From chapter eight of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant
Many saints who knew Brother Lee can bear witness that he lived a life of the highest moral standard, a life characterized by the excellent virtues needed in a servant of the Lord: extraordinary love (1 Cor. 12:31b; 13:1-8a; Matt. 5:44), boundless forbearance (Phil. 4:5-7; Matt. 18:21-22), unparalleled faithfulness (1 Cor. 4:2; 7:25b), absolute humility (1 Pet. 5:5-6; 3:8; Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3), utmost purity (Matt. 5:8; 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:22), supreme holiness and righteousness (1 Pet. 1:15-16; 2 Pet. 2:5; Matt. 5:20; Rom. 14:17), and brightness and uprightness (John 8:12; Luke 11:34-36; Psa. 36:10).67 To some, such a description of Brother Lee’s life may sound hyperbolic, but I believe that those who spent considerable time with Brother Lee can attest before the all-seeing and all-knowing Lord that each of these virtues was exhibited in our brother’s life and service. In my teenage years, in the late 1980s, I was disturbed to learn of several highly publicized scandals involving prominent televangelists in the United States whose immoral private lives contradicted their public sermons, greatly damaging the Lord’s testimony in this country and giving His enemies much occasion to blaspheme Him (Ezek. 36:23; 2 Sam. 12:14). In those years I was encouraged and even astounded when I read Brother Lee’s personal testimony concerning how for many decades he, by the Lord’s grace, had been preserved from earthly defilements to be a chaste virgin for the Lord:
In order to be a living overcomer we must be kept by the Lord’s grace from every defilement and pollution and live on earth like virgins. In the eyes of the worldly people it means little whether we go to the movies or not. But in the eyes of the saved ones it is serious for me to go to a movie theater. If I did, I would be defiled. We must live a life of virginity, a life of chastity. The reason I neither smoke nor drink is that I do not want to be defiled. On occasion some brothers have offered me a drink of beer. But I have always refused. The Lord’s mercy and grace have preserved me for more than fifty years. I will not sell myself so cheaply as to be contaminated by drinking beer. Although it may not be sinful to drink beer, I will not allow the drinking of beer to defile my virginity. But do not be legal about things like this. I can sit in the presence of brothers who are drinking beer and not be bothered at all. It is absolutely not a matter of legality; it is a matter of our desire to preserve ourselves as virgins for the Lord. We all must say, “Lord Jesus, I love You. Because I love You, I will remain as a virgin for You. Lord, I don’t want to be defiled or polluted by anything. Lord, I want to keep myself for You.” As a young man, I prayed this way day by day. How I thank the Lord that He has truly answered my prayer.
In my travels throughout the years, I have found myself in many different situations. In these situations there have been a great many temptations. But I can testify, even before the accuser, that the Lord’s grace has preserved me. Although there have been television sets in many of the hotel rooms, the Lord can testify for me that not once did I turn on the television. It would not have been sinful for me to watch television, but I would have been defiled. As I was in my room I said, “Lord, I don’t want to be defiled. I want to be kept as a virgin for You. Lord, I did not come to this city for television, but for Your testimony. I know the brothers and sisters cannot see what I am doing in my hotel room, but the demons can see.” If I had turned on the television set, my testimony for the Lord Jesus would not have had impact. But because my conscience testified that I was not defiled and that I was kept as a virgin for the Lord Jesus, my speaking had an impact.68
How many preachers in Christianity have the boldness in the Lord to offer such a powerful testimony concerning their personal life with a pure conscience before the Lord, Satan, and men, thus commending themselves as ministers of God in pureness and in a holy spirit (1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; 2 Cor. 6:6)? The dynamic impact of Brother Lee’s ministry of the word on the saints was largely based upon his exceedingly holy, righteous, and blameless living, which proves that his messages are not based on abstract theories but on the reality in Jesus lived out in this faithful servant of the Lord (Eph. 4:21).
Brother Andrew Yu, a close co-worker of Brother Lee, testified to the notable consistency between Brother Lee’s ministry and his living:
He showed me the way to love the Lord. He showed me the way to serve Him and to live Him. He became a pattern to me of all the things that I heard from his messages. He is the living example of a God-man living. Through his seemingly ordinary living shone a testimony that was extraordinary… Our brother’s speaking on the podium and his living off the podium were consistent. I saw our brother talking to the president of a nation. I saw him talking to some of the most influential men on earth as well as some of the most lowly men in society. I witnessed him talking to his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. I saw him talking to young people, to mothers, to elders, to co-workers. I was with him in his house, in the meetings, in the car, on airplanes, on vacations, in restaurants, in hospitals, at weddings, at funerals. In all of his conversations, he spoke like a God-man. He never behaved improperly…There was something noble about our brother. Words cannot describe his manner. He lived in the divine and mystical realm. Our brother was a living duplication of Jesus Christ. I have never met a man so faithful in everything he did. He was faithful to the Lord, faithful to Brother Nee, faithful to his wife and family, and faithful to his co-workers.69
Brother Kerry Robichaux, who worked intimately with Brother Lee on the Recovery Version of the Bible, offered a similar testimony:
Before a person begins to work closely with a well-known and admired leader, a co-worker of his may hold a high respect for that leader, but after spending considerable time working closely with the leader, in many cases he is fully disappointed and disillusioned with the leader’s character and life because they do not match his outward persona or reputation. However, the opposite was true of my experience with Brother Lee. The longer I served with Brother Lee in the publication work in the Lord’s recovery, the more my respect and admiration for our brother grew because of the consistency between his work and living. I was in awe of his purity, truthfulness, and faithfulness.70
67 The Glorious Vision and the Way of the Cross, pp. 35-37
68 Life-Study of Revelation, pp. 534-535
69 Andrew Yu in Witness Lee: Speakings from the Memorial Meetings, pp. 57-58
70 Kerry Robichaux’s testimony given in a class of the full-time training in Anaheim
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