The Normal Christian Church Life (#6) - Chapter Five

Chapter Five: The Basis of Union and Division

In this chapter Nee begins by pointing out that although the word "church" is used frequently in the book of Acts, there is nothing said about how a church was formed. After thousands were saved at the time of Pentecost, these believers were automatically referred to as the church in Acts 5:11. Acts 8:1 refers to "the church which was in Jerusalem." Nee says that from this "we know now what the church is. It consists of all the saved ones in a given locality."

"If in a given place anyone believes on the Lord...he is a constituent of the church in that place...No subsequent joining is required of him...his being a member of the local church is conditioned only by his being a believer in the locality...the ground of our receiving anyone into the church is that the Lord has already received that one. (Rom. 14:1,3; 15:7)"

After establishing this, Nee establishes what the simple basis of the oneness of the saints is: "...the Spirit of God dwells in every one of them. This is the secret of the oneness of believers, and this is the secret of their separation from the world...If you have the Spirit of Christ and I have the Spirit of Christ, then we both belong to the same Church. There is no need to be united; we are united by the one Spirit who dwells in us both." We aren't exhorted to have oneness but to keep it (Eph. 4:3). "We cannot insist on oneness of opinions or oneness of experience, or any other oneness among believers, except the oneness of the Spirit."

Seven Factors in Spiritual Oneness
Nee then presents seven scriptural factors to spiritual oneness as given in Eph. 4:4-6:

1. One Body. "If we do not wish to extend fellowship to anyone, we must first make sure that he does not belong to the Body; if he does, we have no reason to reject him (unless for disciplinary reasons as are clearly laid down in the Word of God)."
2. One Spirit. "If he has received the Spirit of Christ, and we have received the Spirit of Christ, then we are one in the Lord, and nothing must divide us."
3. One Hope. "If anyone claims to be the Lord's, but has no hope of heaven or glory, his is a mere empty profession. All who share this one hope are one, and since we have the hope of being together in glory for all eternity, how can we be divided in time?"
4. One Lord. "There is only one Lord, the Lord Jesus, and all who recognize that God has made Jesus of Nazareth to be both Lord and Christ are one in Him."
5. One Faith. "The faith here spoken of is the faith - that Jesus is the Son of God (who died for the salvation of sinners and lives again to give life to the dead)...the children of God may follow many different lines of scriptural interpretations, but in regard to this fundamental faith, they are one."
6. One Baptism. While there are different beliefs about the form of baptism, the significance of the "one baptism" Paul speaks of here is the name into which we are baptized (as seen in Paul's question in I Cor. 1:13). Nee says, "If you are baptized into the name of the Lord, that is your qualification for church membership."
   
7. One God. If you believe in the same personal divine God as your Father, then we belong to one family.

Nee goes on to point out that while these seven factors are the basis for oneness in the "Church" (i.e., believers in all the world) , there is one factor that justifies "division" among believers, and that is physical locality. As seen in the previous chapters, God defines the local church by means of a given geographical location/city (such as the"church in Ephesus", etc.). In the New Testament, churches were not divided by denominational names but simply by locality.

Seven Forbidden Grounds of Division
The chapter ends with the Scriptural grounds on which the Church must not be divided (I Cor. 1:10-17):

1. Spiritual Leaders. "It is in keeping with God's will that we should learn from spiritual men and profit by their leadership, but it is altogether contrary to His will that we should divide the Church according to the men we admire."
2. Instruments of Salvation. "Spiritual leaders are no adequate reason for dividing the Church; neither are the instruments used of God in our salvation."
3. Non-sectarianism. While denominationalism is not scriptural, neither is the attitude of exclusiveness on the part of those who will not fellowship with others who are in denominations. "All believers living in the same locality belong to the same church...We dare not alter 'all the believers in a locality' to 'all the undenominational believers in a locality.'"
4. Doctrinal Differences. "God forbids any division on doctrinal grounds...A church of God in any place comprises all the children of God in that place, not merely those who hold the same doctrinal views."
5. Racial Differences. "God has placed believers of different races in one locality so that, by transcending all external differences, they might in one church show forth the one life and the one Spirit of His Son."
6. National Differences. "The Word does not speak of the church of the Greeks (a race or nation), but of the church of the Thessalonians (a city). Scripture knows nothing of the church of the French, but it does recognize the church of the Parisians."
7. Social Distinctions. "In Paul's day, from a social point of view, there was a great gulf fixed between a free man and a slave; yet they worshipped side by side in the same church. Social distinctions are no adequate basis for forming a separate church."