Marriage is a great matter in the Bible. The record of God’s restoration of His creation in Genesis 1 and 2 consummates with the marriage of one man, Adam, and one woman, Eve. The Scriptures also conclude with a marriage as the fulfillment of God’s eternal economy (Rev. 19:7; 21:9-11). God instituted marriage for two […]
Author: billb
The Kind of Person the Lord Can Use to Turn the Age
A central goal of the Lord’s move in His recovery is to produce overcomers so that He can return to end this age and establish His kingdom (Rev. 12:10-11). If we aspire to be those who cooperate with the Lord for this purpose, we should pay attention to the kind of person the Lord used […]
“Let Your Speech Be Always with Grace, Seasoned with Salt”
Public discourse in our society today is often characterized by extreme incivility and intemperance. The advent of the Internet and particularly social media has reinforced this trend. As those who have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ to partake of His holiness, we should resist this trend. Whether coming from a young person […]
Restoring Fellowship in the Body of Christ
The fellowship of life in the Body of Christ is a most precious and vital matter (1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor. 13:14; Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:1-7). We should grieve whenever a brother or sister loses that fellowship for whatever reason, whether it be the church’s discipline exercised on that member, an accumulation of real […]
9 – The Triumphant Ministry (4)
From chapter nine of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant In the 1960s the Lord’s triumphal procession continued on to the United States. Although Brother Lee had no intention to move to the West, on his third visit to this country the Lord constrained him to remain here […]
9 – The Triumphant Ministry (2)
From chapter nine of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Triumph of the Ministry in the Lord’s Recovery The ministry in the Lord’s recovery is likewise a triumphant celebration of Christ’s victory—first over the ministers themselves and then over those under their ministry. Before Brother Nee was […]
10 – Conclusion
From chapter ten of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant After comparing the ministry of the apostle Paul as presented in 2 Corinthians with the ministry of Brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, we must conclude that the ministry in the Lord’s recovery is the genuine New Testament […]
9 – The Triumphant Ministry (1)
From chapter nine of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Triumph of Paul’s Ministry In 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul reveals that the apostolic ministry of the new covenant is not only surpassingly glorious, abounding with the eternal glory of God, but also always triumphant, celebrating the […]
9 – The Triumphant Ministry (3)
From chapter nine of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant One such believer was Brother Lee. Prior to his regeneration Witness Lee was full of ambition regarding his education and future, possessing lofty intentions not only for himself but also for the advancement of his country. At the […]
9 – The Triumphant Ministry (5)
From chapter nine of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant That our brother’s ministry triumphed in every place he visited is confirmed by a note that Brother Lee wrote in 1977 on Joshua 1:5-7, which reads, “When I was called by the Lord to serve Him with my […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (4)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Yet another bout of attack came in the late 1980s as a small number of men who had been reputed to be pillars in the churches became divisive and attempted to overthrow the ministry in the Lord’s recovery—seeking […]
8 – The Ministry Abounding with Glory (2)
From chapter eight of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Ministry in the Lord’s Recovery Abounding with the Glory of God Like the ministry of the apostles in the New Testament, the ministry in the Lord’s recovery abounds with the glory of God. The brothers who minister […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (8)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Walking in the same spirit and in the same steps with Brother Nee (2 Cor. 12:18), Brother Lee wrote the following hymn, which reveals that it is only through the work of the cross that the resurrection life […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (7)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Continuing the pattern set by Sister Barber, Brother Nee composed a splendid hymn about the deep and thorough work of the cross on our soul-life. The following stanzas of this hymn poignantly illustrate the glorious result of a […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (6)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The following hymns capture the sentiments and aspirations of these precious saints in the Lord’s recovery who took the narrow way of death and resurrection to minister life to others for the growth and building up of the […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (2)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Mark of Death and Resurrection on the Ministry of Brother Nee Like the ministry of the apostle Paul, the ministry in the Lord’s recovery bears the mark of death and resurrection. No ministry in the present age […]
The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Preface
