The Collected Works Of Witness Lee 1958 Volume 1

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.

Brother Lee arrived in Taiwan from mainland China in May 1949 and started the work there on August 1 of that year. He remained there until February 1950. During that time he conducted a three-month study of the crucial truths in the Scriptures (see volumes 3 and 4 of the 1932-1949 set). Up to the end of the year, four baptism meetings were conducted, and the number of saints increased from around thirty to over nine hundred. On February 16, 1950, Brother Lee traveled to Hong Kong to join Watchman Nee in the work. He stayed until April 1, at which time he returned to Taiwan. The messages released during this period are included in volume 1 of this set, in the section entitled The Recovery of the Church according to the Pattern on the Mountain. After returning to Taiwan, he continued to lead the church in preaching the gospel and perfecting the saints. A total of one thousand two hundred twelve people were baptized in that year on nine occasions. The church met in twelve homes (that is, districts), six of which were in the city of Taipei and six in the suburbs. Some of the messages given during that time are included in the sections In Spirit, Not in Letter; The Pursuit of a Christian; and The Pure in Heart (see volumes 1 and 2 of this set). He also conducted trainings for the serving ones, but no record has been found of these trainings. On November 17, 1950, Brother Lee visited the Philippines for the first time and stayed for five and a half months, after which he returned to Taiwan on May 1, 1951. The only record of his speaking consists of a talk that he gave in January 1951 in Manila to those who wished to serve (see his personal notes and diaries in volume 2 of this set). After returning to Taiwan, Brother Lee stayed for only two months and returned to Manila quickly. From June 26 through July 24 he was in Manila and held an eight-day conference beginning on July 8. No record has been located of this conference. After returning to Taiwan from Manila, he held a conference on August 5 on "A Christianity of Religion versus a Christianity of Revelation." No record has been found of his speaking in this conference. On September 19 he visited Manila for the third time and did not return to Taiwan until the end of the year. The church in Manila was subdivided into four district meetings, and new arrangements were made in the way of the preaching of the gospel and the edification of new believers. In 1951, during his brief times in Taiwan in May, June, and August, there are records of some of his speakings. These are published in volume 3 of this set. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1950-1951, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in 1950. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry during the period of 1950-1951 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of this volume. The contents of this volume are divided into three sections, as follows: 1. Thirty-eight messages given in Hong Kong in February and March 1950. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Recovery of the Church according to the Pattern on the Mountain. 2. Ten messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in April and May 1950. These messages first appeared in the periodical The Ministry of the Word in volume 4, numbers 6 and 7, and in volume 5, numbers 1 through 6 and 8 and 9. They were also previously published in Chinese in a book entitled In Spirit, Not in Letter and are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Eight messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in the summer of 1950. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Pursuit of a Christian and are included in this volume under the same title.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1958, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in April 1958 through January 1959. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry during this period 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 ten sections, as follows: 1. Seven messages given in Tokyo, Japan, on April 10 through 20, 1958. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Practice of Enjoying God by Eating and Drinking Him. 2. Seven messages given in Tokyo, Japan, in April 1958. These messages are included in this volume under the title A Record of Several Talks in Tokyo. 3. Two talks given in New York City on May 20 and 28, 1958. These talks are included in this volume under the title A Record of Two Talks in New York City. 4. Four messages given in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 5 through 13, 1958. These messages are included in this volume under the title God as Life to Man to Be Mingled with Man for His Expression. 5. Fourteen messages given in Hong Kong on October 4 through 12, 1958. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Building of God's Dwelling Place. 6. Four talks given in Hong Kong in October 1958. These talks are included in this volume under the title A Record of Several Talks in Hong Kong. 7. Ten messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 26 through November 4, 1958. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Building Work of God and are included in this volume under the same title. 8. Eight messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in November 1958. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Basis for the Building Work of God and are included in this volume under the same title. 9. Fourteen messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 10, 1958, through January 7, 1959. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Vision, Type, and Practice of the Building Up of the Church and are included in this volume under the same title. 10. A message given in Taipei, Taiwan, sometime between November 1958 and January 1959. This message was previously published in a booklet entitled How to Lead the Young People and is included in this volume under the same title.

