AND PETER What kind of person was Peter? Three days before the resurrection, Peter committed a great sin, a sin that would cause the Lord not to confess him before the Father’s angels. Peter not only denied the Lord before men, he even denied the Lord before a maid who was despised by others at that time. But the Lord wanted the women to tell the disciples and Peter about His resurrection. The words “and Peter” have a very deep meaning! If any brother or sister had Peter’s experience, they might think:

AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH: Although these scattered brothers who are meeting in the Lord’s name have seen much concerning human organizations, they do not have, as yet, a deep enough understanding of the Body of Christ. Although they have given up things that should not be in the church, they have not fully lived out the proper living of the Body of Christ. They have dealt with negative things in a thorough way, but they are not thorough with the positive things yet. Presently, the urgent need of all those who meet in the Lord’s name is the truth concerning the practical living of the Body of Christ on earth. The purpose of the publication of this book, The Assembly Life, is to meet this need. This book is a record of a Bible study conducted by Brother Watchman Nee with the local brothers who were meeting in Shanghai after the Third Overcomer Conference in January of this year (together with some out-of-town brothers who stayed behind after the conference). What is covered mainly deals with the practical aspect of our living. The questions and answers are especially appropriate and useful.

The Assembly of Life:In order to understand authority in the church, we must first understand what authority is. Otherwise, we will not understand authority in the church. What is authority? In the whole universe, nothing is harder to understand than authority. Two things are very difficult to explain in the Bible: glory and authority. Many people can understand holiness, righteousness, and patience; they may comprehend these matters a little. But what is God’s glory, and what is God’s authority? Man cannot understand them and explain them. God’s glory is related to God Himself, while God’s authority is related to His government.

THE BODY OF CHRIST: In this message we will speak on the Body of Christ. In the New Testament, Paul was the only apostle who used the expression the Body of Christ to denote the church. In other places in the New Testament, the church is called the temple of God, the household of God, etc. But Paul specifically said that the church is the Body of Christ. The subject here is not us becoming the sons of God or becoming Christians. We are talking about how the church becomes the Body of Christ. We can say that the church is Christ in a different form. Christ was the only begotten Son of God.

BURDEN AND PRAYER:Every child of God should have some God-given burden. No child of God can say that God has never given him or her a burden. However, burdens can only be received from God when our spirits are open to Him. An open spirit to God is the condition for receiving burdens from God. Having received a burden, we must learn to discharge it faithfully through prayer.

Character of The Lord's Worker:This book contains ten messages by Watchman Nee on the subject of the character of the Lord's worker. The messages have been previously translated into English and published as The Normal Christian Worker. These messages, however, have been newly translated and entitled The Character of the Lord's Worker, conforming to the original Chinese title. The book covers ten character traits that are crucial to the usefulness of a Christian worker in the Master's hand. The messages were given by Watchman Nee in 1948 during a training for the edification of his coworkers. The intimate and uninhibited nature of the messages derives from the willingness of the trainees to give Watchman Nee the freedom to speak and to rebuke. As such, the subjects touch the very core of a worker's being.

CHRIST BECOMING OUR WISDOM:The Bible speaks of Christ as our life in many ways. But the meaning of the words "Christ is our life" is not that simple. First Corinthians 1:30 explains what Christ as our life means. This passage can be divided into two sections. The first section says, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." This speaks of our relationship with Christ. The second section says, "Who became wisdom to us from God." This speaks of Christ's relationship with us. Putting it another way, this verse speaks of how we are in Christ and also how Christ is in us. We must pay attention to these two things. Some Christians emphasize only the first of these two aspects, while others emphasize only the second aspect. Whether one emphasizes the first aspect or the second, any bias will result in problems and sickness to our Christian life. We must have a proper knowledge of both aspects. We must know how we can be in Christ and how Christ can be in us.