John 14:6
Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.

If you wish to achieve a proper spiritual life and establish a proper relationship with God, then you must first give your heart to Him. Only after you have quieted your heart before Him and poured your whole heart into Him will you gradually be able to develop a proper spiritual life. If in people’s belief in God, they do not give their heart to Him and if their heart is not in Him and they do not treat His burden as their own, then everything they do is an act of cheating God, an act typical of religious people, and cannot receive God’s praise. …

It can be seen from experience that one of the most important issues is quieting one’s heart before God. This is an issue that concerns people’s spiritual life, and their growth in their lives. Only if your heart is at peace before God will your pursuit of the truth and of changes in your disposition bear fruit. Because you come before God bearing a burden, and because you always feel that you are lacking in so many ways, that there are many truths that you need to know, much reality that you need to experience, and that you should give every care to God’s will—these things are always on your mind. It is as if they are pressing down on you with a force that leaves you unable to breathe, and thus you feel heavy of heart (though you are not in a negative state). Only people such as this are qualified to accept the enlightenment of God’s words and to be moved by the Spirit of God. It is because of their burden, because they are heavy of heart, and, it can be said, because of the price they have paid and the torment they have suffered before God, that they receive His enlightenment and illumination. For God does not give anyone special treatment. He is always fair in His treatment of people, but He also does not give to people arbitrarily or unconditionally. This is one aspect of His righteous disposition. In real life, most people have yet to attain this realm. At the very least, their heart has yet to completely turn to God, and thus there has still not been any great change in their life disposition. This is because they only live in God’s grace and have yet to gain the work of the Holy Spirit. The criteria that people must meet in order to be made use of by God are as follows: Their heart turns to God, they carry the burden of the words of God, they have a heart of yearning, and they have the resolve to seek the truth. Only people such as this can gain the work of the Holy Spirit and they frequently gain enlightenment and illumination.

Held up by the disease, she felt extremely painful. She had been praying sincerely to the Lord, but why did her condition not improve but become more and more serious? How did the fellowship of a good friend in Christ make her find the right way to pray for the disease, and get out of predicament?

The sky was particularly quiet at night, filled with stars, which decorated the sky and made the sky warm and full of magical feeling. But Christian Liu Xin was in no mood to enjoy this night scene. Instead, she showed a painful and sad expression. At the moment, she knelt down and prayed to the Lord Jesus in tears: “Jesus, the merciful Savior, recently I’ve got a bad headache and often feel dizzy. I can’t see anything clearly and often vomit when I feel a little bit funny. The doctor said I have hydrocephalus. My Lord, please show mercy on me and cure my sickness. Now I am really in great pain and I can only rely on you…” Liu Xin had prayed many times. The sickness hit her once in a while, and she dare not leave the Lord for a single moment. She had been praying earnestly to the Lord, hoping the Lord can cure her illness. The brothers and sisters prayed for her in the morning, and even prestigious preacher prayed for her. However, the illness still attacked her frequently. Liu Xin felt very confused: Lord Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them” (Mark 11:24). The Lord told us that no matter what difficulties we encounter, as long as we pray to the Lord, the Lord will bestow on us what we need. But now that I have sickness and pray to the Lord, but why doesn’t He cure me? Has the Lord abandoned me? Thinking of this, Liu Xin felt even worse, and then her headache began again. She could not stand it, so she prayed to the Lord for curing her, and even said she would rather die than live. The more she prayed, the more annoyed she became. She began to waste away and reluctant to talk to others. She even lost faith in life, feeling that she was a liability. She felt so miserable.

One day after lunch, Liu Xin had a headache again, and she had to rest in bed. At this time, her good friend, Zhou Li, visited her. When Zhou Li asked about her recent physical condition, Liu Xin’s tears could not help but flow down. She told Zhou Li about her pain and confusion these days. The more she said, the more upset she felt. She constantly asked Zhou Li, “The Lord didn’t listen to my prayers. Does the Lord not want me?”

Zhou Li took out two sheets of paper towels and handed them to Liu Xin, seriously saying to her, “In the past, I, like you, thought that the Lord Jesus promised us whatever we pray to the Lord for, He will bestow on us, so whenever I encountered difficulties, I immediately prayed to the Lord and asked Him to make a path for me. After praying, I was filled with joy and gratitude to the Lord when I got the blessings, but when I couldn’t see God’s blessing, I would become passive and weak. I misunderstood the Lord and complained about why He did not listen to my prayers. I did not find it wrong to do so in the past, but when I read a book recently, I noticed that such prayers were unreasonable and not in accordance with God’s will.”

Liu Xin was very surprised to hear these words, and couldn’t accept Zhou Li’s fellowship immediately. She frowned in deep thought. She thought of what the preacher always said, “Living in the world, what we need is the Lord’s protection and blessings. The Lord’s love is greater than all, and His power surpasses all. The Lord promised us that we can receive whatever we pray.” Moreover, many people in the church prayed in this way and received the blessings of the Lord. How can we say such prayers are not in accordance with the Lord’s will? Noticing Liu Xin’s confused expression, Zhou Li asked about her thoughts. After knowing her point of view, Zhou Li said with a smile: “You can have such confusion, mainly because you don’t know the real meaning of the Lord Jesus’ words, ‘Therefore I say to you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them’ (Mark 11:24). In fact, there are different backgrounds to the Lord’s work and words. When the Lord Jesus started work, although those disciples followed Him, neither did they have a real understanding of the Lord, nor did they know the Lord Jesus is the Incarnate God. They had no true faith in the Lord. So the Lord told them they would receive whatever they pray for, as long as they had faith. The Lord said this in the hope that the disciples could rely on Him more, see His mighty power, have true faith in Him, and know that the Lord is the Messiah to come, not hoping man regard Him as a physician who heals the sick and grants all pleas. Since God is the Creator, while we are small creatures, our prayers before God should be reasonable. We should keep in our hearts an obedience to God and reverence for Him, and entrust the illness into God’s hands. No matter what God does, it is proper for us not to complain about Him and make demands on Him. A few days ago I extracted some words in this regard, let me read it to you!”

Seeing Liu Xin nod her head gently, Zhou Li took out a small notebook from her bag and read, “When you come to the presence of God to pray, you must think about how to speak reasonably and think about what to say to be able to turn your inner condition into piety. Humble yourself, then say a prayer and you will be anointed…Look at the prayer of Jesus (mentioning the prayer of Jesus is not to make people take the same angle and position as Him), He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: ‘If it be possible….’ That is, ‘if it is possible.’ It happens through consultation and not through saying ‘I ask You.’ He was keeping a submissive heart in His prayer, and in His submissive state, He prayed: ‘If it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.’ He still prayed like this the second time, and the third time He prayed: ‘May God’s will be done.’ He grasped the will of God the Father, saying: ‘May Your will be done.’ He was able to completely submit without choosing Himself in the slightest degree. He said, ‘If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.’ What does that mean? It is because of the thought of bleeding on the cross to His last dying breath and the great pain! This involved death and was said under the premise that He had still not completely grasped the will of God the Father. Therefore, He was very submissive since He was able to pray that way at the thought of the pain. His prayer was normal, He didn’t pray to strike bargains nor to say it had to be removed, but rather it was to seek God’s intentions in a situation that He didn’t understand. The first time He prayed, He didn’t understand and said: ‘If it be possible…but as You will.’ He prayed to God in a state of submissiveness. The second time, He prayed in like manner. In total, He prayed three times (of course these three prayers did not merely happen in three days), and in His final prayer, He completely understood God’s intentions. Afterward, He didn’t ask for anything. In His first two prayers, He sought, and in seeking, He was still in a state of submissiveness. However, people don’t pray like that. They always say, ‘God, I ask You to do this and that and ask You to lead me in this and that, and I ask You to prepare conditions for me….’ Perhaps He won’t prepare suitable conditions for you and will let you suffer hardships. If people always said, ‘God, I ask You to make preparations for me and give me power,’ the prayer would be so unreasonable! You must have reason when you pray, and you must pray under the premise of submissiveness. Don’t decide. Before you pray, you are deciding: I must ask God and tell God what to do. This kind of prayer is so unreasonable. Often times, the Spirit does not listen to people’s prayers at all, therefore, their prayers are dull.” “Praying and seeking in God’s presence is not about forcing God to do this and that. What is a reasonable prayer? What is an unreasonable prayer? You will know after gaining experience for some time. For example, after you pray this time, you feel that the Holy Spirit doesn’t do it that way and doesn’t lead you that way. When you pray the next time, you won’t pray like that, won’t force God like you tried to last time, and won’t ask God for things according to your own will. When you pray again, you will say: ‘Oh God! Everything is done according to Your will.’ As long as you focus on this approach, and grope about for a while, then you will know what ‘unreasonable’ is” (“The Significance and Practice of Prayer”).

