The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973-1974, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from February 20, 1973, through March 21, 1974. In 1973 and 1974 Brother Lee spoke seventy-one messages that were published in Life-study of Ephesians, Life-study of Genesis, Life-study of Matthew, and Life-study of Romans. These Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. At the end of December 1972 and the beginning of January 1973, Brother Lee traveled to San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, and Santa Cruz, California, and then returned to Los Angeles. The messages that he gave in San Francisco are published at the end of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, volume 3. There is no record of his speaking in the other three cities. From January 22 through February 15 Brother Lee remained in Los Angeles. From February 16 through 19 Brother Lee visited Seattle and Spokane, Washington. There is no record of his speaking in those cities. From February 20 through March 28 Brother Lee ministered in Los Angeles. From March 30 through April 1 Brother Lee ministered in Houston, Texas, after which he spent the next month in Los Angeles. From May 4 through 24 he traveled to Taipei and Taichung, Taiwan, and to Manila, Philippines. The only record of his speaking during those dates was in a meeting with the serving ones of the church in Taipei on May 5. At the end of May Brother Lee visited Sacramento. There is no record of his speaking in that city. He returned to Los Angeles at the end of May and ministered there until the end of the third week in October. Then he traveled to Vancouver, Canada; San Francisco, California; and Spokane and Seattle, Washington, until the end of November, after which he returned to Los Angeles and remained there until the middle of December. From the third week in December through the first week in January 1974, Brother Lee visited Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and New York City. He returned to Los Angeles and remained there through the third week in March. The contents of this volume are divided into thirteen sections, as follows: 1. Ten messages given in Los Angeles, California, from February 20 through March 21, 1973. They were previously published in a book entitled The History of the Church and the Local Churches. 2. Three messages given in Los Angeles, California, on March 27 and 28 and April 27, 1973. They are included in this volume under the title The Kernel of the New Testament--the Divine Spirit with Our Human Spirit. Chapter 1 was spoken immediately after the messages published in The History of the Church and the Local Churches. 3. Four messages given in Houston, Texas, from March 30 through April 1, 1973. They were previously published in a book entitled The Enjoyment of Christ for the Body in 1 Corinthians. 4. One message that summarizes fellowship given in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 5, 1973. This message was originally published in Chinese in the July 1973 issue of Church News as "The Way for the Church to Go On Today" and is included in this volume under the same title. 5. Three messages given in Los Angeles, California, on July 30 through August 5, 1973. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Enjoyment of the All-inclusive Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ and the New Man. 6. Seven messages given in Los Angeles, California, on August 6 through 19, 1973. They are published in this volume under the title Enjoying Christ and Ministering Him in the Local Churches. 7. Three messages given at a young people's conference in Los Angeles, California, on October 20, 1973. They are included in this volume under the title Life and Building as Revealed in Peter's Epistles. 8. Three messages given in Los Angeles, California, on October 14, 16, and 21, 1973. They are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Messages Given to the Church in Los Angeles. 9. Four messages given in Vancouver, Canada, on October 26 through 28, 1973. These messages were previously published in volume 12, number 1 of The Stream magazine and are included in this volume under the title Life and Building in 1 and 2 Peter. 10. Five messages given in San Francisco, California, on November 2 through 4, 1973. The first four messages were previously published in volume 12, number 2 of The Stream magazine. The five messages are included in this volume under the title Grace in the New Testament. 11. Five messages given in Spokane, Washington, on November 15 through 17, 1973. No audio recording is available of the message given on November 15. The remaining four messages are included in this volume under the title Participating in the Riches of Christ and Being Mingled with the Processed Triune God for the Church. 12. Six messages given in Seattle, Washington, on November 22 through 25, 1973. They were previously published in a book entitled The Vision and Experience of the Corporate Christ. 13. Sixteen messages given in an informal training in Los Angeles, California, on January 10 through March 21, 1974. They were originally published in volume 12, numbers 3 and 4, and volume 13, number 1 of The Stream magazine and were also published in a book entitled The Indwelling Christ in the Canon of the New Testament.