During the two thousand years of church history, many people have thought that they could be believers individually. They have thought that they could live like hermits, shutting themselves up on a mountain and caring for nothing except their fellowship with the Lord. But the spiritual lessons that these ones experienced were very shallow; they could not withstand temptation. When the environment was right, they thrived. When the environment became adverse, they could not persevere. (p. 84)

We must realize that there is another side to the Christian life¯the corporate side. In the Bible, as far as the corporate aspect is concerned, no one can be a solitary Christian. First of all, God's Word tells us that when a person is saved, he becomes a member of God's household; he becomes God's child, born into God's family…. Second, the Bible shows us that all the saved ones are God's dwelling place, that is, God's house…. Third, Christians are collectively called the Body of Christ. (p. 84)

As soon as you believe in the Lord, spontaneously there is an inclination within you to contact other children of God. (p. 88)

The life [Christians] have received does not allow us to be individualistic. The Lord has not given us an independent life…. If we had received an independent life, we could live by ourselves. But we have received a dependent life. We have to depend on our brothers and sisters, and they have to depend on us. (p. 89)

We cannot be private Christians. We only can be Christians who join together with all of God's children. We only can be Christians who are attached to other Christians. We should be involved with other people. We should be like the vines of a climbing plant ¯ always attached to other people. As Christians we should attach ourselves to other Christians. (p. 90)

The Bible is very simple and clear concerning the truth of the church; it is not confusing at all. We can see this in a few verses. The opening words of many Epistles, such as the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles and Revelation, show us such expressions as the church in Rome, the church in Jerusalem, the church in Corinth, the church in Philippi, the church in Ephesus, the church in Colossae, and so on…. The church can be divided only according to locality, nothing else. (p. 94)

The Bible speaks of “the churches of Galatia” (1 Cor. 16:1), “the churches of Asia” (v. 19), and “the churches of Judea” (Gal. 1:22). In Judea there were many localities with churches. This is why we refer to them as the churches of Judea. We see this in Acts. In the book of Galatians we see “the churches of Galatia.” In Revelation 1:4 we see “the . . . churches which are in Asia.” No church is ever bigger than a locality. (p. 95; 1 Corinthians 16:1, 19; Galatians 1:22; Revelation 1:4)