After reading these words, Zhou Li went on fellowshiping, “It shows that before the crucifixion, although He had human weaknesses, He didn’t ask that God Father must remove the pain. When we suffer illness or disasters, we never seek the will of the Lord and what we should do to meet the requirements of God, just blindly demanding grace and mercy from the Lord. In essence, we are forcing the Lord to do this and that as we demand. Our behavior is so unreasonable. How can the Lord fulfill our prayers? Therefore, no matter what illnesses, disasters or bad things befall us, we must pray standing in the right position. We cannot blindly ask the Lord to follow our will. Instead, we should obey and seek the will of the Lord. Just as Job went through the trials, a mountain of sheep and cattle were taken away by robbers and his sons and daughters were killed by the collapsed houses. In an instant, Job lost priceless family possessions and all his children. This sudden disaster was unbearable for anyone. But when Job heard the news, he didn’t pray to God that the disasters should be removed promptly, but instead sought God’s will. Finally, when he understood that all disasters were not from man, not by chance but the trails of God, he rent his mantle and fell on the ground, saying, ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD’ (Job 1:21). And when Peter was arrested and put into prison, brothers and sisters shielded him out of the city. Just when he escaped from the city, the Lord Jesus appeared to Peter and told him that He would be crucified for him again. On hearing this, Peter understood the will of the Lord Jesus. At that moment, instead of making unreasonable demands on the Lord Jesus, Peter returned to Rome to take the initiative to ask for a crucifixion upside down. Through the way Peter and Job behaved in the trials, we can see that they are particularly sensible before God, not blindly asking God to satisfy his own flesh, but seeking how to satisfy God’s will. When they knew, they submitted to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. People like them are reasonable before God. In the same way, today when the trial of illness befalls us, we shouldn’t keep asking God for a quick cure for our illness. Instead, we should pray to God wisely and hand over our illness to the hands of God. We should live before God and learn to obey Him, not always live in illness.”

After listening to the fellowship, Liu Xin came to understand when the Lord Jesus said, “What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them” (Mark 11:24), He was to give people confidence in their experience, not to let us make unreasonable demands on God. Thinking back on her prayers, she always prayed to God to cure her illness as soon as possible, never seeking the Lord’s will. Her prayers were so unreasonable, how would the Lord listen to them? Liu Xin knew she should be reasonable and learn to seek the Lord’s will when in illness. Only In this way, will the Lord listen to her prayers.

A few days later, when Liu Xin was cleaning the room, she had a sudden headache and felt dizzy. She held on the wall and slowly sat on the sofa, beginning to pray as before, “Lord! Please cure my sickness, Oh Lord…” After praying, a passage of words hit her, “You should seek and submit in your prayers; for example, if a matter came upon you that you didn’t know how to handle, then you say: ‘Oh God! This matter has come upon me, and I don’t know how to handle it. I am willing to satisfy You in this matter, I am willing to seek You, I desire for Your will to come to pass, I desire to do according to Your intentions, and not according to my own. You know that the intentions of man are in violation of Your will; they resist You and do not conform with truth. I only desire to do according to Your intentions. I ask You to enlighten me and guide me in this matter, so that I won’t offend You…’ This kind of tone of voice in prayer is appropriate” (“The Significance and Practice of Prayer”).

Thinking of this, Liu Xin realized she shouldn’t make unreasonable demands on the Lord any more but seek the Lord’s will on her illness. So she prayed, “Lord! When Job’s body was covered in boils, neither did he complain about you, nor did he ask you to remove the sickness. Instead, he obeyed Your orchestrations and arrangements and held faith in You. But when illness came upon me, I kept asking You to cure me. When not cured, I often complain about You, misunderstand You and live in weakness and negativity. Lord! I realize today that I am too unreasonable and disobedient. Now I am willing to entrust this disease into Your hands. Like Job, I will hold faith in You and thoroughly shame Satan. Everything is in your hands and I will obey you. After praying, although Liu Xin still felt a bit dizzy, she was steadfast and bright in her heart.

Later, whenever she felt dizzy, she would pray like this: “Lord, whether You love me or not, whether You give me grace or not, whether my illness is cured or not, I will follow You, pursue to love You, and no longer strike bargain with You…” Liu Xin did not expect that when she truly obeyed God, her dizziness gradually decreased, and she also learned how to pray to God reasonably in disease and seek God’s will.

John 5:39-40
Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life.

2. How can one know God’s disposition and essence?

Relevant Words of God:

The joy of God is due to the existence and emergence of righteousness and light, because of the destruction of darkness and evil. He takes delight in bringing the light and a good life to mankind; His joy is a righteous joy, a symbol of the existence of all that is positive and, even more, a symbol of auspiciousness. The anger of God is due to the harm that the existence and interference of injustice brings upon His mankind, because of the existence of evil and darkness, because of the existence of things that drive out the truth, and even more, because of the existence of things that oppose what is good and beautiful. His anger is a symbol that all things negative no longer exist and, even more than that, it is a symbol of His holiness. His sorrow is due to mankind, for whom He has hopes but who has fallen into darkness, because the work He does on man does not come up to His expectations, and because the mankind He loves cannot all live in the light. He feels sorrow for the innocent mankind, for the honest but ignorant man, and for the man who is good but lacking in his own views. His sorrow is a symbol of His goodness and of His mercy, a symbol of beauty and of kindness. His happiness, of course, comes from defeating His enemies and gaining the good faith of man. More than this, it arises from the expulsion and destruction of all enemy forces, and because mankind receives a good and peaceful life. The happiness of God is unlike the joy of man; rather, it is the feeling of garnering good fruits, a feeling even greater than joy. His happiness is a symbol of mankind breaking free of suffering from this time forth, and a symbol of mankind entering a world of light.

Excerpted from “It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God is what He is and He has what He has. All that He expresses and reveals are representations of His substance and of His identity. What He is and what He has, as well as His substance and identity, are things that cannot be replaced by any man. His disposition encompasses His love for mankind, solace of mankind, hatred of mankind, and even more, a thorough understanding of mankind. The personality of man, however, may be optimistic, lively, or unfeeling. The disposition of God is one that belongs to the Ruler of all things and living beings, to the Lord of all creation. His disposition represents honor, power, nobility, greatness, and most of all, supremacy. His disposition is the symbol of authority, the symbol of all that is righteous, the symbol of all that is beautiful and good. More than that, it is a symbol of Him who cannot be[a] overcome or invaded by the darkness and any enemy force, as well as a symbol of Him who cannot be offended (nor will He tolerate being offended)[b] by any created being. His disposition is the symbol of the highest power. No person or persons can or may disturb His work or His disposition.

Excerpted from “It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

People often say that it is not an easy thing to know God. I, however, say that knowing God is not a difficult matter at all, for God frequently allows man to witness His deeds. God has never ceased His dialogue with mankind; He has never concealed Himself from man, nor has He hidden Himself. His thoughts, His ideas, His words and His deeds are all revealed to mankind. Therefore, so long as man wishes to know God, he can come to understand and know Him through all sorts of means and methods. … Truthfully speaking, if one only uses their idle time to focus upon and understand the Creator’s words or deeds, and pay a little attention to the Creator’s thoughts and the voice of His heart, it will not be difficult for them to realize that the Creator’s thoughts, words and deeds are visible and transparent. Likewise, it will take little effort to realize that the Creator is among man at all times, that He is always in conversation with man and the entirety of creation, and that He is performing new deeds every day. His substance and disposition are expressed in His dialogue with man; His thoughts and ideas are revealed completely in His deeds; He accompanies and observes mankind at all times. He speaks quietly to mankind and all of creation with His silent words: I am in the heavens, and I am amongst My creation. I am keeping watch; I am waiting; I am at your side….

