G. As the eternal dwelling of the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and
E. Composed with all the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament. F. Constituted:
1. With the nature of God as the transparent gold. 2. With the redeeming Christ as the pearls. 3. With the transforming Spirit as the precious stones. G. As the eternal dwelling of the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified saints. H. As the ultimate and eternal manifestation and expression of the Triune God united with the redeemed, tripartite men.
All the above twelve items are the most mysterious matters in the divine revelation according to the Scriptures.
Brother Nee was not only a seer of these divine visions, but also a pioneer in the experience and enjoyment of the contents of all these divine visions.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
WITNESS LEE'S RELATIONSHIP
WITH WATCHMAN NEE
FROM 1925 TO 1935
INITIAL CONTACT
In the beginning of our history, a great geographical distance existed between me and Watchman Nee. He was in the southern province of Fukien, and I was in the northern province of Shantung.
He was saved in 1920 and I in 1925. My mother's maternal grandfather was a Southern Baptist, who in turn brought my mother into Christianity. She studied in the American Southern Baptist mission school and as a teen-ager was baptized into the Southern Baptist Church about 1885. I was born in 1905. She brought me in contact with her Baptist Church in Chefoo. I studied in the Southern Baptist Chinese elementary school and in the English mission college operated by the American Presbyterians in Chefoo. Though I attended the Southern Baptist Church services and Sunday school in my youth, I was not saved and was never baptized by them. Eventually, for about five years, I ceased attending any Christian services.
After my second sister experienced salvation, she prayed for me and introduced me to a very fine Chinese pastor of the Chinese Independent Church. This pastor paid me a number of visits, encouraging me to attend his Sunday morning services. After a long delay on my part, on the second day of the Chinese New Year in 1925, I decided early in the morning to attend the services of that Chinese Independent Church. After about two and a half months, they baptized me into their membership by sprinkling. But it was not until a short time later that I was actually saved and turned to the Lord through the preaching of Sister Peace Wang in April of the same year. At that time I was exceedingly ambitious as a young man for my education and my future. But after I was saved under Sister Peace Wang's preaching that afternoon, while I was walking home, I stopped and prayed to God, according to Sister Wang's message, somewhat as follows: "God, I don't like being usurped by Satan as Pharaoh, through the world as Egypt; I would like to serve You and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus through the villages at any cost for my whole life."
From that day I loved the Bible. The word of the Bible became sweeter than honey, as mentioned in Psalm 19:10 and in Psalm 119:103. The Word nourished me, changed my life, and caused me to love the Lord and follow Him. I collected as many books on the Bible as possible.
Soon I was led to attend the Brethren Assembly (the Benjamin Newton branch) in our town. The way they expounded the Bible and taught biblical truths attracted me very much. From the year I was saved, I continuously attended their meetings for seven years. I learned much from them, especially in the matters of biblical types, prophecies, and parables. Their teachings helped me to give up worldliness in its outward aspect and kept me from drifting away from the Lord's pathway. However, I did not receive much help from them in the matters of life, the Spirit, and the church. I received a great deal of knowledge from their teachings but very little life.
While I was seeking to know the Bible in a thorough way, there appeared in my hometown a Christian periodical entitled The Morning Star. I obtained and read all available issues of that paper. As I read, I frequently noticed articles under the by-line of Watchman Nee. It was obvious that those articles were the most outstanding ones on biblical truths. They were the best in the whole paper. The more I read them, the more I enjoyed reading them. From the way this writer addressed his readers, I imagined he was an aged Christian teacher, perhaps over sixty years of age. Actually, he was a young man only two years older than I. Then an issue of the paper was published with a notice saying that Watchman Nee would publish his own paper, to be entitled The Christian. Immediately, I subscribed to this magazine. From 1925 through 1927 I received all twenty-four copies. When one issue would come, I would devour the whole thing in the same day if possible. Besides reading The Christian, I purchased all the books he published on the spiritual life. From these I received the greatest help in the matter of life. I greatly appreciated and highly treasured this magazine and these books.
