Christians all know that there are four Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, Paul also refers to his Epistle to the Romans as a gospel. If we only have the gospel concerning Christ as in the first four books of the New Testament, our gospel is too objective. We need the book of Romans to reveal the subjective gospel of Christ. This set of eighteen free eBooklets is one of two sets on the gospel revealed in the book of Romans.
“The gospel in the first four books of the New Testament concerns Christ in the flesh as He lived among His disciples before His death and resurrection. After His incarnation and before His death and resurrection, He was among His disciples, but not yet in them. The gospel in Romans concerns Christ as the Spirit, not Christ in the flesh. In Romans 8 we see that the Spirit of life who indwells us is simply Christ Himself. Christ is in us. The Christ in the four gospels was among the disciples; the Christ in Romans is within us. The Christ in the four gospels is the Christ after incarnation and before death and resurrection. As such, He is a Christ outside of us. The Christ in Romans is the Christ after His resurrection. As such, He is the Christ within us. This is something deeper and more subjective than the Christ in the gospels. Keep this one point in mind: that the gospel in Romans concerns Christ as the Spirit in us after His resurrection.” (Witness Lee, Life-study of Romans, p. 17)
The Nuggets and Gems from the Bible eBooklets contain standalone editions of the Life-study messages and are being offered for free. They focus on particular treasures from the Bible revealed in the Life-studies, and we hope that many of you will share in our burden to enjoy, study, and distribute these riches.
In This Set
Individual eBooklets are available on Apple Books, on Google Play, as a PDF, as an EPUB, and as an audiobook. Free to download and share. Select a booklet below for links.
Christians are accustomed to saying that there are four Gospels: the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, Paul also refers to his Epistle to the Romans as a gospel. In this eBooklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee opens up the subjective gospel in this crucial Epistle of Paul. The gospel in the first four books of the New Testament concerns Christ in the flesh as He lived among His disciples before His death and resurrection. The gospel in Romans concerns Christ as the Spirit of life who indwells the believers after His resurrection for their sanctification, transformation, and glorification in the divine life. This is something deeper and more subjective than the Christ in the Gospel.
God’s salvation is not only a salvation from sin but also a salvation in His divine life. For this reason, the New Testament speaks of being saved in life, walking in newness of life, and even reigning in the life of God. In this eBooklet, compiled from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee presents the law of the Spirit of life in Romans 8:2 as the key to experiencing the life of God in His full salvation.
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee speaks concerning the four aspects of condemnation in Romans: condemnation on mankind in general (1:18-32), on the self-righteous in particular (2:1-16), on the religious specifically (2:17-3:8), and on all the world totally (3:9-20). The whole world is subject to the righteous judgment of God. This section on condemnation paves the way for God’s salvation and opens the door for people to enter into God’s salvation. “Paul’s intention in the section on condemnation was to prepare the way for him to minister Christ into us. The ultimate goal of Paul’s gospel is to minister Christ into us.”
The first three chapters of Romans unveil our need for God’s salvation, showing that we are helpless, hopeless, and under God’s condemnation. The epistle then goes on to show the accomplishment of God's salvation, first through justification. Justification is related to propitiation, redemption, and reconciliation. In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee covers all these terms in a clear way.
In this booklet compiled from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee opens up Romans 4 and the matter of subjective justification. Romans 4 reveals God’s subjective and dispositional justification through the history of Abraham. “If we enter into the depths of this chapter, we will see it reveals that adequate, living justification is God’s deeper work in calling fallen people out of everything other than God and bringing them back to Himself.”
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee considers Romans 5:1-11. “Romans 5:1-11 should be regarded as the conclusion of Paul’s teaching on justification. This conclusion reveals the result, the issue of justification. These eleven verses enumerate many wonderful items that are the outcome of our being justified by God.”
Since we all were born in Adam, how can we say that we are now in Christ? In this booklet compiled from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee answers this question and fellowships concerning the major turn that occurs in Romans 5. “Romans 5:12 marks a major turn in Paul’s writing in the book of Romans. This turn is from sins to sin, from position to disposition, and from justification to sanctification, or we may say from salvation to life.”
