How do I deserve to receive such favor and enjoy so much salvation? III In this life I will live only for You, Almighty God. My last breath will be offered to You, to You, be offered to You.
In the last days, God becomes flesh. He accomplishes all chiefly through the word, He makes all manifest through the word. Only in His word can you see all that He is and that He is God Himself. The incarnate God comes to earth for no other work, but only to speak His word. So, no sign is shown, for the word, the word of God is enough.
Whenever the subject of knowing God is mentioned, some people will say, “When I believe in God, I will just believe in God, and I will do whatever God asks me to do and do it just as God requires me. Then won’t I satisfy God? Besides, in my daily life I will pay attention to examining what corruptions I have expressed, and when I find any, I will pay attention to having it transformed. Won’t this be enough? Why should I pursue to know God?” And other people will say, “I have never seen the incarnated God; then how should I know him?” In a word, in our experience, we either do not pursue to know God or have no idea how to know God.
When I was a child, my mother died. I shouldered the family burden at a young age. After getting married, I was even more loaded down with the burden of life. Having fully tasted the hardship and misery of life, I gradually became depressed and silent and fiddled my life away day by day. In 2002, when the brothers and sisters preached Almighty God’s end-time work to me, I accepted it readily and also brought my husband and children before Almighty God.
You say that the Bible is not entirely the word of God but also contains the word of man. I have a different interpretation. For thousands of years, the religious world has believed the Bible is the word of God, that it represents the Lord. For these many years, this has been my belief. Is there anything wrong with our belief?
Ever since we started believing in the Lord, we knew that praying to God and communing with God is indispensable to our spiritual life. Because God’s word says, “Prayer is one of the ways in which man cooperates with God, it is a means by which man calls upon God, and it is the process by which man is touched by God’s Spirit. It can be said that those who are without prayer are dead ones without spirit, proof that they lack the faculties to be touched by God
I was a preacher of the True Jesus Church. When I attended meetings, I was deeply moved by what Elder Zhen in our church preached, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). She said, “Apostle Paul told us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. All of God’s word is in the Bible and there is no God’s word outside it. So, we should never, ever depart from the Bible. As long as we hold onto the Bible, we will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven and gain eternal life. …” After listening to her sermons, I made up my mind to stick to the Bible whatever happened. Later, after Elder Zhen passed away, our church began to split and I saw the deacons often scrambled for the money. Then I left my former denomination and established a house church. My husband and I gave sermons in turn, and he often went out to have meetings with co-workers, shepherding the flock.
In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus promised to His followers, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). He also prophesied, “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). In the last days, as promised and foretold by Himself, God has again become flesh and descended to the East of the world—China—to do the work of judgment, chastisement, conquest, and salvation using the word, on the foundation of the redemption work of the Lord Jesus. In this, the prophecies of the Bible that “Judgment begins with the house of God” and “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches!” have also been fulfilled. God’s work of the last days has ended the Age of Grace and ushered in the Age of Kingdom. As the gospel of the kingdom of Almighty God spread rapidly in Mainland China, the Church of Almighty God came into being. As proven by facts, the Church of Almighty God came into being entirely as a result of God’s work of the last days, and was not established by any man. This is because the chosen people in the Church of Almighty God pray in the name of Almighty God, obey His work, and accept all the truths expressed by Him. Thus it is evident that these chosen people believe in Christ who is incarnated in the last days, the practical God who is the Spirit realized in the flesh, instead of believing in a man. Outwardly, Almighty God is nothing more than an ordinary Son of man, but in substance He is the embodiment of God’s Spirit and is the truth, the way, and the life. His work and word are the direct expression of the Spirit of God and are the appearance of God in person. Therefore, He is the practical God who is incarnated.
In 1991, Almighty God, Christ of the last days, began to officially perform His ministry in China. Then, He expressed millions of words and began the work of judgment of the great white throne in the last days. Just as Almighty God says, “The work of judgment is God’s own work, so it must naturally be done by God Himself; it cannot be done by man in His stead. Because judgment is the conquering of man through the truth, it is unquestionable that God still appears as the incarnate image to do this work among men. That is to say, in the last days, Christ shall use the truth to teach men around the earth and to make all truths known to them. This is God’s work of judgment” (from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “God does the work of the word in the last days, and such words are that of the Holy Spirit, for God is the Holy Spirit and can also become flesh; therefore, the words of the Holy Spirit, as spoken of in the past, are the words of the incarnate God today. … For God to speak utterances to carry out work, He must become flesh, else His work cannot accomplish His goal” (from “How Can Man Who Has Defined God in His Conceptions Receive the Revelations of God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Because of the appearance and utterances of Christ of the last days, ever more people who thirst for and seek the truth have been conquered and purified by the word of Almighty God, and have seen in God’s judgment and chastisement the appearance of God and the return of the Redeemer.
