Finally, we need to consider our practice and attitude today. This will enable us to understand our ground, be clear concerning our practice, and know our way. Even now, without saying anything regarding the outsiders who are not clear concerning us, many newly saved brothers and sisters among us are not clear. Thus, people have many misconceptions concerning us. Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to speak clearly concerning our practice and attitude. I believe that this will make many matters clearer. I also hope that after the brothers and sisters listen to these words, they will be careful not to speak inaccurate words or words that misrepresent us when speaking to others. Because today’s Christianity is complicated, we must be accurate in our speaking and in our testimony
Let us first look at our practice. First, we emphasize the testimony of the church in reality as the fullness of Christ, which is filled with Christ, full of the presence of Christ, and thereby expresses Christ. This is our primary emphasis. Our desire is that in the meetings and among the brothers and sisters, we will be full of the measure of Christ, full of the presence of Christ, and full of the expression of Christ. This is the testimony of the reality of the church. At the same time, we also emphasize the ground of the church in practicality. Thus, we have an outward ground that matches the inward testimony, just as in the Old Testament the outward tabernacle matched the inward Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was the Ark of the Testimony of God; as such, it was God’s center. But the Ark needed a tabernacle in which it could be placed. Likewise, Christ as the testimony of God is the center of God, but He also needs the outward ground of the church to match and support Him.
Second, we have returned to the proper ground of the church, the original ground of the church, the ground of oneness. The ground of today’s Christianity is not the original ground of the church, because it has been divided. Look at the church in Jerusalem in the beginning; it was in oneness, and it was one. But today in Taipei the church has been divided. This means that the ground of the oneness of the church has been lost. Therefore, we absolutely believe that we must leave the divisions and return to the ground of oneness. According to Old Testament typology, the ground of oneness is Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the place where the temple of God was built, where the testimony of God was set up, where the name of God was placed, and where God was worshipped by His people. In Jeroboam’s time, even though the nation of Israel was divided into two, there was still only one place for the worship of God; the people of Israel still had to go to Jerusalem to worship God. Jeroboam set up Bethel and told the people to worship God there (1 Kings 12:26-30). This, however, was never recognized by God. For God, there was only one place, only one ground. The meaning of this type is that the church has only one ground—the ground of oneness. The church absolutely should not be divided. The church must return to the ground of oneness and not remain on any of the grounds of division of organized Christianity. All of the grounds of denominations, being divisive, are not according to the Bible; therefore, we should leave them. These divisive grounds, like Babylon, bring the children of God into captivity. Just as the people of Israel needed to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:3, 5; 7:7-9; Neh. 2:11), we also need to leave the divisive grounds and return to the ground of oneness.
Today there are also some free scattered groups of Christians, some of whom meet in their home and some of whom meet in schools or other places; they consider themselves a small “church.” These groups are not sufficiently according to the Bible. Although these groups seem to be nonsectarian and appear to have left organized Christianity, they still have not returned to the ground of oneness. This is similar to some of the people of Israel in the Old Testament who left Babylon yet wandered in many places between Babylon and Jerusalem, rather than returning to Jerusalem. These small free groups also must see the ground of the oneness of the church. All of the believers, wherever we are, must be one and not divided. Since we are saved and all belong to the Lord, we should be one; oneness is our ground. In a given locality there should be only one group of Christians, not several groups; there should be only one church, not several churches. The church is one; oneness is the ground of the church. Therefore, we would not remain on any ground of organized Christianity, which is the ground of division. Neither would we wander in the ground of the free groups, which is the ground of scattering. Instead, we have returned to the original ground of the church, which is the ground of oneness.
Third, it is not our desire to set up any so-called meetings of “ours” in different places; rather, our desire is to meet and serve the Lord together on the ground of the oneness of the church with all those who have forsaken divisions. It is not our desire to make ourselves a special sect and promote ourselves. Rather, our desire is to be with the brothers and sisters who stand on the proper ground, who are neither divisive nor sectarian, and who meet and serve the Lord together on the ground of the oneness of the church.