Romans 7:22-23 says, “For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive in the law of sin.” In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee fellowships concerning the three laws seen in these verses and the role they play in our Christian life.
In this booklet compiled from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee presents the contrast between Romans 8 and Romans 7. “In Romans 7 we see the bondage of the law in our flesh, and in Romans 8 we see the freedom of the Spirit in our spirit. As we come to chapter eight, we turn from bondage in the flesh to freedom in the Spirit.”
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee considers Romans 8:7-13. “Although in Romans 8:1-6 we clearly see the freedom of the law of the Spirit of life, it is difficult to see the central point of the next seven verses. However, if we enter deep into the thought of this portion, we will see that in it Paul is trying to tell us that something other than sin has its lodging within us… According to Romans 8, what indwells us? It is Christ, the indwelling Christ.”
In this booklet compiled from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee presents the matter of sanctification. “From the beginning of the book of Romans through 8:13 two main things are covered: justification and sanctification. In justification God gives us His righteousness, which is Christ Himself…. In the second stage, sanctification, God is working Christ into us to make Him our sanctification subjectively. Our whole being will be permeated with the holy nature of God. This is sanctification in life.”
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee fellowships concerning our need of conformation and God’s way of molding us “to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). “God has determined our destiny beforehand, and this destiny can never be fulfilled without the divine arrangement which causes all things to work together for us. Our destiny is to be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God.”
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee fellowships concerning Romans 9 and God’s selection: “God’s selection is our destiny. Our eternal destiny has been fully established by God’s selection. This selection and destiny are of the very God who calls, not of those who work. Our selection is absolutely of God who calls. In order to grasp this point we need to read and comment on Romans 9:1-13.”
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee fellowships concerning Romans 9 and 10, which reveal that we are vessels and give us the way to be filled with the riches of Christ. “We were made vessels to contain Him; we were selected and predestinated to be His containers. This requires our cooperation in receiving Him and taking Him in. In order to do this we need to open ourselves from the depths of our being and call upon Him with our mouth from deep within our spirit.”
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee begins a series of messages on “the most practical section in the book of Romans,” that is, Romans 12:1—15:13, the section on transformation. Transformation is for the practice of life, and the Bible reveals that the practice of life is mainly with the church, with the Body of Christ. Many Christians truly love the Lord and pursue the growth of life according to Romans 6 and 8. However, the book of Romans continues beyond these chapters, indicating that even if we attain the standard in Romans 8, we still are lacking if we do not have the Body life. “What is the main item, the main aspect, of a believer’s behavior? It is the church life, the Body life.”
In Romans 12:6 Paul says that we have “gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” What is grace? And what are these gifts? In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee answers these questions and discusses the relationship between the gifts in Romans 12 and the Body of Christ.
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee speaks on Romans 14:13-15, where Paul gives a word about receiving the believers. This significant matter is related to both the judgment seat in the future and the kingdom life in the present. “If we receive the believers in love, we shall not judge others, not put stumbling blocks before them, not grieve the brothers, not destroy the man for whom Christ died, but rather walk according to love. We must receive in the principle of love all the believers for whom Christ died.”
In this booklet taken from Life-study of Romans, Witness Lee points out particular “hidden, concealed treasures” found in Romans 15:14—16:27. “In this last section of Romans Paul shows us some experiential and practical matters. He presents a full unveiling of the ultimate consummation of the gospel. I use the word ‘unveiling’ because so many of the precious things have been veiled. I want to point out some of the treasures that are hidden and concealed in the last section of Romans.”
Living Stream Ministry
The Gospel of God
Condemnation—the Need of Salvation
Justification in God’s Way
Subjective Justification
The Result of Justification—the Full Enjoyment of God in Christ
Identification with Christ
The Three Laws in Romans Seven
The Law of the Spirit of Life
The Freedom of the Spirit in Our Spirit
The Indwelling of Christ as the Spirit
Sanctification in Life
Heirs Conformed for Glorification
The Goal of God’s Selection—Vessels to Express Him
God’s Selection—Our Destiny
Transformation for the Body Life
Gifts of Grace in Life
Receive One Another in Love
The Consummation of the Gospel—the Practical Church Life
