Why did Watchman Nee teach in small home Bible classes?
Watchman Nee taught in small home Bible classes to prepare believers for the day when organized church doors would be locked. These home studies could continue underground, while the organized church would be destroyed. He followed the early church pattern of meeting in homes rather than large congregations.
Les explains that Watchman Nee was a Bible teacher in China just before the communists took over. He did much the same as Les and many others do: he never taught much in the local organized church but instead taught in little home Bible studies all over Shanghai. Les says Nee was preparing these believers, without their knowing it, for the day when the organized church doors would be locked. Those little Bible studies could just continue on. When Les came back into China years later and the doors had kind of opened, the Western world was aghast at all the believers still in China. Why? Because the home Bible studies went underground and were not destroyed, though the organized church was destroyed. Les warns we may face the same thing someday, where our churches will be locked and we will be forbidden, but it will be hard to stop three or four families meeting together in their own home. He also notes that this is how the church started—not huge congregations, but just a few meeting in a home atmosphere.
How and where did Watchman Nee teach the Bible?
Watchman Nee taught the Bible mainly through small home Bible studies rather than in the organized local church, particularly throughout Shanghai, China, just before the communist takeover. He used these informal gatherings to prepare believers for the day when organized church doors would be locked.
Why did Watchman Nee teach in little home Bible studies instead of the organized church?
He taught in small home Bible studies because they could continue when the organized church was shut down. By preparing believers outside the local organized church, the studies could go underground and survive, whereas the organized church doors were locked and destroyed.