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Line 1: {{Short description\|Chinese Christian teacher and leader}}{{family name hatnote\|[[Ni (surname)\|Nee]]\|lang=Chinese}} {{POV\|date=July 2022\|reason=A hagiographic biography based on sources too close to the subject}} {{refimprove\|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox person \| name = Watchman Nee Line 5 ⟶ 7: \| caption = Watchman Nee \| birth_date = {{Birth-date\|November 4, 1903}} \| birth_place = [[Shantou]], [[Qing dynasty~~\|Manchu China~~]] \| death_date = {{Death-date\|May 30, 1972}} (aged 68) \| death_place = [[Guangde]], [[Anhui]], [[China]] }} '''Watchman Nee''', '''Ni Tuosheng,''' or '''Nee T'o-sheng''' ({{zh\|t=倪柝聲\|p=Ní Tuòshēng}}; November 4, 1903 – May 30, 1972), was a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China during the 20th century. His [[evangelism]] was influenced by the [[Plymouth Brethren]]. In 1922, he initiated church meetings in [[Fuzhou]], [[Fujian]] province, that may be considered the beginning of the [[Local churches (affiliation)\|local churches]]. During his thirty years of ministry, Nee published many books expounding the [[Holy Bible\|Bible]]. He established churches throughout China and held many conferences to train Bible students and church workers. Following the [[Chinese Revolution (1946−1952)\|Communist Revolution]], Nee was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith and spent the last twenty years of his life in prison. He was honoured by [[Chris Smith (New Jersey politician)\|Christopher H. Smith]] ([[Republican Party (United States)\|R]]–[[New Jersey\|NJ]]) in the US Congress on July 30, 2009.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2009-07-31/html/CREC-2009-07-31-pt1-PgE2110-2.htm \|title=In Recognition of Watchman Nee \|work=Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 \|date=July 31, 2009 }}</ref> ==Family and childhood== Line 36 ⟶ 38: Through Barber, Watchman Nee was introduced to the writings of [[David Morrieson Panton\|D.M. Panton]], [[Robert Govett]], [[G.H. Pember]], [[Jessie Penn-Lewis]], [[T. Austin-Sparks]], and others. In addition, he acquired books from [[Plymouth Brethren]] teachers like [[John Nelson Darby]], [[William Kelly (Bible scholar)\|William Kelly]], and [[C.H. Mackintosh]].<ref name=seed /> Eventually, his personal library encompassed over three thousand titles on church history, spiritual growth, and Bible commentary, and he became intimately familiar with the Bible through diligent study using many different methods. In the early days of his ministry, he is said to have spent one-third of his income on personal needs, one-third to assist others, and the remaining third on spiritual books. He was known for his ability to select, comprehend, discern, and memorize relevant material, and grasp and retain the main points of a book while reading.<ref>Lee, Witness. ''Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age''. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry (1991), 23–27.</ref> Nee derived many of his ideas, including plural [[church elder\|eldership]], disavowal of a clergy-laity distinction, and worship centered around the [[Eucharist\|Lord's Supper]], from the [[Plymouth Brethren]]. From 1930 to 1935, his movement interacted internationally with the Raven-Taylor group of [[Exclusive Brethren]] led by [[James Taylor Jr. (Exclusive Brethren)\|James Taylor, Sr]]. This group "recognized" the Local Church movement as a parallel work of God, albeit one that had developed independently. Nee refused, however, to follow their practice of isolating themselves from other Christians and rejected their ban on celebrating [[Holy Communion\|The Lord's Supper]] with other Christians. Matters came to a head when Exclusive Brethren leaders learned that during his 1933 visits to the United Kingdom and the United States Nee had broken bread with [[Honor Oak]] Christian Fellowship associated with the independent ministry of [[Theodore Austin-Sparks\|T. Austin-Sparks]] and with non-Brethren missionaries ~~who~~whom Nee had known in China. After a series of communications Nee received a letter dated 31 August 1935, signed by leading Brethren, severing fellowship with him and his movement.