I was formerly a preacher of the “Praise Church.” Since May 1999, I had often heard the elders say, “The ‘Eastern Lightning’ is a cult. Those people are together committing adultery. If you don’t obey them, they will cut off your ears, gouge out your eyes, or even cut your flesh into pieces. They will also trick you into going somewhere outside the town and shut you into a basement… These people are very crafty. They specially go to deceive people in various churches. If any stranger comes to our church, we must inspect him and verify his identity. If there is any flaw in it, he must be from the ‘Eastern Lightning.’ Then drive him away immediately…” So, I kept the elders’ “good words” in mind and went around telling the brothers and sisters not to accept the “Eastern Lightning,” and I also told them that it was the deception of Satan. When I myself met the preachers of the “Eastern Lightning,” I refused them all relentlessly, and I even told the brothers and sisters in what harsh ways I treated those preachers and how I drove them away so that they could learn from me. I, being so foolish, did many things resisting Almighty God. In the end, it was under Almighty God’s enlightenment and illumination that I woke up.
The Authority and Significance of God’s Incarnation
I
Man’s stature, knowledge, love, and loyalty, obedience, and all that man sees have come from judgment by the word. Your faith stands because of His word. Through this man sees God’s amazing work. There is much beyond man’s grasp: great mysteries and wonders all around. And therefore many have submitted. None surpass the judgment of His word, and no darkness prevails over His authority. Man submits because of His incarnation, His authority, and judgment from His word.
II
Those who have never submitted kneel to God when confronted by His word. They bend to the judgment of His word, never scrutinizing or judging with their tongue. God’s flesh appears as if He’s ordinary, but His words show man His full authority. He is God Himself, His words express this. None can offend Him, He is God in flesh.
III
God incarnate delivers His words, so all with ears may hear and receive His judgment. God does not frighten man into submission by showing Himself in spirit form. Man’s true disposition, though hidden deep, is revealed by this real and unique work, so man may recognize it and change. God’s judgment is practical and is delivered by the word. This is the authority and significance of God’s incarnation. This is the authority and significance of God’s incarnation. None surpass the judgment of His word, and no darkness prevails over His authority. Man submits because of His incarnation, His authority, and judgment from His word. His incarnation, His authority, and judgment from His word.
from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God’s work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God’s sheep hear God’s voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.
Gospel Movie Clip "The Mystery of Godliness: The Sequel" (2) - How to Understand God Incarnate
In the last days, God has become flesh to work to save man. But because we don't understand the truth of the incarnation, we regard God incarnate as the same as an ordinary person, we cannot recognize God's voice and we know even less how to welcome the Lord—to the point where we are even able to follow the religious world and ruling powers to defy and condemn God—the situation becomes no different from when God incarnated as the Lord Jesus to do His work of the Age of Grace. It appears, therefore, that understanding the truth of the incarnation is key to our knowing God. So what exactly is the incarnation? What is the essence of the incarnation?
I was self-employed. Mainly I sold all kinds of textiles, and I also made clothes for my customers part-time. After a few years, my business became more and more popular, and people around me were all very envious. Later, a neighboring household opened the same kind of shop as mine and became my competitor. Naturally, the business in my shop was affected. The popular proverb says two of a trade never agree, but my peer was not just anyone, but my most trusted pupil, Xiaochen.
I was self-employed. Mainly I sold all kinds of textiles, and I also made clothes for my customers part-time. After a few years, my business became more and more popular, and people around me were all very envious. Later, a neighboring household opened the same kind of shop as mine and became my competitor. Naturally, the business in my shop was affected. The popular proverb says two of a trade never agree, but my peer was not just anyone, but my most trusted pupil, Xiaochen.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God (Jhn 1:1-2).
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (Jhn 1:14).
