The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1965, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from August 1 through 29, 1965, with the exception of the first section, which consists of various messages and fellowship given from January 10 through August 15. The contents of this volume are divided into six sections, as follows: 1. Nine messages given in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, from January 10 through August 15. These messages are included in this volume under the title Various Messages and Fellowship. 2. Sixteen messages given in Los Angeles, California, from August 1 through 29. These messages were previously published under the title The Tree of Life. 3. Eight messages given in Los Angeles, California, from August 10 through 24. These messages were edited and previously published as a five-chapter book under the title The Ground of the Church and the Meetings of the Church. 4. Ten messages given in Los Angeles, California, from August 10 through 20. These messages were previously published in a nine-chapter book under the title Dealing with Our Inward Parts for the Growth in Life. 5. Six messages given in Los Angeles, California, on August 11 through 13. These messages were previously published under the title Christ as the Content of the Church and the Church as the Expression of Christ. 6. Eight messages given in Los Angeles, California, on August 18 through 21. These messages were previously published under the title Functioning in Life as Gifts Given to the Body of Christ.
Born in 1905 in northern China, Witness Lee was raised in a Christian family and educated in English-speaking schools. At the age of 19 he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and consecrated himself to preach the gospel. Early in his service, Witness Lee met Watchman Nee and began to labor together with him. In 1949 Witness Lee was sent by Watchman Nee to Taiwan to ensure that the things delivered to them by the Lord would be preserved. In 1962 Witness Lee came to the United States and began to minister here. He ministered in weekly conferences, delivering several thousand spoken messages until 1997. He gave his last public conference in February 1997 at the age of 91. His major work, Life-Study of the Bible, comprises over 25,000 pages of commentary on every book of the Bible from the perspective of the believers' enjoyment and experience of God's divine life in Christ through the Spirit.