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973-1974, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from October 4, 1973, through February 11, 1975. Brother Lee's travel in 1973 through the third week in March 1974 is described in the preface to The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973-1974, volume 1. In the last week of March 1974 Brother Lee ministered in Spokane, Washington. By the first of April 1974 Brother Lee had moved from Los Angeles to Anaheim, California, and he began his ministry in Anaheim at that time. Until the end of the period covered by the contents of this volume, Brother Lee ministered mainly in Anaheim. The contents of this volume are divided into twelve sections, as follows: 1. Twenty-four messages given in Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and New York City from December 21, 1973, through January 6, 1974. These messages were originally published in volume 13, numbers 2, 3, and 4; and volume 14, numbers 1, 2, and 3 of The Stream magazine and were later published as a book entitled The Wonderful Christ in the Canon of the New Testament. They are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Two messages given in Los Angeles, California, on October 4 and December 16, 1973. The first message was previously published in a booklet entitled The Six Marys. The two messages are included in this volume under the title Various Meetings in Los Angeles. 3. Five messages given in Los Angeles, California, on January 19 through February 10, 1974. These messages are published in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Meetings in Los Angeles. 4. Three messages given in Spokane, Washington, on March 22 and 23, 1974. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Bible--a Book of Life and Building. 5. One message spoken in Anaheim, California, on March 31, 1974. The record of the message consists of personal notes taken by an attendee. This message is included in this volume under the title A Brief Outline of Romans 5. 6. Three messages given in a gospel conference at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California, on April 12 through 14, 1974. They are published in this volume under the title Principles for the Preaching of the Gospel. 7. Four messages given in Anaheim, California, on April 23 through 26, 1974. These messages are included in this volume under the title Basic Factors of the Church Service. 8. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on July 28 and 31, 1974. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Lord's Return. 9. One message given in Anaheim, California, on August 18, 1974, at the end of an intensified training on life. This brief word of fellowship was previously published in volume 20, number 1 of The Stream magazine and is included in this volume under the title Life. 10. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, from August 18 through an uncertain date in December 1974. They are published in this volume under the title Fellowship with Elders and Responsible Ones. 11. Twelve messages given in Anaheim and Huntington Beach, California, from November 11 through December 15, 1974. These messages were edited into thirteen chapters and are included in this volume under the title Various Meetings in Anaheim and Huntington Beach. 12. Nine messages given in weekly training meetings in Anaheim, California, from December 2, 1974, through February 11, 1975. They were previously published in a book entitled The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 7 through 10 of The History of the Church and the Local Churches, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973–1974. These chapters cover the history of the local churches. The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 10 and 11 of The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983. These chapters cover the New Jerusalem--the ultimate consummation. Then this line continues with chapters 1 and 2 of a new book, Fellowshipping with the Lord for the Mingling of God with Man, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961–1962. These chapters cover the two aspects of prayer being fellowship and inquiring and also learning to fellowship with God and being used by Him. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 47 through 50 of Perfecting Training, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1980. These chapters speak of sons of God under the leading of the divine life, the constituents of the leading of the Spirit, knowing the leading of the Spirit by putting to death the practices of the body, and being led by the Spirit by enjoying His all-inclusive indwelling. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--contains chapters 11 and 12 of The Triune God's Revelation and His Move, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters cover the Triune God's revelation and His move in the New Testament and also the visions and God's move. Then this line continues with chapters 1 and 2 of The Issue of the Dispensing of the Processed Trinity and the Transmitting of the Transcending Christ, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1993. These chapters cover the issue of God the Father's dispensing speaking forth God's eternal purpose and the issue of the Son's dispensing speaking forth the accomplishment of God's eternal purpose.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee on January 19 through December 20, 1981. In 1981 Brother Lee spoke seventy-four messages that were published in Life-study of Exodus, Life-study of Philippians, Life-study of Romans, and Life-study of 1 Corinthians. These Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. From the beginning of the year until the middle of July, Brother Lee ministered in Anaheim, California. He then visited Berkeley, California, on a weekend and returned to Anaheim, where he remained until the first few days of September. He then visited Bellevue, Washington, for a week and returned to Anaheim. Except for a one-day visit to Santa Ana, California, near the end of September, he ministered in Anaheim until the end of the first three weeks in October. From the last week in October until the end of November, he traveled to Seoul, South Korea; Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan. He returned to Anaheim and ministered there until the end of the year. The contents of this volume are divided into twelve sections, as follows: 1. Five messages given in Anaheim, California, on March 12 through July 23. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with Serving Ones. 2. Five messages given in Anaheim, California, on January 19 through December 7. These messages are included in this volume under the title Carrying Out the New Testament Ministry. 3. Six messages given in Anaheim and Santa Ana, California, on August 2 through December 20. These messages are included in this volume under the title Various Lord's Day Meetings. 4. Sixteen messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 11 through 16. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Central Vision of Paul's Completing Ministry. 5. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 22 and 23. These messages were previously published in a book entitled God's Eternal Intention and Satan's Counterplot. They are included in this volume under the same title. 6. Seven messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 24 through June 19. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The World Situation and God's Move and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. A message given in Anaheim, California, on June 11. This message was translated from Chinese and is included in this volume under the title Questions and Fellowship concerning Full-time Service. 8. A message given in Anaheim, California, on July 24. This message is included in this volume under the title Christ Becoming Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption to Us in Our Daily Life. 9. A message given in Bellevue, Washington, on September 7. This message was divided into two chapters and is included in this volume under the title Carrying Out God's New Testament Economy, Caring for the Central Vision of Paul's Completing Ministry and John's Mending Ministry, Migrating and Establishing Churches in the Move of the Body of Christ, and Awaiting the Revelation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 10. A message given in Anaheim, California, on September 19. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship with a Group of Young People. 11. Eight messages given in Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, on October 23 through November 30. These messages were were previously published in a book entitled Crucial Aspects of the Experience of Christ Revealed in Paul's Epistles and are included in this volume under the same title. 12. Sixteen messages given in Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan, on October 31 through November 30. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Great Mystery--Christ and the Church and are included in this volume under the same title.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 12 and 13 of The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1993. These chapters cover the labor of love and our having entered through the narrow gate and walking on the constricted way. This line then continues with chapters 1 and 2 of a new book, The History of the Church and the Local Churches, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973–1974. These chapters cover the history of the church.The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 2 through 5 of The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983. These chapters cover Christ's redemption, the Spirit's application, the believers, and the church.The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 39 through 42 of Perfecting Training, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1980. These chapters cover keeping the mind remaining on the spirit, staying in the mingled spirit, six questions concerning Romans 8:10, and the deeper experience of our body being dead and our spirit being life.The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--contains chapters 3 through 6 of The Triune God's Revelation and His Move, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters cover the sequence of the arrangement of the Bible, the way to receive revelation from the holy Word and see vision through revelation, and illustrations of receiving revelation from the holy Word and seeing vision through revelation.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 3 through 6 of The History of the Church and the Local Churches, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973–1974. These chapters cover the history of the local churches.The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 6 through 9 of The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983. These chapters cover the kingdom and the New Jerusalem--the ultimate consummation.The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 43 through 46 of Perfecting Training, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1980. These chapters cover the history of the flesh and the spirit in Romans 8:10, living Christ by remaining in the spirit, the residing Spirit--the ultimate expression of the Triune God, and the leading of the Spirit in Romans 8.The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--contains chapters 7 through 10 of The Triune God's Revelation and His Move, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters cover the illustrations of receiving revelation from the holy Word and seeing vision through revelation and also the Triune God's revelation and His move in the New Testament.

This two-volume publication, Lessons on the Eldership, is composed of outlines and excerpts compiled from the ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee. They are intended to be used by mature workers for the training of the elders and responsible brothers among the churches in the hope that these brothers will be perfected to labor fruitfully in the carrying out of God’s economy for the fulfillment of His purpose through the churches.

