God Himself, the Unique II

God’s Righteous Disposition

Now that you have listened to the previous fellowship about God’s authority, I am confident that you are equipped with quite an array of words on the matter. How much you can accept, grasp and understand all depends on how much effort you will apply to it. It is My hope that you can approach this matter earnestly; by no means should you deal with it half-heartedly! Now, is knowing God’s authority equal to knowing God’s entirety? One can say that knowing God’s authority is the beginning of knowing the unique God Himself, and one could also say that knowing God’s authority means that one has already stepped into the gate of knowing the substance of the unique God Himself. This understanding is one part of knowing God. What is the other part, then? This is the subject that I would like to fellowship about today—God’s righteous disposition.

I have selected two sections from the Bible with which to fellowship about today’s topic: The first concerns God’s destruction of Sodom, which can be found in Genesis 19:1-11 and Genesis 19:24-25; the second concerns God’s deliverance of Nineveh, which can be found in Jonah 1:1-2, in addition to the third and fourth chapters of the book. I suspect that you are all waiting to hear what I have to say about these two sections. What I say naturally cannot stray from the theme of knowing God Himself and knowing His substance, but what will be the focus of today’s fellowship? Do any of you know? Which parts of My fellowship about “God’s Authority” caught your attention? Why did I say that only the One who possesses such authority and power is God Himself? What did I wish to explain by saying that? What did I wish to inform you of? Are God’s authority and power one aspect of how His substance is displayed? Are they a part of His substance that proves His identity and status? Have these questions told you what I am going to say? What do I want you to understand? Think this over carefully.

(I) For Stubbornly Opposing God, Man Is Destroyed by God’s Wrath

First, let us look at several passages of scripture describing “God’s destruction of Sodom.”

(Gen 19:1-11) And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, No; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed on them greatly; and they turned in to him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men which came in to you this night? bring them out to us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door to them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brothers, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do you to them as is good in your eyes: only to these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with you, than with them. And they pressed sore on the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

(Gen 19:24-25) Then the LORD rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.

From these passages, it is not difficult to see that Sodom’s iniquity and corruption had already reached a degree detestable to both man and God, and that in the eyes of God the city therefore deserved to be destroyed. But what happened inside the city before it was destroyed? What can people learn from these events? What does God’s attitude toward these events show people about His disposition? In order to understand the whole story, let us carefully read what was recorded in the Scripture …

Receiving Grace of God | "If I Were Not Saved by God" (Short Film/Music Video)

If I were not saved by God, I would still be drifting in the world,

struggling painfully in sin, living without any hope.

If I were not saved by God, I would still be trampled by the devils,

enjoying the pleasures of sin, not knowing where is the path of human life.

It is Almighty God who saves me; God’s words have purified me.

Through God’s judgment and chastisement, my corrupt disposition has changed.

All the truth that God expresses has given me a new life.

I have seen God face to face and tasted God’s true love.

Finally I have understood, it’s God’s loving hand that has led me

to hear the voice of God and be raised before God’s throne,

to attend Christ’s marriage feast and get God’s purification and perfection.

What was hoped for years is realized today; I have finally got God’s salvation.

It is Almighty God who saves me; God’s words have purified me.

Through God’s judgment and chastisement, my corrupt disposition has changed.

All the truth that God expresses has given me a new life.

I have seen God face to face and tasted God’s true love.

Finally I have understood, it’s God’s loving hand that has led me

to hear the voice of God and be raised before God’s throne,

to attend Christ’s marriage feast and get God’s purification and perfection.

What was hoped for years is realized today; I have finally got God’s salvation.

What was hoped for years is realized today; I have finally got God’s salvation.

from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs

Concerning the Bible (4)

Many people believe that understanding and being able to interpret the Bible is the same as finding the true way—but in fact, are things really so simple? No one knows the reality of the Bible: that it is nothing more than a historical record of God’s work, and a testament to the previous two stages of God’s work, and offers you no understanding of the aims of God’s work. Everyone who has read the Bible knows that it documents the two stages of God’s work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. The Old Testament chronicles the history of Israel and Jehovah’s work from the time of creation until the end of the Age of Law. The New Testament records Jesus’ work on earth, which is in the Four Gospels, as well as the work of Paul; are they not historical records? Bringing up the things of the past today makes them history, and no matter how true or real they might be, they are still history—and history cannot address the present. For God does not look back on history! And so, if you only understand the Bible, and understand nothing of the work God intends to do today, and if you believe in God but do not seek the work of the Holy Spirit, then you do not understand what it means to seek God. If you read the Bible in order to study the history of Israel, to research the history of God’s creation of all the heavens and earth, then you do not believe in God. But today, since you believe in God, and pursue life, since you pursue the knowledge of God, and do not pursue dead letters and doctrines, or an understanding of history, you must seek God’s will of today, and must look for the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work. If you were an archeologist you could read the Bible—but you are not, you are one of those who believe in God, and you’d best seek God’s will of today. By reading the Bible, at most you’ll understand a little of the history of Israel, you’ll learn about the lives of Abraham, David, and Moses, you’ll find out about how they revered Jehovah, how Jehovah burned those who opposed Him, and how He spoke to the people of that age. You’ll only find out about God’s work in the past. The records of the Bible relate to how the early people of Israel revered God and lived under the guidance of Jehovah. Because the Israelites were God’s chosen people, in the Old Testament you can see all the people of Israel’s loyalty to Jehovah, how all those who obeyed Jehovah were cared for and blessed by Him, you can learn that when God worked in Israel He was full of mercy and compassion, as well as possessed of consuming flames, and that all the Israelites, from the lowly to the mighty, revered Jehovah, and so the whole country was blessed by God. Such is the history of Israel recorded in the Old Testament.

