Scripture Reading: Gal. 1:12, 15-16; Acts 26:19; 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:32; 3:5; Acts 12:24; 2 Tim. 3:15-16, Isa. 34:16a; Acts 17:11; Psa.119:148; Col. 3:16; John 15:7; 1 Thes. 1:8.
I. Brother Watchman Nee as a unique gift of the age should be considered as a seer of the divine visions in the present age—Eph. 4:8; Gal. 1:12; Acts 26:19:
A. The Bible contains many biographies; the Old Testament shows us the portraits of Abraham, Moses, David, and many others, and the New Testament presents to us the lives of Peter, John, Paul, and others; these biographies convey much of the divine revelation concerning God and His dispensations—Prov. 29:18a; cf. 40:2.
B. The knowledge and discovery of divine revelation develop and advance with the ages, in the twentieth century the vision came to us; the Lord’s recovery is serving under the vision—Eph. 3:3; 1:1.
C. He eventually became, by the Lord’s bountiful mercy and grace, a unique gift to this age. Watchman Nee was given by the Lord to His Body for His move of recovery on the earth, not only in China but also throughout the entire world—Acts 26:19; Eph. 4:8; 2 Cor. 12:1b.
D. We need to be a person with vision; God’s vision is God’s revelation; if we have seen the heavenly vision, and let this vision to work within us, this vision will have strong and long-lasting effect on us—Gal. 1:15-16.
II. In Brother Nee the Lord’s revelation and vision reached the Body of Christ, he saw a clear vision of Christ, and he also received a full revelation of the church; Watchman saw the vision that Christ is not merely for the believers individually but even more for the church corporately which is the most mysterious matter according to the divine revelation in the Bible—1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:32; 3:5:
A. Through Brother Nee the Lord first showed us the matter of salvation; in those days thousands of Western missionaries went to China, but not one Western missionary taught concerning the matter of salvation in a thorough, well-rounded way; this was the case until Brother Nee was raised up by the Lord, he saw the salvation accomplished by the Lord according to His redemption, in a complete, well-rounded way, and he also handed over everything to us— 8:16; John 3:16; 1 John 3:4:
1. He was able to show from the written Word that the believer can be absolutely assured of his salvation—John 3:6; Rom. 8:16.
2. Watchman Nee received the Lord’s clear revelation, that salvation is by grace alone, not by works of law—Eph. 2:8-10.
3. At the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, our salvation is secured— 3:5.
4. Salvation is by grace through faith—Eph. 2:8.
B. Furthermore, through Brother Nee the Lord showed us the matter of the church; he enabled us to see clearly the ground of the church and the reality of the church—Acts 8:1; Eph. 2:22; Rev. 1:11:
1. The church is both universal and local; in the entire universe there is only one church, the church of God. This unique church is expressed in many localities on earth, and in each locality it is a local church—Matt. 16:18; Rev. 1:20.
2. The believers should not be divided by anything; the ground of the church is the ground of oneness; the local church is a church in the city; if there is more than one church in a locality, the believers in that locality will be divided—Col. 3:10-11; 1 Cor. 1:
3. The content of the church must be Christ living in and being lived out through all the members; Christ, therefore, is the reality of the church, and the church should be the expression of Christ—12:12-13; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:16; 1:
C. It was also through Brother Nee that God showed us the matter of Christ as our life; God’s goal is Christ as our life, in the entire history of Christianity only a handful paid attention to this point; of course, Brother Nee stood on their shoulders, but Brother Nee saw something in a more thorough way and something higher, deeper, and richer than what they had seen—Col. 3:4; John 11:25:
1. To His believing ones Christ is life, and this life is the Spirit of life in their spirit; whatever the believer does must be done out of this inner life—Rom. 8:2; Gal. 2:20.
2. Because Christ has overcome Satan and every negative thing in the universe, His life is an overcoming life; if we live by Christ, His life overcomes every negative thing for us—1 Cor. 15:54-57; Rom. 6:22.
D. After this God showed us the Body of Christ through Brother Nee; the Lord showed us that the local church is the procedure and not the goal; the goal of the local church is the building up of the Body of Christ—Eph. 1:17, 22-23:
1. In the years 1939 to 1942, Watchman Nee was consistently burdened concerning the revelation of the Body of Christ; he was burdened to help Christians see the Body, not in a doctrinal way but in a practical way—2:19-22.
