At the time of regeneration, all believers receive the divine life and are begotten as children of God. Yet, this life most grow and it does so by regulation unto maturity and function. This regulation comes from revelation and issues in obedience. This word is crucial for our progress and training in the divine life for our maturity and function in our living and service to God.
When God created man, He placed him before two trees: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. In warning man to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God indicated His desire for man to eat of the tree of life, signifying that man should receive God as his life supply. Witness Lee unveils in The Tree of Life that God is not looking for well-behaved Christians; He is looking for those who will experience and enjoy Christ as the reality of the tree of life.
This book presents a vision of Christ and the church. It then goes on the emphasize the need to experience this Christ as the Spirit in our spirit and to practice the church life on the ground of oneness.
Two things are the key to the real experience of [the divine] life: our flesh and our spirit. On the negative side, we have to know the flesh. On the positive side, we have to experience our human spirit, which has been mingled with the divine Spirit (Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17).
The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1977, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from May 28 through September 5. Brother Lee remained in Anaheim, California, until August 18, after which he ministered in Boston, Massachusetts; New York City; and Cleveland, Ohio, before returning to Anaheim in early September. The contents of this volume are divided into twelve sections, as follows: 1. Five messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 28 through 30. They were previously published in a book entitled All Ages for the Lord's Testimony. 2. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on June 2, July 14, and August 4. They were combined into one chapter and are included in this volume under the title Principles regarding the Lord's Move to Gain the University Students. 3. Four messages given in Anaheim, California, on June 5 through 26. These messages are included in this volume under the title Various Lord's Day Morning Meetings. 4. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on June 15 through July 27. They are included in this volume under the title Meeting from House to House. 5. Six messages given in Anaheim, California, on June 28 and 29. They are included in this volume under the title Being a Person in Life for the Advance of the Lord's Recovery. 6. One message given in Anaheim, California, on July 22. This message is included in this volume under the title Jacob's Prophecy concerning Judah, Zebulun, and Issachar. 7. Two messages given in Chinese in Anaheim, California, on July 23 and 25. These messages are included in this volume under the title Pioneering for the Testimony of the Church. 8. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, and Boston, Massachusetts, on July 27 and August 22. These messages are included in this volume under the title Practicing the Church Life by Contacting the Lord Unceasingly. 9. Five messages given in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 19 through 21. They were previously published in a book entitled The Two Great Mysteries in God's Economy. 10. Two messages given in New York City on August 23 and 24. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Human Spirit and the Church Revealed in Ephesians. 11. Twenty-one messages given in Anaheim, California, and in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 10 and August 26 through September 5. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Spirit and the Body. 12. Seven messages given in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 27 through September 5. They are included in this volume under the title Fellowship regarding the Eldership in the Local Churches.
This book traces "the New Testament service in the Gospel of Matthew from its beginning with the conceiving of Christ of the Holy Spirit, to finding Christ by following the heavenly living star, on to testifying of Christ in a living way, and then to the matter of following Christ. Finally, [it considers] the matter of life and the matter of work in the New Testament service according to the parables of the ten virgins and of the talents. In all these aspects, it is a governing principle in our service in the church life that the New Testament service is a service of coordination in every step to fulfill the Lord's purpose."
"The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, shows us that God is our enjoyment. God also has His fullness (Eph. 3:19b). He is full for us to enjoy. His fullness is the expression of the riches of Christ, and the reality of Christ is in the Spirit. We know this by the revelation of the Word. The riches of Christ are revealed in the Word. Furthermore, we can realize God as our enjoyment in our spirit (John 4:24)."
