V. THE LOCAL CHURCH BEING THE PRACTICALITY OF THE CHURCH

In chapter eleven Witness Lee discusses not only the way the Lord builds the church—by baptizing people into the Triune Godbut also the place where the Lord builds the church, the localities in which the believers live. Witness Lee goes on to develop the matter of the practicality of the church. In Matthew 18:17, the Lord Jesus encourages the believers to tell their problems to the church, indicating that the local church has the practical administration and authority by which to deal with any problems between the believers.

The practicality of the church is the local church. We have seen that in Matthew 28:19 the Lord charged His disciples to disciple the nations and to baptize them into the Triune God. This discipling of the nations began on the day of Pentecost when at least three thousand were discipled and baptized into the church. Immediately, the first local church, the church in Jerusalem, came into being. Beginning on that day, the church was not only real, but also practical. Prior to that time there was no practicality of the church. If we are not in a local church, we are simply in the air and do not have the practicality of the church. (153)

Below, Witness Lee traces the “divine flow,” or progression, of the local churches in the New Testament as the practical expression of the universal church in city after city. Witness Lee begins with the first local church in Jerusalem and concludes with the seven local churches in Revelation.

The Bible is wonderfully arranged. The first church established was the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). As the flow proceeded out from Jerusalem, it reached the city of Antioch, where there also was a church (Acts 13:1). The church in Antioch was a station of the church flow. From Antioch, God turned His divine flow westward from Asia to Europe. After the flow had turned toward Europe, it reached Greece and Macedonia. Hence, there came to be a church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2). Wherever the church flow went, there was always a local church. Only in the local church can the church be practical. Only in the local church and by the local church can we have the practice of the church. If we do not have the local church, we do not have anything practical as far as the church is concerned. Eventually, the Bible ends with seven local churches (Rev. 1:10-13). (154)