Holding Forth the Word of Life is a compilation of individual devotionals written to encourage, challenge, and confirm in the lives of believers, the life-changing power of the Word of God. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Holding Forth the Word of Life is a collection of essays offered to honor Tim Meadowcroft on his retirement from Laidlaw College. An international authority on Daniel, over the last twenty-five years Tim has established himself as one of New Zealand’s leading biblical scholars. While specializing in Old Testament, Tim has taught and published in New Testament as well as hermeneutics and theological interpretation of Scripture. Beyond academic work he has also remained committed to the church and its voice in wider society. This collection of essays, written by leading scholars from New Zealand and beyond, covers all of these areas—Old Testament, New Testament, intertestamental texts, hermeneutics, theological interpretation of Scripture, reception history, and theological reflection on pressing issues facing society.

The subject of Philippians is the experience of Christ. Concerning the experience of Christ, each chapter of Philippians covers a major point. First, in chapter one, we have the magnification of Christ. No matter what the circumstances are in which we find ourselves, we need to express Christ in such a way that we magnify Him. In chapter two, Paul presents Christ as our pattern. In everything we do, we need a pattern, a model, an example. Even in the experience of Christ and the enjoyment of Christ, we need a pattern. This pattern is Christ Himself. Chapter three indicates that Christ should be our goal, our aim. We who love the Lord and seek Him are not aimless. Our aim is Christ Himself. He is the goal toward which we press. Finally, in chapter four, Christ is our strength. In 4:13 Paul says, “I can do all things in Him who empowers me.” Christ is not only the pattern and the goal; He is also the strength, the power, the dynamo. As the dynamo within us, he empowers us to live Him, to magnify Him, and to press on toward Him as the goal. In the four chapters of Philippians, we see Christ as the One lived out and magnified, Christ as the pattern, Christ as the goal, and Christ as our inward strength. This book on the experience of Christ covers four major points: the expression, the pattern, the goal, and the strength.

“According to the book of Philippians, there is a salvation which is constant in our practical life. To say that this salvation is constant means that it is a salvation we may experience every day, every hour, and every moment.” In this booklet taken from Life-study of Philippians, Witness Lee presents this salvation—not our eternal salvation from hell, which is objective, but a very subjective and experiential salvation that we can enjoy moment by moment.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1988, volume 1, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from January 3 through December 18, 1988. In 1988 Brother Lee spoke fifty-six messages that were published in the Life-study of Leviticus. These Life-study messages are not included in The Collected Works of Witness Lee. Brother Lee remained in Irving, Texas, during the first part of January 1988. He returned to Anaheim, California, in the middle of January and again traveled to Irving in February, where he remained until the first part of March. From then until the third week in March he visited Seattle, Washington; Vancouver, Canada; and Berkeley and San Jose, California. In the last week of March Brother Lee visited Spokane, Washington, and San Francisco, California, before he returned to Anaheim. In the first few days of April he visited San Jose for two days, and in the second week of April he flew to Taipei, Taiwan, and remained there until early June. He returned to Anaheim and remained there through the third week of July. In the remaining days of July he visited a number of cities in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Berkeley, Hayward, San Jose, Los Altos, and San Francisco, California. In early August he visited Spokane, and at the end of August he visited Seattle. In the last few days of August he visited Alhambra, California, and in September he traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia. In early October Brother Lee visited Taipei for one month before traveling to Seoul, South Korea, and then back to Taipei, where he remained until the middle of November. He then returned to Anaheim and remained there until the middle of December. During his time in Anaheim he also ministered in Pasadena, San Gabriel, and Monterey Park, California. In mid-December he traveled to Irving and remained there through the early days of January 1989. The contents of this volume are divided into fourteen sections, as follows: 1. A message given in Irving, Texas, on January 3, 1988. This message is included in this volume under the title The New Way for the Lord's Recovery. 2. Six messages given in Chinese in Anaheim, California, on January 15 through 31. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English in a book entitled The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve and are included in this volume under the same title. 3. Four messages given in Anaheim, California, on January 21 through July 19. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with the Full-time Serving Ones concerning the Lord's Present Move. 4. Two messages given in Anaheim, California, on January 30 and October 1. They are included in this volume under the title Serving the Lord in His New Way to Raise Up Local Churches. 5. Twelve messages given in Irving, Texas, on February 22 through March 5. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Speaking Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 6. Thirteen messages given in Irving, Texas, on February 22 through March 5. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Living in and with the Divine Trinity and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. Three messages given in Irving, Texas, on March 7 and December 16 and 18. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with the Full-time Trainees in Irving, Texas. 8. Three messages given in Seattle, Washington, on March 11 through 13. They are included in this volume under the title Practicing the Scriptural Way of Meeting in Mutuality for the Growth and Building Up of the Body of Christ and Holding to the Teaching of the Apostles as the Leadership in the New Testament. 9. Eight messages given in Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, Canada, on March 11 through 16. These messages are included in this volume under the title Being Perfected for the Building Up of the Body of Christ through the Practice of the New Way. 10. Seven messages given in Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, Canada, on March 13 through 16. These messages are included in this volume under the title Practicing the Church Life under the Vision of the Organic Body of Christ and Perfecting the Saints for the Building Up of the Body. 11. Three messages given in Berkeley and San Jose, California, on March 17 through 20. They are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with Elders in the Bay Area. 12. Four messages given in Berkeley and San Jose, California, on March 17 through 20. They are included in this volume under the title Loving the Lord in Incorruptibility. 13. Five messages given in Berkeley and San Jose, California, on March 18 through 20. They are included in this volume under the title Various Times of Fellowship in the Bay Area. 14. Three messages given in Chinese in San Jose and San Francisco, California, on March 20 and 23. They are included in this volume under the title The New Testament Ministry and the Practice of the New Way.