This is a special combined issue (June/July) of The Ministry. It contains a complete record of the messages given in Anaheim, California, during the 2002 Summer Training on the Crystallization-study of Philippians. These messages are being published immediately following the training in order that they might benefit the saints participating in the many video trainings held throughout the earth. The burden for the twelve messages given during the 2002 Summer Training on the Crystallization-study of Philippians may be summarized by four statements: 1) the Christian life is a life of living Christ for the constitution and building up of the Body of Christ; 2) we need to work out our own salvation by obeying the inner operating God; 3) we need to be conformed to the mold of Christ's death by the power of His resurrection that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead; and 4) the Christian life is a life full of Christ as forbearance but without anxiety. We also include two reports concerning the free mass distribution of the ministry literature and concerning the Lord's move in His recovery.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1982, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from January 8 through December 19, 1982. In 1982 Brother Lee spoke eighty-six messages that were published in Life-study of 2 Corinthians, Life-study of Exodus, Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, and Life-study of 2 Thessalonians. The Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. During the first three weeks of the year Brother Lee remained in Anaheim, California. He then visited Berkeley, California, on a weekend and returned to Anaheim, where he remained through the first ten days of February. He then spent a day in Vancouver, Canada, visited Seattle, Washington, for a weekend, and returned to Anaheim in the middle of the month. He ministered in Anaheim until the end of May. On the last weekend in May he ministered in Dallas, Texas, and then he traveled further to spend several days in New York City; Cleveland, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Denver, Colorado, before returning to Anaheim in the middle of June. He remained in Anaheim until the end of July and visited Berkeley on the last weekend in July. He remained in Anaheim from early August until the end of November, except for one-day visits to the nearby localities of Cerritos and Huntington Beach, California, at the end of October. At the end of November he traveled to Irving, Texas, and remained there until the first week of January 1983. The contents of this volume are divided into seventeen sections, as follows: 1. Nine messages given in Anaheim, California, on January 8 through October 2. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Messages in Anaheim. 2. Five messages given in Berkeley, California, on January 22 through 25. These messages were consolidated into two chapters, which are included in this volume under the title Propagating the Divine Truth and Ministering the Central Vision of Paul's Completing Ministry and John's Mending Ministry. 3. Six messages given in Anaheim, California, on February 28 through September 9. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Believers' Experience of the Triune God as the Spirit according to Romans 8. 4. Four messages given in Anaheim, California, on February 1 through November 15. These messages are included in this volume under the title Various Meetings in Anaheim. 5. A message given in Vancouver, Canada, on February 11. It is included in this volume under the title The Central Vision of the Bible and the Lord's Present Testimony. 6. Ten messages given in Seattle, Washington, on February 12 through 15. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Ministry of the New Covenant Being the Ministry of the Spirit, Righteousness, and Reconciliation. 7. Eight messages given in Dallas, Texas, on May 28 through 31 and in New York City on June 1 through 3. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Two Spirits in Romans and are included in this volume under the same title. 8. Three messages given in Dallas, Texas, on May 29 and 30. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Two Spirits in God's Economy for the Producing of Christ's Bride. 9. A message given in Dallas, Texas, on May 29. It is included in this volume under the title Being Controlled by the Unique Vision in the New Testament Ministry. 10. Seven messages given in New York City on June 1 through 3. These messages were expanded into eight chapters and are included in this volume under the title Walking according to the Spirit for the Fulfillment of God's Heart's Desire. 11. Eight messages given in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 4 through 6, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 7 and 8, and in Denver, Colorado, on June 9 and 10. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The All-inclusive Indwelling Spirit and are included in this volume under the same title. 12. A message given in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 4. It is included in this volume under the title The Crucial Revelation in Romans 8--the Triune God as the Spirit Working Himself into Our Being. 13. Three messages given in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 5 and 6. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Spirit and Life for the Believers' Experience Revealed in Romans 8. 14. A message given in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 8. It is included in this volume under the title Releasing the Truth in the Midst of Opposition. 15. Twelve messages given in Anaheim, California, on June 22 through 25. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Importance of Living Christ by Walking according to the Spirit and are included in this volume under the same title. 16. Two messages given in Berkeley, California, on July 31. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Messages Given to the Church in Berkeley. 17. Fourteen messages given in Anaheim, California, and Irving, Texas, on August 13 through December 19. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Experiencing Christ as the Offerings for the Church Meetings and are included in this volume under the same title.

