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Many years ago we saw that in order to experience Christ’s death, we need to have the experience of the Holy Spirit, but we did not see that in the New Testament the Holy Spirit has become the life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—who passed through the process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
Through the process that the Triune God went through, various elements were added to the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God had only the element of divinity, but through the Lord’s incarnation the element of humanity was added to the Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus lived on the earth for thirty-three and a half years, and the element of human living was added to the Spirit. Humanity was added to the Spirit through the incarnation of the Lord Jesus, and human living was added through His living as a man. Furthermore, the elements of death and resurrection were also added to the Spirit. However, we dare not consider resurrection and ascension as two separate elements. Incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection are four elements. But we do not consider ascension as another element, because ascension is a matter of position. In His ascension Christ entered into a new position; hence, ascension is not a new element.
We have all experienced joys and sorrows in our human life. These experiences have added many elements into our being. The saying going through “wind and frost” means that a person experiences many hardships and sufferings; many elements have been added into him. I am eighty years of age, and my life has been full of “wind and frost.” Today I can say that nothing affects me. I was not born into a poor family, but when I was about ten years old, my family situation had a drastic change, and we reached the point of dire poverty. At that time I began to experience hardships and sufferings. Later, I was saved and I loved the Lord. Then at the initial stage of my serving the Lord, I was under the big umbrella of Brother Nee. He shielded me from the rain and from the storms. All the slandering fell on him, and all the rumors were aimed at him. Under that big umbrella I was like a favored son knowing only to enjoy. Later, due to the change in the political situation in China, I was brought into another situation.
In November 1948 the United States had a presidential election, and many Chinese people hoped that the candidate of the Republican Party would be elected. I was in Hangchow leading a special conference concerning the migration to Yi-yang, Kiangsi Province, when I received a cable from Brother Nee asking me to drop everything and take a train immediately to Shanghai. Therefore, I made arrangements for the last meeting and went to the train station with my luggage. At the station I saw a newspaper reporting that Harry Truman had won the election. Upon arriving in Shanghai, Brother Nee informed me that there would be an urgent co-workers’ meeting that night to deal with the situation. After a long period of silence at the beginning of the meeting, Brother Nee said, “The situation today is very clear. We need to fellowship, pray, and seek the Lord’s leading concerning how to deal with this situation. However, in any case we would ask Brother Lee to go abroad.” Because we had purchased a piece of land on Nanyang Road in Shanghai and were prepared to build a big meeting hall, Brother Nee charged me to oversee the building of the meeting hall and leave Shanghai upon its completion. The following year in February Brother Nee called another urgent co-workers’ meeting. During the meeting he said, “We still would ask Brother Lee to go abroad.” Hence, in April I left Shanghai for Taiwan.
In Taiwan my family of ten lived in a room that was about two hundred eighty square feet. Every day I lay in my bed and stared at the ceiling, asking what I was doing in Taiwan. One day the Lord spoke to me. He said that I should go and visit the brothers and sisters who had come to Taiwan from mainland China. Hence, I traveled along the main north-south railway visiting the saints at every stop. Through the visiting, I picked up a burden. After returning to Taipei, I fellowshipped with a few brothers and told them that there were about three to four hundred brothers and sisters in Taiwan who had come from the mainland and that they would be the base of our work. Thus, we began the work in Taiwan. Once we began, the work advanced with overwhelming momentum. In the first year the number of people increased thirtyfold. Within five to six years there was a hundredfold increase; that is, the original four hundred grew to about forty thousand.
