Now we need to look at the matter of sects. If we want to have a thorough knowledge concerning the ground of the church, we also must have a clear understanding of the matter of sects. This is a matter that is very closely related to the ground of the church.
In considering the matter of sects, we need to start with God’s desire. If we carefully read through the New Testament under God’s enlightening, we will clearly see that the eternal desire of God in the universe is to gain a church among men who have God Himself and thereby become a place for His dwelling and a means for His expression. Using words that are understandable to us, we can say that God wants to gain a church to be His Body. A person dwells in his body and expresses himself through his body. For instance, while I stand and speak a message, I am dwelling in my body, and I am also expressing myself through my body. In like manner, the Triune God also dwells in His Body in the universe and expresses Himself through His Body. This Body is the church which He has chosen and regenerated. He selected a group of people out of the descendants of Adam, out of thousands upon thousands of people, from the east and from the west, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. In the Son and the Spirit, He entered into these chosen ones and regenerated them to make them His Body for His expression in the universe.
Let me use electricity again as an illustration. Electricity is invisible. But the light bulbs allow electricity to flow through and thereby shine forth light. Hence, electricity is manifested. Figuratively speaking, we may say that the light bulbs collectively are the body of electricity. Electricity dwells in the light bulbs, and the light bulbs become the expression of electricity. When we see these light bulbs, we see electricity shining forth and being expressed. In like manner, God wants to gain a church in the universe. His intention is for the church to be His Body as a corporate vessel to express Him. At the conclusion of the Bible, we see this corporate vessel consummated, expressed, as the New Jerusalem. In this city, through this corporate vessel, God is able to completely express Himself.
God’s eternal purpose is to gain a church in the universe, represented by the New Jerusalem, as a corporate vessel to express Himself. God accomplishes His eternal purpose by coming into time, especially in the New Testament age, and by going to various localities through His Spirit to raise up groups of people who believe in His Son and to build these people into local churches. In Jerusalem He built a local church, and also at Antioch He built a local church. He went to Ephesus and built a local church there, and He also built a local church in Corinth. In the New Testament age God is building up local churches. The universal church may be likened to a hen, and a local church may be likened to a chick. Every local church is a miniature of the universal church. Although a local church is small in size, it is exactly the same as the universal church in nature and principle. God wants every local church to be a miniature and a representation of His universal church so that in various places He may have a vessel to express Himself.
Look at the early churches. Every church was like this, whether it was the church in Jerusalem, the church in Antioch, or a church in another place. Every local church was a miniature representing the universal church, expressing Christ and God, in that place and at that time. This is what God wants to do in the New Testament age. Anyone who knows the Scriptures cannot deny this matter. This is God’s heart’s desire and God’s purpose. God saves sinners in order to gain people as material for the building of the local churches. God edifies the saints in order to build the saved ones into the church.
We have all seen how people build a stone house. First they hew stones from the mountain and transport them to the site to prepare them as materials for building. Then the craftsman comes and deals severely with the stones, getting rid of all the corners and rough spots which cannot be joined with other stones. If any stone still cannot be used, the craftsman will knock off some more here and there so that it can be built to become part of the house. In like manner, God first saves people through the gospel and brings them into the church as material for the building up of the church; then He edifies the saints to build them up as His dwelling place. The Bible says that we are living stones, being built up into a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5). For God to build us, He also needs to edify us and deal with us with a severe hand until we can be built. In the New Testament age God is doing this work of building in every place with the result that He gains a church in each locality to be His dwelling place for His rest and to be the Body of Christ for the expression of Christ. This is God’s intention on earth; this is what God wants to do today. This is very clear in the New Testament; everyone who knows the Scriptures would acknowledge this matter.
However, the Bible also shows that Satan is not happy and intends to spoil God’s work. This can be confirmed by church history. God wants to build up the church in one locality after another; therefore, Satan comes to destroy and divide the church in one locality after another. What we see today is not the church in oneness but Christianity in division. There are so many sects and denominations. In the early days were there this many sects and denominations in Jerusalem? If we could ask Peter, “Where is the Episcopalian Church? Where is the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Where is the Presbyterian Church? Where is the Lutheran Church?” Peter would say, “Where did these ‘churches’ come from? There are no such ‘churches’ in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem we have only the church of Christ Jesus.” There were a multitude of saved ones in Jerusalem—three thousand were saved in one day, another five thousand were saved in another day, and many more were being saved continually. There might have been thousands upon thousands of people who were saved. Nevertheless, the only church in Jerusalem was “the church which was in Jerusalem,” which is spoken of in Acts 8:1 in the singular. This proves that in the early days there was only one church in Jerusalem.
Just as there was only one church in Jerusalem, there was also only one church in Antioch, there was also only one church in Ephesus, and even though the believers were divided into four parties in Corinth, there was also only one church in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul addressed them as “the church...in Corinth,” which is still singular in number; it was still one church. Therefore, the Scriptures show one locality with one church. Every church in a locality is a representation of the Body of Christ in that locality which expresses Christ in that locality. Today’s situation, however, is confused. Whenever the church is spoken of, people ask, “To what church do you belong?” The church has been divided. Today on the earth the church we see is no longer in oneness. Instead, the church is divided, and it has been divided beyond recognition!