In The Knowledge of Life Witness Lee illuminates the path that leads to life, beginning with regeneration, and advancing to knowing and living according to the inward sense of life. The Knowledge of Life provides an excellent foundation for the genuine experience of Christ and a helpful introduction to Witness Lee's companion book The Experience of Life.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1970, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from October 18 through December 1970. From the middle of October until the end of the year, Brother Lee was in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The contents of this volume are divided into eight sections, as follows: 1. Twenty-four messages given in Hong Kong in October and November. These messages were edited from audio recordings together with the notes taken by Brother K. H. Weigh and were previously published in Chinese as a book entitled The Church Life in Spirit and Truthfulness. They are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Eight messages given in Hong Kong on October 18 through November 14. They were compiled and edited from audio recordings together with the notes of Brother K. H. Weigh and are included in this volume under the title The Proper Attitude When Facing Turmoils. 3. A message given in Hong Kong on an unknown date in 1970. In 1971 this message was published in Chinese with some added material by the Taiwan Gospel Book Room under the title Concerning the Person of Christ. Later, a booklet by the same title was published in English. The English edition is included in this volume. 4. A message given in Hong Kong on an unknown date in 1970. It was previously published in Chinese under the title Concerning the Triune God--the Father, the Son, and the Spirit and was later published in English under the same title. The English edition of the booklet is included in this section. 5. Seventeen messages given in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in November and December. The first fourteen messages were originally published in Chinese in The Ministry of the Word magazine in January through August 1971. The entire series of seventeen messages was published in Chinese and English as a book entitled Being Delivered from Religious Rituals and Walking according to the Spirit and is included in this volume under the same title. 6. Four messages given in Taichung, Taiwan, on December 9 through 11. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English under the title The Ministry of the New Covenant and the Spirit. The contents of the published book are included in this volume. 7. Fourteen messages given in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in December. They were originally published in Chinese in The Ministry of the Word magazine in March through December 1971 and were also published as a book entitled Taking Christ as Our Person for the Church Life. They were subsequently published in English in a book under the same title and are included in this volume. 8. Three messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, from December 3 through 5. These messages are included in this volume under the title An Explanation of a Few Truths.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963, volume 4, contains the messages and fellowship given by Brother Witness Lee from September 4 through December 31, 1963. In the first part of September Brother Lee spent a few days ministering to the saints in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are indications that he also passed through Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a few days afterward; however, there is no record of his speaking during that time. On the weekend of September 20 and 21 he ministered to the saints in Tyler, Texas, and toward the end of the month he traveled to New York City, where he ministered for more than two weeks. In the month of November Brother Lee returned to Texas for a week to release messages in Tyler and Dallas. The following weekend he stopped briefly in Los Angeles and then traveled up the West Coast to Sacramento and San Francisco, California, giving weeklong conferences in both cities. In December Brother Lee again returned to Los Angeles, where he ministered until the end of the year, sometimes speaking two or three times a day. The contents of this volume are divided into twelve sections, as follows: 1. Four messages given in Las Vegas on September 4 through 7. These messages were published under the title Contacting the Lord, Being Filled in Spirit, and Having Proper Christian Meetings for the Accomplishment of God's Eternal Purpose. There are indications, but no solid evidence, that the last message was given in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 2. Three messages given at a conference in Tyler on September 20 and 21. These messages are included in this volume under the title Experiencing Christ as Life for Our Transformation into His Image. Records indicate that originally four messages were given, but the last two, which were given on the same day and at the same location, were combined into one message. 3. Four messages given at a conference in New York City from September 29 through October 6. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Practical Way to Fulfill God's Eternal Purpose. 4. Four messages given at a conference in New York City on October 11 through 13. These messages were published under the title The Exercise of Our Spirit for the Release of the Spirit. 