In 1954 some brothers felt that we needed to invite Brother T. Austin-Sparks, who was well known for his spiritual ministry in the West. I fellowshipped with the brothers that in terms of knowing a person or a matter, we never pay attention to big things; rather, it is in the small things that we see the true situation of a person. From the beginning of the Lord’s recovery we were enlightened by the Lord to drop Christmas. Hence, we do not celebrate Christmas, nor do we receive or send Christmas cards. However, this brother in the January 1955 issue of his magazine, A Witness and a Testimony, released an official note of appreciation to those who sent him Christmas cards. Although this was a small matter, it revealed his condition. If we invited him, I felt that there could be a problem and that both sides would be hurt in the process. It would be safer for us to keep some distance between him and us. Brother Nee stayed with Brother T. Austin-Sparks for more than a year, from 1937 to 1938. Brother Nee later told me that although Brother Sparks has a portion in spiritual matters, he did not see nor would he receive any light concerning the practicality of the church. If Brother Nee was not able to convince him concerning the practicality of the church, how could we persuade him?
Initially, the brothers received this fellowship. However, not long afterward they brought this matter up again, saying that they needed the spiritual portion from Brother T. Austin-Sparks. At that time it would have been inappropriate for me to insist on not inviting him. So I wrote an invitation letter in English and formally invited Brother T. Austin-Sparks to come. He came in 1955. During that visit he did not touch the matter of the church. He ministered according to his portion. We were genuinely helped, and everyone felt good.
In 1957 we invited Brother T. Austin-Sparks again. This time he stayed with us for a longer time. One day we arranged for him to speak particularly to the one hundred or more co-workers that we had, and I was the translator. The brother who requested the time of fellowship asked Brother T. Austin-Sparks what he thought about our work, since this was his second visit. Upon hearing this question, I knew that this brother had dissenting thoughts; otherwise, he would not have asked someone from a faraway place such a question.
Brother T. Austin-Sparks immediately replied, “When I came here last time, I did have some feelings, but I decided not to say anything. This time I came prepared to speak. Please tell me, why do the brothers who are in the military service put their caps on before they leave the meeting hall?” At that time we had many brothers who were in the military, and they came to the meeting in their uniforms. When it was announced that the meeting was over, the brothers in the military would put on their caps while leaving their seats. According to Western custom, however, a man should never put on his hat while he is inside a building; there is no exception for the military. A man can put on his hat only after he leaves the building. This is the custom in the West, whether or not one is a believer. After Brother T. Austin-Sparks’s question, a brother explained, “According to Chinese custom, soldiers wear their caps everywhere. However, when the brothers in the military come to the meeting, according to the teaching in the Bible (1 Cor. 11:4, 7), they do not cover their heads during prayer and the giving of a message. They put on their caps only at the end of the meeting, after the announcement of the dismissal of the meeting. This is very appropriate.” After Brother T. Austin-Sparks heard this, he asked, “Do you act in accordance to your custom or in accordance to the Bible?” Although I felt inwardly that his question was unjustified, I translated what he said. I knew that his argument was irrational, because he was keeping the Western custom, which dictates that a man can wear a hat only when he is outside a building, but we were keeping the teaching of the Bible.
Brother T. Austin-Sparks also brought up another issue. He said that our bread-breaking meeting was in confusion, disorderly, because one person could call a hymn and another person could speak a few words. Concerning this matter, at his invitation I went to London in 1958 and stayed with his group for four weeks and attended their meetings. Their bread-breaking meeting was taken care of only by Brother T. Austin-Sparks. He prayed, chose hymns, and gave the message. It was only in the last section of the meeting that there were ten minutes of free worship. The proceeding of the meeting was very proper and was conducted entirely according to his instructions. The table displayed a row of baskets, containing small pieces of bread, and also small cups. After he prayed and gave a message, he said, “Now is the time we break the bread.” Then seven deacons came and stood before him, he passed the breadbaskets to them, and they withdrew. The breadbaskets were passed to each row, and everyone took a piece of bread and waited. After all seven baskets were distributed, the seven deacons lined up and returned the empty baskets one by one to Brother T. Austin-Sparks. He received the baskets, took a piece of bread, and said, “Now we will partake of this bread together.” After partaking of the bread, they followed the same procedure for distributing and drinking of the cup. If we compare their bread-breaking meeting with our bread-breaking meeting, ours would certainly appear disorderly to Brother T. Austin-Sparks. During the time of our fellowship, he was very critical of our bread-breaking meeting. I did not say much at the time, but I knew inwardly that problems would be forthcoming.