VIII Questions and Answers About the Inside Story of the Bible
Question 1: I’ve studied the Bible for more than twenty years. I’m sure that outside the Bible there is no God’s word. All God’s word is in the Bible. Any belief against or beyond the Bible is a heresy and is a fallacy.
Answer: Does the saying “outside the Bible there is no God’s word and any belief beyond the Bible is a heresy,” accord with the fact or not? All those who are familiar with the Bible know that in the compilation of the Bible, because of the compilers’ disagreement and omission, some of God’s words conveyed through the prophets were not included in the Old Testament. This is a generally acknowledged fact. How can we say that outside the Bible there are no God’s work and word? Aren’t those omitted prophecies of the prophets God’s words? The Lord Jesus said more words than those in the New Testament. In fact, most of His words are not recorded in the Bible. The Lord Jesus had worked for three and a half years, and He said countless words and gave many sermons.
Zheng Weiguo (Minister of a municipal United Front Work Department): I want to talk about your belief in God again. Do you know clearly who created The Church of Almighty God? I have worked half a lifetime for the United Front, studying religions for decades. It’s fair to say that I understand various kinds of religions rather well. For more than two decades, we have mainly studied The Church of Almighty God.According to the government’s propaganda materials,
In the past, I was deeply influenced by Chinese traditional concepts and regarded purchasing property for my children as my life goal. Therefore, I devoted myself to studying car repairing technique and opened up a garage. The business was doing very well. At that time, I thought that man’s destiny was in his own hand. When my wife’s elder sister preached the gospel of Jesus to me, I refused and mocked at her. However, good times didn’t last long. The profits of my garage decreased day by day. No matter how hard I tried, it was in vain. As a result, I was tormented so much that I was exhausted physically and mentally and felt extremely miserable. Every day I sought solace in drink. Once, due to my distraction, I had an accident when driving. The car was badly smashed, but I survived miraculously.
I was born in an ordinary family. My father was a soldier. Influenced and nurtured by my father from childhood, I thought in my heart that soldiers should take serving their country and obeying orders as their bounden mission and dedicate themselves selflessly to the Party and the people, and I aimed to become a soldier in the future and walk along my father’s path. However, things that happened later changed my viewpoint of pursuit and way of life little by little. In 1983, I heard Jesus’ gospel. Because of the special leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I, who had been poisoned by atheism and Red Education since childhood, was deeply moved by the Lord Jesus’ love. From then on, I stepped onto the way of believing in God.
Since Almighty God’s work of the last days was carried out in Mainland China, His utterances have shaken all denominations and sects. When those who pursue the truth and long for God’s appearance hear God’s voice, they all seek and investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days after being moved by the Holy Spirit. They have seen the appearance of God in God’s words, been taken before God’s throne, and attended the wedding feast of the Lamb. However, some people, because of their notions and imaginations, refuse to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days, thinking that Almighty God’s work of the last days exceeds the Bible.
Ⅹ Questions and Answers About the Truth of Incarnation
Question 1: I’ve believed in the Lord for many years. Although I know the Lord Jesus is the God incarnate, I still don’t understand much about the truth of His incarnation. If the Lord comes again and appears just as He did then, working as the Son of man, we won’t be able to recognize Him, and we can’t welcome His coming. The incarnation truly is a mystery. Very few people can understand the truth of it. Please fellowship about what incarnation truly is.
Answer: That’s a very good question. Incarnation is indeed a huge mystery. For thousands of years, no one has understood the truth of incarnation. That is a fact. Almighty God comes in the last days and reveals the mystery of incarnation to man by Himself. Only then do we understand the truth of incarnation. Let’s read some passages from Almighty God. “The meaning of incarnation is that God appears in the flesh, and He comes to work among man of His creation in the image of a flesh. So, for God to be incarnated, He must first be flesh, flesh with normal humanity; this, at the very least, must be true. In fact, the implication of God’s incarnation is that God lives and works in the flesh, God in His very essence becomes flesh, becomes a man” (“The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
Let’s read a piece of God’s word “The Truly Obedient Shall Surely Be Gained by God”:
“The work of the Holy Spirit changes from day to day, rising higher with each step; the revelation of tomorrow becomes even higher than today’s, step by step climbing ever higher. Such is the work by which God perfects man.