Today the Lord demands that we have the recovery of the meeting in mutuality, as unveiled in 1 Corinthians 14:26, by practicing Ephesians 4:11-16. We must have the perfecting of the saints by the gifts that the saints may participate in the work of the unique ministry of the New Testament—the work of the building up of the Body of Christ. The practice of Ephesians 4:11-16 is for the building up of the Body of Christ by the Body itself in the increase of the Body's growth in the divine life. This is accomplished by the wide spreading of the gospel of Christ by visiting people for the producing of the new believers, by home meetings to nourish the new believers, by group meetings to take care of the saints and teach them the truth for their edification, and by church meetings to exhibit and minister Christ to the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ by the developing and exercising of the saints' organic functions.

Throughout the centuries of church history the Lord has progressively carried out His work of recovery. In this book, Witness Lee shows that the Lord's present advance is to recover the priesthood of the gospel, the organic building up of the Body of Christ, the perfecting of the believers, and the speaking of God's word for the building of the Body of Christ. He concludes with help as to how we can practice these four matters.

This book uncovers the present religious age which has become a great distraction to God's people. The Lord's desire in His recovery is to rescue the believers from the deceit of the age that they might take Christ as life for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. The book concludes with practical fellowship on how the believers of all ages can rise up in coordination to work together with God for the advance of His recovery on the whole earth.

This book emphasizes the need to practice the Lord's present recovery for the organic building up of the Body of Christ by entering into prophesying as revealed in 1 Corinthians 14 and into the perfecting of the saints as revealed in Ephesians 4:11-16.