The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church

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

Witness Lee encourages the local churches to have meetings in which all the believers may function:

We do believe that all the churches in the Lord’s recovery practice meeting in a way that is open to all the saints to pray, to give a word of exhortation, and to speak something for the Lord. We must encourage the new ones to pray in the meeting and to speak something for the Lord. We should encourage them to function in the church. All the churches desire to see the attendants in their meeting function because that strengthens, enriches, and uplifts the meeting.

(Witness Lee, Instruction, 25)

Commenting on the functioning of new believers, Watchman Nee shares:

When God blesses our efforts in any place to the salvation of souls, we must see to it that the saved ones understand, from the outset, that the meetings which resulted in their salvation belong to the work and not to the church, and that they are the church and must therefore have their own church meetings. They must meet in their homes or in other places to pray, study the Word, break bread, and exercise their spiritual gifts; and in such meetings their object must be mutual helpfulness and mutual edification. Each individual must bear his share of responsibility and pass on to the others what he himself has received from the Lord. The conduct of the meetings should be the burden of no one individual, but all the members should bear the burden together, and they should seek to help one another depending upon the teaching and leading of the Spirit, and depending upon His empowering too. As soon as believers are saved, they should begin to assemble themselves regularly. Such gatherings of local believers are true church meetings.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 177)

Commenting on 1 Timothy 2:15 which says, “But she will be saved through her childbearing, if they remain in faith and love and holiness with sobriety,” Witness Lee addresses the spiritual exercise of speaking and praying:

Faith is for receiving the Lord (John 1:12), love is for enjoying Him (John 14:21, 23), and holiness is for expressing Him through sanctification. By faith we receive the Lord and thereby please God (Heb. 11:6); by love we enjoy the Lord and thereby keep His word (John 14:23); and by holiness we express the Lord and thereby see Him (Heb. 12:14). The first two chapters of this book give the practical instructions for having a proper local church: (1) terminate the distraction of different teachings (1:3-11); (2) emphasize God’s economy, making it the central line and goal of the Christian life (1:4-6); (3) preach Christ to save sinners (1:12-17); (4) war a good warfare for God’s New Testament economy by holding faith and a good conscience (1:18-19); (5) eal with the heretical teachers and the opposers of the apostle (1:20); (6) let the leading ones take the lead to have a prayer life, interceding for all men that Christ’s redemption may be testified in due time (vv. 1-7); (7) let the brothers follow the pattern of prayer, praying at all times (v.·8); and (8) let the sisters adorn themselves in proper deportment and subject themselves to the brothers, remaining in quietness, faith, love, and holiness with sobriety (vv. 9-15).

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 977)

In speaking on 2 Timothy 4:2 which says, “Proclaim the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching,” Witness shares on the spiritual exercise of speaking:

In caring for a local church, especially in a time of the church’s decline, the proclaiming of the word is vital.

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 1005)

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

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