<ref>{{cite book \| last=Woodbridge \| first=David \| title=Missionary Primitivism and Chinese Modernity: The Brethren in Twentieth-Century China \| location=Boston \| publisher=Brill \| date=2019 \| isbn=978-9-00433-675-9 \| oclc=1055568760 \| pages=49–75}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal \| last=Buntain \| first=William E. \| title=The Exclusive Brethren, Watchman Nee, and the Local Churches in China \| journal=Brethren Historical Review \| editor-last=Dickson \| editor-first=Neil \| volume=15 \| date=2019 \| issn=1755-9383 \| pages=40–72}}</ref> ==Marriage== Line 46 ⟶ 48: {{quote\|text=From the time I was bedridden by illness until the time I was healed by God, I was being shown more clearly the kind of work God wanted me # ~~'''~~Literary Work~~'''~~: After my illness, God made it known to me that the primary purpose of His imparting messages to me was not for explaining the Scripture, nor for preaching the ordinary Gospel, nor for prophesying, but for laying stress on the living word of life... All that I have written has one aim, which is that the reader will, in the new creation, give himself wholly to God and become a useful person in His hands. Now I whole-heartedly commit my writings, my readers and myself to God, who preserves men for ever, and hope that His Spirit will guide me into all His truths. # ~~'''~~Meetings for the Overcomer~~'''~~: God opened my eyes to the necessity of raising up in churches at various places, a number of people who are victorious to be His witnesses... Therefore once every year a meeting for the victorious was held in which I faithfully proclaimed the messages which God has revealed to me. # ~~'''~~Building up Local Churches~~'''~~: When the Lord called me to serve Him, the prime object was not for me to hold revival meetings so that people may hear more Scriptural doctrines nor for me to become a great evangelist. The Lord revealed to me that He wanted to build up local churches in other localities to manifest Himself, to bear testimony of unity on the ground of local churches so that each saint may perform his duty in the Church and live the Church life. God wants not merely individual pursuit of victory or spirituality but a corporate, glorious Church presented to Himself. # ~~'''~~Youth Training~~'''~~: If the return of the Lord be delayed, it will be necessary to raise up a number of youths to continue the testimony and work for the next generation... My idea is not to establish a seminary or a Bible institute but to have the young people live a corporate life and practice spiritual life, that is, receive training for the purpose of edification and to learn to read the Scripture and to pray in order to build up good character. On the negative side, to learn how to deal with sin, the world, the flesh, natural life, and so on. At a suitable time they are to return to their respective churches to be tempered together with other saints to serve the Lord in the Church... In the future my personal burden and work will generally comprise these four aspects. May all the glory be to the Lord.\|sign=Watchman Nee\|source=''Watchman Nee's Testimony''.{{cn\|date=July 2022}}}} Nee began to write and publish at a very early age. In 1923, he began to publish the magazine ''The Present Testimony'', and in 1925, he started another magazine entitled ''The Christian.'' It was also in 1925 when Nee changed his name from Ni Shu-tsu to Ni To-sheng (English translation: Watchman Nee). At age 21, Nee established the first "local church" in Sitiawan, Malaysia while visiting his mother, who had moved there from China. In 1926, Nee established up another local church in Shanghai, which became the center of his work in China. By 1932, Nee's practice of meeting as local churches spread throughout China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. He maintained this pattern until his imprisonment.<ref name=AT /><ref name=seer /><ref>Lee, Joseph Tse-Hei. "Watchman Nee and the Little Flock Movement in Maoist China." ''Church History'' 74:1 (2005), 76–77.</ref> In 1928, Nee published a three-volume book entitled ''The Spiritual Man''.<ref>Hattaway, Paul. ''China's Christian Martyrs''. Oxford: Monarch Books (2007).</ref> In February of the same year, Nee held his first "Overcomer Conference" in Shanghai. In January 1934, Nee called a special conference on the subjects of "Christ as the Centrality and Universality of God" and "The Overcomers". According to Nee, this was a turning point for him in his ministry. He said, "My Christian life took a big turn from doctrines and knowledge to a living person, Christ, who is God's centrality and universality."<ref name=AT /><ref name=seer /><ref>Lee, Witness. ''The Central Line of the Divine Revelation.'' Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry (1995).</ref>{{better source\|date=July 2022}} In February 1934, Nee gave a series of talks in which he defined and expounded the practice of the local churches, stating that in the Bible, the church is never divided into regions and never denominated based on a teaching or doctrine. These talks were eventually published in the book ''The Assembly Life''. In May of the same year, Nee encouraged [[Witness Lee]] to move to Shanghai from [[Yantai]] in order to join him and Ruth Lee in their work editing Nee's publications.