Category: Our Practices

Recovery Version Example

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The Recovery Version is widely (but not exclusively) used by members of the local churches. The following examples are not intended to demonstrate the superiority of the Recovery Version over and against other widely-used translations. They are intended only to help convey that serious study and consideration has gone into ensuring that the Recovery Version is as faithful to the original Greek as possible so that the divine revelation in the Bible is expressed in the English language with the greatest accuracy. As demonstrated below, the Recovery Version’s rendering is similar to other major translations in the main. Often, differences in rendering are subtle, yet very significant in relation to our apprehension of certain divine truths.

John 3:16

New International Version

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

New American Standard Bible

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

King James Bible

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Recovery Version

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.

The Greek word here, εἰς, literally means to or into. We not only believe in Christ, we believe into Him. That is, by our believing, we are brought into a union with Christ (John 15:5, 14:20) whereby we receive Him as our very life. In this organic union, we are in Christ and He is in us. The footnote in the Recovery Version for this verse says:

Believing into the Lord is not the same as believing Him (6:30). To believe Him is to believe that He is true and real, but to believe into Him is to receive Him and be united with Him as one. The former is to acknowledge a fact objectively; the latter is to receive a life subjectively.

John 14:2

New International Version

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

New American Standard Bible

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

King James Bible

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Recovery Version

In My Father’s house are many abodes; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

The Greek word here is μοναὶ, the plural form of μονή, a noun derived from the verb μένω that means to abide or to remain. John uses this verb many times in chapters 14 through 17 to emphasize the believers’ abiding in God and God abiding in the believers. Therefore, our understanding of 14:2 is not that Christ is going to prepare a physical mansion or room in heaven for the believers, but that He is preparing a mutual abode of God and His people who, as the church, are His spiritual house, His temple (Eph. 2:19-22, 1 Tim. 3:15).   The footnote in the Recovery Version for this verse says:

The many abodes are the many members of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5), which is God’s temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17). This is adequately proven by [John 14:23], which says that the Lord and the Father will make an abode with the one who loves Him.

For more information, see “Glossa: Heavenly Mansions or Abodes?”

Romans 8:15

New International Version

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

New American Standard Bible

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

King James Bible

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Recovery Version

For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father!

The Greek word here, υἱοθεσία is a compound word that literally means to set someone as a son or to put someone in the place of a son.  Whereas adoption implies that those who are not sons become so through a judicial procedure, an adoption, the New Testament reveals that our relationship with the Father is a relationship in life.  By our regeneration, we are born of God to be His genuine sons (John 1:13; 1 John 5:1) who have His life in us (John 3:16; 1 John 5:12-13).  Thus, our relationship with God is in life, not merely by adoption.  He really is our Father, and has begotten us to be His genuine children, the many brothers of the Firstborn Son of God (John 1:12, 20:17).

For more information, see “Glossa: Sonship or Adoption as Sons?”

Do you participate in joint efforts with other Christian groups?

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To respond appropriately to this question we must first distinguish the behavior and responsibility of an individual member in the local church from that of the church as a corporate entity. In the local churches the decision to participate in joint efforts with other Christian groups is left entirely to the conscience of each individual member. In our standing as the church, however, we feel constrained by the Lord not to promote such efforts. Contrary to what some may claim, this stand does not mean that we consider ourselves more highly than other believers, nor does it mean that we regard ourselves as the only true Christians. Rather, our position is a result of our aspiration to arrive at the genuine oneness to which Christ called us and for which He prayed (John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:11-16).

In response, no doubt, to the biblical call to oneness, Christian groups commonly join together for one of two reasons—to promote a “cause” (emphasizing a particular activity, person, issue, or viewpoint), or to demonstrate their unity (ecumenism). To gather together for a specific cause serves to establish that cause as the center and focus rather than Christ, effectively excluding those believers who may not hold the same view. An ecumenical effort, on the other hand, attempts to unite organizations or denominations in a temporary display of oneness while maintaining the denominational “walls” that divide them. If Christians temporarily work together yet maintain their denominated standing, new believers gained by such efforts are presented with a serious dilemma: With which group do they meet? As new believers join the various denominations, these ecumenical efforts serve to ultimately build up the divided situation they were intended to overcome. Regardless how noble the intentions, both types of efforts compromise and frustrate God’s way of impartial, indivisible, eternal oneness by adulterating with natural human endeavor the purity of Christian oneness revealed in the Bible.