During his visit, we held a conference and a training. Whenever there was a free evening, some guests from England, America, Denmark, and Hong Kong would come together with a dozen local brothers, and we would have some free fellowship. I had fellowshipped with the brothers in advance and said that it would be better to avoid questions concerning the church with Brother T. Austin-Sparks, because such questions would not be profitable to anyone. Rather, it would be better to let him carry out his spiritual ministry and render the supply of his portion to us. Then we could send him off properly and still be able to maintain fellowship. The brothers all agreed. However, one evening as we sat in silence, a brother said, “Brother Austin-Sparks, suppose there are five groups in Taipei that meet in the Lord’s name. Please tell us which group is right and which is not right?” Upon hearing this question, I knew that this was a “bomb.” Brother T. Austin-Sparks said, “None of the groups is absolutely right. All five of them are relatively right.” Thus, a debate ensued. At the time I felt that because I was translating, I should keep a neutral position. In addition, since I was the one who wrote and invited Brother T. Austin-Sparks for the second visit, I should be polite to our guest. Hence, I only translated for both sides and did not speak anything of my own.
The next time we came together, I felt that I could no longer stay neutral. Therefore, I said, “In our fellowship during the past two days we have touched the matter of the ground of the church. Brother T. Austin-Sparks has said that no group is absolutely right but that all are relatively right. He said that it depends on the measure of the stature of Christ that a group has; the greater the measure of the stature of Christ, the more the group is right, and the smaller the measure of the stature of Christ, the less the group is right. Now I would like to ask a question: The children of Israel were taken captive to Babylon, and at the fulfillment of the period of seventy years, God wanted them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the holy temple that had been destroyed. Suppose at that time a prophet arose and said, ‘It is right that we worship, pursue, and love God, but we do not need to return to Jerusalem. Our worship of God does not depend on a place. It is all right to worship God in Babylon. Look at Daniel. He is spiritual, but he has remained in Babylon instead of returning to Jerusalem. Therefore, you do not have to go back to Jerusalem. It is sufficient just to be spiritual.’ I would like to ask whether this prophet is genuine or false and whether his teaching is right or wrong.”
I continued and said, “For the past three hundred years those who have pursued spiritual growth in life have been helped by the inner-life people, such as Madame Guyon. Concerning the measure of the stature of Christ, I think that among those of us present today, hardly anyone has a measure of the stature of Christ that surpasses that of Madame Guyon. However, as far as the church is concerned, Madame Guyon was in Catholicism, which we all condemn. Madame Guyon was very spiritual and had a great measure of the stature of Christ, but can we say that it is therefore right or relatively right to remain in the Catholic Church? I believe that none of us would say this.”
I also said, “During these two visits by our Brother T. Austin-Sparks, he has highly recommended Dr. F. B. Meyer. I have read books by Dr. Meyer and received help from him. He indeed had some spiritual weight. But at the time of his death he was still in organized Christianity, which Brother T. Austin-Sparks condemns. Can we say that because of his substantial spiritual weight his being in organized Christianity was also relatively right?” After I finished speaking, no one refuted my words, and we left in an unpleasant atmosphere.
The next morning we had another training for the co-workers and elders from the whole island. There were more than five hundred brothers gathered together. Brother T. Austin-Sparks gave the message, and I translated for him. In his message he said emphatically, “You make Christ a small Christ and the church a small church in order to fit your local ground.” I had no choice but to calmly translate what he said into Chinese. However, for the sake of subsequent training meetings, during the afternoon tea time I spoke personally with Brother T. Austin-Sparks and told him that although our views differed concerning the practice of the church and the ground of the church, he should be assured that we would still respect and honor him and receive his ministry. I felt there was no need to say more than this.
