Life
In Nee/Lee’s theology, life is not a property or attribute of God, but God himself in his essential reality. Life is the heart of their spiritual teaching and the goal of all Christian experience.
Life as God himself
Nee/Lee distinguish sharply between life and other concepts:
Life is God himself. What does it mean to have life? To have life is to have God himself. What does it mean to live out life? To live out life is to live out God himself.
This is theological precision, not poetry. When we “receive life,” we receive not a divine attribute called “life,” but God himself. All virtues—love, patience, gentleness—are only expressions of this life; they are not the life itself.
Why only God’s life is true life
All other life—of angels, humans, animals, or plants—is mortal and changeable:
Only God’s life is life, and other life is not counted as life, because only God’s life is divine and eternal.
Life requires two characteristics:
- Divine — of God, God’s nature, transcendent
- Eternal — uncreated, without beginning or end, unchangeable
Only God’s life possesses both. Therefore all other life—however vital—is not true “life” in theological sense.
The Triune structure of God’s life
Nee/Lee place God’s life in Triune context:
The Father is the source of life, life itself. The Father in the Son is manifested among men; therefore the Son is the manifestation of life. The Son as the Spirit enters into men; therefore the Spirit is the entering in of life.
Three moments:
- Father — source/origin (life in its divine essence)
- Son — manifestation among humans (incarnation makes life experienceable)
- Spirit — indwelling in believers (life operative in inner experience)
Life as the content of all God is
Because life is God himself, it contains the fullness of God’s nature:
Because life is the outflow of God, it is therefore the content of God, for the outflow of God comes from God himself, and God himself is the content of God. This life contains all the fullness of the Godhead.
When we receive life, we receive not fragments of God, but God’s encompassing reality. This is what Paul means by “fullness of the Godhead” in Colossians 2:9.
Life versus behavior
A crucial distinction in Nee/Lee’s teaching: life grows; behavior is produced.
That which is produced by our own human effort is behavior, while that which comes from the growth of God’s life in us is life.
A person can be very moral, very loving, very humble—all by personal effort—but have no life. True life undergoes testing and transformation that artificial behavior cannot withstand.
Source: Watchman Nee & Witness Lee, The Knowledge of Life (Living Stream Ministry, 1973), chapters 1–2.