From chapter six of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant In recent years various defamatory statements have been published both in print and online with the express purpose of shaking the saints’ confidence in the leadership of the Lord’s recovery, often by presenting a list of allegations against […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (1)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Mark of Death and Resurrection on the Ministry of the Apostle Paul Perhaps the most essential characteristic of the new covenant ministry revealed in 2 Corinthians is that it bears the mark of death and resurrection. In […]
2 – The Ministry of the Spirit and of Righteousness (2)
From chapter two of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Ministry of Righteousness In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul speaks not only of the ministry of the Spirit but also of “the ministry of righteousness” (v. 9). Whereas the Spirit refers to God living and operating within […]
5 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part One: Revelation (4)
From chapter five of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Our appreciation of the profundity of the divine revelations received by the ministers in the Lord’s recovery is strengthened when we consider them in contrast to popular yet superficial (or even erroneous) teachings found in traditional Christianity. For […]
5 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part One: Revelation (1)
From chapter five of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Ministry Produced through Revelation Plus Suffering Second Corinthians reveals another—and very personal—characteristic of the new covenant ministry: it is the product of revelation plus sufferings. Though revelation may come suddenly (Acts 9:3-6), ministry does not immediately follow. This […]
6 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part Two: Suffering (2)
From chapter six of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Afflictions Suffered by Brother Nee and Brother Lee for Their Revelations The ministry in the Lord’s recovery is not only rich in the divine revelation of the Bible; it is also costly, having been obtained at a great […]
8 – The Ministry Abounding with Glory (1)
From chapter eight of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Paul’s Ministry Abounding with the Glory of God Because it is in resurrection, the ministry of the new covenant abounds with the surpassing and eternal glory of God (cf. Luke 24:26, 46; Acts 3:13, 15). In 2 Cor. […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (5)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Brother Nee and Brother Lee as Grains of Wheat Falling into the Ground and Dying to Bear Much Fruit in Resurrection At its heart, the ministry of Brother Nee and Brother Lee is characterized by the principle of […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (3)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Mark of Death and Resurrection on the Ministry of Brother Lee The pattern of Brother Nee was reproduced and continued in Brother Lee’s ministry, which also distinctly bore the mark of death and resurrection. During his month-long […]
6 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part Two: Suffering (3)
From chapter six of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Much like Brother Nee, Brother Lee experienced immense opposition from organized Christianity. Because of his faithfulness to the deeper truths in the Word of God, such as the Triune God and the genuine ground of the church, the […]
7 – The Ministry Bearing the Mark of Death and Resurrection (9)
From chapter seven of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Those who minister in this way, as our brothers did, are truly grains of wheat who allow the death of Christ to break the shell of their soul-life for the release of the eternal, uncreated, resurrection life of […]
8 – The Ministry Abounding with Glory (3)
From chapter eight of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The New Covenant Ministry—the Heavenly Treasure in Earthen Vessels The new covenant ministry is a matter of the Christ of glory as the precious treasure shining in the believers as earthen vessels. When Paul refers to Christ as […]
8 – The Ministry Abounding with Glory (5)
From chapter eight of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The ministers of the new covenant are earthen vessels that contain a heavenly treasure—the Lord of glory wrought into them to be their ministry (James 2:1; Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:25-29). When we consider them, we should learn to […]
1 – Introduction
From chapter one of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The publications that have negatively impacted a number of saints in the local churches are characterized not only by false accusations of certain wrongdoings against the leading ones in the Lord’s recovery but also a gross mischaracterization of […]
8 – The Ministry Abounding with Glory (4)
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; […]
6 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part Two: Suffering (1)
From chapter six of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Apostle Paul’s Suffering for His Revelations The apostle Paul not only needed to receive revelations to become a genuine minister of the new covenant; he also had to pass through sufferings in order for those revelations to […]
2 – The Ministry of the Spirit and of Righteousness (1)
