“On this rock I [Christ] will build My church” (Matt. 16:18). [The church mentioned by the Lord in this verse is in the universal aspect. It is unique, including all who have believed into Him in the universe through all the ages and in every place.]
“If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church” (Matt. 18:17). [The church mentioned by the Lord in this verse is in the local aspect. It is numerous and its local believers can speak to it. According to the local aspect, the church appears in every locality. Each local church includes only those who have believed into Christ in that place.]
[The church is unique and has no need of special names. The church is the church; there should not be kinds of churches that are denominated according to their kind, such as the Presbyterian church, the Lutheran church, and the Baptist church. To denominate the church in this way is needless and not according to the biblical revelation.]
[Although the church is unique in the universe, it is numerous in its local manifestation. The many local churches do not differ in nature; their difference is only in the different places where they are. Therefore, we may use the name of the locality in which a local church is to designate that church, such as the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1), and the seven local churches in the province of Asia (Rev. 1:4, 11).]
[Genesis 1 says that God created man in His own image and that He gave man the authority to rule all the created things (v. 26). In the creation of man the two vital things are the divine image and the divine authority. If we are to have the full image of God to express God and to realize the full authority to represent God, to subdue His enemy, to subdue this earth, God Himself must be our life.] [The divine life to be received by man is for two things: to express God on the positive side and to deal with God’s enemy on the negative side. To express God, man needs the image of God. To deal with the enemy of God, man needs the authority of God. The divine authority, which is something of the kingdom, is revealed throughout the entire Scriptures.]
[After man became fallen, God chose the race of Abraham. The first race, the race of Adam, failed God. But after the great flood, God began again with a second race of mankind, the race of Noah. This second race also failed God. Then God chose the third race, the race of Abraham, after the time of Babel. The purpose of God’s choosing of Abraham is revealed in Genesis 12:1-2. These two verses tell us that God chose Abraham with the intention of having a kingdom. The Lord told Abraham that He would make of him “a great nation” (v. 2). This great nation is a kingdom. The kingdom is a sphere, a realm, to exercise authority. Without the kingdom God can never exercise His authority. For God to accomplish His purpose, He must have a realm, a sphere, as a kingdom for Him to exercise His authority. This is why the Lord Jesus mentioned the kingdom when He taught the disciples to pray in Matthew 6. At the beginning of the Lord’s prayer and at the end of it the kingdom is mentioned. The beginning of the Lord’s prayer says, “Let Your kingdom come” (v. 10). The end of this prayer says, “For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen” (v. 13).]