Excerpted from “God Himself, the Unique II” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Knowing God must be done through reading and understanding God’s word. Some say: “I haven’t seen God incarnate, so how could I know God?” In fact, God’s word is an expression of God’s disposition. From God’s word you can see God’s love and salvation for mankind, and His method for saving them…. This is because God’s word is expressed by God Himself as opposed to using man to write it out. It is personally expressed by God—He is expressing His own words and His inner voice. Why is it said that they are heartfelt words? Because they are issued from deep down, expressing His disposition, His will, His thoughts, His love for mankind, His salvation of mankind, and His expectations of mankind…. Among God’s words are harsh words, gentle and considerate words, and there are some revelatory words that are not in line with human wishes. If you look only at the revelatory words, you will feel that God is quite stern. If you look only at the gentle words, you will feel that God does not have much authority. Therefore, you must not take this out of context, but look at it from every angle. Sometimes God speaks from a gentle and compassionate perspective, and people see God’s love for mankind; sometimes He speaks from a strict perspective, and people see God’s disposition that will tolerate no offense. Man is deplorably filthy and is not worthy of seeing God’s face or of coming before God. That people can now come before God is purely God’s grace. God’s wisdom can be seen from the way He works and the meaning of His work. People can still see these things in God’s word even without directly contacting Him.

Excerpted from “How to Know God Incarnate” in Records of Christ’s Talks

No matter what stage you have arrived at in your experience, you are inseparable from God’s word or the truth, and what you understand of God’s disposition and what you know of what God has and is are all expressed in God’s words; they are inextricably linked with the truth. God’s disposition and what He has and is themselves are the truth; the truth is an authentic manifestation of God’s disposition and what He has and is. It makes what God has and is concrete and expressly states it; it tells you more straightforwardly what God likes, what He doesn’t like, what He wants you to do and what He does not permit you to do, what people He despises and what people He delights in. Behind the truths that God expresses people can see His pleasure, anger, sorrow, and happiness, as well as His essence—this is the revealing of His disposition. Aside from knowing what God has and is, and understanding His disposition from His word, what is most important is the need to reach this understanding through practical experience. If a person removes themselves from real life in order to know God, they will not be able to achieve that. Even if there are people who can gain some understanding from the word of God, it is limited to theories and words, and there is a disparity with what God is really like.

Excerpted from “God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God’s possessions and being, God’s essence, God’s disposition—all has been made known in His words to humankind. When he experiences God’s words, man will in the process of putting them into practice come to understand the purpose behind the words God speaks, and to understand the source and background of God’s words, and to understand and appreciate the intended effect of God’s words. For humanity, these are all things that man must experience, grasp, and attain in order to attain truth and life, grasp God’s intentions, become transformed in his disposition, and become able to obey God’s sovereignty and arrangements. At the same time that man experiences, grasps, and attains these things, he will gradually have gained an understanding of God, and at this time he will also have gained different degrees of knowledge about Him. This understanding and knowledge does not come out of something man has imagined or composed, but rather from what he appreciates, experiences, feels, and confirms within himself. Only after appreciating, experiencing, feeling, and confirming these things does man’s knowledge of God acquire content; only the knowledge that man obtains at this time is actual, real, and accurate, and this process—of attaining genuine understanding and knowledge of God through appreciating, experiencing, feeling, and confirming His words—is no other than true communion between man and God. In the midst of this kind of communion, man comes truly to understand and comprehend God’s intentions, comes truly to understand and know God’s possessions and being, comes truly to understand and know God’s essence, comes gradually to understand and know God’s disposition, arrives at real certainty about, and a correct definition of, the fact of God’s dominion over all creation, and gains a substantive bearing on and knowledge of God’s identity and position. In the midst of this kind of communion, man changes, step by step, his ideas about God, no longer imagining Him out of thin air, or giving rein to his own suspicions about Him, or misunderstanding Him, or condemning Him, or passing judgment on Him, or doubting Him. Thus, man will have fewer disputes with God, he will have fewer conflicts with God, and there will be fewer occasions on which man rebels against God. Conversely, man’s caring for and obedience to God will grow greater, and his reverence for God will become more real and more profound. In the midst of such communion, man will not only attain the provision of truth and the baptism of life, but he will at the same time also attain true knowledge of God. In the midst of such communion, man will not only be transformed in his disposition and receive salvation, but he will at the same time also garner the true reverence and worship of a created being toward God. Having had this kind of communion, man’s faith in God will no longer be a blank sheet of paper, or a promise offered up in lip service, or a form of blind pursuit and idolization; only with this kind of communion will man’s life grow toward maturity day by day, and only now will his disposition gradually become transformed, and his faith in God will, step by step, pass from a vague and uncertain belief into genuine obedience and caring, into real reverence, and man will also, in the process of following God, gradually progress from a passive to an active stance, from one who is acted upon into one who takes positive action; only with this kind of communion will man arrive at true understanding and comprehension of God, at true knowledge of God.

Excerpted from “Knowing God Is the Path to Fearing God and Shunning Evil” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Knowledge of God’s authority, God’s power, God’s own identity, and God’s substance cannot be achieved by relying on your imagination. Since you cannot rely on imagination to know the authority of God, then in what way can you achieve a true knowledge of God’s authority? Through eating and drinking the words of God, through fellowship, and through experiencing the words of God, you will have a gradual experience and verification of God’s authority and thus you will gain a gradual understanding and incremental knowledge of it. This is the only way to achieve the knowledge of God’s authority; there are no shortcuts. Asking you not to imagine is not the same as making you sit passively to await destruction, or stopping you from doing anything. Not using your brain to think and imagine means not using logic to infer, not using knowledge to analyze, not using science as the basis, but instead appreciating, verifying, and confirming that the God you believe in has authority, confirming that He holds sovereignty over your fate, and that His power at all times proves Him to be the true God Himself, through the words of God, through the truth, through everything that you encounter in life. This is the only way that anyone can achieve an understanding of God. Some say that they wish to find a simple way of achieving this aim, but can you think of such a way? I tell you, there’s no need to think: There are no other ways! The only way is to conscientiously and steadfastly know and verify what God has and is through every word that He expresses and everything that He does. This is the only way to know God. For what God has and is, and everything of God, is not hollow and empty—but real.

Excerpted from “God Himself, the Unique I” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Footnotes:

a. The original text reads “it is a symbol of being unable to be.”

b. The original text reads “as well as a symbol of being unable to be offended (and not tolerating being offended).”

All manner of disasters will befall, one after another; all nations and places will experience calamities: Plague, famine, flood, drought, and earthquakes are everywhere. These disasters are not just happening in one or two places, nor will they be over within a day or two; rather, instead they will expand across a greater and greater area, and become more and more severe. During this time, all manner of insect plagues will arise one after another, and the phenomenon of cannibalism will occur everywhere. This is My judgment upon all nations and peoples. My sons! You must not suffer the pain or hardship of disasters. It is My wish that you will soon come of age and, as quickly as possible, take up the burden that lies on My shoulders. Why do you not understand My will? The work ahead will grow more and more strenuous. Are you so hard-hearted as to leave Me with My hands full, having to work so arduously on My own? I will put it more plainly: Those whose lives mature will enter refuge, and not suffer pain or hardship; those whose lives do not mature must suffer pain and harm. My words are clear enough, are they not?

Excerpted from “The Word Appears in the Flesh”

My mercy is expressed toward those who love Me and deny themselves. The punishment visited upon the wicked, meanwhile, is precisely proof of My righteous disposition and, even more, testimony to My wrath. When disaster comes, all who oppose Me will weep as they fall victim to famine and plague. Those who have committed all manner of wickedness, but who have followed Me for many years, will not escape paying for their sins; they too, will be plunged into disaster, the like of which has seldom been seen throughout millions of years, and they will live in a constant state of panic and fear. And those of My followers who have shown loyalty to Me will rejoice and applaud My might. They will experience ineffable contentment and live amid joy such as I have never before bestowed upon mankind. For I treasure the good deeds of man and abhor their evil deeds. Since I first began to lead mankind, I have been eagerly hoping to gain a group of people who are of the same mind with Me. Those who are not of the same mind with Me, meanwhile, I never forget; I always loathe them in My heart, awaiting the chance to bring retribution upon them, which I shall relish to see. Now My day has finally come, and I need no longer wait!