5. A series of twelve messages given in the Tyler and Dallas area on November 7 through 15. These messages are included in this volume under the title Being Transformed for the Practice of the Church Life. 6. Three messages given in Tyler at various times during the month of November. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Fulfillment of God's Purpose and the Defeat of God's Enemy. 7. Six messages given at a conference in Sacramento on November 22 through 25. These messages were published under the title Experiencing Christ as the Inner Life. 8. Eleven messages given in San Francisco from November 28 through December 1. These messages were published under the title The Relationship of God with Man in God's New Creation. 9. Messages given on two Lord's Days, November 17 and December 15, in Los Angeles. These messages are included in this volume under the title Lord's Day Messages in Los Angeles. The second message was divided into two parts. 10. Three messages constructed from personal notes of Brother Lee's fellowship with the leading ones on December 14 and 20 in Los Angeles. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with the Leading Ones. 11. Sixteen messages given at a conference in Los Angeles on December 22 through 31. These messages were published under the title The Life and Way for the Practice of the Church Life. 12. One message given at a meeting in Los Angeles on December 28. This message is included in this volume under the section title Fellowship concerning the Body of Christ. There are indications that this message was one in a series of informal talks that Brother Lee gave during the conference held on December 22 through 31. Records of the other talks were not available for publication.

Throughout the centuries, translations of the Bible have steadily improved. In general, each new translation inherits from previous ones and opens the way for later ones. While a new translation derives help from its predecessors, it should go further. The Recovery Version of the New Testament, following the precedent set by the major authoritative English versions and taking these versions as reference, not only incorporates lessons learned from an examination of others’ practices but also attempts to avoid biases and inaccurate judgments. This version, frequently guided by other versions, attempts to provide the best utterance for the revelation in the divine Word, that it may be expressed in the English language with the greatest accuracy. Translating the Bible depends not only on an adequate comprehension of the original language but also on a proper understanding of the divine revelation in the holy Word. Throughout the centuries the understanding of the divine revelation possessed by the saints has always been based upon the light they received, and this understanding has progressed steadily. The consummation of this understanding forms the basis of this translation and its footnotes. Hence, this translation and the accompanying footnotes could be called the “crystallization” of the understanding of the divine revelation which the saints everywhere have attained to in the past two thousand years. It is our hope that the Recovery Version will carry on the heritage that it has received and will pave the way for future generations. As with any New Testament translation, the determination of the original Greek text, based upon the available manuscripts, forms the basis for the text of the Recovery Version of the New Testament. The Recovery Version follows, for the most part, the Nestle-Aland Greek text as found in Novum Testamentum Graece (26th edition). However, in determining the original form of any verse, the translators of the Recovery Version gave careful consideration to the larger context of chapter and book and to similar portions of the New Testament. The most recently discovered manuscripts or the manuscripts of oldest date are not necessarily the most accurate or reliable; hence, the determination of the text for this version was based largely upon the principle stated above. Departures from the Nestle-Aland text are sometimes indicated in the footnotes. Italicized words in the verses indicate supplied words, not found in the Greek text. Quotation marks are used to indicate close quotation from the Old Testament. The Recovery Version embodies extensive research into the meaning of the original text and attempts to express this meaning with English that is to the point, easy to understand, and readable. In those places where it is difficult to express the exact meaning of the original Greek, explanatory footnotes have been supplied. The subject provided at the beginning of each book and the outline of each book take the historical facts as their base and express the spiritual meaning in each book. The footnotes stress the revelation of the truth, the spiritual light, and the supply of life more than history, geography, and persons. The cross-references lead not only to other verses with the same expressions and facts but also to other matters related to the spiritual revelation in the divine Word.

In The All-inclusive Christ Witness Lee expounds portions of the book of Deuteronomy, showing that the land inherited by the children of Israel is a full type of the all-inclusive Christ, who is our New Testament inheritance. He presents a detailed study of some of the unsearchable riches of the good land, including its brooks and streams, its wheat and barley, its figs and vines, and even its iron stones. Each type is explained and applied to our experience as believers.