Watchman Nee

Watchman Nee (Ni To- sheng, Chinese倪 柝 声, prop, Ni Shu -tsu; * November 4, 1903 in Shantou, China, † June 1, 1972 in Anhui, China) was a Chinese preacher. With the 1922 initiated local churches, he contributed much to the important tradition of Chinese house church movement. He wrote a variety of fonts. Watchman Lee spent the last 20 years of his life because of his Christian faith in a labor camp. An employee Nees, Witness Lee spread his doctrine of the restoration of the Lord in and outside China.

Life

Watchman Nee grandfather Nga U- cheng from Fuzhou (1840-1890, the last name Ni is called in the dialect of Fuzhou Nga ) was a Presbyterian minister with an American Missionary Society. His father Ni Weng -hsiu or Nga Ung - siu (1877-1941) was an officer in the Imperial Customs Service, his mother's name was Lin Huo- ping ( Peace Lin, 1880-1950 ).

As Watchman Nee was six years old, his family moved back to their original hometown Fuzhou. 1920 - Nee was now a student - there an evangelistic meeting with the evangelist Dora Jü was held, in which Watchman Nee was converted to the Christian faith. Henceforth, he was also dedicated to spreading the Gospel. His first name he changed in To- sheng ( Guardian, Eng. Watchman ).

Watchman Nee proclamation was strongly influenced by Jessie Penn -Lewis, Robert Govett, GH Pember, John Nelson Darby, Margaret E. Barber, Charles R. Barlow, WJ House, T. Austin Sparks and other influences. Above all, Margaret E. Barber coined him through the writings of Madame Jeanne Guyon, John Nelson Darby, Jessie Penn -Lewis, but also by their practical example of devotion, etc. He was also known at the Keswick movement. Due to its positive attitude towards the Brethren movement he is regarded in part as a member of the Brethren. However, he was much more open to the charisms as the " brothers ". He was here from time to time under the influence of the China Inland missionary Elisabeth Fischbacher that spoke in tongues himself.

Nee was known because of its special kind of biblical interpretation in Christian circles. Many of his books (usually transcripts of his sermons ) were translated into English and the most important also in German. He only wrote the book The Spiritual Christian (Shanghai from 1927 to 1928 ) as well as articles for his magazine, The Christian.

In the years 1940-1960 the Christian church in China has been increasingly pursued. Many Chinese Christians were forced to leave the official churches and join smaller unofficial house churches. Watchman Nee founded 1923-1949 more than 700 of these municipalities with more than 70,000 members. He was of the opinion that the various schools of thought, created by the various denominations, against God's will be. All Christians in a village or a town together formed a community of the city. Idea was the unity of the early Christianity according to the biblical pattern for him. The community movement became known as the Small herd.

1952 Watchman Nee was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison for " imperialist machinations, espionage, counter-revolutionary activities against the government, financial irregularities and dissolute life." In 1972, he was released after 20 years in prison. A few weeks later he died at the age of 69. His wife Charity had died the year before.

Major works

The Spiritual Man ( The spiritual Christ)

The book The spiritual Christ treats the biblical image of man of spirit, soul and body. Watchman Nee represents what spiritual life is his opinion and what it means to learn to understand the voice of God as a guide in life. The author shows himself to have been heavily influenced by the books by Andrew Murray and Jessie Penn - Lewis ( sanctification and Keswick Movement). From the latter he regularly quoted from her book War on the Saints. In part, Watchman Nee message with that of Jessie Penn - Lewis identical, but he manages to put them in a wider context and to make as accessible.

In The Spiritual Christian Watchman Nee offers a conceptual model that allows Christians can classify and examine supernatural phenomena better. He considers these phenomena both within Christian circles as well as in other religions and worldviews. To this end, he wrote in 1932 to complete the final part of The Spritual Man still a series of articles in the Revival magazine, under The Latent Power of the Soul ( The hidden power of the soul ) in 1933 also published in book form.

The spiritual Christian should not initially be translated into other languages. Watchman Nee was afraid that readers would handle it the wrong way with the book, especially if it would of " carnal " Christians as a doctrine ( dogma ) needed. It took then to 1968, to an English translation appeared. In the late 1970s, the contents of the book to the curriculum of many Bible schools.