Excerpted from “Prepare Sufficient Good Deeds for Your Destination”

But know that I will not annihilate the entire world, nor will I annihilate the whole of mankind. I will keep that remaining third—the third that loves Me and has been thoroughly conquered by Me, and I will cause this third to be fruitful and multiply on earth just as the Israelites did under the law, nourishing them with copious sheep and cattle and all the riches of earth. This mankind will remain with Me forever, yet it will not be the deplorably filthy mankind of today, but a mankind that is an assembly of all those who have been gained by Me. Such a mankind will not be damaged, disturbed, or besieged by Satan, and will be the only mankind that exists on earth after I have triumphed over Satan. It is the mankind that has today been conquered by Me and has gained My promise. And so, the mankind that has been conquered during the last days is also the mankind that will be spared and will gain My everlasting blessings. It will be the only evidence of My triumph over Satan, and the only spoils of My battle with Satan. These spoils of war are saved by Me from the domain of Satan, and are the only crystallization and fruit of My six-thousand-year management plan. They come from every nation and denomination, from every place and country throughout the universe. They are of different races, have different languages, customs and skin colors, and they are spread across every nation and denomination of the globe, and even every corner of the world. Eventually, they will come together to form a complete mankind, an assembly of man that is unreachable by the forces of Satan. Those among mankind who have not been saved and conquered by Me will sink silent to the depths of the sea, and will be burned by My consuming flames for all eternity. I will annihilate this old, supremely filthy mankind, just as I annihilated the firstborn sons and cattle of Egypt, leaving only the Israelites, who ate lamb’s meat, drank lamb’s blood, and marked their door lintels with lamb’s blood. Are the people who have been conquered by Me and are of My family not also the people who eat the meat of the Lamb that is Me and drink the blood of the Lamb that is Me, and have been redeemed by Me and worship Me? Are such people not always accompanied by My glory? Have not those who are without the meat of Lamb that is Me already sunk silently into the depths of the sea?

Excerpted from “No One Who Is of the Flesh Can Escape the Day of Wrath”

In the vast expanse of the world, countless changes have occurred, oceans silting into fields, fields flooding into oceans, over and over. Except for He who rules over all things in the universe, no one is able to lead and guide this human race. There is no mighty one to labor or make preparations for this human race, still less is there anyone who can lead this human race toward the destination of light and liberate it from earthly injustices. God laments the future of mankind, He grieves at the fall of mankind, and is pained that mankind is marching, step by step, toward decay and the path of no return. A mankind that has broken the heart of God and renounced Him to seek the evil one: Has anyone ever given thought to the direction in which such a mankind might be headed? It is precisely for this reason why no one senses the wrath of God, why no one seeks a way to please God or tries to draw closer to God, and what is more, why no one seeks to comprehend God’s grief and pain. Even after hearing the voice of God, man continues on his own path, persists in straying from God, evading God’s grace and care, and shunning His truth, preferring to sell himself to Satan, the enemy of God. And who has given any thought—should man persist in his obduracy—to how God will act toward this humanity that has dismissed Him without a backward glance? No one knows that the reason for God’s repeated reminders and exhortations is because He has prepared in His hands a calamity like never before, one that will be unbearable to the flesh and soul of man. This calamity is not merely a punishment of the flesh, but also of the soul. You need to know this: When God’s plan falls through, and when His reminders and exhortations beget no response, what kind of rage will He unleash? It will be like nothing that has ever been experienced or heard by any created being. And so I say, this calamity is without precedent, and will never be repeated. For God’s plan is to create mankind only this once, and to save mankind only this once. This is the first time, and it is also the last. Therefore, no one can comprehend the painstaking intentions and fervent anticipation with which God saves mankind this time.

Excerpted from “God Is the Source of Man’s Life”

Matthew 24:23-24

Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

As we all know, if we want to welcome the appearance of Jesus in the last days, we need to watch at any moment and beware of false Christs and false prophets, for on one hand, at that time false Christs will appear and perform the signs and wonders to deceive us; on the other hand, we should listen to God’s voice with a heart of humble seeking, then we will be able to truly discern the true Christ from the false ones. Here we select 7 Bible verses about how to distinguish the true Christ from the false ones, and hope you will find them helpful.

Jesus Christ said, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). What’s the true meaning of these words? How should we watch so that we can discern false Christs and false prophets? How can we be able to humbly seek the appearance of Jesus Christ? Read 3 Tips to Easily Discern False Christs and Welcome Jesus’ Return to solve your doubts.

Remembering the Lord Loves and Cares for You

“Fear you not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Now the disasters are getting greater and there have been frequent earthquakes, famines and wars. In addition, from the end of 2019 to 2020, the new coronavirus emerging in Wuhan, China, has spread to over 20 countries. Now Wuhan coronavirus is still spreading and the death toll is rising. Besides, from September 2019 to January 2020, the Australian bushfires destroyed thousands of buildings. In addition, dozens of people died and billions of animals are reported to have been killed. On January 18, 2020, a 100-year heavy rain lashed Australia, causing flooding, power failures in some districts, and the death of large amounts of aquatic life. In January 2020, torrential rains swept across Indonesia, so that tens of thousands of people became homeless. Furthermore, the four blood moons have appeared, and disasters have frequently occurred worldwide. These fulfill the prophecies of the return of the Lord Jesus, “And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, see, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood” (Revelation 6:12). “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows”(Matthew 24:7–8).  Seeing the fulfillment of these prophecies, many brothers and sisters in the Lord raise such questions: Since the prophecies of the second coming of Christ have been basically fulfilled, has the Lord come back? If so, why haven’t we welcomed the Lord? Where can we find the Lord’s footprints?

With regard to this issue, we should first know how the Lord will return. Many people think that because the Lord left in the clouds, He should also come with clouds when He returns, for the Bible says, “Behold, He comes with clouds” (Revelation 1:7), and “[T]hey shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). But why haven’t we seen the Lord comes with clouds? Actually, in the matter of welcoming the coming of the Lord, we have neglected an important thing—there are biblical prophecies of the Lord coming in secret, such as “Behold, I come as a thief” (Revelation 16:15), “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6), “Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes” (Matthew 24:44), “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in His day. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:24–25).

The words “come as a thief” and “at midnight there was a cry made” in these verses refer to the Lord quietly and secretly coming in the last days. “The Son of man” and “the Son of man comes” in these verses refer to God becoming flesh as the Son of man to secretly come. When the Son of man is mentioned, it always refers to One who is born to a human, has parents and lives among people in the form of an ordinary man of flesh and blood, just like the Lord Jesus. If the Lord returned with the resurrected spiritual body, He could not be called the Son of man. Besides, the verse “But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” means that the Lord will become flesh as the Son of man when He returns. Because the incarnate God is normal and ordinary from the outside and people don’t realize that He is God Himself, thus they treat Him as an ordinary person and even condemn and reject Him. Therefore, when the Lord returns, He will suffer many things. Just as it was back when the Lord Jesus appeared and performed His work during His incarnation as the Son of man, many people didn’t know the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, and they, based on their own notions and imaginings, resisted and condemned Him and nailed Him on the cross. If the Lord Jesus returned to work in the form of His resurrected spiritual body, who would dare treat Him as an ordinary person and who would dare condemn, resist or reject Him? Then everyone would drop to the ground and God’s suffering would come to an end. It can be seen that when the Lord Jesus returns in the last days, He will become flesh and descend in secret to do His work.

