The Oneness
Beginning in January of the new year, 1963, Witness Lee was invited to
speak in several places in cities around Los Angeles. In addition to
23rd Street he ministered in Whittier, San Gabriel, and Reseda. He was
also invited to speak in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Chula Vista (near San
Diego), California, during the early months of 1963.
Christians of various backgrounds heard Witness Lee
and were impressed with how the Lord was ministering to His Body
through our brother. Some had a Pentecostal background (Reseda); some a
Plymouth Brethren background (Whittier). Eventually there was a desire
among the leading ones to come together once a week for fellowship.
Fewllowship with Other Christians
January 1, 1963
The first such meeting Brother Lee realized that with such diverse backgrounds there was the potential for problems. In A Memorial Biography (58), there is this comment:
As most of the believers in the church in Los Angeles then had come from Christianity,
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Brother Lee helped them to contact the life-giving Spirit and to
experience the transforming work of the Lord Spirit to be built up as
the church, the testimony of God on the earth
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Brother Lee labored to help free them from their
backgrounds which hindered them from entering into the rich experience
of Christ. From believers with a Pentecostal background who were
addicted to speaking in tongues, to believers from a fundamental
background who lived a Christless Christian life, Brother Lee helped
them to contact the life-giving Spirit and to experience the
transforming work of the Lord Spirit to be built up as the church, the
testimony of God on the earth.
Major Points of Fellowship
Witness Lee met with us each week and always had a
word to share with us. In that first meeting he stressed the following
points:
- The Lord’s Body in the universe is one.
- The expression of that Body in any place, e.g., Los Angeles, must keep the oneness by including all the Lord’s children.
- We should give up whatever does not keep the oneness. “I would
beg you brothers to give up all the different kinds of opinions and
keep the
basic things.”
- What are the basic things?
- the Lord Jesus as our Savior and life
- His Body as His expression
- the Bible as the divine Word of God
- God is triune
- Jesus Christ as God incarnated and bodily resurrected
- What are the minor or secondary things? What are things we should give up to keep the oneness?
- head covering
- means of baptism (immersion, sprinkling, etc.)
- The Pentecostal movement has included too much maneuvering and human manufacturing.
- The Lord’s Body is the best place to be balanced,” or adjusted, in our mutual relations.
- If we come together in Los Angeles and keep the oneness, there will be an impact and much blessing from the Lord.
- Witness Lee gave his experience of speaking in tongues (1936-38),
but stressed its value for the individual rather than for others (2
Cor. 5:13).
- In this meeting there were eight brothers from Reseda, three from
Whittier, one from East Los Angeles, and six from Los Angeles (Witness
Lee, Samuel Chang, Ted Wen, Jim Reetzke,...).
Fellowship with Other Christians
February 2, 1963
In this meeting Witness Lee stressed the following:
- Those with different backgrounds need more mingling: serve together, function together, preach the gospel together,....
- There is the need of a place of meeting where all can come together
for fellowship and the ministry of the Word (1 Cor. 14:23) as well as
similar area meetings for prayer and the Lord’s Table (Acts 2:46).
Each group was represented at this meeting: Reseda, Whittier, and Los Angeles.
Fellowship with Other Christians
February 9, 1963
Glendale, CA
Different brothers expressed how they felt.
Brother KH: 1. When we meet we should stress the
principle of “variety in unity.” 2. God is after one new man in the
universe. 3. We can trust the Holy Spirit to govern without an agenda.
Brother FP: Last night many groups came together but all were one.
Brother BF: We should give ourselves to one another without reservation as in a marriage.
Brother JM: We need both truth and oneness taking the cross to keep from stumbling one another.
Brother Lee shared the following:
- We should receive one another as Christ has received, even those different from us (Rom. 15:7).
- Paul had a very liberal attitude, e.g., eating meals and
observing days (Rom. 14) with no judgment of one another and no
uniformity of practice. Uniformity leads to division (e.g., Presbyterians, Baptists).
- With this attitude we will have no difficulty in meeting together.
- We need a ministry of Christ according to life, not a teaching of doctrines (e.g., rapture, tribulation).
- In these days the Lord is doing something quite wonderful.”
Fellowship with Other Christians
February 16, 1963
Glendale, CA
Witness Lee said that,
- We need “the variety in unity rather than the uniformities in division.” History has taught us this—there is beauty in variety.
- God has received a brother whether we agree with him or not (Rom. 14:1-6).
- Have the same mind toward one another according to Christ (Rom. 15:1-7).
