The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from January 15 through July 2, 1972. At the beginning of January Brother Lee traveled to San Francisco and then returned to Los Angeles. The messages that he gave in San Francisco are published at the end of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1971, volume 4. From the end of January until the end of March 1972, Brother Lee was in the Far East. During that period he visited Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, as well as Manila, Philippines; Singapore; Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Hong Kong; and Tokyo, Japan. There is no record of his speaking in any city except Taipei. He returned to Los Angeles at the end of March. With the exception of a brief visit to San Francisco near the end of May, he remained in Los Angeles until the beginning of June. He traveled again in North America for the next five or six weeks, visiting Houston, Texas; Toronto, Canada; Akron, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois, before returning to Los Angeles. The messages given in Chicago are included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, volume 3. The contents of this volume are divided into ten sections, as follows: 1. Two messages given in Los Angeles, California, on January 15. These messages are included in this volume under the title Christ as Life to Us for the Reality and Practicality of the Church. 2. Four messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in January. The exact dates are unknown. They were previously published in a book entitled Eating the Lord. 3. Five messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, in January. The exact dates are unknown. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Lord's Recovery of Eating. 4. Nine messages given in a young people's training in Taipei, Taiwan, on February 8 through 12. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Four Men in the Bible. 5. Eight messages given in Los Angeles, California, on March 30 through April 2. They were previously published in a book entitled The Living and Practical Way to Enjoy Christ. 6. Sixteen messages given in Los Angeles, California, from April 18 through June 7. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs. 7. Two messages given in Los Angeles, California, on May 14. They are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Messages Given to the Church in Los Angeles. 8. Seven messages given in San Francisco, California, on May 26 through 29. These messages are included in this volume under the title Preparing for the Lord's Return. 9. Six messages given in Houston, Texas, from June 9 through 14. They are included in this volume under the title The Kingdom as the Spreading of Christ. 10. Fifteen messages given in Akron, Ohio, from June 23 through July 2. They are included in this volume under the title The Growth and Spread of Christ within Us for the Kingdom of God.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from July 21 through August 13, 1972. During this period Brother Lee remained in Los Angeles, where he gave a lengthy series of forty-eight messages on the kingdom of God, mainly from the perspective of life. This volume is composed of these messages, which were published in 1980 in a fifty-chapter book entitled The Kingdom.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from July 3, 1972, through January 1, 1973. During the first two weeks of July, Brother Lee ministered in Chicago, Illinois. From July 21 through August 13 he was in Los Angeles, where he spoke the messages on the kingdom published in The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972, volume 2. From late August through the middle of October Brother Lee traveled up the West Coast, visiting San Francisco and San Jose, California; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. There is no record of his speaking in these cities. From the middle of October through the first week in November he traveled to Seoul, Korea, and Taiwan. The only record of his speaking is in Taipei, Taiwan. After returning from Taipei, Brother Lee visited San Diego, California; Denver, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; Akron, Ohio; Arlington, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Phoenix, Arizona, before returning to Los Angeles in the middle of December. He visited San Francisco at the end of the year. The contents of this volume are divided into eleven sections, as follows: 1. Thirteen messages given in Chicago, Illinois, from July 3 through 9. These messages are included in this volume under the title Life and Building in the Bible. 2. Eight messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, from October 29 through November 5. They were previously published in a book entitled The Consummation of God's Salvation. 3. Five messages given in San Diego, California, from November 10 through 12. These messages are published in this volume under the title Enjoying the Riches of Christ to Become the Church as the Fullness of God. 4. Five messages given in Denver, Colorado, from November 17 through 19. These messages are included in this volume under the title Enjoying Christ as the Life-giving Spirit for the Building Up of the Church. 5. Six messages given in Akron, Ohio, on November 25 and 26. The first four messages were recorded in handwritten notes. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Recovery of Enjoying Christ with His Riches for the Producing of the Church and the Keeping of the Oneness of the Spirit. 6. Five messages given in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from December 1 through 3. They are published in this volume under the title The Recovery of Eating and Enjoying Christ for God's Building. 7. Five messages given in Atlanta, Georgia, from December 5 through 7. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Christian Life and the Church Life in Galatians and Ephesians. 