Watchman Nee & Witness Lee — Prolegomena
b5 — Basic Elements of Christian Life, Volume 3
Epistemology: two-lives principles — inner sense vs. outward standard
Chapter 1 (Watchman Nee, “Two Principles of Living”) develops a comprehensive epistemology based on the two trees in Gen. 2. Nee presents the two trees as an ontological parable about the two possible foundations of human knowledge and decision-making:
“The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen. 2:9b) “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:16-17)
(Chapter 1, pp. 7-8)
Nee draws an epistemological conclusion:
“These two trees were put there to show us that man, especially a Christian, can live on earth according to two different principles. Man can live according to the principle of right and wrong or according to the principle of life.”
(Chapter 1, p. 8)
The criterion for Christian knowledge is defined as an inward sense of life, not an outward standard:
“Our Christian living is based upon an inner life, not an outward standard of right and wrong. Many people only have externalities before God. Many people decide what is right or wrong according to outward things. Life, however, is a different matter. Those with life know what it is.”
(Chapter 1, p. 13)
The operational criterion is formulated as follows:
“Whatever increases the inner life is right, and whatever decreases the inner life is wrong. No one should determine whether a matter is right or wrong by some outward standard.”
(Chapter 1, p. 14)
On the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:3-8), Nee finds the biblical legitimation for this epistemological shift:
“On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses was present, representing the outward, moral standard, and Elijah was present, representing the outward, human standard… God told Peter, ‘This is My Son, the Beloved.… Hear Him!’ (Matt. 17:5). Today the standard for Christian living is no longer the law, nor is it the prophets. The standard for Christian living is now Christ Himself; it is the indwelling Christ within us.”
(Chapter 1, p. 15)
The consequence for self-evaluation is worked out via 1 Cor. 4:3-4 and 2 Cor. 5:7:
“Paul said that he judged nothing by himself, but that only God judged him (1 Cor. 4:3-4)… 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, ‘We walk by faith, not by appearance.’ We do not determine things by an outward, visible law. We live according to the leading which the Lord gives us inwardly.”
(Chapter 1, p. 19)
Interpretation: Nee formulates a radical epistemological reversal: the norm for faith and action is not the external standard (law, logic, ethical code) but the inward sense of life. This is the ontological consequence of the Gen. 2 distinction. The outward standard — including the law, the prophets, and human morality — is not denied but declared insufficient for the Christian. [TENSION with prior source] In BXL1 (b3), the external Scripture was presented as a necessary complement to the internal Spirit (two-witness structure). In BXL3, the external standard is in principle subordinated to the inward sense of life.
Hermeneutics: pray-reading as method for engaging Scripture
Chapter 3 (Witness Lee, “Pray-reading the Word”) articulates an explicit hermeneutical method. The key text is Eph. 6:17-18:
“Receive…the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the Word of God… by means of all prayer and petition.” (Eph. 6:17-18)
(Chapter 3, p. 17)
Lee comments: “In what way are we to take the Word of God according to this passage? By means of all prayer and petition. This is what we call pray-reading!”
The contrast between the Bible as a doctrinal book and as a source of life:
“The Bible is not the tree of knowledge; it is the tree of life! If we take the Word of God as the tree of knowledge, we misuse the Bible, because 2 Corinthians 3:6 tells us that the letter kills.”
(Chapter 3, p. 12)
“The main function of the Bible is to impart God into us as life and as the nourishment of life. It is not only to give us knowledge about God and His love, but to impart God Himself into us.”
(Chapter 3, p. 16)
The practical execution of pray-reading:
“There is no need for you to exercise your mind in order to squeeze out some utterance, and it is unnecessary to think over what you read. Just pray with the same words you read… Forget about reading, researching, understanding, and learning the Word. You must pray-read the Word.”
(Chapter 3, pp. 18-19)
Characteristic properties of pray-reading in group settings: quick, short, real, fresh (Chapter 3, p. 20).
Interpretation: Lee’s hermeneutic stands in direct continuity with the epistemological reversal of Chapter 1 (Nee). The Bible is not a cognitive source (tree of knowledge) but a life-imparting source (tree of life). The method corresponding to this ontology is pray-reading: Scripture is to be received via the spirit (through prayer), not via the soul (through intellectual analysis). This connects with the spirit/soul distinction of BXL1 (b3).
Authority of Scripture: the Word as God’s breath — pneumatic foundation
Chapter 3 provides a pneumatological grounding of scriptural authority based on 2 Tim. 3:16:
“All Scripture is God-breathed… All Scripture is God’s breath. We know that God is Spirit (John 4:24); the Spirit is God’s essence and nature. God is Spirit (just as a table is wood). Since the Word is the breath of God, and God is Spirit, whatever is breathed out of God must be Spirit! So the essence or nature of the Word of God is Spirit. It is not just a thought, revelation, teaching, or doctrine, but Spirit.”
(Chapter 3, p. 17)
This is confirmed by John 6:63:
“The Lord Jesus told us that the words which He spoke are spirit and life (John 6:63). A revelation, thought, or teaching could never be life, but because the Word is Spirit, it is life.”
(Chapter 3, p. 17)
The creedal statement (appended to BXL3, nine points) formulates the inspiration doctrine confessionally:
“The Holy Bible is the complete divine revelation, infallible and God-breathed, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit.” (Point 1)
(p. 42)
Interpretation: [TENSION with prior source] In BXL1 (b3) and BXL2 (b4) the same credal statement appears. BXL3 adds a pneumatological foundation: the authority of Scripture is grounded in its pneumatic essence (God-breathed = Spirit-substance). The authority is not merely propositional but ontological: the Word carries within it the very essence of God. This makes pray-reading (the “breathing” of the Word) the only adequate method.
Theological method: knowledge versus Christ-experience
Chapter 2 (Lee) formulates a methodological critique of knowledge-based Christianity. John 5:39-40 is cited as biblical precedent:
“The Lord told them, ‘You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.’ (John 5:39-40) They were distracted to the Scriptures and away from Christ.”
(Chapter 2, p. 10)
On church-building and knowledge accumulation:
“I was made clear by the Lord that the church could be built only by Christ as our life. The church can be built up only by experiencing Christ, not by knowledge or gifts.”
(Chapter 2, p. 30)
On the winds of teaching (Eph. 4:14-15):
“We will not be carried away by the winds of different teachings, but we will grow into Christ in all things.”
(Chapter 2, p. 12)
Interpretation: Lee extends the epistemological principle of Chapter 1 into ecclesiology: even correct theological knowledge can distract from Christ. Knowledge is instrumental (not constitutive) for theological formation. The “winds of teaching” are a danger even within orthodox Christianity, not only in heresy. The only way for church-building is the inner experience of Christ, nourished through pray-reading.