The Church

Books:

  • The Church as the Body of Christ gives a detailed view of the Body of Christ, including its intrinsic essence as the mingling of God and man, its building, its oneness, its function, its coordination, and its fellowship, among many other matters.
  • The Glorious Church, by Watchman Nee, provides an overview of God’s plan for the church from the type of Adam and Eve at the beginning of Genesis to the coming of the New Jerusalem out of heaven from God at the end of Revelation.
  • In The Mystery of Christ Watchman Nee speaks of the church as the corporate Christ and presents a view of the church as the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4) that includes the supply, protection, limitation, order, and principle of the Body along with the authority, riches, and ministry in the Body.
  • In A Thorough View of the Body of Christ Witness Lee speaks of the origin, the elements, the essence, and the reality of the Body of Christ and what it is to live and serve in the Body of Christ.

Affirmation & Critique (A&C):

  • “The Eternal Purpose of God as Revealed in Ephesians 1” in the April 2007 issue of A&C (XII:1), by Ron Kangas, shows that the church as the Body of Christ is according to God’s good pleasure, that is, His eternal heart’s desire, and that He is carrying out His plan, His economy, in which He dispenses Himself in His Divine Trinity into His chosen, redeemed, and regenerated people as their life and life supply to make them His corporate expression.
  • In “God’s Eternal Purpose concerning the Church and the Apostle’s Prayer for the Church regarding the Experience of the Triune God” in the Fall 2009 issue (XIV:2) Ron Kangas gives an overview of the book of Ephesians from the perspective of God’s eternal purpose, which is to have the church as the Body of Christ. He then focuses on the apostle Paul’s prayer in chapter 3 where Paul prays that the church will have the proper and adequate experience of the Triune God for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

Radio Broadcasts:

Ministry Excerpts

  • How the Church Comes Into Being and Is Built Up: Just as Adam’s bone was used to form his wife, Eve, so Christ’s resurrection life forms Christ’s counterpart, the church. Within every believer is a part of Christ, and the portion of Christ in every believer added together equals the church.
  • Enjoying the Riches of Christ to Become the Fullness of Christ: We must not only experience the power of Christ; we must also enjoy all the riches of Christ. Ephesians 3 reveals that the church issues out of the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. When we enjoy Christ’s riches, these riches are dispensed into us, and we become His fullness.
  • The Function of the Church: Second Corinthians 5:1 shows that the church is a house, a “building from God, a dwelling not made with hands.“ In this house God is the Resident and the church is His residence. The practice of the church as God’s house is both universal and local, in many local churches.
For information on the ground of the locality see the resources page on “A Practical Testimony of Oneness.”