Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
Ironically, the demise of the LC principle of “the practical expression of the church” is its lack of practicality.
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Igzy, I agree with 99% of what you say here (excepting of course your implicit acceptance of the notion of the "universal church", but I digress)
HOWEVER
I would assert that the real problem is an unclear notion of what is the \ekklesia\ in the first place.
In actuality, the practical expression of the Body in the assembly should be found in BOTH those groups TOGETHER and that the one who separates out is in a division. They should freely intermingle and fellowship and not worry a bit about who can lay claim to a designation of proper churchiness. In fact, if they try to lay hold of that, they would certainly start down the wrong path again.
I apprehend the local ground as the principle of unity with all the believers and not a point of demarcation between me and they. To concern ourselves with the minutia of local administration as an indicator of the presence of God's assembly is the tail wagging the dog. (A so-called international ministry attempting to direct the minutia is the flea wagging the tail that wags the dog.)
Thus, I would agree that the doctrine of the ground as practiced by the Local Church is not viable and it really never has been.
But I never received from that teaching more than an understanding that all the believers in a place were in fact the assembly in that place. It gets manifest practically whenever those believers meet on no other basis than that they are the believers meeting there.
It's really not a big deal, in other words, or at least, it shouldn't be.
I think that's very practical.
You want to break bread in oneness with all the believers. I want to do the same. We do so separately until the Lord joins us up. It's a test of our oneness what we do at that point. Later, we can have a fight but we should still break bread together. If I withdraw or you exclude, it may not be immediately apparent what the reality is but it shouldn't take more than getting back to that bread breaking meeting to be perfectly clear. I have surely seen the practical manifestation of Christ in the assembly and I know it when I see it. To argue something contrary is just self delusional.
Try not to consider a large group of a hundred. Consider a group of only four believers in a little hidden outpost in a despised region. There is nothing wrong for them to meet as the unique assembly in that place and even for many other groups of four or more to do the same thing. They are not multiple assemblies - they are all part of the very same assembly, and, God willing, there will be meetings where all that assembly can assemble. They do not need to be controlled by anything but the flow of life and the headship. No titles, no deputies, no legalistic meeting requirements. If different groups end up being somewhat distant, with different practical administrations and such, this is not healthy but it doesn't end their being part of the same assembly. No one has to meet with me to qualify for credentials of being "in the church." You
are the assembly when you
assemble with the others. Never exclude or withdraw for preference and opinion and DO NOT TRY TO DO SOMETHING FOR GOD and everything else the Lord will handle.
The Local Church error is way too much top-down thinking. The assembly is bottom-up practical building.
Lee taught that there must be a practical assembly for the brothers to bring problems to when it could not be resolved by two or three. According to this view, the assembly must be mostly about solving the problems. Rather, the assembly is mostly about displaying the riches of Christ that we enjoy with one another.
Meet with the believers and let God's glory shine forth in your gathering and let Him worry about who is right enough.