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(This letter by Watchman Nee to the brothers and sisters meeting in various places explains the reason for publishing Collection of Newsletters. Hence, this portion of Issue No. 1 is entitled, "The Origin.")
To the brothers who call on the Lord out of a pure heart:
The Lord is gracious to us, and for this we thank Him. In this end time He has given us light and enabled us to know that it is His pleasure to manifest through us in this world the characteristics which befit His church in order that He might obtain something for Himself. We also thank Him for bending our hearts and producing in us the willingness to obey Him and please Him. Except for this, we are incapable of generating even one good thought.
In the past few years we have been enabled to see that in order to please Him and manifest the characteristics of the church, we must not meet divisively; but rather, we must meet in His name. (This is a very small matter, but we still thank the Lord for it.) Hence, there are many brothers meeting in the name of the Lord in different localities. (We know of over a hundred of these places.) This is surely a joyful and comforting matter. However, although the assemblies in the Bible all had their own local administration, they still maintained fellowship with each other. There are many assemblies now; yet some of them do not even know that other local assemblies exist. This being the case, they surely could not be aware of what is happening in other places. This cannot be considered as fellowship.
We believe God's will is that we should be local in administration and yet at the same time be open to correction from others. Local administration enables us to bear our own responsibility, while fellowship enables us to receive help and corrections from others. This is why in 1 Thessalonians there are such words as "imitators" and "pattern" (1:6-7; 2:14). Unless we are open to correction from others, we may be wrong without realizing it, and others may advance while we do not know how to follow.
Many brothers have written letters to individuals among us giving news of their respective localities. Also brothers have written asking us for information about certain localities. We feel that such intercommunicating of news is both fitting and urgent, but we have lacked adequate time to write such letters.
When we published the first issue of Notes on Scriptural Messages, we intended to include news from various localities. Later, however, we realized that the majority of the readers of Notes on Scriptural Messages were not walking with us, and for this reason we felt that publishing the news in that paper would inevitably give rise to misunderstanding. For this reason we discontinued that practice. However, the need for intercommunication of news has by no means disappeared. Rather, it has been increasing daily.
After receiving a little light from God to see the Body of Christ, we feel deeply that for an individual to act alone is regrettable and that for an assembly to move independently is terrible. If we are accurate in our perception, the greatest shortage among today's believers is that they do not know what the Body life is. It seems that they have been detached from the others who are faithfully following the Lord. The individualism of believers today is almost universally prevalent, and the work of the cross, the life of resurrection, and the power of the Holy Spirit are being used almost exclusively for the development of individual holiness, for individual spirituality, and to help achieve individual victory. To be an individual is truly important, but to be only an individual and not to know how to be a brother among the brothers or a sister among the sisters is simply another form of the most hateful "self." How we wish that from now on the children of God would learn to forget about the self and to be the servants and slaves of the brothers.
To this end we desire to issue a little publication entitled Collection of Newsletters. It is not our intention to make this publication available to all believers, but rather it is for those who meet with us and walk with us in every locality. We will not send it to those who do not stand on the position of the church as required by the Lord.
The contents of this publication will be exclusively news and prayer requests from the various localities. The source of the news will be mainly from correspondence we have received. One source will be mail which we have received directly from the brothers, and another source will be letters which were written to a third party and then forwarded to us.
Concerning the nature of this publication, we need to give a word of explanation. We know that the common practice is to publish news so that men might (1) obtain the glory and (2) use the news as a basis for advertisement to make material gain. Because of this, there will no doubt be some spiritual brothers among us who, desiring to avoid this kind of thing, would rather not have their news published. We must remember, however, that the fellowship of the brothers is important. Your move and the activities of the assembly in your place are the concern of all the brothers. You should not deprive your brothers of the encouragement which they might receive from you and the privilege of making supplications for your work simply because you prefer your activities to remain hidden. No doubt, on your part you are humble, but what about the brothers who will not receive your help? The Body life is a life of caring for the brothers. It is, no doubt, wrong to seek prominence in the religious world, but to purposely hide yourself among the brothers (not the outsiders) is not being humble but shrinking back. To do such a thing does not mean that you are free from self-consideration; on the contrary, it means that you are always looking at yourself. This is not spiritual living, but an activity purposely performed by the flesh. May God deliver us, on the one hand, from the evils of today's religious world and, on the other hand, from excessive self-consciousness of the soul and from "deliberate humility." Please keep in mind the examples in the Bible. On the one hand, the Bible says the following: "Your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world" (Rom. 1:8); "For from you the word of the Lord has sounded out; not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place, your faith toward God has gone out" (1 Thes. 1:8); and "We have heard of your faith..." (Col. 1:4). But, on the other hand, it also says, "And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared the things that God had done with them and that He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27), and "They declared the things that God had done with them" (Acts 15:4).