8. Five messages given in New Orleans, Louisiana, from December 8 through 10. The record for the first four messages consists of handwritten notes. These messages are included in this volume under the title Eating Christ for the Building Up of the Church as His Body. 9. One message given in Los Angeles, California, on December 17. This message was previously published in The Ministry magazine, volume 2, number 8, August/September 1998, in a chapter entitled "Migration in God's Move." 10. Eight messages given in Los Angeles, California, from December 22 through 25. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Greatest Prophecy in the Bible and Its Fulfillment. 11. Six messages given in San Francisco, California, from December 29, 1972, through January 1, 1973. They were previously published in a book entitled Enjoying Christ as the All-inclusive Spirit for the Practical, Genuine, and Real Church Life.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, Letters and Gleanings, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from 1972 through 1996. The contents of this volume are divided into twenty-four sections, as follows: 1. Six messages given in various locations in 1972. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Gleanings, 1972. 2. Seven messages given in Toronto, Canada, on June 16 through 21, 1972. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Kingdom as the Growth of Christ within Us for the Building Up of the Church. 3. A message given in San Jose, California, on an unknown date. This message is included in this volume under the title Christ--God, the Redeemer, the Life-giving Spirit, and the Body of Christ. 4. Three messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, between January 24 and February 18, 1972. These messages are included in this volume under the title Growth in Life in the Book of Ephesians. The three messages were combined into one chapter. 5. Six messages given in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 30 through December 3, 1972. These messages are included in this volume under the title Enjoying the Riches of Christ to Produce the Fullness of Christ. 6. A message given in the Magnolia House in Los Angeles, California, in August 1973. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship with Saints Migrating to New York City. 7. A message given in an unknown location in 1973. This message is included in this volume under the title The Indwelling Christ. 8. A message given in an unknown location in 1974. This message is included in this volume under the title Our Commission from the Lord. 9. Three messages given in an unknown location in 1974. These messages are included in this volume under the title Building the Church as the House of God with the Seven Spirits. 10. Six messages given in Taiwan in 1975. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Gleanings, 1975. 11. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on June 27 and 28, 1978. These messages are included in this volume under the title Additional Messages for The Testimony and Way of Life in the Lord's Recovery. The four messages under the title The Testimony and Way of Life in the Lord's Recovery are included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1978, volume 2. 12. Two messages given in San Jose and San Francisco, California, respectively, on January 12, 1979. These messages are included in this volume under the title Messages Given in San Jose and San Francisco. 13. A message given in Anaheim, California, on February 8, 1979. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship concerning Training and the Two Aspects of Spiritual Experience. 14. Two messages given in San Francisco, California, on February 17, 1980. These messages are included in this volume under the title Gleanings on Galatians. 15. Three messages given in Berkeley, California, on July 18 and 19, 1981. These messages are included in this volume under the title Christ as Revealed in 1 Corinthians. 16. A message given in Irving, Texas, on December 6, 1983. This message is included in this volume under the title Our Consideration, Attitude, and Ways to Contact Christians. 17. A message given in Anaheim, California, on May 19, 1984. This message is included in this volume under the title A Married Life in Spirit. 18. A series of fellowships given in Anaheim, California, from November 1991 through July 1993 to the co-workers serving in Russia. This series is included in this volume under the title Practical Fellowship concerning the Lord's Move in Russia. 19. A fellowship given by telephone in Anaheim, California, to a group of responsible brothers in Toledo, Ohio, on January 19, 1992. This fellowship is included in this volume under the title Seeing the Body of Christ, Caring for the Oneness of the Body, and Carrying Out the God-ordained Way. 20. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on March 16 and 17, 1993. These messages are included in this volume under the title Building Up the Vital Groups to Gain the Increase. 21. A message given in Anaheim, California, in 1996. This message is included in this volume under the title Crystals in the Book of Romans and Christ's Threefold Ministry. 22. A message given in Anaheim, California, on July 11, 1996. This message is included in this volume under the title Entering into a New Age to Work Together with the Lord. 23. Five messages given in various unspecified locations and on unknown dates. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Gleanings, Unknown Dates. 24. Two messages given in unspecified locations and on unknown dates. These messages are included in this volume under the title Questions and Answers concerning the Ground of the Church. 25. Two messages given in an unspecified location and on unknown dates. These messages are included in this volume under the title A Brief History of the Lord's Recovery in China and the United States.

