Eastern Lightning | Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “How to Know the God on Earth”（V）
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“How to Know the God on Earth
All of you are glad to receive rewards before God and to be recognized by God. This is everyone’s wish after he begins to have faith in God, for man wholeheartedly seeks higher things and none are willing to fall behind others. This is the way of man. For this reason, many among you always try to gain the favor of the God in heaven, yet in truth, your loyalty and sincerity to God are far less than your loyalty and sincerity to yourselves. Why do I say this? Because I do not acknowledge your loyalty to God at all, and I further deny the existence of the God that is within your hearts. That is to say, the God that you worship, the vague God that you admire, does not exist at all. The reason I can say this so definitively is that you are too far away from the true God. The loyalty you possess comes from the existence of another idol within your hearts, and as for Me, the God regarded as neither great nor small in your eyes, you acknowledge Me with nothing but words. When I speak of your great distance from God, I am referring to how far away you are from the true God, while the vague God seems to be near at hand. When I say “not great,” it is in reference to how the God that you have faith in this day appears to merely be a man without powerful abilities; a man that is not very lofty. And when I say “not small,” this means that though this man cannot summon the wind and command the rain, He is able to call upon the Spirit of God to do work that shakes the heavens and earth, thus baffling man. Outwardly, you all appear to be very obedient to this Christ on earth, yet in substance you neither have faith in Him nor love Him. What I mean is that the one you truly have faith in is that vague God in your feelings, and the one you truly love is the God you yearn for night and day, yet have never seen in person. As for this Christ, your faith is merely a fraction, and your love for Him is nothing. Faith means belief and trust; love means adoration and admiration in the heart, never parting. Yet your faith in and love of the Christ of this day fall far short of this. When it comes to faith, how do you have faith in Him? When it comes to love, how is it that you love Him? You know not at all of His disposition, much less His substance, so how is it that you have faith in Him? Where is the reality of your faith in Him? How do you love Him? Where is the reality of your love for Him?
Many have followed Me without hesitation to this day, and over these years, you have all suffered much fatigue. I have thoroughly grasped the disposition and habits of each of you. It was supremely arduous to associate with you. The pity is that though I have grasped much knowledge about you, you have not the slightest understanding of Me. No wonder others say you were tricked by a man in a moment of confusion. Indeed, you understand nothing of My disposition, and much less can you fathom what is in My mind. Now your misunderstandings toward Me are an added insult to injury, and your faith in Me remains one of confusion. As opposed to saying that you have faith in Me, it would be more apt to say that you are all trying to gain My favor and fawn over Me. Your motives are very simple—whosoever can reward me, I shall follow, and whosoever can enable me to escape the great disasters, I shall believe in, be he God or any certain God. None of this is of any concern to me. There are many such men among you, and this situation is very serious. If one day, a test is made to see how many among you have faith in Christ because you have insight into His substance, then I’m afraid that not one of you will be as I desire. Consider this question: The God in which you have faith is vastly different from Me, so what then is the essence of your faith in God? The more you believe in your so-called God, the further away you stray from Me. What, then, is at the core of this issue? I am sure none of you have ever considered this issue, but have you considered the gravity of it? Have you given thought to the consequences if you continue with such manner of faith?
Now, the problems set before you are many, and none of you are adept at bringing about solutions. Should this continue, then the ones who stand to lose are only yourselves. I will help you recognize the problems, but it rests on you to find the solutions.
I very much appreciate those who harbor no suspicion about others and very much like those who readily accept the truth; to these two kinds of men I show great care, for in My eyes they are the honest. If you are very cunning, then you will have a guarded heart and thoughts of suspicion regarding all matters and all men. For this reason, your faith in Me is built upon a foundation of suspicion. Such manner of faith is one I shall never acknowledge. Without true faith, then your love is far from true love. And if you even doubt God and speculate about Him at will, then you are certainly the most cunning of men. You speculate whether God can be like man: unpardonably sinful, of petty character, without fairness and reason, lacking a sense of righteousness, employing measures of malice, treachery, and cunning, as well as being pleased by evil and darkness, and so on. Is not the reason that man has such thoughts because man has not the slightest knowledge of God? Such manner of faith is nothing short of sin! Moreover, there are even some who believe that I am pleased by none other than those who ingratiate and fawn, and that those who know nothing of such things will be unpopular and be unable to keep their place in the house of God. Is this the knowledge you have received over these many years? Is this what you have gained? And your knowledge of Me is far from only such misunderstandings; much more, there is your blasphemy against God’s Spirit and vilification of Heaven. This is why I say that such manner of faith as yours will only cause you to stray further from Me and be in greater opposition against Me. Throughout many years of work, you have seen many truths, but do you know what My ears have heard? How many among you are willing to accept the truth? You all believe that you are willing to pay the price for the truth, but how many have truly suffered for the truth? All that exists in your hearts is iniquity, and hence you believe that anyone, no matter who, is cunning and crooked. You even believe that God incarnate would be as a normal man: without a heart of kindness or a benevolent love. Moreover, you believe that a noble character and a merciful, benevolent nature exist only within the God in heaven. And you believe that such a saint does not exist, and that only darkness and evil reign on earth, while God is merely a glorious goal upon which man places hope, and a legendary figure fabricated by man. In your hearts, the God in heaven is very upright, righteous, and great, worthy of worship and reverence, but this God on earth is merely a substitute and instrument of the God in heaven. You believe this God cannot be equivalent to the God in heaven, much less be mentioned in the same breath as Him. When it comes to the greatness and honor of God, they belong to the glory of the God in heaven, yet when it comes to the nature and corruption of man, they are attributed to the God on earth. The God in heaven is forever lofty, while the God on earth is forever insignificant, weak, and incompetent. The God in heaven is not given to emotion, only righteousness, while the God on earth only has selfish motives and is without any fairness or reason. The God in heaven has not the slightest crookedness and is forever faithful, while the God on earth always has a dishonest side. The God in heaven loves man dearly, while the God on earth cares for man inadequately, even neglecting him entirely. This erroneous knowledge has long been kept within your hearts and may also be perpetuated onward in the future. You regard all deeds of Christ from the standpoint of the unrighteous and judge all His work and His identity and substance from the perspective of the wicked. You have made a grave mistake and done that which has never been done by those before you. That is, you only serve the lofty God in heaven with a crown upon his head and never attend to the God you regard as so insignificant as to be unseen. Is this not your sin? Is this not the typical example of your offense against the disposition of God? You very much worship the God in heaven. You very much adore lofty figures and esteem those with great eloquence. You are gladly commanded by the God that gives you handfuls of riches, and greatly pine for the God who can fulfill your every desire. The only one you do not worship is this God who is not lofty; your sole object of hatred is association with this God whom no man can regard highly. The only thing you are unwilling to do is to serve this God who has never given you a single penny, and the only one for whom you do not yearn is this unlovely God. Such kind of God cannot enable you to broaden your horizons, to feel as if you have found a treasure, much less fulfill what you wish. Why, then, do you follow Him? Have you given thought to this question?
What you do does not merely offend this Christ, but more importantly, offends the God in heaven. I think that this is not the purpose of your faith in God! You desire greatly for God to delight in you, yet you are very far away from God. What is the matter here? You accept only His words, yet not His dealing or pruning, much less His every arrangement. Moreover, you are unable to have complete faith in Him. What, then, is the matter here? Fundamentally, your faith is an empty eggshell that can never give rise to a chick. For your faith has not brought you the truth or gained you life, and has instead brought you an illusory sense of hope and support. The purpose of your faith in God is for this hope and support rather than for the truth and life. Therefore, I say that the course of your faith in God is none other than trying to gain the favor of God through servility and shamelessness, and can in no way be deemed a true faith. How can a chick appear from faith such as this? In other words, what fruit can such manner of faith bear? The purpose of your faith in God is to fulfill your motives through making use of God. Is this not further a fact showing your offense against the disposition of God? You believe in the existence of the God in heaven but deny that of the God on earth. However, I approve not of your views. I commend only those men who keep their feet on the ground and serve the God on earth, never those who never acknowledge the Christ on earth. No matter how loyal such men are to the God in heaven, in the end, they will not escape My hand that punishes the wicked. Such men are the wicked; they are the wicked ones who resist God and have never gladly obeyed Christ. Of course, their number includes all those who do not know and, further, do not acknowledge Christ. You believe that you can act as you please toward Christ as long as you are loyal to the God in heaven. Wrong! Your ignorance of Christ is ignorance too of the God in heaven. No matter how loyal you are to the God in heaven, it is merely empty words and pretense, for the God on earth is not only instrumental in man receiving the truth and more profound knowledge, but even more instrumental in the condemnation of man and afterward in seizing the facts to punish the wicked. Have you understood the benefits and consequences here? Have you experienced them? I wish for you to one day soon understand this truth: To know God, you must know not only the God in heaven but, more importantly, the God on earth. Do not confuse what holds priority or allow the subordinate to supersede the dominant. Only in this way can you truly build a good relationship with God, become closer to God, and draw your heart closer to Him. If you have been of the faith for many years and long associated with Me, yet remain distant from Me, then I say it must be that you often offend the disposition of God, and your end will be very difficult to reckon. If the many years of association with Me have not changed you into a man who has humanity and the truth, and instead your evil ways become ingrained in your nature, if you are not only doubly arrogant but your misunderstandings of Me become even more grievous, such that you come to regard Me as your sidekick, then I say that your affliction is not skin deep, but has penetrated into your bones. And all you can do is wait and prepare for your funeral! You need not beseech Me then to be your God, for you have committed a sin deserving of death, an unforgivable sin. Even if I could have mercy on you, the God in heaven will insist on taking your life, for your offense against the disposition of God is no ordinary problem, but one very grave in nature. When the time comes, do not blame Me for not having informed you beforehand. It all comes back to this: When you associate with the Christ—the God on earth—as an ordinary man, that is, when you believe that this God is nothing but a man, it is then that you shall perish. This is My only admonishment to you all.”
