A Missional Christology of Nee and Lee, Empowered by the Spirit — 8th Symposium on Chinese Christianity (Taipei)

At the 8th Academic Symposium on the Local and Global Development of Chinese Christianity, held at National Chengchi University in Taipei, I presented on the Christology of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee—a Spirit-empowered, missional Christology, read in the year marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed.

The paper

“由聖靈賦能的宣教性基督論：倪柝聲和李常受的基督論與全球宣教” (“A Missional Christology Empowered by the Holy Spirit: Watchman Nee and Witness Lee’s Christology and Global Mission”).

Abstract

The year 2025 marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. This paper examines the Christology of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee from the perspective of the Creed and of global mission. Although the Christology of Nee and Lee accords with the Nicene Creed, they neither venerated the Creed blindly nor studied Christ “statically” from a merely doctrinal and theological standpoint; rather, they present Christ from a missional horizon and, joining this to pneumatology, emphasize a “missional Christology” empowered by the Holy Spirit—underscoring the indispensability of mission within Christology and aiming to grant believers the vision and power to participate in global mission. The paper’s significance lies chiefly in four points. First, although there is already considerable theological scholarship on Watchman Nee, relatively little attention has been paid to his Christology, and fewer studies still connect his Christology to the global mission of the local churches. Second, compared with his senior co-worker, Witness Lee has likewise received relatively limited scholarly attention; the paper hopes to help fill that gap. Third, contemporary theology is undergoing a revival of “Spirit-Christology,” with related research projects flourishing; Nee and Lee’s innovative contribution in “Christ becoming the Spirit” deserves a place in this burgeoning field of global Christology. Fourth, within systematic and constructive theology, mission is usually tied closely to ecclesiology; this paper argues, innovatively, that mission and Christology are inseparable and should be joined together, each enlivening the other.

摘要 (Original abstract, Chinese)

2025年標誌著尼西亞信經問世一千七百周年。本文旨在從信經與全球宣教的視角，探討倪柝聲與李常受的基督論。作者認為，儘管倪柝聲及李常受的基督論與尼西亞信經相符合，但他們並未盲目崇尚信經，也未僅從教義和神學的角度對基督進行「靜態」研究，而是從宣教的視野呈現基督，並結合聖靈論，強調由聖靈賦能的「宣教性基督論」，凸顯宣教在基督論中的不可或缺，旨在賦予信徒參與全球宣教的異象與能力。本文的重要意義主要體現在：首先，雖然關於倪柝聲的神學研究已有較多，但學界對其基督論的關注相對較少，更少研究將倪柝聲的基督論與地方教會的全球宣教相結合。其次，與其資深同工相比，李常受在學術界獲得的關注亦相對有限。本文期望因此彌補此方面的不足。第三，當今神學界正處於「聖靈－基督論」的復興之中，相關研究項目正在蓬勃發展。倪柝聲與李常受在「基督成為那靈」的創新性貢獻，值得在全球基督論這一蓬勃發展的領域佔有一席之地。第四，在系統神學與建構神學的範疇中，宣教通常都與教會論緊密相連。本文創新性地認為，宣教與基督論不可分割，應當相互結合，彼此生機盎然。

Event

• Event: 第八屆華人基督教之本土與全球發展學術研討會 (8th Academic Symposium on the Local and Global Development of Chinese Christianity)
• Host: National Chengchi University (NCCU)
• Venue: Taipei, Taiwan
• Date: November 13, 2025