While he was undergoing his longsuffering from 1942 to 1948, Watchman Nee saw the breaking of the outer man and the release of the human spirit. The Spirit of Christ dwells in our spirit. If our outer man is not broken, our spirit with the Spirit of Christ is confined in the shell of our outer man. For this reason, there is a crucial need for our outer man to be broken in order that our spirit with the Spirit of Christ may be released to impart life to others. The discipline of the Holy Spirit is both to tear down some aspects of our natural life and to break our outer man.
Along with the light he received concerning the release of the spirit, Watchman Nee also saw that the believer must learn how to use his human spirit. In ministering the Word, in preaching the gospel, in contacting people, and even in matters of daily living, believers must use their spirit first, not their mind, emotion, or knowledge. The spirit must always be ahead of these. By our spirit we can touch another's spirit. Only by his spirit can the believer convey the Spirit of life and impart life into others.
In 1948 Watchman Nee received revelation that while the church is local, the work is regional. The church is a matter of locality, but the work is a matter of region or district. The churches under Peter's work were in respective localities, but Peter's work was in a district which comprised all these localities. It was the same with Paul's work and the churches raised up through his work.
In order for the work to accomplish its purpose and for the local churches to be built up practically, Watchman Nee saw the necessity for all the believers in the Lord's recovery to hand over not only themselves but all their possessions to the work. By this means the believers are delivered from being selfish and individualistic. This also helps believers to submit to the Lord's authority. It even affords the Lord an opportunity to use their possessions for His purpose and to grant them more physical blessings.
This is not all. Watchman Nee received much light from the Scriptures on many other matters concerning gospel truth and practical matters, such as the Lord's Day, marriage, clothing, dealing with money, etc. This is referred to in chapter twenty-seven.