The Normal Christian Life ( The normal Christian life )

The best-known book of Watchman Nee 's The Normal Christian Life ( The normal Christian life ), which was published in 1957 by Angus I. Kinnear for the first time. The book is based on speeches Watchman Nee that he kept during a short trip to Europe 1938/1939. According to Kinnear, the book, as Watchman Nee presents the Christian life after a period of 20 years in the service of Jesus Christ saw, without restrictions had been imposed on him here. The spiritual Christ was standing at the beginning of this period, the normal Christian life in the end. Both books illustrate together with which beliefs by Watchman Nee was the following period his life.

Importance

The theological influence of Watchman Nee extends far beyond his own circles. Were not only in China but also in many other countries and denominations, and his thoughts are perceived. Theologically, Watchman Nee is both the Brethren ( where he spoke on a regular basis ) and in charismatic churches to settle, to a lesser extent in Pentecostal churches. Although he believed in speaking in tongues, he put little emphasis on it. In his book, Gods work he calls speaking in tongues is a gift for " spiritual babies " and refers to Christians who have not yet lived through some profound faith experiences. The biography of Kinnear reported that he later distanced himself again.

Writings

  • The spiritual Christian. Total output. Digital copy of Foundation Oekumenisches Institute of precious publisher. (E - Book). Original title: The Spiritual Man. (PDF file, 2.81 MB )
  • The hidden power of the soul. Edel, Lüdenscheid 2002, ISBN 3-87598-155-3. Completion of the third part of the spiritual Christian. Original Title: The Latent Power of the Soul. (PDF file, 358 kB)
  • The normal Christian life. The current publisher, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-88083-996-4. Original title The Normal Christian Life
  • The mirror of God. R. Brockhaus Verlag, ISBN 3-417-20281-7 Wuppertal 1969
  • In the world - not of the world. R. Brockhaus Verlag, ISBN 3-417-00381-4 Wuppertal 1972
  • The normal community life. The current publisher, Stuttgart 1979 ISBN 3-88083-125-4
  • Freedom for the spirit. Protestant writings Schwengeler -Verlag, Winterthur 1969
  • Community of love. Schwengeler -Verlag 1975 ISBN 3-85666-115-8 Berneck
  • Christ our Leben.Schwengeler Publisher Berneck undated ISBN 3-85666-113-1
  • The coming together. Schwengeler Publisher Berneck 1973 ISBN 3-85666-112-3
  • The confession. Schwengeler Publisher Berneck 1973
  • In devotion lebenSchwengeler Publishing ISBN 3-85666-110-7 Berneck 1984
  • God's Word - a double-edged sword. Verlag Hermann Schulte ISBN 3-87739-305-5 Wetzlar
  • Faith triumphs. Christian Books ring, ISBN 3-85666-370-3 Berneck 1995
  • Live to the glory of God. CLV Bielefeld 1985 ISBN 3-87857-200- X
  • The salvation of the soul. The current publisher, Stuttgart 2003 ISBN 3-88083-827-5
  • The work of God. The current publisher, Stuttgart 1993 ISBN 3-88083-979-4
  • Seats Wandle Arise. The current publisher, Stuttgart 1992 ISBN 3-88083-842-9
  • The normal employee. The current publisher, Stuttgart 1983 ISBN 3-88083-064-9
  • The personal task of the Christian. Evangelical Shipping bookstore O. Ekelmann Nachf., Berlin. without year
  • The communities - case and recovery. The current publisher, Stuttgart 1995 ISBN 3-88083-997-2
  • Liberation. The current publisher, Stuttgart 1979 ISBN 3-88083-001-0
  • Watch and Pray. The current publisher, Stuttgart 2001 ISBN 3-88083-815-1
  • Angus Kinnear: Watchman Nee - A life against the current. R. Brockhaus Verlag Wuppertal 1974, ISBN 3-417-00472-1. Title of the original English title: Against the tide, the Story of Watchman Nee. Victory Press, Eastbourne, England
  • Angus Kinnear: Watchman Nee - A life against the current. Christian literature distribution, Bielefeld 1996, ISBN 3-89397-368-0. Original Title: Against the tide - The Story of Watchman Nee.
  • Lin Heping: My grace is sufficient for thee. Publisher C.M.Fliß 2007, ISBN 978-3-931188-95-5. Auto- biography of the mother Watchman Nee
The Lord's Recovery Evangelism Jessie Penn-Lewis Keswick Convention Andrew Murray (minister) Bible college Charismatic Movement Integrated Authority File
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