The scriptural way of oneness, the way the local churches seek to follow, is very consistent, definite, practical, and clear (Acts 2:42-47; Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Col. 3:10-15). The Bible never endorses either a cause or an organization around which believers should unite. In fact, the Bible invariably points us to God Himself as the unique factor of our oneness (John 17:21-23). He alone is the source of our oneness (John 17:11), He is the sole means of our oneness (17:23), and as a result, He is the only One glorified through our oneness (17:21). As Christians seeking diligently to fulfill the Lord’s charge to arrive at and maintain such oneness with our fellow believers, we are bound by our conscience to live so that our testimony would express the oneness revealed in God’s Word for His glory, rather than uplifting any man-made cause or movement.

Do you value the writings of other Bible teachers in addition to Watchman Nee and Witness Lee?

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It must be made very clear, first of all, that the believers in the local churches hold the Word of God in supreme honor. We do not value the writings of any person as equal to or above the Holy Scriptures. However, from the time the Bible was written and began to be translated, many notable Bible expositors have been raised up by God to interpret the Scriptures and thereby, to further open the believers’ eyes to see and apprehend the riches in the Bible. These faithful servants of God have progressively advanced our understanding of the Bible’s revelation. Because of the great help they have rendered to us, many of us in the local churches read and value their writings.

Although we do receive much spiritual enlightenment from the writings of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee (Witness Lee’s senior co-worker in China), the believers in the local churches also draw from a variety of resources in their study of the Bible. Vine’s Expository Dictionary, Wuest’s Word Studies, and Vincent’s Word Studies provide invaluable help for the careful and serious student of the Bible. The illuminating writings of Andrew Murray, J.N. Darby, Mary McDonough, G.H. Pember, and C.H. Mackintosh are just a few of the works that have enriched the believers in the local churches. We also profit from the spiritual experiences conveyed in the biographies of exemplary Christians throughout church history. Furthermore, we gain a crucial perspective from examining the Lord’s move through the New Testament age in our reading of books on church history.

“…the believers in the local churches … enjoy and employ the rich heritage of truth based on the faithful labor and insightful interpretation of many Bible students and teachers throughout the last two millennia.”

Both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee often expressed gratitude for the enlightenment and inspiration they had received from other Christian authors. In fact, they gave credit for many of the insights in their writings to the works of others and said they were “standing on the shoulders of all those who had gone before.” In this way, they instilled within the believers in the local churches a keen appreciation and healthy esteem for Christian writings from the Church Fathers, the Reformation, the British Brethren, the inner-life believers, and other evangelical and fundamental Christians. They often encouraged us to study the writings of the above-mentioned and other Christian teachers and also promoted the use of reference materials (e.g., word studies, lexicons, and Bible dictionaries) in our study of the Bible.

In conclusion, the believers in the local churches not only highly value the writings of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee, but also enjoy and employ the rich heritage of truth based on the faithful labor and insightful interpretation of many Bible students and teachers throughout the last two millennia.

For more information, please see:

Do you have your “own” Bible?

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“Our beliefs and practices are based solidly and exclusively on the Scriptures alone, not merely on any one translation or interpretation of them.”

This question arises from the fact that the believers meeting in the local churches frequently use a translation of the Bible called the Recovery Version. The Recovery Version is a reliable translation which does not add to, take away from, or alter the text of the canonical Holy Scriptures to fit our doctrinal beliefs and practices. Our beliefs and practices are based solidly and exclusively on the Scriptures alone, not merely on any one translation or interpretation of them. In fact, the local churches had been meeting and enjoying the ministry of the Word for over sixty years before the Recovery Version of the New Testament was first published in 1985.

A team of scholars meeting with the local churches translated the Recovery Version from the original languages according to principles and standards of translation established by major English versions of the last five centuries. Their intention was to produce a translation true to the original text and context that is both accurate and readable.

Although we agree that there are a number of excellent versions available in English, we primarily use the Recovery Version of the Bible because:

  1. In some key instances its word choice is closer to the original languages than the rendering in other major versions.
  2. It is overall a more literal translation of the Bible than most modern English versions.

In addition, the Recovery Version comes in a study edition with many valuable footnotes and references.

The believers meeting with the local church love and honor the Bible as the infallible and complete truth inspired by God through the Holy Spirit. Although we primarily use the Recovery Version, we by no means rely on it exclusively. In our seeking to know the truth revealed in the Bible, we read and utilize many different translations because we recognize that no single translation is perfect, final, or definitive.

It is our hope that the Lord will continue to open up to all His believers and to all men the light and truth in His Word!

For more information, please see:

www.recoveryversion.bible, especially “Translating the Bible“
www.BiblesforAmerica.org (for a free copy of the study version: The Recovery Version of the New Testament)
“The Translation of the Bible,” by Witness Lee