Nee writes on page 76 of Spiritual Authority (Christian Fellowship Publishers):
"Only the relationship between Christ and the church can fully express both authority and obedience. For God has not called the church to be an institution; He has ordained her to be the body of Christ. We often think of the church as a gathering of believers with the same faith or as a meeting of loving hearts, but God looks at her differently. She stands not only for the same faith and united love but even more so as one body".
LSM and Local Church are an institution. It an institution allowed by God through its authority Witness Lee, but God does not approve of it, because, though it may be one body unto itself, it is not "one body" with the body of Christ.
Nee also stated on page 76 that in these institutions there is "always the possibility of the appearance of subordination without being real subjection of the heart. There is no way to detect whether people are following proper order...or just lip service".
Therefore, LSM and Local Church are one of many institutions set up by God, not of the body of Christ, to reveal misuse and abuse of authority. By their doctrine and behavior, we can see what not to do. May the children of God learn from this misuse of the authority and submission. May the Lord dismantle the Local Church in proper time because it is no longer necessary to show us such abuses.
Troy Brooks