<ref name=AT /><ref name=seer /> Line 70 ⟶ 72: On January 29, 1956, Public Security took over the Nanyang Road building, and many of Nee's co-workers were arrested, put into isolation, and forced to repudiate Watchman Nee. Some co-workers joined in the accusation of Watchman Nee while others, such as Peace Wang, Ruth Lee, and Yu Chenghua remained silent and were punished with life imprisonment. Following this, mass accusation meetings were held across the country to condemn the "anti-revolutionary sect of Watchman Nee".<ref name=sze>Sze, Newman. ''The Martyrdom of Watchman Nee.'' Culver City: Testimony Publications (1997).</ref><ref>Lee, Joseph Tse-Hei. "Watchman Nee and the Little Flock Movement in Maoist China." ''Church History'' 74:1 (2005).</ref> ~~It is said that Watchman Nee's prison guards kept getting changed because they converted to Christianity. The Communist Party then cut out his tongue to try to silence him.~~ ==Later imprisonment and death== Line 77 ⟶ 78: Nee's grandniece recounted the time when she went to pick up Nee's ashes: {{Quote\|text= In June 1972, we got a notice from the labor farm that my granduncle had passed away. My eldest grandaunt and I rushed to the labor farm. But when we got there, we learned that he had already been cremated. We could only see his ashes... Before his departure, he left a piece of paper under his pillow, which had several lines of big words written in a shaking hand. He wanted to testify to the truth which he had even until his death, with his lifelong experience. That truth is—~~'''~~"Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ. Watchman Nee."~~'''~~ When the officer of the labor farm showed us this paper, I prayed that the Lord would let me quickly remember it by heart... My granduncle had passed away. He was faithful until death. With a crown stained with blood, he went to be with the Lord. Although Nee did not fulfill his last wish, to come out alive to join his wife, the Lord prepared something even better—they were reunited before the Lord.\|sign=Watchman Nee's grandniece\|source=''Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age''.{{citation needed\|date=July 2022}}}}▼ ▲My granduncle had passed away. He was faithful until death. With a crown stained with blood, he went to be with the Lord. Although Nee did not fulfill his last wish, to come out alive to join his wife, the Lord prepared something even better—they were reunited before the Lord.\|sign=Watchman Nee's grandniece\|source=''Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age''.}} ==Beliefs== Nee believed in the verbal inspiration of the Bible and that the Bible is God's Word. He also believed that God is in one sense triune, Father, Son, and Spirit, distinctly three, yet fully one, co-existing and co-inhering each other 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 life and the divine life, 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.<ref name=seer />{{better source\|date=July 2022}} Nee had a unique blend of Brethren theology, the exchanged life theology of the Keswick conventions and his own ~~east Asian~~ insights into Christian theology. His well-known book, "Sit, Walk, Stand" focused on the believer's position "in Christ," an important feature of the Apostle Paul's theology.{{cn\|date=July 2022}} Watchman Nee is often associated with [[Free grace theology\|Free Grace theology]].<ref name=":23">{{Cite book \|last=Chay \|first=Fred \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNKiswEACAAJ \|title=A Defense of Free Grace Theology: With Respect to Saving Faith, Perseverance, and Assurance \|date=2017 \|publisher=Grace Theology Press \|isbn=978-0-9981385-4-1 \|language=en}}</ref> Nee held that assurance is not to be placed upon one's sanctification and put a heavy emphasis on eternal rewards. <ref>{{Cite web \|last=Lazar \|first=Shawn \|date=2017-07-13 \|title=Watchman Nee on Assurance – Grace Evangelical Society \|url=https://faithalone.org/blog/watchman-nee-on-assurance/ \|access-date=2023-05-17 \|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web \|last=Lazar \|first=Shawn \|date=2021-12-06 \|title=Watchman Nee on Gnashing Your Teeth – Grace Evangelical Society \|url=https://faithalone.org/blog/watchman-nee-on-gnashing-your-teeth/ \|access-date=2023-05-17 \|language=en-US}}</ref> Nee held that the "Outer Darkness" mentioned in Matthew is a temporal place for saved Christians who do not live in obedience.<ref name="Rokser">{{Cite book \|last1=Rokser \|first1=Dennis M. \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=124cjgEACAAJ \|title=Should Christians Fear Outer Darkness? \|last2=Stegall \|first2=Thomas L. \|last3=Witzig \|first3=Kurt \|date=2015-09-18 \|publisher=Grace Gospel Press \|isbn=978-1-939110-10-7 \|language=en}}</ref> ==Publications== In addition to speaking frequently before many audiences, Watchman Nee authored various books, articles, newsletters, and hymns. Most of his books were based on notes taken down by students during his spoken messages. Some books were compiled from messages published previously in his periodicals. Watchman Nee's best-known book in English is ''[[The Normal Christian Life]]'', ~~which~~ is based on talks he delivered in English during a trip to England and Europe in 1938 and 1939. There he expressed theological views on the [[New Testament]] book of [[Epistle to the Romans\|Romans]]. The English messages of "The Normal Christian Life" were first published chapter by chapter in the magazine "A Witness and A Testimony" beginning in the Nov-Dec issue in 1940.