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The truth that this part of the discourse talks about is the most important. To what degree is it important? It is about to what degree we must actually believe in the Practical God to be considered to have knowledge of God on earth, and to what degree we must believe to be considered to have obtained God on earth. So, this part of the word of God is very important. How do you need to believe in God on earth to obtain the praise of God? This is a crucial question. In the Age of Grace and the Age of Law, people all believed in the God in heaven, and those who followed God on earth were few; at the very most a generation of people. Of that generation, those who genuinely followed God were also few, just a minority of individuals, whereas the majority of people clutched their bibles and believed in God in heaven. So, the God we believe in today is God on earth, the Incarnate God. But to what degree does your faith have to be in order for God to acknowledge it? To what degree do you have to believe in order to be able to say, “God on earth truly is my God, and truly is my Lord”? To what degree do you have to believe to be able to say, “God on earth is so worthy of love, I cannot love Him enough”? Isn’t this the most practical problem we are facing at the moment? If you ultimately say in your faith, “God on earth is none other than an ordinary man, just one of the brothers and sisters who is able to express the word of God.” What kind of problem is this? Is this kind of ultimate result in one’s faith considered as having knowledge of God on earth? Not at all. People say, “You believe in God on earth, but has God on earth granted you salvation? Has He perfected you? Do you dare to say He is your God and your Lord? Do you dare to bear this witness? Have you borne this witness?” Isn’t this the result we want to attain in believing in the Practical God? Until one day when you say, “This Incarnate God on earth truly is my God, truly is my Lord. It is He who has issued the truth to purify me. It is He who has issued the truth to bestow life upon me, and used words and all kinds of trial to perfect me. I would not be here without Him.” Do you dare to bear such witness? Do you dare to say you truly obey God on earth? Do you dare to say that you truly are one who loves God on earth in his heart? Without these forms of bearing witness, isn’t this quite troublesome? The ultimate results people achieve in their belief in God on earth are very important. You see that when some people are faced with the trial of seizure by the great red dragon, or the trial of bereavement of their father or mother dying, they will then deny God. What is the problem here? It is believing in God without knowing God, even denying God and betraying God in the end. In such a person’s eyes, God is not as important to him as his parents, and when his parents are no more he just chooses to deny God. Some people deny God after losing a child, they say, “I believe in the Practical God, so how could my child have died? Is He really God after all?” Aren’t there people who say things like this? “I believe in the Practical God, and I labor in my work for Him, so how can I still fall sick? Is He really God or not?” What kind of problem is this? This is the same in nature as those problems revealed by the word of God, isn’t it? If people do not seek the truth, if they do not have knowledge of the Practical God, it is difficult to say whether they will be able to stand firm when they are faced with a trial! There are many people who have denied God. After the “Shandong Zhaoyuan Case” occurred, a small group of individuals withdrew from the church. They were convinced that the statement of the Communist Party’s court was true and consistent with the fact, so they developed doubts about God and withdrew. In their hearts, the Communist Party is their God, and whatever the Communist Party says is correct to them, whatever the CCP says is consistent with the fact, whereas what God says is not necessarily true and is likely to cause doubt for them. Are they people who truly believe in God? Just the “Zhaoyuan Case” was able to reveal people for what they are. Both true believers and false believers were revealed. What about being faced with a trial? It reveals people in the same way. In their belief in God, if a person does not have knowledge of the Practical God, isn’t is very dangerous? I can see that there are some people who nominally believe in the Practical God. When I observe them I wonder, what kind of results will these kinds of people ultimately have in their belief in God? Will they be able to bear witness? No. If they are asked, “What are you relying on when you say that this God you believe in is the God in heaven, that He is the God in heaven who has come clothed in flesh?” They will say, “I’m not relying on anything, I just see that the words He delivers seem to be spoken by God, so I just believe in Him.” “Then have you seen anything like God’s life and essence in Him?” “I haven’t seen that, and I don’t know about that. What He said might just be the word of God, for those words couldn’t have been said by man.” Is this genuine faith? No, it isn’t. At present there are many people who, once they come into contact with Christ, say, “Why does He speak and act just like a man? He’s just a common man! Why aren’t the essence and action of the God in heaven visible on Him?” They have doubt in their hearts, and say, “Is He God after all?” Some people say, “Once God speaks, the Holy Spirit enters Christ, and resides within Him controlling His speech. When He finishes speaking, the Spirit of God leaves to manage the entire universe. So if you want to come into contact with God, you must catch Him at the time He is speaking. Only that is God. When He is not speaking, He’s a man.” What do you think about this kind of knowledge? Everyone says it is wrong. How is it wrong? Can you explain it clearly? Some people say it’s because they don’t have knowledge of the Incarnation.
At present, there are many people who lack this aspect of the truth about knowing God and expect me to communicate on how to know God. They say, “If you don’t communicate it, we will just have this kind of faith. We are certain that He is God, but we can’t communicate much knowledge of God.” So how does one actually know God on earth? There are people who always compare the God in heaven with the God on earth. When the God in heaven speaks, it is like a thunderclap. When the God on earth speaks, it is like a common man. Since the two do not match, people are doubtful, and have notions about it. What do they think in their hearts? “Is He God or not? I have to be absolutely sure not to believe by mistake.” They think the God in heaven is righteous, and then compare Him with the God on earth, and say, “This is just a common man, and I can’t see any righteousness in Him.” Again they are doubtful, and say, “Is He God or isn’t He?” As soon as the God in heaven speaks, miracles happen, and things are accomplished this way. When the God on earth speaks, it is in ordinary humanity and He merely communicate the truth. One might say, “How is this not the same as the God in heaven speaking? You see, when the God in heaven created the heavens, the earth, and everything therein, He said, “Let there be light.” By saying these few words and nothing else, light immediately came into being. Only this is God. Let God on earth speak, see if such miracles will immediately appear. If they don’t, then He is not God.” Tell me, can you know the God on earth by verifying Him like this? You can’t, and that is for certain.
So, how do you know the God on earth, after all? What path is there to do so? How do you recognize Him to be God? Other than merely seeing how He expresses the truth as God, can you see it from another angle? I too communicate the truth, could there be anyone among you who regards me as God? Are you able to distinguish this? Everyone says they can. How do you distinguish it? You should look at what truth is being communicated. The truth communicated by Christ is all about what God has and is, all about the reality of the truth that a person should know with respect to God, so the truth expressed by Christ is what God has and is, God’s wisdom and action, and it represents God’s disposition and His life and essence. So Christ is God. What the brother communicates is all man’s experience and knowledge of the word of God, is the truth that he understands in experience. It does not represent the possession and being of God. It is merely a drop of knowledge on one aspect of God’s disposition. So even though the man has the reality of the truth when communicating the truth, and has the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, he is still not God. Now there is a distinction. So where is the focus? Although they both communicate the truth, one must see in what respect they are communicating the truth. If one communicates what people should experience and enter into, if he has some experience and knowledge in the word of God, then he is communicating man’s experience and knowledge. This is man, and the essence is that of man; he’s not God. What God expresses is what God has and is, His disposition and work, and what He communicates is also what God has and is, His disposition and work. So only Christ is the Practical God. Is it good to differentiate it in this way? Everyone says yes. So from what aspect can one know the God on earth is indeed the embodiment of the God in heaven? Who can say it? This is a crucial topic! Some people say that, in one respect, within the speech issued from the incarnate God one can see that all God’s word is the truth, and is the expression of God’s disposition and what God has and is. In another respect, all that the Incarnate God has revealed is God’s disposition and what God has and is. From these two respects one can be certain that He is the Practical God, the God on earth, right? What other aspects are there? Except for these two aspects, how can you be certain that He is the God on earth and the practical God? If you are able to speak about this kind of knowledge, this is the harvest of your faith in God, and it comes through true efforts. If you carelessly believe in God, then you will not have this achievement.
Now, when I ask about a crucial point, some people feel, “Oh, I have believed for so many years, but I have never thought about this matter, and today I am at a loss when you ask.” So why is it that you don’t think about it? Who makes you not think about it? Since you believe in the practical God, why haven’t you thought about it? People who don’t seek the truth won’t think about these matters, won’t ponder about them or try to figure them out. In knowing that the God on earth is the embodiment of the God in heaven, what is most important is that although God speaks human language in His humanity, but the words He speaks can reveal the essence and being of divinity as well as some of God’s disposition. When I speak thus, someone says that this is all just in theory. Who can give him a couple of examples to make him say it is not theoretical? Who can say it? Some people say, “From the words expressed by God, we see that God likes honest people and despises crafty people. When we come into actual contact with Christ, if we tell lies, God looks upon us with detestation. At the stage when we put being honest people into practice, and speak to God very honestly, the attitude that God reveals to us in His humanity is that of fondness. In this regard, we can also feel the disposition revealed by God in His humanity is God’s disposition.” The disposition that the God in heaven possesses is revealed and expressed in the God on earth. For example, the God in heaven can have mercy on man. So how does God on earth have mercy on man? Does He not have the utmost forbearance for those who believe in Him? Has He not forgiven and tolerated them? He has done all that. Isn’t this true love? Yes, this is. So the God in heaven is hateful toward Satan and curses it. What is revealed in the God on earth? Does the God on earth detest Satan? Christ detests the great red dragon, detests the evil forces of Satan on earth, detests the evil trends in this society, and detests all evil people who resist God. So is this expression consistent with the disposition of the God in heaven? It is consistent. When you see the work that the family of God expels the antichrists, evil people and evil spirits, is this not in keeping with the will of God? Yes, it is. The family of God makes work arrangements in accordance with the expression of Christ, so the work arrangements of the above are all based on God’s word. So how does the God in heaven look upon this world and this era, and how does Christ look upon this world and this era? Are they consistent? They are completely consistent. So, how do you know the God on earth after all? It is by comparing everything that the God on earth has said and all the work He has done with the work done by the God in heaven, and the prophecies spoken and the disposition revealed by the God in heaven. As a pair, they are completely consistent. Is this not having knowledge of God on earth? So, have you discovered any discrepancy between what the God on earth has said and the disposition of the God in heaven? Are there any contradictions? There are none. This is the voice of one Spirit, one Spirit speaking, which is even more capable of proving that this practical God on earth is the incarnation of the God in heaven. If you truly know the God on earth, you see that the expression of Christ is none other than the expression of the God in heaven, and the word spoken by the God in heaven. Then you look at Christ’s fellowship with man and all the work He has done after expressing the truth on earth. Are they completely in accord and consistent with the word He expressed? What else does this explain? Christ expressing the truth is not a prophet conveying the word of God. His expression is not the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit that man has received, but is the direct utterance of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, all the work Christ does is implementing and carrying out all that God has said. So in this way we can be certain: Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. This statement is real, and this conclusion has been reached as such. Christ does not merely express the truth; He ordinarily communicates the truth, and the work He ordinarily does is consistent with the truth He expresses without any discrepancy whatsoever.
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Why then don’t we say that the prophets were God incarnate? Prophets just convey God’s words. They themselves do not have the reality of the truth. The truth which Christ expresses is what He is. Everything He says and does is completely identical to the truth which He proclaims. There are no contradictions, for He Himself is the truth, the way, and the life. Is such an understanding correct? It is. Some people may have this experience and knowledge, but they cannot articulate it clearly. They need to practice communicating it frequently. The truth will become clearer and more understandable as one communicates it more frequently. The more one communicates it, the clearer the path becomes. You cannot withhold from fellowship or always keep your mouth shut; otherwise, in the end, you will not be able to express yourself when the time comes. Some people have difficulties expressing themselves no matter what they do, as if there was an obstruction preventing them speaking. Can they bear witness for God in this manner? No, they cannot. God will bless you if you believe in Him. However, do you know what God wants from you? God wants you to bear beautiful witnesses. You will have achieved the result if you can bear witness for God so that those who have not accepted or known Him may come to accept God through your witnessing. It is like a family. What do you think parents expect from raising their children? Do they expect them to remain small? Of course not! What do they expect? They expect their children to become adults and have children of their own. They expect them to carry on the family name and honor their ancestors. “You’d better prosper and succeed! Don’t disgrace our family by becoming bandits or thieves!” Aren’t these the expectations of all parents? What then does God expect from those who believe in Him? You must be able to bear witness for God; otherwise, God won’t bless you. Some people believe in God by themselves. They act carelessly and do not seek the truth. In the end, after many years have gone by, it turns out that they can’t be of any use or perform any function. What a waste! They are a great disappoint to God. They are complete failures. They cannot bear witness for God. Some people betray God when they are tempted. How does God regard such people? He regards them with anger! You become Judas even after all these years under God’s care. God is furious. He curses these people, just like He cursed the fig tree. When He came to the tree to search for fruit, He found that it was barren. He cursed it by saying, “Die!” There is no need to keep such people around, for there is no space for dead people in God’s house. Some people have not fulfilled any of their duties during years of believing in God. How do we refer to such people? They are completely useless. They should be disposed of. Isn’t that the case? What disposition of God does this pertain to? His righteousness. Does Christ have a righteous disposition? Absolutely. That’s why Christ hates antichrists the most. He hates evil men that disrupt the church. That’s why Christ proclaims that these people must be expelled one by one as they are discovered. God’s house does not tolerate having such worthless people around.
