1. Two Aspects of the Church – Universal and Local
   1. Universal aspect
      1. Revealed by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 16:18
      2. Revealed by the apostle Paul in the Epistles (house of God, Body of Christ, bride, new man)
      3. Miscellaneous aspects (e.g., the wineskin)
   2. Local aspect
      1. Revealed by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 18:17
      2. Revealed by the Apostles in Acts and the Epistles
2. The Oneness, Nature, Life, and Essence of the Local Church
   1. Oneness
   2. Nature
   3. Life
   4. Essence
3. The Local Churches are the Practicality of the Universal Church
   1. The church, Body of Christ, is expressed in the local churches
   2. The practical building up of the church is in the local churches
   3. The practical administration or government of the universal church is realized in the local churches
   4. The work of the apostles and prophets was carried out practically in the local churches and for the local churches
   5. The practical coordination of the members of the Body in the local churches
   6. All the local churches together constitute one universal church
   7. We must advance from knowing the church in a general, universal way to knowing the church in a specific, local way
4. The Six Characteristics of a Genuine Local Church
   1. No particular name
   2. No particular fellowship
   3. No particular teaching
   4. No isolated fellowship
   5. No separate administration
   6. No hidden connections
5. The Ground of the Church
   1. Definition of the ground of the church
   2. The difference between the ground of the church and the foundation of the church
   3. Importance of the ground of the church
   4. Illustrations of the ground of the church
6. The Ground of the Church Sequentially Typified in the Old Testament
   1. The unique place of God’s choice for keeping oneness—Deuteronomy 12
   2. The blessing on the ground of oneness—Psalm 133
   3. The loss of the ground of oneness—disvision and captivity
   4. The recovery of the ground of oneness—From Babylon to Jerusalem
   5. The principle of the remnant—Ezra and Nehemiah
7. The Ground of the Church Revealed in the New Testament
   1. The progressive revelation of the ground of the church
      1. The seed stage (Gospels)
      2. The growth stage (Acts)
      3. The development stage (Epistles)
      4. The harvest stage (Revelation)
   2. The ground of the church being constituted of three crucial elements
      1. The unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ
      2. The unique ground of locality
      3. The reality of the Spirit of oneness
   3. The church in a city and the church in a house
   4. Paying the price to stand on the ground of oneness
      1. Not condition, but standing
      2. Not numbers, but standing
8. The Testimony of Church History Concerning the Ground of the Church
   1. 1846—1900
   2. 1900—1920
   3. 1920—present
   4. Watchman Nee
   5. Witness Lee
9. The Practice of the Local Church
   1. The Body of Christ needs the local churches for its practice
   2. The governing principles of the practice of the local church
      1. Based on the word of God
      2. Through the cross
      3. Taking Christ as life
      4. In the Holy Spirit
      5. Under the headship of Christ
      6. For the building up of the Body
      7. Practical virtues for the church life [Romans 12:9-21; Hebrews 13:1-7, 16-19]
      8. No ordinances
      9. Receiving all genuine believers
10. Administration and Teaching in the Local Church
    1. Local church administration
       1. Elders
       2. Deacons
    2. Teaching emphasized in the local churches
11. The Practical Building up of the Local Churches
    1. By life
    2. By the function of every member
    3. According to the God-ordained way
       1. Preaching the gospel
       2. Feeding the new believers
       3. Perfecting the believers
       4. Prophesying in the church meetings
12. The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church
    1. The local church meetings
       1. Lord’s table meetings
       2. Prayer meetings
       3. Prophesying meetings
       4. Small group meetings (home meetings)
       5. Gospel meetings
       6. Children’s meetings
       7. In relation to the Old Testament types
    2. Spiritual exercise of the local church
       1. Reading the Word
       2. Praying
       3. Singing
       4. Speaking
       5. Thanksgiving
       6. Praising
       7. Serving
       8. Calling on the Lord
       9. Pray-reading
13. The Relationship Between All the Local Churches in the Body of Christ
    1. Identical in nature, shape, and function—bearing the image and appearance of Christ
    2. Not organizational
       1. No head church
       2. No absolute autonomy of the churches
       3. No federation among the churches
    3. The need for blending
    4. Fellowship among the churches
14. The Local Churches in the Book of Revelation
    1. The seven lampstands as symbols of the local churches (Revelation 1:20)
       1. The seven lampstands being seven churches—only one in a city
       2. The progressive revelation of the lampstand in the Scripture (Exodus 25; Zechariah 4; Revelation 1)
       3. The substance, shape, and expression of the lampstand
       4. In the Bible, lampstands always being related to God’s building
    2. The Spirit’s speaking to the churches being in the local churches
       1. In Revelation, the one Spirit of God being intensified as the sevenfold Spirit
       2. The sevenfold Spirit meeting the need of the local churches
15. Christ’s Speaking to the Local Churches in Revelation
    1. To Ephesus
    2. To Smyrna
    3. To Pergamos
    4. To Thyatira
    5. To Sardis
    6. To Philadelphia
    7. To Laodicea
    8. Summary chart
16. The History of the Local Churches
    1. The universal and local aspect of the church
    2. Every believer belonging to the church of God
    3. The history of the local churches as seen in the New Testament