What is needed today are not spiritual giants who cultivate themselves seclusively and who are self-conceited, but we need brothers who care for others and know how to be members together with others. We do not need hiding brothers; we need helpful brothers.
It is altogether a matter of your intention. May we, on the one hand, not purposely try to shrink back, and, on the other hand, not intentionally try to show off. Let us not seek glory from men, but in all things let us seek to glorify God and to build up the brothers.
Please pay your attention to the following points:
(1) Please do your best to send us news regarding the situation of the work, difficulties encountered, results accomplished, requests for prayers, and other information.
(2) In principle, all reports should be accurate, clear, and edifying. There is no limitation as to length and style.
(3) If some individuals should send you letters mentioning news of the assembly in a certain locality, please forward the letters to us in order that the brothers in different localities might know more about the Lord's work.
(4) We would also like to publish announcements regarding the assemblies and the work.
(5) The responsible brothers in each locality are cautioned against passing on this publication to those who do not meet with us. It is better not to give this publication to any but those who are walking with us.
(6) All mail should be addressed to the Editor, Collection of Newsletters, P.O. Box 323, Shanghai.
We now put this matter in the hand of God and before the brothers. May this be acceptable to you as it is to God. May the grace of God be with your spirit. Peace be with you.
Your brother,a bondslave of Christ,Watchman Nee
Dear Brother Watchman in the Lord:
The second day after you left Chefoo, the young Brother Lee came to my home in the evening and wanted to bring you to Brother Lee of the Shin-feng Company to console the latter. Because you had left the day before, he began to talk with me. Later, we felt that my home was too hot, and we decided to go to the seaside and talk while we cooled ourselves off. On the way to the seaside, he suddenly brought up the subject of baptism, the Lord's table, and denominations. When I heard this, I was overjoyed. I had never discussed these matters with him and had intended to go to him after you had left to discuss these matters with him in detail. After we sat down by the sea, I spoke to him about these questions based on the teaching of the Bible. By the time we finished, it was about ten o'clock. I was ready to go home, but he requested that I go into the sea to baptize him. (He was sprinkled as a baby.) When I heard this, I was taken by surprise and declined. Yet he insisted that I do it. After I thought about it over and over, I felt that I should not decline, and I went into the water and baptized him. After we did this, both of us were filled with joy in our hearts. God had led us this way, and through the circumstances above we met each other. Furthermore, we unintentionally ended up by the sea and happened to discuss the matter of baptism.
Two days later, two colleagues of mine at work, Mr. Tung and Mr. Ding, who had recently believed in the Lord (Mr. Ding being the brother of Brother Ding in the Shin-feng Company in Shanghai) heard about what had happened to Brother Lee. They came to me and asked me to baptize them. That evening I went to the sea and baptized them also. After these two incidents, God brought me in contact, on the street and at home, with other brothers almost every day. As a result of these contacts, on the Lord's Day after you left Chefoo, we began to break bread together. Before this meeting, we had three meetings in which I spoke briefly on the matter of the breaking of bread. The first and second time we broke bread, we had eleven brothers. The third time, we were going to have fourteen, but three of them were busy with their business and could not come. As a result eleven people were again present. The fourth time (the Lord's Day on the twenty-first of this month) we were going to have sixteen brothers, but two of them were not able to attend, and we broke bread with fourteen present. These brothers came out from the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Chi-shan Church, the China Inland Mission, the Vine-hill Church, the Church of Christ in China, and the Bible Study. Some of them had been baptized before, and some of them had been sprinkled before. Some who had been sprinkled as babies came to be baptized. Some were sprinkled before they believed. When they believed, they wanted to be baptized. Some were neither baptized nor sprinkled before, and they were baptized by us. We have baptized six persons so far. Some of these brothers have asked for their names to be removed from the denominations, and some have severed their relationship with the denominations but have not yet removed their names. Some only come to our bread-breaking meeting, and go to the denominations for the other meetings, and still work in the denominations. Their professions include merchants, professors, preachers, students, workers, and clerks.
