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  DEFINITIONS
  by Watchman Nee
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Summary: Watchman Nee explores the interrelationship of fact, faith, and
experience in the Christian life to clarify their importance and
application.

Topics: "Christian Experience", "Faith"
Scripture References: John 10:10, Romans 10:17, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 11:1

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DESCRIPTION
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Watchman Nee emphasizes the interrelationship between fact, faith, and
experience in the Christian life. He explains that facts are God's
promises and gifts, while faith is the believer's trust in these truths,
transforming them into personal experience. Experience, in turn, is the
manifestation of Christ's life in believers, reflecting their
understanding and application of God's facts. Nee warns that without
understanding these connections, believers may face confusion in their
faith and teachings. He illustrates these concepts through the doctrine
of redemption, highlighting its significance in the believer's life.

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CONTENT
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Fact

Facts are God's promises, His redemption, His works, and His free gifts.

Faith

Faith denotes the way man believes in God, trusts in His work and
redemption, and claims His promises. It is a kind of working and
attitude through which God's facts are transformed into man's
experience.

Experience

Experience is the proper living of the believers, which they secure
through believing in God. It is the expression of the life of Christ
practiced in the believers' living. Experience is the realization of all
Christ's accomplishments and victories. It is the practical application,
manifestation, and living out of God's facts. The histories of all the
saints recorded in the Bible belong to this category.

Not only those who are teachers but all believers should know the
interrelationship of these three: fact, faith, and experience.
Otherwise, they will be confused in their living and in their teachings.
Furthermore, they will find many contradictions and apparent
disagreements in their reading of the Bible.

I am afraid that up to this point I have still not presented the
scriptural teachings in a clear way. For this reason, I want to present
a few great doctrines in the Bible as proofs.

We Christians have believed in the substitutional death of the Lord
Jesus and have experienced the effect of His redemption. Redemption is
an experience for the sinners; we Christians have already been redeemed.
For us, redemption is a past experience. It seems as if we have no need
to speak of it anymore. Yet for the sake of illustrating the
relationship between these three things--fact, faith, and experience--
and in order to show us their continuity and importance, I will first
use as an example an experience that we have already had.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/watchman-nee/definitions/
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