I. Christ Building the Universal Church

Christ is building His church, as He prophesied in Matthew 16:18. Yet, as Witness Lee explains below, this verse refers to Christ’s building of the universal church, not the local church.

The church Christ is building is the universal church, not the church in a nation or the church in a city [a local church]. In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.” In this verse the Lord considered Himself as the rock (cf. v. 16). Christ Himself is the very rock upon which the church is built. The church in Matthew 16:18 is the universal church, the one church in the entire universe. (46-47)

A. The Universal Church Being the Unique Body of Christ

Christ is the Head of His Body, the church. But how many bodies does Christ the Head have? Christ only has one Body according to Ephesians 1:22-23 and 4:4. Here, Witness Lee discusses the erroneous concept that each local church is a distinct “body” of Christ.

The universal church is the unique Body of Christ. According to Ephesians 1:22-23, Christ is the Head and the church is His Body. Christ the Head has only one Body (Eph. 4:4). It is abnormal for a head to have more than one body. If you saw a person with one head and two bodies, surely you would consider him a monster. In Christianity today, the unique Body of Christ has been divided into countless “bodies.” These bodies are the many so-called churches in existence around the globe. All the different “churches” claim that their Head is Christ. This means that the one Head, Christ, has many bodies. This is not only wrong, but this is grotesque! In the midst of today’s abnormal situation, we strongly affirm that the Body of Christ is uniquely one. There is one Head and one Body. Surely this one Body cannot be a particular local church. This one Body must be the universal church, the church as a whole. Christ as the Head is unique, and the universal church as the Body is also unique. (47)

B. The Universal Church Comprising All the Local Churches

The New Testament makes it clear that every local church is simply a part of the one universal church. Based on references to the local church throughout the New Testament, Witness Lee remarks:

This one universal church, one Body, comprises all the local churches. There may be thousands of local churches, but together they constitute one universal church. Each local church is only a part of the universal church. The universal church is the unique Body of Christ, and all the local churches are simply the local expressions of that one Body. The local churches all comprise the one universal church. Acts 15:41 speaks of the churches in Syria and Cilicia, and Romans 16:4 mentions the churches in the Gentile world. Second Corinthians 8:1 speaks of the churches in the province of Macedonia; Galatians 1:2, of the churches in the province of Galatia; and Revelation 1:4, of the churches in the province of Asia. According to Revelation 1:4, there were at least seven local churches in the one province of Asia. In the New Testament we can see many local churches, and together these local churches are considered as one universal church. Today in the Lord’s recovery there are nearly six hundred local churches on six continents. All these local churches together are just one universal church. (47-48)

As Witness Lee explains, the universal church is the Body of Christ. However, the New Testament makes frequent references to local churches. This indicates that the universal church comprises all the local churches; every local church is a part of the one Body of Christ.