The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee on January 19 through December 20, 1981. In 1981 Brother Lee spoke seventy-four messages that were published in Life-study of Exodus, Life-study of Philippians, Life-study of Romans, and Life-study of 1 Corinthians. These Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. From the beginning of the year until the middle of July, Brother Lee ministered in Anaheim, California. He then visited Berkeley, California, on a weekend and returned to Anaheim, where he remained until the first few days of September. He then visited Bellevue, Washington, for a week and returned to Anaheim. Except for a one-day visit to Santa Ana, California, near the end of September, he ministered in Anaheim until the end of the first three weeks in October. From the last week in October until the end of November, he traveled to Seoul, South Korea; Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan. He returned to Anaheim and ministered there until the end of the year. The contents of this volume are divided into twelve sections, as follows: 1. Five messages given in Anaheim, California, on March 12 through July 23. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with Serving Ones. 2. Five messages given in Anaheim, California, on January 19 through December 7. These messages are included in this volume under the title Carrying Out the New Testament Ministry. 3. Six messages given in Anaheim and Santa Ana, California, on August 2 through December 20. These messages are included in this volume under the title Various Lord's Day Meetings. 4. Sixteen messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 11 through 16. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Central Vision of Paul's Completing Ministry. 5. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 22 and 23. These messages were previously published in a book entitled God's Eternal Intention and Satan's Counterplot. They are included in this volume under the same title. 6. Seven messages given in Anaheim, California, on May 24 through June 19. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The World Situation and God's Move and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. A message given in Anaheim, California, on June 11. This message was translated from Chinese and is included in this volume under the title Questions and Fellowship concerning Full-time Service. 8. A message given in Anaheim, California, on July 24. This message is included in this volume under the title Christ Becoming Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption to Us in Our Daily Life. 9. A message given in Bellevue, Washington, on September 7. This message was divided into two chapters and is included in this volume under the title Carrying Out God's New Testament Economy, Caring for the Central Vision of Paul's Completing Ministry and John's Mending Ministry, Migrating and Establishing Churches in the Move of the Body of Christ, and Awaiting the Revelation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 10. A message given in Anaheim, California, on September 19. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship with a Group of Young People. 11. Eight messages given in Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, on October 23 through November 30. These messages were were previously published in a book entitled Crucial Aspects of the Experience of Christ Revealed in Paul's Epistles and are included in this volume under the same title. 12. Sixteen messages given in Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan, on October 31 through November 30. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Great Mystery--Christ and the Church and are included in this volume under the same title.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981, volume 2, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee on November 2 through December 11, 1981. From December 23, 1981, through January 2, 1982, Brother Lee spoke twenty-eight messages that were published in Life-study of 1 Corinthians. The Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. From the last week in October until the end of November, 1981, Brother Lee traveled to Seoul, South Korea; Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan. He returned to Anaheim and ministered there until the end of the year. The contents of this volume are divided into two sections, as follows: 1. Twenty-eight messages given in Hong Kong and in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 2 through 24. These messages were translated from Chinese and are included in this volume under the title The History and Revelation of the Lord's Recovery. 2. A message given in Anaheim, California, on December 11. This message is included in this volume under the title The Center of Paul's Completing Ministry.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, Letters and Gleanings, volume 1, contains letters written by Brother Witness Lee from October 23, 1937, through October 15, 1994, and miscellaneous messages given from 1948 through 1964. The contents of this volume are divided into ten sections, as follows: 1. One hundred nineteen letters written to Brother Liu Suey on June 3, 1947, through October 5, 1981. These letters are included in this volume under the title Letters to Liu Suey. 2. Eight letters written to Brother Weigh Kwang-hsi (K. H. Weigh) on September 25, 1961, through October 3, 1974. These letters are included in this volume under the title Letters to K. H. Weigh. 3. Three hundred thirty-one letters written from an unknown date in 1948 through October 15, 1994, to various churches and individual saints; five letters written on April 20, 1967, through March 14, 1968, to Brother Carl Althaus; a letter written on February 8, 1992, to Brother Benson Phillips and all the full-time serving brothers and sisters in Moscow, Russia; a letter written on August 7, 1992, to the young brothers and sisters in the church in Moscow; and a letter written on January 29, 1993, to the saints who completed the first term of the full-time training in Moscow. These letters are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Letters. 4. A letter written on October 23, 1937, and published in the periodical The Open Door, Issue No. 2; five letters written on September 6, 1962, through April 9, 1963, and published in Church News, Issue Nos. 53 through 55; four letters written on December 4, 1963, through November 6, 1964, and published in The Ministry of the Word, Supplementary Issues, 1964, Issue Nos. 1, 10, and 12; and thirty-six letters written on April 25, 1968, through April 6, 1977, and published in Church News, Resumed, Issue Nos. 12 through 51. These letters are included in this volume under the title Published Letters. 5. A message given in Swatow, China, on January 17, 1948. This message is included in this volume under the title Fellowship concerning the Gospel, Revival, Life, and Loving the Lord. 6. A message given in an unknown location in 1956. This message is included in this volume under the title Recovering God's Temple, God's City, and God's Word. 7. Four messages given at a location believed to be San Francisco, California, in 1963. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Gleanings, 1963. 8. A message given in a location believed to be Los Angeles, California, in 1963. This message is included in this volume under the title Abiding in Christ by Denying Ourselves and Opening Ourselves to Him. 9. Two messages given in uncertain locations in 1964. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Gleanings, 1964. 10. A message given in an uncertain location in 1964. This message is included in this volume under the title The Use of Marriage in God's Hand.

