Now let us look briefly at the relationship between one local church and another local church.
The administration of every local church is local; it is independent in each locality. This is the local administration. This principle absolutely must not be violated.
The administration in each locality should be independent because the Bible shows that the apostles’ appointment of elders in every church is equal to their appointment of elders in every city (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). Elders administrate the church; they are administrators of the church. Therefore, a local church having its own eldership indicates that each local church is independent in administration. A church in each locality having local elders indicates that the church in each locality has a local administration
Although the administration of the church in each locality is independent, the fellowship of the church in each locality is not independent but universal. It is one among all the localities because it is the fellowship of the Body. This is signified by the bread we break at the Lord’s table. The apostle Paul says, “The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16-17). The administration of the church is carried out locally; the fellowship of the church is one in the Body. Suppose the church in Taipei says, “We have no relationship with the church in Tainan, so we do not fellowship with them.” This would be a terrible thing because the church in Taipei would immediately become a local sect. Suppose the church in Tainan says, “We do not like the church in Taichung; neither do we like the church in Taipei. We do not like the church in any place, nor care about any of them, nor fellowship with them. We care only about the church in Tainan.” This would be a local sect in Tainan. While the administration of the church in each locality is independent, the fellowship should not be independent but rather be universal and of the Body. Not only do we need to have fellowship with churches in different localities in Taiwan, but we also need to have fellowship with churches in all localities around the globe. The churches all over the earth constitute the one Body of Christ; therefore, their fellowship should be one and the same. The administration of the church is local, but its fellowship is of the Body; the administration is independent, but the fellowship is in oneness.
The churches in all localities should live directly before the Lord, and each is responsible directly to Christ, the Head. They absolutely should not form a federation, and even more, they should not have a head church. This is to say that there should not be any organization above the local church. Otherwise, the organization on top becomes the head of the church underneath it, thus usurping the headship of Christ. Look at the seven churches in Revelation 1:11-20. They were seven independent lampstands, independent churches, each living before the Lord who was walking in their midst. They did not unite to form a federation; neither did they have a head church directing other churches. If there is a head church, it would not be necessary for the elders to inquire of Christ, the Head, when a local church has some problems or must take care of certain administrative matters. Nor would the elders need to pray or seek the will of the Lord; they could simply seek advice from the head church. Even if they sought the Lord’s will, it would not count, because when the head church gave an order or made a resolution, they would need to keep it and abide by it. We must remember that a head church usurps the headship of Christ. Having a head church is presumptuous, overstepping, with regard to Christ, the Head; it is very offensive to the Lord. This is the great sin committed by Christianity today. The local church should be the highest church, and it should also be the lowest church. There is no church higher than the local church, and there is no church lower than the local church. The local church is the unique church; there is no higher-level church, and there is also no lower-level church. Rather, there is one locality with one church, and each church lives directly before the Lord. When there are problems, difficulties, or administrative matters, the church must pray to Christ, look to the Head, wait for the direction from the Head, and remain responsible to the Head. This is a very important matter. We are not contending merely concerning a matter of organization or system but concerning the headship of Christ and the authority of the Holy Spirit. Once there is a head church, it replaces Christ and annuls the Holy Spirit. When a lower church must obey a higher church, there is no more room for Christ, and there is no authority of the Holy Spirit. This is not permissible. This is acceptable in worldly organizations, but it is absolutely unacceptable in the churches. The churches are local units on the same level; they do not have a vertical organization. In the early days, the seven churches in Asia were living individually and directly before the Lord. There were seven churches, and there were also seven lampstands. Christ, the Head, was walking in their midst, and each of the churches was directly responsible to Him. Christ did not deal with the seven churches generally; He did not write one epistle to the seven churches, listing all the seven names of the localities together. Rather, Christ, as the Head, wrote seven epistles to seven churches, dealing with them one by one. Ephesus was Ephesus, and Smyrna was Smyrna; each one was responsible directly to Him, and He dealt with each one directly. Therefore, the church absolutely should not have any kind of organization such as a federation or a head church.