       1. The church in Corinth
       2. The churches in Asia
       3. The churches in provinces and regions
    4. The degradation of the local churches
17. The Recovery of the Local Churches
    1. The Reformation
    2. The Moravian Brethern
    3. The Brethern
    4. The Lord’s new beginning on virgin soil
    5. Watchman Nee’s salvation and calling
    6. Watchman Nee’s seeing of the truth concerning the ground of locality
    7. Watchman Nee’s burden for the local churches
    8. The first local church in Foochow, China
    9. Witness Lee’s revelation and taking of the way of the local church
    10. The spread of the local churches
        1. In China
        2. In the Far East
        3. In the West
        4. In Russia
18. God’s Eternal Purpose Being Realized through the Local Churches
    1. To gain a corporate Body
    2. For the display of God’s manifold wisdom to the principalities and powers
    3. Through which Satan will be defeated
    4. To express God through the sonship
    5. To head up all things in Christ
19. The Local Church and the Kingdom
    1. The kingdom—a brief overview
    2. The church as the kingdom of God in the New Testament
    3. The reality of the kingdom in the local churches
    4. The organic development of the kingdom in the local churches
20. The Church and the Work
    1. The Holy Spirit’s call for apostles
    2. The relationship between the church, the Work, and the apostles
    3. Responsibilities of the workers
    4. Principles of the Work
       1. The principle of Jerusalem and of Antioch
       2. The local churches not being entirely autonomous
       3. The boundary between the local churches
       4. The local churches and the oneness of the Body
       5. Principles for financial distribution
21. The Local Churches Typified in the Book of Psalms
    1. The temple and the house of God as types of the local church
       1. Dwelling in God’s house
       2. Enjoying Christ in God’s house
       3. Receiving the blessing in God’s house
       4. Receiving revelation in God’s house
       5. Loving God’s house
       6. Experiencing God’s dealing in God’s house
       7. Scriptural references
    2. Zion as a symbol of the universal church and the local church
       1. Being possessed by the Lord
       2. The perfection of beauty
       3. Being blessed in Zion
       4. The joy of the whole earth
    3. The city of God as a type of the local church
    4. The bride (the queen) as a symbol of the local church
    5. God’s salvation to His people being practical in the local church
    6. The local church being built up by Christ
       1. Through Christ’s sufferings
       2. Through Christ’s resurrection life
       3. Through Christ’s ascension
    7. The victory of God over His enemies being in His dwelling
       1. God’s purpose being fulfilled through Christ and the church
       2. Giving Christ the pre-eminence for the restoration of His dwelling place
22. The Experience and Enjoyment of Christ in the Local Churches
    1. The experience of Christ in the local church described in the Old Testament types
    2. The enjoyment of Christ in the local church revealed in the Old Testament types
    3. The experience of Christ in the local church revealed in the New Testament
    4. The enjoyment of Christ in the local church portrayed in the New Testament

1. Its Nature, Ground, Condition, and Fellowship
   1. The nature, ground, and condition of a local church
      1. The nature
         1. The church of God, possessing the divine nature of God
         2. The churches of Christ, being in the element of Christ
      2. The ground
         1. The genuine oneness of the Body of Christ—the oneness of the Spirit
         2. In the limit of the boundary and jurisdiction of a locality—the ground of locality
      3. The condition
   2. The fellowship of the churches
      1. The Body of Christ being uniquely one universally
      2. The fellowship of the local churches
         1. Each local church needing to fellowship with all the other genuine local churches on the whole earth
         2. Every local church needing to receive all kinds of genuine believers in Christ
         3. A believer to be kept away from the fellowship of a local church if committing gross sins and living in them
      3. How to deal with the divisions
         1. Not recommending any believer in the local churches to have any share in the divisions
         2. Not rejecting any believer who does not promote anything divisive, but considering as divisive and rejecting anyone who promotes sectarian divisions
   3. The discerning of the one Body
2. The Factors of Division
   1. The way for the practice of the church life
      1. One church for one city, one city with one church
      2. The factors of division
         1. The servants of the Lord keeping the results of their work in their own hands
         2. Specialties Among the Believers
      3. A concluding word
         1. The relationship among the workers
         2. The proper ways for the Lord’s servants to minister to the believers
   2. The attitude and relationship of the workers
      1. Our work being to minister Christ and to build up the church
      2. Not keeping the results of our work in our hands
      3. Being liberal
3. The Recovery of the Ground and Practice of the Local Churches
   1. The recovery of the church ground
      1. The definition of the church ground
         1. Not the foundation but the site
         2. The three crucial elements of the church ground
            1. The unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ
            2. The unique ground of locality of a local church
            3. The reality of the Spirit of oneness
      2. The genuine ground of the church keeping the genuine oneness of the church in practicality
         
      3. The base of the genuine fellowship of the believers
   2. The recovery of the practice of the local churches
      1. The need of the local churches
