My family came to the local church in 1983 when I was eight years old. I will never forget that day! My father had been a pastor and a successful preacher in various denominations in Puerto Rico for many years before we met the Christians in the church in Toa Alta. The fact is that the more involved he got in various denominations, the more dissatisfied he became. He wanted to find a place where Christ and only Christ was the unique center, focus, and goal.

Praise the Lord, one day we walked into a meeting of about sixty Christians and everything changed. That meeting was full of Christ and only Christ. In that meeting, no one stood out except Christ. There was no other stress, and there were no gimmicks. There was only a Person, Christ, being expressed and conveyed through many simple believers who loved Him and genuinely cared for His heart’s desire. The sweetness in the atmosphere of that meeting attracted my father, my mother, and me. I am very thankful to the Lord for having brought my family to the local church.

Since then, my experience in the local churches has not changed. As I grew up, I learned to always contact our dear Lord Jesus in an intimate and personal way. At the age of thirteen, I not only knew Jesus as my Savior, but much more I was ever getting to know Him as a real and living person. Year by year and day by day I have always been led to our wonderful and dear Lord Jesus. I have seen that He is so approachable and near. As a result, my relationship with Him has become sweeter and sweeter. Today I can testify that the more I know Him the more I love Him. I am so grateful to the Lord for having brought me to a place where I could know Him, enjoy Him, and love Him. Oh, I’m so happy in this lovely place!

Being presented as a pure virgin to Christ!

I have to testify that the more I am under the ministry of brother Witness Lee and brother Watchman Nee, the more Christ is presented to me that I may love Him. The ministry of these two brothers has always, without exception, stirred up my love for Christ. This ministry has always created in me a desire to give myself to Him for His purpose. There is no doubt that without the ministry of brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee my knowledge and experience of Christ would not be as rich as it is today. Through this ministry I have seen that Christ is not a far away person constantly looking to condemn us, but rather that the Lord Jesus Christ is near, rich, enjoyable, and for our experience.

In 2 Corinthians 11:2, we see that the apostle Paul was jealous over the Corinthian believers with a jealousy of God because he wanted to present them as a pure virgin to Christ. In this epistle, Paul spoke to the believers in Corinth concerning many different things. In chapter eleven, verse two, we realize that his whole ministry was ultimately for one thing, that is to betroth the believers to Christ so that they may ultimately be presented to Christ as a pure virgin. For this reason, Paul determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:2). Paul’s ministry was to present Christ in His unsearchable riches (Eph. 3:8). His way of betrothing the believers to Christ was to present this wonderful and rich Christ to them that the believers would know Him and love Him. This was Paul’s ministry. From this example of Paul’s ministry we see that a proper ministry is a ministry that presents this unsearchably rich Christ to us, stirring up our love for Him, that we would be a pure virgin to Him.

I am eternally grateful for Watchman Nee's and Witness Lee's ministry which has made this wonderful, rich Christ so real to me. May we all learn to know this Christ that we may love Him and be ultimately presented as a pure virgin to Him.

Hector Aponte

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