God has begun a work in Chefoo through useless vessels like us. We have witnessed many wonderful coincidences, which have forced us to acknowledge that this is God's own work and leading. Other than a few brothers whom we had arranged to meet ahead of time, most of the other brothers who are presently breaking bread with us came in contact with us accidentally.
I should have written you earlier, but because I have been very busy lately, I could not fulfill my wish. There are people I have to deal with almost every day. Now there are six meetings a week. I am responsible for all of them. Tuesday evening there is a prayer meeting. Thursday and Saturday evenings there are Bible study meetings. On the Lord's Day morning there is a message for general edification; in the afternoon there is a meeting for Bible study and prayer, and then we go out two by two to preach the gospel and pass out gospel tracts. In the evening, there is the table meeting. I have felt very weak lately and need to rest. The meeting place was not big enough because the sisters want to attend the table meeting and hear the messages. At this juncture my family found a new home with sixteen rooms. We can reserve three rooms for use in the meetings. We truly see God's preparation. These three rooms can hold at least fifty people. The brothers have already gone to prepare chairs. Thank and praise Him!
When we obey God in this way, it is difficult to avoid ridicule and criticisms! Some people say we will not last. Some say we are too weak — without talent or money. But Isaiah 9:7 and 37:32, Nehemiah 4, and 1 Samuel 30:6 have strengthened me quite a bit. Please do not forget us in your prayers. I will write more later. May God bless us.
Your brother in Christ,Witness LeeAugust 27, 1932
Dear Brother Luk:
(Parts omitted.)1 The meetings here have been deeply blessed by the Lord. The table meeting is on the Lord's Day morning at 8:30. There are more than thirty brothers and sisters. In the afternoon we have a gospel meeting at 3:30. There are two hundred people listening to the message. This building is too small. It is very crowded every week. The brothers and sisters have decided to rent a larger place after our four month rental is up. They plan to prepare four hundred seats. If the Lord is willing, it will happen.
After nineteen people were baptized on May 8, seven more sisters obeyed the Lord and were baptized in August. I really thank the Lord; He is the One doing a good work in Swatow. Brother Luk, I am really in fear and trembling and do not know how to go on. I do not know many truths about the church. I cannot answer many questions about the church. We really need some teaching from you brothers!
Brother Nee sent a letter to me during my turn, teaching and exhorting me. It gave me much light. This type of teaching is very precious to me, a little brother from the mountains. Many brothers here know nothing about the truth concerning the church. Although Brother Nee has passed some teachings on to us, they were general and not detailed, so I beg you, brother, for the Lord's sake to take time out of your busy schedule to give me a letter with detailed teachings, so that we do not fall and shame the Lord's name. Brother Nee also wanted me to attend the next conference in Shanghai on the truth of the church. I am very honored that for the Lord's sake the brothers have not rejected one as low as me but are willing to teach and correct me!
Truly, Brother Luk, the situation of the world being as it is, what have I to be reluctant about in giving it up? The Lord is coming soon. May we faithfully serve Him in one accord according to the gift He has given us. May the Lord bless you all. Amen.
Your brother,Tze Hang
October 4, 1933
Mr. Nee:
I received your letter. The matter of my future has already been resolved. In the latter part of August, the environment in the company did not allow me to continue working there. At the same time, I was clear in prayer that it was God's will that I should quit my job and serve the Lord "full-time." So on August 25, I gave my resignation to the manager who came to Chefoo from Shanghai. The manager wanted me to wait until the end of September before leaving, so I agreed.
Thank God, the matter of my responsibilities toward my family has also been resolved. From now on, I do not have to bear any responsibility toward my extended family, and my extended family will not bear any responsibility for me, my wife, and my children.
