In review of this lsm/lc material, we discover the same old themes and conclusions of Witness Lee's self-life: http://www.christsdeath.org/index.html
Let's start here with a quote: "In order to experience the reality of the Body of Christ, the one new man, whose primary attribute is oneness, the believers must apply the death of Christ to their culture, their rituals, their traditions, and everything else that is of the old creation and thus, not of Christ."
Jesus Christ "creates in himself one new person" as He comes into His creation by His life, work, death, resurrection and being raised so that we each individually put on that new man that is Christ as our righteousness without national distinction. That is proper cause and effect regarding the "one new man".
The lsm/lc does not operate under locality, but under the central hub of the "Local Church" enterprise for profit. There is no central hub in the church. There are only the local churches that comprise the universal church. The universal church is not the Local Church. Nor are the local churches the Local Church. Therefore, the Local Church can not be the meaning of the "one new man" distinct from Jew or Gentile that Christ made "in himself" (Eph. 2.15) in place of the two. The lsm/lc system is not the one new man, but a cult of Christianity usurping its replicating work.
Christian Websites (an lsm/lc subsidiary) also says we are "parts of Christ (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12)." We are not parts of Christ. 1 Cor. 12.12 compares the human body to the body of Christ. Rom. 12.5 speaks of us being members of one another closely knit. Nothing is said that we are parts of Christ. The corporate Christ does not indicate that we are parts of Christ, but that we are members of his body figuratively. Christians are the corporate Christ, not the personal Christ. We are not God-men (a favorite term of the lsm/lc system).
More is said, "The substance of the new man is God’s nature worked into redeemed humanity to constitute one entity." Christians keep their spirit, soul and body. They are not one entity, but members of the body of Christ, figuratively. Witness Lee always liked to step where he does not belong. He always liked putting one foot in the fire to see what he could get away with. We should not test the Holy Spirit.
Witness Lee documents throughout many of his publications a number of illustrations that depict his own misunderstanding of the Trinity. Lee provides an illustration of Jesus as the seed, root, branch, and fruit.
How could Jesus be the root (Isa. 11:10, 53:2) and also the branch? (Isa. 4:2, 11:1; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 6:12). To our thinking it is illogical. If you are the root, you are the root. If you are the branch, you are the branch. How can someone be both the root and the branch simultaneously? Yet we must remember that Jesus is everything. He is not only the seed (Gen. 3:15), but also the root. He is also the branch and the fruit (Isa. 4:2). In the same principle, He is not only the Father, but also the Son. And He is not only the Son, but also the Spirit. He is everything! If you have Jesus, you have the seed, the root, the branch, and the fruit. And this is not all! If you have Jesus, you have the Father, you have the Son, and you have the Spirit! Jesus is all in all! He is truly wonderful.
Troy's Final Thoughts
Root speaks of Christ being from the family of David, while branch talks about His relation to Israel. A root is more precise. A branch extends outward to others. In Isaiah 4.2, the "branch" is Israel, not Jesus Christ. Since sometimes branch refers to Israel, and other times to Christ, the context matters. Anyway, whether Christ is spoken of as a the root in one context, and branch in another, gives no cause to claim Jesus is the Father or the Spirit. Jesus is the Son of God. In Isaiah 4.2, Jesus is not mentioned as the fruit. The fruit comes from the land for this verse says "the fruit of the land".
The lsm/lc system is living the life of Witness Lee's mind which is in the business of killing the Trinity,
http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/business.htm http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/TeachingsofLC2.htm
This is their arrogance, "Today, many Christians do not believe that Christ is not only the Son, but also the Father and the Spirit."[5]
Do you feel their coldness? The reason we pray to God the Father through the Son by the Spirit is because that is how God reveals His authority and submission as we interact with Him in communion in our spirit. The evil spirit aims to confuse by saying the Father is the Son so that we may pray to the Son or even to the Spirit being introspective.
Do you feel their legalism? What they are doing is looking for some special teaching and then revolving their cult around it to make themselves feel special, but these things they teach are wrong and of the flesh. The sense I get is these lsm/lc members are trying to be smart in their overactive souls, not from a quickened spirit.
Do you see how they like to STEP WHERE THEY DON'T BELONG and hurting others? Real life examples and testimonies against Witness Lee:
http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/Testimoniesoftruth.htm
Witness Lee says "God is a Person" [modalism]. Jesus Christ is the 2nd Person of the Trinity, the fullness of the Godhead bodily (not all-inclusive since Christ emptied Himself and gave up independent use of His attributes: see The Case for Christ, p.160, Lee Strobel), but this does not mean Jesus Christ is God the Father, nor is that the meaning of Isaiah 9.6. "Father" in this verse means Father of Eternity, hebrew original. In other words, Christ was in eternity past to eternity future.
They won't be able to move heaven because they don't agree in the Holy
Spirit. Some left in 1989 and started the Rivers Magazine. Others remain but
keep a meeting separated from the rest. And still others day by day
leave
individually for various reasons.
Troy