"Early Nee" vs. "Later Nee"

[kisstheson]

Dear ones,

I do believe dear brother Hope is touching upon something very important when he brings up this matter of “the Work”. While the concept of “The Ministry, The Work, and The Churches” is part of the speaking of “early Nee”, going at least as far back as The Normal Christian Church Life, the boundaries and the relationships between the “the Church” and the “the Work” were laid out very, very, carefully in TNCCL. In addition, in TNCCL the term “the Work” is used in a broad, scriptural, manner. WN says on page 187 of TNCCL: “. . . the work is the Body seeking increase”. This is a far cry from the later, much more limited, concept of “the Work” in which “the Work” has come to mean the continuation of the movement begun by WN.

As proof of the change in speaking regarding the boundaries and relationships between “the Church” and “the Work”, please compare the following two portions. Notice how in "later Nee" the apostles, the ones who are responsible for “the Work”, have come to have authority over the elders of the churches. (The emphasis in the following excerpts was added by me.)

From 1938’s The Normal Christian Church Life:

“Once a church was established, all responsibility was handed over to the local elders, and from that day the apostles exercised no control whatever in its affairs. All management was in the hands of the elders, and if they thought it right, they could even refuse an apostle entry into their church . . . How did Paul deal with the adulterous believer in Corinth? . . . Paul could only bring his spiritual authority to bear on the situation. In the name of the Lord Jesus he could “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh" (v.5). He had no official authority to discipline him, but he had spiritual authority to deal with the case. He had his spiritual ‘rod’. The affairs of the local church are entirely independent of the apostles. Once elders have been appointed, all control passes into their hands, and while thereafter an apostle may still instruct and persuade, he can never interfere.” (pp. 44-45)

Some Speaking from 1948 in The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry:

The elders are responsible for the church in a locality (Titus 1:5), whereas the apostles are responsible for the work in a region . . . First, God established the elders as the authority. God has also established apostles as the authority. Accusations against an elder should be presented to the apostles (1 Tim. 5:19). The elders are the authorities, and the apostles are also the authorities. Moreover, the elders have to submit to the authority of the apostles. (pp. 308-309)

Compare the last sentence in each of these two excerpts. A definite shift in attitude and speaking has taken place. In 1948, the elders now had to submit to the authority of the apostles. On top of that, the reference to 1 Tim. 5:19 is troubling. I realize that WN was speaking “off the cuff” in the second excerpt, but 1 Tim. 5:19 clearly states that any accusations against an elder must be based upon the testimony of two or three witnesses. There is nothing at all in 1 Tim. 5:19 related to presenting accusations against an elder to the apostles. Am I missing something here?