Fourth, we desire to have fellowship with all the brothers and sisters in the denominations, even those in the Roman Catholic Church. As long as they are saved, as long as they are brothers and sisters in the Lord, regardless of their denomination, we will fellowship with them. On the other hand, we absolutely will not have any part in those denominations or groups. We will fellowship with the brothers and sisters, but we will not take part in their divisions. The brothers and sisters are lovable, but the divisions are detestable. Whereas the brothers and sisters belong to the Lord, the divisions are rejected and condemned by the Lord. Therefore, we will fellowship with individual brothers and sisters, but we will not take part in any organized group outside of the ground of the local church, outside of the ground of oneness. In other words, we do not want to have a part in the Roman Catholic Church or in any Protestant denominations; we do not want to take part in any so-called Christian fellowships or in any Bible-study classes; we do not want to take part in any revival societies or in any evangelistic missions. These are organizations outside the ground of the locality of the church; they have forsaken the ground of the oneness of the church. Therefore, we do not want to take part in any of them. We acknowledge, however, that within these organizations there are many genuinely saved ones. Therefore, we like to have contact and fellowship with them. In brief, in regard to saved individuals, we will contact them; in regard to the Christian organizations, we will not have any part in them.
Fifth, we are willing to tolerate any view concerning doctrine and any opinion concerning system, no matter how different they are from ours, as long as they do not hurt the fundamental faith. It does not matter that we are in favor of baptism by immersion and others are in favor of baptism by sprinkling; we will tolerate this because it does not hurt the faith. It also does not matter that we like to practice head covering and others dislike the practice, because this also does not hurt the faith. With regard to all such different opinions and different views, we are willing to tolerate them. The only thing that we will not tolerate is the matter of division. It is absolutely unacceptable to us. In the church there can be different opinions, but there absolutely should not be any divisions because of differences in opinions.
Sixth, there may be saved ones who belong to a Christian organization and who hold different opinions. If they are willing to not be divided, we are willing to stand with them on the ground of the oneness of the church to meet and serve the Lord together regardless of the opinions they hold. We do not want to be divided from any who are saved; rather, we want to be one with those who are saved, but they must remove and forsake division. As long as they do not have the principle, element, condition, and ground of division, then in the Lord we are willing to be joined with these saved ones to serve the Lord. Even if there are differences in opinion and understanding concerning doctrine and system, we are willing to receive these believers as long as these differences do not hurt the faith of salvation.
Seventh, we receive all believers with different views, except those who meet the conditions for removal from fellowship. As long as a person is saved and in his conduct and living does not have any of the sins worthy of removal, as spoken of in 1 Corinthians 5, we will receive him even if he holds different views. We will receive even saved ones in the Roman Catholic Church, because we are all in the Lord. We should be one and not be divided.
Eighth, we allow the Holy Spirit to bear the real responsibility of spiritual fellowship. There are some who are saved and who have no sin worthy of removal, yet they do not live in the Holy Spirit, receive the ruling of the Holy Spirit, or deal with their flesh, and they may even love the world. We cannot reject them because of these things; we must receive them. But this does not mean that once we receive such a believer, he is immediately brought into spiritual fellowship. We do not bear the responsibility of spiritual fellowship. This is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit. We bear only an outward responsibility; the actual responsibility is with the Holy Spirit. Whether or not we receive someone is based upon whether he is saved and whether he has any sin which would cause one to be removed. This is altogether an outward matter. If he has been saved and has no sins which would cause him to be removed, regardless of what opinion he has and to what sect or denomination he belongs, we will receive him. This is an outward acknowledgment. But in actuality, whether he is in fellowship with the Lord, whether he is living before the Lord, none of us can decide; we can only leave these matters to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we may receive someone, but it is possible that he is not in fellowship with the Lord. Simply because we have received him does not mean that his fellowship with the Lord is no longer a problem. Even if we approve him, the Holy Spirit may not approve him. We can bear only the outward responsibility and let the Holy Spirit bear the actual responsibility.