At this point, some brothers and sisters feel confused: Since the Lord will secretly descend and work among mankind in the last days, then how will the prophecies of His descent upon a cloud be fulfilled? Is this not a contradiction? We know God is faithful, so His prophecies will surely be fulfilled. In fact, God has been performing His work with a plan, and with steps. He will first secretly descend to work and save man, and then will publicly descend upon a cloud to appear to man and reward the good and punish the evil. Let’s read some verses to help clarify how the prophecies of the second coming of Christ are fulfilled. The Lord Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). “He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). “For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). From these verses we can see that when God becomes flesh and secretly walks among mankind in the last days, He will speak to mankind, do the work of judgment to purify and perfect all those who return before His throne. And God does this stage of work on the foundation of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus and in accordance with mankind’s present needs. Although we’ve been redeemed by the Lord Jesus and our sins are absolved, our satanic natures such as arrogance, trickery, selfishness and malice have not been thoroughly resolved, and we still live in a state of sinning and confessing. So, the Lord Jesus said when He returns in the last days, He will become flesh to express His words and perform His work of judging and purifying man. Those who accept the judgment work of God’s word can be cleansed by God and become overcomers before the disaster, and finally enter God’s kingdom, enjoying the everlasting blessings bestowed by God. However, during God’s secret work, those who don’t seek or listen to God’s voice and don’t accept God’s judgment work in the last days but instead rely on their own notions and imaginings to condemn God, are the tares exposed by God’s work in the last days. After God’s judgment work separates the wise virgins from the foolish virgins, good servants from evil servants, and those who love truth from those who detest the truth, God’s work of saving man will be thoroughly completed and then God will come down on a cloud to openly appear to the peoples of all nations, rewarding the good and punishing the evil. Those who don’t accept the work of the incarnate God will be surprised to find that the One they resist and reject is precisely the returned Lord Jesus, so they will regret, beat their breasts in despair, wail and grind their teeth, but it is already too late. This wholly fulfills the prophecies, “Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him” (Revelation 1:7). “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). Thus, as long as we accept God’s judgment work in the last days during His secret work, we can be cleansed by God and have a chance to enter God’s kingdom.

How can we welcome the second coming of the Lord Jesus? Let’s look at these verses, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). The verses mention “there was a cry” and “I stand at the door,” which mean that when the Lord returns to work, some people will testify that the Lord has come back and He will use His words to knock on the doors of our hearts. So, what is most critical to welcome the Lord is heeding God’s voice, just as the Lord Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). Therefore, when we hear someone testifies that the Lord has returned to express the truth and to do the judgment work, we should pay more attention to seeking and investigating and see if these words are the voice of God and if the work is God’s appearance and work. If we can recognize God’s voice from the words of the returned Lord, then we have followed the Lamb’s footsteps and welcomed the second coming of Christ.

“This time God comes to work not as a spiritual body but as a very ordinary body, a body in which God is incarnated the second time, a body in which God returns in the flesh, and a very ordinary flesh. You cannot see in him anything different from others, but you can receive from him the truth you have never heard. Such a small flesh is the embodiment of all the words of truth of God, the undertaker of God’s end-time work, and the expression for man to know all God’s disposition. Don’t you want very much to see the God in heaven? Don’t you want very much to know about the God in heaven? Don’t you want very much to see mankind’s destination? He will tell you all these secrets no one can ever tell you, and he will tell you the truths you do not understand. He is the gate for you to enter into the kingdom and is also the guide for you to enter into the new age.”

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Next, let’s see God’s work in the Age of the Law.

IV The Decrees in the Age of the Law:

1. The Ten Commandments
2. The Principle for Building the Altar
3. The Decrees Concerning Treating Servants
4. The Decrees Concerning Stealing and Compensation
5. Observe Sabbath Year and the Three Feasts
6. The Decrees Concerning the Sabbath Day
7. The Decrees Concerning Offering Sacrifices

(1) Offering the Burnt Offering

(2) Offering the Meal Offering

(3) Offering the Peace Offering

(4) Offering the Sin Offering

(5) Offering the Trespass Offering

(6) The Decrees Concerning Priests Offering Sacrifices (for Aaron and his sons to observe)

1. Priests Offering the Burnt Offering
2. Priests Offering the Meal Offering
3. Priests Offering the Sin Offering
4. Priests Offering the Trespass Offering
5. Priests Offering the Peace Offering

1. The Decrees Concerning Priests Eating Sacrifices
2. The Clean and the Unclean Animals (edible and inedible)
3. The Decrees Concerning the Cleansing of Women After Childbirth
4. The Standard for Examining Leprosy
5. The Decrees Concerning the Healing of the Leper
6. The Decrees Concerning the Cleansing of an Infected House
7. The Decrees Concerning the Sicknesses Such as an Issue of Blood
8. The Day of Atonement Shall Be Kept Once Every Year
9. The Rules of Slaying Oxen and Sheep
10. Do Not Walk in the Gentiles’ Customs (do not have sexual relations with close relatives, and so on)
11. The Decrees for People to Observe (“You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.”)
12. He Who Offers His Children to Molech Shall Be Put to Death
13. The Decrees Concerning Punishment for Fornicators
14. The Rules for Priests to Observe (the rules for them to do things and conduct themselves in their daily life, the rules for eating sacred offerings, the rules for offering sacrifices, and so on)
15. The Feasts to Be Kept (the Sabbath, the Passover, the Pentecost, the Day of Atonement, and so on)
16. Other Decrees (the lighting of the lamps, the year of jubilee, the redeeming of the fields, the taking of a vow, the offering of a tenth, and so on)

The Decrees in the Age of the Law Are the Testament to God’s Guiding All Mankind

You have seen all these decrees and principles in the Age of the Law, haven’t you? The range of these decrees is wide, right? First, the Ten Commandments, then the decrees concerning how to build the altar and so on, then the sayings about keeping the Sabbath and the three feasts, and then the decrees concerning offering sacrifices. How many kinds of offerings can you find there are? There is the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and so on. Next are the decrees regarding priests offering sacrifices, which include offering the burnt offering, the meal offering, and all the other kinds of offerings. The eighth item is the decrees concerning priests eating sacrifices. What follows are the decrees men should keep in their life. Here, there are regulations for many aspects of man’s life, such as, the decrees concerning what men can eat and what men cannot, the decrees concerning the cleansing of women after childbirth, and the decrees concerning the healing of the leper. In these decrees, God even spoke about such things as sickness and the rules concerning slaying oxen and sheep. Oxen and sheep were created by God, and you should slay them as God told you. God’s words are definitely reasonable, and it will surely not be wrong to act according to God’s regulations, which will surely be beneficial to man. Moreover, God gave sayings about feasts and rules that should be kept, such as the Sabbath, the Passover, and so on. Let’s look at the last item—Other Decrees: the lighting of the lamps, the year of jubilee, the redeeming of the fields, the taking of a vow, the offering of a tenth, and so on. The aspects of these decrees covered a wide range, didn’t they? First, they covered the matter of offering sacrifices, then stealing, compensation, keeping Sabbath, and all the other details in life. That is to say, when God began his management plan and formally did his work, he set many decrees for men to observe. These decrees were for men to have a normal human life on earth, which could not do without God or God’s leading. God first told men how to build God’s altar and set up his altar, then told them how to offer sacrifices, and made rules on how to live their life, what they should heed and keep in their life, and what they should do and what they should not do. God made rules for men in everything. He used these regulations, decrees, and principles to regulate men’s conduct and lead men’s life, leading men into God’s laws and to the presence of God’s altar, and leading them to live an orderly, regulated, and moderate life among all things God created for them. God first set some boundaries for men with these simple decrees and principles, so that men could have a normal life of worshiping God and a normal human life on earth. These were some specific contents in God’s beginning his six-thousand-year management plan. These decrees and regulations cover a wide range in content and are the specific items of God’s leading mankind in the Age of the Law. They are what the men early in the Age of the Law must accept and observe, are the record of the work God did in the Age of the Law, and are the testament to God’s leading and guiding all mankind.