Those who have recently been involved with God’s work in the last days in countries overseas must file an application to join the church and participate in church life. Without such an application, they cannot be admitted to the church. Some say, “The applicants will have some notions once they are asked to fill an application.” What sort of notions? If you want to be admitted into the church, why are you afraid to fill an application? If you are afraid, it shows that you do not acknowledge God’s name in front of other people. How then can God acknowledge you? Therefore the application is necessary. It’s alright that some refuse. The house of God doesn’t mind. When Noah built the ark, no one except his family of eight boarded. Nevertheless, God proceeded with His plan and annihilated all men of that age. This is God’s righteous disposition. Is God concerned about how many people He saves? No, He is not. Some religious people say, “We do not accept Almighty God. We’ll see what You are going to do about it.” What is God going to do? God will continue with His annihilation regardless. The great disaster will arrive according to plan. Look at the words Jehovah God spoke in the Old Testament, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Some say, “Since God is almighty, why doesn’t He protect His people? Why does He allow His people to act foolishly and ignorantly? Why does He let them perish?” Aren’t these the notions and imagination of man? What does God actually do? Does God save those foolish and ignorant people? No, He does not. He has no concern for His people who perish as a result of their foolishness and ignorance which led them into Satan’s trap. He asked, “Who is responsible for your foolishness and ignorance?” The meaning of this is: I won’t save you if you remain foolish and ignorant. I have no pity toward men like you. From this, we can understand God’s disposition. How can we understand it? Many find it hard to interpret God’s words of this kind, and they are likely to pass judgment. They do not have a pure understanding. This is because they are lacking in caliber. Is this the case? How, then, should it be received? Can someone explain? Some say, “God bestowed men with the truth, but they do not seek it. They were deceived by Satan because they lacked discernment. Due to His righteousness, God will show no compassion toward such men.” Here, we see God’s righteousness. To those who are foolish and ignorant and do not seek the truth, He shows no pity. He shows no compassion toward such men. If you seek the truth, call upon God, and pray to Him, He will show compassion toward you. If you do not pray to and seek God, He will not enlighten you, and then you will die. Such is the grim truth! God’s work in the last days reveals not only His compassion and lovingkindness. More importantly, it shows His righteousness and majesty. To put it plainly, it is a fair competition when it comes to who enters the kingdom. Thus, some who were last shall be first, and some who were first shall be last. That’s it. Someone says, “I have believed in the Lord for my entire life, but I did not receive Almighty God until much later.” Someone else says, “I accepted Almighty God only 3 years after I believed in the Lord.” Can you see? Isn’t this a case of “the last becomes first, and the first becomes last”? He was last in terms of believing in the Lord Jesus, but he was first to be brought before God’s throne. Someone says, “I never believed in the Lord; I simply accepted Almighty God.” As you can see, this also illustrates how “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” Finally, those who know God probably did not believe in the Lord and simply accepted Almighty God. These people have been perfected by God. Their rewards are the greatest; their crowns are the most grandeur. As for antichrists like Paul who do not know the God on earth but simply suffer and toil for the God in heaven in order to receive a crown, they face punishment in the end. Is their fate directly related to God’s righteousness? The reason why you cannot accept matters which are not in accordance with man’s conceptions and imagination is because you do not know God’s righteous disposition! Did the Lord Jesus reveal God’s righteous disposition in the Age of Grace? The Lord Jesus revealed this in His prophecies. You simply have not noticed. How then can we know the God on earth? Everything He says and does contains God’s disposition and is an expression of God’s disposition. It embodies what God has and is, and corresponds to the truth He expresses. God maintains the same principles in His speech and action, which may be described as words being accompanied by actions. His speech is followed by His action. There are no contradictions between the words and actions in God’s work. This demonstrates that the God on earth is also the God in heaven, the embodiment of the God in heaven. The incarnation of the God in heaven is a manifestation of the God in heaven. We have seen that what the God on earth expresses in His normal humanity is what the God in heaven has and is. For example, there are things I do not understand, so I will ask the God on earth. As soon as I hear God speak a few words, in ordinary speech, I understand. What do I think afterward? I think that, “It’s great to have the God on earth. In a critical moment, I can receive a response right away as soon as I ask Him. If there were no God on earth, if after God finished doing His work and expressing His truth He rose straight back up to heaven, I would have trouble understanding some things when I do work on earth. It would be likely for me to make some mistakes, even though they may not be as serious as those made by people in the previous ages. Some mistakes would still be made. As long as the God on earth is in charge during critical moments, everything will be fine.”
How exactly can we know the God on earth? Are there any clues? Some people intentionally sinned even though they knew the truth. When God saw this, He got angry and dealt with them severely. Afterward, they had some notions, “The God on earth has no compassion. How can He deal with people so harshly?” What do you think about this? Let’s hear what you think. Some say, “The God in heaven has compassion toward men, whereas the God on earth has no compassion or love. However, He is righteous, just like the God in heaven.” Is He righteous? Yes, He is. There is a difference between the work that Christ in the last days does and the work that the Lord Jesus did. The Lord Jesus expressed more compassion and lovingkindness, whereas the incarnate God in the last days reveals more righteousness and majesty. Is this the difference? However, compassion and love, righteousness and majesty, they all pertain to and exemplify God’s disposition. They all come from the same source. Therefore, regardless if you have your own notions or if you disagree, you must treat God properly and you must understand God’s disposition. When God was dealing with an individual and He made a harsh statement, this person responded by saying, “God has no compassion or lovingkindness. This is quite different from the God in heaven. The God in heaven is always compassionate and kind, whereas the God on earth is not.” Does such a person know God? Is this a judgment of God’s righteous disposition? What mistakes did he make? This person was judging and resisting God, and he had no knowledge of God’s righteous disposition! Do you define compassion or kindness in terms of showing compassion, tenderness, thoughtfulness and gentleness toward you? If He treated you in this way, you would say, “The God in heaven is righteous, whereas the God on earth is compassionate but not righteous. Is this right?” Notice how your words are contradictory. Aren’t you judging God? When God treated you with compassion, you responded by complaining to Him about being unjust and unrighteous. When God treated you justly, you responded by saying that God had no compassion or love. You are making sense only to yourself. We refer to this as resisting God. If a person has a pure understanding, how would he respond when he faces God’s dealing and pruning? He would first reflect upon himself, saying: Oh God, I lament the way You are dealing with me today. I feel as if You were not as merciful as the Lord Jesus. However, why is there a difference in disposition between Christ of the last days and the God of the Age of Grace? Why did God reveal more of His attributes of compassion and kindness in the Age of Grace, whereas in the Age of Kingdom He showed more of His righteousness, majesty, and wrath? How do we account for this? He will seek the truth by asking such questions, and then come to realize that, in the Age of Kingdom God reveals His inherent disposition, whereas in the Age of Grace He just showed part of His disposition. God’s inherent disposition is dominated by righteousness as opposed to compassion and lovingkindness. By seeking the truth like this, you have become clear, right? Some people fail to understand God’s disposition and always pass judgment on it. What problem does this reveal? If men fail to understand God’s disposition which primarily pertains to righteousness, then wouldn’t it be easy for them to judge and resist God and come up with conceptions? It is way too easy. What’s the main reason for men to come up with conceptions? It all has to do with not knowing God. How then should we know the God on earth? He is the God in heaven who has put on a flesh and come to earth. God has put on a flesh, but can this flesh prevent men from understanding God’s essence, disposition, and everything He has and is? No. No matter how normal the flesh is, no matter how normal His humanity is, He reveals a different essence from men. Isn’t this true?