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.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the December 2023 semiannual training, held in Anaheim, California. The Key Statements on the following page embody and summarize the crucial truths and main burdens covered in these twelve messages.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the nine messages given during the international training for elders and responsible ones held in Leipzig, Germany, from October 5-7, 2017. The general subject of this series of messages is "The Recovery of the Church." The intrinsic significance of the church is the corporate expression of Christ, who is the embodiment and expression of the Triune God. The reality of the church as the expression of Christ is heavenly, "Christly," and "resurrectionly." In time and space, however, the church can deviate and become degraded, deformed, and corrupted due to the enemy's work of producing substitutes for Christ, dividing the Body of Christ, and killing the function of the members of the Body of Christ. From the beginning, God's intention was to have the church, and this was taught by the apostles (Eph. 3:10-11). Although much of the truth concerning the church has been lost or distorted, our God is a God of recovery regardless of what the enemy has done. The Lord's recovery of the church brings us back to the beginning for the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose and original intention regarding the church. For the recovery of the church, we need to overcome the degradation of the church that was brought in according to the principle of Babylon--exercising human ability and effort, hypocrisy, self-glorification, and harlotry. The way to overcome the principle of Babylon is to take Christ as our burnt offering so that He can repeat the life of the burnt offering within us. By this way we can be "Christified" and become His duplication for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate the holy city, New Jerusalem. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the return of the Israelites from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city. This return signifies the Lord's recovery of a remnant out of today's division and confusion back to the original ground of oneness for the building up of the genuine church as the house of God and the kingdom of God. To strengthen and enrich the recovery of the church, the Lord needs priestly scribes like Ezra--those who contact God, are saturated with God, and are skillful in the Word of God to reeducate and reconstitute God's people for His testimony and His corporate expression on the earth. The Lord also needs those who are pure and properly aggressive like Nehemiah to build the great and high wall of the holy city for our separation unto God, the protection of God's interests, and the expression of God. Practically speaking, in the Lord's recovery today, we are mainly recovering the proper church life and the proper living of the church. The church life is the corporate living of the perfected God-men, a living in the reality of the Body of Christ. The church life is the life of Christ being lived out through His members in a corporate way. It is our being headed up under the unique headship of Christ and enjoying the mutual flowing of fellowship in oneness as the continuation of Christ's being glorified by the Father so that we may be the corporate expression of Christ. In order for the Lord to return, He must recover the life and living of the church. The church has two main aspects--universal and local. The church is constituted of the universal God, but it exists on earth in many localities; in nature the church is universal in God, but in practice the church is local, in a definite place. Without the universal aspect, the church is void of content; without the local aspect, it is impossible for the church to have any expression and practice. The genuine oneness is the Triune God who as the Spirit today is being added to us and is permeating us, taking us over, and filling us. Only the Triune God is the factor of the genuine oneness. The ground of oneness is simply the processed Triune God applied to our being. In Psalm 133 the fine oil, referring to the holy anointing oil in Exodus 30:23-33, signifies the all-inclusive compound Spirit. This anointing Spirit is the element of our oneness; when the compound Spirit applies Himself to us and spreads over and in our entire being in a gradual way, He makes us genuinely one. If we want to have the recovery of the church, we must have a clear revelation concerning the three most basic, essential, and crucial statuses of the church--as the Body of Christ, as the new man, and as the counterpart of Christ. The Body is the issue of the headship of Christ. Christ, as the One who fills all in all, needs His Body to be His fullness, the expression of the Head (cf. Eph. 1:22-23). For the building up of the Body of Christ, we need to practice the scriptural way to meet and to serve--the God-ordained way revealed in the holy Word. The new man is Christ in all the saints. This indwelling Christ permeates and replaces us to remove all natural distinctions and to constitute everyone with Himself. In order for us to experience the reality of Christ being all the members of the new man, we need to take Christ as our life and our person and live Him, not ourselves. The one new man fulfills God's eternal purpose of expressing God and dealing with His enemy. The church as the Body of Christ and the one new man will become the bride, the counterpart, of Christ. The Lord will return for His bride. The church, the counterpart of Christ, as typified by Eve, is a pure product out of Christ, built out of the uncreated life released by Christ through His death and resurrection. Only those who are regenerated of Christ and who live by Christ as the church can match Christ and complement Him. In the New Jerusalem the processed and consummated redeeming Triune God as the universal Husband will live a married life for eternity with this redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified corporate person as His wife. This will be the consummation of the universal divine romance. The Announcements section 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.