The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church

Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee

The speaking in the local churches should be in spirit. Witness Lee explains this clearly:

A local church can be severely damaged if many of the saints in that locality spend time speaking negative things about other saints and other churches. Such discussions spread gossip and death among the saints. This kind of contact between the saints is not the fellowship of spirit that Paul spoke about in Philippians 2.

…Real fellowship is by our spirit. When we exercise our spirit, we are unable to talk about worldly amusements and entertainment. When we exercise our spirit, the nature of our conversation will change because our spirit is holy (cf. 2 Cor. 6:6). If there are problems in a certain church, we may have a desire to merely talk about the situation, but our spirit within will urge us to pray. Our spirit will not allow us to gossip about others’ mistakes and failures. The only way to have the reality of horizontal fellowship is by exercising our spirit.

(Witness Lee, Tripartite Man, 152)

Witness Lee points out the fact that our speaking well of the local churches is a praise to Christ:

Verse 9 goes on to say, “Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” The kings’ daughters are the saints, and the queen is the church. Individually speaking, we are the saints, but corporately speaking, we are the church. We are all one queen; the queen is a corporate body. She is at His right hand. Brothers, if you have your dear wife standing at your side, and I speak commendably of her, you will feel happy. The praise is about your dear wife, but it goes to you. The praise here is about the queen, but it goes to the King. When we say, “Look, look at the resplendent glory of that golden queen,” the glory goes to Christ. Every time we speak well of the church, Christ in heaven is made glad. When we say, “Praise the Lord for the church in Chicago,” or, “Praise the Lord for the church in Atlanta,” He is well pleased. Whenever we speak well of the local churches, it is a kind of praise to Christ.

The praise about the King should undoubtedly come first, but the praise concerning the queen should follow. Suppose you were the King: what part of the praise would make you happier? If I were the King, I would delight more in the praise about the queen. Christ is deeply gratified when we speak well of the local churches. Our praises must be not only about Christ, but many times about the queen, about the churches.

The queen is seen in gold of Ophir. Gold in typology signifies the divine nature. The church’s beauty is not in anything but the divine nature. She is royal and she is divine; she is in gold of Ophir, the best gold.

Then the Psalmist immediately turns to the queen and says, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.” Instead of praises here we have an instruction to the queen which is exceedingly meaningful. Sometimes even the instructions given to the local churches are the same as praises in the ears of Christ. Why? Because the proper instructions given to the church make the church more really the church; therefore these too are praises. These are the instructions: Hearken and forget. All the local churches must learn how to hear and how to forget, how to hear the Spirit’s living, up-to-date speaking, and how to forget the past—the old relationships, the old ways, the old background.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 73-74)

One purpose for which the church meets is to prophesy. Witness Lee says:

There are several purposes for which the church meets, as recorded in Scripture. First, for prayer (Acts 2:42; 4:24, 31; 12:5); second, for reading (Col. 4:16; 1 Thes. 5:27; Acts 2:42; 15:21, 30-31); third, for the breaking of bread—which are not meetings presided over by a single individual who bears all responsibility, since reference is made to “the cup of blessing which we bless…the bread which we break” (1 Cor. 10:16-17; Acts 2:42; 20:7); and fourth, for the exercise of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14). The last type of meeting is a church meeting, for the phrase “in the church” is used repeatedly in the passage which describes it (vv. 28, 34-35). Of this meeting it is said that all may prophesy.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 175)

Main

Meetings

Lord’s Table

Prayer

Prophesying

Small Group

Gospel

Children’s

OT Type

Spiritual Exercise

Reading

Praying

Singing

Speaking

Thanksgiving

Praising

Serving

Calling

Pray-Reading

Bibliography

Links