Ministry Digest, Vol. 02, No. 01

Book excerpt: In this issue we will continue the four lines of ministry that began in the first issue of Ministry Digest (vol. 1, no. 1). The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--continues with chapters 17 through 20 of The History and Revelation of the Lord's Recovery, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. Chapters 17 and 18 speak further of the trials of the churches in Taiwan due to the dissension of a group of younger co-workers and the lessons learned from these trials, including the danger of a misplaced emphasis on "spiritual pursuit." These two chapters are then followed by a positive recounting of the advance of the Lord's recovery in Japan and the beginning of the Lord's recovery in the United States. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 12 through 15 of Lessons for New Believers, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959. These chapters speak of various meetings related to prayer, the exercise of gifts, the study of the Bible, ministry, and the preaching of the gospel. Following this, the biblical view of the church is contrasted with natural and religious concepts related to the church. Then the expression of the universal church in localities is presented. Finally, the expression of the oneness of the church is contrasted with the causes of division that damage the oneness. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 17 through 20 of The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1955. The first two chapters speak of maturing by turning our heart to the Lord and by being filled by the Spirit and of our need to turn to the Spirit for the transformation of our soul. The final two chapters in this section speak of the freedom, liberty, and glory that issue from walking according to the Spirit. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--includes chapters 1 through 4 of a new title, The Divine and Mystical Realm, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters examine the inadequate theologies of traditional Christianity that have limited our understanding of the Spirit, who is Himself the divine and mystical realm that is our spiritual provision. It then develops a fuller understanding of the mystical realm of Christ's heavenly ministry that is carried out by Christ as the life-giving Spirit. As such a Spirit, Christ is both consummated and pneumatic so that He can bring us all into His divine and mystical realm. Last, eight aspects of God's organic salvation, which is carried out in the divine and mystical realm, are presented.