This book clearly defines the proper relationship between Christ the Head, the apostles, the elders, the saints, the churches, and the Body of Christ. It then goes on to emphasize the need to enter into the perfecting of the saints (Eph. 4:11-16) and the meetings of mutuality (1 Cor. 14:26) for the building up of the organic Body of Christ.

At the time of regeneration, all believers receive the divine life and are begotten as children of God. Yet, this life most grow and it does so by regulation unto maturity and function. This regulation comes from revelation and issues in obedience. This word is crucial for our progress and training in the divine life for our maturity and function in our living and service to God.

The four pillars in the Lord's recovery are the truth, life, the church, and the gospel. The truth brings us life, life produces the church, and the church is responsible for the preaching of the gospel.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1988, volume 4, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from October 8, 1988, through January 29, 1989. In early October 1988 Brother Lee visited Taipei, Taiwan, for one month before traveling to Seoul, South Korea, and then back to Taipei, where he remained until the middle of November. He then returned to Anaheim, California, and remained there until the middle of December. During his time in Anaheim he also ministered in Pasadena, San Gabriel, and Monterey Park, California. In mid-December he traveled to Irving, Texas, and remained there through the early days of January 1989. The contents of this volume are divided into seventeen sections, as follows: 1. Four messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 8 through 10, 1988. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Five messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 14 through November 12, 1988. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Goal and Learning for the Service in the New Way. 3. Four messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 16 through November 13, 1988. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the Body of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 4. Four messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 17 through November 14, 1988. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Practice of the New Way and the Organic Building Up of the Body of Christ. 5. Four messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 19 through November 16, 1988. These messages are included in this volume under the title Becoming Patterns of the Flock in Practicing the New Way for the Building Up of the Body of Christ. 6. Seven messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on October 20 through November 17, 1988. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. Six messages given in Chinese in Seoul, South Korea, on November 5 through 8, 1988. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled The Economy of God and the Building Up of the Body of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 8. Two messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 12, 1988. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Key to the Success of the Practice of the New Way and of the Gospelization of Taiwan. 9. A message given in Chinese in Seoul, South Korea, on November 8, 1988. This message is included in this volume under the title The World Situation and the Preaching of the Gospel. 10. Five messages given in Pasadena, California, on November 25 through 27, 1988. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Further Light concerning the Building Up of the Body of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 11. A message given in San Gabriel, California, on November 27, 1988. This message is included in this volume under the title A Brief Word concerning the New Way and God's Oracle. 12. Two messages given in Chinese in Anaheim, California, on December 3 and 10, 1988. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Life by Which We Must Serve the Lord. 13. Six messages given in Anaheim, California, on December 9, 1988, through January 21, 1989. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church and are included in this volume under the same title. 14. A message given in Monterey Park, California, on December 11, 1988. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship concerning All Saints Prophesying. 15. Six messages given in Irving, Texas, on December 18 and 31, 1988, and in San Diego, California, on January 27 through 29, 1989. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Present Advance of the Lord's Recovery and are included in this volume under the same title. 16. A message given in Irving, Texas, on December 19, 1988. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship with Serving Ones. 17. Three messages given in Irving, Texas, on December 31, 1988, through January 2, 1989. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Recovery. They are included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1986, volume 3, as chapters 7 through 9 of Elders' Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1). Therefore, they are not reprinted in this volume.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the International Chinese-speaking conference webcast from Anaheim, California, on February 13-14, 2021. The general subject of the conference was “The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991-1992, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from January 3 through December 17, 1991. In 1991 and 1992 Brother Lee spoke one hundred sixty-two messages that were published in the Life-study of Job, Life-study of the Psalms, Life-study of Isaiah, Life-study of Jeremiah, Life-study of Lamentations, Life-study of Daniel, Life-study of Hosea, Life-study of Joel, Life-study of Amos, Life-study of Obadiah, Life-study of Jonah, Life-study of Micah, Life-study of Nahum, Life-study of Habakkuk, Life-study of Zephaniah, Life-study of Haggai, Life-study of Zechariah, and Life-study of Malachi. These messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. From January through August 1991, Brother Lee was in Anaheim, California. During that period he visited Los Angeles and Alhambra, California, in April. At the end of August he traveled to Berkeley, California. In early September he returned to Anaheim and remained there until the end of November. During that time he visited Huntington Beach, California. At the end of November Brother Lee traveled to Reston, Virginia, for the Thanksgiving weekend conference. In early December he returned to Anaheim and remained there until the end of the year. The contents of this volume are divided into ten sections, as follows: 1. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on January 3 and 4. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The God-ordained Way and the Eldership. They are included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1989, volume 4, as chapters 9 and 10 of Elders' Training, Book 10: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2). Therefore, they are not printed in this volume. 2. Seven messages given to the full-time trainees in Anaheim, California, on February 4 through December 17. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship to the Full-time Trainees in Anaheim. 3. Thirty-one messages given in Anaheim, California, on February 17 through December 15. One message was spoken in Chinese. These messages are included in this volume under the title Various Meetings in Anaheim. 4. Thirteen messages given in Anaheim, California, on February 23 through July 7. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Elders' Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3) and are included in this volume under the same title. Chapters 12 and 13 were also published in a small book entitled Further Consideration of the Eldership, the Region of Work, and the Care for the Body of Christ. 5. A message given in Los Angeles, California, on April 7. This message is included in this volume under the title A Capturing Vision of the Lord's Recovery in Three Aspects. 6. Four messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 25 through 27. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. A message given in Anaheim, California, on June 30. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship on the Lord's Move to Spread the Gospel of the Kingdom to Europe. 8. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on July 6 and 7. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Further Consideration of the Eldership, the Region of Work, and the Care for the Body of Christ. They are included in this volume as chapters 12 and 13 in the section entitled Elders' Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3). Therefore, they are not included in this volume as a separate section. 9. Twenty-eight messages given in Anaheim, California, on August 27 through December 17. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Central Line of the Divine Revelation and are included in this volume under the same title. 10. Two messages given in Berkeley, California, on August 30 and September 2. These messages are included in this volume under the title Laboring Organically to Practice the God-ordained Way.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the Thanksgiving weekend conference held in Phoenix, Arizona, November 23-26, 2017. The general subject of the conference was “The Genuine Church Life.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the six messages from the Thanksgiving weekend conference held in Phoenix, Arizona, November 23-26, 2017. The subject of this series of messages is "The Genuine Church Life." The banners in the following section embody the crucial truths and the main burden of the conference. The Announcements section at the end of this issue contains a list of upcoming conferences and trainings hosted by Living Stream Ministry and a website link for information related to similar events in Europe.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the international Chinese-speaking blending conference held in Anaheim, California, on February 17-19, 2023. The general subject of the conference was “Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Com ing.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.