Introduction

In the nineteenth century, the flow of the Lord’s Recovery gradually began to combine the many streams of the past to form one great river of living water, which had a great impact on the sphere of western Christianity. First, there were the Plymouth Brethren, who recovered a broad span of the truth. In addition, there was Andrew Murray, who followed William Law (of the eighteenth century) to emphasize two matters: the fellowship in life and prayer in the spirit. These two brothers especially cared for the power of the Spirit, the filling of the Spirit, and the fellowship of the Spirit. One who received significant help from them was Mrs. Penn-Lewis.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, the Lord raised up another steward in the English-speaking world: T. Austin-Sparks.

She was the one who saw the most concerning the cross in recent times. She saw a great deal about the cross and spoke a great deal about the cross, but, unfortunately, she over-emphasized the cross to the neglect of other matters. She saw a lot about the cross and gained much understanding about spiritual warfare, but she paid too much attention to the matter of demons to the neglect of the living by life and the understanding of the matters of life. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the Lord raised up another steward in the English-speaking world: T. Austin-Sparks.

The writings of T. Austin-Sparks [are]…especially helpful concerning the truths of Christ’s resurrection and His Body.

In Witness Lee’s biography of Watchman Nee (Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), he mentions that Brother Nee read many of the spiritual books of T. Austin-Sparks (25) and was “greatly helped on the matter of Christ” (26). In particular, he found “the writings of T. Austin-Sparks…especially helpful concerning the truths of Christ’s resurrection and His Body” (27). Brother Nee translated the spiritual writings of various brothers and sisters from English to Chinese, including the writings of Andrew Murray, Jessie Penn-Lewis, and Madame Guyon. The author whose writings he most often translated, however, was T. Austin-Sparks. Brother Nee’s translations from Brother Sparks included the following:

The Meaning of the Gospel
The Three Main Principles of the Cross
A Manifested Mystery
Victorious Life Is a Real Fact
Resurrection Life and the Body of Christ

In this website, material has been drawn from a translation of a biography in Chinese whose author is unknown, as well as from several editorials of T. Austin-Sparks in his periodical, A Witness and a Testimony, several letters in The Overcomer magazine entitled “The Editor’s Personal Letter,” written by Jessie Penn-Lewis, and comments from the writings of Witness Lee.

The editor of this biography expresses his appreciation to those who helped in various ways to produce this content. We together trust that there will be the profit to the Lord’s children as He moves in this age to consummate His purpose.

(top)

Copyrights © 2003. Christian Websites. All Rights Reserved.