The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1950-1951, volume 1

Witness Lee

Living Stream Ministry

About this ebook

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.

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.