The Collected Works Of Witness Lee 1953 Volume 3

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in 1953 through 1968. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1953 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of volume 1 in this set. The contents of this volume are divided into three sections, as follows: 1. Fourteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1953 and 1954. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Knowledge of Life and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Nineteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1953 and 1954. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Experience of Life and are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Seven messages given in Manila, Philippines, and Taipei, Taiwan, in 1953 through 1968. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Character and are included in this volume under the same title.

Brother Witness Lee traveled to Manila, Philippines, on December 10, 1952, and stayed there until June 30, 1953. During this time he released messages that compose the first six chapters of The Bridge and Channel of God, which appears in volume 1 of this set. A collection of his personal notes written in January is included in volume 1 of this set. On June 1 through 14 he conducted a training on service in the mornings with brothers who attended from the Philippines as well as from other Southeast Asian countries. The main subject of these meetings was on the conditions for God to use man and on the knowledge needed for those who serve the Lord. In the evenings he spoke to the whole church on God's need for man and the life of service. After this, he conducted meetings in Baguio, Philippines, for three days beginning on June 15, with two meetings every day. The subject of these meetings was on the life and living of the Lord's serving ones and the revelation and way for service. These messages were originally published in The Ministry of the Word, Issue Nos. 27 and 28, and are included in volume 1 of this set under the title The Ministry of the Word, Miscellaneous Messages, 1953. After returning from Manila on June 30, Brother Lee remained in Taiwan for the rest of the year. Beginning on August 9 he conducted an eleven-day conference on life and the church with over two thousand in attendance. These messages are included in volume 1 of this set in the section entitled Knowing Life and the Church. The most significant event of this year was a sixteen-week training that began in September and ended in the middle of December. This was the most crucial training during the first few years of the work in Taiwan. All the sections in the remainder of the 1953 set are from messages released during this training. These include The Knowledge of Life and The Experience of Life, both of which have become crucial books in the Lord's recovery since that time. Some of the messages in these sections were given in 1954. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953, volume 1, contains messages that Brother Witness Lee gave in 1953. This volume also includes notes, articles for publication, and an outline written in the same year. Additionally, prayers offered by Brother Lee in meetings from 1953 through 1957 are included in this volume. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1953 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of this volume. The contents of this volume are divided into nine sections, as follows: 1. Eight messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, and Manila, Philippines, in 1953. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Bridge and Channel of God and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. A collection of personal notes written in January 1953. These are included in this volume under the title Witness Lee's Personal Notes. 3. Two messages given in Manila, Philippines, on June 12 and 13, 1953. These messages are included in this volume under the title Concerning the Lord's Work and God's Move. 4. Twenty-three messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in August 1953. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Knowing Life and the Church and are included in this volume under the same title. 5. Nine articles and reports that appeared in various issues of The Ministry of the Word in 1953. They are included in this volume under the title The Ministry of the Word, Miscellaneous Messages, 1953. 6. Four messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 18 and 20, 1953. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship in Preparation for the Service Training in Taipei. 7. A detailed outline written in 1953 showing the subjects that were covered in the training on service in Taipei, Taiwan. This outline is included in this volume under the title Outline of the Service Training in Taipei. 8. Five messages given during an intensified sixteen-week training on service in Taipei, Taiwan, on September 1 through December 18, 1953. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Human Conduct and the Ministry of the Word of the Lord's Serving Ones. Most of the content of the service training and the fellowship that followed the training is published in volume 2 of this set in the section entitled Messages and Fellowship Given during the Service Training in Taipei. 9. A collection of nineteen prayers offered by Brother Lee in meetings held in Taipei, Taiwan, and Hong Kong from 1953 through 1957. They are included in this volume under the title A Collection of Prayers.

