The entire Bible reveals that God’s eternal purpose and the good pleasure of His will is to have the church. In order to carry out His purpose and pleasure, God made a plan, which centers around the mysterious, incomprehensible Christ who was incarnated as a man, crucified for our redemption, resurrected to be our life, and ascended to the heavens. Specifically, God’s plan is to impart, to dispense, this unsearchably rich Christ into His believers. In Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, Witness Lee unveils how the church as the Body of Christ is produced by our enjoyment of the unsearchable riches of Christ through His word and by His Spirit. Such an enjoyment causes the believers to grow and be transformed into the precious materials for God’s building. As the believers come together in spirit and in oneness, the work of building is carried out for the glory of God and the defeat of His enemy.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the first eight messages given during the spring 2018 term of the full-time training in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this series of messages is "Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ." The goal of God's economy and of our enjoyment of the riches of Christ is the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ. This goal is God's purpose, God's will, and His good pleasure. The building up of the church as the Body of Christ is simultaneously the maturing of the one new man and the preparation of the bride.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1971, volume 4, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from August 27, 1971, through January 3, 1972. During this period Brother Lee traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago at the end of August, where he remained for one week before returning to Los Angeles. From there he traveled in California, visiting San Francisco, San Diego, and San Jose before returning to Los Angeles at the end of October. Then he traveled to Dallas, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; Toronto, Canada; and Detroit, Michigan. There is no record of his speaking in these four cities. Near the end of November he visited Akron, Ohio, and gave a conference over the Thanksgiving weekend. At the beginning of December he returned to Los Angeles for about a week, after which he traveled to Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Canada; and Moses Lake, Spokane, and Seattle, Washington. He then went to San Jose and San Francisco at the end of December. There is no record of his speaking in Portland, Vancouver, Moses Lake, Spokane, and San Jose. The contents of this volume are divided into thirteen sections, as follows: 1. Seventeen messages given in Chicago, Illinois, from August 27 through September 6. These messages were previously published under the title Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ. 2. One message given in Chicago, Illinois, on August 29. This message was previously printed in The Ministry magazine, volume 2, number 8, August/September 1998, under the title The Scriptural Pattern for Raising Up Churches. 3. One message given in Chicago, Illinois, on September 5. It is published in this volume under the title Migration for the Lord's Move in the United States. 4. One message given in Los Angeles, California, on September 8. It was previously printed in The Ministry magazine, volume 2, number 8, August/September 1998, under the title The Establishing and Spread of the Churches. 5. Three miscellaneous messages given in Los Angeles, California, on October 3 and 31. They are included in this volume under the title Various Los Angeles Meetings. 6. One message given in San Diego, California. The date of the message is uncertain, but it is thought to be October 10. It is included in this volume under the title The Recovery of the Genuine Oneness of the Body of Christ. 7. One message given in San Diego, California, on October 22. This message is published in this volume under the title Having a Personal, Intimate, Affectionate, Tender, and Loving Contact with the Lord Jesus. 8. Two messages given in San Francisco, California, on October 16 and 17. They are published in this volume under the title The Lord's Recovery of the Enjoyment of the All-inclusive Christ. 9. Seven messages given in Akron, Ohio, from November 25 through 28. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Central Revelation in the Bible. 10. Three messages given in Akron, Ohio, from November 22 through 26. They are included in this volume under the title Being Saved in the Life of Christ for the Church Life. 11. Three messages given in Los Angeles, California, from December 5 through 8. These messages are included in this volume under the title Gathering Together to Minister Christ, to Receive Christ, and to Glorify God. 12. Seven messages given in Seattle, Washington, from December 24 through 27. They are published in this volume under the title Enjoying and Ministering Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ. 13. Eight messages given in San Francisco, California, from December 31, 1971, through January 3, 1972. These messages are included in this volume under the title Crucial Aspects of the Lord's Recovery.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1964, volume 1, contains messages and fellowship given by Brother Witness Lee from February 14 through July 4, 1964. During this period of time Brother Lee gave conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Blackfoot, Idaho. Also, in April he traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and to three cities in Texas--Plainview, Odessa, and Tyler. Unfortunately, only the messages given in Tyler were recorded. After returning to Los Angeles for the month of May, Brother Lee traveled to New York City, where he gave messages during a monthlong conference and training from June through July. The contents of this volume are divided into ten sections, as follows: 1. Ten messages given at a conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 14 through 20. This series of messages is included in this volume under the title Experiencing Christ in Our Spirit for the Church Life. 2. Five messages given at a conference in Blackfoot, Idaho, on March 8 through 11. These messages are included in this volume under the title Vessels of God. 3. Four messages given to young people at a conference in Big Bear, California, on March 24 and 25. These messages have been previously published under the title A Young Man in God's Plan. 4. Four messages given in Los Angeles on March 27 through 29. These messages have been previously published under the title The Centrality and Universality of Christ. 5. Nine messages given in a conference in Tyler, Texas, on April 24 through 29. The recorded messages were edited to form the eleven chapters of this section, which is entitled Exercising Our Spirit to Practice the Body Life. 6. Six messages given at a conference in Los Angeles on May 26 through 31 and included in this volume under the title Serving in the Body for the Carrying Out of the Lord's Recovery. 7. Nine messages given in Los Angeles during the Lord's Day meetings from January 5 through May 31. These messages are included in this volume in the section titled Lord's Day Meetings. 8. Seven miscellaneous messages given in the Los Angeles area from February 9 through June 2. These messages are compiled in this volume under the title Miscellaneous Speakings. The contents of this section were composed from personal notes taken by saints who attended the meetings. 9. A series of thirteen messages given in New York City on June 17 through July 11 as part of a monthlong conference and training. This series appears in this volume as twelve chapters under the title Knowing and Experiencing God as Life. 10. A series of ten messages given in New York City on June 22 through July 4 as part of a monthlong conference and training. This series appears in this volume under the title Standing and Functioning on the Ground of Oneness.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones held in Gold Coast, Australia, on October 6-8, 2016. The general subject of the training was “Returning to the Orthodoxy of the Church.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.