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How can you know the God on earth? Is there a path to take? According to every truth that is expressed by Christ, and all the work that is carried out by Christ, you can confirm whether or not He is the God in heaven. Based on the disposition that Christ reveals, and what is revealed of what He has and is, and the wisdom that He reveals, you can confirm whether or not He is the God in heaven. If these things all correspond to confirmations of His divinity, even though His corporeal humanity may be ordinary and normal, He is God incarnate, He is the God in heaven who has come down to earth. So how should we know Him now? Are you able to see His essence? Let me give you an example. Just think about me. From what I speak and do, can you see if I actually have any reality of the truth? You all say I have. From where can you see that I possess the reality of the truth? Some people say that it is through some of the words that I fellowship and in some of the things that I handle in the house of God. Or, whenever I am watering brothers and sisters, they see that what I say conforms to the word of God, that it is based on the word of God. Therefore, they find that I have the reality of the truth. And there are some people who say that whenever I deal with all sorts of issues from various groups I am always able to clearly see the root and the essence of a problem, and that I am able to solve it with just a few words. In addition, I am also able to fellowship about principles of the truth and point out the ways to practice them, which allows others to be utterly convinced. From my fellowshiping of the truth and from my dealing with and solving of issues, you can see that I possess the reality of the truth. From which other aspects do you see this? One sister said that I treat the work of God’s house with particular faithfulness, that I handle each item of work very seriously, and that I also seek results. This is one aspect of the reality of the truth. In addition, she sees that my attitudes toward various kinds of people match the word of God, and this is also able to confirm that I have the reality of the truth. You can see some of all these things. There are some people who say: “When the brother gets real mad and deals with someone else, I see that he does possess the reality of the truth, and it makes us all so scared that we want to hide under our tables.” Is this the reality of the truth? A sister said that she looks at the issue in this way: The brother sometimes gets mad because our actions do not conform to the intentions of God, which brings about a loss to the work being carried out in God’s house; or maybe some of the work we carry out dishonors God’s name, so then this causes the brother to speak very severely. But we feel that he is just handling the issue based on the principle of the truth, we believe that he is clear about what he should love and hate, that this is fitting, and that it shows he has the reality of the truth. Then there are some religious figures who say: “Devout people never get angry, spiritual people do not have bad tempers.” Are they right when they say that? If you get angry, that doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t possess the truth, and if you don’t get angry, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you do possess the truth. Does that make sense? That has nothing to do with whether or not you possess the truth. You can’t conclude from one thing that someone doesn’t possess the truth, right? You have to look at things fairly and objectively. Who among us is a perfect man? Nobody is perfect. We cannot compare what we have and what we are with all that God has and is. One is on earth and the other is in heaven. How much more tolerance could man really have? Right? If people are able to persist in principle, and if in everything they do and in everything they say they are basically able to conform to the principles of the truth, that’s already pretty good, isn’t it? From God incarnate, we are able to see all that God has and is. We are able to see the expression of God’s righteous disposition. In His disposition, in His essence He takes pity on man. In His essence He loves man. In addition, God has never showed off, He does not flaunt Himself, and He certainly does not make a display of Himself. He is not arrogant; He is not conceited. This kind of humanity is the most beautiful humanity. Christ has this high of a status—the status of God. He carries out work in the capacity of God, He is so revered by everyone, yet He has never been arrogant, He has never been conceited. He is the same as an ordinary person. It seems as if He were unaware that He is God. Who is capable of accomplishing this? Who is able to live out this kind of disposition? I cannot live this out. I am not equipped with that kind of disposition. If I had the capacity of God, I would be too excited to sleep. “I am God? Really? Wow, how lucky am I to be God!” What about you all? Would you be like this? You all say you would be too. Waking up with excitement during sleep is a metaphor, which means that in your heart you are secretly very cheerful and very happy. If people had the capacity of God, what kinds of things then would average people do? They would show off. They would want to go all over the place and look around, asking people, “Do you not recognize me? Do you really need me to introduce myself? Surely someone has witnessed me to you, right?” These are the things you would say. “So how should you all behave after seeing God? Would you still be able to stand up so straight? Would you still appear so tall? If your ancestors appeared before you, you would have to kneel down before them, and how much greater am I than your ancestors?” If we had the capacity of God, all kinds of disgraceful situations would arise. Wouldn’t that be dishonorable to God? But in God incarnate there are no such expressions of corruption. Don’t you all think this is God’s loveliness? Isn’t this kind of humanity the most beautiful, the most normal humanity? It is. Some sisters have some eloquence, they are able to preach sermons, and after new believers listen to them they say, “Wow, are you God?” And when they hear this, they’ll say, “Hmm …” Then they’ll purse their lips, try to play it cool, and think to themselves: “They will treat me as God, I may just not deny it, so that they could regard me as God and I might as well act as if I were God for a few days in secret.” So then they won’t say anything, they won’t just say: “No, I’m not, you must have misunderstood. We are part of the corrupt human race; we do not deserve to be God. That is quite serious, it is blasphemy against God!” They do not say this. “Uh … what do you think?” “It seems as if you are like God.” In their hearts they think: “If you think I act like God, you may just treat me as God. I cannot say it. If I did, I would be in trouble.” Not being God but still wanting to be God, this is the humanity of the corrupt human race, isn’t it? Think of the humanity of the true God incarnate. He wouldn’t even consider Himself to be God, just as if there were no such thing. This is the point that convinces me the most; in comparison I am inferior to God, for we are the genuine corrupt human race. When some people come into contact with Christ, and see that Christ has this kind of normal humanity, they, contrarily, start to have notions. They won’t be able to see that this is the most beautiful humanity. “How is this God? Isn’t this just a person? An ordinary person, someone who is nothing out of the ordinary, no matter how I look at Him there is no hint that tells me He is God.” What do you all think? Is it easy to have knowledge of God incarnate? How many years would you have to believe in Him before you know Him? How many years before you could stop saying those things and having such notions?
Regardless of how many years you’ve believed, if you were to see Christ right now, would you still be able to have these kinds of notions? “Isn’t this just an ordinary person? He is nothing out of the ordinary, how do you insist on saying that He is God? Why can’t I understand?” Would you still be able to say such nonsense? If you are someone who has believed for one year, then it is normal for you to say such nonsense, but if you’ve believed for three to five years, should you be saying these kinds of foolish things? You would not say such things if you were someone who understands the truth concerning incarnation. As soon as you saw the normal humanity of Christ you would think, “Yeah, this is the truth concerning incarnation, God speaks so accurately.” “One aspect of the incarnation is to have the essence of divinity, the other aspect is to have ordinary, normal humanity.” “Hmm, that’s right. That fits completely. The more normal His humanity, the more it fits. But are these truths really expressed by Him?” “Yes they are, one hundred percent.” “Then this person is Christ.” If you see people who call themselves Christ, who do supernatural things and are able to perform miracles, then you would think, “Hey, they’re phony!” Only false Christs would perform miracles; because false Christs cannot express the truth, they will make up for this deficiency by performing miracles. Someone who could really express the truth would not perform miracles, because the power of the truth is greater, it is more almighty, it is much more powerful than being able to perform miracles. False Christs have no truth, they cannot express the truth, all they can think to do is to perform a few miracles. So, if you are trying to figure out whether or not God has appeared, whether or not someone is Christ incarnate, first see if he is able to express the truth, and second, see if his humanity is normal or not. The more normal, the more ordinary Christ’s humanity is, the less supernatural it is, the more you will think, “Yes, that’s it exactly, it is in accord with the essence of Christ.” The more normal Christ’s humanity is, the more it will prove that He is Christ, the more it will prove that this God is the practical God. So people who understand the truth concerning incarnation do not pay attention to miracles and when they see the humanity of Christ, they do not have notions and will never again have notions, right?
If after you understand the truth concerning incarnation, you still cannot accept the humanity of Christ, what problem do you have? It means you only understand the words of the truth concerning incarnation, you have no knowledge of God incarnate. If you are to know God incarnate, first of all, remember that you must not test God. If you test God, He will get angry with you, He will hate you, He will curse you. If you are fully aware of the true way and deliberately commit a sin, then He will hate you. If you have no humanity, speak irrationally, then Christ will not respond to you, He will not pay attention to you, He will get fed up with you, and He will regard you as livestock. These are expressions of the divine essence of Christ. These are expressions of the truth. Christ does have principles in recognizing people and He treats people in a very principled way! So, if you are a normal person with no humanity, then you best not get in touch with Christ, for if you get in touch with Him, He will hate you. He will say: “You beast, how could you be someone deserving of faith in God? No matter how many years you believe in God, you will necessarily be eliminated.” This is what He will think about you. So what kind of person would He have a favorable attitude toward? Someone who pursues the truth. If He sees that you are a good person, then He will be willing to speak with you. If He sees that you truly are a person who loves the truth, then He will be willing to fellowship with you on the truth. Even if you asked a hundred questions, He would not be annoyed. Now that is true patience. No matter how tired He got, He would not speak of it. Now that is compassion and love at the highest level. This is something that ordinary people cannot do. In addition, the work of Christ is carried out meticulously and thoroughly. No one can stop Him before He is finished. If He decides to do something, He will finish it, and He will not give up on it until it is done. This is the disposition of Christ. No matter how tired He gets, He will persevere until it is finished. This is different from me. If I reach a certain level of exhaustion, I’ll say, “That’s it for today, let’s pick it up next time.” But Christ is able to keep going until He says it’s over. It’s just like He said: “I mean what I say, and what I mean shall be accomplished, and what I accomplish shall last forever.” “He will not rest until His work is achieved.” These are expressions of the disposition and the essence of God! You ought to realize when you hear this that Christ has this divine essence. Anyone who has come into contact with Christ knows that Christ really does things carefully and thoroughly and that you cannot stop Him before He is finished. Sometimes Christ will be somewhere writing, as soon as He closes the door, no one should enter. He will resent you and get angry with anyone who enters and disrupts His writing. Christ does things carefully and thoroughly, He is especially conscientious and persevering, He will not stop until something is finished. These are expressions of divinity. Whenever I see this, I think, “Wow, I could not do that.” It’s no use to compare ourselves with the essence of Christ, the discrepancy is too large. Christ is also able to suffer many hardships. The suffering He is able to endure could not be endured by an average person. In suffering, Christ’s perseverance truly is great. We are of no comparison. These are all things that cannot be compared with a normal person’s capabilities, isn’t this an expression of the essence of God’s life? Isn’t this what God has and is? Is there anything in the word of God that we can use as a basis? There is. We can all find these words, can’t we? One aspect of the life disposition of God is that He will not stop until something is finished. Christ will exercise maximum patience when carrying out the work of God. This is all in the word of God. Christ means what He says, and what He means shall be accomplished, and what He accomplishes shall last forever, never to be changed, isn’t this what God has and is? So then, what about the compassion of Christ? People see His righteous and majestic disposition, but does He have compassion? For all those who truly believe in God and who are able to pursue the truth, even if they have expressions of corruption, God will have no hatred. God will have mercy and compassion for these people, He will fellowship the truth with the fullest patience, He will provide life, these are all a part of what Christ has and is. There is not anyone who can compare with Him. No one can compare. You see that people appear loftier than Christ in the flesh, but whenever you talk about suffering, or faithfulness to God, or the level of strictness and seriousness you handle matters with, people are inferior in all these things. Nobody can be compared to Christ. If people are elected as leaders, they will become terribly arrogant and very conceited. If you see them walking or talking, you will see that their manner of speaking, their tone, and their actions are all arrogant. If you see Christ, His expression will be different. It will be as if He Himself is not aware that He is God. Nobody is able to tell from His expression. Does He know how great is the work that He undertakes? He seems to not know. Does He know that God’s chosen people are all full of reverence and love and respect for Him? He seems to be unaware, and to not perceive it; we can’t tell. Is this something that people could accomplish? People could not accomplish this. These are things that involve the essence of life. God has a divine essence, so God incarnate is not clothed in corrupt humanity. What consequences would there be if He were in a body with a corrupt disposition? On one hand it would bring dishonor to God, and on the other hand He would only be able to express words, He Himself would not possess the reality of the truth, what He does would contradict and interrupt the expression of the truth, and there would be no way for the work of God to be carried out, right? It would make it impossible for people to have knowledge of God.