The day after I gave my resignation, August 26, I received a letter from Sister Yu Su-chen. She urgently invited me to go work in Ch'ang-ch'un in Manchuria. Since I was clear about God's will, I finished settling the affairs of my company in order to free myself for Ch'ang-ch'un. Some affairs could not be settled immediately. I promised the company I would return to Chefoo at the end of September to take care of them. I left Chefoo on September 5 and arrived in Ch'ang-ch'un on the seventh. I stayed there for eighteen days. The Lord really blessed the work there. As a result, nine brothers and sixteen sisters obeyed the Lord and were baptized. Many had been sprinkled previously in the Ch'ang-ch'un Presbyterian Church. Among these nine brothers, two were elders of the Ch'ang-ch'un Presbyterian Church; one is Mr. T'ien P'in Fang, the manager of Ch'ang-ch'un Ch'ien Yi East Company. He is already more than fifty years old. He held four positions as a board member and one as a director of the board in the Presbyterian Church. Furthermore, he was their treasurer. Now he has resigned from all of these positions! He has also turned over his responsibility as the treasurer! The other one is Mr. An K'o Pai, the elder brother of Sister An. He is in the pharmaceutical business. He has also resigned from his position as elder. Among the obeying sisters, two were female preachers in the Presbyterian Church. There were also a few brothers and sisters who were newly saved and baptized. Before I went to Ch'ang-ch'un, Sister Yu had already done some work among the sisters. At the same time, God prepared these brothers and sisters through the environment. At that time, what they (especially the brothers) needed was the light of the truth. Once they saw the light, they obeyed. The second Lord's Day I was there, we had the table meeting in the Lord's name. We broke bread together with them twice.
When I was in Ch'ang-ch'un, I received a letter sent from my manager in Shanghai. In the letter, he asked me to continue working until the end of the year. He also promised to come to Chefoo to make new arrangements so that the situation of the company could allow me to continue working. But I am clear that if I go back to work, it will be unbelief and unfaithfulness. Therefore, I have decided to write a letter of refusal when I get back to Chefoo.
I left Ch'ang-ch'un on September 25 and returned to Chefoo on the twenty-seventh. When I arrived home, your letter was there. After reading it, I deeply sensed God's will in what you said in the last part. He wanted to confirm my personal subjective view with your objective view, so I boldly wrote a letter to my manager refusing his offer.
After my return to Chefoo, I returned to the company on September 28 to finish the work of transfer to my successor. Now I have made arrangements for almost everything. I can finish the matter in another three or four days.
Brother Huang Tzu Hou of Nan Su Chou sent me a letter (he is in Tientsin at the present) inviting me to Tientsin to stay for a few days. The Lord willing, I may go there to visit our brother.
The Gospel Paper has not been published yet! May the Lord bless this matter so that the paper can finally appear and enlighten some people in darkness. The trip I took to Manchuria showed me all the more the desperate need for the gospel! Where are you now? How is your health? Will there be a conference in Shanghai this year or not? Hoping this finds you at peace!
Your respectful brother,Witness LeeOctober 10, 1933
Miss Lee:
God's grace is sufficient for us. So we can only thank and praise concerning all the work and affairs. The temptation and pressure are great, but the grace is even greater. It seems that the Lord has opened a door for us recently. Mr. Yang, the chief guard at the Tsou County Official Prison came of his own accord to invite us into the prison to preach the gospel to the prisoners. We are just about to begin, and we are very much exercised about this endeavor. There are also some who are in one accord with us praying unceasingly for this matter. We are requesting prayer co-workers. If the brothers or sisters there have any teaching or direction from experience in this kind of work, we would be most happy to hear it.
I am still here in Tsou County and will not leave here for a while. It seems that in following the Lord, the more I learn, the more I am walking against the wind; each step is an effort. I am also very surprised that such a weak and corrupted person as I can still stand here today. This truly is the Lord's grace. May the Lord bless you with peace.
