Quote:
Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah
You lost me. I thought you were talking about the doctrine of "The Ground of the Church" as taught by Witness Lee:
The ground of the church is not the foundation of the church. The foundation of the church is Christ. “Another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11). The ground is completely different from the foundation. The foundation is a basic and integral part of the construction of a building, whereas the ground is not. The ground is a piece of land, called the site, upon which the foundation is laid. It is not part of the construction but simply a lot upon which the construction is placed. We must not mistake the ground for the foundation or the foundation for the ground. They are two vital, yet distinct entities for the construction of a building. Although the foundation may be deeply embedded in the ground, it is still distinct and separate from it. The ground is the standing on which the foundation is laid. (The Ground of the Church, Witness Lee, Chapter 1, Section 1)
In Witness Lee's doctrine Ground and Foundation are distinct and different.
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Thankyou for pointing this out. There is a difference and two matters here which must agree for a church to be a genuine local church.
I will try and explain the difference between ground and foundation, in the way that Lee uses it.
If we are living in the same city, then the basis upon which we meet together (our ground), is the fact that we have both believed in Christ (our foundation), and the fact that we live in the same city (our locality).
It is because of our foundation (Christ) that we are always in the church. The foundation of every believer in a locality is Christ, whether inside or outside of a denomination..
But if you attend the "Ground of Roman Catholicism" and I do not attend any such denomination/division ,then clearly you are on the ground of Roman Catholicism, and I am on the ground of locality.
It is because of our ground not being the locality (the fact that we live in the same area), that we are not always in fellowship.
Every believer in these denominations has Christ as their foundation.
But not every believer in these denominations has locality as their ground.
An assembly of people, which meet outside of a denomination as "the church in New York", and yet does not believe in Christ, does not have the "foundation of Christ". These have the ground of locality but do not have the foundation of Christ.
An assembly of people, who believe in Christ and yet meet inside a denomination as "the Church of England", does not have the "ground of locality".
Both the ground of locality and the foundation of Christ must exist for it to be a genuine local church assembly.
The ground being the locality is a way to say the ground is not a religious organization or any doctrine (such as tongue-speaking) or person, but just that the believers are dwelling in a particular location and meeting together on that basis alone. If they meet together not based upon any organization, doctrine or any other thing than the fact they live in the same city and believe in the Lord, they are building on another foundation.
Example: The Church of England, has spread itself far and wide around the world. Wherever you go in whatever city, you will experience the same kind of order of service. What is the ground? It is the practice and teaching of the Church of England. They may preach Christ, to be sure, they may be founded on Christ and claim their roots in Him, but their ground is the Church of England. If a person comes to the Church of England with a Lutheran order of service, they will get upset. Because their ground is not the locality but their denomination.
The Roman Catholic church, has spread itself far and wide around the world. Wherever you go in whatever city, you will experience the same kind of order of service. What is the ground? It is the practice and teaching of the Vatican.
How can there be a Church of Rome in the city of New York? According to the Bible there cannot be. In New York there is only the church in New York.
This is what it means by the "ground of locality".
We are talking about on what basis people meet together. Is it because they live in the same city and all have Christ as their foundation? Or is it because they all believe in tongue speaking, or baptism by immersion, or the Nicene Creed, or the Anglican order of service?