"Every Christian who has believed into Christ and received Him has a desire to grow in Him. The greatest hindrances to the experience of the growth in life are not outward circumstances and environmental hardships; rather, they are a mind in need of renewing, a will in need of submission to God, and an emotion in need of stability. In the Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit Watchman Nee provides a clear picture of the need for the breaking of the outer man so that the life of Christ in our spirit can flow out as rivers of living water to refresh and build up the people of God. In a new and revised translation of this spiritual classic, Watchman Nee provides crucial insight into the Biblical revelation of the necessity of the dividing of our soul from our spirit"--Back cover

The Bible is the inspired word of God, and every believer should study it in order to know the rich and vast content of God's divine provisions. When God speaks, He does so through His established Word. Therefore, we must study the Bible in a proper way in order to let the word of God dwell richly in our hearts. In order to study the Bible, we first must be proper persons, having passed through the necessary spiritual training under the Lord's leading and guiding. We must also use the right methods. Many good books have been printed on how to study the Bible, but most pay attention only to methods of studying the Bible. Even with the right methods, we can receive very little in our study of the Bible if our person is not proper before the Lord. In a series of messages given to his co-workers in 1948 and 1949, Watchman Nee presents a balanced view of studying the Bible. In addition to providing practical guidelines for discovering the riches in God's word, He spends an equal amount of time to impart a burden that those who study the Bible must be proper persons before the Lord. Only then can we receive light and revelation from the Holy Scriptures. Every Christian who has believed into Christ has a desire to grow in Him. The greatest hindrances to the experience of the growth in life are not outward circumstances and environmental hardships; rather, they are a mind in need of renewing, a will in need of submission to God, and emotions in need of stability. In The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit Watchman Nee provides a clear picture of the need for the breaking of the outer man so that the life of Christ in our spirit can flow out as rivers of living water to refresh and build up the people of God. In a new and revised translation of this spiritual classic, Watchman Nee provides crucial insight into the Biblical revelation of the necessity of the dividing of our soul from our spirit.

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.

Surely this is the hour when the battleground is in the soul. While the Lord is seeking to work through the quickened spirit. Satan is seeking to work throught the natural, soulish life which has not been brought under control of the spriit.

Volume 47 of The Collected Works is composed of two books by Watchman Nee on the subject of the church and authority in the church. The Orthodoxy of the Church is based on a Bible study conducted by Watchman Nee during the period between 1942 and 1948. This section of Volume 47 has been previously published as a separate title. Authority and Submission, based on a series of messages given by Watchman Nee in his training at Kuling Mountain in 1948 through 1949, contains two distinct but related parts. In 1988 the Living Stream Ministry published the first part under the title Authority and Submission, covering the general subject of spiritual authority and submission. Volume 47 of The Collected Works includes a second, previously untranslated part, covering the matter of being God’s deputy authority.