During the first few months of 1959, Brother Witness Lee's first wife was in the final stage of her terminal illness, and he spent most of his time accompanying her. No conferences were held, and no messages were recorded during this period of time. His wife died on April 24. On May 26 through 30 Brother Lee began to have a series of meetings with the co-workers on a new direction of the work in Taiwan. His speaking during this period is included in the first part of volume 1 of this set. After this, on June 4 he traveled to Hong Kong and stayed for two days, during which time he had a brief meeting with some of the co-workers. He then traveled to the Philippines. There he released some messages on Christ and the church and conducted a Bible study on the Gospel of John. His speaking in the Philippines is included in volume 1 of this set. After his visit to the Philippines, he returned to Hong Kong at the end of July and conducted a two-week young people's conference on July 25 through August 9. At the end of this conference he held six question-and-answer sessions with co-workers and district serving ones. Brother Lee's speaking during his two visits to Hong Kong are included in volumes 1 and 2 of this set. On August 16 he returned to Taiwan and began planning for the new stage of the work in Taiwan. Beginning on September 20 he conducted six days of gospel meetings in the largest stadium in Taipei, with more than ten thousand in attendance. This was preceded by three preparation meetings and four follow-up gospel truth meetings. On October 5 he began a training on how to perfect new ones, which extended until January 22, 1960. His speaking in Taipei during the second half of 1959 is included at the end of volume 2 and in volumes 3 through 5 of this set. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959, volume 1, contains messages, personal letters, and reports given or written by Brother Witness Lee in January through November 1959. 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 this volume. The contents of this volume are divided into six sections, as follows: 1. Personal letters and reports that were published in Church News, Issue Nos. 19 through 23 and 26 through 33, in January through November. These letters and reports are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Two messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 26. These messages are included in this volume under the title The New Direction of the Work. 3. Four messages given in Manila, Philippines, and Taipei, Taiwan, in 1959. The first three chapters were previously published in a book entitled Our Vision--Christ and the Church. Later, a fourth chapter was added based on notes taken by Brother K. H. Weigh. The four messages are included in this volume under the same title as the previously published book. 4. Twenty-eight messages given in Manila, Philippines, in the summer of 1959. These messages are included in this volume under the title Revelations in John: Seeing the Essential Significance of Life and Building. 5. Four talks given in Hong Kong in June through August. These talks are included in this volume under the title A Record of Several Talks in Hong Kong. 6. Six messages given in Hong Kong on July 25 through August 9. These messages, plus an appendix, are included in this volume under the title Experiencing God as Life to Live the Church Life.

The Heavenly Ministry of Christ affords an in-depth view of what the ascended Christ is doing in His heavenly ministry. This heavenly ministry is crucial in the carrying out of God's administration, in the building up the church, and in the growth and function of the believers. God's people can cooperate with Christ's heavenly ministry by holding Christ as their Head and growing up into Him in all things.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1975-1976, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from February 18 through August 31, 1975. During 1975 and 1976 Brother Lee spoke two hundred fifty seven messages that were published in Life-study of Genesis, Life-study of Matthew, Life-study of Mark, Life-study of John, Life-study of Romans, Life-study of Hebrews, and Life-study of Revelation. These Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. From the beginning of the year until the end of March, Brother Lee ministered in Anaheim, California. Messages that he gave up to February 11 are published in The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973-1974, volume 2. From the end of March through the first week in April, Brother Lee was in Washington, D.C., where he gave the life-study training on the Gospel of John. From there he went to New York City and remained there until the middle of April. He then returned to Anaheim and ministered there until the end of May. At the end of May and on the first day of June, he held a conference in Chicago, Illinois, after which he was in Anaheim until the end of the third week in June. He then traveled to Spokane and Seattle, Washington, and returned to Anaheim and ministered there until July 3. From July 4 through 6 he held a conference in Berkeley, California. He then ministered in Anaheim until August 4, after which he traveled to Taipei, Taiwan, and conducted conferences and trainings there until September 11. The contents of this volume are divided into fourteen sections, as follows: 1. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on February 18 and 25 and March 4, 1975. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Fellowship with the Young People. 2. One message given in Anaheim, California, on March 2, 1975. It is included in this volume under the title Fellowship concerning Baptism. 3. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on March 11 and 18, 1975. These messages were originally published together under the title A Word for the Sisters and later published as separate booklets entitled The Serving Sisters in the Church Life and The Loving Mothers in the Church Life. They are included in this volume under the title A Word for the Sisters. 4. Nine messages given in New York City on April 8 through 13, 1975. They were previously published in a book entitled The Seven Mysteries in the First Epistle of John. 5. One message given in New York City on April 11, 1975. It is included in this volume under the title The Crucial Function of the Sisters in the Church Life. 6. One message given in Anaheim, California, on May 11, 1975. It is included in this volume under the title Brother Lee's Personal Testimony concerning Calling on the Name of the Lord. 7. One message given in Anaheim, California, on May 18, 1975. It is included in this volume under the title Fellowship concerning the Preparation of Meeting Halls. 8. Five messages given in Chicago, Illinois, on May 30 through June 1, 1975. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Flesh and the Spirit. 9. Four messages given in Spokane, Washington, on June 21 and 22, 1975. They were previously published in a book entitled The Building of the Church. 10. Eleven messages given in Seattle, Washington, and Berkeley and Anaheim, California, on June 23 through July 13, 1975. They were previously published in a book entitled The Testimony of Jesus. 11. One message given in Berkeley, California, on July 5, 1975. The edited message was divided into two chapters, which are published in this volume under the title The Truth concerning the Triune God and Crucial Points of Truth and Practice. 12. Six messages given in Anaheim, California, on July 23 and 24, 1975. One of the edited messages was divided into two chapters, and the seven resulting chapters are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with Elders. 13. Five messages given in Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 19 through 23, 1975. They were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled Living in the Spirit. 14. Four messages given in Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 26 through 31, 1975. They were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled Living with the Lord.

