What is the boundary of the Local Church?

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by Terry

Another predictable pattern is not only dealing with sins and forgiveness, but an inability to practice the spiritual discipline of reconciliation.


"I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church."

It reminds me of the invention of indoor plumbing and sewer systems. Some people say this was the single biggest innovation that allows people to live in cities. You cannot have a city if you don't properly deal with the foul sins that take place every day. It is absolutely fundamental. This is the real "high peaks" revelation.

[ZNPaaneah]

7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth:

The church is the “testimony of Jesus”. Unlike Pergamum, this church is Holy. Unlike Smyrna this church is true. Unlike Thyatira this church has “the key of David”. Unlike Sardis this church testifies that no one shuts them out. Unlike Ephesus, they open the door for those who have sinned and repented.

8I know thy works (behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name.

When you get to the “merry go round” churches they pretend to have a lot of power, they can “blot your name out”. They hold the saints in fear. This church has a little power. In the merry go round they don’t keep the Lord’s word, they make up stuff. They are liars. Their doctrines are designed to protect the synagogue of Satan, to establish their own little kingdom. They use false prophets like Balaam.

9Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

So even though they only mentioned the “synagogue of Satan” with Smyrna I think it is reasonable to think that all of the churches, from Smyrna to Laodicea have the “synagogue of Satan”.

10Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Imagine how patient you have to be when after 30 years you are still being told “they don’t want to deal with that sin right now”.

11I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.

This is the crown of life given to those who are faithful to the Lord to take up their cross and follow Him. To cross that boundary line is to be given this crown.

12He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more:

All of those in Philadelphia are pillars in the temple and they are also those who “have gone out”. You cannot be an overcomer in Philadelphia if you have not overcome one of the other six church situations. Overcoming those includes “going out” just as those in Laodicea are being called to come out.

and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name.

This is incredible. With the LRC the name was so important, the no name church where the name decides everything. However, if you overcome that then look at all the names that are written on you! Mysterious names. These are names that the synagogue of Satan does not know.

13He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

I like how this is not "let him hear what the Spirit says to the "church" or to "Philadelphia" but rather to the "churches". You need to see all seven.

You can immediately determine where a church is at by how they deal with sin.

You can immediately determine if a church is on the right path or not by whether they are following the Lord to the cross.

Liars, grandiose names, false prophets, Jezebel, stained garments, these are simply symptoms of those who do not go to the cross and who do not deal with sin.

The root cause for the abuses and corruption in the Local Church is that they did not take the way of the cross.

The key characteristic of the Local Church that should be the alarm is that they did not deal with sin.

[ZNPaaneah]

This now brings us to the most controversial topic -- the "one unique church". When you look at the seven churches in Revelation they are all in different situations, but most would agree that "Philadelphia" is the church that sets the standard.

But instead I would like to turn this topic to Matthew 18 where I believe it is addressed better and more to the point.

18 In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

I think most of us are uncomfortable with this question, but the Lord does not rebuke them for it, instead I would say that Matthew 18 is the answer to this question.

I would like to interpret this question as referring to the "one unique church". Although we might consider it fleshly to discuss which person is the greatest, it is commonly taught in the ministry of Witness Lee that there is one unique church and the rest of the gatherings of Christians are somehow deficient.

"Then all the saints here, with the one Christ, would form the one unique church in Los Angeles. Composed together and built upon Christ as their foundation, they would be standing simply upon the ground of Los Angeles, which is the local ground, the unique ground of genuine unity. That is the only proper ground for the local church in Los Angeles and the only ground which can keep all the saints in this locality in oneness." (The Ground of the Church, Chapter 1, Section 1)

It is Biblical to say that Christian churches can be in a number of different and degraded situations like Laodicea, Sardis, and Thyatira. So therefore it is not unusual that you might ask how to know if this gathering of Christians is proper, one with the Lord, even "the greatest".

In Matthew 18 we see several characteristics of "the greatest" church.

1. They entered the kingdom by becoming as little children.
2. They don't tolerate those that stumble the little believers.
3. They seek out the "lost sheep", backsliders, the ones that leave the fold.
4. They deal with sin
5. They forgive those that sin against them 7x70
6. Jesus is known to be in their midst
7. They are known by their answered prayers.
8. What they bind on earth is bound in heaven and what they loose on Earth is loosed in heaven.

