Today many Christians are talking about the church, the Body. But they do not know the churches. Although they are talking about the church, they are not in the church. Without the churches, we cannot be in the church. Where is the church? Are you in it? Were you in the church ten years ago, five years ago, five weeks ago? In the past, we were not in the church. We were with other Christians, but deep within we realized that that gathering of Christians was not the church. According to the book of Revelation, the churches are not in the heavens; they are in cities on the earth. If you are not in one of the churches, you are not in the church, no matter how much you talk about the church. To contact the church and be in it, you need the local church.
Consider the type of the church in Genesis 2. After God had created all the animals, He eventually created man. However, God did not create a wife for man. Rather, He brought the living creatures to Adam and showed them to him. Adam seemed to say, “Those do not look like me. That is a horse, that is a turtle, and that is a lamb.” As the animals were presented to Adam one by one, he did not find one that could match him. A turtle is a turtle, a horse is a horse, and a wife is a wife. And I would also say that a denomination is a denomination, a free group is a free group, and a church is a church.
In the past some dear friends tried their best to argue with me, saying, “Brother Lee, you claim that you are the church. Why are we not the church?” I answered them very simply and said, “Don’t you call yourselves Presbyterians and Baptists? Now you come to argue with me saying that you are the church. If you are the church, why don’t you call yourself the church?” Then they said, “The names Baptist and Presbyterian are merely denominational names. They don’t mean anything.” I replied, “I am glad to hear that these names mean nothing. Since they do not mean anything, why don’t you drop them? Why still hold on to something that has no meaning?” They answered, “Brother Lee, how can we drop these names?” I pointed out that their words were contradictory. On the one hand, they said that the name meant nothing; on the other hand, they said that they could not drop their names. Then I asked, “What is this? If you are the church, then say you are the church. Suppose a woman wearing a name tag that says ‘Mrs. Jones’ comes to you and claims to be Mrs. Smith. I would say, ‘If you are Mrs. Smith, why do you bear the name of Mrs. Jones? If you say that this is just a name and that it means nothing, then I would tell you to drop it. If you find it difficult to drop that name, it must prove that you are Mrs. Jones, not Mrs. Smith.’ Brothers, if you are the church, why do you call yourselves Presbyterians, Baptists, and Lutherans?”
One day I pointed out to a friend that there was a group called the Church of England in China and that there was a group called the Chinese Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. What confusion this is! According to Genesis 1, everything is after its kind. A sheep is after its kind, a horse is after its kind, and an ox is after its kind. But what are the Church of England in China and the Chinese Presbyterian Church in the United States of America? They certainly are not according to their kind. The head of the Church of England is the Queen, and every British subject is considered a member of the Church of England. In order to be a member of the Church of England, there is no need to be reborn. Natural birth is sufficient. Is such a thing the church? Is it according to its kind? Certainly not!
In 1963 I was invited to speak to a group of Christians in Missouri. At the end of one of the meetings, my host asked me, “Brother Lee, why do you call yourselves the church in Los Angeles?” I said, “The church in Los Angeles includes all the saints in Los Angeles. But so many of them do not meet with the church. Rather, they stay with the denominations. Only a small number are willing to meet with the church. Consider the example of the Smith family. Suppose the Smith family has twenty-six members and that nineteen of them have left the family. Only seven remain at home. Are those seven not the Smith family? If they are not the Smith family, then what are they? We realize that all the Christians in Los Angeles are part of the church. But most do not want to be with the church. Thousands are in the Catholic Church and in the denominations. If we, the small number who want to remain in the church, do not call ourselves the church, then what would you call us? Give us a name. Any name you give us will simply cause trouble. So many members of the Smith family have gone away. Some have gone to the movies, others to the seashore, and others to the dance hall. Only seven are at home. Nevertheless, those seven certainly are the Smith family.” They had to admit that we were right in saying that we are the church in Los Angeles. However, after that time, some began to doubt, saying, “Is that really the Smith family? The Smith family includes twenty-six members. How can those seven say that they are the Smith family?” Brothers, this is a day of confusion and division, and we must be on the alert. We must know how to discern what the church is. We need the local church in order to be in the church. Many of us can testify what a blessing it has been to touch the church. We can testify that we are in the proper church life. We do not care for the number. Even if the Smith family has only a few members remaining, they are still the Smith family.