The Practical Expression of the Church

In eternity past God planned to have a group of human beings coordinated together as a corporate Body, a corporate vessel, into which He would impart His divine life and nature, mingling Himself with redeemed humanity. This vessel is the church. The church is so dear, so lovable, and so precious to God because it is the eternal desire of His heart (Eph. 3:10-11). Just as we need a living experience of Christ, we also need to enter into the practical expression of the church, which displays the oneness of the Body of Christ in each locality. Only then can we enter into the reality of what God has purposed in His heart. In The Practical Expression of the Church Witness Lee speaks of the church, not only from the viewpoint of God's eternal purpose, which is the church triumphant and universal, but also from the viewpoint of the believers' experience and enjoyment of the riches of Christ, which produces a local expression of the church, an expression that displays the oneness of the Body of Christ and brings in God's commanded blessing (Psalm 133).