- Receive those whom Christ has received without criticism.
Brother JW said, “Let’s all meet together on Sunday
morning and explode all the many churches. This is a practical matter.
Where? When? What to do? We are against the system of dead Christianity
and for a spiritual testimony by Christians. No compromise for the sake
of oneness.”
Brother DG said, “There will be a spiritual fight if we shift from Saturday p.m. to Lord’s Day a.m.”
Fellowship with Other Christians
February 20, 1963
Glendale, CA
It was decided that the first corporate meeting
would be on March 3 at the International Order of Odd Fellows Hall
(IOOF). The children’s meeting would be 9:45-10:45 a.m. and the general
meeting at 11:00 a.m.
At this same meeting, Witness Lee gave a detailed exposition of 1 Corinthians 14:
- The meeting mentioned here is of the whole church.
- Believers exercise their gifts given by the Lord and exercise some gifts yet to be given.
- Each functions to edify others with a hymn, a revelation, a teaching, a tongue, or an interpretation (verse 26).
- This is the most important meeting of the church.
- A meeting for the work is okay occasionally when a particular brother is present.
- The meeting is normally in mutuality and not of pulpit and pew.
- The “round table” meeting needs to be recovered.
- All should prepare for the meeting.
- The Holy Spirit controls (28).
- This is a typical meeting of all churches (33) which goes “back 100% to the early Christians.”
- This meeting has been commanded by the Lord (37).
- The Lord’s presence means everything.
Fellowship with Other Christians
March 2, 1963
Glendale, CA
It largely considered practical matters for the
meeting the next day and for future meetings: arrangement of chairs and
tables, ushers, hymn books, announcements, offering boxes, bank
account, books for sale, care of children, meetings for training (March
23 and April 6) meetings for conference (local and national), and
gospel preaching.
All Groups Meet Together
The next day, the Lord’s Day, March 3, 1963, a.m.,
was the first meeting where all the groups came together. We met for
the Lord’s Table followed by a time of mutuality in sharing. Witness
Lee was in New York and missed being there for this first meeting.
However, afterward he received a long-distance call from a “Brethren”
brother who complained to him about the confusion in the meeting. This
brother mentioned the speaking in tongues, the interpretations, the
testimonies, and the ministry of the Word, but especially he objected
to the playing of the tambourines. To this Brother Lee asked, “What is
the difference between a piano and a tambourine? Both are used to help
in the singing.” In subsequent meetings on the Lord’s Day, when Witness
Lee was there, he ministered the Word in a rich, clear, and
enlightening way. In addition to his sharing, usually the meetings were
like that first meeting in outward display.
Public Statement
On May 19, 1963, “A Public Statement” was released
by the brothers in Los Angeles to the Christian public stating what
took place in March 1963, what their stand was, and what our desire was
for the Lord’s testimony in that city. It reads as follows:
A PUBLIC STATEMENT
made on May 19, 1963
As we realized the need of a
proper expression of the Body of Christ, we started to meet together to
fulfill this purpose in the Spring of 1962. For an enlarged realization
of our vision of the oneness of Christ’s Body, more of us came to meet
together on the Church ground in Los Angeles in the beginning of March,
1963. We do not intend to be any kind of new “movement,” but to
practice the unity of the Spirit, a unity with variety, and the variety
versus uniformity, in the way of a local church.
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We are not centered around certain truths, but make Christ, the all-inclusive Head, Himself to be life and everything to us.
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We are not centered around certain truths, but make Christ, the
all-inclusive Head, Himself to be life and everything to us. We are
willing and ready to take in all the good, sound, scriptural, and
spiritual things which the Lord has given through all generations and
is still giving today to His Body through whatever channel of different
types of His saints; but we would not practice them in the improper way
taken by certain groups, nor would we identify ourselves with any
denomination, sect, or any sort of Christian movement. We are not
exclusive. We receive all of God’s children as fellow-members of
Christ’s Body regardless of their Christian background; however, we
have no organizational connections with any of their particular
associations, works, activities, etc. May the Lord’s way be prosperous
among His people in His increase that His testimony through the local
expressions of His Church may be established and strengthened
throughout the whole world in these last days to the full extent of His
recovery in the building up of His Body to the measure of the stature
of His fullness by more and more brothers and sisters being brought
into the stream of His life in the fellowship of the Spirit while He is
moving on toward His coming back by having a remnant as a response to
His call for the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose.
The Responsible brothers of
the Church in Los Angeles
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