In the past several messages we have covered the reality and practicality of the church. We have seen that the church is one in substance, one in existence, and one in manifestation. The church is one substantially both universally and locally. Apart from God, nothing in the universe is more one than the church. The church is an entity of oneness.
The church is one universally and locally. There is just one church. Universally, the church is one in existence, and locally the church is one in manifestation. The church in the universe is one, and the church manifested in a locality is also one. The Lord’s word, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18), is related to the universal church. Following this, in Matthew 18 the Lord spoke about the manifestation of the church in a locality. If two or three cannot solve a problem themselves, they should tell it to the church. This certainly is not the universal church, but the church in the locality where those believers live. In the four Gospels the Lord mentioned the church twice, once for the universal aspect and once for the local aspect.
In the book of Acts the church is not mentioned in a universal way, but in a local way. Acts 8:1 speaks of the church at Jerusalem, not the church in the universe. Acts 13:1 speaks of the church in another locality, the church in Antioch. We know from Revelation 1:11 that there were seven churches in seven cities in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Churches were also raised up in Europe. For example, there was a church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2). It is clearly portrayed in the Bible that the church is universally one in its existence and locally one in its manifestation. Wherever the church is, it is always one. Although there is just one universal church, in the many cities there are the many local churches, with one church in each city.
Although the picture regarding the church in the Bible is clear, the history and present situation of Christianity give us another picture—a picture of divisions. Instead of one church in a locality, there are numerous divisions. But according to the Bible it is wrong to say that there are many “churches” in a locality. This is against God’s economy. What are called the many “churches” in a locality are actually divisions. Using other terms, we may say that they are denominations, sects, groups, or organizations. This is what we see everywhere in Christianity today.
As we stand here as the church in Anaheim, some say that we are merely another division. They claim that our coming here simply added another to the list of divisions. Someone might say to you, “I am a pastor of a certain group in this city. I have heard that you people say that you are the church and that we are not the church, but rather are Babylon or organized Christianity. I don’t agree with this. Am I not a real Christian? I was reborn before you were born. Since we all are Christian brothers, why do you say that you are the church and that we are not the church? It seems to me that you are simply another Christian group. You have added yourselves to the number of churches already in this city. Why did you come here? Why don’t you go to a place where there is no church at all and be the unique group there? Why do you come here to trouble us?” In order to answer questions like these, we must know what constitutes a sect, a division, or a denomination.