Customer Reviews

The Spiritual Man

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This book opened my eyes to a whole world of spiritual reality that I had never seen or even pondered before. Once the truths of the triune nature of man are discovered, you realize where your spiritual power comes from. You understand the mechanics of being tempted and what you must do to become an overcomer. You know what you must do in order to manifest in your outward walk the purity and grace that are communicated to your spirit from God. In short, the book teaches you how to have a victorious walk with God by showing you how your spritual being operates. The knowledge Mr. Nee imparts seems so basic once it is understood, yet without his book, we may never have discovered these profound truths. This book has had a major influence in my thinking.

Jesus teaches that when He judges our service to Him, some of our works will go up in smoke like "wood, hay and stuble"? What if, upon God's examination of your efforts, He determines that our motives are tainted by our own pride, desire for pleasure, attention-seeking, or self-affirmation? And if there is such a danger, how can we identify and avoid it?

Brother Nee exposes these perils in unflinching detail and concludes unapologetically that the only solution is for the believer to die - not just once, but daily! He asserts that, while all Christians have been initially freed from sin's penalty at the Cross, many do not experience freedom from sin's power in actual experience. The result is an inconsistent life, ravaged by external temptations and internal uncertainty.

Normal spiritual progress, he explains, depends on the believer's willingness to deliver himself to the cross completely and continually. All thoughts, desires, emotions, affections, hopes, dreams, opinions, and decisions that do not proceed from the Spirit of God must be surrendered to the death of the cross. Moreover, he emphasizes that mere reform or improvement are not enough. The functions and works of the "old man" must be completely eradicated and replaced. The "new man in Christ" can not collaborate with the "old man" in God's work.

Brother Nee presents a thorough and easily comprehended description of the discrete functions of the spirit, soul and body. His analysis clearly reveals their purpose, operation, and relation both to each other and to the Holy Spirit. His focus is frequently on the "carnal" or "soulish" versus that which is "spiritual". His claims are supported by reference to the appropriate Scriptures.

You will frequently find your responses alternating between "Amen!" and "Oh me!". One thing is sure, though. You will quickly realize that your "old man" has got to go. Prayerful reading of this book and the supporting Scriptures will change you. A dangerous book indeed.

It's hard to believe that Watchman Nee had only been a Christian for a few years and was in his early twenties when he wrote The Spiritual Man. This is the first and only book of any substantial size that Nee himself ever wrote, and it is the most comprehensive treatment of spirit, soul, and body ever written. With the precision of a surgeon Nee dissects WHO we are in the light of God's Word, WHY we are the way we are, and HOW it all fits together and relates to God. This is not a book for the casual reader. It will require several readings and many years before it's truths can be grasped, but it's well worth the adventure. Must reading for today's discerning Christian in a world full of half-truths and deceptions.

This is a wonderful, meaty book. It caused me to grow as a Christian and to love God more. It gets into topics that are essential for growth, but that you might not be exposed to in the Christian books that are being published today.

If you're looking for your first exposure to Watchman Nee, I might recommend "Sit, Walk, Stand," which expounds on Ephesians, or "The Normal Christian Life," which sheds lots of light on Romans, instead. "Changed into His Likeness", which comments on the lives and significance of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is also a great place to start.

Why do I recommend starting with these rather than The Spiritual Man? I think they are more accessible and give more practical help for walking with God day by day. Some topics in The Spiritual Man might be frustrating or stumbling to you if you're in a situation where you aren't able to have vital fellowship with other Christians. Much of Volume 2 falls into this category because it could possibly send you into introspection and wondering about your spiritual condition instead of looking away from yourself to Christ. Also, Volume 3 deals with spiritual warfare, a very important topic and responsibility in the Christian life, but not one that we can completely experience as individuals -- we need a living in the Body of Christ to fully participate in spiritual warfare. As Jesus said, "... I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."

I would also like to respond to one reviewer's allegation that the term "soulish" is an invented term; actually, "soulish" is a legitimate Greek word that appears throughout the New Testament but doesn't have an obvious English counterpart.

