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.
The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from April 28 through December 16. At the beginning of the fourth week in April, Brother Lee traveled from Anaheim, California, to Irving, Texas, and he remained there until the middle of May. During this period he visited Houston, Texas, for a weekend conference. From Irving he traveled to Europe and ministered in Stuttgart, Germany, until the end of May. At the end of his time in Germany, Brother Lee also visited Tubingen. At the beginning of June he returned to the United States, visiting New York City during the first week in June and then traveling to Irving and remaining there for two weeks before proceeding to Anaheim. Brother Lee remained in Anaheim until the middle of July, and then he visited Berkeley and San Jose, California, before returning to Anaheim at the end of July. From the beginning of August until the end of the third week in November Brother Lee ministered in Anaheim. He then traveled to Irving and remained in Irving until he returned to Anaheim at the beginning of 1984. The contents of this volume are divided into four sections, as follows: 1. Seven messages given in Irving, Texas, on April 28 through June 8. They were previously published in a book entitled Concerning the Lord's Recovery and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Five messages given in Chinese in Houston, Texas, on May 5 through 8. They were previously published in a book entitled Christ in His Excellency and are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Six messages given in Stuttgart, Germany, on May 17 through 30. These messages are included in this volume under the title Endeavoring to Learn and Propagate the Divine Truth for the Advance of the Lord's Recovery. 4. Twenty-eight messages given in Stuttgart, Germany; New York City; Irving, Texas; and Berkeley, California, on May 20 through December 16. These messages were previously published in a forty-three-chapter book entitled The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity and are included in this volume under the same title.
"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)."
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, 1982, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from October 11, 1982, through June 15, 1983. From December 22, 1982, through January 1, 1983, Brother Lee spoke twenty-nine messages that were published in Life-study of 1 Peter, Life-study of 2 Peter, and Life-study of Jude. The Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. From the beginning of August until the end of November 1982, Brother Lee remained in Anaheim, California, except for one-day visits to the nearby localities of Cerritos and Huntington Beach, California, at the end of October. At the end of November he traveled to Irving, Texas, and remained there until the first week of January 1983. The contents of this volume are divided into four sections, as follows: 1. A message given in Anaheim, California, on October 11. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship concerning the Translation of Watchman Nee's Writings. 2. Six messages given in Irving, Texas, on November 28 through December 27. These messages are included in this volume under the title Experiencing the Processed, All-inclusive, Life-giving Spirit and Raising Up the Young People and the Children for the Increase of the Church. 3. A message given in Cerritos, California, on October 28. This message was translated from Chinese and is included in this volume under the title Eating and Drinking in Remembrance of the Lord and Six Items Related to the Church Life. 4. Sixty-three messages given in Anaheim and Huntington Beach, California; Irving, Texas; and Stuttgart and Tubingen, Germany, on October 31, 1982, through June 15, 1983. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John and are included in this volume under the same title.
In the Lord’s recovery during the past five hundred years the church’s knowledge of the Lord and His truth has been continually progressing. This monumental and classical work by Brother Witness Lee builds upon and is a further development of all that the Lord has revealed to His church in the past centuries. It is filled with the revelation concerning the processed Triune God, the living Christ, the life-giving Spirit, the experience of life, and the definition and practice of the church. In this set Brother Lee has kept three basic principles that should rule and govern every believer in their interpretation, development, and expounding of the truths contained in the Scriptures. The first principle is that of the Triune God dispensing Himself into His chosen and redeemed people; the second principle is that we should interpret, develop, and expound the truths contained in the Bible with Christ for the church; and the third governing principle is Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church. No other study or exposition of the New Testament conveys the life nourishment or ushers the reader into the divine revelation of God’s holy Word according to His New Testament economy as this one does.
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.
“We must realize that we Christians are a meeting people. A Christian is a meeting person. Without meeting, there is no Christian life and no church life. It is rather difficult for any Christian to grow without attending the meetings. There is no way for any Christian to serve God without meetings, and it is impossible for Christians to express Christ if there are no meetings. The church life is a meeting life.” In How to Meet Witness Lee offers much precious and practical guidance related to the biblical way to meet as Christians.
The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from June 4, 1983, through January 1, 1984. At the beginning of June Brother Lee returned from Europe to the United States, visiting New York City during the first week in June and then traveling to Irving, Texas, and remaining there for two weeks before proceeding to Anaheim, California. Brother Lee remained in Anaheim until the middle of July, and then he visited Berkeley and San Jose, California, before returning to Anaheim at the end of July. From the beginning of August until the end of the third week in November Brother Lee ministered in Anaheim. He then traveled to Irving and remained in Irving until he returned to Anaheim at the beginning of 1984. The contents of this volume are divided into ten sections, as follows: 1. Two messages given in New York City on June 4 and 5, 1983. The available record of these messages consists of personal notes taken by attendees in the meetings. These notes were edited and are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with the Elders in New York City. 2. Eight messages given in Chinese in Anaheim, California, on June 26 through August 21, 1983. These messages were previously published in a book entitled A Living of Mutual Abiding with the Lord in Spirit and are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on June 28 and 29, 1983. These messages are included in this volume under the title Endeavoring to Come to the Full Knowledge of the Truth and Developing the Skill to Present the Truth. 4. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on July 8, October 15, and November 12. They are included in this volume under the title Fellowship concerning the Children and Young People. 5. Five messages given in Chinese in San Jose, California, on July 22 through 24, 1983. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Wonderful Being of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 6. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on August 25 and 27, 1983. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Commission of the Lord's Recovery. 7. Ten messages given in Anaheim, California, on August 26 through November 11, 1983. They were previously published in a book entitled The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word and are included in this volume under the same title. 8. Seven messages given in Chinese in Anaheim, California, on October 9 through November 20, 1983. They were previously published in a book entitled Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life and are included in this volume under the same title. 9. Eleven messages given in Irving, Texas, on November 24, 1983, through January 1, 1984. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures and are included in this volume under the same title. 10. Four messages given in Chinese in Irving, Texas, on December 3 through 17, 1983. They are included in this volume under the title The Chinese-speaking Work and the Testimony of Jesus.
