Clarifying the Ground Of Oneness
(See also Our Relationship with Other Christians)
If we want to practice the church according to God’s design, we must return to the pattern in the New Testament, setting aside the current divided situation among the members of the Body of Christ. This matter of how to carry out the church in a practical way has been obscured by 2000 years of Christian history and the loss of our visible oneness. These articles examine what the Bible lays out as the basis for establishing churches and some common unscriptural misaimings.
Note: We have chosen to list all seven articles on the ground of oneness for completeness and clarity, but readers new to the subject may want to read (1), (7), (6), (2) and (5), in that order. (3) and (4) deal with particular misaimings concerning the practice of the church.
Much confusion and debate exist among Christians surrounding the definition, formation, purpose, and function of the church. In fact, the pattern of Christians meeting together in local churches is entirely consistent throughout the … Continue reading Assailing the Ground of Oneness (1): The Genuine Ground of the Church According to the Teaching and Practice of the New Testament
Ephesians 4 speaks of one Spirit and one Body and of our need to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace (vv. 3-6). Some Christians ask whether the … Continue reading Assailing the Ground of Oneness (2): Diligently Keeping the Oneness Requiring a Local Ground
Some have argued that the church in Jerusalem was a regional church, that is, a single church that has jurisdiction over an area much broader than the boundary of a city. But how … Continue reading Assailing the Ground of Oneness (3): Was the Church in Jerusalem a “Regional” Church?
“House churches,” in which believers meet in a house as a separate, independent unit of administration, are a popular means of circumventing the biblical pattern of keeping the oneness of the unique Body … Continue reading Assailing the Ground of Oneness (4): Are “House Churches” Biblical?
The story of Cain and Abel, the first two sons of Adam and Eve, establishes an important principle that the worship of God should not be according to man’s thought but according to … Continue reading Assailing the Ground of Oneness (5): God’s Choice versus Doing What Is Right in Our Own Eyes
Matthew 18:20 contains a wonderful promise: “For where two or three are gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.” However, some have misused this verse to discount the need for … Continue reading Assailing the Ground of Oneness (6): The Ground of the Church Being for the Building Up of the Body of Christ
The New Testament presents the church as universally one in its existence and locally one in its manifestation (Eph. 1:22-23; Acts 13:1). Yet Christians today are divided among a plethora of denominations and … Continue reading Assailing the Ground of Oneness (7): The Identifying Characteristics of a Genuine Local Church and the Forbidden Grounds of Division According to the Scriptures
The boundary of a local church is one of the basic principles upon which the practice of the Lord’s recovery is based. From the beginnings of the Lord’s recovery in China, it has … Continue reading Concerning the Boundary of a Local Church