2. He continuely stressed that seeing the Body makes it impossible to be individualitstic; once one sees the Body, he behaves and acts in a corporate way—3:18-19.
E. Brother Nee was not only a seer of these divine visions, but also a pioneer in the experience and enjoyment of the contents of all these divine visions—5:32; 3:
III. From the beginning of his Christian life, Watchman Nee diligently studied the Bible; Watchman Nee was not only an excellent student of the Bible; he was also a studious reader of spiritual books; by such study he was also helped to realize more truths than all his predecessors, this greatly strengthened and enriched his ministry for the Lord’s recovery—Psa. 19:9-10; Acts 6:7a; 12:24:
A. The methods he used for Bible study were as follows—John 1:1; Psa. 119:130; 1 Pet. 2:2:
1. A general study of all the books of the Bible consecutively to acquire an overall view —2 Tim. 3:15; Isa. 34:16a.
2. The study of a particular book, such as Genesis, Daniel, Matthew, Romans, or Revelation, to probe the depths contained in that part of the Word—Acts 17:11; 2:22a.
3. A study to acquire knowledge and to receive light from the Bible; he used a special copy of the Bible for making notes and remarks for this purpose. He instructed others to study the whole Bible once a year, reading three chapters of the Old Testament and one chapter of the New Testament daily for this purpose—Acts 17:11.
4. A study for life, to receive daily bread for the spiritual life; for this purpose he used a different Bible without any remarks or notes that he might receive new light for spiritual nourishment; he instructed others to do the same every morning by reading a few verses and digesting them thoroughly while contacting the Lord with a praying spirit—Psa. 119:105; Matt. 4:4.
5. A study done by speed-reading, to acquaint himself with the Bible; around the age of twenty, he read through the New Testament weekly for approximately one year—Isa. 34:16a; 2 Tim. 3:
6. A study done by reading slowly to ponder over certain portions of the Word—Psa. 119:148.
7. A study done by memorizing certain crucial verses or portions to store the Word in the heart for constant and instant needs—Col. 3:16; John 15:7; 6:
B. By studying the Bible in so many different ways, Watchman Nee became fully familiar with the Word and enlightened concerning the purpose of God, Christ, the church, and the things relating to salvation and life—2 Tim. 3:17; Col. 3:16; Gal. 1:15-16.
C. In the early days of his ministry, he spent one-third of his income for personal needs, one-third for helping others, and the remaining third to buy books; when he was twenty-three years of age, his bedroom was nearly filled with books, there were books on the floor and a row of books on either side of his bed, with only a narrow space in the middle to lie down; it was often said that he was buried in books —2 Tim. 3:15, 17.
IV. The books that we have published today are full of truth and revelation; we must willing to labor to dig the gold mine; we all need to rise up to pursue to know the truth; in three to five years, it is believed that the saints may be revived because of study the word of the Lord—1 Tim. 2:4; 4:6:
A. Every one who has the heart to love the Lord and serve the Lord must labor on the word of the Lord; the primary matter for a young man who is willing to learn to serve full time is to learn the truth; every morning, they should labor to learn the truth; this is an indispensable equipment—Psa. 119:9-11; 2 Tim. 3:
B. We were founded on the truth, we began our work with the truth, and we exist by the truth; on the one hand, all the brothers and sisters respect, treasure, and appreciate the truth, but on the other hand, we must confess that not many in the Lord’s recovery actually pay the price to enter into the truth—1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:
C. Today the life pulse of the Lord’s recovery is the word of the Lord; we must be equipped with the word of the Lord, and to have an in-depth knowledge; we should endeavor to be soaked in the word of the Lord and to let the word saturate us so that we have the word of the Lord within and without in order to cooperate with His Spirit—1 Pet. 2:2; 1:1-2; Gen. 41:56; Col. 3:16.
D. We must have a jealous heart for the Lord that everyone love to read the Bible, every home read the spiritual books as primary matter; in this way, the Lord’s truth must be spreading greatly and the genuine revival will come—Acts 6:7; 12:24; 1 Thes. 1:8.