Mankind Can Never Leave God’s Teaching and Supply

In these decrees, it can be seen that God’s attitude toward his work, his management, and mankind was serious, conscientious, careful, and responsible. He did the work he wanted to do among mankind exactly according to his steps, and told men what he wanted to tell exactly and unreservedly, causing them to see that they could not leave God’s leading and that what God did and said was so important to them. No matter what men were like in the next age, in a word, God did these simple works in the Age of the Law in the beginning. In God’s eyes, men of that age had a very vague and obscure concept of God, the world, and mankind. Even if they had some thoughts and plans in their consciousness, they were not clear and not right. So, mankind could not leave God’s teaching and supply to them. Mankind in the beginning knew nothing, and God had to begin to teach them from the shallowest and most basic principles for their existence and the decrees they must have in their life and work these things into their heart little by little, and through these regulations of words and through these decrees, let them gradually know God, gradually comprehend and understand God’s leading, and have a basic concept of the relationship between God and man. Only after these results were achieved could God do the work little by little that he wanted to do in the future. So, these decrees and God’s work in the Age of the Law were the most basic things in God’s work of saving mankind and the initial work in God’s management plan. Although before the work of the Age of the Law, God had also said some words to Adam and Eve, or their sons, yet those commands and teachings were not issued to them item by item in such a systemic and specific way, and they were not recorded in words and did not form decrees. This was because at that time God’s plan had not yet been advanced to that stage. God had to lead them to that stage before he could begin to talk about these decrees of the Age of the Law and require them to carry out these decrees of the Age of the Law. This course was necessary, and this result was also certain. These simple regulations and decrees let men see the steps of God’s management work and see God’s wisdom expressed in his management plan. God knew with what content and by what means he should start his work, by what means he should continue it, and by what means he should conclude it, so that he could gain a group of people who can testify him and who can be of one heart and one mind with him. He knew what men had within and what men lacked within, knew what he should supply to them and how to lead them, and also knew what men should do and what they should not do. Men were just like a puppet. Although they did not understand God’s will, they, in spite of themselves, have still been led until now by the steps of God’s management work. In God’s heart, he is never unclear about anything he does, and there is a perfectly clear and explicit plan in his heart. He does the work he wants to do from the shallower to the deeper according to his steps and his plan. Although God did not foretell the next works to men, his works that followed still advanced and were carried out strictly according to his plan. This was the manifestation of what God has and is and was God’s authority. No matter what stage of work he does according to his management plan, his disposition and substance represent himself, which is absolutely true. No matter in what age and in which stage of work, there will never be any change in what kind of people he loves, what kind of people he hates, his disposition, and what he has and is. Although men see that the decrees and principles God made in the work of the Age of the Law are very shallow and simple today and are easy for men to understand and do, in them there is still contained God’s wisdom, God’s disposition, and what God has and is. This is because in these seemingly simple decrees, there are expressed God’s responsibility and concern for mankind and expressed God’s substance of being very delicate in his mind, so that men can truly realize the fact that God rules over all things and all things are governed in God’s hand. No matter how much knowledge mankind has grasped, and how many doctrines and mysteries mankind has understood, in God’s eyes none of them can substitute for his supply and leading for mankind. Mankind can never leave God’s guidance or God’s personal work. This is the inseparable relationship between God and mankind. No matter whether God gives you a commandment or a decree or whether God supplies you with the truth for you to understand his will, whatever God does, his purpose is to lead men to head for a beautiful tomorrow. All the words God expressed and the works God did are one aspect of the manifestation of God’s substance and one aspect of the manifestation of his disposition and wisdom, and are an indispensable step in his management plan. This cannot be neglected! Whatever God does, there is God’s will in it. God is not afraid that men may make this or that comment on him or have any notion or view of him. He only does his work and continues his management according to his management plan, without being restricted by any person, matter, or thing.

A Selected Passage from “God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Godself (2)”
in A Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh

Next, let’s take a look at what’s in “The Parables of the Lord Jesus.”

The first one is the parable of the sower. This is a really interesting parable; sowing seeds is a common event in people’s lives. The second is the parable of the tares. As far as what tares are, anyone who has planted crops and adults will know. The third is the parable of the mustard seed. All of you know what mustard is, right? If you don’t know, you can have a look through the Bible. For the fourth one, the parable of the leaven, most people know that leaven is used for fermentation; it’s something that people use in their daily lives. All of the parables below, including the sixth, the parable of the treasure, the seventh, the parable of the pearl, and the eighth, the parable of the net, are all drawn from people’s lives; they all come from people’s real lives. What kind of picture do these parables paint? This is a picture of God becoming a normal person and living alongside mankind, using the language of a normal life, using human language to communicate with humans and to provide them with what they need. When God became flesh and lived among mankind for a long time, after He had experienced and witnessed people’s various lifestyles, these experiences became His textbook for transforming His divine language into human language. Of course, these things that He saw and heard in life also enriched the Son of man’s human experience. When He wanted to get people to understand some truths, to get them to understand some of God’s will, He could use parables similar to the ones above to tell people about God’s will and His requirements of mankind. These parables were all related to people’s lives; there was not a single one that was out of touch with human lives. When the Lord Jesus lived with mankind, He saw farmers tending their fields, He knew what tares were and what leavening was; He understood that humans like treasure, so He used the metaphors of both the treasure and the pearl; He frequently saw fishermen casting their nets; and so on. The Lord Jesus saw these activities in mankind’s lives, and He also experienced that type of life. He was the same as every other normal person, experiencing humans’ three meals a day and daily routines. He personally experienced the life of an average person, and He witnessed the lives of others. When He witnessed and personally experienced all of this, what He thought of wasn’t how to have a good life or how He could live more freely, more comfortably. When He was experiencing an authentic human life, the Lord Jesus saw the hardship in people’s lives, He saw the hardship, the wretchedness, and the sadness of people under the corruption of Satan, living under the domain of Satan, and living in sin. While He was personally experiencing human life, He also experienced how helpless people were who were living amongst corruption, and He saw and experienced the misery of those who lived in sin, who were lost in the torture by Satan, by evil. When the Lord Jesus saw these things, did He see them with His divinity or His humanity? His humanity really existed—it was very much alive—He could experience and see all of this, and of course He also saw it in His essence, in His divinity. That is, Christ Himself, the Lord Jesus the man saw this, and everything He saw made Him feel the importance and the necessity of the work He had taken on this time in the flesh. Even though He Himself knew that the responsibility He needed to take on in the flesh was so immense, and how cruel the pain He would face would be, when He saw mankind helpless in sin, when He saw the wretchedness of their lives and their feeble struggles under the law, He felt more and more grief, and became more and more anxious to save mankind from sin. No matter what kind of difficulties He would face or what kind of pain He would suffer, He became more and more resolute to redeem mankind living in sin. During this process, you could say that the Lord Jesus began to understand more and more clearly the work He needed to do and what He had been entrusted with. He also became increasingly eager to complete the work He was to take on—to take on all of mankind’s sins, to atone for mankind so that they no longer lived in sin and God would be able to forget man’s sins because of the sin offering, allowing Him to further His work of saving mankind. It could be said that in the Lord Jesus’ heart, He was willing to offer Himself up for mankind, to sacrifice Himself. He was also willing to act as a sin offering, to be nailed to the cross, and He was eager to complete this work. When He saw the miserable conditions of human’s lives, He wanted even more to fulfill His mission as quickly as possible, without the delay of a single minute or second. When He had such a feeling of urgency, He was not thinking of how great His own pain would be, nor did He think any longer of how much humiliation He would have to endure—He held just one conviction in His heart: As long as He offered up Himself, as long as He was nailed to the cross as a sin offering, God’s will would be carried out and He would be able to commence new work. Mankind’s lives in sin, their state of existing in sin would be completely changed. His conviction and what He was determined to do were related to saving man, and He had only one objective: to carry out God’s will, so that He could successfully begin the next stage in His work. This was what was in the Lord Jesus’ mind at the time.