Sincerely,Sun Shih PiOctober 26, 1933
To Sister Ruth Lee in the Lord:
(Parts omitted.) I am still teaching. When I have time, I do the Lord's work. Only three of the brothers in Taishan remember the Lord with us. Among them is Brother T'ang Yen Min. After Brother Lee (Brother Lee Pei Shun) came to Taishan, he read the first volume of The Spiritual Man and learned that denominations were a sin. He immediately left the denomination and his position as a preacher. Now he lives at 28 Kung Ho Market, Second Floor. He has a wife and children, so his daily expenses are great. He is not from a wealthy family. He has always been a professional preacher. Now that he has been called, he lives by faith in God. Thank God, He has given us a brother to bear the responsibility!
There are more than twenty people who break bread together with us here. There are sisters who are in their sixties and seventies and some who are in their teens. There are some who walk more than ten miles [Translator's note: References to miles in Volumes 25 and 26 refer to the Chinese unit of measurement, which is the approximate equivalent of one-third of a Western mile] on the Lord's Day to come to Kung Ho Market for the meeting. Although the roads in the rural country are very rough, they do not mind. This is the Lord's love! The brothers and sisters in Taishan are all at peace. Please do not worry!
Brother Lee has left the world to be with the Lord, and there is no better place to be. But we believers in Kwantung province have lost much help. May the brothers and sisters in Shanghai always remember us in prayer, praying and petitioning for us so that many believers in Taishan and Canton would have some raised up to bear the burden in the Lord's name.
We know a brother, who is twenty this year, called Liang Huei Hung. He is also in one accord with us. He lives in Canton. When Brother Lee was there, he did his best to help this brother. The brother's wife is not in the denominations. Unfortunately, this brother died ten days ago! In the past two months, we have lost two good brothers. We are very grieved. May God the Father preserve us, so that we may serve the Lord faithfully until we are raptured. Amen. (Parts omitted.)
Your sister,Wei ShihNovember 4, 1933
Peace in the Lord to my brothers in Him, Messrs. Ho
and Huang:
I have not corresponded with you for a long time, and my spirit misses you. I miss you, but even more I remember you when I pray. The brothers and sisters here also want to know how you are. The Present Testimony and Notes on Scriptural Messages have not been sent to us for quite a while. We do not know the reason.
Recently, we have been blessed by God and are learning to fight in our environment. For this reason, I have retired to live in a quiet straw hut to fellowship alone with God. Oh! How very good this is! Hymns #53, 67, 68, and 176 have become my personal hymns. I know that the trials are past and grace has come. The brothers and sisters here are very obedient to God, but they are immature and lacking in cultivation and watering. Please remember them before God. There are nine brothers and sisters who have been baptized here, and we have had the table meeting for five weeks. May God lead His children to come under His name as obedient children. (Parts omitted.)
Your younger brother in the Lord,Yuan Chin ChouNovember 11, 1933
To Sister Ruth Lee in the Lord:
(Parts omitted.) I really hope to come to next year's conference and receive the gift of the Father together with you, but I do not know whether or not the Lord will allow me to. A brother came to Peking, and the brothers and sisters here benefited quite a bit. It really was God answering our prayer. The word in Jeremiah 3:15 was fulfilled. I believe that He will continue to give us more grace. (Parts omitted.)
Your sister in the Lord,T'ao Hsin AnNovember 14, 1933
Sister Ruth:
We had our first meeting on November 19. Tentatively we will meet once every two weeks, but maybe we will soon meet once a week. We also hope to have another meeting for preaching the gospel. However, at the present, we only have a table meeting and are waiting for the rest.
The place of our meeting is 29 Stone Embankment Bridge Alley, Northwest Street, Soochow.
Now we have three brothers and six sisters meeting together.
In the first meeting, Brother Stephen Kaung spoke on Hebrews 4 and helped us to know the Lord more deeply in our spirits.
Our offerings are handled by the three brothers. Through our prayer we arrived at the same mind to give the entire sum of our offerings to brothers and sisters in other localities. (Parts omitted.)
Your sister,Tsuo Fu JuNovember 25, 1933
To Mr. Watchman:
I have already believed in Christ and am truly a child of God. But after believing, I realize that sufferings often come to individuals, misfortunes often come to families, and temptations and persecutions often arise. I do not know whether all these are the discipline of God or the attacks of Satan. What is God's discipline like? What is the work of Satan like? I do not understand yet. Please sir, give me definite and detailed instructions in the Lord. (Parts omitted.)