<ref>{{cite web\| url=https://www.austin-sparks.net/pdf/searchable/AWAT1940.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks \| access-date=2023-11-07 \| title=A Witness and a Testimony (1940)}}</ref> It was later published as a book by Witness and Testimony Publishers in August 1945 and advertised in the Sept/Oct edition of the "A Witness and A Testimony" magazine.<ref>{{cite web\| url=https://www.austin-sparks.net/pdf/searchable/AWAT1945.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks \| access-date=2023-11-07 \| title=A Witness and a Testimony (1945)}}</ref> Some of Watchman Nee's best-known books include: ''The Spiritual Man'' (1928) Translated in (1969) ''Concerning Our Missions'' (1939) Translated in (1942) ''The Song of Songs'' (1945) Translated in (1970) ''The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit'' (1950) Translated in (1961) ''[[The Normal Christian Life]]'' ({{lang\|zh\|正常的基督徒生活}}) (~~1957~~1938/1939) Published in 1940 (messages given in English) ''The Normal Christian Church Life'' (1938) Translated in (1965) ''Sit, Walk, Stand'' ({{lang\|zh\|坐行站}}) (1957) Translated in (1971) ''What Shall this Man Do?'' (1961) Translated in (1975) ''Love Not the World'' (1951) Translated in (1968) ''Let Us Pray'' (1942) Translated in (1949) ''The Spirit of the Gospel'' (1956)▼ ''A Living Sacrifice'' (1932) Translated in (1950) ''God's Work'' (1940)▼ ''Authority & Submission'' (1941) Translated in (1950) ▲''The Spirit of the Gospel'' (~~1956~~1949) Translated in (1971) ▲''God's Work'' (1940) Translated in (1967) ''Back to the Cross'' (1931) Translated in (1956) ''Grace for Grace'' (1949) Translated in (1968) ''How to Study the Bible'' (1956) Translated in (1968) ''Practical Issues of this life'' (1938) Translated in (1970) ''The Mystery of Creation'' Translated in (1981) In addition to publishing his own books, other spiritual publications were translated from English and published under Watchman Nee's oversight. These included books by [[T. Austin-Sparks]], [[Madame Guyon]], Mary E. McDonough, [[Jessie Penn-Lewis]], and others.<ref>"Books Translated." Publications by Watchman Nee. Living Stream Ministry. http://www.watchmannee.org/publications.html#translated</ref> Line 133 ⟶ 143: [http://www.watchmannee.org/ Living Stream Ministry: Watchman Nee] [http://brotherwatchmannee.com/ Watchman Nee's Biography ] [http://www.ministrybooks.org/collected-works.cfm Living Stream Ministry: The Collected Works of Watchman Nee] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111201008/http://www.ministrybooks.org/collected-works.cfm \|date=2022-01-11 }} [http://www.ministrybooks.org/watchman-nee-books.cfm Living Stream Ministry: Additional Titles by Watchman Nee] [http://watchman-nee.net/ ChristianWebsites.org: Watchman Nee] [http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/n/ni-tuosheng.php/ Biographical Dictionary of CHINESE Christianity: Ni Tuosheng (Watchman Nee) 1903 ~ 1972] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917021558/http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/n/ni-tuosheng.php \|date=2014-09-17 }} [http://www.c-f-p.com/category_s/1825.htm Christian Fellowship Publishers: About Watchman Nee] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017233507/http://www.c-f-p.com/category_s/1825.htm \|date=2014-10-17 }} {{Christianity and China}} Line 147 ⟶ 157: [[Category:1972 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Christian mystics]] [[Category:~~Chinese~~20th-century evangelicals]] [[Category:Chinese Protestant missionaries]]▼ [[Category:Chinese theologians]]▼ [[Category:Protestant mystics]]▼ [[Category:Chinese Christian mystics]] [[Category:Chinese ~~Protestant ministers and clergy~~evangelicals]] [[Category:Chinese Plymouth Brethren]]▼ [[Category:Christian writers]]▼ [[Category:Chinese evangelists]] ▲[[Category:Chinese Plymouth Brethren]] [[Category:Chinese Protestant ministers and clergy]] ▲[[Category:Chinese Protestant missionaries]] [[Category:Evangelical missionaries]] ▲[[Category:~~Chinese~~Evangelical theologians]] ▲[[Category:~~Christian~~Chinese Evangelical writers]] [[Category:Local Church movement]] [[Category:People from Fuzhou]] [[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China]]▼ [[Category:Persecution of Christians]] ▲[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China]] [[Category:Protestant missionaries in China]] ▲[[Category:Protestant mystics]] [[Category:Religious persecution by communists]]