Many of the blog posts at www.agodman.com are inspired from and reference to the ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee. Who is this “Witness Lee”, and why do I quote him so much on this blog? I personally have never met him, and until I got to the age of 16-17 years old I never heard of him. I did hear of Watchman Nee: my parents who were very seeking read his books, but not of Witness Lee.
One day we received a few books by Witness Lee from some saints, such as “The Experience of Life”, “the Tree of Life”, “The All-inclusive Christ”, and, “the Economy of God”. I knew what many of these words mean, but I never thought that they can be applied to Christ and to God. I never knew of the economy of God or the “all-inclusive Christ” or “the tree of life”, but by reading these books and by meeting with the saints, little by little I entered into the enjoyment of the Lord and appreciated Him more.
These books became very precious, opening up many of the deeper things of God’s plan such as man being a tripartite being (spirit, soul, and body, see 1 Thes. 5:23), the Spirit with our spirit, God’s economy, God’s dispensing, enjoying Christ, God being life to man, transformation, Christ being the reality of all the positive things, Christ being all-inclusive, Christ being the reality of the good land of Canaan with all its riches, and many other things.
As a believer in Christ I do my best to follow in the footsteps of those who went before me to seek the truth, know the Lord, and experience Christ, and my desire is to somehow touch what the Lord is doing in this age and be in His up-to-date move in our time. I read many books by “spiritual giants” on revival, I touched something of the charismatic movement, I enjoyed listening to praise and worship songs, I tried to speak in tongues, I listened and watched “healing and deliverance” ministries, I touched something of the “holiness movement”, but I was still left seeking for something deeper.
But when I started reading the Recovery Version of the Bible and some of the books by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, I was really impressed, touched, and nourished. As I was growing in the human life and going through university and later the army and working, I was daily sustained by Him in His word and with the help of the books by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee. I discovered that what the Lord is doing in this age has to do with the ministry of these two brothers; this is “the ministry of the age”, and this ministry builds up the Body of Christ for the Lord to have a bride and return soon.
I still vividly remember being in the army in Romania (military service used to be mandatory once…) and having a daily time to read my Bible and to read half a message from the life-study of Philippians. Oh, the book of Philippians became so sweet, open, rich, and applicable to me during this time!
The Life-Study and the High Peak Books by Witness Lee
In particular, the life-study of the Bible series really impressed me: I started reading the life-study of Genesis and my eyes were opened to see the mysteries in God’s word and the rich meaning of simple words such as “and the earth BECAME waste and void”, “Let Us make man in Our image…and let them have dominion over…”, etc. Have you ever thought that there’s a spiritual significance in our Christian life concerning the progression and growth in life for each of the days of the creation / restoration in Genesis 1? Wow.
The life-study is really a masterpiece, an eye-opening, and a Christ-betrothing set of messages given by the Lord through our brother in order to open the word of God in its rich truth and in its application to our Christian experience. I am still enjoying day by day portions from the life-study, and the result is that I love the Lord more, I want to build up the church as the Body of Christ, and I yearn for the Lord to return!
I also read quite a few of the “high peak books”, the books based on messages given by brother Lee in the last years of his life, and I was really amazed: many people in the last days of their life “make no sense” when they speak or do something, but the Lord released some of the highest truths through our brother Lee during the last years of his life. Wow! Based on 2 Sam. 7 and Rom. 1:3-4 we can clearly see that God’s desire is to build Himself into our being and build us into His being so that we may become the same as Christ (sons of God) for the building up of the church as His Body, His corporate expression on the earth. Hallelujah! I really recommend these books, many of which can be found online at ministrybooks.com.
I enjoy listening to “Life-Study of the Bible” broadcast, most of which is available to listen online or download as mp3 at lifestudy.com, and in quite a few countries this broadcast is live on some Radio networks. I went through the gospel of Mark and Luke, and I listened to many other radio broadcasts; these days I am in the life-study of Exodus broadcast – so rich! For example, it is such a sweet experience to spend the commuting time by listening to the radio broadcast to be infused with the hearing of faith, and you can’t help it while listening to exclaim: Amen! Do it in me, Lord! Thank You, Lord! Wow, Hallelujah!
Why quote from Witness Lee?
I have been asked this question many times, and again and again I have to answer: NO, I don’t exalt a man, but I have to follow the vision that the Lord has shown me in His word. Like Paul said to king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19) – this is what I pray, that the Lord would keep me and bring many under a heavenly vision of God’s economy today!
The Lord greatly used brother Watchman Nee in the last century, and He had a fresh start with him in China; his writings have greatly expounded on the deeper matters of Christ, the experience of Christ, the church, and the cross (see more on Watchman Nee here). Now in this age the Lord raised up Witness Lee, and through him He released many truths, He opened the word of God to us, and it is our duty to go on, dig deeper, use the help the Lord gave us through the ministry of brother Lee to enjoy Christ more, experience Him deeper, be built up with the saints, hasten the Lord’s return, and be the overcomers that He needs in this age.
Like brother Lee once said to brother Nee, I don’t want to follow a man, but I follow the vision which the Lord has released and opened up. I want to be open to the Lord so that He may continue what He has begun in my personal life, family life, and church life; may He gain all the glory, and may my enjoyment in the Word and in the ministry be for the building up of His Body!
P.S.1. This is just a short testimony concerning my spiritual history and getting into the ministry of Witness Lee; the ongoing search continues, the fervent seeking of the Lord’s face goes on, and the church life in one accord moves on from house to house, in the Lord’s move, until He returns. There’s much more to be said concerning this ministry, but at least for now, this should suffice.
P.S.2 If you have been enjoying this portion and if you want to share something from what you have enjoyed in the ministry of our brother, please leave a message as a comment below.
Further References and Links
Here are some links of fellow believers who love the Lord and have an appreciation for the ministry of our brother Lee, together with some websites where you can find more details on who Witness Lee was, what his ministry is about, and local churches that benefit of enjoying his ministry. It is quite impossible to describe in one blog post the entire ministry of brother Lee, or to express what I have seen in his ministry, so here are some more websites to find out more:
- The life, ministry, testimony, collected works, life-study, conclusion of the New Testament, and the Recovery Version by Witness Lee – witnesslee.org.
- Read a wide range of books by Witness Lee via ministrybooks.org – you can read online many of the life-studies, books, and messages released by our brother.
- Witness Lee: Author Spotlight by Bibles for America, very enlightening
- Facebook page quoting some portions from the life-studies and the ministry of Witness Lee.
- Hymns by brother Lee: a collection of songs and hymns composed by him.
- Witness Lee and Watchman Nee: two ministers, one ministry, article at holdingtotruth.com.
- The full text with footnotes for the New Testament, Recovery Version.
- The wikipedia page for Witness Lee is also quite rich in details.
- Living Stream Ministry – the publishers for Witness Lee and Watchman Nee.
- The Life-study of the Bible page and the Life-study of the Bible radio broadcast / podcast – lsmradio.com
- The local churches: who they are, where are they, and how to get in touch – localchurches.org.
amen!