At the same time, I was led to read Watchman Nee's article in The Lamp unto My Feet, a periodical published by the Newton Brethren in Chefoo. This article also deeply impressed me.
During these days I began to correspond with Watchman, and this initiated our first contact. I wrote, asking him questions about the Bible, all of which he answered. In one letter I asked him for advice concerning the best book on understanding the Bible. He answered that to his knowledge, the book which could be of most help in knowing the Bible was John Nelson Darby's Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. He added that unless I read it four or five times I would not be able to understand it well. Eight years later, while I was staying as his guest in Shanghai, he gave me this set of books as a gift.
After being saved, I still attended the Sunday morning services in the Chinese Independent Church for about two and a half years. But through the reading of Watchman Nee's writings, I began to realize that the denominations were wrong and that there was such a thing as a proper church. Though inwardly I was through with the denominations, yet I still remained there. In that denomination there was a young man who realized that I was different from others in seeking after the Lord. One day he asked, "How can we know that we are saved?" Taking the opportunity to help him with the assurance of salvation, I handed him a book on the subject by Watchman Nee. After reading it, he became clear and was saved. His name was Du Chung-chin. A relationship developed between the two of us, and that relationship was likened by our pastor to the one which existed between Joshua and Caleb. Later this brother was transferred by his business to Shanghai, and I encouraged him to attend a meeting where Watchman Nee was ministering. Seven years later he became one of the first three elders of the church in Shanghai.
At the end of 1927, the Chinese Independent Church elected me to be a member of their board. This was an unusual distinction for such a young man as me. But I was forced at that time to tell them that I could not accept the position and would remain in their denomination no longer. I rather asked them to remove my name from their "book of life." Henceforth, I began to meet regularly with the Brethren Assembly, attending all their seven weekly meetings. I sat among them, earnestly absorbing all the doctrines they taught. I remained with them until 1932. While I was still with them, I was baptized by immersion in the sea by their leader, Mr. Burnet, in 1930.
One day in August 1931, as I was walking down the street, the thought suddenly occurred to me that all the teachings I had received in the Brethren Assembly were mostly doctrines. I considered how much knowledge I had accumulated and yet how dead I was. True, I never returned to the world, yet, though I attended seven meetings a week, I was utterly cold and fruitless. At this time I experienced a deep and real repentance.
The next morning at an early hour I climbed to the top of a small mountain near my home. I cried to the Lord and wept in desperation. Morning by morning I went there to pray. From that day on I cared little about talking; I only wanted to pray. This experience lasted for several months, from August until February or March of the following year.
During the time I was seeking the Lord, in September 1931, Watchman was about to have his second overcomer conference in Shanghai. At that time I corresponded with him and enrolled as one of the attendants in that conference. But because of the Japanese invasion
into Manchuria, close to the province of Shantung, I was prohibited from attending that conference.
In the spring of 1932, Brother Du Chung-chin returned to Chefoo from Shanghai and came to see me. He told me of all the good meetings and all the good things of the church in Shanghai. This made me all the more eager to travel to Shanghai and partake of the blessings there with the saints.
THE FIRST PERSONAL CONTACT
Brother Du and I then went to our former denomination and proposed that they invite Watchman Nee to come speak to them. Although we had left that denomination, we left them with a very good impression of us. They accepted our proposal and invited Watchman to come speak. When Du Chung-chin was returning to Shanghai, I asked him to extend my invitation to Watchman to come visit our town, which he did. At the same time the Southern Baptist Seminary in Hwang-Hsien, a city close to Chefoo, also invited Watchman to speak there. So in the summer of 1932, he came to speak at these two places. I, with others, went to meet the steamship on which he was arriving, and when the two of us saw each other, immediately we knew one another. We had corresponded with each other for some time, and there was a mutual recognition. He put himself into my hands and spoke with me of the things that were on his heart. He spoke to a large crowd for approximately one week in the auditorium of the Chinese Independent Church. I received much help from his messages, and following that conference I also accompanied him to the Southern Baptist Seminary in Hwang-Hsien.