Brother Witness Lee traveled to Manila, Philippines, at the beginning of 1954. On January 24 he began a seven-day perfecting conference with five special fellowships concerning the subject of pursuing the Lord. After this, he initiated a service training that lasted for six months, with four meetings per week. On Wednesday mornings he gave a Bible study of the Old Testament, and on Wednesday evenings he gave a training on character, including matters such as being the proper person, handling affairs properly, and doing the proper work. On Friday mornings he gave a training on being a minister of God's word, and on Friday evenings he ministered on the proper way to meet. The number who attended these meetings varied between fifty-six and one hundred sixty. The study of the Old Testament and the training on character are included in volume 1 of the 1954 set, along with other messages given in the same time period. Brother Lee left Manila in July and traveled to Hong Kong, where he conducted ten meetings on life and twelve meetings on service, plus four gospel meetings, four young people's meetings, six fellowships on service, and six meetings for the full-time serving ones. These meetings were centered on the indwelling Christ and on the knowledge of spiritual service. They are included in volumes 1 and 2 of this set. Brother Lee left Hong Kong to return to Taiwan in the middle of August. At the end of August and the beginning of September, Brother Lee conducted a special conference in Taipei, Taiwan, that consisted of ten meetings on the subject of spiritual reality, with between one thousand six hundred and two thousand six hundred in attendance. These messages are included in the section entitled Spiritual Reality in volume 2 of this set. In the fall of 1954 Brother Lee began another extended training for serving ones like the one that he carried out in the fall of 1953. During this training he conducted a detailed study on Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus through Ezra. The messages given in this detailed study are included in volume 4 of this set. He also spoke further on the knowledge of life and the experience of life. These speakings and the speakings in the previous training in 1953 on the same subjects were combined to form the books The Knowledge of Life and The Experience of Life (see The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953, vol. 3). During this training he also released messages published in Gospel Outlines, which are included in volume 3 of this set. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1954, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee on January 1 through August 12, 1954. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1954 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of this volume. The contents of this volume are divided into seven sections, as follows: 1. Two messages given in Manila, Philippines, on January 1 and 3. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Significance and Application of the Burnt Offering. 2. Eight messages given in Manila, Philippines, on January 24 through 31. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Living and Service of the Burnt Offering. 3. Twenty-four messages given in Manila, Philippines, in February through July. These messages are included in this volume under the title A Record of the Service Training in the Philippines. 4. Thirteen messages given in Manila, Philippines, on February 7 through July 11. These messages are included in this volume under the title Messages Given in the Lord's Day Meetings in Manila. 5. Six messages given in Manila, Philippines, in February and March. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Building Up of the Character of the Lord's Serving Ones. 6. Twenty-two messages given in Manila, Philippines, in March through June. These messages are included in this volume under the title A Record of a Bible Study on the Old Testament. 7. Eight messages given in Hong Kong on July 16 through August 12. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Spiritual Knowledge Needed for Serving in the Church.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in September through December 1953. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1953 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of volume 1 in this set. The contents of this volume are divided into three sections, as follows: 1. Thirty-six messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on September 1 through October 30, 1953. These messages are included in this volume under the title Revelations in Ephesians: Seeing the Blessings and Position of the Church in Christ. 2. Twenty-two messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 3 through December 8, 1953. These messages are included in this volume under the title Revelations in Ephesians: Seeing the Living and Responsibility of the Church in the Holy Spirit. 3. A summary report, which appears in the preface of this section, followed by fourteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, from September through December 1953. The report and messages are included in this volume under the title Messages and Fellowship Given during the Service Training in Taipei.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in June 1959 through September 1961. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1959 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of volume 1 in this set. The contents of this volume are divided into five sections, as follows: 1. Fourteen messages given in Manila, Philippines; Hong Kong; and Taipei, Taiwan, on June 14 through December 14, 1959. Chapters 6 through 9 consist of messages given in Manila on June 14 through July 7, chapters 1 through 5 consist of messages given in Hong Kong on July 27 through the first part of August, and chapters 10 through 14 consist of messages given in Taipei on August 19 through December 14. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Christ Making His Home in Our Heart and the Building Up of the Church and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Fourteen messages given in Hong Kong on July 27 through August 8, 1959. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Knowing and Experiencing God as Life and are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Fourteen messages given in Hong Kong on July 31 and August 1, 1959 (chapters 13 and 14), and in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 10 through September 1, 1961 (chapters 1 through 12). These messages were previously published in a book entitled Leading the Young People with the Word and the Spirit and are included in this volume under the same title. 4. Six messages given in Hong Kong on August 12 through 16, 1959. These messages are included in this volume under the title Questions and Answers concerning Life and Service. 5. Thirteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 31 through October 1, 1959. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Christ Being the Burden of the Gospel and are included in this volume under the same title.

