What Shall This Man Do?
Book Study
Introductory Comment
Watchman Nee wrote many books. I do NOT recommend all of them. There are two primary books he wrote that I highly recommend:
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What Shall This Man Do?
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The Normal Christian Life
When I was pretty much a new Christian in the late seventies, I read this book and was greatly helped by it. If you are a serious-minded Christian that desires to be genuinely useful to the Lord, I very much believe this book has the potential to provide you with important insights that will stand you in good stead, especially as the days wear on to the coming of the Lord.
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Here are several quotes taken from this book to give you an idea of Nee's insight into the Truth:
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"A vast knowledge of the Bible will not make up for a little knowledge of the Lord. We must know Him, and the Bible as His Word, the expression of His present mind in regard to His people."
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"When everything goes wrong and all is confusion, don't pray, but confess that Jesus is Lord. Today, when the world is in turmoil, stand and proclaim that Jesus is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He loves to hear us say what we know."
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"The secret of spiritual vision is a readiness for the cost of it, which means a humble openness of spirit to the searching light of God."
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"Two men may use the same words, but in the one you meet something you cannot get past; in the other--nothing."
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"We dare not live for a small thing. When in the light of His Word, we see God's purpose in His Son, everything is transformed. We still preach, but we see differently. Nothing we do thereafter stands alone. All is for one thing--the eternal self-revelation of Christ through His Body."
Introduction to Chapter 1: God's Skilled Craftsman
In this introductory chapter, Nee lays out his overall premise: That there are essentially three basic forms our 'ministry' may take. [And by 'ministry' we mean the overall direction God's work in ANY Christian's life may take.] Nee sorts these into three basic directions, taken from his consideration of God's work through several of the apostles in the early churches.
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1. Peter - Used by God to "fish" for men…in other words outreach, evangelism.
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2. Paul - Used by God to "make tents"…in other words establishing churches in the fullness of Christian Truth [Doctrine].
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3. John - Used by God for "net-mending"…in other words laboring to keep the Gospel pure from error.
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These classifications are not intended to be some kind of formula or 'final word' on how God uses a Christian. They are intended to assist us as we seek to learn what genuine God-honoring ministry looks like. Summing up his remarks about these men, Nee says:
"So, we have before us these three representative men. We have Peter, concerned first with the ingathering of souls; we have Paul, the wise master-builder, building according to the heavenly vision given to him; and then, when failure threatens, we have John introduced to reaffirm that there is still an original purpose in view, and one that, in the mind of God, has never been abandoned."