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 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--continues with the final chapter of The World Situation and God's Move, which is in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. This chapter speaks of our ultimate responsibility to bear the testimony of Jesus in the midst of the current world situation. This line then continues with chapters 1 through 3 of The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992. These chapters speak of recent changes in the world situation, the need for the spreading of the divine truths for the Lord's recovery, and our responsibility to participate in this spread to the crucial parts of the world, particularly Europe. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 7 through 10 of Basic Lessons on Life, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979. These chapters provide a definition of life and then continue to speak of regeneration, the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, and the fellowship of life. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 5 through 8 of Knowing Life and the Church, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953. These chapters speak of the pathway of life, the way and life of the cross, knowing and experiencing the discipline of the Holy Spirit, and knowing the church and the basis for discerning the church. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 9 through 12 of The God-man Living, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters speak of the living of Christ, the first God-man, as a man of prayer.

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--continues with chapters 3 through 6 of The World Situation and God's Move, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. These chapters speak of God's ultimate move to carry out His eternal intention, His ultimate recovery, and the world's ultimate situation. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 3 through 6 of Basic Lessons on Life, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979. These chapters speak of God's intention in man, Satan's plot to spoil man, the real significance of man's fall, and the salvation of life. The third line--Maturing in Life--begins a new book with chapters 1 through 4 of Knowing Life and the Church, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953. These chapters speak of life being the goal of God's creation and redemption, life being God Himself enjoyed by man, the obstacles that God's life encounters in man, and the subjective obstacles encountered by God's life in us. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 5 through 8 of The God-man Living, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997. These chapters provide a word of definition concerning the God-man living and then continue to speak of the first God-man's living.

