The Normal Christian Life

IN THE LATE 1950s and 1960s, a spirit of dissatisfaction and a spirit of seeking swept America. Outwardly, the years that followed the end of the Second World War saw unprecedented economic prosperity. Nevertheless, the prosperity served to highlight, for some, the emptiness of American culture and religion. Avant-garde thinkers and poets began to reject cultural and religious norms, attempting to fill the spiritual void with things like Zen Buddhism, drugs, and spiritual experiments—a trend that would develop into the counterculture movement of the late '60s. 

An analogous trend was also occurring within American Christianity, as a small but increasing number of believers grew dissatisfied with superficial and often sentimental religiosity. Some were troubled at the discrepancy between the contemporary church and the church described in the New Testament. Others, like those in the Charismatic movement, sought to experience the baptism of the outpouring of the Spirit, which they believed would usher them into victory and holiness and renew the church. Many such movements proved to be controversial, but they exemplified a growing hunger for spiritual reality.

It was in the midst of this atmosphere that the first published works by Watchman Nee arrived in the English-speaking world. The first such book was The Normal Christian Life, based on messages given by Nee in English during his stay in the United Kingdom in the late 1930s and edited by Angus Kinnear, son in law of T. Austin-Sparks. The book examines the spiritual principles concerning how believers may live a normal, overcoming Christian life as seen in the Epistle of Romans, and concludes that the only way is to allow Christ to live in them.  

‍The Normal Christian Life was first published by the Gospel Literature Service in Bombay, India in 1957, followed by the publication of a U.K. edition the following year, put out by Austin-Sparks’ publishing group. In the early 1960s, the book was picked up by Christian Literature Crusade International (CLC), which began to circulate copies in the United States. CLC’s edition achieved a wider distribution and reached many seeking believers throughout the U.S.

CLC published several additional titles by Nee, including What Shall This Man Do?, a book on Christian service, and Sit, Walk, Stand, an exposition of Ephesians that emphasizes experience. Stephen Kaung’s publishing group, Christian Fellowship Publishers (CFP), published others, including The Release of the Spirit (later published by Living Stream Ministry as The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit), The Song of Songs, Love Not the World, and Spiritual Authority (later published by Living Stream Ministry as Authority and Submission). Karl Hammond, one of the leaders of the brethren congregation in Whittier, California, published his own edition of The Normal Christian Church Life, Nee’s classic work on the New Testament pattern for the church, the ministry, and the work.

‍The Normal Christian Life and The Normal Christian Church Life proved to be particularly revelatory to many seeking believers in the U.S., laying out both the experience of Christ as life and the practical expression of the church.

Years later, while speaking to those serving in the publication work in Taiwan, Witness Lee reflected on the impact of The Normal Christian Life:

"What would our condition be today if none of Brother Nee’s messages had been published as books? It was the Lord’s sovereign arrangement that Brother Nee lived in Europe in 1938 and 1939, mostly in London…When Brother Nee went to Europe, no one went with him to take notes, and there were no recording systems like we have today. The only records were from personal notes taken by those who attended the meetings. Kinnear was in these meetings, and because he personally received a great deal of help and edification, he treasured these messages and collected the personal notes from others. Then he spent a great amount of time and effort to edit them into a book. He did a very good job of editing, and he chose the spiritual content well. His style and structure were also good. [The Normal Christian Life] can be considered as a masterpiece. After it was published, it shook Europe and the United States… It was the Lord’s sovereign arrangement to allow this book to be distributed throughout the world. This shows that the effect of the publication work is widespread and that the value of the work is eternal.

– The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984, vol. 5, pp. 238-239