      2. The many expressions of the one Body of Christ
      3. existing in a locality as a city
      4. The administration of a local church
         1. By the elders
         2. Not under the control of a high church
         3. With the ministry of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers
         4. Without any absolute autonomy or federation
      5. The building up of a local church
4. The Local Aspect of the Church
   1. The local churches
   2. As revealed by the Lord in Matthew 18:17
      1. For the church’s administration in its locality
      2. To bind and to loose with the authority of the heavens
   3. As revealed by the apostles in Acts and the Epistles
      1. Established locally in separate cities
      2. Taking a city as the boundary and ground of each local church
      3. Each being not greater nor smaller than its city
      4. As lampstands to bear the testimony of Jesus Christ in separate cities
      5. All the local churches being the one unique Body of Christ in the universe
5. The Universal church and the Local Churches
   1. The church and the churches
   2. The basis of the churches
   3. The boundary of locality
   4. Not narrower than a locality
   5. Not wider than a locality
   6. The independence and oneness of the churches
   7. A local church as the highest christian authority
   8. Preserving the local character of the churches
   9. The benefits of independence
6. Eating and Drinking Christ in the Local Churches
   1. The local church revealed in Revelation chapter 1
   2. The shift of emphasis in Revelation
   3. Simply eating and drinking Christ
   4. The consummation of the local churches
7. Christ in Revelation - The One Walking in the Midst of the Local Churches
   1. Walking in the midst of the Local churches
   2. As the loving high priest
   3. As the ancient, living one
   4. As the burning Christ
   5. Having a voice as the sound of many waters
   6. Having the seven Spirits and holding the seven stars
   7. Opening the door
   8. As the Amen and the worthy one
   9. As the fighting Christ
8. Christ’s Requirements of the Local Churches
   1. First love
   2. Faithfulness unto death
   3. Anti-doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans
   4. Anti-fornication and idols
   5. Livingness versus deadness
   6. Brotherly love
   7. Hotness versus lukewarmness
9. The Proper Practice of the Church Life
   1. Christ building the universal church
      1. The universal church being the unique Body of Christ
      2. The universal church comprising all the local churches
   2. The believers living in the local church
      1. The local churches being the local expressions of the Body of Christ
      2. All the local churches constituting the one Body of Christ
   3. The genuine ground
      1. The ground of locality—one city, one church
      2. The ground of the genuine oneness—one Body universally
   4. The local administration and the universal fellowship
      1. The administration being separate and equal locally
      2. The fellowship being one universally
   5. The apostleship and the eldership
      1. The apostleship being universal and being over the eldership
      2. The eldership being local and being under the apostleship
      3. The elders not lording it over the believers
   6. The ground and the reality
   7. The gifts in the local churches
10. The Practical Expression of the Church
    1. The local church
    2. One city, one church
    3. Two or three meeting together
    4. The lessons of the local church
    5. The Lord’s twofold recovery
11. God’s Revelation and God’s Recovery of the Local Churches
    1. The four main figures in the Bible
       1. God
       2. Christ
       3. The church
       4. The local churches
    2. The Progressive knowledge of the four main figures in the Bible
       1. God
       2. Christ
       3. The church
       4. The local churches
    3. Being up-to-date in following the Lord by knowing the local churches
    4. The Lord’s recovery of the truth and practice of the church and the practicality of the church—the local churches
    5. The present age being the age of the local churches
    6. The spreading of the local churches
12. The Offices-the Official Positions-in the Church
    1. In the universal church
       1. Only one office—the apostleship
       2. Only the apostles having the position and right to appoint elders in the local churches
    2. In the local church
       1. Elders
          1. Being overseers in the local church
          2. Taking the lead in the local church
          3. Teaching in the local church
          4. Shepherding the local church
          5. Not lording it over the church but being patterns of the flock
          6. Taking care of the finances in the local church
       2. Deacons and deaconesses
          1. Serving the local church
          2. Managing the business affairs in the local church
13. The Recovery of Christ and the Church
    1. The full gospel according to the heavenly vision
    2. The local expression of the church
    3. one city, one church
    4. A description, not a title
    5. The local church being the practicality of the church
    6. The local churches being the destination of God’s revelation and manifestation
    7. The local church—the church manifested in a locality
    8. A description, not a name
    9. No particular teaching in the Lord’s recovery
    10. No hidden connection with other organizations
14. The Practicality of the Church
    1. The practicality of the local church
       1. A church to which we can go
       2. The Scriptural record of the local church
    2. Four aspects of the practicality of the church
       1. The building
       2. The administration
          1. Local government and local eldership
          2. The local churches implied in 1 Peter
       3. The work
       4. The coordination
       5. The need for the local churches
    3. “Ye also are builded”

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