The History of the Local Churches


1. The Error of Rome

By the time the Roman Catholic Church was formally established, in the latter half of the 16th century, the practice concerning the local churches had been lost. This loss was due to a number of factors, chief among them being the erroneous teaching of Ignatius concerning bishops and elders, Rome's elevated status as the Imperial city, and Constantine's Edict of Milan. This Edict opened the way for many of Rome's civil practices to be assimilated into the church, most notably its complex administrative hierarchy. The church now stressed the "catholic" i.e. universal faith, an overemphasis of the church's universal character which came to eclipse its local character. Watchman Nee clearly outlines the errors inherent in this anti-scriptural deviation.

Here we see one thing: The Roman Catholic Church believes in the unity of the church throughout the world. It believes that only one church should exist in the whole world. That is the reason, during the long history of Rome, that the children of God basically forgot that the “churches” were plural in the Bible. They only wanted the church in the singular. Even when Luther arose, he only saw a united church on the earth. He did not see that God has churches in the Bible. Thus, the unity that was upheld is something manifested in one church—the international, worldwide, universal church. Regardless of where this church stands, it is always the Church of Rome. In Shanghai it is the Church of Rome; in Moscow it is the Church of Rome; in London it is the Church of Rome; in Berlin it is also the Church of Rome. Wherever it is, it is always the Church of Rome. It does not call itself the Church of Rome; its proper title is the Catholic Church, the Universal Church. We call it the Church of Rome because we know it comes out of Rome. It calls itself the Catholic Church because it is unified and universal; it includes everyone. In China it is called the Catholic Church. The word catholic in Latin simply means universal and general, with no distinction in race or region. No matter where it is, it is always one—one in England, one in Japan, and one in Russia. As long as it comes out of Rome, it is called the Catholic Church. As a result, there is only “one church” on earth.
We must study the Scriptures carefully and accurately before God to ascertain whether or not the church on earth is one church. If it is only one church, we must say that the local church is wrong, and even the many denominations in Protestantism must also confess that they are wrong. If there is but one church, we all have to go back to Rome; if we do not, we are wrong. Therefore, we must study the Scriptures to see whether or not we are wrong.
I know there are some Protestant friends who have said that the church on earth is one and that our churches in different localities are wrong. According to them, the church is always one. Please note that their word condemns them. If the church is one, there is no reason for any of their denominations to exist. If the church is one, then regardless of where it is, it must be the Church of Rome. According to numbers, the Church of Rome is the largest, according to history, it is the oldest church, and according to organization, it is one. If there should be only one church, that is, if the church of God or the church of Christ should be singular, then this would be the scriptural way. We should all return to Rome. However, the Bible does not teach this.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 56, 331-333)

Watchman Nee also explained that such a powerful federated system would, as it did, eventually lead to error on a world wide scale.

If the churches retain their local character, the spread of heresy and error will be avoided, for if a church is local, heresy and error will be local too. Rome is a splendid illustration of the reverse side of this truth. The prevalence of Romish error is because of Romish federation. The sphere of the federated churches is vast; consequently the error is widespread. It is a comparatively simple matter to quarantine error in a local church, but to isolate error in a vast federation of churches is quite another proposition.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 70)

Rome could never sway the power it does today had the churches of God maintained their local ground. Where churches are not affiliated, and where local authority is in the hands of local elders, a pope is an impossibility. Where there are only local churches, there can be no Roman Church. It is the federation of different companies of believers that has brought such evils as dabbling in politics into the Church of God. There is power in a federated “church,” but it is carnal power, not spiritual. God’s thought for His Church is that she should be like a mustard seed on earth, full of vitality, yet scarcely noticed. It is federation that has brought the Church of today to the state of Thyatira. The failure of Protestantism is that it has substituted organized churches—State and Dissenting—for the Church of Rome, instead of returning to the divinely-ordained local churches.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 2, Vol. 30, 70)

It would be centuries before believers would begin once again to discern the true character of local churches as revealed in the New Testament. Watchman Nee and Witness Lee contributed much through their respective ministries to the recovery of this vital vision and practice.

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Main

 

Two Aspects of the Church

 

Who is the Church?

 

Local Churches in the N.T.

 

Degradation

 

Bibliography

 

Links

 

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