From,Wen Ching Yi
Brother Ching Yi:
God's discipline and Satan's attacks do not look much different from the outside. This means that any matter which befalls us does not look much different outwardly. It means that sufferings, hardships, temptations, and attacks which come because of God's discipline are not different outwardly from the sufferings, hardships, temptations, and attacks which come from the attack of Satan. So how can we differentiate them? To differentiate them, we must ask who is behind these sufferings, hardships, temptations, and attacks. From the Bible, we see that God does not give these things directly to people. Satan is the one who gives them directly to people. Thus, when God disciplines people, He takes advantage of the work of Satan. Therefore, in Satan's work we see the discipline of God, and in God's discipline it is not hard to find Satan's work.
So what should our attitude toward these two matters be? First Peter 5:6-9 and James 4:7 teach us concerning this. These two passages of the Bible tell us to obey God and resist the devil. Please pay attention to the fact that the sequence in both passages is to obey God first and then resist the devil. Therefore, when we uncover any situation, we must never complain. We must not use our fleshly hands to quickly save ourselves from this situation. We should not do this. We should first humble ourselves before God, confessing that we accept this kind of situation because we have sinned. Furthermore, we should ask God to show us why He gave us this kind of situation and what teaching or lessons He wants us to learn from it. After we become clear, we should submit to these lessons. Then we should resist the works of Satan.
Please remember that we must come to this stage before we resist Satan. But when we have arrived at this stage we must resist Satan. If we do not resist Satan after we have obeyed God, we give ground to Satan. God is the disciplining Father, and the works of Satan are the whipping rod in His hand. If we do not obey God before we resist Satan, we are telling God that we are not willing to change according to His will and that we are trying to break the whipping rod in His hand. On the surface, it appears that we are resisting Satan, but actually we are resisting God. If we have obeyed God and do not resist Satan, it means that we have changed according to God's will, but we are still receiving His whipping. Please remember that the whip in God's hand is with a purpose. The devil wants us to continue to suffer after we have obeyed, so we must resist. (Parts omitted.)
The slave of Christ,Watchman Nee
Brother Chih Yi:
I received your letter. Thank you for your words of comfort to me! The slander of outsiders certainly means nothing. The Lord said, "Blessed are you when they reproach...you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you...rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens" (Matt. 5:11-12). However, it is a pity that the outsiders do not understand that our motivation in the Lord is to express the presence of the Lord Himself. They misunderstand us, thinking that we are only trying to draw people out of the denominations. I will answer the three questions you asked me separately with the following:
(1) The church cannot help a polygamous brother by doing anything more than forgiving him. When the Lord said that He loved mercy and abhorred sacrifices, He was referring to this matter. If the believers sinned in the matter of polygamy before they were saved, the Lord does not pursue the matter. Because no matter what the sin, whatever was committed before our regeneration is under the blood. Of course, the sin of polygamy is under the blood.
The question that has arisen in the church is whether the concubine he had should be driven out of the house. The Bible gives us some very clear light regarding this matter. Paul told Timothy, "The overseer [the elder] then must be...the husband of one wife...deacons must similarly be..." (1 Tim. 3:2, 8). So we know that among the believers at that time, there were those who were the husband of two wives. For this reason, Paul said that only the husbands of one wife could be elders and deacons. The reason the apostle said this word was to show that if a man had two wives, he could still be a believer, but he could not bear any responsibility in the church.
Furthermore, the sin of polygamy is different from other sins. There are two kinds of sin. One kind of sin can be restituted, the other cannot. The sin of polygamy cannot be restituted. For example, stolen items can be returned to their owner. But if you have married someone's daughter, you cannot return her. Therefore, if you want to send this woman away, you are telling her to be an adulteress. So it would be better if the husband bowed down under God's government and bore this responsibility.
In the Old Testament, David married Bathsheba. God did not tell David to separate from Bathsheba. Furthermore, she bore Solomon. Our Lord Jesus came out of her. Exodus 21:7-11 speaks of the position of a concubine. In this passage, the other wife refers to the proper wife, the maidservant is a concubine. The position God gives the concubine is that her food, her clothing, and her duty of marriage shall not be diminished.