Gospel Movie | the Word appearing in the flesh

     Do you truly know the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you understand the truth of God’s incarnation? Do you know the mystery of “the Word appearing in the flesh”? The Mystery of Godliness: The Sequel will open the door to your knowing God.

    Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God, Christ of the last days in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared.

God Has Returned Victorious

I

Through 6,000 years of His work, God has shown many of His deeds, deeds to vanquish Satan and save all of humanity. God lets everything in heaven, all things on the earth, in the sea, He lets all creatures get to see His acts and matchless power. Through Satan's defeat, mankind sees God's deeds. So they praise Him and exalt His wisdom. Let everything humanity everything in heaven, all things deep in the sea bring Him glory, bring Him glory! Let everything give praise, praise His mighty power. All things praise all of His deeds, shout His holy name, shout His holy name!

II

Such praise is proof of Satan's defeat, proof that God has conquered His enemy. Such praise proves He's saved each one, saved His created mankind. All creation brings praise, He's defeated His foe. He comes in victory, He's the great King who wins! Let everything on earth, everything in heaven, all things deep in the sea bring Him glory, bring Him glory! Let everything give praise, praise His mighty power. All things praise all of His deeds, shout His holy name, shout His holy name! Through Satan's defeat, mankind sees God's deeds. So they praise Him and exalt His wisdom. Let everything on earth, everything in heaven, all things deep in the sea bring Him glory, bring Him glory! Let everything give praise, praise His mighty power. All things praise all of His deeds, shout His holy name, shout His holy name! Let everything on earth, everything in heaven, all things deep in the sea bring Him glory, bring Him glory! Let everything give praise, praise His mighty power. All things praise all of His deeds, shout His holy name, shout His holy name!

from "You Should Know How the Whole of Humanity Has Developed to the Present Day" in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God, Christ of the last days in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared.

Concerning the Bible (3)

Not everything in the Bible is a record of the words personally spoken by God. The Bible simply documents the previous two stages of God’s work, of which one part is a record of the foretellings of the prophets, and one part is the experiences and knowledge written by people used by God throughout the ages. Human experiences are tainted with human opinions and knowledge, which is unavoidable. In many of the books of the Bible are human conceptions, human biases, and human absurd interpretations. Of course, most of the words are the result of the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and they are correct interpretations—yet it still cannot be said that they are entirely accurate expressions of the truth. Their views on certain things are nothing more than the knowledge of personal experience, or the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. The foretellings of the prophets were personally instructed by God: The prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel came from the direct instruction of the Holy Spirit, these people were seers, they had received the Spirit of prophecy, they were all prophets of the Old Testament. During the Age of Law these people, who had received the inspirations of Jehovah, spoke many prophecies, which were directly instructed by Jehovah. And why did Jehovah work in them? Because the people of Israel were God’s chosen people: The work of prophets had to be done among them, and they were qualified to receive such revelations. In fact, they themselves didn’t understand God’s revelations to them. The Holy Spirit spoke those words through their mouths so that the people of the future could comprehend those things, and see that they really were the work of the Spirit of God, of the Holy Spirit, and did not come from man, and to give them confirmation of the Holy Spirit’s work. During the Age of Grace, Jesus Himself did all this work in their stead, and so people no longer spoke prophecy. So was Jesus a prophet? Jesus was, of course, a prophet, but He was also able to do the work of the apostles: He could both speak prophecy and preach and teach people across the land. Yet the work He did and the identity He represented were not the same. He came to redeem all mankind, to redeem man from sin; He was a prophet, and an apostle, but more than that He was Christ. A prophet can speak prophecy, but it cannot be said that he is Christ. At that time, Jesus spoke much prophecy, and so it can be said that He was a prophet, but it cannot be said that He was a prophet and so not Christ. That is because He represented God Himself in carrying out a stage of work, and His identity was different from that of Isaiah: He came to complete the work of redemption, and He also provided the life of man, and the Spirit of God came unto Him directly. In the work He did, there were no inspirations from the Spirit of God or instructions from Jehovah. Instead, the Spirit came to work directly—which is enough to prove that Jesus was not the same as a prophet. The work He did was the work of redemption, second to which came the speaking of prophecy. He was a prophet, an apostle, and more than that He was the Redeemer. The foretellers, meanwhile, could only speak prophecy, and were incapable of representing God’s Spirit in doing any other work. Because Jesus did much work that had never before been done by man, and did the work of redeeming mankind, He was thus different from the likes of Isaiah. That some people don’t accept the stream of today is because this has created an obstacle for them. They say: “In the Old Testament many prophets also spoke many words—so why weren’t they God become flesh? The God of today speaks words—is that enough to prove that He is God incarnate? You do not hold the Bible up high, nor do you study it—so what basis do you have for saying that He is the incarnation of God? You say that they are instructed by the Holy Spirit, and you believe that this stage of work is work personally done by God—but what is your basis for this?” You focus your attention to the words of God today, it seems as if you have denied the Bible, and put it to one side, and so they say that you believe in heresy, that you are part of an evil cult.

Jesus' Words to His Disciples After His Resurrection

Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God, Christ of the last days in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared.