I consider Watchman Nee to be a unique gift given by the Head to His Body.... I fully respect him as such a gift....I am more than grateful to the Lord that immediately after being saved I was brought into such a profitable relationship with Watchman Nee and put into the closest relationship with him in the work of His recovery through so many events over a long period of time.The revelations concerning Christ, the church, the Spirit, and life which I saw through Watchman Nee, the infusions of life which I received from him, and the things concerning the work and the church which I learned from him will require eternity to evaluate their true worth. By Witness Lee

Watchman Nee's writings have become well known for their deep spiritual insight among Christians in many nations for many years. Through these volumes a full understanding of his balanced and proper view concerning the Bible and the spiritual life can be accurately appreciated. This new compilation and retranslation of Watchman Nee's writings present the reader a fresh and unedited version of his ministry and promises to shed new light on the reader's understanding of Watchman Nee's ministry.

The most important work of God on earth is the speaking out of His word through man. In the Old Testament God's word was released through the ministry of the prophets, and in the New Testament it was released through the ministry of the Lord Jesus and later through the apostles. Even though God is pleased to allow us to speak His word, the greatest measure of our usefulness as a minister of the Word is not the amount of our Bible knowledge or even the ability to eloquently present the truth; rather, it is the degree to which our inward parts have been molded and shaped by the Holy Spirit. The Ministry of God's Word contains a series of messages given by Watchman Nee in 1948 and 1949 after nearly thirty years of ministry. These messages are deep, profound, subjective, and full of light, revealing both the depth of his experience and extent of our need to open to the Holy Spirit's inward operation.

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 Águas de Lindóia, Brazil on October 1-3, 2015. The general subject of the training was “The Crucial Points of the Major Items of the Lord’s Recovery Today.” 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.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the remaining eight messages given during the fall 2018 term of the full-time training in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this series of messages is "The Central Vision." There are three aspects of the central vision. The first aspect is God as our contents, the second aspect is Christ as the mystery of God, and the third aspect is the church as the mystery of Christ. Christ is the mystery of God, the church is the mystery of Christ, and Christ and the church are the great mystery.