Although the administration of the local churches is independent in each locality, the fellowship of the local churches is of the Body and is universal. First Corinthians 10:16 says, “The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ?” This indicates that the fellowship of the church is of the Body. It is universal, not local; it is in oneness, not independent. With respect to administration, the local churches are independent, but with respect to fellowship, they are one. If the church in a locality is not one in fellowship with the other local churches, that local church becomes a local sect. Once a local church loses its independence in administration, it loses its local aspect, and once a local church loses the oneness in fellowship, it becomes a local sect. These two aspects are serious. On the one hand, a local church loses its local aspect when its independence in administration is lost; on the other hand, a local church becomes a local sect when it loses the oneness in the universal fellowship. There should be a local aspect, but there should never be local sects. Retaining the local aspect is a great protection to the church, enabling the church to avoid many errors, heresies, and divisions. There have been many problems throughout history because the church lost and abandoned its local nature. At the same time, a church should never become a local sect; fellowship with all the local churches must be maintained. Hence, while the church’s administration is local, the church’s fellowship is universal and of the Body.
God’s arrangement is truly wise and wonderful. Because all the local churches are independent in administration, the local nature of the constitution of the churches is not lost. Moreover, because all the local churches are in one fellowship, the oneness of the Body of Christ is kept, and the churches do not become local sects.
All the local churches live directly before the Lord and are responsible directly to Christ the Head; hence, they should not form a federation or have a head church. Revelation 1:11-20 shows that the seven lampstands, that is, the seven churches, have the Lord Jesus in their midst. They live independently before Christ the Head and are directly responsible to Him. Among these churches, there are no so-called federations, head churches, or subsidiary churches.
Some people depict the seven lampstands in Revelation as being seven lamps on one lampstand. This conveys the wrong impression that churches can be united together to form a central church, a central lampstand. However, this is not what Revelation shows. Revelation 1:11 through 13 and 20 speak of seven different lampstands. The lampstand with seven lamps was the golden lampstand in the tabernacle in the Old Testament; this is not the case in the New Testament. The seven lampstands in Revelation 1 are independent and equal, each standing before Christ the Head. Therefore, among the churches, there is no higher-level church or lower-level church, no head church or subsidiary churches. The highest church is a local church, and the lowest church is also a local church. Both the highest and lowest church are a local church. No local church is higher than another church, and no local church is lower than another church. In this way, the authority of Christ the Head is not usurped or damaged among the local churches. If there were higher-level and lower-level local churches, the lower-level churches would have to obey the commands of the higher-level churches, and the result would usurp the authority of Christ the Head in the local churches.
The administrative independence of the local churches allows the Holy Spirit to move freely among the churches without any hindrance. Sadly, the organization in Christianity today is multi-level, with one level controlling another level, so that there is absolutely no room for the authority of the Head and the moving of the Holy Spirit. This is offensive to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, there should never be distinctions such as federated churches, head churches, higher-level churches, or lower-level churches. The church in Jerusalem was the largest church, but it was not so large that it became the head church among the local churches. Before the Lord the smallest local church is by no means lower than the largest local church. Whether it is the largest local church or the smallest local church, all the local churches are equal before the Lord, being absolutely under the authority of the Head and the control of the Holy Spirit. This gives the Head and the Holy Spirit the absolute ground and authority among the churches.
Although the local churches are independent in administration and are not unified as an organization, they should be the same in their spiritual move and testimony. The action and testimony of the one universal church should be the same in all localities. For the convenience of management, leading, and edification, there is no better way than to have the local churches administrated by locality. However, as far as spiritual living and testimony are concerned, the local churches should all be the same.
First Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, but 1:2 says that it was also written to “all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place.” This is because the commands concerning spiritual living and service contained in this Epistle are to be kept unanimously in all the local churches. All the local churches should be and do what the church in Corinth is and does. What the church in Corinth does, the other local churches should do. This is not a matter of organization; rather, this indicates that all the local churches should be the same in principle, nature, and testimony. Thus, the apostle’s charge to the church in Corinth was also his charge to all the other churches (7:17; 16:1). When a custom is not found in one church, it should not be found in the other churches (11:16; 14:34).
In 1 Thessalonians 2:14 the apostle said, “For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.” This refers to the persecutions and sufferings they encountered because of their testimony for the Lord. Hence, in the matter of being persecuted for the testimony of the Lord, all the churches should follow the same footsteps and be one; a local church should imitate the pattern of the other churches.
Although each epistle written by the Lord to the seven churches in Revelation was written to a particular local church, at the end of each epistle it says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Just as there should not be idols in the church in Thyatira, there should not be idols in the other local churches; just as the church in Pergamos should not follow the teaching of Balaam, the other local churches should not follow the teaching of Balaam. These examples show that the churches should be one in their actions. While the local churches should be separate and independent in administration, they should be one in their fellowship and in their living and actions for the Lord’s testimony. In this way, the expression of all the local churches will be balanced, stable, and proper.