The Life That Wins

The Collected Works of Watchman Nee #24

by Charles Trumbull

Do you know the life that wins? Are you ashamed of the kind of Christian life you live? Have you failed so terribly in your striving for victory that you cry out, "Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me . . . ?" (Rom. 7.24) Be assured that your salvation is at "thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (v.25). For the life that wins is not attained, but obtained. It is not a life changed, but rather a life exchanged. It is not suppression, only expression. It is frankly not in you yourself, because it is in Christ who lives in you. The life which God gives and you receive at the time you believe in His Son Jesus Christ is such a life. It is a life that overcomes sin, provides intimate communion with God, and is full of satisfaction and power. It is already in you, waiting to be explored by you. The secret towards experiencing its power is to let go of yourself and let Christ live instead of you. This requires a childlike faith. Then shall you more than conquer through Him who loves you. In order to help believers into enjoying this life that wins, Watchman Nee delivered a series of messages on this subject at a conference held in Shanghai, China, in the months of September and October, 1935. He dealt with the full range of this important subject in his usual thoroughness yet simplicity and directness. At that conference, the author began with the believer's personal experience which, shamefully, is much less than desired. Then, by contrast, he described the kind of Christian life as ordained by God. Next, he dealt with the nature of this life that wins before he showed the way of entering into it. In more detail, he treated the matters of yielding and believing, which are the conditions for crossing the threshold of victory. But the author of these messages then warned his audience of the testing of faith which must follow. He exhorted believers to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ. He stressed also the need for having the note of triumph, which is praise. And finally, he concluded with the first and last act after victory, which is consecration. These messages are now being translated from the Chinese for the first time and presented to the readers in book form. May the Lord of glory be glorified through His life being lived out in His own.

Genres: Christian, Spirituality, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Theology

157 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1972

Reviews

[Jonathan Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Worth reading twice or thrice. Can you believe it? I actually read a xerox copy of this book. I underlined almost every page of the book with a red ball-point pen, and even wrote comments on the book on many pages. It made a powerful impact on me. I believe this book has to be read again and again, for us to understand the Christian Life. Compulsory reading for every truly born-again Christian who wants to grow in the Lord.

[Glenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Watchman Nee was deeply influenced by the Keswick/Deeper Life movement which was popular in late 19th and early 20th century Evangelicalism. "The Life That Wins" is a simplified version of that distinct message of sanctification/Christian growth. Keswick teaching followed a usual pattern: the believer is defeated in their battle with sin, they reach a crisis point in their walk with the Lord, they yearn for victory, and they desire to experience Christ's overcoming power. Nee, along with other Keswick teachers, instruct that each believer should ask God for a fresh revelation of their Union with Christ, once discovered, the believer should receive by faith Christ's victory as their victory, and then, quickly yield all their struggles to Christ. As a result, Christ will give the believer instantaneous and once-and-for all victory over that sin. The sequence is as follows: failure, crisis, faith, surrender/consecration, and then on-going victory.

Keswick model of sanctification is problematic for it regards Christian growth as a one-time crisis and dismisses outright the Bible's teaching of growth as a process. Along with Keswick, Watchman Nee's writings are based on half-truths: he rightly understands Union with Christ, the importance of faith, and the need for a surrendered heart. However, Nee neglects the Bible's instruction that believers have an on-going battle with our fallenness, which the Bible calls our flesh, or sin nature, that our growth in holiness is often slow-going, and that the Holy Spirit must be relied upon moment-by-moment for continuous victory. Nee fails to acknowledge in this book that struggles with a persistent sin do not always end in a crisis moment of faith and complete surrender. Also, Nee neglects the importance of partaking of the means of grace for daily strength to live apart from sin: the study of the Word of God, a sweet and abiding prayer-life, the Spiritual Disciplines, Christian fellowship, and the sacraments.

"Scripture speaks of both a holiness we already possess in Christ before God and a holiness in which we're to grow more and more. The first is the result of the work of Christ for us; the second is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The first is perfect and complete and is ours the moment we trust Christ; the second is progressive and incomplete as long as we're in this life."--Jerry Bridges, Holiness Day by Day.

Watchman Nee's "The Life That Wins" needs a better and well-rounded understanding of the Christian life. Instead of Brother Nee's writings, I would suggest reading Sinclair Ferguson's *The Devoted Life,* Jerry Bridges' *The Discipline of Grace,* and/or James Packer's *Keep in Step with the Spirit.*

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timely word.
Gal 2:20;
2 Cor 12:9
And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me.