Now let us look at our attitude. First, we are not the Roman Catholic Church, nor are we the Protestant church. We do not recognize the Roman Catholic Church, nor do we recognize the Protestant church. These two large divisions have greatly deviated from the Bible and are not according to the Bible. They have lost the ground and the testimony of the church; they have also lost the principle and nature of the church. It is not an easy matter for us to say these words publicly. We know that it may hurt people’s feelings and arouse their resentment. However, for the sake of the truth, we must speak honestly. In regard to these two great divisions, we neither recognize them nor take part in them. We do not want to be people who belong to the Roman Catholic Church or people who belong to the Protestant church.
Second, we are not the so-called Brethren, either exclusive or open. Although we have been helped by the Brethren in many matters and resemble them in many respects, we are not the Brethren in the East; we are neither exclusive Brethren nor open Brethren.
Third, we are not a small free group that has left the Roman Catholic Church or the Protestant church. Small free groups do not have the definite ground of the church and are scattered everywhere. A group might be formed by a professor who leads a group of students to meet together, which then becomes a small “church.” Another group might be formed by a few believers meeting together because they share the same ambition and purpose, and this meeting also becomes a small “church.” Some small “churches” meet in the homes; other small “churches” meet in the alleys. They all say that they are nondenominational and that they do not belong to any organization of organized Christianity. But they are small groups which are scattered; we are not like this. We believe that the church has a definite ground. The ground of the church is oneness, and this oneness is expressed in a locality. This ground is definite. No matter what locality is involved, there should be only the ground of oneness. All the nondenominational brothers and sisters should come to this ground; all should be together in oneness to bear the testimony of the oneness of the church.
Fourth, we meet with the churches in different localities, and as such, we stand on the ground of the church, the ground of oneness, in our respective localities, serving in coordination according to the principle and by the nature of the local church to live out the proper life of the Body of Christ for the expression of the life of Christ as the testimony of the church. I repeat, we are (1) meeting in the local churches, (2) standing on the ground of the local church, (3) serving in coordination, (4) according to the principle of the local church, (5) by the nature of the local church, (6) to live out the proper life of the Body of Christ, (7) for the expression of the life of Christ, and (8) as the testimony of the church. These eight points are the nature and goal of our meetings.
Fifth, we acknowledge that the saved ones in any denomination and sect (including the Roman Catholic Church) are our brothers in the Lord and members of the Body of Christ. But we also believe that they have lost the ground of the church. They belong to the church, but their ground is not the ground of the church. The brothers and sisters in the denominations and the saved ones in the Roman Catholic Church all belong to the church, but they are not standing on the ground of the church. Who would acknowledge that the ground of the Roman Catholic Church is the ground of the church? The Roman Catholic Church has lost and damaged the ground of the church; the ground of the Roman Catholic Church is her particular ground, not the ground of the church. Nevertheless, within the Roman Catholic Church there are some truly saved ones! There are even some who love the Lord and who are spiritual. Although they belong to the church, they are not on the ground of the church. They are on the wrong ground. Similarly, within the Protestant churches there are many saved and spiritual ones, but they are not on the ground of the church.
I feel that many people have an unfair attitude; they do not recognize the Roman Catholic Church, but they recognize the Protestant church. However, in principle, is the Protestant church completely free of the errors of the Roman Catholic Church? The Protestant church also has the errors of the Roman Catholic Church; the difference is only in degree. In principle, both have lost the ground of the church. Therefore, just as we do not recognize the ground of the Roman Catholic Church, we do not recognize the ground of the Protestant church. We acknowledge, however, that there are saved ones in both the Roman Catholic and Protestant church and that there are also pious, spiritual persons and lovers of the Lord. We acknowledge these ones as our brothers and sisters; they all belong to the church. However, they are standing on the wrong ground. We deeply and earnestly hope that they would receive the Lord’s grace and leading to leave these wrong grounds. It is not sufficient to be right only in their person; their ground also must be right. They need to return to the ground of the oneness of the church, that is, the ground of locality of the church, to bear the testimony of the church in oneness together with us for the Lord.