The Riches And Fullness Of Christ And The Advanced Recovery Of The Lord Today

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1989, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from March 15 through December 17, 1989. At the end of the first week in March Brother Lee traveled to Taipei, Taiwan, and remained there until the end of the third week in March. He then visited Quezon City, Philippines, and Taichung and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, before returning to Taipei at the beginning of April. He remained in Taipei until the end of the third week in April and then visited Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, before returning to Anaheim, California, in the middle of May. At the end of the third week in May Brother Lee visited Cleveland, Ohio, and Newton and Cambridge, Massachusetts, until the end of the first week in June. At that time he returned to Anaheim and remained there until the end of 1989. The contents of this volume are divided into twelve sections, as follows: 1. Eleven messages given in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on March 15 through April 23. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled The New Testament Priests of the Gospel and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Seven messages given in Chinese in Quezon City, Philippines, on March 23 through 26. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled The Riches and Fullness of Christ and the Advanced Recovery of the Lord Today and are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Two messages given in Chinese in Quezon City, Philippines, on March 23 and 24. These messages are included in this volume under the title The God-ordained Way for the Increase and Building Up of the Church. 4. Two messages given in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on April 1. These messages were combined into one chapter and are included in this volume under the title Practicing the New Way according to the Nature of the New Way. 5. A message given in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 21. It is included in this volume under the title The Revelation, Vision, and Practice of the God-ordained Way. 6. Five messages given in Chinese in Seoul, South Korea, on April 27 through 30. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled The Ministry of the New Testament Priests of the Gospel and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. Five messages given in Chinese in Tokyo, Japan, on May 3 through 7. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled The Church Life in the Lord's Recovery Today and are included in this volume under the same title. 8. Two messages given in Tokyo, Japan, on May 5 and 6. They are included in this volume under the title The Priesthood of the Gospel and the Organic Service of the Body of Christ. 9. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 13 and October 2. These messages are included in this volume under the title The New Testament Priesthood of the Gospel and the Elders' Shepherding of the Church. 10. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 14 and June 11. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Being Renewed Day by Day and are included in this volume under the same title. 11. Eleven messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 22 through December 17. They are included in this volume under the title Meetings in Anaheim. 12. Fourteen messages given in Cleveland, Ohio, and Newton, Massachusetts, on May 25 through June 5. These messages are included in this volume under the title The New Testament Priesthood.

Throughout the centuries of church history the Lord has progressively carried out His work of recovery. In this book, Witness Lee shows that the Lord's present advance is to recover the priesthood of the gospel, the organic building up of the Body of Christ, the perfecting of the believers, and the speaking of God's word for the building of the Body of Christ. He concludes with help as to how we can practice these four matters.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the December 2023 semiannual training, held in Anaheim, California. The Key Statements on the following page embody and summarize the crucial truths and main burdens covered in these twelve messages.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the summer training held July 2-7, 2012, in Anaheim, California, on the “Crystallization-study of the Minor Prophets.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones held in Anaheim, California on April 12-14, 2013. The general subject of the training was “The Experience, Growth, and Ministry of Life for the Body.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Today the Lord demands that we have the recovery of the meeting in mutuality, as unveiled in 1 Corinthians 14:26, by practicing Ephesians 4:11-16. We must have the perfecting of the saints by the gifts that the saints may participate in the work of the unique ministry of the New Testament—the work of the building up of the Body of Christ. The practice of Ephesians 4:11-16 is for the building up of the Body of Christ by the Body itself in the increase of the Body's growth in the divine life. This is accomplished by the wide spreading of the gospel of Christ by visiting people for the producing of the new believers, by home meetings to nourish the new believers, by group meetings to take care of the saints and teach them the truth for their edification, and by church meetings to exhibit and minister Christ to the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ by the developing and exercising of the saints' organic functions.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones held in Leipzig, Germany, on October 5-7, 2017. The general subject of the training was “The Recovery of the Church.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.