Ministry Digest Vol 02 No 01

The purpose of this monthly digest is to help to encourage and assist in the daily reading of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery. Its two specific goals are: (1) to help the saints to enter into the riches of The Collected Works of Witness Lee and (2) to provide ministry content for the churches in their corporate weekly pursuit. The Collected Works of Witness Lee comprises one hundred thirty-nine volumes arranged chronologically by year. In this digest we will focus primarily on specific topics from many of these volumes and introduce selected readings on these topics to saints who do not have access to the printed volumes. It is our desire to help the saints get into the riches contained in The Collected Works of Witness Lee topic by topic. This publication will help the saints and churches develop a taste and deepen the desire for reading the ministry in a consistent way. It is intended to supplement and not replace the Recovery Version of the Bible, the Life-study messages, The Holy Word for Morning Revival, and The Ministry of the Word magazine. Each issue of Ministry Digest will be divided into four sections with four messages in each section. The first issue begins the following four sections: 1. The History of the Lord’s Recovery 2. Words for New Believers 3. Maturing in Life 4. The High Peak of the Divine Revelation

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.

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 3 through 6 of The World Situation and God's Move, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. These chapters speak of God's ultimate move to carry out His eternal intention, His ultimate recovery, and the world's ultimate situation. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 3 through 6 of Basic Lessons on Life, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979. These chapters speak of God's intention in man, Satan's plot to spoil man, the real significance of man's fall, and the salvation of life. The third line--Maturing in Life--begins a new book with chapters 1 through 4 of Knowing Life and the Church, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953. These chapters speak of life being the goal of God's creation and redemption, life being God Himself enjoyed by man, the obstacles that God's life encounters in man, and the subjective obstacles encountered by God's life in us. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 5 through 8 of The God-man Living, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997. These chapters provide a word of definition concerning the God-man living and then continue to speak of the first God-man's living.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 13 through 16 of The Kernel of the Bible, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1977. This section includes messages on aspects of what Christ is, the way Christ builds His church, the way to produce the church, and the church as the Body of Christ and the fullness of Christ.The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 2 through 5 of The Fulfillment of God's Purpose by the Growth of Christ in Us, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1970. These chapters cover how to take Christ as our life, the way to have the growth of Christ within us, enjoying Christ by calling on the name of the Lord, and being saved and renewed by Christ as life.The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 19 through 22 of Perfecting Training, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1980. These chapters contain messages on being unloaded to live Christ, being active-passive to live Christ, being reduced to live Christ, and vessels open to the Lord.The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--contains chapter 16 of Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John, which is in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997, and chapters 1 through 3 of The Christian Life, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992. These chapters cover an intrinsic interpretation of John's writings, the definition of the Christian life, the contents of the Christian life, and the all-inclusive Spirit.

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 4 through 7 of The Vital Groups, which covers an important development in the history of the practices in the Lord's recovery--the practice of meeting according to vital groups. These chapters are in volume 5 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997, and they speak of being the new creation to become God's oracle for His dispensing and spreading, the great commission of Christ in resurrection, and shepherding and teaching in the vital groups. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 15 through 18 of Basic Lessons on Life, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979. These chapters speak of the sense of the spirit and knowing the spirit, the human spirit, the exercise of the spirit generally, and the exercise of the spirit unto godliness specifically. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 13 through 16 of Knowing Life and the Church, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953. These chapters speak of the spiritual requirements of a Christian and the standard for testing these requirements, the reality of the church and the experience of the cross, God's work of redemption being the mingling of God and man, and the matter of all service being initiated by God. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with the final chapter of The God-man Living, which is in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. This chapter speaks of the living of Christ, the first God-man, as a man of prayer. The line then continues with chapters 1 through 3 of a new book, The Application of the Interpretation of the New Jerusalem to the Seeking Believers, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters focus on the spiritual significance and base of the New Jerusalem and the spiritual application of its gates, wall, and foundations.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 2 through 5 of Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992. These chapters contain fellowship concerning the practice of the group meetings in the God-ordained way, the practice of the vital groups with much consideration, prayer, and labor, and practical fellowship concerning the group meetings. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 15 through 18 of Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963. The chapters in this section speak of dealing with the Spirit, the anointing, and transformation. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 1 through 4 of The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move, which are in volume 5 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1985. These chapters speak of the need of the present world, the divine truths in the Lord's recovery, and the blessing on the Lord's recovery, and of going by rising up by being filled with the consummated Spirit essentially and economically. They further speak of the Word and the Spirit for the meetings and of our need to be experienced in the Word and filled with the Spirit for the increase and the meetings. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 3 through 6 of The History of God in His Union with Man, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992. These chapters focus on God's history in time through His restoration of the judged universe and creation of man, through His saving of man from his fall, through His working on His saints from Abel to Noah and His judging of the world from Cain to Babel, and through His working on His elect from Abraham to Joseph.

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--having concluded the twenty-eight chapters from The History and Revelation of the Lord's Recovery, continues with selected accounts related to the current situation of our time in history. These accounts are taken from chapter 8 of The Knowledge and Experience of Christ in Ephesians and Colossians, which is in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961–1962; chapter 2 of The Greatest Prophecy in the Bible and Its Fulfillment, which is in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972; and chapters 1 and 2 of The World Situation and God's Move, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 24 and 25 of Lessons for New Believers, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959, and then begins a new book with chapters 1 and 2 of Basic Lessons on Life, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979. These chapters speak of the practice of fellowship and the creation of man as a vessel of God. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 8 through 11 of The Purpose of God's Salvation, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961. These chapters speak of three important practices in the Christian life, preaching the gospel in one accord, loving the Lord to receive revelation and take action, and dealing with the natural constitution for the building up. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--begins a new book with chapters 1 through 4 of The God-man Living, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters speak of being born of God through regeneration, of being under the organic feeding and shepherding of Christ as the good Shepherd, and of the first God-man's living.

The purpose of this monthly digest is to help to encourage and assist in the daily reading of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery. Its two specific goals are: (1) to help the saints to enter into the riches of The Collected Works of Witness Lee and (2) to provide ministry content for the churches in their corporate weekly pursuit. The Collected Works of Witness Lee comprises one hundred thirty-nine volumes arranged chronologically by year. In this digest we will focus primarily on specific topics from many of these volumes and introduce selected readings on these topics to saints who do not have access to the printed volumes. It is our desire to help the saints get into the riches contained in The Collected Works of Witness Lee topic by topic. This publication will help the saints and churches develop a taste and deepen the desire for reading the ministry in a consistent way. It is intended to supplement and not replace the Recovery Version of the Bible, the Life-study messages, The Holy Word for Morning Revival, and The Ministry of the Word magazine. Each issue of Ministry Digest will be divided into four sections with four messages in each section. The first issue begins the following four sections: 1. The History of the Lord’s Recovery 2. Words for New Believers 3. Maturing in Life 4. The High Peak of the Divine Revelation