According to the available records, Brother Witness Lee ministered in the Philippines until near the end of January 1957. After Brother Lee returned to Taipei, Taiwan, Brother T. Austin-Sparks visited Taiwan in February for the second time (his first visit was in 1955). After visiting Taiwan, Austin-Sparks went to Hong Kong in March for a short visit. Brother Lee accompanied him during the entire time. The result of these visits caused much confusion concerning the practice of the church, in particular concerning the truth of the ground of the church. After Austin-Sparks left the Far East, Brother Lee spent about six months in Taiwan, where he conducted conferences and trainings on the truth concerning the church. Near the end of September he went to the Philippines and spent about a month there. At the end of October he traveled to Hong Kong again and stayed until the end of December, conducting various conferences and fellowships, many of which were to clarify the confusion concerning the truth of the church. In January 1958 he again visited the Philippines and remained there about a month before returning to Taipei via Hong Kong. In the 1957 set, volume 1 comprises Brother Lee's messages and personal notes given during his travels in Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia, including fellowship and messages given during the visit of T. Austin-Sparks to Taiwan and Hong Kong in February and March. Volume 2 continues with Brother Lee's speaking in Taiwan on topics related to the church. Volume 3 is composed of his speaking in Manila, Philippines, and in Hong Kong from the end of September through December. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1957, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in January 1957 through January 1958. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1957 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of this volume. The contents of this volume are divided into ten sections, as follows: 1. Eighty-seven personal notes written by Brother Lee during his travels in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong from January 1957 through January 1958. These notes are divided into seven chapters and are included in this volume under the title Witness Lee's Personal Notes. 2. Seven messages given in 1957. The place and time of the speaking of the first three messages are unknown. The last four messages were spoken in Taipei, Taiwan, in January 1957. These messages were originally published in The Ministry of the Word in February through August 1957 and were previously published in a book entitled God's Need and God's Goal. They are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Eight messages and private talks given in Taiwan and Hong Kong in February and March 1957. These messages and talks are included in this volume under the title Fellowship Given during the Visit of T. Austin-Sparks. 4. Two messages given in Hong Kong on March 31 and April 4, 1957. These messages are included in this volume under the title Messages Given during the Visit of T. Austin-Sparks. 5. A letter written probably in Taiwan on April 25, 1957. This letter is included in this volume under the title A Letter concerning the Ground of the Church. 6. An article written in 1957 and published in the periodical The Ministry of the Word. This article is included in this volume under the title The Ministry of the Word, Miscellaneous Messages, 1957. 7. Five messages given in 1957. The place and time of the first three messages are unknown. The last two messages were given in Taipei, Taiwan, in April. The five messages were published in 1957 in the periodical The Ministry of the Word and were also published in a book entitled God's Plan concerning the Church. These messages are included in this volume under the same title. Portions of the last two messages are included later in this volume in chapter 2 of The Ground of the Church and the Service of the Body. 8. Seven messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in May 1957. These messages were originally published in the periodical The Ministry of the Word in 1958 and were also previously published in a book entitled The Faith, Testimony, and Ground of the Church. They are included in this volume under the same title. 9. Eleven messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in May 1957. These messages were originally published in the periodical The Ministry of the Word in 1958 and are included in this volume under the title The Recovery and Practice of the Testimony of the Church. 10. Nine messages given in the Philippines and in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1957. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Ground of the Church and the Service of the Body and are included in this volume under the same title.

When God created man, He placed him before two trees: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. In warning man to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God indicated His desire for man to eat of the tree of life, signifying that man should receive God as his life supply. Witness Lee unveils in the The Tree of Life that God is not looking for well-behaved Christians; He is looking for those who will experience and enjoy Christ as the reality of the tree of life.