"Watchman" Nee

[JGiddings]

Here is a list of things from a watchmen group disowning him:

1) Nee outlines no method of Bible study and interpretation and appears to deny evangelical hermeneutics. In his book Spiritual Authority, he sets himself and his elders up as the unquestionable authorities. By all appearances, Nee saw himself not as a servant but as a guru

2) One gets the impression from Nee that the Bible was not nearly as important as Christians generally consider it. In his book The Ministry of God's Word, Nee says, "Words alone cannot be considered God's Word." In this book, Nee becomes very philosophical, mystical and incoherent. He says that only as we deliver the Word in terms of the "reality behind it," using what he calls "Holy Spirit memory" and "presenting the pictures as well as speaking the words" will the words be correct; otherwise they are not real.

3) Nee overemphasizes emotions. In The Ministry of God's Word, he claims that the effectiveness of a preacher's delivery is a product of his emotions. If a preacher does not feel emotionally charged in delivery, "the Spirit is stuck" and the "Spirit is inevitably arrested," Nee says. He continues, "The Spirit flows through the channel of emotion." Then he arrives at a strange conclusion: "Nose in the Scripture stands for feeling. Smelling is a most delicate act, man's feeling is most delicate." Therefore, Nee says, a preacher in speaking needs to "mix feelings with the words spoken, else his words are dead. If our feeling lags behind, our words are stripped of the spirit." To say as Nee does, on page 210, that the Holy Spirit only rides on feeling is dangerous.

4) Nee uses terms imprecisely. One example is his writing about a minister's receiving "revelations" in his "Holy Spirit memory" and those revelations being remembered in us by the Holy Spirit. This sort of metaphysical mumbo jumbo is impossible to understand, since there is no direct scriptural reference to a "Holy Spirit memory."

5) When a Christian begins to see Nee as a guide in determining the value of other Christian writers, or sees Nee's writings as a key to spirituality, that person is headed for trouble. Nee's presuppositions are suspect in light of the Word of God. His books provide grist for cult groups such as The Way, The Alamo Foundation, the Children of God and other groups. The astute believer should watch out for Watchman Nee."

Regarding his book Spiritual Authority he overstates the authority of church leaders and our uncompromising submission to them (even if they are wrong). From this the heavy shepherding idea within charismatic groups emerged.

from http://watchmanforjesus.blogspot.com...se-any-of.html

Yeah it's one groups opinion, but gotta start somewhere.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Watchman Nee was an apostle of the Gospel sent by God in the last century to china and much of the rest of the world.

A lot of what people think was wrong with his message is because of 'brother lee' >>
Witness Lee corrupted much of Watchman Nee's teachings, using living stream ministries to alter a lot of the words/books, and to start and control 'the local church' adapted from the true church Watchman Nee described in detail,
so watch out if you look for the books in Watchman Nee's name >> look for the original ones by CFP Christian Fellowship Publishers.

excerpt from an untested online site : >


Martyrdom

Watchman Nee was led by the Lord to remain in mainland China and to sacrifice his life for the Lord’s work there. In this respect, he was like the apostle Paul in Acts 20:24, who said, “I consider my life of no account as if precious to myself, in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus.” Concerning Watchman Nee’s decision, Brother Hsu Jin-chin testified the following:

Before Brother Nee left Hong Kong, Brother Lee advised him many times not to return to the mainland. But Brother Nee said, “If a mother discovered that her house was on fire, and she herself was outside the house doing the laundry, what would she do? Although she realized the danger, would she not rush into the house? Although I know that my return is fraught with dangers, I know that many brothers and sisters are still inside. How can I not return?”

Watchman Nee was arrested in March 1952 because of his professed faith in Christ as well as his leadership among the local churches. He was falsely condemned, judged, and sentenced in 1956 to fifteen years of imprisonment. During this time, only his wife was allowed to visit him. Although there is no way for us to know what he experienced of the Lord during his long imprisonment, his last eight letters provide a glimpse into his suffering, feeling, and expectation during his confinement. Although prison censors did not allow him to mention the Lord’s name in his letters, in his final letter, written on the day of his death, he alluded to his joy in the Lord: “In my sickness, I still remain joyful at heart.”

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

By the way, the posted supposed statements of the group disowning him are not accurate of Watchman Nee nor of his life nor of his teaching.
He taught more accurately God's Plan from the Scripture than practically anyone else in the last several hundred years.

 

[JGiddings]

Watchman Nee was an apostle of the Gospel sent by God in the last century to china and much of the rest of the world.

Really?
Explain please....proof.

 

[JGiddings]

By the way, the posted supposed statements of the group disowning him are not accurate of Watchman Nee nor of his life nor of his teaching.
He taught more accurately God's Plan from the Scripture than practically anyone else in the last several hundred years.

Proof please.
I at least posted a website, and I can post a lot more if you wish.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

just read his books by cfp if you want to know - like the bereans, test everything; don't take anyone else's word for it. you can read one, or 20, they are all the most sound Scripturally you've ever read about Scripture and about the body(church) on earth.
he didn't promote himself, but Christ Jesus, and he didn't start a denomination. he doesn't have a 'support' group or cheerleading section. (he is dead after all, or asleep in Christ).
his books are clear and most were written (from copious and accurate notes his students had of his sermons et al, from before he was arrested) while he was in solitary confinement for his faith in Jesus.
a lot if not all of the books in his name by cfp are available for free, online.