In those years the Pentecostal movement was very strong in north China, and the seminary where Watchman spoke had come under the influence of this movement. In those meetings I saw for the first time the strange practices of the Pentecostals. Some were jumping, some were laughing, and some were shouting. There were many strange sights. After the presiding pastor, with some effort, calmed down the meeting, Watchman gave his message. He gave an inspiring word on the gospel of God's love from Luke 15.
Following the first meeting, Watchman and I walked home together. On the way I said, "What kind of way is this to have meetings—shouting, jumping, and rolling?" He replied that in the New Testament there are no ordinances telling us how we should meet. His word shocked me and made me wonder whether he was agreeable with those strange practices of the Pentecostal movement. Eventually, I discovered that he did not agree with that kind of practice, but neither would he insist on any outward form.
I was staying in the seminary dormitory. One afternoon while a Pentecostal meeting was being held in which Brother Nee was not speaking, I stayed in my room to have some time with the Lord. I read Isaiah 44:22 and deeply sensed as I read, "Return unto Me, for I have redeemed you," that the Lord was calling me to serve Him. I deeply felt that the Lord gave me verse 21 as a promise: "You are My servant; you will not be forgotten by Me." Also verse 23 seemed to be a clear word to me concerning the goal of His calling: "Jehovah has been glorified in Israel." The Lord's presence was very real to me there, and I was thoroughly anointed, refreshed with His Spirit, and filled with joy and encouragement.
Following the meetings at the seminary, Watchman returned to Chefoo and stayed in my home for two or three days. We had some excellent fellowship concerning the Lord's interest.
While staying in my home, he asked me to introduce him to Mr. Burnet, the founder of the Newton Brethren Assembly in my hometown. Mr. Burnet was an aged man and an excellent Bible teacher who had learned at the feet of the Brethren teacher Benjamin Newton. At the time the three of us came together, I realized that Mr. Burnet did not appreciate Watchman's testimony for the Lord. Mr. Burnet stressed the accuracy of biblical knowledge, while Watchman emphasized the necessity of life.
My time with Watchman during those days deeply impressed me with the sweetness, loveliness, attractiveness, and newness of the Lord. Those days provided a new start for me in following the Lord and caused me to have a basic turn from knowledge to life. Because of those days with Watchman Nee, I began to have fellowship with the Lord in a more intimate way. The Lord became more precious to me. That experience was even greater than my experience of salvation. Those days with Watchman affected my pathway in the Lord throughout all the following fifty-nine years, since 1932. For eternity I can never forget those days! What a mercy and grace it was to me.
The day before he left, Watchman charged me to do nothing after his departure; otherwise, others would think I was following him. I replied, "How could I do anything? In this town no one is standing with me."
But on the day of his departure, something happened. In the evening a brother who was a member of the board of the denomination I had left came to ask Watchman if he would help another believer in distress. When I told him that Watchman was gone, we agreed to have a time of fellowship together. It was summer, so we went down to the beach. After a lengthy time of fellowship, about ten o'clock that night, this brother turned to me and said, "You must baptize me tonight in the sea." After much hesitation, I did it. Through this event a meeting started in my home. I wrote to Watchman explaining what had taken place. He came in April of the following year to confirm and strengthen us in the Lord's recovery and was a guest in my home for about ten days. He ministered to us in our meeting hall in the evenings and spoke to the denominational Christians in the Chinese Independent Church auditorium in the mornings. His messages greatly edified all the attendants and helped the building up of the church there in the Lord's recovery.
At this time I related how the Lord had called me to serve Him when I was with him in Hwang-Hsien the year before. To this he made no comment.
RELATIONSHIP IN THE LORD'S CALLING
Just as I desired to spend my life preaching the gospel on the day I was saved, so after I graduated from college, the Lord reminded me of this same thing. But I took the excuse that I had to help my younger brother finish his college education. After he graduated from college, I was again reminded by the Lord that I should give up my occupation and
spend my full time preaching the gospel. At that time I knew that my destiny was to give my life to serve the Lord. However, I did not have a faith bold enough to perform it.
