Watchman Nee

I read this book in the 1970s as a new disciple. It profoundly shaped my understanding of the meaning of Romans 5-8. Over the years I have come to understand what a blessing that was, since many people have never benefited from such teaching. I decided to reread Nee’s work and write this summary since it is one of the very top books on my recommended reading list. I was not disappointed as I reacquainted myself with Nee’s teaching. In order to make this article brief, I will severely limit quotations from the book in the hope that you will read it for yourself.

For those of you not familiar with Watchman Nee, his real name was Nee Shu-tsu, whose English name was Henry Nee. He was born of second-generation Christian parents in Foochow, China in 1903. At the age of 17 he gave his life to Jesus, forever altering his plans. He was well-educated and had great aspirations in life, but he realized that becoming a Christian meant surrendering everything to God. He had previously considered Christian work to be a low occupation that was beneath him. He spent the rest of his life preaching, teaching, and writing. In 1952 he was falsely accused and imprisoned by the Communists. He died in a work camp in 1972. A prison guard found a scrap of paper in his cell after his death on which was written:

Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ. Watchman Nee.

By the time Watchman Nee was arrested in 1952, approximately four hundred local churches had been raised up in China. In addition, over thirty local churches had been raised up in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Today there are over twenty-three hundred local churches worldwide because of the rich and faithful ministry of Watchman Nee.

The Normal Christian Life was put together by his disciples from various messages Nee preached. It lays out what every believer in Christ is privileged to have by faith in the crucified and risen Savior and Lord. Nee primarily uses Romans 5-8 as his launching pad to lay out four crucial aspects of Christ’s finished work.

1. The blood of Christ to deal with sins and guilt.
2. The cross of Christ to deal with sin, the flesh and the natural man.
3. The life of Christ made available to indwell, recreate and empower man.
4. The working of death in the natural man that that indwelling Life may be progressively manifest.

(Nee, Watchman. The Normal Christian Life (Kindle Locations 2328-2333). CLC Publications. Kindle Edition.)

The first two of these aspects are remedial. They relate to the undoing of the work of the devil and the undoing of the sin of man. The last two are not remedial but positive, and relate more directly to the securing of the purpose of God. The first two are concerned with recovering what Adam lost by the Fall; the last two are concerned with bringing us into, and bringing into us, something that Adam never had. Thus we see that the achievement of the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection comprises both a work which provided for the redemption of man and a work which made possible the realization of the purpose of God. (Kindle Locations 2333-2337)

You will find amazing insights in this book that, with the help of the Holy Spirit’s revelation and inner work, will revolutionize your thinking and life.

The last chapter is one that I have remembered for nearly fifty years and which profoundly influenced my desire to serve Christ unreservedly. I leave it to you to read it for yourself.