Watchman Nee exemplifies the believer of whom the Lord Jesus spoke "from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." (Jn. 7:38). He was a man full of the Holy Spirit, and this book overflows with words of life inspired by the Spirit. The book is no substitute for the Scriptures, rather its a book written by one to whom the Scriptures had come alive, and who was blessed with the words to convey the quickening of his own spirit experienced within.

This book will be a wonderful discovery for those who have hoped that the Bible is more than doctrine and dogma, and speaks also of a spiritual reality that can be experienced by faith in such promises as "the Spirit will guide you in all truth" and "teach you about all things." (Jn. 16:13; I Jn. 2:27.) The book is no less than a manual for those believers who have heard the inward call to the Spirit-led life, and seek to understand what this life is about and how to maintain it. Nee writes that "spiritual service means nothing other than our working by our spirit for the quickening of the spirits of others." By the power of the Holy Spirit, Nee has done a great service with this book.

Many in the evangelical camp have criticized Watchman Nee. They are, for the most part, what A.W. Tozer has described as Evangelical Rationalists. The rationalists believe that divine truth is reducible to mere words and creeds. If you hold the right opinion on the stated propositions, then you have the truth. If you can recite the creed, you have the truth. Tozer compared the Evangelical Rationalists to the Pharisees of Jesus' day who searched the Scriptures, thinking that in them they had eternal life, but they did not come to Him of whom the Scriptures bore witness. C.H. Spurgeon similarly wrote, "'Ye must be born again' means a good deal more than you must believe certain dogmas" and to the rationalists he declared, "You stop short at the Scriptures, and therefore short of eternal life." The Scriptures, like the Law, are there to lead us to Jesus, and Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, to all who believed in him.

So do not be discouraged by the rationalists. They have stopped short. You must press on to know the Lord!

This is an important book. Very important indeed for it can change your Christian life for better and for good. This is a handbook on spiritual discernment so needed to His people in our times of deception. It teaches Christians to live spiritually and not carnally or soulishly. It shows the wall of the great divide between the carnal and the spiritual and how many Christians live on the carnal side deceiving themselves about own spirituality. Read it carefully, prayfully. And it will strengthen the most important relationship of your life - relationship of your regenerated spirit with the Spirit of the Holly One. It exposes complex subjects of Biblical anthropology (relationship between spirit, soul and body) in an easy to understand and exegetically sound manner. In fact, I think this is one of the best expositions available on the subject. More importantly, this is an utterly practical book. In addition to "what" (i.e. the theory) it teaches the "how" (i.e. the practice) on the areas which are the most fundamental for our Christian lives. Among them: What is my self and how to deny it? How to distinguish my own voice from the voice of God? How to put off the carnal man applying His cross and putting to death the body of sin? How to live a resurrected life of victory in Christ and walk in the Spirit.

This is the best book I have ever read to help a Christian understand the theology of spirit, soul, and the flesh. This book was truly inspiried by the Holy Spirit. I never realized how soulish I was until the Lord brought this book to me.

For the advance christians that reveals the deeper spiritual truths inspired by God. One of the best book I've ever read next to the bible.

The is really the only book I suggest Christians read besides the Bible. Mr. Nee is clearly speaking from the Spirit in today's terms. It's a book for the growing Chrisitan, but I don't diefy it. I just have lived what he's preaching and I know that he is 100% accurate. Get it, read it over and over.

I am surprised that this book has not been publicized as much as these other christian books we have out here that only meets the surface. Watchman Nee's book "Spiritual Man" reveals the real problems with man, and the solutions that Jesus Christ has to offer which is based solely on the cross and the resurrection. I praise God for using Watchman Nee to reveal such profound truths like no other Christian author I have read. I have read many books from Christian pastors and authors seen on TBN, Daystar, INSP, and other christian networks. This book exceeds all. It is as if the Holy Spirit was writing the book while Watchman Nee was just pinning what the Holy Spirit said. Please, if you do not have this book, you must get it. It will open your eyes to Jesus, spiritual warfare, faith, healing, and etc. like no other. He uses scripture upon scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to validate everything that is said. GOD BLESS WATCHMAN NEE