A Balanced Christian Life

by Watchman Nee

"Ephraim is a cake not turned" (Hosea 7.8). This is a figurative way of saying "not balanced". The cake is burned on the one side, uncooked on the other; on one side it is overdone, on the other, totally undone. The cake is unfit to be eaten and is thus destined to be cast out. Our God is most balanced. He is love and He is light. Our Lord Jesus is full of grace and full of truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom as well as of revelation. In creation, God "hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and the hills in a balance" (Is. 40.12). Concerning redemption, it is said that "mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springeth out of the earth; and righteousness hath looked down from heaven" (Ps. 85.10,11). The new creation, therefore, must be well balanced. In this present volume, Watchman Nee attempts to show from God's word the perfect equilibrium of divine truth. Human nature, however, is prone to emphasize one side to the exclusion of the other side of truth. This has caused much confusion and many problems among God's people. It is essential that we know the balance of truth and hold on to both sides so that our Christian life may be well rounded as God has ordained. The contents of the book opens with a treatment of the balance between the gate and the way; continues with a presentation of the balance between the objective and the subjective; includes a discussion on the work inward and the work outward in the Christian life, as well as on the rest given and the rest found as promised by Christ; contemplates the other side of prayer frequently neglected, namely, to watch; and concentrates on the other less emphasized aspect of the trespass-offering, that of restoration. The book then provides a commentary on the contrast between the truly meek and the spiritually poor, and finally concludes with a consideration of the equilibrium that is so necessary between the believer's faith and the believer's walk. May all who read this volume be brought into a balanced Christian life.

Genres: Christianity, Nonfiction, Christian Living

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Watchman Nee (Chinese: 倪柝聲; pinyin: Ní Tuòshēng; Foochow Romanized: Ngà̤ Táuk-sĭng; 1903–1972) was a Chinese Christian author and church leader during the early 20th century. He spent the last 20 years of his life in prison and was severely persecuted by the Communists in China. Together with Wangzai, Zhou-An Lee, Shang-Jie Song, and others, Nee founded The Church Assembly Hall, later which would be also known as the "Local churches" (Chinese: 地方教會). or more commonly as (聚會所) meaning "assembly hall"

Born into a Methodist family, Watchman Nee experienced a religious revival, and joined the Church of Heavenly Peace, Fuzhou in 1920 at age 17 and began writing in the same year. In 1921, he met the British missionary M. E. Barber, who was a great influence on him. Through Miss Barber, Nee was introduced to many of the Christian writings which were to have a profound influence on him and his teachings. Nee attended no theological schools or Bible institutes. His knowledge was acquired through studying the Bible and reading various Christian spiritual books. During his 30 years of ministry, beginning in 1922, Nee traveled throughout China planting churches among the rural communities and holding Christian conferences and trainings in Shanghai. In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith; he remained in prison until his death in 1972.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was way better than I expected. super insightful chapters on the balance of:

1. the gate (step of faith) vs. the way (walking in obedience)
2. the objective (work of Christ) vs. the subjective (work of Holy Spirit in our lives)
3. work in (what Christ did for us) vs. work out (what we must work outwards, thru God in us)
4. rest given (in security of salvation) vs. rest found (in day-to-day peace in circumstances bc of God’s victory)
5. watch and pray - SUCH a good chapter, will expand on it below
6. sin offering (for new life) vs. trespass offering (for daily, uninterrupted communion with God)

this chapter revealed the importance of watchful prayer. as new things evolve in life, our strategy in approaching them must change, and this can only be gleaned through daily prayer.

loved the concept of “prayer nets” with casting someone in a prayer so thoroughly– over their health, mind, travels, etc.– that Satan has no hold. this defined something I already loved doing.

also super eye-opening about meta-prayer– praying about ABOUT prayer bc the enemy can try to confuse us when we enter the spiritual battleground (long-winded, untargeted prayers) or hit us with lethargy (so we feel too tired to pray).

watchman nee is blowing my mind and such a delight💯

[Elisa R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In obeying God we find joy. We accept the yoke God has apportioned to us, because we trust he will not allow us to go through what we cannot bear

When praying, pray for all things, like an overarching prayer net. Also, we "need to close our eyes in order to pray faithfully for people, but we need also to open them to notice any change"

We hate sin because it distances us from God: "Our hope today is to deal with everything we have sinned against men so that we may not lose communion with God."

Our own wisdom, strength, and vainglory must be replaced by knowing our own uselessness + knowing the power of God. "People who try to help God with their fleshly wisdom and power will never receive his approval."

Don't move presumptuously. "If in our speech we are not overcome by God, we will do great damage to his work." When in doubt, only those works that closely follow the command of God are useful.

"May God obtain something in us for His name."

Whatever God does in our lives is superabundant.

Regarding temptation, when we depend on ourselves we will fail, but when we look to and trust the word of God we will find victory. As Romans 6:14 states, "Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace." Old self crucified -> we are no longer slaves to sin.

The word of God is the truth we hold to.

A higher expression or spiritual life is NOT perfection. It is the denying of the flesh, victory over sin. There is only one way to overcome the enemy: believe in God's word and act accordingly.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another collection of profound messages from Watchman Nee, a preacher from Shanghai.
As the title indicates, he provides great biblical wisdom that sees both sides of situations. He offers plenty of examples from real life, and often gets to the heart of the matter, leading us into restful, fruitful reliance on God in our lives.

[Israel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many truths in scripture, It’s however important that we balance the truths for a fruitful experience.

Watch & Pray, Work In and Work Out, Objective & Subjective Truth.

Deep truths..

[Tochukwu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd really recommend this read for every believer in Christ Jesus. It's filled with a lot of insights on the finished works of Christ and living not on the extremes with relation to these works but living a balanced Christian life.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential read for believers. We need constant reminders of the importance of knowing God’s Word and applying it to our lives and the significance of prayer to live out our faith. Excellent and thought provoking book.

[Todd Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good practical read, I encourage all believers to invest in this for your library.