Life Studies Witness

The book of Revelation firstly reveals Christ (1:1), and secondly the testimony of Jesus (1:2). In other words, this book is concerned with Christ and the church. In Revelation, Christ and the church are revealed in a unique and particular way. The central content of this book is an unveiling of God’s economy concerning Christ and the church, presenting the ultimate and consummate revelation of Christ with his full salvation and the church as his loving bride, the New Jerusalem.

Although the language of the Gospel of John is simple, this book is deep and profound. In this life study, Witness Lee shows that the Bible is a book of life and building and that the Gospel of John also is focused on life and building. The Gospel of John reveals that in Christ, the Word of God is life; that he came that man may have life; and that he himself is life. Furthermore, this gospel shows that Christ is the bread of life; that he has the water of life; that he gives life to man; and that he even lives in man as life.

The subject of the book of Ephesians is the church. There are seven aspects of the church revealed in Ephesians. The church is the Body, the new man, the kingdom, the family, the dwelling place, the bride, and the warrior.

In Life-Study of Romans, Witness Lee opens up the gospel of God according to the apostle Paul. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John reveal Christ in the flesh as he lived among us and carried out God's judicial redemption through his death on the cross. The gospel in Romans concerns Christ in resurrection indwelling us as the Spirit to carry out God’s organic salvation.

The book of Galatians reveals that in God's economy, Christ replaces the law, and it is religion versus tradition. The churches in Galatia had begun well, receiving the Spirit through faith, but were now striving to be perfected by the flesh through the law (3:3). The Judaizers had bewitched the Galatians so that they considered the ordinances of the law above the Son of the living God.

Life-Study of Genesis presents the book of Genesis in a completely new light. Strictly speaking, Genesis is neither a book of creation nor a book of biographies. It is a book of life. God uses the record of creation to show the matter of life. God uses the biographies of eight persons to show how he needs a life to fulfill his purpose.

The Gospel of Matthew reveals that Christ is God incarnated to be the king-savior who came to establish the kingdom of the heavens by saving his people from sin through his death and resurrection.

The subject of Philippians is the experience of Christ. Concerning the experience of Christ, each chapter of Philippians covers a major point. First, in chapter one, we have the magnification of Christ. No matter what the circumstances are in which we find ourselves, we need to express Christ in such a way that we magnify him. In chapter two, Paul presents Christ as our pattern.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are synoptic in portraying the savior’s humanity in different aspects with his deity. Since Mark presents the savior as a slave, he does not tell his genealogy and status, because the ancestry of a slave is not worthy of note. Furthermore, in contrast to Matthew, who presents to us the savior’s marvelous teachings and parables concerning the heavenly kingdom, and John, who presents his profound revelations of the divine truths, Mark’s intention is not to impress us with the slave’s wonderful words, but with his excellent deeds in his gospel service.

In Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel, Witness Lee opens up the central thought of these two books, which is that the fulfillment of God's economy needs man's cooperation in the principle of incarnation, as illustrated by the history of Samuel's mother, Hannah, of Samuel, and of David, in the positive sense, and by the history of Eli and of Saul, in the negative sense. Such a cooperation is related to the personal enjoyment of the good land, which typifies the all-inclusive and all-extensive Christ.