Spiritual Man
The Spiritual Man emerged from Watchman Nee's intensive Bible study and spiritual struggles as a young Chinese Christian leader in the 1920s. Writing in his mid-twenties while establishing the indigenous Christian movement that would become known as the Local Church, Nee sought to provide Chinese believers with a systematic understanding of spiritual growth rooted in Scripture rather than Western theological traditions. The work represents his attempt to map the believer's journey from spiritual infancy to maturity through careful analysis of biblical anthropology.
Nee divides human nature into three parts—spirit, soul, and body—arguing that true spiritual maturity requires understanding these distinctions and learning to live by the spirit rather than the soul or flesh. He traces the believer's development through stages: the natural man dominated by the body, the carnal Christian controlled by the soul, and finally the spiritual man led by the regenerated spirit in communion with God. The treatise examines how emotions, mind, and will must be brought under the spirit's governance, offering detailed analysis of spiritual warfare, the role of feelings in faith, and the dangers of soulish Christianity that relies on human effort rather than divine life.
Despite its origins in 1920s China, The Spiritual Man has influenced evangelical spirituality worldwide, particularly among those seeking deeper Christian experience beyond initial conversion. Its systematic approach to inner life and emphasis on Spirit-led living resonated with mid-twentieth-century renewal movements, though its trichotomous anthropology and some interpretations of spiritual warfare remain debated among theologians.
Who should read this: Serious Christians seeking systematic guidance for spiritual growth and those interested in non-Western approaches to evangelical spirituality will find Nee's detailed biblical analysis valuable. Readers uncomfortable with intensive introspection or unfamiliar with evangelical frameworks of spiritual development may find the work overly complex or culturally distant.