Consider this

[Truthseeker]

I read his book about overcoming sin. Basically, he believed the more effort you put into trying to defeat the more you fail. Just stop trying and let Christ do it. He used examble of a drowning person has to let someone save them. Nee has good writings.

[AreYouReady?]

Originally Posted by Amanah

I think it is interesting that Watchman Nee did not believe in denominations, but that the body of Christ is one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._denominations

there are reported to be approximately 38,000 Christian denominations, the link above attempts to list and trace the ancestory of the denominations

In the beginning one body is what was following Christ. But, and this is my own opinion, Satan has used the old "divide and conquer" routine with the church.

I read an article where the Christians were being killed, not because they worshipped Jesus Christ, but because they refused to incorporate worship to all the other deities in addition to Christ. Pagan Rome had many gods and in the 2nd Century, they did not care if one worshipped whatever diety one may want, but that they had to worship them all and say all the gods were equal.

Christians refused to do that.

[Amanah]

Watchman Nee: The Normal Christian Life
Published in 1977 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

Chapter 5 - The Divide of the Cross

Nee says that once we realized that we are crucified and have died with Christ, then we are ready for our burial, our baptism.

"The greatest negative in the universe is the Cross, for with it God wiped out everything that was not of himself: the greatest positive in the universe is the resurrection, for through it God brought into being all he willl have in the new sphere." ( Nee 88)

Romans 6 says that we are buried with Jesus through baptism into his death. We are saved by baptism because it is the dividing line of the Cross. Baptism is where we are take our dead selves and bury it in Jesus and what he did on the Cross and where we are translated into the new kingdom.

"You come up in Christ, but your world is drowned." (Nee 90)

Baptism connects us to Jesus' death and resurrection. We are united with him in the likness of his death. His death becomes our death, and by faith we can substantiate his death and resurrection and walk in newness of life.

We are grafted into the olive tree so we can bear good fruit, the fruit of the Spirit.

"God has cut off the old creation by the Cross of his Son in order to bring in a new creation in Christ by resurrection. He has shut the door to that old kingdom of darkness and translated me into the kingdom of his dear Son. My glorying is in the fact that it has been done - that , through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, that old world has 'been crucified unto me, and I unto the world' (Gal 6:14). My baptism is my public testimony to the fact. By it, as by my oral witness, my 'confession is made unto salvation' (Rom. 10:10)" (Nee 98)


Ok, I love Watchman Nee, he explains things in a way that makes it so plain and so real and vibrant. I'm very inspired by him and my faith is strengthened and increased. I'm going to face this day with confidence, knowing that my old self is buried in Christ, and I walk in the newness of his life.

[Amanah]

I'm still reading the book, but will have to wait until this weekend to make further comments. I will have to say I'm at a point in the book where It has become very convicting. But that is a good thing. I'm being reminded that even though I have been crucified in Christ, I have not yet in faith completely died to this world and my life is still in need of being conformed to the life of Christ.

Yes, we can overcome sin, it's hard for a dead man to sin.

Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 5:24
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

[J4Truth]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Nee teaches that we can overcome sin by our faith. When we look to our own nature and look at ourselves we falter. But through faith we can abide in Christ and trust him that when we were crucified with him we were given a new nature. Through faith we can manifest that new nature.

It's a little difficult to grasp coming from a background of trying to strive for perfection and holiness.

How is the first part of the bolded any different from the rest of what you said? I'm not trying to single you out or nothing but it seems several people seem to have separated striving for perfection and holiness from having faith in Christ.

Maybe I was taught different but I never really see how one can be holy or perfect apart from Christ, the Cross, the Holy Spirit, having faith, trusting in God.

How could you strive for perfection and holiness, without

Originally Posted by Amanah

abiding and resting in Jesus, not looking at our human nature but having faith that we now have his nature, and believing that as we abide in him, the fruit of the Spirit will manifest in our life. He is the branch, we are the vine. We abide in him by faith and allow him to manifest in us.

[Amanah]

J4Truth, you are so right, we can not be holy apart from faith in Christ. Thank you for posting.