Several years ago when I was in Taichung, I met a newly saved brother. He gladly told me, “Brother Lee, in a week I am going to the head church in Taipei.” I said to him, “Brother, we do not have a head church; we do not have such a thing as a head church or a subsidiary church.” The church in Taipei is not the head church, nor is the church in Taichung a subsidiary church. No church is the head of another, and no church is the subsidiary of another. The church in Taipei is simply the church in Taipei, and the church in Taichung is simply the church in Taichung; there is no distinction with one being the head church and the other being a subsidiary church. The churches in all the localities live directly before the Lord. Although the church in Taipei is large, it is not the head church, nor is it a higher church. The large church in Taipei and the small church in Panchiao are on exactly equal standing; neither is higher nor lower than the other. The church in Panchiao cannot control the church in Taipei; neither can the church in Taipei control the church in Panchiao. Every local church lives directly before the Lord and under the ruling of the Holy Spirit. In spiritual matters the churches should help one another, lead one another, and fellowship with one another; however, this is spiritual, not formal or administrative. It is not organizational; rather, it is altogether spiritual. If we feel that something is of the Lord and it is the Lord’s leading, we may receive the help from the church in another locality. But if we feel that something is not the will of the Lord, we may refuse it. This refusing does not mean that we are divided or sectarian. Today we may refuse the help from another church in a certain matter, but next month we may accept the help from the same church in another matter. Since we feel that such a help is right and from the Lord, we accept it. Therefore, the relationship among the churches in all the localities is spiritual and in the nature of fellowship; it is neither administrative nor organizational.
On one hand, the Bible says that the local churches do not have any relationship according to administrative organization; that is, there is no head church or federation, and every church carries out its administration locally. On the other hand, the Bible says that the churches in all the localities should be the same in their actions. First Corinthians, which was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, was addressed not only to the saints in Corinth but also to all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place (1:2). Although every one of the seven epistles to the seven churches was written to a particular church individually, the end of the epistle indicates that each epistle is also the speaking of the Holy Spirit to the churches (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). After all, the churches are one. Although the administration of the church is independent, the nature of the church is still one, and the fellowship of the church is also one. Although the local churches should not be united in an organizational way, in principle they are one; even more, they are the same in nature, and they are one in the fellowship. In the matter of bearing the testimony of the Lord, it should not be that a church in one locality has one expression, and the church in another locality has another expression. Although the churches should not form an organizational union, they should be the same in fellowship, in nature, and in principle. When the apostle gave direction to a particular church concerning a certain matter, he said, “So I direct in all the churches” (1 Cor. 7:17). The apostle never directed the churches in two different ways. Just as he charged the church in one locality to make offerings on the Lord’s Day, he charged all the churches in the same way (16:1-2). If a local church does not have a certain custom, all the churches should not have that custom (11:16). If a local church does not have a certain practice, all the churches should not have that practice (14:33b-34). Every local church should imitate the churches and follow their example in the Lord (1 Thes. 2:14).
The Bible shows that, on the one hand, the administration of the church is independent, and on the other hand, that the fellowship of the church is one. The churches must not have a federation or a head church, but the churches should be the same in their actions. It seems as if the churches are independent yet one, one yet independent. This is because in administration, in managing, in leading, and in edifying, it is quite convenient for the churches to be independent in their local administration. However, because the nature, the principle, and the fellowship of the church are all one, the churches must be the same in their actions.
May the Lord have mercy upon us in order that we may know these matters clearly and practice them properly so that we may not fall into sectarianism. Every local church must stand on the ground of oneness, without any condition of division, any element of division, or any situation of division. Instead, we should be in a situation of oneness to maintain the testimony of the Body of Christ. At the same time, each local church is one and in fellowship with the churches in all the localities that maintain such a testimony.