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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee
Firstly, Christ uses the key to release us from
prison. After we have been released and have entered into the house of God, He
becomes the nail holding us off the ground. The purpose of His doing this is
that we might be transformed into a pillar in God’s house. Eventually, we, the
pillars, will become parts of the New Jerusalem. As we shall see, Christ’s
writing the name of the New Jerusalem upon us means that we have been
transformed into a part of the New Jerusalem. If you see this, your view will
be changed. In the past, you might have pursued holiness or spirituality, but
you sought holiness and spirituality in an aimless way. You did not have God’s
goal in view. You did not see that both holiness and spirituality are for
God’s building. Today, Christ, the real David, uses the key to release us from
prison. He then brings us into God’s house that we might be transformed to be
pillars and parts of the New Jerusalem. This is the church life, and this is
the temple of God. Within this temple our Christ is a great nail holding us
off the ground for God’s building.
In 3:8 we see the condition of the church in
Philadelphia. Firstly, this church had “a little power.” Many times we
estimate the church in Philadelphia too highly, thinking that this church was
strong and prevailing. Actually, it was not so….While we estimate the church
in Philadelphia very highly, the Lord says that she had “a little power.” What
pleases the Lord is not that we are strong, but that we use our little power
to do the best we can. Do not try to be strong. The strong ones may not please
the Lord as much as those who do their best with the little power they have.
You can never surpass what the Lord gives you. Simply spend what you have
received from Him. Do not usurp the Lord’s grace. None among us can say that
he has received nothing from the Lord. Even the least among us has received a
certain amount of grace from Him. You must spend that grace, using it to do
your best. If you do this, the Lord will appreciate you and say, “Good. You
have a little power, yet you have kept My word with the power you
have.” Do not seek to be a giant. The Lord is not happy with giants; He is
happy with the little ones who have an amount of grace. Although that grace
may be limited in its capacity, as long as we use it, spending it to do as
much as we can to keep the Lord’s word, He will be pleased.
In verse 8 the Lord said that the church in
Philadelphia kept His word. One outstanding feature of Philadelphia is that
she kept the Lord’s word. According to history, no other Christians have kept
the Lord’s word as strictly as these in the church in Philadelphia….The church
in Philadelphia does not care for tradition; she cares for the Word of
God.
In verse 8 the Lord also said that the church in
Philadelphia did not deny His name. Since the brothers were raised up in
England in the early part of the eighteenth century, they have not taken any
name other than the name of the Lord. The word is the Lord’s expression, and
the name is the Lord Himself….
The recovered church has not only returned to the
Lord’s word in a full way, but has also abandoned all names other than that of
the Lord Jesus Christ. The recovered church belongs to the Lord absolutely,
having nothing to do with any denominations (any names). To deviate from the
Lord’s Word is apostasy, and to denominate the church with any name other than
the Lord’s is spiritual fornication. The church as the chaste virgin espoused
to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2) should not have any name other than her husband’s. All
other names are an abomination in the eyes of God. In the recovered church
life we have no teachings of Balaam (2:14), no teachings of the Nicolaitans
(2:15), no teachings of Jezebel (2:20), and no mysterious doctrines of Satan
(2:24); we have only the pure Word of the Lord. Amen! The recovered church has
no denominations (names), but the unique name of the Lord Jesus
Christ….
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