Joseph—The Reigning Aspect of a Mature Believer

Witness Lee

Aug 2024 · Living Stream Ministry

About this ebook

Joseph—the Reigning Aspect of a Mature Believer is composed of messages taken from Witness Lee’s Life-study of Genesis, a detailed study of the book of Genesis that emphasizes the experience of Christ as life for the fulfillment of the eternal purpose of God to have a corporate expression and representation of Himself in humanity (Genesis 1:26). In the last fourteen chapters of Genesis the biographies of Jacob and Joseph are blended, indicating that according to spiritual experience, Jacob and Joseph should be considered one person. These chapters indicate that after Jacob had become Israel, a transformed person mature in the spiritual life, he expressed God in God’s image and, through Joseph, reigned for God in God’s dominion. Joseph represents the constitution of Christ in Jacob’s mature nature. According to the record of Joseph’s life, Joseph is a portrait of Christ as the One who is altogether perfect, having no defects. As such, Joseph represents the reigning aspect of a mature believer. As portrayed in Genesis 37—50, Joseph’s life reveals the secret of a believer’s reigning in the divine life and the way of this reigning life (Romans 5:17), that is, to behave according to God’s divine view concerning the nature, position, function, and goal of His people on earth and to live under the rulership of the Holy Spirit, the restriction and limitation of the divine life in the reality of God’s kingdom. Joseph lived a calm life, a sober life, a discerning life, and a self-denying life in his love for his brothers. His living under God’s restriction, a portrait of the human living of Christ, manifested the maturity and perfection of the divine life and brought in God’s kingdom.

About the author

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.