From chapter two of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Ministry of the Spirit According to Paul’s word in 2 Corinthians, the ministry of the new covenant is first “the ministry of the Spirit” (3:8). This implies that the Spirit, who is the realization of the resurrected […]
4 – The Betrothing Ministry
From chapter four of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant THE BETROTHING MINISTRY Under the ministry of the new covenant the believers are not only fully reconciled to God but betrothed to Christ, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, “For I am jealous over you with a […]
5 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part One: Revelation (2)
From chapter five of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant The Revelations Received by Brother Nee and Brother Lee From The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Brother Nee and Brother Lee received great and profound revelations concerning the Triune God and His […]
5 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part One: Revelation (3)
From chapter five of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant Through their reading of the Holy Word, both Brother Nee and Brother Lee not only apprehended its factual contents with a sober mind but also received revelation of its spiritual significances by means of a spirit of wisdom […]
The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery—Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant
The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery—Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant by David Yoon Contents Preface Chapter One – Introduction Chapter Two – The Ministry of the Spirit and of Righteousness Chapter Three – The Ministry of Reconciliation Chapter Four – The Betrothing Ministry Chapter Five – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part One: Revelation Chapter Six […]
6 – The Ministry Produced through Revelation and Suffering, Part Two: Suffering (4)
From chapter six of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant External Opposition and Internal Dissension Authenticating the New Testament Ministry Contrary to the adage that asserts that where there is smoke there must also be fire, opposition does not invalidate a minister of the new covenant but […]
Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant
How should a believer evaluate whether the ministry in the Lord’s recovery—that is, the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and their co-workers who have continued to minister on the same line—or any ministry is part of the new covenant ministry revealed in the pages of the New Testament? David Yoon, who serves in […]
3 – The Ministry of Reconciliation
From chapter three of The Ministers in the Lord’s Recovery – Genuine Ministers of the New Covenant THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 the apostles as ambassadors of Christ beseeched the believers, “Be reconciled to God” (v. 20). They regarded their ministry as a work of reconciliation involving two steps that correspond to […]
The Elders Avoiding Entanglement in Right and Wrong
The elders in a local church must deal with all kinds of issues, including complicated situations involving the saints. A great temptation the elders face is becoming entangled in determinations of right and wrong in disputes between saints. The proper function of the elders is to shepherd all the saints and minister Christ as life […]
Serious Errors Made Concerning the Fellowship among the Co-workers
Recently, a former co-worker accused the North American co-workers of drifting toward organization and hierarchy by allegedly giving serious consideration to centralizing ownership of the local churches’ meeting halls. This is a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened in a North American co-workers’ fellowship. Moreover, in spreading his false account, this brother violated three important […]
Receiving All Believers but Not Different Teachings
Concerning the practice of the church, certain basic principles need to be understood and kept in balance. Fundamentally, the church as the unique Body of Christ is one universally and includes every believer irrespective of time and space. Practically, this one universal Body of Christ is manifested in time and space in various cities as […]
Defense & Confirmation Project (DCP)
The Defense & Confirmation Project (DCP) was established to “defend and confirm the New Testament ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and the practice of the local churches.” This mission statement is based on Paul’s words in Philippians 1. In verse 7 he commended the Philippians, saying that “in the defense and confirmation of […]
Assailing the Ground of Oneness (7): The Identifying Characteristics of a Genuine Local Church and the Forbidden Grounds of Division According to the Scriptures
The New Testament presents the church as universally one in its existence and locally one in its manifestation (Eph. 1:22-23; Acts 13:1). Yet Christians today are divided among a plethora of denominations and local sects. Underlying these divisions are innumerable grounds advanced to justify their existence and separation from other Christians. Understandably, this has led […]
“Stealing” Meeting Halls?
Some dear saints have been influenced by malicious claims that Living Stream Ministry (LSM), the Defense and Confirmation Project (DCP), or the co-workers “stole” meeting halls by suing churches. Neither LSM, nor DCP, nor the co-workers have initiated any legal action against any local church, much less laid claim to any asset of any local […]