Quote:
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Originally Posted by Witness Lee
Anyone who is not in the local oneness is not actually in the oneness at all. Those who are not in a local church are not truly in the church. In order to be in the church we must be in a local church.
Witness Lee, The Genuine Ground of Oneness, Chapter 10
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At times, Christian unity can be a perplexing issue, because there are so many different things that are capable of dividing. It's not surprising that some would try to solve the problem of division or to create unity. Attempts to manufacture unity, however, are not what the Bible tells us to do.
Eph 4:1-6
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Paul urges us to walk worthy of our calling. Part of this involves working to
maintain of a unity that
exists by default. That is what the word '
keep' implies. Of course Christians have failed at doing their part, but the failure doesn't warrant these side attempts to create a magic formula to ensure unity.
Unity doesn't come by leaving one group for another. Unity is not a done deal. It takes effort on our part. In the early days of the LC, there are various testimonies of members "coming out of the denominations." It seems unity was equated with a move from one group to another, and in some cases, bad-mouthing past affiliations. In the LC, unity is a presumption. It is believed to exist solely because of what group and ministry members have affiliated themselves with. Thus, there is little to no effort to work to keep the unity of the Spirit.