related. The Christian meeting must be of the church, for the church, and eventually must be the church. Therefore, the first principle we must learn and apply is that the meeting of Christians must be related to the church. Either it is the church, or it is part of the church.
There are so many Christian meetings today which are simply churchless. Those who attend them have no concept whatever of the church; so their meetings are not church related or church conscious. We all must be so church conscious in our meetings. Strictly speaking, if we know the Word of the Lord, we will realize that to meet in a churchless way is actually sin. Why? Because if we meet without paying due attention to the church, we are meeting in a divisive way. To be divisive in the eyes of God is sinful, for God’s intention is to have a church. God’s purpose is to build up a Body for His Son. If we meet in a divisive way, if we meet without keeping the oneness of the church, we are damaging the Body of Christ by our meetings, we are frustrating the building up of the church. So many people are innocently sinful; yet still they are sinful, because they are dividing and damaging the Body of Christ. Some are doing it consciously. This is not a small thing.
Before I saw this, about forty years ago, I was quite free to meet with Christians. But since the Lord has revealed this matter to me, I have never been careless in this matter. The Lord has made me to realize that Christian meetings are so greatly related to the church. If we meet in a proper and normal way, we build up the church; if not, we damage the church. Though we may have a good intention in our coming together, if we are not meeting church consciously, we are sinful and against the Lord’s economy. We all must be exceedingly clear that whenever we meet, whenever we even consider coming together, we must be church conscious; we must never meet with any Christians in a churchless way.
Now in order to strengthen this concept, this matter in God’s revelation, I wish to point out to you many verses in the book of Acts regarding the church. If you read through all these verses, you will realize that in the early days, in the first century, all the Christians were so church conscious, so church related. In their concept there was nothing of individualism. Whatever they had was the church—it was all the time the church. By reading these verses in the divine record, we see how careful the Holy Spirit was in using the word. Time after time, if I were the writer, I would use the word “believers”; but the Holy Spirit continually uses the word “the church.” This is the record of fact in the ancient days. As far as the early saints were concerned, it was always a matter of the church. Whatever they did, they did it church consciously; whenever they met, they met for the church. In the Holy Spirit’s record regarding those days, this word “the church” is used over and over. Based upon this fact, we have the principle that we must always be church conscious.
Now let us look into these verses. In the first four chapters of the book of Acts, the term “church” has not been used. In the last verse of chapter two, in the King James Version, we have the word “church.” But better manuscripts show that there is not such a term in chapter two. It is not till chapter five, verse 11, that this term “the church” is used. In Acts 2:44, however, we do have this clause: “All that believed were together.” This, of course, was their meeting. And so you can see that the believers at that time were meeting people. They were the people who came together all the time, and this was their meeting.
Then chapter four, verse 23, proves something more. After John and Peter were released from prison, the Bible says that they went to their own company. The King James Version uses the word “company,” but in Greek we do not have this word. The literal rendering of the Greek is, “they went to their own.” This means that they went to their own people. Then in verse 31, we see that this was a meeting. It says, “The place... where they were assembled together.” This also strongly proves that in the early days the Christians were so accustomed to meet together. Immediately after Peter and John were released from prison, they went to their own, and it was to a meeting. Do you think that they called a special meeting? I do not think so. Immediately after they came out from prison, they went to their own, and there was a meeting going on. The same thing occurred when Peter was released from prison in Acts chapter twelve. He came to the house of Mary, and when he arrived, there were many in that house praying; a meeting was in progress (v. 12). In the early days the Christians were not separated ones, but gathered ones. They were a gathering people: all the time they were coming together. We Christians must be such a people.
Then in chapter five something of a negative nature occurred. Ananias and his wife Sapphira cheated the Holy Spirit and they died. Then what does the Holy Spirit say? Look into the context. You must realize that what happened there was in the setting of a meeting. The Bible does not clearly say that it was a meeting, but if you read the context, you will see that what occurred must have been in a meeting. Immediately after Ananias expired, some young men were there, and they carried him out and buried him. Then his wife Sapphira came, and she also died; whereupon the young men carried her out. The context indicates a meeting. Eventually, in verse 11 the Bible says, “great fear came upon all the church.” I have said already that if I were the writer, I would use the word “believers”—“great fear came upon all the believers.” But the Holy Spirit says, “all the church.” I do believe that what is meant by “the church” mostly means the meeting, because you have the last phrase in that verse, “as many as heard these things.” This proves that the Christian meeting must be something of the church; it must even be the church. The meeting is for the church, the meeting is about the church, and the meeting is the church. I like this word, “great fear came upon all the church.” I do believe that if you were the writer, you also would use the word “believers,” not “church.” Why? Because, sorry to say, we are not so church conscious; we are not so church related. In the early days it was different, and, of course, especially with the Holy Spirit, it is absolutely different. When the Holy Spirit inspired the book of Acts, He used the word “church”—“great fear came upon all the church.”
Then in chapter eight, verse 1, we read, “And at that time there was a great persecution against the church.” It did not say a great persecution against “the Christians” or against “the believers.” No, the persecution was against “the church.” I tell you, they were really church conscious. Then look at verse 3. It says, “Saul made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and hailing men and women committed them to prison.” “Every house” was composed of “men and women,” and “the church” was composed of “every house.” You see, Saul damaged the church by entering into the houses and committing the men and women to prison. Have you noticed this verse and the word “church” in it? If I were the writer, I would say, “Saul made havoc of the believers.” But the Holy Spirit says, “of the church.” In the ancient time all the believers were church conscious. They did not consider themselves as individual believers, but as the corporate church. When they were persecuted, that meant the church was persecuted. They were not the individuals, but the church. They were not separate believers with isolated meetings; they were the church. We today are so greatly under the influence of degraded Christianity. We do need to abandon all our background that we may be so impressed with the church, that we may become church conscious.
