The original church also had another notable feature; there was only one expression in each locality. This means that there was only one church in each locality. It was one in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), one in Antioch (13:1), one in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1), and one in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2). It was one in every locality (Rev. 1:11). Every locality had only one church, one fellowship, and one ground. In other words, in a locality there was only one group of Christians; there were not two groups of Christians, and even more, there were not numerous groups of Christians. It was not like the situation today, for example, where in Taipei alone, there are countless groups of Christians. Originally, one locality had only one group of Christians, one church. This principle is very strict; that is, in one locality there should be only one church.
This principle of “one locality, one church” prohibits God’s children from being divided. If we are in Jerusalem, we need to be in the church in that city since there is only one church in Jerusalem; we cannot be separated from it. If we are going to Antioch, we should not be separated from the church there. We can also use the names of the cities today as illustrations. If all of us keep the principle of “one locality, one church,” when a brother comes to Taipei, he is a brother in the church in Taipei; when he goes to Tainan, he is a brother in the church in Tainan; when he goes to Taichung, he is a brother in the church in Taichung. Wherever this brother goes, he cannot start a second church. If the church does not take “one locality, one church” as its principle or take the locality as its jurisdiction and ground, there surely will be division and confusion. For example, there is a church in Taipei. What would happen if another group of brothers came and called themselves a church because they considered that it was sufficient for two or three to meet together in one accord? And what if, after a period of time, other brothers also came here and met together, calling themselves a church? If this were the case, the church would be in confusion. Moreover, forming a church would become too easy; anyone could set up a church at will.
The churches were not like this in the early days. There was one church in each locality. After Paul went to Corinth and many were saved through his gospel preaching, he established the church in Corinth, not “the church of Paul.” After Apollos went to Corinth and did some work there, preaching the word and helping many people, he did not set up “the church of Apollos”; instead, he turned the people whom he helped over to the church in Corinth. Later Cephas went and worked there, but he also gave the results of his work to the church in Corinth instead of setting up “the church of Cephas.” No matter who went to Corinth and regardless of what labor they did, they all gave the fruit of their work to the church in Corinth. Furthermore, when saints went to Corinth, whether they were from Rome, Ephesus, or Jerusalem, they considered themselves to be brothers in the church in Corinth. In the locality of Corinth, there was only one church. The church in that locality had only one expression, one ground, and one fellowship. In this way all the divisions were annulled. It was not like the situation today. After a group of Christians comes to Taipei, they set up their kind of “church”; when another group comes, they set up their kind of “church”; and when yet another group comes, they also set up their kind of “church.” Consequently, when people look at the church in Taipei, they can only see this kind of “church” and that kind of “church”; thus, in Taipei the church is in a state of confusion.
I think that when brothers, who were not acquainted with each other, met in the early church in Jerusalem, one would ask, “Are you a brother?” The other would reply, “Yes, I am. Praise the Lord!” After that, there were no further questions. Surely they did not ask, “Which church do you go to?” or “Which denomination do you belong to?” This would not have happened. But what about today? When two Christians meet in a public place and realize that they are believers in the Lord, the next question is almost always, “To which church do you belong?” In the early days there was no need for such a question, because in those days there was only one church in each locality; it was enough simply to ask whether one was a brother. But today the church has been divided. There are too many “churches”; there is a “church” on a street, a “church” in an alley, a “church” in a house, and a “church” in a school dormitory. Today the church is divided, and the “churches” are so numerous that it is hard to tell which is the real church.
I remember a story from more than twenty years ago. Some brothers and I were resting in the city of Hangchow, and we often took a walk in the afternoon. Gradually, I noticed that many streets had stores with the name “Chang Hsiao-chuan.” Chang Hsiao-chuan was a seller of scissors, and the scissors of Hangchow were very famous, especially scissors made by Chang Hsiao-chuan. Although there were many stores with the name “Chang Hsiao-chuan,” there were some slight differences: one was called “The Original Chang Hsiao-chuan,” another was called “The Genuine Chang Hsiao-chuan,” still another was called “The Truly Genuine Chang Hsiao-chuan,” and yet another was called “The Uniquely One Chang Hsiao-chuan.” Although they all called themselves “Chang Hsiao-chuan,” they were different kinds of “Chang Hsiao-chuan.” At first I did not understand, but then I learned that everyone wanted this brand because the “Chang Hsiao-chuan” brand was very famous; therefore, many merchants were claiming to be the true Chang Hsiao-chuan. Regardless of their claims, however, we could not tell which one was true.
Brothers and sisters, this is the situation of the church today. There is even a denomination that is called “The True Church of Jesus.” This means that all the other “churches” are false, and only their “church” is true. This is similar to the “Genuine Chang Hsiao-chuan” of Hangchow. Today when we walk out of the meeting hall in Taipei, we can see the “Presbyterian Christian Church at East Gate,” then there is the “Baptist Church,” and a little farther on there is the “Lutheran Church” and “The True Church of Jesus.” This situation is similar to Hangchow, where “Chang Hsiao-chuan” stores could be found everywhere. However, there was no need for the early church to designate itself as such-and-such “church,” much less designate itself as “the true church.” The church was simply the church, and it was one in each locality: in Jerusalem it was one, in Antioch it was one, in Ephesus it was one, and in Corinth it was also one. Wherever it was, the church was one, not two. This was the proper situation; therefore, there was no confusion.
Originally, although the fellowship among the churches was one, they were independent of each other in administration; there was no head church or any federation among them. In principle, a local church should live directly before Christ and honor Christ as the Head. If there is a head church, then the head church would become the authority over the sub-churches. The higher church would rule over the lower church, and the lower church would obey the higher church, disregarding the headship of Christ and the authority of the Holy Spirit. This is most offensive to the Lord, and the Lord absolutely would not allow it. In the early days there was one church in one city, and each church lived before the Lord, just as the seven local churches in the book of Revelation were represented by seven individual lampstands (1:11, 20). The lampstand in the tabernacle of the Old Testament was a single lampstand with seven branches. But in Revelation the lampstands, which represent the seven churches, are seven in number: one locality, one lampstand; seven localities, seven lampstands, each standing alone. They did not form a union; rather, they were all directly responsible to Christ, the Head. This principle is crucial.
Originally, the local church was the highest, and it was also the lowest; the local church was the greatest, and it was also the least. No church was higher than the local church, and no church was lower than the local church. No church was greater than the local church, and no church was less than the local church. The church is expressed in a locality; therefore, the church in a locality is the church. Other than the church in a locality, there is no other church. The church is expressed in locality after locality as the local churches. This situation prevents division, retains the headship of Christ, and allows the Holy Spirit to have the authority.
The church is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 4:15), reigning in the church through the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2; 15:28). It was this way in the early church. There was neither human opinion nor human authority. The believers let Christ be the Head in all things, and they let the Holy Spirit rule in all. They honored Christ as the Head and obeyed the authority of the Holy Spirit; this was the supreme characteristic of the original church.
How beautiful was the situation in the early church! All the saved ones were brothers, members, and priests, serving the Lord together in coordination. At the same time, they were separated from the world, they forsook idols, and they allowed God to speak in their midst. Furthermore, there was only one church in each locality, and although there was fellowship among the churches, the churches did not form a federation; instead, they lived directly under the authority of Christ, the Head, and obeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit. As a result, they spontaneously allowed Christ to be the Head and allowed the Holy Spirit to exercise His authority. This was the situation in the early church. By reading the Acts, we can see that this was the situation of the church. Regrettably, this kind of situation did not last long; after a short time, the church gradually became degraded and lost its original condition.