This book presents a vision of Christ and the church. It then goes on the emphasize the need to experience this Christ as the Spirit in our spirit and to practice the church life on the ground of oneness.

The first volume of this series surveyed the great world dramatists to gather concepts and ideas to apply to the real stage, which is the universe God has made and centered into himself as an actor. This volume describes the actors, the dramatis personae. This is his theological anthropology concerning man, his freedom and destiny in the light of biblical revelation. Von Balthasar is concerned here with the dramatic character of existence as a whole, approaching the topic through a consideration of the various conditions and situations of mankind as a drama that involves both the Creator and his creatures.

The most important work of God on earth is the speaking out of His word through man. In the Old Testament God's word was released through the ministry of the prophets, and in the New Testament it was released through the ministry of the Lord Jesus and later through the apostles. Even though God is pleased to allow us to speak His word, the greatest measure of our usefulness as a minister of the Word is not the amount of our Bible knowledge or even the ability to eloquently present the truth; rather, it is the degree to which our inward parts have been molded and shaped by the Holy Spirit. The Ministry of God's Word contains a series of messages given by Watchman Nee in 1948 and 1949 after nearly thirty years of ministry. These messages are deep, profound, subjective, and full of light, revealing both the depth of his experience and extent of our need to open to the Holy Spirit's inward operation.