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Now, do you have a path for how to know the God on earth? If I don’t fellowship and testify like this, how will you come to know the God on earth? The most important thing is to seek truth from the things we confront, and especially to seek truth and find the right answer to things you can have conceptions on. By searching like this, bit by bit, we will get rid of our conceptions on one hand, and come to know God on the other. This path is very important! For example, why can man have conceptions about God’s utterances and work? Which truths have not been understood to cause these conceptions to arise? And, how do you see these things that you have conceptions about? Are they Christ’s being? Are they related to God’s disposition? Which aspect of relevant words of God and truths did you not realize? By searching like this and then at last finding the correct answer, you will come to know Christ. For example, if you make judgments immediately after finding that Christ’s actions do not match your own conceptions and imagination, then are your conceptions and imagination truth or not? Are your conceptions based on truth, or based on fallacies? This is very important, isn’t it? God’s chosen people and people in churches often base their conceptions of God on their human conceptions. They see that God’s work and word do not match human conceptions, then they create their own conceptions. Some conceptions are based on rumors and slanders of the great red dragon and antichrist forces in religious circles. Then how do you distinguish in this situation? What is truth? Do the great red dragon’s words have truth in them? No. The devil has lied since the beginning, its characteristic is to tell lies. Then, can you define the devil based on God’s words? It’s just a liar. Are lies truth or not? Having seen through these things, how do you then know God? You should know God through God’s words. Base it on the words of God. Don’t base it on conceptions, nor can you base it on fallacies and definitely not on imagination. Why can’t you base it on man’s conceptions, imagination, and fallacies? Why? Because these things are themselves not truths, they are errors. Man’s imagination is an illusory thing. It does not exist; it’s fiction. People’s conceptions are a kind of regulations, and also a kind of imagination. Fallacies from the great red dragon and religious circles are twisting the truth. They’re nonsense. If you try to know God based on these things, then you will never know Him, right? If man accepts and internalizes Satan’s fallacies, rumors, and lies, then what is the problem? What will the consequences be? People who accept Satan’s fallacies and lies accept Satan’s false words, and they have been corrupted by Satan again. The point when man can accept Satan’s lies is the point when he belongs to Satan. In God’s eyes he already belongs to Satan. Then, he develops notions, viewpoints, actions, and behaviors of resisting God. Look at Adam and Eve. After being seduced by Satan and eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, what happened immediately afterward? They betrayed God. Then what did God say to Adam and Eve? They were driven out of the Garden of Eden, and God was no longer with them. Right? Then why was God so severe to Adam and Eve? Because they offended God’s disposition. They didn’t listen to God; it wasn’t that God did not inform them. God told them not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “For in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.” They defied God’s words and did not stay true to God’s words, so they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. That was how severe the consequence was. Is accepting Satan’s suggestions a game? You all know that it’s not. To God, it was already a betrayal, and so they did not have God with them after that. God hated them. That was how severe things were. So, now that you have accepted Almighty God, if you still believe in Satan’s lies and accept its rumors, then although you have not yet left God’s church, from God’s perspective you have already betrayed Him and He is already no longer with you. If you come across these rumors and fallacies of Satan, you should pray immediately: “God, You enlighten me and illuminate me. You protect me so I can refuse and abandon Satan, and deny it forever. I do not accept Satan’s lies and fallacies. Let it be gone!” This is fine. It proves you have stood witness, and were not defeated by Satan’s temptation. You see that some people accept Satan’s rumors and errors, and in their hearts they begin to suspect God. As soon as they suspect, from God’s perspective, they have already betrayed Him. “I don’t want them, I don’t have them, I won’t save them.” Isn’t the problem so severe? Do you believe that this is truth? You all believe this is the truth.
Then how do you come to know God? You know Him through His words. By experiencing the words of God, you understand the words of God. The more you understand God’s words, the more you know Christ. How much you understand God’s words is how much you know Christ. If you understand all truths in His words, then you know that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. It’s this simple. It’s easy to say, but when it comes to practice and experience, it takes eight to ten years of effort. How many years do you think it took me to be able to fellowship truths like this? Is it possible without eight to ten years of effort? You all say no. You must be steady and firm when pursuing truth. It’s not something you can accomplish through three minutes of hotheadedness. Pursue the truth steadily and firmly, practice God’s words and experience God’s words. The more you experience and practice, the more you will understand truth. When you have understood all the truths, if you see Christ and speak to Him, you will be completely compatible with Him, completely in accord. Christ may then give you instructions and fellowship deeper meanings of truth. When you see this, you’ll say, “Aha, Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. There’s no doubt about it! The bit of truth that we understand is too shallow compared to Christ. In the real sense of the term, Christ is the truth, the way, and the life!” Haven’t you come to know Christ here? So, when you have not experienced God’s word and haven’t obtained even a bit of truth, can you have a good conversation and dialog with Christ? Since the gap in knowledge is too big, it would be a waste of time. You won’t have a good conversation with Him. Could you have a good conversation with me? Also no. When meeting me, a lot of people are very happy, but they do not have much to say. I ask, “Are there any problems? Do you have any difficulties? Let’s chat.” They chuckle, “It’s just I don’t know how to pursue the truth.” “Do you have some gains after several years of experience?” “I don’t know where to begin. It’s hard to explain simply.” They say quite a lot when gossiping, but don’t have much to say on serious matters. What’s the problem here? They’re poor and pitiful, aren’t they?
China is a place that is too dark, too evil, so we have suffered a lot by believing in God. We have been hunted by the Communist Party until we have no home to return to. We have suffered too much. Having suffered so much, if we don’t seek to know God, can we satisfy Him? You all know that we cannot. I once said to someone, “Until now, you’ve believed in God for so many years. You’ve spent a lot of effort proselytizing and spending for God, but do you know God at all?” His head kept drooping. The more I asked, the more he lowered his head and the less I could see of his face. I said, “You’ve suffered a lot. Why don’t you seek to know God? If you don’t seek to know God, can we satisfy Him with our faith like this? What does God demand from us? God is eager to gain us, but we don’t pursue truth, so could God gain us?” God really wants us to all know Him. Only by knowing Him can we truly return to God. If you don’t know Him, though you pray in God’s name, your heart cannot return to Him. You only know to use your lips to get close to God, but your heart is distant from Him. Isn’t this the case? Now, there are many people who believe in Almighty God, up to several million. But how many can bear testimony to Almighty God? If you’ve believed for ten or twenty years but still cannot testify God, when the great disasters come suddenly, what will happen? Your life hangs in the balance! It can be said that it’s true that you accept the practical God, but if you don’t seek truth one bit, then you cannot stand your ground and still must die. Is this in accordance with God’s word? It is. If you really have the truth, you’ll surely not die. If you don’t have truth, then it’s really difficult to say. Now, some brothers and sisters have really passed away. They got cancer and died. How do you explain this? If you don’t pursue the truth, you still have to die. If you don’t have any uses and can’t witness God, if you can’t properly perform your duties, then you still have to die. I know a person who was probably in his thirties, not yet forty. He ate meat every day and didn’t pursue the truth, nor did he properly perform his duty. What happened in the end? He got cancer, and then died about a year later. The Bible said, those that are “eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, said the LORD” (Isa 66:17). If you don’t pursue the truth, your life isn’t guaranteed. Do you understand? He liked meat, but didn’t properly perform his duties, nor did he pursue the truth. Then he got cancer and died. How do you interpret this? Isn’t this a display of God’s righteous disposition? This represents God’s righteous disposition. God punishes and destroys these kinds of people. Some people don’t seek truth and don’t have the work of the Holy Spirit, so what can we see from this? Is it possible to discern what kind of people God does and does not pity? You’ve all said it is possible. Some people fulfill their duties and suffer much, yet they get ill, very ill, then they have to suffer. What’s the matter here? How do we recognize this? We should learn lessons. In all things that confront you, learn to know God. This is the most practical lesson to learn. If in things that confront you, you do not try to know God or understand His will, if you cannot see the fulfillment of God’s word and the display of God’s disposition, then you do not know God. Isn’t this the case?
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How does one know God from the elimination and expulsion of the antichrists? There are people who say God’s disposition is righteous. To be specific, merely saying a certain phrase is not enough. You must say some points about it. First, haven’t God’s words been fulfilled about eliminating and convicting antichrists? Second, doesn’t the fulfillment of this word reveal God’s disposition? Third, Christ despises the antichrists; He convicts the antichrists and evil men. Isn’t this identical to God’s righteous disposition? It is how Christ expresses the truth and how He carries it out. So aren’t God on earth and God in heaven consistent with each other? Aren’t They one and the same? They work and speak as one Spirit, and They are one. When you consider again about God on earth, don’t you see that He is the incarnation of God in heaven? Isn’t He God in heaven who appears on earth? Everyone says He is. Don’t you know this yet? Isn’t this so? No matter what it may be, when you examine something according to God’s word, once you integrate it with God’s word to communicate your knowledge, you will acquire knowledge of God and see that God’s word has been fulfilled. After seeing God’s word is fulfilled, what do you discover in God’s disposition? When God speaks, He means it. “He is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished, and that which is accomplished lasts forever.” Each and every word of God will be fulfilled. This is the essence of God’s trustworthiness. When you understand that, haven’t you known God already? What matters are there which, upon looking at them, you are not able to know God, understand the truth, or still generate misunderstanding? Bring forward these things and we will seek and communicate the truth. Say, for example, a religious person poses a question: “Since the great red dragon resists God so much, why has it not been annihilated by God?” How does one explain this? Is it easy to explain? Whatever it is, everything must be verified with God’s word to see what God said, and whether it has been fulfilled or not. Every word God says will be fulfilled and it will be made real. God has spoken so many prophecies since creating the world, and up to the present most of them have been fulfilled. The annihilation of the great red dragon was spoken of long ago in the Book of Revelation, and its fulfillment is just a question of time. The appearance of Christ’s kingdom has already been fulfilled, right? The appearance of the Church of Almighty God has been fulfilled, and the descent of the Son of man has been fulfilled, it has been fulfilled that Damascus becomes a city of ruins. The prophecy of the four blood moons have been fulfilled, and there is also the war of Armageddon that will soon be fulfilled; quickly thereafter, the arrival of the great calamity and the annihilation of the world will also be fulfilled. The arrival of the great calamity and the destruction of the great Babylon of religion will altogether be fulfilled. Furthermore, God has also spoken some prophecies in the last days, which will be fulfilled one by one. Why it is that God became incarnate in China, what the purpose is of God being incarnated in China, and the fact that the overcomers God wants to make in the last days were arranged to be born in China—all this is planned by God. Don’t just look at this group of Chinese overcomers by their appearance as Asians. Not all of these people were Asians in their past lives. Perhaps some of them were from Israel, some from America, England, and various European countries. In the last days, God has arranged for all these souls to come to China and distributed them to different households. And now they are again meeting in front of the seat of Christ. Why were they born in China? It is to terminate the destiny of the great red dragon. When God has accomplished this work and returned to Zion, then with a bang the great calamity will arrive, and China will be the first to be destroyed. What was the purpose of God incarnating first in Judea? First, He completed the work of redemption. Second, He annihilated the kingdom of the Jews, the Jewish religion that resisted God, and terminated them. They shouldn’t have resisted God there! Wherever God incarnates, that is the focal point of a spiritual war. Isn’t that the case? So, when God incarnates in China, the day will have come that the luck of the Chinese Communist Party runs out. Just await death! God will dispose of you when you are done resisting. When was the kingdom of the Jews annihilated, that is, how many years after the Lord Jesus had ascended to heaven? After about forty years it was annihilated. They dare to antagonize God! They are courting death! At present there are many religious people and unbelievers resisting God and condemning Him. Those people are courting death. Without a doubt, they will perish. It’s something that will happen in the blink of an eye, right? So, whether people who believe in God can be perfected, the key lies in how they know God on earth. If you are unable to know this, then you are in big trouble. Your final outcome will not be favorable. Don’t rely on people’s notions and imaginations, assuming that once you accept Almighty God, you will definitely enter the kingdom in the end. It is not guaranteed. There are many people who are phonies, who are weeds rather than wheat; they are the husks and not the grain. When the time comes, they will be scattered on the wind, or be thrown into the fire to be burned to ashes.