When the meetings in Taipei came to a close, Brother T. Austin-Sparks invited me to go with him to Hong Kong to be his interpreter. When I returned from Hong Kong, I immediately called a conference for the whole island to speak concerning the ground of the church. Those series of messages were later published in a book entitled The Testimony and the Ground of the Church. After the messages were released, the majority of the brothers and sisters became clear and began to stress the ground of the church. However, several brothers who had been influenced by Brother T. Austin-Sparks had secret fellowship among themselves and waited to see whether I would reject Brother T. Austin-Sparks so that they could also reject me. At the time I was unaware of this.
Shortly afterward, Brother T. Austin-Sparks invited me to return his visit. Since several brothers were influenced by him and had become dissenting, I decided to visit Brother T. Austin-Sparks’s group to see their situation. In this way I would be able to give the co-workers an account and tell them why we could not receive his ministry concerning the church. In 1958 I went to England and stayed there for four weeks. Brother T. Austin-Sparks received my wife and me as honored guests during our stay in England. He committed an entire conference at Honor Oak to me, as well as the regular meetings on the Lord’s Day and the meetings that were midweek, asking me to give all the messages. Thus, I saw many situations there. Not long after I arrived there, the elders came to visit me one by one at the place of my hospitality. They told me their grievances; in particular, they were unhappy with our brother’s control. This put me, as a guest, in an awkward situation. One day Brother T. Austin-Sparks invited me to visit the elders’ meeting. Even though it was a meeting for the elders, he was the only one giving directions. In this way I learned their real situation.
I left Taipei in April and returned in October. On our return trip I stopped in Hong Kong and held a conference there. After seeing the situation of the most spiritual place in the West, I began to consider the building up of the church. Hence, in that conference I released messages concerning the building of God for the first time. However, those messages were not complete. After I returned to Taipei, I held another conference, and I released more messages concerning the building of God. These messages were more complete. In one message I said that I went to the West with the specific intention of seeing the most spiritual place in order to see the building. Although their messages were spiritual, they did not have much building. Several of their elders had grievances, and even Brother T. Austin-Sparks said that he was considering moving to another place because they did not submit to his authority. After this speaking, the dissenting brothers among us began to plot about how to oppose me.
From that time onward, the “sun” blazed on me, the “rain” pounded on me, and “ice and sleet” fell on me. I experienced adversities in my human life. Later the Lord led me to America, a Christian country with numerous seminaries and theologians. The light that we received from the Lord caused some believers in traditional Christianity to rise up to oppose us. They despised me as a Chinese man teaching Westerners. They published books to attack me. Taking words out of context, they alleged that I teach pantheism, because I said that Christ is our rock, our living water, our clothing, and our dwelling place. They also asserted that calling on the Lord’s name and pray-reading the Lord’s Word were derived from Oriental Buddhism. They used every means possible to slander me; there are more than two hundred sixty publications opposing us, and the attacks are aimed at me.
Through the oppositions and attacks, I experienced adversities in my human life. However, the Lord whom I serve, my wife, and the saints who are around me can all testify that none of the adverse situations touched me. Before I went to America, the Lord used sixty years of adverse situations to prepare me. During the past twenty years, the Lord has used this ministry immensely. Three hundred fifty churches have been raised up in North America, South America, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Europe. The Lord has truly blessed His recovery. At the same time, the persecution and opposition has reached its zenith; this is the problem from the outside. We also have trouble within, that is, the rumors from dissenting ones among us. All of these constitute the adversities in my human life.
Paul says, “For me this will turn out to salvation through...the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19). By the Lord’s mercy and grace, I can testify that I have experienced the all-inclusive death of Christ and the human living of Jesus in the all-inclusive Spirit. Hence, most of what I understand of the Bible comes from my experience and not from doctrinal knowledge. How can I say that there is the element of human living in the all-inclusive Spirit? I learned it from my experience. This message is a testimony of my experience of the all-inclusive Spirit and the all-inclusive death of Christ. Our Lord Jesus was incarnated, lived a human life in His humanity for thirty-three and a half years, died, resurrected, and ascended. Through this process He became the life-giving Spirit. Through His death and resurrection, the elements of His human living and death were added to the Spirit. Today the life-giving Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ.