After the church in my hometown was raised up, I still kept my occupation and at the same time cared for the meetings. By 1933, just one year after the church began, the work was booming. There was a great demand upon my time. During the three weeks between August 1 and August 21, I struggled much with the Lord. I deeply sensed that He was calling me to give up my occupation and serve Him by faith, but I dared not take definite action because of the lack of faith.
Among all the brothers in the church at that time, only my younger brother and I made what would be considered good money in our occupations. For this reason most of the needs of the church were taken care of secretly by the two of us. Therefore, when the call of the Lord came to give up my occupation, I considered all the needs. Not only would the amount being offered to the church be lessened if I gave up my employment, but others would have to care for me. So I was struggling with this matter. After three weeks of struggling with the Lord, I simply could not go on; so in the evening of August 21, following the prayer meeting, I explained my situation to the two leading ones and asked them to pray for me. After eleven o'clock that night, I went to the Lord and knelt before Him in my reading room. The Lord immediately rebuked me: "You have an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from the living God!" (Heb. 3:12). I said in my heart, "I have a wife and three children to take care of." The Lord responded, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things...and all these things will be added to you" (Matt. 6:32-33). At that time I became clear that I had to spend my full time serving the Lord. The only factor which caused me to hesitate was lack of faith. I deeply sensed that the Lord was there. His presence was so real that I could not deny it. But up to this point I could not pray. Then He warned me, "If you will take My word, take it; otherwise, I am through with you." Immediately following that word, I felt that the Lord departed. I could pray no more; I could not even say Amen. Tears filled my eyes. Finally I said, "All right, this is it." There was no other way. The next morning both of the two leading ones came to me and told me that after praying they felt it was of the Lord that I should leave my occupation and give my full time to serving the Lord.
The next day I went to resign my job. After resigning, I went to the post office and found a letter awaiting me from Ch'ang-ch'un, the capital of Manchuria under Japanese occupation. Opening it, I found to my surprise the first invitation I ever received in my entire life calling me to go to another place to speak for the Lord. It was immediately after my resignation that I received this letter. It seemed to be a definite confirmation of the Lord regarding my resignation, and I was much strengthened and encouraged. I accepted the invitation and went. Through my visit an assembly was raised up there. The preacher, the elders, the deacons, and others of the Presbyterian denomination, close to twenty, all turned to the Lord's recovery and were baptized by me in the river in one day.
I spent seventeen days in that place. While I was there, a letter arrived from the general manager of the company in which I had been employed, telling me that they would not let me go but would promote me and increase my salary. The time was late September. I began to consider; it was the policy of our company to give the employees a bonus at the
end of the year. I was tempted by the thought that if I would work for only a little more than three months I could still get that bonus and then quit.
Upon returning to my hometown, a letter was awaiting me from Watchman Nee. I looked at the envelope, noticing it was mailed from Shanghai. I opened it and read it. It was dated August 17, exactly in the midst of the time I had been struggling with the Lord. The letter said, "Brother Witness, as for your future, I feel that you should serve the Lord with your full time. How do you feel? May the Lord lead you." It is impossible to tell what strong confirmation I received by receiving that short note from him. That little note simply annulled the letter from my general manager. I was leaping in my heart. I said to myself, "This matter is settled. Even if someone would offer me the whole world, I would not take it. Tomorrow I will go to the office and tell the general manager that I reject his good offer." The next day I did exactly that. Then I felt that I must go to Shanghai to see Watchman Nee and discover why he wrote me that note at that particular time, August 17. In Shanghai Watchman related to me the following story. He told me that while he was returning to China from Europe his ship was sailing on the Mediterranean Sea. One day while in his cabin, burdened and praying for the Lord's work in China, he felt he should write me a note telling me that I should spend my full time serving the Lord. When he told me that, I was fully convinced that he was a person wholly with the Lord. Otherwise, how could I be thousands of miles away struggling with the Lord and he be on the Mediterranean Sea receiving a burden to write me concerning this matter at the very instant God was dealing with me? I was persuaded that he was a man of God. He did not need to ask me to work with him; I had already made the decision. I had to follow him and work with him. This incident I have just related became the basic factor in our working together for the Lord.
