Watchman Nee - 20th Century Church Planter

Often criticized for his “mystical” approach to faith, and for his three-part explanation of the nature of man, there is no doubt that Watchman Nee’s ministry was powerful and effective. A church-planter, prolific speaker and author of hundreds of books, tracts, hymnals, and periodicals, his ministry has had a major impact on the lives of many Christians, mine included. Even after Mao Tse Tung proclaimed China a communist nation in 1949, Nee remained on the mainland despite the enormous risks and the urgings of his closest friends to leave mainland China [SINGLE]. In 1956, he was imprisoned for his faith by the Communist Chinese authorities, and spent nearly twenty years there. He eventually died in prison, but confinement did not hinder his ministry. Many of his works were written from behind bars [STAND].

Nee Shu-tsu was born to Christian parents in 1903, the fruit of the labors of waves of missionaries to China in the 18th and 19th centuries. His mother had prayed “Hannah’s prayer”[1], that if God would honor her with a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord. God responded, and in Nee’s early years his father impressed on him the fact that his mother had set him apart for God. [CALL]. History records Nee as an intelligent, but ill-behaved student prior to his conversion to Christ.[2] Still, he was open to learning more about God, although fearful that if he accepted Christ as Savior, he would also have to accept him as Lord. In his spiritual search, he went to hear an evangelist named Dora Yu, and is heart was pricked.[3] [OPEN]. In Nee’s own words, he confesses to his struggle over whether or not to accept Christ,[4]

“My first inclination was not to believe in the Lord Jesus and not to be a Christian. However, that made me inwardly uneasy. There was a real struggle within me. Then I knelt down to pray. At first I had no words with which to pray. But eventually many sins came before me, and I realized that I was a sinner. I had never had such an experience in my life before that time. I saw myself as a sinner and I also saw the Savior. I saw the filthiness of sin and I also saw the efficacy of the Lord's precious blood cleansing me and making me white as snow. After making my confession, the burden of sins was discharged, and I felt buoyant and full of inward joy and peace. This was the first time in my life that I knew I was a sinner. I prayed for the first time and had my first experience of joy and peace. There might have been some joy and peace before, but the experience after my salvation was very real.”[SIN].

Nee recognized that his salvation also required complete abandon to the Lordship of Christ and God’s calling and will for his life,

“But following my salvation many new things happened to me. All my previous planning became void and was brought to nothing. My future career was entirely abandoned.” [CALL]

By 1923, Nee found himself in leadership with an older man with whom he often contended. God showed him through many tears that He honors the meek, and that he should learn to obey. According to his testimony, “God put me in those circumstances that I might learn to be under the restraint of the Holy Spirit.” [SPIRIT].

Nee had a vital prayer life, as testified to by one of his friends, “Watchman Nee prayed in a slow way with one or two words coming slowly from his mouth. When I was in Chungking, I unconsciously picked up his way of prayer. By praying in such a way I sensed the presence of the Lord abiding with me. Every word was directed to the Lord, and the words kept springing up from within.” [PRAY].

Then, in 1924, Nee contracted tuberculosis, and nearly died from it. During his nearly six-month stay in the hospital, the doctors held out little hope for his recovery. It was during this time that he wrote his classic, The Spiritual Man. He grew worse, and the doctors eventually only gave him days to live. Mindful of his call, and desperate for healing, he cried out to God, who spoke to him through Scripture,

“As I prayed to God to grant me faith, He spoke His words to me, words which I could never forget. The first sentence was, "The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17). The second sentence was, "By faith you stand" (2 Cor. 1:24). The third sentence was, "We walk by faith" (2 Cor. 5:7). These words filled me with great joy, for the Bible says, "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23). I immediately thanked and praised God because He had given me His words. I believed that God had cured me. The test came immediately. The Bible says, "By faith you stand," but I was still lying in bed. A conflict arose in my mind: Should I get up and stand or remain lying down? We all know that human beings love themselves and consider it more comfortable to die in bed than to die standing. Then the word of God manifested its power, and ignoring all else, I put on my clothing, clothing which I had not worn for a hundred and seventy-six days.”¹⁴ [FAITH]

Nee got up and walked out of the hospital and straight to the home of those praying for him, reminiscent of Peter’s appearance at the prayer meeting in Acts 12:12-17!

Nee had no formal biblical education, but rather learned about God through his study of scripture and the reading of more than 3,000 contemporary Christian books.[OPEN] “He believed in the divine inspiration of the Bible and that the Bible is God's holy Word.”[5] [WORD]. Nee also saw his primary ministry as that of building up local churches,[6] Watchman Nee dedicated himself tirelessly to the task of planting and strengthening churches throughout his ministry, and continued writing to them while in captivity until his death in a Chinese prison in 1972.