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—continues with chapters 13 through 16 of The History and Revelation of the Lord’s Recovery, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. These chapters speak of the “national defense” and “public security” in the Lord’s recovery, the revelation that we have received from the Lord, the raising up of the work in Taiwan, and the trials of the churches in Taiwan. The second line—Words for New Believers—continues with chapters 8 through 11 of Lessons for New Believers, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959. These chapters speak of meeting, how to meet, and various kinds of meetings. The third line—Maturing in Life—continues with chapters 13 through 16 of The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1955. These chapters speak of watching and being ready, the filling of the Holy Spirit, the way to be filled with the Spirit by giving the Lord the ground, and paying the price to buy the oil. The fourth line—The High Peak of the Divine Revelation—continues with chapters 1 through 4 of The Dispensing, Transformation, and Building of the Processed Divine Trinity in the Believers, which are in volume 1 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. These chapters speak of the dispensing of the processed Divine Trinity in the believers, the transformation of the processed Divine Trinity in the believers, and the [6] building of the processed Divine Trinity in the believers. Chapters 2 and 3 were spoken by a brother during the same conference based on Brother Lee’s outlines.

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--continues with chapters 21 through 24 of The History and Revelation of the Lord's Recovery, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1981. These chapters speak of the recovery of the practicality of the church life, the troubles without and the troubles within during the spread of the testimony in the United States, and the advancement of the Lord's recovery in the Unites States. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 16 through 19 of Lessons for New Believers, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959. These chapters speak of the ground of the church, the division of the church, our practice related to the expression of the church on the ground of locality and our attitude toward organized Christianity, and serving the Lord. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with the final chapter of The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life, which is in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1955, and then begins chapters 1 through 3 of a new book, The Purpose of God's Salvation, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961. The final chapter of The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life speaks of experiencing the transforming work of gold, silver, and precious stones as spoken of in 1 Corinthians 3. The third line then continues with a new book that begins by focusing on Christ being the central purpose of God, the church being the Body of Christ and the fullness of Christ, and Christ making His home and the church being filled. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with the final two chapters of The Divine and Mystical Realm, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997, and then begins chapters 1 and 2 of a new book, The Experience of God's Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ's Life, which are in volume 5 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997. The speaking in these chapters concerns regeneration and renewing and sanctification and transformation.

The purpose of this monthly digest is to help to encourage and assist in the daily reading of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery. Its two specific goals are: (1) to help the saints to enter into the riches of The Collected Works of Witness Lee and (2) to provide ministry content for the churches in their corporate weekly pursuit. The Collected Works of Witness Lee comprises one hundred thirty-nine volumes arranged chronologically by year. In this digest we will focus primarily on specific topics from many of these volumes and introduce selected readings on these topics to saints who do not have access to the printed volumes. It is our desire to help the saints get into the riches contained in The Collected Works of Witness Lee topic by topic. This publication will help the saints and churches develop a taste and deepen the desire for reading the ministry in a consistent way. It is intended to supplement and not replace the Recovery Version of the Bible, the Life-study messages, The Holy Word for Morning Revival, and The Ministry of the Word magazine. Each issue of Ministry Digest will be divided into four sections with four messages in each section. The first issue begins the following four sections: 1. The History of the Lord’s Recovery 2. Words for New Believers 3. Maturing in Life 4. The High Peak of the Divine Revelation

The purpose of this monthly digest is to help to encourage and assist in the daily reading of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery. Its two specific goals are: (1) to help the saints to enter into the riches of The Collected Works of Witness Lee and (2) to provide ministry content for the churches in their corporate weekly pursuit. The Collected Works of Witness Lee comprises one hundred thirty-nine volumes arranged chronologically by year. In this digest we will focus primarily on specific topics from many of these volumes and introduce selected readings on these topics to saints who do not have access to the printed volumes. It is our desire to help the saints get into the riches contained in The Collected Works of Witness Lee topic by topic. This publication will help the saints and churches develop a taste and deepen the desire for reading the ministry in a consistent way. It is intended to supplement and not replace the Recovery Version of the Bible, the Life-study messages, The Holy Word for Morning Revival, and The Ministry of the Word magazine. Each issue of Ministry Digest will be divided into four sections with four messages in each section. The first issue begins the following four sections: 1. The History of the Lord’s Recovery 2. Words for New Believers 3. Maturing in Life 4. The High Peak of the Divine Revelation