04-20-2018, 03:30 PM
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#15
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,075
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Re: Kaung and Lee Lines in America - A History
Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom
Drake,
This is mainly a matter of semantics (though I personally don't feel that Nee always held consistent views). The quotes I posted previously provide some context as to what Nee meant when he spoke about "standing on the ground." That is, Nee was primarily concerned with federation, outside control, outside missions, labels, etc. To him, "standing on the ground" meant standing against such things.
It might appear that Lee spoke about the same thing. But there are hints that to him "standing on the ground" meant something entirely different. To me, the biggest thing that would evidence this is that Lee criticized the non-denominational and free groups just as much as he criticized the denominations. Though Nee did teach a practice of having one church per city, he also clarified that by saying that if a "local" gathering already existed, it should be joined rather than starting a new one. ....
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Freedom,
No. Not semantics. You are misunderstanding and wrongly applying what Nee said about a local gathering. He was clear on the ground of locality. He was firm and his later ministry became even stronger on this point.
Nee covered both ends of the spectrum on deviation from the biblical ground of a local church. He warned against the Federation as you say, and yet he also spoke against the idea of several congregations in a locality.
Here is his fellowship on the matter:
"What is the meaning of a congregational church? It means that there can be several congregations within each locality, each having a unity within itself and each independent of the others. This is a very serious matter. The unity of congregationalism is a mistake. The mistake of the international church goes to one extreme, causing many localities to have one church, but the mistake of the congregational churches goes to the opposite extreme, causing one locality to have many churches. The Roman Catholic Church is at one end, with many localities having one church, and the congregational churches are at the other end, with one locality having many churches. This is like a pendulum that swings to one side with many localities having one church and then swings to the other side with one locality having five to ten churches. In the last century the Brethren were raised up, but some of them fell into congregationalism. They were mainly separated into the Closed Brethren and the Open Brethren. The Closed Brethren are still on the side of the united church; the Open Brethren have gone to the other side and become congregations, “chapel” assemblies. They may have one assembly on one street and another assembly on another street, each having nothing to do with the other. This means they have many churches in one locality.
Therefore, we must see clearly before God that in the Bible there is one locality with one church, or in short, one locality, one church. This is the principle in the Bible. If we study the matter of the church, we must be able to understand this principle of one locality, one church. Every mistake comes from violating this principle. One locality, one church is the pendulum. When it swings to one side, it is wrong because it causes three or four localities to have one church or the whole world to have one church. When it swings to the opposite side, it is also wrong because it causes one locality to have several or many churches. There is something abnormal in connection with the locality, or there is something abnormal in connection with the church. In the Bible there is one locality, one church." Further Talks on the Church Life Pages 123-124 Watchman Nee
Again, there is no daylight between these two ministers Nee and Lee. they are like two peas in a pod.
Drake
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