[Amanah]

Watchman Nee: The Normal Christian Life
Published in 1977 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

From the Cross and the blood of Jesus, we receive remission of sins.
Because Jesus rose from the dead we can have new life
Because Jesus was glorified we can receive the Holy Spirit

Nee believes that Acts 2:38 teaches:

Repentance
Baptism
Forgiveness of Sins
Gift of the Holy Spirit

When we do the first two, Repent, and be baptised as a confession of faith, then God forgives us and fills us with the Holy Spirit

Nee has an interesting take on the the manifestation of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, see below:

"The Diversity Of The Experience
But you ask: ‘How shall I know that the Holy Spirit is come upon me?’ I cannot tell how
you will know, but you will know. No description has been given us of the personal sensations
and emotions of the disciples at Pentecost. We do not know exactly how they felt, but we
do know that their feelings and behaviour were somewhat abnormal, because people seeing
them said they were intoxicated. When the Holy Spirit falls upon God’s people there will
be some things which the world cannot account for. There will be supernatural accompaniments
of some kind, though it be no more than an overwhelming sense of the Divine Presence.
We cannot and we must not stipulate what particular form such outward expressions
will take in any given case, but one thing is sure, that each one upon whom the Spirit of God
falls will know it.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost there was something quite
extraordinary about their behaviour, and Peter offered an explanation from God’s Word to
all who witnessed it. This, in substance, is what he said: ‘When the Holy Spirit falls upon
believers, some will prophesy, some will dream dreams, and others will see visions. This is
what God has stated through the prophet Joel.’ But did Peter prophesy? Well, hardly in the
sense in which Joel meant it. Did the hundred and twenty prophesy or see visions? We are
not told that they did. Did they dream dreams? How could they, for were they not all wide
awake? Well then, what did Peter mean by using a quotation that seems scarcely to fit the
case at all? In the passage quoted (Joel 2:28, 29), prophesy, dreams and visions are said to
accompany the outpouring of the Spirit, yet these evidences were apparently lacking at
Pentecost.
On the other hand, Joel’s prophecy said not a word about “a sound as of the rushing of
a mighty wind”, nor about “tongues parting asunder like as of fire” as accompaniments of
the Spirit’s outpouring; yet these were manifest in that upper room. And where in Joel do
we find mention of speaking in other tongues? And yet the disciples at Pentecost did so.
What did Peter mean? Imagine him quoting God’s Word to show that the experience
of Pentecost was the outpouring of the Spirit spoken of by Joel, without a single one of the
evidences mentioned by Joel being found at Pentecost. What the Book mentioned the disciples
lacked, and what the disciples had the Book did not mention! It looks as though Peter’s
quotation of the Book disproves his point rather than proving it. What is the explanation
of this mystery?
Let us recall that Peter was himself speaking under the control of the Holy Spirit. The
Book of the Acts was written by the Spirit’s inspiration, and not one word was spoken at
random. There is no misfit, but a perfect harmony. Note carefully that Peter did not say:
‘What you see and hear fulfills what was spoken by the prophet Joel’. What he said was:
“This is that which hath been spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). It was not a case of
fulfillment, but of an experience of the same order. “This is that” means that ‘this which you
see and hear is of the same order as that which is foretold’. When it is a case of fulfillment,
each experience is reduplicated and prophecy is prophecy, dreams are dreams, and visions
are visions; but when Peter says “This is that”, it is not a question of the one being a replica
of the other, but of the one belonging to the same category as the other. “This” amounts to
the same thing as “that”; “this” is the equivalent of “that”; “this is that”. What is being emphasized
by the Holy Spirit through Peter is the diversity of the experience. The outward
evidences may be many and varied, and we have to admit that occasionally they are strange;
but the Spirit is one, and He is Lord."

Here is the link to his book online
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/nee/normal.pdf

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Watchman Nee: The Normal Christian Life
Published in 1977 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

Nee has an interesting take on the the manifestation of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, see below:

"The Diversity Of The Experience
But you ask: ‘How shall I know that the Holy Spirit is come upon me?’ I cannot tell how
you will know, but you will know. No description has been given us of the personal sensations
and emotions of the disciples at Pentecost. We do not know exactly how they felt, but we
do know that their feelings and behaviour were somewhat abnormal, because people seeing
them said they were intoxicated. When the Holy Spirit falls upon God’s people there will
be some things which the world cannot account for. There will be supernatural accompaniments
of some kind, though it be no more than an overwhelming sense of the Divine Presence.
We cannot and we must not stipulate what particular form such outward expressions
will take in any given case, but one thing is sure, that each one upon whom the Spirit of God
falls will know it.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost there was something quite
extraordinary about their behaviour, and Peter offered an explanation from God’s Word to
all who witnessed it. This, in substance, is what he said: ‘When the Holy Spirit falls upon
believers, some will prophesy, some will dream dreams, and others will see visions. This is
what God has stated through the prophet Joel.’ But did Peter prophesy? Well, hardly in the
sense in which Joel meant it. Did the hundred and twenty prophesy or see visions? We are
not told that they did. Did they dream dreams? How could they, for were they not all wide
awake? Well then, what did Peter mean by using a quotation that seems scarcely to fit the
case at all? In the passage quoted (Joel 2:28, 29), prophesy, dreams and visions are said to
accompany the outpouring of the Spirit, yet these evidences were apparently lacking at
Pentecost.
On the other hand, Joel’s prophecy said not a word about “a sound as of the rushing of
a mighty wind”, nor about “tongues parting asunder like as of fire” as accompaniments of
the Spirit’s outpouring; yet these were manifest in that upper room. And where in Joel do
we find mention of speaking in other tongues? And yet the disciples at Pentecost did so.
What did Peter mean? Imagine him quoting God’s Word to show that the experience
of Pentecost was the outpouring of the Spirit spoken of by Joel, without a single one of the
evidences mentioned by Joel being found at Pentecost. What the Book mentioned the disciples
lacked, and what the disciples had the Book did not mention! It looks as though Peter’s
quotation of the Book disproves his point rather than proving it. What is the explanation
of this mystery?
Let us recall that Peter was himself speaking under the control of the Holy Spirit. The
Book of the Acts was written by the Spirit’s inspiration, and not one word was spoken at
random. There is no misfit, but a perfect harmony. Note carefully that Peter did not say:
‘What you see and hear fulfills what was spoken by the prophet Joel’. What he said was:
“This is that which hath been spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). It was not a case of
fulfillment, but of an experience of the same order. “This is that” means that ‘this which you
see and hear is of the same order as that which is foretold’. When it is a case of fulfillment,
each experience is reduplicated and prophecy is prophecy, dreams are dreams, and visions
are visions; but when Peter says “This is that”, it is not a question of the one being a replica
of the other, but of the one belonging to the same category as the other. “This” amounts to
the same thing as “that”; “this” is the equivalent of “that”; “this is that”. What is being emphasized
by the Holy Spirit through Peter is the diversity of the experience. The outward
evidences may be many and varied, and we have to admit that occasionally they are strange;
but the Spirit is one, and He is Lord."

Here is the link to his book online
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/nee/normal.pdf

Thanks for sharing that. It seems to be a very well rounded insight.

[Amanah]

Watchman Nee: The Normal Christian Life
Published in 1977 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

Chapter 8 – The Holy Spirit

We serve a Holy God. The amazing thing is that he cleanses us with the blood of Jesus and comes to abide with us. Our holy and amazing God lives in us as his temple.
The temple of God; how amazing this is. We have enough power living right inside of us to meet any need. We have enough power in our hearts to shake the universe.
Nee feels that the reason we may not experience the power of God as we would want to at times is that we don’t have a deep reverence for the Holy God living inside of us. We treat Him lightly.
But we are bought with a price and we are his dwelling place. As we surrender to our God and let him control our lives, being led of the Spirit, then we are truly become Children of God.
What might he speak to our hearts if we would hear Him. Would he ask us to change things that are not pleasing to him?
Nee says that as we have a revelation of who is dwelling in us, we will develop a consecration that will lead us to surrender to holiness.

[Amanah]

Watchman Nee: The Normal Christian Life
Published in 1977 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc
Chapter 9 – The Meaning and Value of Romans Seven

Once upon a time there was a woman. She was married to an impossibly hard to please man. He would give her a list of things he wanted accomplished, and try as she might, she could never get it right. He’d come home from work and the dinner would be slightly burned, he could smell it as he walked in the door. He’s asked her to dust the furniture and the light fixtures, but when the used his white glove to test the tops of the interior doors, they came away black with dust. She really was a hopeless woman. Wasn’t a thing she could do right.

The woman was in despair as how to please this husband of hers and she knew the only way out was if he died. But it looked like that would never happen. In fact, she was pretty sure the ole bugger was going to live forever.

One day she heard of this wonderful man. He was in the market for a bride and didn’t really care how well she cooked or cleaned or any of that. He was fully prepared to help her with everything; he wanted to be his bride’s knight in shining armor.

She realized that since there was no way her current husband was going to die, the only option left was for her to die herself, and the marriage relationship would be dissolved.

So, she was buried by baptism into Jesus death, and took the name of Jesus, and lived happily every after world without end amen.

“What is the most obvious thing that happens when a woman marries? She changes her name. She no longer bears her own name but that of her husband; and she shares not his name only but his possessions also. Everything that belongs to him belongs now equally to her. All of a sudden she is amazingly enriched. And so it is when we are joined to Christ. All that is his becomes ours, and with his infinite resources at our disposal, we need never again fear that we shall be unable to meet all his demands.” (Nee 164)

Released from the Law

1Or do you not know, brothers[a]—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2For(A) a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.[b] 3Accordingly,(B) she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

4Likewise, my brothers,(C) you also have died(D) to the law(E) through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead,(F) in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work(G) in our members(H) to bear fruit for death. 6But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the(I) new way of(J) the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.[c]