In the previous chapter we saw that Christians need to focus on two matters: life and service. In this chapter we will see that life and service are related to the church. The enjoyment of the Lord’s life is for the church, and we can enjoy the Lord’s bountiful life only in the church. Furthermore, our service should also be in the church. Our service is for the church and through the church.
We have observed one thing over the years: when a person is in the church, he is blessed, but when he leaves the church, he loses the blessing. When I speak of the church, I am particularly referring to a local church that is standing on the proper ground. Although every believer is part of the church, most are not on the ground and have lost the nature of the church due to the desolation and confusion resulting from denominations, divisive sects, and free groups. These brothers and sisters belong to the church, but by not being on the ground of the church, they have lost the nature of the church. By His mercy, the Lord has led us to the ground of oneness; He is also leading us to live the church life in His life and by His Spirit in order to have the reality of the church. Hence, when we speak of leaving the church, we are referring to leaving the ground of the church and losing the practical living of the church.
When a person who belongs to the Lord leaves a denomination, a divisive sect, or a free group, he is not leaving the church; rather, he is breaking away from a division. This is similar to the situation of the children of Israel, who were taken into captivity in Babylon and later returned to Jerusalem. When they returned, they were leaving the ground of division and captivity and were returning to the ground of oneness originally ordained by God so that they might live in oneness with God’s children. Hence, leaving denominations, divisive sects, or free groups should not be construed as leaving the church. On the contrary, it is a proper departure, a departure from divisive grounds, in order to return to the ground of oneness. By the Lord’s grace, we are on the ground of oneness. On this ground we have the practical living of the church in His life and by His Spirit. If we leave this, we are truly leaving the church. This is what I am referring to when I speak of leaving the church.
Over the past nearly forty years, every person who has left the ground and the practical living of the church has lost the Lord’s blessing, even if his reasons were justifiable. In mainland China, in other countries in the Far East, and even in the West, we have been able to observe those who left the ground of the church and the practical living of the church. When they left, they would condemn the church for being wrong about something and claim that they were right. Often what they said sounded reasonable, even to the point that others could not clearly discern the situation. After a period of time, however, it became evident that the Lord was not with them, because they lost the Lord’s blessing.
It is hard to regard these results as chance occurrences, because they have been repeated in many places over the years. Those who leave insist that they are right and that the church is wrong. As a matter of principle, those who are right should have the Lord’s blessing, and as a matter of principle, if the church is wrong, it should lose His blessing. But this has not happened. We dare not say that we have never made a mistake; however, by the Lord’s mercy, we can absolutely say that the ground of the church on which the Lord has led us to stand is one thousand percent right. Moreover, the life that we live on the ground, that we live in His life and by the Spirit, is truly the church life. Certainly, we are human beings with the element of the old creation, and more often than not, we make mistakes. In this regard we have the Lord’s precious blood to cover us. However, over the past nearly forty years, according to our observation, there has been nothing of the Lord’s blessing to confirm that those who left were right and that the church was wrong. Even in recent years, we have seen how the Lord’s blessing has been a vindication to us. We should regard the matter of the ground and the living of the church as a serious matter.
In Matthew 18 the Lord spoke about a matter related to the church: If a brother sins against us, we should go and try to recover him. If he refuses to hear us, we should go with one or two more, and if he refuses to hear them, we should tell it to the church. If he refuses to hear the church, the Lord said, “Let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector” (vv. 15-17). In such a situation, it would be quite easy for the offending brother to say, “How can you treat me like a Gentile and tax collector? I have morning watch, and I pray every day. I love the Lord, and I fear Him. I do not allow myself to be defiled by immoral or filthy things, and I do not love the world. I merely have a small difference of opinion with you. How can you treat me like a Gentile and a tax collector?” In the Lord’s speaking, however, He did not say anything about spirituality; neither did He speak about fearing God, pursuing Him, or loving Him. Even if such a one were very spiritual and loved the Lord very much, the Lord said that the church should treat him as a Gentile and a tax collector simply because he has refused to hear the church. This is a serious matter.
May we receive this word of fellowship before the Lord. We should never allow ourselves to come to a point that we feel we are right and the church is wrong, or that we feel we are more spiritual than the church and thus refuse to hear the church. This is an extremely dangerous matter. Regardless of how much we feel that we are right and that the church is wrong, once we separate ourselves from the church, there are serious consequences.
In His mercy the Lord has caused us to know the church, highly regard the church, respect the church, and hear the church more and more. Matthew 18 shows that the church is practical because we can tell our problems to the church. If we did not have the church practically, we would be miserable. It is a great blessing to be able to tell our problems to the church.