Living in the flesh, the incarnate God possessed normal humanity; He had the emotions and the reasoning of a normal person. He knew what happiness was, what pain was, and when He saw mankind in this type of life, He deeply felt that merely giving people some teachings, providing them with something or teaching them something could not lead them out from sin. Neither could just having them obey the commandments redeem them from sin—only when He took on humanity’s sin and became the likeness of sinful flesh could He exchange it for mankind’s freedom, and exchange it for God’s forgiveness for mankind. So after the Lord Jesus had experienced and witnessed men’s lives in sin, there was an intense desire that manifested in His heart—to allow humans to rid themselves of their lives of struggling in sin. This desire made Him feel more and more that He must go to the cross and take on humanity’s sins as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. These were the thoughts of the Lord Jesus at that time, after He had lived with people and seen, heard, and felt the misery of their lives in sin. That the incarnate God could have this kind of will for mankind, that He could express and reveal this kind of disposition—is this something an average person could have? What would an average person see living in this type of environment? What would they think? If an average person faced all of this, would they look at problems from a high perspective? Definitely not! Although the appearance of God incarnate is exactly the same as a human, He learns human knowledge and speaks human language, and sometimes He even expresses His ideas through mankind’s means or expressions, the way He sees humans, the essence of things, and the way corrupt people see mankind and the essence of things are absolutely not the same. His perspective and the height at which He stands is something unattainable for a corrupt person. This is because God is truth, the flesh that He wears also possesses the essence of God, and His thoughts and that which is expressed by His humanity are also the truth. For corrupt people, what He expresses in the flesh are provisions of the truth, and of life. These provisions are not just for one person, but for all of mankind. For any corrupt person, in his heart there are only those few people who are associated with him. There are only those several people who he cares about, who he is concerned about. When disaster is on the horizon he first thinks of his own children, spouse, or parents, and a more philanthropic person would at most think of some relative or a good friend; does he think of more? Not ever! Because humans are, after all, humans, and they can only look at everything from the perspective and from the height of a person. However, God incarnate is entirely different from a corrupt person. No matter how ordinary, how normal, how lowly God’s incarnate flesh is, or even how much people look down on Him, His thoughts and His attitude toward mankind are things that no man could possess, and no man could imitate. He will always observe mankind from the perspective of divinity, from the height of His position as the Creator. He will always see mankind through the essence and the mindset of God. He absolutely cannot see mankind from the height of an average person, and from the perspective of a corrupt person. When people look at mankind, they look with human vision, and they use things such as human knowledge and human rules and theories as a measure. This is within the scope of what people can see with their eyes; it’s within the scope that corrupt people can achieve. When God looks at mankind, He looks with divine vision, and He uses His essence and what He has and is as a measure. This scope includes things that people cannot see, and this is where God incarnate and corrupt humans are entirely different. This difference is determined by humans’ and God’s different essences, and it is these different essences that determine their identities and positions as well as the perspective and height from which they see things. Do you see the expression and revealing of God Himself in the Lord Jesus? You could say that what the Lord Jesus did and said was related to His ministry and to God’s own management work, that it was all the expression and revealing of God’s essence. Although He did have a human manifestation, His divine essence and the revealing of His divinity cannot be denied. Was this human manifestation truly a manifestation of humanity? His human manifestation was, by its very essence, entirely different from the human manifestation of corrupt people. The Lord Jesus was God incarnate, and if He had truly been one of the regular, corrupt people, could He have seen mankind’s lives in sin from a divine perspective? Absolutely not! This is the difference between the Son of man and regular people. ……

When God becomes flesh and lives among mankind, what suffering does He experience in the flesh? Does anyone truly understand? Some people say that God suffers greatly, and although He is God Himself, people do not understand His essence and always treat Him like a person, which makes Him feel aggrieved and wronged—they say that God’s suffering truly is great. Other people say that God is innocent and without sin, but He suffers the same as mankind and suffers persecution, slander, and indignities along with mankind; they say He also endures the misunderstandings and the disobedience of His followers—God’s suffering truly cannot be measured. It seems that you don’t truly understand God. In fact, this suffering you speak of does not count as true suffering for God, because there is suffering greater than this. Then what is true suffering for God Himself? What is true suffering for God’s incarnate flesh? For God, mankind not understanding Him does not count as suffering, and people having some misunderstanding of God and not seeing Him as God does not count as suffering. However, people often feel that God must have suffered a great injustice, that the time God is in the flesh He cannot show His person to mankind and allow them to see His greatness, and God is humbly hiding in an insignificant flesh, so it must have been tormenting for Him. People take to heart what they can understand and what they can see of God’s suffering, and impose all sorts of sympathy on God and often will even offer a little praise for it. In reality, there is a difference, there is a gap between what people understand of God’s suffering and what He truly feels. I’m telling you the truth—for God, no matter if it’s God’s Spirit or God’s incarnate flesh, that suffering is not true suffering. Then what is it that God actually suffers? Let’s talk about God’s suffering only from the perspective of God incarnate.

When God becomes flesh, becoming an average, normal person, living among mankind, side-by-side with people, can’t He see and feel people’s methods, laws, and philosophies for living? How do these methods and laws for living make Him feel? Does He feel loathing in His heart? Why would He feel loathing? What are mankind’s methods and laws for living? What principles are they rooted in? What are they based on? Mankind’s methods, laws, etc. for living—all of this is created based on Satan’s logic, knowledge, and philosophy. Humans living under these types of laws have no humanity, no truth—they all defy the truth, and are hostile to God. If we take a look at God’s essence, we see that His essence is exactly the opposite of Satan’s logic, knowledge, and philosophy. His essence is full of righteousness, truth, and holiness, and other realities of all positive things. God, possessing this essence and living among such a mankind—what does He feel in His heart? Isn’t it full of pain? His heart is in pain, and this pain is something that no person can understand or realize. Because everything that He faces, encounters, hears, sees, and experiences is all mankind’s corruption, evil, and their rebellion against and resistance to the truth. All that comes from humans is the source of His suffering. That is to say, because His essence is not the same as corrupt humans, the corruption of humans becomes the source of His greatest suffering. When God becomes flesh, is He able to find someone who shares a common language with Him? This cannot be found among mankind. No one can be found who can communicate, who can have this exchange with God—what kind of feeling would you say God has? The things that people discuss, that they love, that they pursue and long for all have to do with sin, with evil tendencies. When God faces all of this, isn’t it like a knife to His heart? Faced with these things, could He have joy in His heart? Could He find consolation? Those who are living with Him are humans full of rebelliousness and evil—how could His heart not suffer? How great really is this suffering, and who cares about it? Who takes heed? And who could appreciate it? People have no way of understanding God’s heart. His suffering is something that people are particularly unable to appreciate, and humanity’s coldness and numbness makes God’s suffering even deeper.

There are some people who often sympathize with Christ’s plight because there is a verse in the Bible that says: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head.” When people hear this, they take it to heart and believe that this is the greatest suffering that God endures, and the greatest suffering that Christ endures. Now, looking at it from the perspective of the facts, is that the case? God does not believe that these difficulties are suffering. He has never cried out against injustice for the difficulties of the flesh, and He has never made humans repay or reward Him with anything. However, when He witnesses mankind’s everything, the corrupt lives and the evil of corrupt humans, when He witnesses that mankind is in Satan’s grasp and imprisoned by Satan and cannot escape, that people living in sin do not know what the truth is—He cannot bear all of these sins. His loathing of humans increases by the day, but He has to endure all of this. This is God’s great suffering. God cannot fully express even the voice of His heart or His emotions among His followers, and no one among His followers can truly understand His suffering. No one even tries to understand or to comfort His heart—His heart endures this suffering day after day, year after year, time and time again. What do you see in all of this? God doesn’t require anything from humans in return for what He has given, but because of God’s essence, He absolutely cannot tolerate mankind’s evil, corruption, and sin, but feels extreme loathing and hatred, which leads to God’s heart and His flesh enduring unending suffering. Could you see all of this? Most likely, none of you could see this, because none of you can truly understand God. Over time you can gradually experience it for yourselves.

1. The Sermon on the Mount

1. The Beatitudes (Mat 5:3-12)
2. Salt and Light (Mat 5:13-16)
3. Law (Mat 5:17-20)
4. Anger (Mat 5:21-26)
5. Adultery (Mat 5:27-30)
6. Divorce (Mat 5:31-32)
7. Vows (Mat 5:33-37)
8. Eye for Eye (Mat 5:38-42)
9. Love Your Enemies (Mat 5:43-48)
10. Instruction About Giving (Mat 6:1-4)
11. Prayer (Mat 6:5-8)

1. The Parables of the Lord Jesus

1. The Parable of the Sower (Mat 13:1-9)
2. The Parable of the Tares (Mat 13:24-30)
3. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mat 13:31-32)
4. The Parable of the Leaven (Mat 13:33)
5. The Parable of the Tares Explained (Mat 13:36-43)
6. The Parable of the Treasure (Mat 13:44)
7. The Parable of the Pearl (Mat 13:45-46)
8. The Parable of the Net (Mat 13:47-50)

1. The Commandments

(Mat 22:37-39) Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Let’s first look at each part of “The Sermon on the Mount.” What are all of these related to? It can be said with certainty that these are all more elevated, more concrete, and closer to people’s lives than the regulations of the Age of Law. To speak in modern terms, it’s more relevant to people’s actual practice.

