Seeing the Body very much involves the matter of the ground of the church. The Body is one, and this unique Body is expressed in and by the local churches. Where is the Body? Where is this unique Body? The Body is in the local churches. Both the reality of the Body and the practicality of the Body are in the local churches. If you do not have the local churches, you do not have the reality of the Body. You may have the terminology, the teaching, the concept, of the Body, but you do not have the reality. Before the New Jerusalem comes, the reality of the Body will not be in the so-called heavenly church or the universal church, but in the local churches. Today the reality and practicality of the Body are in the local churches. We could only put the Body into practice by having the local churches. The local churches are the practicality of the Body.
What is a local church? Some of the denominations and Christian groups consider themselves local churches, but they may have several groups independent of one another all meeting within the same city. Although these groups may consider themselves local churches, each one would have to be the church on a particular street, not the church in a particular city. Therefore, according to the Scriptures, we have to say that these are not local churches. In the Bible there is the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1), and the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1). The Apostle Paul established or appointed elders in every church (Acts 14:23), and he told Titus to appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5). In the Bible there are the elders of the church and the elders of the city, but there are no elders of a church on a particular street. Others may use the same terms that we use, but they use them according to different definitions.
When we use the term the local church, we use it according to the Scriptures. In Revelation 1:11 John was told, “What you see write in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” To send something to the seven churches means to send it to the seven cities, and to the seven cities equals to the seven churches. John was not told to send the book to a certain street, then to another street. He was told to send it to the seven cities of the one province of Asia. The revelation in this verse is very clear. We treasure the book of Revelation, and we especially treasure this revelation in chapter one: seven churches equal seven cities.
What is a local church? A local church is the Christians meeting on the unique ground of unity in their locality, in their city. Christians who meet as a group on a certain street, in a certain area, on a certain campus, or in a certain home cannot be considered a local church. A local church is the Christians who live in a city meeting together on the ground of unity, the unique ground of unity, not on any other ground. This is the local church in that city, and the reality and the practicality of the Body are in such a local church. If you have seen the Body in such a way, you will no longer be divisive.
We need to see this one point—how the vision of the Body keeps us from divisiveness—in a detailed way. In these days all the meetings of the church here have been very living, very uplifted. But suppose the level of the meetings goes down, even to a very low level, and the meetings do not seem to be living, but are slow and even very poor. Then what would you do? Would you talk to another brother about the poor condition of the meetings and consider starting another meeting in his home? Just to have such a consideration proves that you have not seen the Body.
Sometimes the physical body is very healthy and very strong, but at other times it is weak and sick. Even though I have a strong physical body, not long ago I was sick for several weeks. However, when my body became weak, it was still the same body as it was when it was strong. I could never say that I would give up that weak body because of its weakness and start to have another body that would be strong. To have such a consideration would mean that I did not know what my body is. If I have seen and do know what my body is, no matter whether it is strong or weak, I would realize that my body is my body, and that it is the only one I have.
Beginning in the fall of 1943 I was seriously ill for thirty months. During that time I did not work at all; I absolutely rested. Nevertheless, my weak body was still my body, even though it was weak to the uttermost and very sick. I did not give up my weak body. Rather, I did whatever I could during those thirty months to nourish it, to cherish it, and to love it more. My body has never been so precious, so dear, and so valuable to me as it was in those thirty months. I have never loved my body more than I did during that time.
Today do you love the church here in Los Angeles? All of us surely love the church here very much in these days. But I would check with you to see why you love the church. It is easy to love the church because it is very living, very encouraging, very uplifting, and the meetings are wonderful, even marvelous. If the church were merely a physical building, it could remain the same year after year, with very little change. However, the church can be compared to our physical bodies, sometimes living and strong, and at other times, weak and not so living. We need to love the church because it is the Body; it is even our Body. If you love the church because it is wonderful and very living, I would ask what you would do if the condition of the church is not so good after a period of time. Would you go somewhere else where the situation is not so poor? If you would, this proves that you have not seen the Body.
If you have seen the Body, it will make no difference to you whether the meetings are living and wonderful, or they are weak and poor, and it will make no difference whether or not the ones who take the lead are good in your eyes and according to your feeling. Whatever the condition, you will acknowledge that this is the Body. At the present time the leading ones in the church here are learning how to take the lead. We praise the Lord that they are willing to learn and they do not presume that they are the best leaders. However, if a day should come that the attitude of some of the leading ones is not so proper, you would be tested by that situation to see whether or not you have really seen the Body. If you could leave and start another meeting because the situation is poor, it is clear that you have never seen the Body. When my physical body is strong, it is my body. When it is weak or sick, it is nevertheless my body. I cannot give up my body because of its weakness. Have you seen the Body? If you have seen the Body, it will be impossible for you ever to be divisive again.
We should not expect the church life to be like a honeymoon all the time. In the married life, a honeymoon lasts only a short time. According to our experience, it may be the same in the church life. I have been in the church life for more than thirty-seven years. Do you think that I have been having a honeymoon all these years? Do you think that everything has been wonderful and even marvelous in the church life all of this time? Nevertheless, no matter what has happened in all these years, I can testify strongly that this is the Body. I have seen the Body, and I cannot say that I have not seen it. Whether it is good or bad, whether it is strong or weak, rich or poor, fruitful or unfruitful, it is the Body. Oh, I have seen the Body! I have no choice. There is only one Body in the whole universe.
Here we have a clear test concerning the seeing of the Body. Nothing is so binding as the Body. When you hear others who are still very free talk about the Body, you may realize that they have never seen the Body because they are so free. They have no restriction. If you have seen the Body, you could never be divisive. The members of the Body could never be replaced. It would be impossible to change the position of the ear in your physical body even a little bit. The vision of the Body will keep us from divisiveness.