Someone else once asked, “If the Holy Spirit does not have the authority in the church, will God raise up another church?” The book of Revelation shows us that the ground of the church is a very serious matter. It is so serious that even though some of the seven churches in Revelation were in a state of confusion-even having idols and fornication-the Lord did not ask the believers to leave those churches. The proper ground is a serious thing. For example, we cannot say that we no longer want to be Chinese because our country is not good. We cannot do this because the ground of China has already been given to us. It is the same with the ground of the church and with any other ground. If my son comes to me one day and tells me that he is no longer my son because he has become a bandit, I would have to say that although he is a bandit, he is still my son. If he is as good as the Lord Jesus, he is my son, and if he is so bad that he becomes a bandit, he is still my son. Very few people are clear about the ground of the church to such an extent.
Undoubtedly, today’s Christianity has lost the ground of the church. Moreover, we can say that there are, in fact, very few people who know the ground of the church. Furthermore, today’s Christianity is also full of confusion. These are the reasons why we cannot cooperate with Christianity. The first reason, of course, is a matter of the ground. We cannot cooperate with Christianity because we have a different ground. The second reason is that Christianity is full of confusion-there is great confusion in their teachings concerning the church. The third reason is that we want to show God’s children a pure way. The fourth reason is that Christianity has its own mission and we have our ministry. What God has committed to us, we will do. What God has not committed to us, we will not do. We hope that we will be faithful to what the Lord has committed to us. If we cannot fulfill the commission we have received, how can we help others do their work?
In the early days when we first preached the truth concerning salvation through faith, we suffered much criticism. Some pastors said, “We have been pastors for our whole life, but we are still not clear as to whether or not we are saved. How can you say that you are saved once you believe?” One time I was preaching the gospel in Suchow Gospel Hospital. I said that once we believe in the Lord, we are saved. That day my preaching was based on John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.” Incredibly, an old pastor in the audience was shaking his head. Nevertheless, after we fought the battle for this truth, all the churches in China began to preach salvation by faith. Now we are not the only ones who preach salvation by faith, but wherever we go, we can hear such preaching.
Many years ago all the believers in Christianity in China addressed one another as fellow “church friends.” But since the Lord has raised us up, we have truly experienced that we are those who have the Lord’s life. Furthermore, the Bible does not say that the believers are fellow church members but that they are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19). Therefore, we began to address one another as “brother” or “sister.” This was also opposed by Christianity. However, today nearly no one uses the term “church friend.” Formerly, it was also rare to hear terms such as “edification meeting,” “fellowship meeting,” “gospel meeting,” “prayer meeting,” and “bread-breaking meeting.” Rather, all we heard was “big worship,” “small worship,” or “family worship.” Now, however, many people in the denominations also use the word “meeting.” In the past, they used the expression “taking Holy Communion” instead of “breaking bread,” but now many of them also say “breaking bread.” When we were first raised up by the Lord, we were not welcomed. The critical matter, however, is whether or not we have the proper ground and whether or not we are contending for the right thing. If we are contending for the right thing and standing on the proper ground, then one day those who oppose us and those who do not like us will have to take our way and do what we do. If we had not fought in the early days, there would not be any hope for the church. Therefore, we should not judge anything before its time. We have to know what we have been committed with and what we are doing.
Everyone loves to say, “We are almost the same.” But we do not like to say this because many things are in fact very different. Are we really almost the same as the denominations? If we are almost the same as the denominations, we do not need to have the proper ground. From the very first day we started to take the way of the church, we declared that the whole of Christianity in China had already lost the matter of the ground. By God’s mercy, we have picked up the matter of the ground. Because we picked up the ground of the church, many also became clear about this matter and therefore returned to the ground of the church. Today those in Christianity cannot but confess that we who are standing on this ground are the church. However, they wish that we would call their meeting the church as well. This is really a difficult situation. Since they call themselves the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Episcopalian Church, how can we call their meetings the church? They are denominations because they have lost the ground of the church. It is because they have forsaken this ground that we, by the Lord’s mercy, have picked it up.
We all have to confess that the church is one. In the church in Corinth, some said that they were of Paul, of Apollos, of Peter, or of Christ. At the end, they all were rebuked by the Holy Spirit. If today some say, “I am of the Presbyterian Church” or “I am of the Baptist Church,” do you think that God will approve of this? Certainly not. If God does not approve of this, should we still take newly saved ones to the Baptist Church or the Presbyterian Church? May God show us that we are compelled by necessity to start a new meeting outside of the Christian organizations such as the Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Church. Since we cannot belong to the Presbyterian Church or to the Baptist Church, we surely have to meet together by ourselves.
It is very clear who should bear the responsibility of division. On the one hand, Christianity has spread the gospel, but on the other hand, Christianity has also divided the church.
Home | First | Prev | Next