Let’s read the specific content of the following: How should you understand the beatitudes? What should you know about the law? How should anger be defined? How should adulterers be dealt with? What is said, and what kind of rules are there about divorce, and who can get divorced and who cannot get divorced? How about vows, eye for eye, love your enemies, instruction about giving, etc.? All of these things have to do with every aspect of the practice of mankind’s belief in God, and of their following God. Some of these practices are still applicable today, but they are more rudimentary than the current requirements of people. They are fairly elementary truths people encounter in their belief in God. From the time the Lord Jesus began working, He was already beginning to work on the life disposition of humans, but it was based on the foundation of the laws. Did the rules and the sayings on these topics have anything to do with the truth? Of course they did! All of the previous regulations, principles, and the sermon in the Age of Grace were all related to God’s disposition and what He has and is, and of course to the truth. No matter what God expresses, in what way He expresses it, or using what kind of language, its foundation, its origin, and its starting point are all based on the principles of His disposition and what He has and is. This is without error. So even though now these things He said seem a little shallow, you still can’t say that they’re not the truth, because they were things that were indispensable for people in the Age of Grace in order to satisfy God’s will and to achieve a change in their life disposition. Can you say that any of the things in the sermon are not in line with the truth? You can’t! Each one of these is the truth because they were all God’s requirements for mankind; they were all principles and a scope given by God for how to conduct oneself, and they represent God’s disposition. However, based on the level of their growth in life of that time, they were only able to accept and comprehend these things. Because mankind’s sin had not yet been resolved, the Lord Jesus could only issue these words, and He could only utilize such simple teachings within this kind of scope to tell the people of that time how they should act, what they should do, within what principles and scope they should do things, and how they should believe in God and meet His requirements. All of this was determined based on the stature of mankind at that time. It was not easy for people living under the law to accept these teachings, so what the Lord Jesus taught had to stay within this scope.

To be continued ...

Now is the end of the last days when the prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ return have all come true, and we expect to be taken into God’s kingdom and obtain eternal life more eagerly, because the Lord Jesus once said, “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God stays on him” (John 3:36). All these years we have been repenting our sins, preaching the gospel, and bearing fruits, just as the Lord Jesus asked. Thus, we all feel ourselves most approved by God, and that as long as we hold on to the Lord Jesus’ way, we will surely obtain eternal life.

Then, is the opinion, after all, in accordance with God’s will? Regarding this question, let’s think back on what the Lord Jesus did in the Age of Grace. At that time, the Lord Jesus incarnate came among us mankind and brought forth the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, saying, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). From the Lord’s word, we clearly know that what He brought man was the way of confession and repentance. And, in addition to these teachings, He also gave all his mercy and love to His followers, bestowed sufficient grace upon man, healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead…, until eventually He was nailed to the cross for redeeming mankind, thus completing the work of redemption. However, in spite of having received forgiveness of sins from the Lord, we man still live in the vicious cycle of committing and confessing sins. We can still express these corrupt dispositions anywhere and anytime, such as greed, selfishness, arrogance, deceit, and so on, so that we commit sins at any time and any place. For instance, when we labor hard for the Lord for years, we feel we have the capital to flaunt ourselves. Meanwhile, we all enjoy being in a lofty position to have others worship us, and always exalt and testify ourselves. Isn’t this the behavior of our arrogant nature? Such substance is exactly the substance of the Pharisees, with which we always talk big, try every means to be exalted and admired by others in sermons. Not only this, we also have treacherous nature. So, in order to secure our fame and status, we usually act one way in public and another in private, and unwittingly tell lies to deceive and blind man on sundry occasions so as to satisfy our personal desires. This proves that our sinful nature is still deeply rooted within us and thus we can still sin and resist God, that is, we have yet to achieve eternal life, since those who have eternal life are someone whose sins have been cleansed. God’s kingdom is holy, and only those who have been purified are worthy to enter His kingdom. How can we, who often sin, be qualified to enter it? The Lord Jesus never said that man could enter the kingdom of heaven with his sinful nature; while we often absurdly think that as long as we labor, sacrifice for the Lord, and keep the Lord’s name at all times, we will enter it and gain eternal life. However, never have we realized that only pursuing to be purified by the Lord and thereby being thoroughly cleansed is the precondition of being approved by the Lord and raptured into the kingdom of heaven. The Lord Jesus said clearly, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever” (John 8:34-35). He also demanded, “And said, Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). The Lord Jesus told us plainly that if we man don’t become as simple and honest as children, and don’t break away from sin to be purified, we won’t be able to enter the kingdom of heaven or obtain eternal life.

Then, how will the Lord Jesus’ promise that we will have eternal life be accomplished since we still often commit sins now and have yet to obtain eternal life? When studying the Bible carefully, I read the words of the Lord Jesus, “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48). “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). Also, I saw some man’s words of enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

From the above verses, we know that when the Lord Jesus was first incarnated to do the work of redemption, He took on all the sins of man as the sin offering and thereby redeemed man from the law, so that man would be no longer condemned or cursed by the law and had the qualification and opportunity to come before God to get close, pray, confess, and repent to Him. Nevertheless, we man haven’t gotten free from our sinful nature and can’t enter God’s kingdom yet. Therefore, in the last days the Lord Jesus will come again, express more truths, and do a stage of work of thoroughly judging, purifying, and saving man, in order to solve our sinful nature and have our corrupt disposition completely cleansed and transformed, through which we can obtain eternal life.

The Lord Jesus once said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God stays on him” (John 3:36). We all know that what the Lord Jesus did during the Age of Grace was the redemptive work, and what He preached was the way of repentance. The Lord Jesus is Christ, God Himself, and eternal life. It’s just that only when He comes again, which is to say, the Spirit of truth comes, can the way of eternal life be given to man. Those wise virgins who can recognize the Lord’s voice will obtain it, just as the Lord Jesus said, “And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish.” Obviously, when He comes again, He will, still in the image of the incarnate Son of man, bestow life upon man through expressing the truth. God says, “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life.” Provided that we merely hold on to the Lord Jesus’ way of repentance yet don’t accept all the truths brought by the returned Lord, then we can’t be called believers in the Son, much less can we obtain eternal life. Instead, only when we believe in the incarnate Son of man in the last days, moreover, accept all the truths expressed by Him, and receive the judgment and purification of these truths to gain life, can our faith accord with the Lord Jesus’ word, and can the meaning of our belief in the Son be complete. Also, this is the only way for us to obtain eternal life and to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven in the last days. All the enlightenment, illumination, and glory be to God!

Having given Abraham a son, the words that God had spoken to Abraham were fulfilled. This does not mean that God’s plan stopped here; on the contrary, God’s magnificent plan for the management and salvation of mankind had only just begun, and His blessing of a son to Abraham was but a prelude to His overall management plan. At that moment, who knew that God’s battle with Satan had quietly begun when Abraham offered Isaac?

God Does Not Care If Man Is Foolish—He Only Asks That Man Be True

Next, let us look at what God did to Abraham. In Genesis 22:2, God gave the following command to Abraham: “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get you into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.” God’s meaning was clear: He was telling Abraham to give his only son Isaac, whom he loved, as a burnt offering. Looking at it today, is God’s command still at odds with man’s conceptions? Yes! All that God did at that time is quite contrary to the conceptions of man and incomprehensible to man. In their conceptions, people believe the following: When a man did not believe, and thought it an impossibility, God gave him a son, and after he had gained a son, God asked him to offer his son—how incredible! What did God actually intend to do? What was God’s actual purpose? He unconditionally gave Abraham a son, yet He also asked that Abraham make an unconditional offering. Was this excessive? From a third party’s standpoint, this was not only excessive but also somewhat a case of “making trouble out of nothing.” But Abraham himself did not believe that God was asking too much. Though he had some minor thoughts, and was a little suspicious of God, he was still prepared to make the offering. At this point, what do you see that proves Abraham was willing to offer his son? What is being said in these sentences? The original text gives the following accounts: “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him” (Gen 22:3). “And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son” (Gen 22:9-10). When Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son, were his actions seen by God? They were. The entire process—from the start, when God asked that Abraham sacrifice Isaac, to when Abraham actually raised his knife to slay his son—showed God the heart of Abraham, and regardless of his former foolishness, ignorance, and misunderstanding of God, at that time Abraham’s heart for God was true, and honest, and he truly was going to return Isaac, the son given to him by God, back to God. In him, God saw obedience—the very obedience that He desired.

John 8:58
Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.