How does one know God from the elimination and expulsion of the antichrists? There are people who say God’s disposition is righteous. To be specific, merely saying a certain phrase is not enough. You must say some points about it. First, haven’t God’s words been fulfilled about eliminating and convicting antichrists? Second, doesn’t the fulfillment of this word reveal God’s disposition? Third, Christ despises the antichrists; He convicts the antichrists and evil men. Isn’t this identical to God’s righteous disposition? It is how Christ expresses the truth and how He carries it out. So aren’t God on earth and God in heaven consistent with each other? Aren’t They one and the same? They work and speak as one Spirit, and They are one. When you consider again about God on earth, don’t you see that He is the incarnation of God in heaven? Isn’t He God in heaven who appears on earth? Everyone says He is. Don’t you know this yet? Isn’t this so? No matter what it may be, when you examine something according to God’s word, once you integrate it with God’s word to communicate your knowledge, you will acquire knowledge of God and see that God’s word has been fulfilled. After seeing God’s word is fulfilled, what do you discover in God’s disposition? When God speaks, He means it. “He is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished, and that which is accomplished lasts forever.” Each and every word of God will be fulfilled. This is the essence of God’s trustworthiness. When you understand that, haven’t you known God already? What matters are there which, upon looking at them, you are not able to know God, understand the truth, or still generate misunderstanding? Bring forward these things and we will seek and communicate the truth. Say, for example, a religious person poses a question: “Since the great red dragon resists God so much, why has it not been annihilated by God?” How does one explain this? Is it easy to explain? Whatever it is, everything must be verified with God’s word to see what God said, and whether it has been fulfilled or not. Every word God says will be fulfilled and it will be made real. God has spoken so many prophecies since creating the world, and up to the present most of them have been fulfilled. The annihilation of the great red dragon was spoken of long ago in the Book of Revelation, and its fulfillment is just a question of time. The appearance of Christ’s kingdom has already been fulfilled, right? The appearance of the Church of Almighty God has been fulfilled, and the descent of the Son of man has been fulfilled, it has been fulfilled that Damascus becomes a city of ruins. The prophecy of the four blood moons have been fulfilled, and there is also the war of Armageddon that will soon be fulfilled; quickly thereafter, the arrival of the great calamity and the annihilation of the world will also be fulfilled. The arrival of the great calamity and the destruction of the great Babylon of religion will altogether be fulfilled. Furthermore, God has also spoken some prophecies in the last days, which will be fulfilled one by one. Why it is that God became incarnate in China, what the purpose is of God being incarnated in China, and the fact that the overcomers God wants to make in the last days were arranged to be born in China—all this is planned by God. Don’t just look at this group of Chinese overcomers by their appearance as Asians. Not all of these people were Asians in their past lives. Perhaps some of them were from Israel, some from America, England, and various European countries. In the last days, God has arranged for all these souls to come to China and distributed them to different households. And now they are again meeting in front of the seat of Christ. Why were they born in China? It is to terminate the destiny of the great red dragon. When God has accomplished this work and returned to Zion, then with a bang the great calamity will arrive, and China will be the first to be destroyed. What was the purpose of God incarnating first in Judea? First, He completed the work of redemption. Second, He annihilated the kingdom of the Jews, the Jewish religion that resisted God, and terminated them. They shouldn’t have resisted God there! Wherever God incarnates, that is the focal point of a spiritual war. Isn’t that the case? So, when God incarnates in China, the day will have come that the luck of the Chinese Communist Party runs out. Just await death! God will dispose of you when you are done resisting. When was the kingdom of the Jews annihilated, that is, how many years after the Lord Jesus had ascended to heaven? After about forty years it was annihilated. They dare to antagonize God! They are courting death! At present there are many religious people and unbelievers resisting God and condemning Him. Those people are courting death. Without a doubt, they will perish. It’s something that will happen in the blink of an eye, right? So, whether people who believe in God can be perfected, the key lies in how they know God on earth. If you are unable to know this, then you are in big trouble. Your final outcome will not be favorable. Don’t rely on people’s notions and imaginations, assuming that once you accept Almighty God, you will definitely enter the kingdom in the end. It is not guaranteed. There are many people who are phonies, who are weeds rather than wheat; they are the husks and not the grain. When the time comes, they will be scattered on the wind, or be thrown into the fire to be burned to ashes.
Now do you know how to seek knowledge of God? When you encounter something that isn’t consistent with human notions and imaginations, compare it according to the word of God and communicate it to others. Then everyone will know it, right? In the end it will make you see that God’s word has all been fulfilled. There is truth in each word of God, which will be accomplished. When heaven and earth are no more, not even one letter or dot will be removed from the word of God. This is the authority of the word of God. Do you understand? When you are faced with any matter, don’t come up with notions. Just seek the truth to see how God’s word is fulfilled and comes true. You will start to ponder, “Which of God’s words does this thing fulfill? How can I know God from this matter? How can I see God’s authority, which aspects of God’s disposition and what God has and is can I see in this?” Matching it up against the word of God, you will reach certain result, and in the end you will understand this matter completely. You will say, “That which God does is so full of significance, and this matter is also for the sake of the growth in our lives. This does service for us to understand the truth and to know God. It is a tool of doing service!” This is called “all things work together for good to them that love God.”
Some people always research the humanity of Christ, but they don’t see that Christ with humanity reveals the essence and life of God, what God has and is. They always come up with notions about the normal humanity of Christ, always trying to pick out some flaws to quibble about. Is this what a person who pursues the truth should do? In the Age of Grace, this was called “testing the Lord.” Does God despise those who test the Lord? Yes, He does. He loathes them. They always try to find a handle in Christ’s humanity and research His humanity. They think, “Is this God? This is just normal humanity.” God detests these kinds of people. There are some believers of God whose deeds are bad. They might have committed sins, might have stopped believing, might have been punished, or fallen sick and died. Do these have anything to do with whether Christ is God or whether He is the way of life? It has nothing to do with those. There are some people who, when they encounter something like this, come up with notions about Christ, and say, “How did this person die? How did a person stop believing? How did a person commit betrayal? How did a person act as Judas?” They begin to have doubts about Christ. Furthermore, they still complain to Christ about the great red dragon not having collapsed and not having been destroyed yet, and they are doubtful if Christ is God. Isn’t this something absurd? There are also some people who say, “I’ll believe in God only if He destroys the great red dragon.” Do you think your belief in God is that important? Whether God destroys the great red dragon or not has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with whether you believe in God or not. It doesn’t matter whether you believe or not. It is not the case that God is God only when you believe in God, or that if you don’t believe in God then God isn’t God. Some people say, “If Christ were able to demonstrate some miracles, then I would believe in Him.” No matter what Christ does, whether He displays miracles or not, He always has God’s essence. Man cannot deny this. No matter what Christ does, no matter if you recognize or admire it, He is able to express the truth and you are unable to. No matter how you regard Him, He will always be the flesh of God incarnate. If you don’t believe, He is still God’s incarnate flesh. If you deny Him, He is still God incarnate, and His being incarnate is not something that can be changed by man’s will. As in the time of Noah, all of humanity did not recognize what Noah said was true. No one believed the word of God. When the calamity befell them just the same on the day designated by God, they all drowned and perished in the great flood. So, is it material whether people recognize it or not? It is pointless, because people are nothing but dust. If you don’t want to accept it, then you are finished, you will die. What is there for you to decide? The great red dragon resists God so much, and God’s work is ever spreading just the same in all directions to all countries in the world. God’s word and witness are published online. Can the great red dragon obstruct it? Now there are millions who believe. Even without these millions of people, even if only a few people believe, when this work approaches its designated time, God will bring it to an end just the same. In the time of Noah, there was only a family of eight people who believed, and God destroyed that world. Now, there are many millions of people who believe in Almighty God, so will this world be destroyed? He will most likely destroy it, right? So how do you know the work of God? God’s work has been predestined, and no one can impede it. It isn’t only through the religious circle’s belief that God’s will will be carried out on earth. Even if the whole religious world did not believe, God’s will would still be carried out on earth just the same, and Christ’s kingdom would be established on earth just the same. What do you think the religious world is? All it takes is one word from God and the whole world will cease to exist. It was with a single word of God when the flood destroyed the world. Without Noah’s building of the ark, what would have happened in that age? If Noah hadn’t made the ark, that world would have been destroyed a hundred years earlier. Since Noah built the ark, it was delayed by a hundred years. That’s the only difference. What can we see in this? Which aspects of God’s disposition can you know? It is that whatever God wants to accomplish, there is no power that can prevent Him from doing so. God speaks, and it will be accomplished; He commands, and it will stand fast. When God does something, God will not stop until it is completed. Isn’t this God’s disposition? You must know it thus. Do you understand now? So how has the great red dragon still not been destroyed? How can this be explained? There is a designated time for God’s every word to be accomplished and fulfilled, and God accomplishes His word accordingly. He does not act according to man’s notions or imagination. But whatever God says will certainly be fulfilled. Pertaining to the prophecies of ancient times to the present, some have been completely fulfilled without a single word left out while others are about to be fulfilled. This is a fact as well as something within which is God’s disposition. There are people who say, “Why are there some prophecies whose fulfillment we can’t see?” How should you know this? In the fulfillment of the prophecies spoken by God, there are some things we can’t see. For example, we cannot see the spiritual world. Would you be able to see when God has defeated Satan? You couldn’t. So what proof would there be that God has defeated Satan? When God has obtained the people, His work will be accomplished. This is the evidence that God has defeated Satan. When you see this proof, it is OK. That is, it is true that God has defeated Satan. God has already defeated the great red dragon, and how did He defeat it? Some people say, “If He had defeated it, then the great red dragon should have died, but it is still alive. Can you call this defeating the great red dragon?” How do you explain these words? When we say God has defeated the great red dragon, it means that God has made complete a group of people in China whom the great red dragon is unable to seize or disturb. These people are the proof that God has defeated the great red dragon; they are the spoils of war wrested away by God from the great red dragon. It is on the basis of this fact that we say God has already defeated Satan, and this is called proof. You see that the great red dragon and the religious circle are just watching the videos we, the Church of Almighty God, post online and our most recent trends. They are constantly watching, with their eyes staring straight ahead. They just want to see the tendency of the Church of Almighty God, as if they are using both a telescope and a microscope to continuously research. At the end of their research, they will say, “Oh, there are more and more of these movies and videos all the time. Oh, these words are formidable!” Looking at these trends, the religious circle is defeated and done for, unworthy of any mention. The religious circle has no truth whatsoever! When we make one move or strike against them, they don’t even have the ability to fight back. With every video and every movie, we refute them. We refute them so badly that there’s nothing left unscathed. Yet have they ever fought back? Have they made their own videos in response? No, they haven’t. When they began, they had us besieged on all sides. But in the very end when we strike back, we lay siege to them in all directions, pursuing and attacking them. Have we now triumphed over Satan? Not only have we triumphed over Satan, we have triumphed over the evil forces of the antichrists in the religious circle. When we have completely triumphed over them, the great calamity will arrive and obliterate them. God’s word will all be accomplished!
