Messages July 1962

After the beginning of the Lord’s Table in May 1962, Witness Lee came to visit us in Los Angeles, July 1-5, 1962. We met at Samuel Chang’s home.

Message One: The Two Creations
from John 2:19 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, 16

He shared that the old creation is without God, without His nature, and is ours by birth. It will be destroyed by God, although He created it. The new creation has God within it, is of His nature, and is ours by rebirth.

The way to build up the church is by tearing down the old man.

God’s intention is to mingle Himself with creation. To do this, He came into human nature, destroyed the old creation on the cross, and in resurrection brought forth a new creation, the church, His Body, the new man. This new creation is in our spirit. The troubles and difficulties we face are because there is still something that remains of the old creation, something of Adam that needs to be destroyed. That is our outer man. The way to build up the church is by tearing down the old man. We see the problems; God sees the building.

Message Two: The Church Is God’s Purpose
from Matthew 16:18-19 and 18:15-20

The redemptive purpose of God is to get the church which is the main subject of the New Testament. Satan and the world of Satan are against the church as seen by the gates of Hades. The keys of the kingdom are given to the church to counter Satan and his gates. What is the church? It is not two or three (18:20) or 20 or 100. They may pray together and meet together, but they are not the church. The church in the universe is one. It is heavenly, spiritual, and universal. The expression of that one church on earth must be one in a certain place. The Spirit will not allow you to establish another church in a city. If the church does not include all the believers in that city, it cannot say, “We are the church.”

Message Three: The Place Chosen by God
from Deuteronomy 12:3-5 and 16:5-6

God said that every other place was to be torn down except where His name was. Only at that one place were sacrifices to be offered up. That chosen place was Jerusalem. Only there could the unity of Israel be kept. Even when it became two nations, Jerusalem still was the place for God’s temple, God’s building. This is true even among the Jews today. The foundation is Christ; that is the lowest part of the building. That is different from the ground, which refers to the site, a piece of land, the place where the building is built, a particular city.

Message Four: The Practicality of the Church
from Ephesians 2:20-22 and 3:17-19

The natural life is individual in character, whereas the divine life is corporate. When you are right with God, you have a thirst for the corporate life. The divine life needs fellowship. Salvation is personal but not individual. Through the Passover and the Red Sea all of God’s people were saved collectively.

Come to the church; remain in the Body. Every blessing is yours.

God has saved a people, the church, out of the world, out of Adam’s race. “Come to the church; remain in the Body. Every blessing is yours.” This includes victory over sin, sanctification, etc. If the church is merely universal, how can I get in? Where can I bring my problems? We should not join ourselves to any division. We should join only local Christians. The only distinction among Christians should be that of locality, e.g., the church in New York. Spend as much time as you can with the church, with the Body, with the flock of God. The family life is the normal life.

Message Five: The Corporate Life
from Ephesians 3:17-19

Our thought is individual; God’s thought is corporate. Every spiritual blessing is for the church and is in the church. We “apprehend with all the saints,” not as individuals.

Our thought is individual; God’s thought is corporate.

God’s blessing is the greatest where fellowship is not hindered by wrong teaching, where we stand against our religious tastes, where we subject ourselves to one another, where we are open to all the saints, where we believe others, and where we can pray with others in humility.

Message Six: The Church Life and the Life of Abraham
from Genesis 12:1-9; 22:1-2; and 2 Chronicles 3:1

Abraham had two children: those of the Old Testament made up of the twelve tribes and those of the New Testament which is the church represented by the twelve apostles. New Jerusalem is composed of the twelve tribes of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New Testament. It comprises two kinds of people out of Abraham who have to do with the house of God. God’s purpose in calling out Abraham was to get a new race for God’s habitation. The life of Abraham is for God’s house and is for maintaining God’s house. We are of Adam by natural birth and are of Abraham by rebirth. God asked Abraham to leave the world and follow Him. The Lord’s first command to His followers was, “Forsake all.” The son God gave to Abraham, He asked him to give up. Whatever the Lord has given, He asks to be given up for God’s house. Abraham built an altar (“forsake all”) between Bethel (God’s house) and Ai (ruin). Everything kept in our hands becomes a ruin. Everything offered to God will produce the house of God.

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