In this issue we will continue the four lines of ministry that began in the first issue of Ministry Digest (vol. 1, no. 1). The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--having concluded the twenty-eight chapters from The History and Revelation of the Lord's Recovery, continues with selected accounts related to the current situation of our time in history. These accounts are taken from chapter 8 of The Knowledge and Experience of Christ in Ephesians and Colossians, which is in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961–1962; chapter 2 of The Greatest Prophecy in the Bible and Its Fulfillment, which is in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972; and chapters 1 and 2 of The World Situation and God's Move, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 24 and 25 of Lessons for New Believers, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959, and then begins a new book with chapters 1 and 2 of Basic Lessons on Life, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979. These chapters speak of the practice of fellowship and the creation of man as a vessel of God. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 8 through 11 of The Purpose of God's Salvation, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961. These chapters speak of three important practices in the Christian life, preaching the gospel in one accord, loving the Lord to receive revelation and take action, and dealing with the natural constitution for the building up. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--begins a new book with chapters 1 through 4 of The God-man Living, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters speak of being born of God through regeneration, of being under the organic feeding and shepherding of Christ as the good Shepherd, and of the first God-man's living.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 5 through 8 of The Apostles' Teaching, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1990. This section includes fellowship concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the baptizing of all the believers into one Body, the ministry of Christ in His ascension, and the rapture of the saints. The second line--Words for New Believers--contains the concluding chapters of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6, chapters 58 through 60, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949. These chapters cover the subjects of paradise and the lake of fire, the rapture of the believers, and the second coming of Christ. This section then continues with chapter 1 of a new book, The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures, which is in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1969. This chapter covers the matter of life as seen in Genesis 1. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 49 and 50 of The Kingdom, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972. These chapters cover the exercise of the kingdom and a rich entrance into the kingdom. This section then continues with chapters 1 and 2 of a new book, Perfecting Training, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1980. These chapters contain an opening word concerning the perfecting training and a word on the damage of opinion. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 22 through 25 of Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters cover the grace of God and the announcing of the gospel.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 19 through 22 of The Recovery of the Church according to the Pattern on the Mountain, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1950–1951. This section includes topics on being conformed to the image of God's Son, the grace of God being God Himself, fellowship concerning the elders, and fellowship concerning the deacons. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with another portion from chapter 48 of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 5, which is in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949. This chapter on entering into the kingdom of the heavens is quite lengthy, and it will be continued in subsequent issues of Ministry Digest. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 25 through 28 of The Kingdom, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972. These chapters cover the path from rejection to glory, some practical matters concerning the kingdom life, and the reward of the kingdom. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 42 through 44 of God's New Testament Economy, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984. These chapters focus on the application of the New Jerusalem to the believers, including its triune living, triune enjoyment, and triune expression. This section then continues with chapter 1 of Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans, which is in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. This chapter covers the center of the gospel of God being Jesus Christ the God-man, particularly focusing on the essence of the person of Jesus Christ the God-man.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 9 and 10 of The Advance of the Lord's Recovery Today, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1989, and chapters 1 and 2 of The Recovery of the Church according to the Pattern on the Mountain, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1950–1951. This section covers how to carry out the New Testament priesthood of the gospel according to the Lord's up-to-date recovery, the recovery of the church according to the pattern on the mountain, and serving God according to the characteristics of life. The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 29 through 32 of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 3, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949. These chapters cover topics related to serving the Lord, meeting, reading the Bible, and prayer. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 5 through 8 of The Kingdom, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972. These chapters speak of the sowing of the seed of the kingdom, the growing of the seed of the kingdom, image and dominion, and the two kingdoms. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 22 through 25 of God's New Testament Economy, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984. This section contains four chapters on the seven Spirits.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 3 through 6 of The Recovery of the Church according to the Pattern on the Mountain, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1950–1951. This section includes a demonstration on how to conduct a Bible study and messages on knowing the principle of God's work, the Christian pathway, and the whole church serving. The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapter 33 of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 3, which is in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949, and chapters 34 through 36 of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 4, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949. These chapters cover topics related to a few matters concerning the living of the believers, the knowledge of God, the faithfulness of God and the righteousness of God, and the selection and predestination of God. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 9 through 12 of The Kingdom, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972. These chapters speak of the battlefield of the two kingdoms, the kingdom and the soul-life, and the mysteries of the kingdom. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 26 through 29 of God's New Testament Economy, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984. This section contains four chapters on the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of God's New Testament economy with its designations and the basic elements of its structure.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--begins a new book, The Apostles' Teaching, which is in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1990. This line includes chapters 1 through 4, which cover the entire speaking of God in the New Testament concerning God's New Testament economy and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the baptizing of all the believers into one Body. The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 54 through 57 of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949. These chapters cover the subjects of the world, sin, death and resurrection, and judgment. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 45 through 48 of The Kingdom, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1972. These chapters cover the kingdom revealed in Hebrews, the harvest of the kingdom in Revelation, different aspects of the kingdom, and life under the ruling of the kingdom. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 18 through 21 of Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters cover the designation of Christ's humanity and the grace of God.