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How, then, do we know the word of God? Is there a relationship between knowing God’s word and knowing God? The two are closely related. We know God by knowing much of God’s word and thereby understanding many truths. Therefore, knowing God’s word is a step toward knowing God. You could also say that it is a constituent part of knowing God. If you know much of God’s word and the moment you see it, you can understand and see that God’s word is consistent with the work that He is doing, this is knowing God’s word. The man who knows God’s word is a man who truly knows Him. Knowing much of God’s word means that you have true understanding of God. All those who know God know His word and would communicate His word. They would have experiential and pure knowledge of His word. If some say that they understand the truth and know God’s word but do not know God, what is the problem with this? All those who say that they know God’s word but do not know God, they do not truly know God’s word. How, then, does one come to know God? It is by knowing God’s word sentence by sentence until he reaches the full knowledge of God. If you understand every word that God speaks forth, especially His words of prophecy, and you are able to speak of your own understanding of His every word, then it means that you know God’s disposition and His authority. For instance, you are able to see which words of God speak about what God has or is, which words of God represent which aspect of His disposition, which words of God reveal His almightiness and wisdom, and which words of God represent His authority. If you have true knowledge of these words of God, you have true knowledge of God. Do you understand this? What then is the way to knowing God? It is achieved by knowing every word of God until you finally know God. This is the way to knowing God.
How, then, do we know the word of God? Is there a relationship between knowing God’s word and knowing God? The two are closely related. We know God by knowing much of God’s word and thereby understanding many truths. Therefore, knowing God’s word is a step toward knowing God. You could also say that it is a constituent part of knowing God. If you know much of God’s word and the moment you see it, you can understand and see that God’s word is consistent with the work that He is doing, this is knowing God’s word. The man who knows God’s word is a man who truly knows Him. Knowing much of God’s word means that you have true understanding of God. All those who know God know His word and would communicate His word. They would have experiential and pure knowledge of His word. If some say that they understand the truth and know God’s word but do not know God, what is the problem with this? All those who say that they know God’s word but do not know God, they do not truly know God’s word. How, then, does one come to know God? It is by knowing God’s word sentence by sentence until he reaches the full knowledge of God. If you understand every word that God speaks forth, especially His words of prophecy, and you are able to speak of your own understanding of His every word, then it means that you know God’s disposition and His authority. For instance, you are able to see which words of God speak about what God has or is, which words of God represent which aspect of His disposition, which words of God reveal His almightiness and wisdom, and which words of God represent His authority. If you have true knowledge of these words of God, you have true knowledge of God. Do you understand this? What then is the way to knowing God? It is achieved by knowing every word of God until you finally know God. This is the way to knowing God.
If a person believes in God and focuses on fulfilling his duties and on faith, but he does not ponder and experience every word of God, and he does not know His word at all, can such a person be able to know God? You all say no. And why not? Some say that one needs to know God from His word. Then again, can one know God by studying about and testing Christ? Can one know God through his conceptions about God? Not at all. What kind of person can come to know God then? Those who pay attention to eating and drinking the word of God as well as those who practice and experience God’s word. They will definitely come to know God eventually. This is the first principle of knowing God, and way of practice. The second is to be able to seek the truth and find bases in God’s word in all things. This is also a principle in knowing God. If you study Christ and God based on human conceptions and imagination, you will never know God. If you have your conceptions but you seek neither the truth nor resolutions in God’s word, you will be even less able to know God. You would only perish in your conceptions. The more fallacies you accept from Satan, the deeper you fall into its confusions and the more severely you betray God. You would only end up in destruction. Therefore, never accept Satan’s rumors and fallacies as gifts. Do not accept its nonsense. You must say a hundred times “no” to it and refuse to accept any of Satan’s suggestions and lies, then you will be able to stand firm and witness for God. In addition, you should pay attention to eating and drinking God’s word and seeking the truth. As you eat and drink more on His word, you will understand the truth all the more and your heart will become clearer; the clearer your heart is, the better you would be able to see through the nature of Satan’s rumors and fallacies. Those who never seek the truth, who never read, experience and act on God’s word nor listen to sermons and fellowship, when Satan’s fallacies come one day, they would accept them right away. When Satan’s nonsense comes, they would take it all in. Once Satan attacks such a person, it would hit where it counts. In the end the person would fall and betray God after having eaten of Satan’s fruits. Look at the person who understands the truth. He sniggers when he hears Satan’s schemes and fallacies. “You devil! You liar! You want to confuse me with such a trivial matter? I will refute you with a hundred sentences. What you are saying is all lies. Shameless! Shameful!” He rejects Satan this way. Satan is embarrassed at this. “I cannot confuse this fellow. He is a man of God!” This is being perfected by God’s word. How powerful it is! He is not shaken by Satan, not one bit. Some people can be toppled even by fallen leaves. They have neither statures nor life! They are toppled by leaves fallen from the tree; a rumor shakes their faith and a lie confuses them. They could not take it and cry when they get home, and they lose their faith eventually. Do they have any truth in them? Why do such people not have truth in them? They believed in God for several years like everyone else, so why do they not have truth in them? It is because they do not love the truth. They do not usually pay attention to eating and drinking and understanding God’s word. They know nothing of God’s word, and their knowledge of God is blank. Blank like a piece of paper. Is this not the case?
Do you think those who have not seen Christ could know Him? Yes, they can. Where does one know Christ from, then? You do so from His word. You experience and eat and drink God’s word every day. The more you experience and eat and drink God’s word, the clearer your heart will be. You will then come to know God without being aware of it. You can come to know God without seeing Christ’s face. Why, then, do some people still do not know Christ even after having seen His face? Why? Many of the early followers have not known Christ. They continue to have their own conceptions when matters arise. Even those who believe in Christ for a shorter time do not have their own conceptions. Why is this so? Where did they fail? They neither ate and drank God’s word nor sought the truth from God’s word when matters arose about which they had conceptions. They had no resistance at all, and they died in the desolate land without having entered the land of Canaan. Isn’t it so? Some people even boast, “I have seen Christ. Christ has even preached to us!” or “I have seen the man used by the Holy Spirit. We have even received him in our house!” When asked, “Did you then receive the truth? Do you have the reality of the truth?” they have nothing to say. Does this count as capital? You have to have some reality and have real knowledge of Him if you have seen Christ. This is what man should offer to God and what the chosen people of God need the most. God’s chosen people would not approve of the fact that you have only seen Christ and the man God uses and you take it as your capital to brag blindly. Upon hearing this, they would go, “All right, quick. Communicate the truth to us. We are too lacking in it.” Once you start talking, however, you speak endlessly, but what about? Nothing but irrelevant matters and none about the truth. Do we not have many of such people? Someone spread this in various churches all around blindly, “I have seen Christ and heard Him preach.” I said, “Nonsense. Don’t let him go around the churches. Tell him to go back! This is embarrassing.” We should be all the more severe with such people. They have gained nothing after having believed for so many years. What are they bragging about? Do you have any conceptions about my treating this kind of person in such a way? You all say no. What then do you see from this? What have you understood? Tell me, how do you know God? God said, “Do you understand the feelings of a person who has painstakingly farmed but has not harvested a single grain? Do you understand how great the injury is of someone who has been dealt great blow? Can you taste the bitterness of a person full of hope who has to part with someone on bad terms? Have you seen the anger of a person who has been provoked? Can you know the feeling of revengeful urgency of a person who has been treated with hostility and deceitfulness? If you understand the mentality of these people, I think it shouldn’t be difficult for you to imagine the attitude God will have at the time of His retribution!” (“On Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). What kind of disposition can we see from what God said? Is it righteousness? God is patient and full of compassion and love as He planted at the beginning of spring and watered and cleared the weed in summer. He should be angered and curse the fig tree when it bears no fruits when the time comes for harvesting. Is this the expression of God’s disposition? Can you still have a conception about God and say that He no longer has love? What conceptions should you have if you are not able to observe matters well? You have no truth in you at all. When the people who understand the truth see this, they are able to say, “This is God’s disposition. Christ is the manifestation of God, and this is the proof.” God has His principles in the way He treats people. He is full of compassion, love and patience for you like that for a child when you first believe. When you grow in your faith, you become an adult. God should be angry with you for not behaving like one, and would either discipline or punish you. Isn’t that the case? Should you have any conceptions on this matter? How do you know God when you cannot even see this? You are not able to know God, and you cannot do so without knowing the truth. There will be trouble whenever you talk about certain matters as you are full of conceptions, imagination, errors and fallacies. You have to be accurate in what you say: What this reveals is the disposition of God and the kind of people He would be angry at; this is what God has and is, and you should have no conceptions on this but should praise God. Do you understand now? How does praise of God come about? What does it mean to truly praise God? Only a person who knows God is able to praise Him. Every word he speaks when praising God is true. His praises are from knowledge through experiencing God and comes from the heart. That is truly praising God. True praise glorifies God and is blessed by God. Only he who truly praises God can worship God, and only such a person is one who loves God. If you have conceptions on everything and are not able to see through anything, then you know nothing about God, and even the praises and songs you sing to God are not true. You neither understand nor know the actual contents of praising God. Is your praise real? Therefore, it is not possible for a person who does not know God to truly praise Him. A person who does not know God always has conceptions. He is not able to see what God has and is. He is not able to see the disposition that God reveals. Neither is he able to see what God’s will is, what He wants and what man lacks. Can such a person praise God? It would be very good if he does not raise any conceptions or resist God. Isn’t that the case? Many who seek and observe the true way have conceptions about God and accept Satan’s suggestions. They neither acknowledge nor see the many truths that Christ expressed. Is the Christ who has expressed the many truths not Christ Himself? Why do you still accept Satan’s suggestions? All that Satan says are lies. Don’t you know that Satan has been speaking lies since the very beginning? Do you not believe in God? How, then, do you know God? You must base yourself on God’s word whenever you encounter any matters, seek the truth in His word, and know God’s disposition and all that He has and is. This is the way to solve man’s conceptions and imagination of God, understand His will and express true praises to Him.
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Questions & Answers
Questions & Answers
Question (1): It is said in the word of God: “Your ignorance of Christ is ignorance too of the God in heaven. No matter how loyal you are to the God in heaven, it is merely empty words and pretense, for the God on earth is not only instrumental in man receiving the truth and more profound knowledge, but even more instrumental in the condemnation of man and afterward in seizing the facts to punish the wicked. Have you understood the benefits and consequences here?” But we are not completely clear on what is meant by the words: “No matter how loyal you are to the God in heaven, it is merely empty words and pretense….” Brother, can you please communicate their meanings to us and analyze the situations and the characteristics therein?
Answer: God says, “Your ignorance of Christ is ignorance too of the God in heaven.” Now would you say it is easier for you to have knowledge of the God in heaven or of Christ? Who is better for man to have knowledge of? The majority of people say the answer is Christ. So then, before people have knowledge of Christ, are they able to attain knowledge of the God in heaven? You all say it is not possible. So then, if someone who does not know Christ says that he knows the God in heaven, can these words stand or not? They cannot. So, it is said, “Your ignorance of Christ is ignorance too of the God in heaven.” Don’t these words stand? People of the religious community say, “We just do not have knowledge of Christ. We haven’t seen Christ, nor have we accepted Christ, but we have a lot of knowledge about the God in heaven.” Can these words stand? They cannot. So then, what kind of knowledge of the God in heaven do they have? Here says God, “No matter how loyal you are to the God in heaven, it is merely empty words and pretense….” So, for anyone who believes that they have knowledge of the God in heaven, as far as God is concerned, all the theories and knowledge they talk about are just empty words and pretense. Can you accept this? They were boasting, all the while deluding themselves into thinking that they were faithful to the God in heaven, that they revered the God in heaven and obeyed the God in heaven, but they nailed Christ to the cross. What facts does this reveal? It reveals that their knowledge of the God in heaven was all empty words and pretense. That’s exactly how it was! In this way we have reached a conclusion. What is the true way to attain knowledge of the God in heaven? You must have knowledge of God incarnate. If you do not accept God incarnate, if you do not experience the work of God incarnate, then you will never be able to attain knowledge of God incarnate, so you will never be able to have knowledge of the God in heaven. You ought to understand this!