 

[Norah63]

Anyone could write about us to disown us after we are dead.
What does this to promote the gospel message?
Watchman gave his life for the preaching of the gospel, I appreciate his life and hope we could
do likewise in our time here.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Amen

 

[NannaNae]

I respect Nee so much.
and for some reason what someone was calling mystical. I complete get.
oh . life is a journey and we all learn different things for God's purposes. so let God do what God will do and stop accusing the brethren!!! because that right there is Satan and is from hell! NO there is nothing there for you to judge Nee about.
there was NO sin.. just Stuff you don't understand , as if it isn't real unless you understand it right ? that is wrong.
there is lots I DON'T know and I don't understand in this world BUT I SEE THE HAND PRINT OF MY LORD ALL OVER IT tons of things I just don't get !!! but it doesn't matter if I GET IT or not.I'm not the center of the world and I ain't touching their garments, except maybe wash their feet if you know what I mean! and then beg God for wisdom as obviously they went up some mountain I did go up yet!
just don't judge them unless you know there is SIN... which is covenants with death/hell in their life! and you won't see that in Nee!
Instead of condemning and judging Nee maybe try and understand the side of God that he understood. Ask God to show you what he showed to Nee! because there is tons of stuff there that will make it through the fire!

1Co 3:13
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

1Co 3:15
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.


and lots of Nee's work will survive the fires of His presence.. because it was created in an by God's presence !

 

[iansek]

Watchman Nee was an exceptional christian. My view is that in non essentials they should be charity. I suspect he comes under so much flak because his ministry was God ordained. The truth often gets maligned.

He was heavily influenced by John Nelson Darby and the British brethren as well as Madame Guyon an inner life mystic who remained in the catholic church.

I have been helped by this ministry to a great deal and have suffered misunderstanding too.

 

[Gunny]

The first book of Watchman Nee, I read, was "Sit, walk, stand.

In my humble opinion Watchman Nee was an outstanding example of a disciple of Jesus Christ.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

Watch out for Watchman Nee. He did have many great sayings, but he said and taught a lot of things that were far from Biblical and mystically inclined to be led by his own feelings about spirituality rather than by Biblical doctrine.

 

[SaintJoeNow]

At one time I was a big Watchman Nee fan, as well as a C.S. Lewis fan. I read a lot of Nee's stuff and almost all of Lewis' books. Even while I was a big fan of those authors, I often found myself scratching my head in skepticism about some of the things they said which had no sound scriptural backing. Because I loved the picturesque wordings and eloquent styles of writings, I told myself it was ok and tried to look at things from their point of view, giving their sayings pretty much equal validity as the Word of God and trying to make the two compatible in my thinking. In recent years I did a detailed study of the teachings of both men and found them to be in many places unbiblical and even bizzare. Stick with the Word of God, don't put people on pedestals.

I did not leave those idolized authors behind easily, and was grieved that I had to admit I had been duped by them.

 

[1watchman]

I much agree with that, Joe. We need to allow for some minor errors in some things, but when essential truth is being replaced or ignored, a red flag should go up. I have had red flags over these two a long time. My way is Bible-only!

 

[Gunny]

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you"".

John 16:13-14
NIV

 

[Norah63]

Without a living word, there is only a dead letter.
We serve a living God.
Jesus said His own will hear His voice.

 

[Gunny]

Without a living word, there is only a dead letter.
We serve a living God.
Jesus said His own will hear His voice.

Amen and Amen.

 

[thesunisout]

I've only read one of Watchmen nees books. it was called sit walk stand, and it was an incredible exposition of the book of Ephesians. I can't speak for any other of his writings perhaps it is the way that you say that his teachings veered into mysticism. but I would highly recommend sit walk stand..taken by itself it is sound in doctrine from what I remember.

 

[iansek]

Watchman Nee fully believed and taught the scriptural, fundamental faith held by all true Christians. He believed in the divine inspiration of the Bible and that the Bible is God's holy Word. He believed that God is triune—Father, Son, and Spirit—distinctly three, yet fully one, co-existing and coinhering from eternity to eternity. He believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, even God Himself, incarnated as a man with both the human nature and the divine nature, that He died on the cross to accomplish redemption, that He rose bodily from the dead on the third day, that He ascended into heaven and was enthroned, crowned with glory, and made the Lord of all, and that He will return the second time to receive His followers, to save Israel, and to establish His millennial kingdom on the earth. He believed that every person who believes in Jesus Christ will be forgiven by God, washed by His redeeming blood, justified by faith, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and saved by grace. Such a believer is a child of God and a member of the Body of Christ. He also believed that the destiny of every believer is to be an integral part of the church, which is the Body of Christ and the house of God.

To me Watchman Nee is more scriptural and the testimonies of many people indicate his living was exemplary.
He recovered truths over 65 crucial truths which had not been sufficiently explained or neglected by mainstream christianity. He read over 3000 books including from such writers as Jessie Penn lewis, Nelson Darby and Madame Guyon. He was heavily influenced by M.E Barber a british ministry to china.

In my humble opinion there is nothing to watch out for in terms of cult ish practises or Heretical doctrine. There others who i wont mention in mainstream christianity who are more devious.

 

[Gunny]

it was called sit walk stand, and it was an incredible exposition of the book of Ephesians.

Amen and amen.