Now notice chapter nine, verse 31. It says, “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria...” Again the Holy Spirit, contrary to our inclination, uses the word “the churches.”
Then in chapter eleven, verse 22, we have a very special verse: “Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was at Jerusalem.” I was a Christian for years before I came to see this verse and be impressed with it so clearly and deeply. The church has ears: “the tidings came unto the ears of the church.” This is really extraordinary. Again I say, if I were the author, I would certainly have written that tidings came to the ears of the believers at Jerusalem. But in the early days the believers considered that their ears were the ears of the church. They did not care so much for themselves as individual believers, but only for the church as a corporate body. Whenever they met, they met in the church way, they met representing the church, they met for the church and as the church. Whatever they heard, they considered it was for the church, because they looked upon their ears as the ears of the church.
Then in verse 26 of the same chapter we read that Barnabas found Saul and brought him to Antioch. And the Word says that for “a whole year they assembled themselves with the church.” I would have said, “with the believers.” We are so accustomed to using the word “believers.” We are believer conscious; we are not church conscious. This verse again proves to us that the Christian assembly must be something of the church. When they assembled themselves, that of course was with the church. And our meeting must be the same.
We stress this matter again and again simply because people today are not church conscious; they do not care for the church. They care for meetings, they care for Christian individuals, but not for the church. Ask yourself this question: You have been meeting with God’s children year after year; you have attended meeting after meeting; have you ever had some kind of consciousness that your meeting should be for the church? You have sought to have good meetings, but have you been church related and church conscious?
Then we come to chapter twelve. Chapter twelve, verse 1, says, “Now about that time Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.” It does not say, “certain believers,” “certain apostles,” or “certain disciples.” The Holy Spirit says, “certain of the church.” In the following verses we see that those whom Herod persecuted were the apostles. In the eyes of God, the apostles were part of the church. Then verse 5 tells us that Peter was put into prison, but the church prayed. The Bible does not say “all the believers prayed,” but “prayer was made of the church.” How did the church pray? The church prayed by the believers meeting in homes. Many were meeting in the home of Mary, and undoubtedly many others were meeting in other homes. In verse 12 Peter considered to what house he should go. Eventually he decided to go to the house of Mary the mother of Mark. There were many houses with many believers meeting, but Peter decided to go to this house. All the meetings were just for the church and executed what the church intended to do. It was the move of the whole church to pray for Peter. We need to be so impressed with this matter. Either we should drop our meetings or we should meet in a church way. If we meet in a churchless way, we are sinful in the eyes of God, for we are dividing the Body of Christ.
Now look at chapter thirteen. In verse 1 we see that in Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers. Where were they? Of course, in the church. But look at the many Christian workers of today. Where are they? You must allow me to say this: nearly all of them are in a pitiful condition as far as the genuine local church is concerned. Some of them even boast that they have nothing to do with any church and that they are independent. But as one in the Lord’s work, if you are not definitely and positively related to a genuine local church, that is a sin. The contrast between the present situation and the early days, when all the prophets and teachers were in a local church, is striking. The prophets and teachers were all part of the church in a practical way and were in the church. To boast that you are independent and not related to any church is not a glory, but a shame. We must be church conscious and church related, not only in our meetings, but also in our Christian work, our Christian ministry, and our Christian service. We should be prophets and teachers in the church, not in a general way, but in a local way, just as they were in “the church that was at Antioch.” We must be in the genuine local church in the locality where we are.
In chapter fourteen, verse 23, we see that Paul the Apostle and his co-workers established and ordained elders in every church. This proves that where there were believers, there was a church. If in this city there are some believers, these believers must constitute the one church in this city. In the eyes of the apostles they were the church; so the apostles ordained elders in every church. Then in verse 27, we see that when the apostles returned to Antioch, they gathered, not all the saints, not all the Christians, but the church. Have you seen this? This is the book of Acts. They gathered the whole church. The Holy Spirit used the word “church,” not “believers” or “saints.” We must realize that the word in Greek for church means congregation or assembly. It really means the called-out ones gathered together. So the church in its essential meaning is a meeting. When we gather the saints together, that means that we gather the church together.
Now look at chapter fifteen, verses 3 and 4. Verse 3 says that the apostles were brought on their way by the church. That means that the church sent them. Then verse 4 says that the church at Jerusalem received them. The church at Antioch sent them, and the church at Jerusalem received them. It is really good. They were sent by one local church, and they were received by another. Then notice verse 22: it pleased not only the apostles and the elders, but also the whole church to send certain men to Antioch. Again the Holy Spirit would not use the word “believers,” but the “church.” It is always the church, the church, the church. Then again in verse 41 it says that the apostle went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
Again in chapter sixteen, verse 5, it says, “the churches were established in the faith, and increased in number daily.” It does not say the believers, but the churches. What was within the believers in the early days was just the church. Then in chapter eighteen, verse 22, when Paul came to Caesarea, it says he went up and saluted the church—not the saints, but the church. In chapter twenty, verse 17, when Paul was near to Ephesus, he sent for the elders of the church and said to them, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock...to feed the church of God.” If I were the writer, I would say, “feed the children of God.” But the Holy Spirit says, “feed the church of God.”
In these last days may we learn to be so church conscious. This matter is almost totally related to the meetings. May the Lord be merciful to us that henceforth none of us may meet in a churchless way. This is the first principle we must learn for our meetings. Whether we are building up the church or doing something to damage the church all depends on the way we meet. We must meet in a church way.