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Originally Posted by Ohio
They did not even diligently search the scriptures. Except for Revelation, the bulk of the NT does not support Nee's model.
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It's interesting how Nee got away with promoting this teaching. There are definitely verses where churches are referred to by their city, but the big problem is that this isn't done consistently. The glaring example that comes to mind is the house churches mentioned in the NT. I don't think Nee/Lee ever addressed this properly in the context of their teaching.
I was looking into this earlier, and I found the following statement Lee made regarding the house churches:
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Today, however, so-called churches are designated by a street or an avenue. Some might say, “In the Bible there are no street churches, but there are house churches.” Concerning house churches or home churches we need to be careful. Yes, the New Testament does mention the church in the house of certain saints (Rom. 16:5a; Col. 4:15-16). If we read the New Testament carefully, we will see that in these cases the church in the house was the same in limit as the church in the city. In other words, the limit of the house church was equal to the city. The church in that house was the church in that locality, in that city...
Witness Lee, The Heavenly Vision
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I notice that Lee made the assumption that the house churches could be automatically equated with being the church in that city. I see house churches as distinct assemblies because they are addressed as such. I would also turn around Lee's words and say that if we read the NT carefully, without bias, it isn't completely clear what house churches had any city-wide affiliation.
In Paul's epistle to Philemon, it was addressed to:
Philemon... and to the church in your house. If we are to accept what Lee says, that the house church equals the city church, then why didn't Paul instead address the letter to:
Philemon... and to the church in Colosse?
Better, yet, why didn't Paul request that his letter to Philemon and the house church be read in Laodicea just like he requested in his epistle to the Colossians? I see lots of problems with the kinds of assumptions Lee made. The exceptions to his teaching should have warranted a decent explanation at the very least, not just a few sentences claiming that the exceptions don't matter if we study the Bible carefully.