Local Church Doctrine
The following articles have been produced by this ministry to offer insight into some of the beliefs and practices of Witness Lee's Local Church movement.
The Local Church and Baptismal Regeneration
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches a strict form of baptismal regeneration. According to Lee and the Local Church, baptism transfers someone from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God, and is necessary for people to be saved.
The Local Church and "Localism"
by Jim MoranWitness Lee, as did Watchman Nee before him, teaches that there can only be one church fellowship expressing the body of Christ in each city - one of their own! Witness Lee expresses the exclusivistic nature of the movement.
The Local Church and Man & Sin & Satan & Christ
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches that Satan and man's body are mingled together and that Satan dwells within mankind as man's sinful nature. According to Lee, Satan also dwelt within Christ's body and was then put to death on the cross. According to Lee, the cross was God's plan to trap and destroy Satan!
The Local Church and "Mingling"
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches that Christ's two natures were mingled together, illustrated by water mixing with tea and an apple and peach having been grafted together. According to Lee, God's Spirit and man's spirit are mingled together as one intrinsic, organic entity. They are now a one-spirit entity.
The Local Church and Salvation
by Jim MoranWitness Lee and the Local Church teach different criteria for being saved - faith, baptism, and "calling on the name of the Lord".
The Local Church and the New Jerusalem
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches that the "Lord's Recovery" will constitute the New Jerusalem, that it members are God-Men, and that those Christians who don't mature in this age will face discipline during the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ - possibly in the lake of fire!
The Local Church and the Partial-Rapture View
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches the partial-rapture theory, whereby only overcomers, those supposedly more spiritually mature, will be caught up to be with the Lord before the tribulational period. Those believers left behind will endure what the tribulational period has to offer them.
The Local Church and the Trinity
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one Person, not three distinct divine Persons. According to Lee, God the Father also became the Son, who then became the [life-giving] Spirit (modalism). Lee also teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one person were incarnated as a man, died on the cross, and were then resurrected together. They are also viewed as being co-existent.
The Local Church and the Tripartite View of Man
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches an extreme view of the tripartite view of man, as did Watchman Nee before him. This extreme view leads to some very serious problems.
The Local Church and Their "God-Talk"
by Jim MoranWitness Lee teaches that regenerarted man possesses the divine nature of God as well as his own human nature. According to Lee, man is divine and human just as Jesus is divine and human. According to Lee, God became man to quite literally make man God!
Witness Lee: Oracle, Apostle, and God's Deputy Authority on Earth
by Jim MoranWitness Lee claimed to be an apostle, the oracle of God, God's deputy authority on earth, and was looked upon as such by members of the Local Church movement!