Regarding Brother Witness Lee's travel and his ministry, 1958 can be divided into approximately three periods. The first period is the three months from January through March, during which Brother Lee was in Manila, Philippines, in January and returned to Taipei, Taiwan, via Hong Kong in February. He then conducted three conferences and a few co-workers' meetings in March. The second period consists of the next six months, from the beginning of April through mid October. During this period Brother Lee traveled around the world, passing through Tokyo, Osaka, and Shenyu in Japan (April 8 through 22); Honolulu, San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Toronto in the United States and Canada (April 23 through August 1); London, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Zurich, Geneva, Rome, and Athens in Europe (August 2 through September 21); Beirut, Jerusalem, and Tehran in the Middle East (September 22 through 28); Karachi, Rangoon (now Yangon), and Bangkok in South and Southeast Asia (September 29 through October 3); and Hong Kong (October 4 through 15) before returning to Taiwan on October 16. The third period consists of the last three months in Taiwan, during which time he conducted various conferences. For the first period we have records of Brother Lee's meeting with district responsible ones in Hong Kong on February 12. The three conferences that Brother Lee conducted in Taiwan in March were on the subject of enjoying God. This is the first time that Brother Lee released the light concerning this subject. In addition to the three conferences, Brother Lee conducted a number of meetings with serving ones on March 4 through 8. He also gave a series of messages on reading the Bible and another series of messages on the vision of the tree of life. The messages given during this period are included in volume 1 of this set. For the second period we have records of Brother Lee's speaking in Tokyo in April in a conference on enjoying God and records of a few private talks. There are two records of his speaking in New York and four records of his speaking in Denmark. In addition, he wrote long letters that reveal some of the meetings that took place during his trip. These letters are published in Church News in volume 1 of this set. After his visits to the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, he returned to Hong Kong in October. There he held two weeks of conferences on God's building. In the third period, upon returning to Taiwan in October, Brother Lee conducted a conference on God's building, with meetings in both the morning and the evening. In addition, he conducted various meetings with serving ones. After the conference, on Mondays and Wednesdays he gave additional messages on the subject of God's building. Almost all the messages given in the second and third periods of 1958 are included in volume 2 of this set. Some of his speaking in October and November is included in volume 1 in the section entitled The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the House of God. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1958, volume 1, contains messages, personal letters, and reports by Brother Witness Lee from February through December 1958. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1958 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of this volume. The contents of this volume are divided into seven sections, as follows: 1. A message given in Hong Kong on February 12. This message is included in this section under the title Building and Perfecting. 2. A short speaking in an unknown location in February or March. This speaking is included in this volume under the title "The Son of Man." 3. Ten messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in March. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Reading the Bible to See Its True Meaning and Central Thought and are included in this volume under the same title. 4. Thirteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in March, October, and November. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the House of God and are included in this volume under the same title. 5. Eighteen personal letters and reports that appeared in Issue Nos. 1 through 18 of Church News from April 6 through December 18. They are included in this volume under the same title. 6. Twenty-one messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in March. These messages were previously published in a book entitled How to Enjoy God and How to Practice the Enjoyment of God and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. Six messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in March. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Vision of the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and are included in this volume under the same title.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1966, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in the Far East from October 18 through December 30, 1966. Beginning on October 1 Brother Lee spent six months in the Far East, visiting Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The contents of this volume are divided into six sections, as follows: 1. Thirteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, from October 18 through 22. These messages were previously published in Chinese under the title Living in the Spirit, Standing on the Church Ground, and Spreading the Gospel. 2. Fourteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 25 through 29. These messages were previously published in Chinese under the title The Revelation of Christ and the Reality of the Church. 3. Eleven messages given in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from the end of October through the beginning of December. These messages were previously published in Chinese under the title The Transformation of Life and the Building Up of the Church. 4. Two messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in October. These messages were translated from Chinese and are included in this volume under the title Lord's Day Messages in Taipei. 5. Five messages given in a series of gospel meetings held in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 5 through 9 and in Hong Kong on December 8 through 11. These messages were translated from Chinese and are included in this volume under the title Gospel Messages. 6. Eight messages given in a young people's conference in Baguio, Philippines, from December 25 through 30. These messages were previously published in Chinese under the title Made Full in Christ and Walking by the Spirit.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 8 through 11 of The Vital Groups, which are in volume 5 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997. These chapters speak of love prevailing, of Christ's cherishing us as the Son of Man in His humanity, and of Christ's nourishing us as the Son of God in His divinity. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 19 and 20 of Basic Lessons on Life, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979. This line then continues with chapters 1 and 2 of a new book, Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963. The first two chapters in this section speak of having a proper spirit and of discerning the spirit from the soul. The next two chapters speak of the scriptural meaning of life and of the experiences of life. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 17 through 20 of Knowing Life and the Church, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953. These chapters speak of preparing ourselves to meet the Lord's need, of being joined to the Lord in the matter of service, of the principle of God's breaking, and of God's breaking, not man's magnanimity, being the way of life. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 4 and 5 of 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. This line then continues with chapters 1 and 2 of a new book, The Practical Way to Live a Life according to the High Peak of the Divine Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997. The first two chapters in this section focus on the spiritual significance of the furnishings and the supply of the New Jerusalem. The next two chapters speak of having a clear view concerning the accomplishments of the processed and consummated Triune God and of being conformed to the death of Christ by the power of His resurrection.