We still lack one thing. pg 57
You should thank the Lord because you are qualified to be His patient. pg 70. Your power is perfected in my weaknesses.
Lord, I am only worthy of death. I do not intend to change or improve myself. I come to You just as I am with my weaknesses. I thank You because I cannot make it. pg 72.

Concerning life - matter of exchange, not change.

There are two worlds today, and every day we have to make a choice between them. Man has a mind, an emotion, and a will. Our will is free; therefore, we live in the world that we choose. If we live according to the senses of our physical organs in the physical world, we will substantiate the physical world. If we live by faith in the spiritual world, we will substantiate the spiritual world. In other words, when we exercise our senses, we live in Adam, but when we exercise our faith, we immediately live in Christ. We are always between these two things. pg 147.

Matt 22:37 - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
(Consecration)
Even if the Lord has given someone to you, He will not allow you to be attached to him or her. He will not allow you to be attached to your wife, your children, or your friends. pg 177.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essentially a book on depending on the Lord, expounding the principle revealed in Galatians 2:20. I think grasping the contents of this book is essential to any believer. And if one already understands this concept, reading it would at worst help hammer it home. Possessing the kind of faith required to truly substantiate Galatians 2:20 in our experience, is something we never graduate from. We must learn stop and let God do what we cannot (and even what we think we can).

[Leslie Yong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Praise for the book, “The Life That Wins”
This is indeed a wonderful book that dwell in depth on to explain and clarify some misconceptions in the scriptures for living a Victorious life that wins. And importantly, the author provides us with details steps to have an overcoming lives with over sin. It’s very challenging and provoking. It will give us a new perspective to change our mind set.

[Palama Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got a breakthrough here! Failure must be your best friend before this book can mean something to you! If you’ve failed a little! I’d say wait.. come back later. This one is by our brother is really the one. All other books on overcoming I read didn’t help! But this one! Amen thank the Lord for our brother. Only a man who has failed and learned God in experience can write such a book. That’s all.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nee reminds us what Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension to the throne means for Christians who desire something more than surviving situations.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly valuable insight into how to obtain victory life.

[Jonathan Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with—better still, using us as one of the fingers on His hand. "

"There is only one life that wins, and that is the life of Jesus Christ. Every man may have that life; every man may live that life. I do not mean that every man may be Christlike; I mean something very much better than that. I do not mean that a man may always have Christ’s help; I mean something better than that. I do not mean that a man may have power from Christ; I mean something very much better than power. And I do not mean that a man shall be merely saved from his sins and kept from sinning; I mean something better than even that victory."

[Matthew Pascavage · Rating 1 out of 5]

I went in after being told this was the “most influential” piece of Christian literature my friend had ever read. And because of that I pushed through to the end. It may be the different writing styles of Chinese and American theologians, but this book was difficult. There are no tangible applications, every chapter is full of vague examples of people who have “stopped sinning” after the author called out their sin. I truly believe in Jesus Christ and him having victory over sin and us being apart of that victory. But. I don’t think this book truly captures what that means for us still living in this world.

[Harvey Jaramillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

De una manera clara, y sencilla, haciendo uso magistral de analogías y alegorías Nee muestra que viene para un cristiano después de ser limpio por la sangre, el valor de la Cruz y cómo es a través de esta que nosotros podemos dejar que Cristo viva su vida en nosotros.

[pianogal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several of Watchman Nee's books and I think this one is my favorite. It seems like it was exactly what I wanted to read at the exact time. Good read.

[Andrew Klob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good introduction to the Exchanged Life. I found it to be a little scattered in how the content was presented and I didn't necessarily agree with everything, but, nevertheless, I still found it to be an encouraging book with some good insights and reminders.

[Israel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Overcoming Life is an exchanged life not a changed one and it’s one that starts from realizing the various kinds of sins and laying them before the savior.

One of the many insightful books from the author.

Great read

[Gerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed the works of Watchman Nee especially his Spiritual Man and Normal Christian Life. This one was a little repetitive and didn't cover many subjects.

[Israel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book teaches what it means to be a Christian. One of my best this year.

[Ceste Stanly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2nd Watchman Nee bk. Read my 1st in my late 20s & now I'm in my early 40s. Love his writing. Recently read my 1st sermon on Martin Luther's & def see some similarities in their preaching styles