RELATIONSHIP IN ENTERING THE WORK
While in Shanghai in October 1933, Watchman received me as his guest. I stayed with him for about four months, and during that time he did a number of things to perfect me. Concerning some of these things, I was clear what he was doing, and concerning others I was not clear at the time. I spent much time with him. We were together for many hours, and I always gave him the opportunity to speak. I would not speak, for I realized that the more I spoke, the more foolish I was. I gave all the time to him. He never talked with me about vain things but always took the opportunity to speak with me mainly about four matters.
First, he helped me know the Lord as life. Before I stayed with him, I loved the Lord and had already obtained a great deal of doctrinal knowledge of the Bible. But I was not clear concerning life. It was not until I spent time with him that my eyes were opened to see the matter of life.
One afternoon as we sat together, neither of us said a word. I was seated on a sofa and he in a rocking chair. While he was rocking, he began to ask me, "Brother Witness, what is patience?" I was puzzled. The question was too simple. Surely we all know what patience is. But since this question came from his mouth, it had to be of considerable import. I
dared not answer. While he was rocking, he continued, "What is patience?" I did not understand what his intention with me was at that time. He had a burden, but I did not comprehend it. Eventually I said, "Well, patience to me is a sort of endurance. When people ill-treat you and persecute you, yet you endure the suffering, that is patience." He shook his head and said, "No!" Then I said, "Please tell me, what is patience?" He answered, "Patience is Christ." I could not understand it. It sounded like a foreign language to me. I asked, "Brother, what do you mean by saying that patience is Christ? Would you explain it to me?" He only continued rocking. He offered not a word of explanation. "Patience is Christ," he repeated. I was not only puzzled but deeply bothered. We remained in that state for a long time. I would not raise any other question, and he would say nothing else. I was very eager to know what he meant, but after a long period with no explanation forthcoming, I was fully disappointed. It was late in the afternoon, and eventually I said, "Brother Nee, the time is gone; I must return to have my dinner." He replied, "All right." When I returned to the guest house, I was really troubled. I went to my room and prayed, "Lord, what does it mean that patience is Christ?" The Lord spoke to me in those days, and my eyes were opened. I saw that Christ Himself is my patience. Real patience is not a kind of behavior, but just Christ lived out from me. I saw it! It was in this way that Watchman helped me so greatly in the matter of life.
Second, during these times of fellowship Watchman also related to me the history of the Lord's move with him from the year he was saved up to that day. I was not fully in the church, nor was I in the work in those first ten years of the Lord's recovery; so he used hour after hour to convey the things to me concerning the Lord's move in those years, not in a brief way but in full detail. At the time I did not understand his reason for relating those things to me, but later I knew. He purposed to perfect me and build me up. He was laying a good foundation.
Third, he instructed me in matters concerning church history from the first century to the present. He recounted all the main things which occurred concerning the church, and the way he did it was deeply significant. He did it from the aspect of the Lord's recovery and with the goal of the Lord's recovery in view.
Fourth, he also helped me grasp the living way to know the Bible. I had been helped by the Brethren to know the Bible in the way of letters, but he helped me know the Bible in the way of life. In all our conversations together, I received much help from him in these four matters. A good foundation was laid for my work, even up until the present time, in the matters of life, the church, and the work.
One afternoon while I was studying, he came to my room and threw two sets of used books on my bed. He said, "Here are some books for you," and immediately left. One group of books was John Nelson Darby's five-volume Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, and the other group was a four-volume set of Henry Alford's New Testament for English Readers. I realized that his purpose in giving me these two sets of books was to perfect me in knowing the Word of God.