Below we have a basis, God says, “for the God on earth is not only instrumental in man receiving the truth….” Why is it said that the God on earth is instrumental in man’s receiving the truth, what is this based on? Can anybody tell us? Some people say that Christ is the expresser of the truth. Christ expresses the truth at all times, He is able to water you, provide for you and shepherd you at all times, making it easy for you to receive the truth. How can the God in heaven speak with you? You pray, “Dear God in heaven! Oh, Heaven! Oh, God!” You just weep, and God still will not speak with you. So, you will not be able to obtain the truth. Right? But the God on earth is not the same. Every day, as soon as we meet Him, He can preach sermons to us, He can congregate with us; the words He speaks fill a thick book of over 1,000 pages, The Word Appears in the Flesh. There is also Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh, and also Records of Christ’s Talks. Christ’s utterances total more than 3,000 pages. With so many words spoken by Christ, certainly there are many effects that will be attained. If someone experiences God’s words for 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years, how much of the truth will he have understood! So, the God on earth is instrumental in man’s obtaining the truth. This is a fact, isn’t it? Since He expresses the truth at all times, since He waters us, provides for us and shepherds us at all times, He is instrumental in our receiving the truth. What about the God in heaven? He cannot express the truth at all times, He cannot utter words for you to listen to. So, believing in the God in heaven is not instrumental to man’s receiving the truth. No matter how man practices his faith, it will not be easy for him to receive the truth. If he is able to see some of God’s deeds, then that is rather good. Right?
Next, God says, “instrumental in man receiving … more profound knowledge….” You believe in the God in heaven and you can only see few of His deeds: The Old Man in the sky sends thunders to strike down wicked men! If mankind commits evil acts, if the ruling parties commit evil acts and resist Heaven, then Heaven’s wrath will descend upon them! Whenever that wrath descends upon them, calamities will ensue, there will be no favorable weather, the soil will not yield crops. When that time comes, there will be no food to eat! Just when they are ready to harvest crops, a flood may inundate the land and the crops may vanish. Just when crop seedlings are about to emerge, a drought may hit and the seedlings may perish. Just when they are ready to harvest their grains, a band of bandits may come and pillage them. Just when they are ready to store their grains in the granary, brigands may come to plunder them in the middle of the night, and their whole year of labor may be in vain! These are calamities that may befall them. Do you understand? If you can only see these things, will you be able to obtain the truth? Will you be able to receive more profound knowledge? You will not. So, despite the fact that the Chinese people believed in the existence of the Old Man in the sky in the past thousands of years, God has not appeared before them. They only know about the Old Man in the sky, but they have no knowledge of Him at all. They often ask: “Does the Old Man in the sky have eyes that see?” They also say: “Virtue begets virtue, vice begets vice!” There are only these words and there is no more profound knowledge, right?
Then God says, “but even more instrumental in the condemnation of man.” How does the God in heaven condemn man? Certainly, someone who has committed some blatant evil will be struck by lightning, and sometimes some words will be left on his body. And what about the God on earth? He is instrumental in the condemnation of man. If you don’t accept Christ, you will be condemned even if you believe in God. If you resist Christ and condemn Christ, then you are the enemy of God, and God will destroy you. This way, you can see that whenever God appears in the flesh, there will at least be the destruction of a state, but at the extreme, it could also spell doom for the entire human race. Only those who believe in Christ will be saved! Why does God say “even more instrumental in the condemnation of man”? Because you resist Christ. What is the consequence of resisting Christ? Death. “Defiance means death!” When the Lord Jesus first appeared in the flesh, He destroyed the Jewish state that resisted Him. After Almighty God incarnate has finished carrying out His work, He will destroy the entire human race that has forsaken and resisted Him. Isn’t that being even more instrumental in the condemnation of man? You see how the nonbelievers in today’s wicked world are constantly condemning God, and how they don’t acknowledge God. But don’t you worry, don’t pay attention to the cries of joy they shout today. They should fear the calamities that will come upon them tomorrow! In the blink of an eye this human race will be destroyed. It will cease to exist. Can’t you see this? After the Lord Jesus carried out His work, what was the ultimate end of those who resisted Him? The Jewish state was destroyed for nearly 2,000 years, not reestablished until 1948. Almighty God incarnate is forsaken by this generation. In the end this wicked generation will be destroyed by God. It will be destroyed during the catastrophe, and China will be the first to be destroyed. What will this fulfill? “… but even more instrumental in the condemnation of man and afterward in seizing the facts to punish the wicked. Have you understood the benefits and consequences here?” This is of vital importance, but people in general fail to understand it. They just condemn as they please, “If I want to accept it, then I’ll accept. If I don’t want to, then I won’t.” You don’t understand this vital information concerning the end of the human race, the fate and destination of man! In vernacular terms, it is a matter of life and death for mankind! Isn’t that how it is? Some people say here, “Right now I still have some notions, I still can’t bring myself to believe, I will believe when I have no more notions.” Those who understand the truth have this to say, “Then you are waiting for your death! Are you tired of living?” You’re just procrastinating and being nonchalant. You are waiting for your death! Some people court death, and in the blink of an eye they will vanish.
“No matter how loyal you are to the God in heaven, it is merely empty words and pretense….” Do you understand these words clearly now? You do. So aren’t all those “theories of Christ”, “theories of the last days” and “theories of the Bible” written by the religious community just empty words and pretense? Jewish rabbis wrote “theories of the Old Testament” and all other kinds of theories. Are these all empty words and pretense? Yes, they are. Now we all understand this.
Question (2): In my knowledge of God I know that the humbleness and hiddenness of God deserves our love, and I know that the possession and being of God are all good. But in my own experience, I find that in my heart I am still drawn to lofty things. I like showing off, I chase after people’s esteem. I also pray and try to forsake myself, but I am still not able to reach the point where I love all that God has and is, and pursue to know all that God has and is. I am often bound and controlled by my corrupt disposition. In pursuing knowledge of all that God is, how can I get to the point where I feel love for it in my heart and can actively pursue knowledge of God?
Answer: Man’s corrupt disposition is not something that can be shaken off automatically after believing in God for a few days, but as you continue to attain deeper and deeper knowledge of God, you will start to understand more and more clearly all that God has and is. Then you will start to truly love the truth. The essence of every truth is what God has and is. When you see how beautiful, how good, how pure and holy and how worthy of our love the possession and being of God is, by then you will start to detest all the things from Satan. Let me give you a simple example: Say there are two people. One is tall and burly with a stately and charismatic appearance. The other is short, average looking and slightly built. Which one would you prefer? Wouldn’t everyone prefer the taller man? But wait until after you’ve experienced the work of God. From Christ you will see a lot of what God has and what God is, you will see the beautiful and good disposition of God, you will see the honorable and precious disposition of God, you will see the corruption and arrogance of man, and you will see the conceit, ignominy and absurdity of man. By that time would you be able to give up all the things that people like? One day you will see there is no reality of the truth in that tall, burly man, the type that you have once admired. Everything he says is vacuous and absurd. Will you still be fond of him? If you come to have more knowledge of Christ, who appears unremarkable but possesses the reality of the truth and the ability to save you, can you not love Him then? Yes, you will. This process of change is the transformation of your disposition. At first you will not be able to achieve it, but as time goes by when your knowledge of Christ becomes deeper and deeper, as you come to see the wretchedness, penury and corruption of man more clearly, then your notions will change. Can this be achieved in a single day? Take your time. Don’t rush. After we finish communicating today, see whether or not your mind is clearer. No matter how Christ works, whether everything He does conforms to your notions or not, you will one day realize: “Wow, all that Christ does may not conform to the notions of man, but it is the truth, it is reality, it is all that God has and is. No matter how much our actions conform to the notions of man, conform to our imaginations, they lack the truth, they do not stand. They are all cosmetic without substance. They are unworthy to be loved.” This is a change in your notions and attitude, isn’t it? So how do you change your attitude? How does one change go from not loving Christ and always having notions about Christ to being someone who is able to truly love and truly obey Christ? How does this change come about? How do you undergo this change? Through understanding many truths, by seeing what God has and is through Christ. By seeing that He is the truth, the way and the life; by seeing that He alone is able to save us, that He alone is able to provide for us, and that by following Him we will be able to crawl out from hell, step into the light, and reach a beautiful destination! Christ is so lovely! To leave Christ is to die, to return to Satan’s lair and return to darkness. Only Christ can deliver us from this! At this time, you would feel how lovely Christ is. Christ is the Benefactor and the Savior! You shall never leave Christ again, for leaving Christ is courting death. At this time, you should have some knowledge of Christ, right? As for those false leaders and antichrists that you worship, the more you look at them, the more you see that they do not possess the truth. The more you look at them, the more you see that they do not possess reality. The more you look at all the things they do, the more you will see that they are entrapping and ruining us. The more you look at them, the more you see that they are hypocrites and swindlers. Those who follow them will suffer because of them. If you worship them, you will face a lifetime of trouble, you will surely go to hell. You will be ruined by them. If you see someone in whom you had originally invested boundless hopes end up ruining you single-handedly and dashing all your hopes, how will you feel about him? Will you be filled with hate? At the start you always have notions about Christ, but eventually you will see that as you follow Christ and as you experience the word of Christ, more and more you will be saved and cleansed, more and more your mind will become clear, you will come to understand the truth and you will come to know God. Eventually you will enter the light, you will live in the light. At that time, you will say: “Christ is so lovely! It is Christ who has saved me, it is Christ who delivered me from darkness into the light. Without Christ I would not be who I am today!” It is Christ who looks so unremarkable that will save you. So do you all think that Christ is lovely? Whenever this day arrives, will you still have notions about Christ? You will not. Man’s love and affection for Christ accumulates day by day this way, until a true love is formed eventually. At first you have a love for man, and you worship Satan. But then, as you come to understand the truth more and more, you will eventually see the actual facts of how Satan corrupts man, and you will forsake it. Isn’t that so? Some people always worship the pastors and those great spiritual people in the religious community, but after experiencing the work of Christ for some time, they will gain a whole lot, and when they think back, they will find that they gained nothing after years of worship of the famous and great people in the religious community. They’ll think: “Alas, these famous and great people in the religious community are not God. I ought to obey and worship Christ, this is how I can obtain the truth, this is how I can receive the life. He is the source of life!” This is how man experiences and attains love for God and knowledge of God! This is clear, right?
Source from：Books of the Church of Almighty God
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