Section Nine

“The full knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17)

Sister Barber was rich and deep in the Lord, both in objective knowledge and in subjective experience. Brother Tzaisheng Chen, who had lived in Pagoda Anchorage and was a co-worker of Sister Barber, summarized her understanding of the truth this way:

She believed that all Scripture is Godbreathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. She preached God’s word by cutting straight the word of the truth. She led us to know the truth, to discern right and wrong, and to be honest and sincere. She prevented heresies and cults from coming into the church, fought against the evil spirit of temptation, and encouraged the saints to admonish one another, to pray, and to stand against the devil to resist his deception. She preached the truth of the kingdom, encouraging us to enter into the kingdom and to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. She preached the truth of the cross - that we have died with Christ and have been buried with Him and resurrected with Him - and admonished us to reckon ourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus. “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). She preached the truth of overcoming, admonishing us to answer God’s calling, to be an overcomer of God, to be a soldier of Christ, and to follow our Captain into glory through sufferings. She preached Christ’s second coming, so that we would not be foolish virgins nor evil and slothful slaves “burying our talent” (Matt. 25:1-2, 26).

The most striking points in her subjective spiritual experience were the lessons of faith that she learned and the way of faith in which she walked. Brother Tzaisheng Chen wrote the following about these experiences:

Sister Barber had good health, and by God’s grace she retained her youthfulness. Her freshness was like Moses’, and her physical strength, like Caleb’s. Throughout her life she had no serious illness, only minor sicknesses. She advocated being healed by God, believing that God’s wonders and signs would follow us. Therefore, the co-workers would not see a doctor if they were sick, nor would they take medicine. Every sickness was to be healed by God to testify that He is the Almighty God.

In daily living, Sister Barber learned to watch for God’s provision in very small things, even in one bar of soap or one hair clip. Her hair was blond, so it didn’t match her black hair clip, which was made in China. She prayed concerning this. Not long after, she received a blond hair clip from abroad.

There was a sister who had three daughters and one son. They were very poor and could not support themselves any longer, so they sent a daughter, Yuhjy Liu, to the Lai family as a maid. Miss Liu was very beautiful, and one member of the Lai family wanted to take her as a concubine. When the mother and daughter heard this, they wept together, because the Lai family would not release her unless a payment of $240 was made. Sister Barber heard about this matter. Her heart of love could not bear to allow Sister Liu to become a concubine. (By that time the mother and daughter had been saved.) She encouraged both mother and daughter to pray to God. Sister Barber did not have much money at the time, so she also prayed that God would provide the ransom for them. God indeed heard their prayer and sent $240 from abroad to ransom Sister Yuhjy Liu, who later married Brother Chu.

Like Abraham of old, Sister Barber not only learned to receive Isaac from the Lord’s hand, she also learned to return Isaac to His hand. In her old age she once hoped for a fur coat to protect her from the cold. She prayed, and the Lord touched a believer in the USA to send her a fur coat. One day while wearing the coat, she encountered a brother, who said: “Sister Barber, you are the Lord’s co-worker.

“How could you wear such a nice fur coat?” When Sister Barber heard this, she put away the coat. From that day on, until the Lord received her to Himself, she never again wore that fur coat. If the coat would stumble others, she would rather not wear it.

The Bible says, “The righteousness of God is revealed in [the gospel] out of faith to faith” (Rom. 1:17). Faith is like a plant, which grows. The following precious story shows that Sister Barber’s faith not only grew but also matured. One time, Sister Barber felt that God had commanded her to prepare ten additional rooms or apartments specifically for hospitality. She prayed for this. God arranged to close an engineering school, and the building was subleased to her. Four years later, this school reopened. Brother Watchman Nee’s father was a trustee on the school board. When Brother Nee heard the news, he went to Sister Barber and asked whether she had heard about it. She said that she had already been notified that the school would reopen for the fall semester. Two engineers from America had been hired, and they were on their way. According to the school authorities, the reopening could not be avoided. Brother Nee asked her whether they should move her or not. She answered, “We're not moving.” He asked her if she had prayed, and she said, “No.” This time she did not even need to pray. Another brother told her she was being deceived by Satan. She said, “Wait and see.” Brother Nee asked how she could be so confident. She said, “God is not joking with us. He said to take the apartment, so I did. He did not stop me. How could He kick us out?” So she took her summer vacation peacefully in Kuling (later the location of Brother Nee’s training center), as if nothing had happened. Just when she was about to go back, a letter suddenly arrived. It said that the school would not open and asked her to rent the building again, because the school had gone bankrupt.

Sister Barber gave Brother Nee, who was very young at that time, much spiritual help. However, they did have some differences in their understanding of the truth. For example, they held different views about sisters prophesying. Sister Barber’s cousin, Sister Lee, later testified that they never argued about this matter. Sometimes Brother Nee came to Pagoda Anchorage. Sister Barber generously gave him the podium to speak. She herself sat and listened quietly. This shows how deeply the Lord had worked within her. It requires a life of selflessness to endure others’ differing viewpoints while remembering their merits. All these things affected young Brother Nee very deeply.

There is no doubt that Sister Barber received much help from Brother Panton in understanding the Bible. The Lord’s return is not just a matter of knowing but also of waiting. She was truly one who lived for the Lord’s return. This is evident in the many hymns she wrote concerning waiting for the Lord’s coming back. On the eve of 1925, Brother Nee and Sister Barber were praying together. She prayed, “Lord, will You really let the year 1925 pass away? Although it is the last day of the year, I still ask You to come today.” A few months later Brother Nee met her on the street. Sister Barber took his hands and said, “This is strange. Why has He still not come, even up to today? Maybe He will come before next year.” As she walked with Brother Nee on the street, she said that they might meet Him at the next corner.

She, like the Shulamite, was drawn by the Lord all her life. She also was not alone. As in Song of Songs 1:4, the one who is drawn is the Shulamite, but “we” - many virgins - “will run after You.”