With respect to knowing the church, we have covered three lessons concerning what the church is, the expression of the church, and the oneness of the church. Now we come to the fourth lesson on the ground of the church. This matter can be said to be the key to knowing the church in today’s chaotic situation. If someone desires to know the church, he must know the ground of the church.
Every matter, whether according to fact or according to principle, depends first on its ground and then on its condition. For example, if we want to determine whether a family is the Chang family, we should not look at its condition but rather at its ground. If the members of this family are descendants of the Changs, having the Changs’ lineage and calling themselves Changs, this family has the ground to be Changs. On the one hand, the condition of this family may be desolate and improper, but as far as the ground is concerned, they are still the Chang family. On the other hand, the Wang family may be very proper, but they do not have the ground of the Chang family. Hence, we should not acknowledge them as the Chang family. This shows that condition and ground are two separate matters.
From the seventeenth century until now, pursuers of spiritual life acknowledge that Madame Guyon was a spiritual person, and many people received some amount of help from her. Madame Guyon and those who were with her at that time, such as Father Fenelon and Francois LaCombe, were quite spiritual. When they gathered together to fellowship and pray, they truly touched the presence of the Lord. As far as their condition is concerned, it was truly spiritual. But we must ask, where were they? They were in the Roman Catholic Church. We should never assume that as long as people are spiritual, there is no problem with their ground. It is quite possible for people to be spiritual yet their ground be wrong. If we want to know the church, we must separate condition from ground and never confuse the two.
In fact, in determining the correctness of a church, the matter of condition is secondary; the primary matter is the ground. Sadly, people’s knowledge of the church is mainly based on the condition of the church, and they neglect the ground of the church. When speaking concerning a certain Christian group, they feel that there is no problem if the people are zealous, holy, and spiritual. This is to know the church based on condition, not on the ground. This is dangerous.
Our sight will be blurred if our discernment of the church is based merely on condition. If we do not want the church to be divided, we must pay attention to the matter of the ground. Using the example of the Chang family, can we say that a family is the Chang family simply because its condition is good? Absolutely not. If we want to determine whether a family is the Chang family, we must take a look at their genealogy, lineage, and name. This is a matter of the ground. If this family actually has the Changs’ genealogy, lineage, and name, every member of the Chang family must admit that they are the Changs, even if their condition is very poor. They can do their best to improve and build up their family, but they will always be Changs. Likewise, in order to know the church, we must recognize the ground of the church. Condition is relative, but the ground is absolute. Some may say that a Christian group has no problem because its condition is good. However, condition is a relative matter because there is no standard for measuring a good or bad condition. If the condition is good, it is good, and if it is very good, it is still good. There is no standard for determining what degree of good is truly good. Moreover, different people have differing judgments on what is good and what is bad. We may think that something is good, but someone else may not agree; we may think that something else is very good, but others may think that it is not good enough. Different standards cause disagreements. Similarly, there are no definite standards for what is spiritual. A slight degree of spirituality is spiritual, a higher degree of spirituality is spiritual, and an even higher degree of spirituality is spiritual. This also applies to loving the Lord and living for the Lord. We cannot say that a person absolutely does not love the Lord or live for the Lord. Neither can we say that a person fully loves the Lord and lives for the Lord. There is no standard for these things; they are all relative.
In the church in Corinth, some thought that Paul was spiritual and wanted to be of Paul, others thought that Apollos was more spiritual than Paul and wanted to be of Apollos, and yet others thought that Cephas was the most spiritual, so they wanted to be of Cephas. This is a relative matter. One person thinks that Paul is spiritual, another thinks that Apollos is spiritual, and yet another thinks that Cephas is more spiritual. But is it possible to determine who is the most spiritual? This is troublesome.
Moreover, conditions may change. Someone may not love the Lord today, but perhaps tomorrow he will love the Lord very much. A particular group may not be spiritual today, but next year they will become very spiritual. Therefore, the assessment of a church can never be based on its spiritual condition but on its ground. Its ground is absolute and can never change. If a family has the ground of the Chang family, whether they are highly educated or illiterate, they have the ground of the Chang family. Being a millionaire or being penniless does not change the fact that they have the ground of the Chang family. Likewise, the local ground of the church is absolute and cannot be altered.
If the children of God can abandon all conditions and keep the local ground, the church would not be divided. Whenever we deviate from ground to condition, the church will be divided. This is a dangerous matter. Let me repeat, whenever we leave the ground and pay attention to spiritual condition, the church will be divided.
This does not mean that we should not be spiritual and good. We need to ask the Lord for His mercy that our condition would progress and improve day by day. Whether a church is proper does not depend on its condition but on the ground of the church. Whenever we leave the ground, our assessment of the church will immediately become unstable.
Let me say a few solemn words. If the Lord delays His coming, we will one day go to the Lord, and this testimony will spontaneously fall on the shoulders of the young ones. If we do not stand firm on the ground of the church with absolutely no deviation, these young ones will be confused regarding the church. Not only so, there will be divisions among us. If this word is tragically fulfilled one day, please remember that the reason for such a division is that we have paid attention to spirituality and put the ground aside.
In regard to knowing the church, if we depart from the ground and focus our attention on anything else, regardless of how good it is, danger awaits us in the future. Sooner or later, there will be division. No doubt we should pay attention to spirituality and the pursuit of life, but we should set our pursuing feet firmly on the ground of the church. This is our safeguard against any division. Whenever our hearts pursue spirituality and our feet are set on spirituality, division will follow. Once we leave the ground, our pursuing and our spirituality will turn into something dangerous.
I do not know if these words are clear enough. Whether a church is proper does not depend on its condition but on the ground. If the ground is correct, the church is proper even if the condition is poor. If the ground is not correct, the church is improper no matter how good and spiritual its condition is. This is a crucial point.
This matter is not for ourselves; it is for God’s recovery at the end of this age. A strong recovery involves fierce warfare. We must see that the ground is much more important to the church than its condition. If we desire to know the church, we must know the ground of the church.