[ZNPaaneah]

LSM accolytes will preach that the ground of the church is the determining factor, regardless of the condition. Church could be dead, sinful, the Lord does not hear their prayers, etc. As long as they have the "ground" they are the unique church.

If you look at this doctrine the point is that you have to own the land you build on. This is crucial, it is righteousness. We see this with Abraham buying a place to bury his dead and we see this with David buying the site for the Temple.

When Jesus said He was going to the cross this was His purchase of the church. When Satan tempted Him saying you don't need to do this it was the typical temptation in the world. Trying to get something for nothing. Many wealthy people have built fortunes on the abuse of others. But what is interesting is that the Lord also said that we need to follow Him to the cross. The principle in the church is you get what you paid for. Peter, Paul and John are all apostles, in part because of the price they paid.

Slapping a name on a building is not equivalent to paying the price.

Crucifying the sins with the passions and lusts, letting your worldly ambitions and all the profit you envisioned die, dealing with your flesh, your ego, and forgiveness. These are aspects of being crucified with Christ. That is how you know you are standing on "the ground of the church".

[aron]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

Crucifying the sins with the passions and lusts, letting your worldly ambitions and all the profit you envisioned die, dealing with your flesh, your ego, and forgiveness. These are aspects of being crucified with Christ. That is how you know you are standing on "the ground of the church".

ZNP, I think you're spot-on with this and the previous post.

The gospel is: A) Jesus; and B) following Jesus. It is NOT: A) the ground; B) the church; C) God's economy; D) whatever.

Much of what we do in scripture is akin to a 4-year-old watching Dad drive off to work. We have a bit of tangential information and can somewhat relate. God is, after all, our Father. But we know so little! Our subjective imagination runs wild.

But we have the prophetic word made clear (2 Pet 1:19). It is Jesus. Peter was there, and he testified. This is not some "Low gospel". It is our goal, our aim, our hope, our joy and our strength. It is Jesus.

Now, do we live it, or get distracted by vain speculations and reasonings?

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by aron

ZNP, I think you're spot-on with this and the previous post.

The gospel is: A) Jesus; and B) following Jesus. It is NOT: A) the ground; B) the church; C) God's economy; D) whatever.

Much of what we do in scripture is akin to a 4-year-old watching Dad drive off to work. We have a bit of tangential information and can somewhat relate. God is, after all, our Father. But we know so little! Our subjective imagination runs wild.

But we have the prophetic word made clear (2 Pet 1:19). It is Jesus. Peter was there, and he testified. This is not some "Low gospel". It is our goal, our aim, our hope, our joy and our strength. It is Jesus.

Now, do we live it, or get distracted by vain speculations and reasonings?

This is not just a cautionary tale concerning LSM and the Local Church. It applies to all of Christianity.

When you are bringing in a Balaam, a prophet for hire, to spin the word of God to someone's advantage, you are not "becoming as a little child". When you are setting up your throne in Vatican city or anywhere else, you aren't becoming as a little child. When you parade around in your fancy garments that are stained with decades of sins that have not been dealt with you are not becoming as a little child.

[ZNPaaneah]

17 And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Binding and loosing is a matter of authority. The "boundary" of a local church is also a matter of authority. The context of "binding and loosing" is in reference to a sinning brother that you are dealing with. This "local church" has the final authority to "bind or loose" this brother. I do not imply that this verse should be limited to this one application, but rather point out this is the context in which the Lord said this. Based on that context this is referring to the authority of the local assembly.

The only way this could be fulfilled is if the Christians are one. If you have multiple assemblies all independent and this brother simply moves to another one he may not be "truly bound". So it is reasonable to infer from this that the word of this assembly will have weight with all Christians in the city. However, they would also have to have weight with Christians in other cities, otherwise the brother who is "bound" in Anaheim simply moves to San Francisco. Therefore the decision of this church, to bind on Earth and have it bound in heaven would have to apply to the entire earth, not just a single locality. This decision would have to be fully aligned with the Bible. Paul referred to this kind of binding of a brother in 1Cor.

So then, the authority from this locality is not because the elder was appointed by brother so and so, or by "the apostle". The authority is because they are "in the name of Jesus". Their authority is because they are one with the Lord Jesus. They are branches attached to the vine.