Taiwan is truly a good location that is most suitable for us to start practicing the new way, because the life here is stable and secure, education is at a high level and available to all, the economic condition and public security are extremely good, and transportation is especially convenient. In particular, we should be grateful for the various conveniences provided by the government which facilitate the gospel. This is a rare opportunity and a rare location.
In 1984 we compiled official statistics, which included more than six hundred churches from the six major continents over the whole earth. Today in less than three years, the total number of churches on the whole earth has increased from over six hundred localities to more than eight hundred localities. In addition, the number of churches is evenly split between the East and the West, which is very marvelous. More than four hundred churches are in the Far East and Australia, and more than four hundred churches are in the Western Hemisphere. These eight hundred or more churches are spread out in more than forty countries on the six major continents.
Currently, the country with the greatest number of churches is the United States, with a total of more than one hundred. Why then do we choose Taiwan as the place to begin to practice the new way? It is because the population here is concentrated and because we have had forty years of history here since we first arrived in 1949. We believe the various conditions here are very suitable for us. Of course, many brothers and sisters have come from overseas to join the training and to coordinate with the move of the Body. Therefore, due to the different needs, the expense is relatively high, yet we feel that no matter how we look at it, this is the best place for us to start practicing the new way.
The Lord has already added to us many newly saved brothers and sisters, and we also have had meetings with the new ones in their homes. However, we truly desire to have an opportunity at this time to come together so that we can know each other better. Since many new believers have just entered into the church life, we would like to clarify where we stand among the many sects of Christianity. Some have heard that we are called “the church in Taipei,” so they ask, “Which church in Taipei? What kind of name is this? Why do you use a general term as the name of your group?” I believe many of you desire to know more concerning this matter. Here we would like to briefly explain this practice and the reason behind it.
The title of this message is “Our Church (Chao-hui) Life.” The title is simple, but the implication is quite extensive. Generally, people are familiar with the term chiao-hui (religious society), but our usage of chao-hui (assembly) in place of chiao-hui does have a basis. In the Bible the Greek word for church is ekklesia, which is composed of two words, ek and klesia. Ek means “out,” and klesia means “called”; the composition of these two words means “the called-out ones.” Thus, the Greek word refers to all the called-out ones within a city. In the New Testament times this is the word the Lord Jesus used when He mentioned the church in speaking to the disciples. This word includes the meaning of a “hui” (society or congregation) but not the meaning of “chiao” (religion). It also includes the meaning of “chao” (call).
From 1860 to 1870, after some brothers in the United States were raised up, they studied the English word church. The origin of this word can be traced back to a Germanic word which is mainly used to refer to the building where Christians gather for church services. During the nineteenth century, the Brethren of England felt this word could not express the significance of ekklesia in the Bible, so they changed church to assembly in their hymnals, in their Bibles, and in all their literature. Assembly means “the called-out congregation.” Therefore, we are not the first ones to use the word chao-hui (assembly). After 1915, a charismatic movement began in the United States which established a group, the Assemblies of God. Seventy years ago it spread to China, and in Chinese their name was translated as shen-chao-hui (God’s assembly or God-called congregation). Thus, this word was very appropriately translated by a group of brothers according to the original meaning in the Bible.
Recently we have begun to work on publishing the Chinese Recovery Version of the New Testament. This translation is being produced according to the Greek text, using the current Chinese Union Version as a reference, with modifications and annotations. During this process, we felt that since we are making a new translation, we should change the incorrect translation of chiao-hui (religious society) to that of chao-hui (assembly). Therefore, from now on we will use chao-hui instead of chiao-hui in all of our publications in order to convey the proper meaning.
When the Western missionaries first came to China and were translating the word ekklesia, they said that according to the word tzung-chiao (religion), this “hui” (society or congregation) is a kind of “chiao-hui” (religious society); thus, the word chiao-hui came into existence. Of course, back then there was no such word in the Chinese vocabulary. This term chiao-hui was invented by the members of the Imperial Academy and the elderly Chinese scholars who were hired by the Western missionaries who came over to China to preach the gospel and translate the Bible. Today many other religions also use this word, such as fo-chiao-hui (Buddhist religious society). Therefore, we feel that it really needs to be changed. Today the Buddhists call themselves fo-chiao-hui, but they would not call themselves fo-chao-hui (Buddha-called congregation). Only the church of the Lord is a called-out congregation, so it only makes sense that it should be called chao-hui (assembly). However, due to the conventions established in society, to outsiders we still refer to ourselves as chiao-hui (religious society), but actually we take chao-hui (assembly) as the proper expression.