(2) Regarding the question about Acts 19:1-7, we should first see what this passage means when it refers to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned here in reference to regeneration or indwelling. Regeneration and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are not obtained through the laying on of hands of the apostles. From the following portion, which speaks of tongues and prophecies, etc., we see that the Holy Spirit spoken of here refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples at Ephesus were already regenerated and already had the Holy Spirit indwelling them. They only lacked the gift of the Holy Spirit. Gift is related to the Body (1 Cor. 12). The baptism of repentance causes us to be related to the Lord Jesus. The baptism into the Lord Jesus causes us to have a part in His Body. Therefore, it was not enough for them to receive the baptism of repentance; they still had to be baptized into the name of the Lord before they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(3) Regarding Revelation 3:5, it is possible to have one's name erased from the book of life. We must differentiate between not being written in the book of life and having one's name erased from the book of life. A person who never gets saved or regenerated does not have his name written in the book of life. A person whose name is erased from the book of life is saved and regenerated, but he is not an overcomer. The former perishes for eternity. The latter does not participate in the kingdom. The last part of Revelation 20 refers to eternity; Revelation 2—3 refers to the kingdom. (Parts omitted.)
The slave of Christ,Watchman Nee
(Please Note: All the brothers and sisters who fellowship with us should write and tell us whether they want to continue this publication.)
"Jesus is Lord!" (1 Cor. 12:3).
We have previously held two conferences of the same nature, one in February of 1928 and one in October of 1931. The conference held in November of last year was of a different nature, and for that reason we consider the upcoming conference to be the third overcomer conference.
I want all the brothers to understand the nature of this type of conference; no attention will be paid to the less significant matters of the Bible. What we want to see in the Holy Spirit is Christ and Him crucified. Matters such as prophecy, church organization, Scripture exposition, types, baptism, laying on of hands, speaking in tongues, miracles, and a hundred other questions have their proper place. As Christians we should not deny them their proper place. However, these are neither the center of the Scriptures nor the center of the life of the Holy Spirit. God has only one center, which is Christ — Christ and Him crucified. Our annual conferences of this nature are to bring us back to this center. Therefore, we are reluctant to mention any minor matters in these conferences. Rather, we would emphasize only the central point which God Himself stressed.
Many people often ask us why The Present Testimony does not print some of the articles similar to those in the previous magazine, The Christian. However, they do not realize that The Present Testimony only delivers the central message of God. Many of the gospel messages, interpretations of prophecy, Bible expositions, and answers to questions are not God's center. It is a pity that many believers treasure our writings on these side issues, but neglect the central message. We are not saying that the other subjects are useless; they do have their place. However, they are not the center. If a person has not laid hold of God's center, all these truths will only be doctrines to him and will not give him any help. Knowing God in His center, and living in the center is victory, holiness, and glory. Everything else follows afterward.
In our conference this time, as before, we wish to lay stress on the central message. After much prayer I feel the theme which the Lord has given me for this conference is "God's Overcomers." Everything in the conference will focus on this center. Since the dates are now set, I ask all the brothers to pray more for this conference. Unlike the conference in 1928, our conferences in 1931 and 1932 were both lacking in prayer. Consequently, we saw no obvious blessing in those meetings. We should, therefore, ask God for a burden to pray and for a spirit of prayer. We need to pray and pray fervently. Perhaps we even have to fast and pray. However, we must pray in the Holy Spirit! Whether or not God will bless us depends upon our prayer.
Finally, in this conference, our hope is to meet Christ, to receive light and revelation from heaven, and to be filled with the life that is unknown to ordinary people. We do not intend to pay attention to the many minor, outward matters. "To know Him" (Phil. 3:10) — this is what we seek.
Your brother,Watchman NeeDecember 13, 1933
Because many friends from distant places do not have friends or family in Shanghai to stay with and our place is not the most spacious, there are many things that are lacking. If there is any lack in our hospitality, I ask you ahead of time to forgive us!
With regard to the price of meals, we do not set a price, nor do we determine not to accept money. We only ask for voluntary help according to the ability of the brothers and sisters attending the conference and the Lord's leading. In this way, he who has much will have no surplus, and the poor will have no lack.
Any brother or sister coming to the conference should please pay attention to the following points:
