Penetrating Satan’s Deceptions in Trials

Penetrating Satan’s Deceptions in Trials

Ji Ying

I had never dreamed that I could meet the return of the Lord Jesus during my lifetime, which made me feel immeasurable joy. However, some time after I accepted God’s work of the last days, I was suddenly diagnosed as having prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc. My husband suffered a car accident abruptly. Though there was no bone injury, he could not walk temporarily and needed a week of rest before going to work. After that, my four-year-old son caught a cold all of a sudden, wheezing out of breath. Whenever I saw my child fighting for breath, it really tugged at my heartstrings. I thought: How could those mishaps come upon me in succession? Normally, after accepting God’s work of the last days, I should have remained inside God’s care and protection and such misadventures shouldn’t have come upon me. But why do they happen? Although Sister Yang in the Church of Almighty God communicated with me about God’s words, urging me not to misunderstand God’s intentions, yet I just could not listen to her for I got caught up in diseases. I began to wonder whether Almighty God is really the return of the Lord Jesus. Later, my son got over his cold, but his symptom of gasping for breath still remained, even developed persistent asthma. We spent our days going one doctor visit to the next but my son failed to improve. My heart was in so much pain. I thought: Will my son go on gasping for breath? At that point, my mother-in-law said to me, “A doctor concluded that the kid has a heart attack. I’m afraid he will have difficulty to look for a spouse.” My heart sank after I heard this. I recalled that when I lived in my grandma’s home in my childhood, a woman next door had asthma, wheezed out of breath, and looked aged before turning 40. What’s more, she even was not able to work at all. “Could it be that my son will suffer the same fate? Will he struggle against disease for his whole life?” When I saw his contemporaries growing up healthily while my son suffering illness painfully, I felt tortured inside, not knowing how to get through the rest of our life. I thought of that I did not listen attentively when Sister Yang came to communicate with me last time, but at that moment, I hoped so much she could drop in and communicate with me again to resolve my actual difficulties.

God does observe the depths of man’s heart. He is acquainted with man’s inside needs. Sister Yang came to see me very soon. I let all my sufferings out to her. She said to me in a very calm way, “Sister, we need to penetrate all the deceitful schemes of Satan to avoid being tricked by it. Satan sees that we have accepted God’s work of the last days and gotten the chance for salvation, so it becomes desperate and tries all the ways and means to stop us from worshiping God. Therefore, when illness or other misfortunes suddenly befall us, all of these are Satan’s disturbance. Satan uses these things to play on man,  makes man misunderstand God and doubt Him, and then deny God and go back to its camp, losing the opportunity of God’s salvation. This is Satan’s despicable objective.” After saying this, Sister Yang read two passages of God’s words.

Almighty God says, “Because of God’s incarnation, Satan makes every attempt to accuse and wants to attack God by doing so. However, God does not retreat on that account, and He just speaks among men and works among men, letting men know Him through His incarnate flesh. But Satan becomes irritated, and it also puts in a lot of efforts on God’s people, trying to make them become passive, draw back, and even get lost” (“The Interpretation of the Thirteenth Utterance”  in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “God works, God cares for a person, looks upon a person, and Satan dogs His every step. Whoever God favors, Satan also watches, trailing along behind. If God wants this person, Satan would do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various evil ways to tempt, harass and wreck the work God does in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is its objective? It does not want God to have anyone; it wants all those that God wants, to possess them, control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they commit evil acts alongside it. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive? … Satan is at war with God, trailing along behind Him. Its objective is to demolish all the work God wants to do, to possess and control those whom God wants, to completely extinguish those whom God wants. If they are not extinguished, then they come to Satan’s possession to be used by it—this is its objective” (“God Himself, the Unique IV” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).         

After reading God’s words, Sister Yang continued her fellowship, “Through the revelations of God’s word, we have seen clearly Satan’s evil nature. By the illness, it disturbs our belief in God in order to make us turn away from God, losing God’s care and protection. For those whom God wishes to save, Satan does its utmost to disturb, sows dissension in their relationship with God, schemes to make them misunderstand, complain about, and betray God, and in the end it could devour them. As the Bible recorded, Job was righteous and he feared God. He was a perfect man in God’s eyes. Satan hates people that could fear God and shun evil. So it attacked Job, deprived him of his property and children, and caused sore boils all over his body, to devastate Job in that way and to strike down Job’s faith and loyalty to God with a vain attempt. However, Job stood firm in his testimony in this spiritual war. He not only didn’t complain about God, but on the contrary, he praised God from his heart, saying, “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” So we encountered the trial of sickness, which is a matter in the spiritual realm. If God did not tell us the reality of the spiritual realm, we wouldn’t know what bad things Satan is doing in the spiritual world, nor would we know God’s work. The spiritual battle is becoming more and more intense. If we don’t understand God’s will, nor do we read more of God’s words, we will be likely to fall prey to Satan’s trickery. Thus, we should read and fellowship God’s words more to know His work and His will. Then we shall face that which befell us calmly, obey the work of God, stand the testimony for God and shame Satan.”

Sister Yang’s fellowship made me suddenly see the light. It turned out that all manner of misfortune I met with was Satan’s affliction. It was due to Satan’s harassment, which made me become doubtful toward God, even become rebellious against God, and thus lose my chance for salvation. Thanks to God’s protection. Through sister’s timely fellowship with me about God’s words, I understood God’s intention and came out of my negativity. I prayed to God, “Almighty God, I thank and praise You! Your words allow me to understand the reality of the battle in the spiritual world. I will no longer misunderstand or complain about You. I believe that everything rests in Your palm. Whether or not my son would have disease sequela is also within Your grasp. No matter what the outcome, I will devote myself to following You and stand testimony for You! Amen!”

At dusk a couple of days later, my son and his little friends were playing in full swing outside. About five or six minutes after he returned home, my mother-in-law said in surprise when she held his small hands, “Why is he so feverish?” When I heard this, I took his temperature immediately. He had indeed gotten a fever, but he neither cried nor made any trouble, just as if nothing happened. I realized right away that was again the scheme of Satan. Satan was disturbing my heart so as to let me misunderstand God. After thinking of that, I proclaimed to Satan in my heart, “Stand back, Satan! I won’t fall prey to your trickery this time to misunderstand God. Whether my son can recover is controlled by the hand of God, so is his life.” At that time, my heart was at peace. Later, my son went to bed with his grandma.

After my prayer, though I was not all that panic-stricken, I still had my own demands on God, unwilling to see my kid suffering illness or something unpeaceful befalling my family. I realized something wrong with my condition, so I opened The Scroll Opened by the Lamb. I saw God’s words, “Are you content to live under the influence of Satan, with peace and joy, and a little fleshly comfort? Are you not the lowliest of all people? None are more foolish than those who have beheld salvation but do not pursue to gain it: They are people who gorge themselves on the flesh and enjoy Satan. You hope that your faith in God will not entail any challenges or tribulations, or the slightest hardship. You always pursue those things that are worthless, and you attach no value to life, instead putting your own extravagant thoughts before the truth. You are so worthless!” (“The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words made me feel ashamed. I was reminded of my pursuit of receiving grace and blessings when I followed the Lord Jesus. After I had followed God’s new work, I still pursued to gain grace instead of the truth of life or the purification of my corrupt disposition. Wasn’t I the most foolish person who God has exposed? In the last days, God becomes flesh again to do the work of judging and purifying man, causing man to seek the truth and gain the truth when things befall him, so that man can submit to God and bear testimony to God in all circumstances. This is the ultimate fruit of God’s work. Yet despite believing in God I only sought to gain grace and blessings, did not focus on pursuing the truth to achieve a change in my life disposition. This faith of seeking bread to satisfy hunger undoubtedly cannot gain God’s approval. At that time, God arranged some circumstances for my family. And the revelation of His words helped me not only to see through Satan’s evil face of carrying out plots to devour man but also to know my erroneous view of pursuit in believing in God. This is really God’s love and salvation to me. After understanding God’s intention, I prayed to God, “Almighty God! I offer thanks and praise to You! Thanks to Your salvation to me and Your timely reminder that prevents me from falling prey to Satan’s trickery. From this point on, regardless of whether my child gets well or not, or what difficulties befall my family, I will rely on You, no longer follow the thoughts sent by Satan to misunderstand or complain about You. Instead, I will seek and pursue the truth in order to live out a life of value and meaning. Amen!” After I prayed, I felt much more at ease. A while later, my mother-in-law knocked my door and said to me with a thrill, “The kid’s fever has gone!” I was deeply aware that it was God’s care and protection. Otherwise it was impossible for my son’s fever to quickly come and quickly go. This was really God’s wondrous deeds. Everything is in the hands of God.

When I was willing to reverse my perspective on belief in God and developed my true faith in God, I saw God’s wonderful deeds. Before long, I realized my son’s asthma had gone unknowingly. When I took him to a hospital for a check, the doctor said, “The kid’s heart and lung are in good nick. There is nothing wrong with him.” Not only that, I also recovered from prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc by one therapy so that I could perform my duty and do work normally. Whereas one of my colleagues who suffered from the same illness as I had did not recover though his illness was less serious than mine and we received treatment from the same doctor. What’s more, he even underwent an operation. But he couldn’t manage to work now. His wife asked me how I recovered once she saw me. Though I told her I recovered naturally, I knew well that was because of God’s deeds and His wonderful protection. Almighty God is truly an almighty doctor！

Through this special experience, I realize that in experiencing God’s work of salvation, man is all along accompanied by Satan’s temptation, attack and disturbance. Which is to say, the spiritual battle is very fierce. Satan is like roaring lion prowling around, searching for man to eat up. Only when we pray to God, rely on Him, read more of God’s words to understand the truth, can we defeat Satan and gain God’s salvation in the last days. Thank God for making me perfect by the trials, causing me to lay the foundation in the true way and allowing me to have more confidence to follow Him. All the glory goes to Almighty God!

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What is the difference between the work of God incarnate and the work of the Spirit?

What is the difference between the work of God incarnate and the work of the Spirit?

Bible Verse(s) for Reference:

“And he said, I beseech you, show me your glory. And he said, … You can not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exodus 33:18-20).

“And the LORD came down on mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the LORD said to Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish” (Exo 19:20-21).

“And all the people saw the thunder, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said to Moses, Speak you with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exo 20:18-19).

Relevant Words of God:

God’s saving of man is not done directly through the means of the Spirit or as the Spirit, for His Spirit can neither be touched nor seen by man, and cannot be approached by man. If He tried to save man directly in the manner of the Spirit, man would be unable to receive His salvation.

And if not for God putting on the outward form of a created man, they would be unable to receive this salvation. For man can in no way approach Him, much like how none could go near the cloud of Jehovah. Only by becoming a man of creation, that is, putting His word into the flesh He will become, can He personally work the word into all who follow Him. Only then can man hear for himself His word, see His word, and receive His word, then through this be fully saved. If God did not become flesh, no fleshly man would receive such great salvation, nor would a single man be saved. If the Spirit of God worked directly among man, man would be smitten or completely carried away captive by Satan because man is unable to associate with God.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If God does not become flesh, He remains the Spirit both invisible and intangible to man. Man is a creature of flesh, and man and God belong to two different worlds and are different in nature. The Spirit of God is incompatible with man of flesh, and no relations can be established between them; moreover, man cannot become a spirit. As such, the Spirit of God must become one of the creatures and do His original work. God can both ascend to the highest place and humble Himself by becoming a man of creation, doing work and living among man, but man cannot ascend to the highest place and become a spirit and much less can he descend to the lowest place. Therefore, God must become flesh to carry out His work. Much as with the first incarnation, only the flesh of God incarnate could redeem man through His crucifixion, whereas it was not possible for the Spirit of God to be crucified as a sin offering for man.

God could directly become flesh to serve as a sin offering for man, but man could not directly ascend to heaven to take the sin offering that God had prepared for them. As such, God must journey to and fro between heaven and earth, rather than letting man ascend to heaven to take this salvation, for man had fallen and could not ascend to heaven, much less obtain the sin offering. Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to come among men and personally do the work that simply could not be accomplished by man. Every time that God became flesh, it was absolutely necessary to do so. If any of the stages could have been carried out directly by the Spirit of God, He would not have endured the indignities of being incarnated.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

So if this work is done by the Spirit—if God does not become flesh, and instead the Spirit speaks directly through thunder, so that man has no contact with Him, would man know His disposition? If only the Spirit does the work, then man would have no way of knowing His disposition. People can only behold God’s disposition with their own eyes when He becomes flesh, and reveals His words in the flesh, and expresses His entire disposition through the flesh. God truly lives among man. He is tangible; man can truly engage with His disposition and what He has and is; only in this way can man truly know Him.

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the FleshThough God’s work in the flesh involves many unimaginable difficulties, the effects that it ultimately achieves far exceed those of the work done directly by the Spirit. The work of the flesh entails much hardship, and the flesh cannot possess the same great identity as the Spirit, cannot carry out the same supernatural deeds as the Spirit, much less can He possess the same authority as the Spirit. Yet the substance of the work done by this unremarkable flesh is far superior to that of the work done directly by the Spirit, and this flesh Himself is the answer to all of man’s needs. For those to be saved, the use value of the Spirit is far inferior to that of the flesh: The work of the Spirit is able to cover the entire universe, across all mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans, yet the work of the flesh more effectively relates to every person with whom He has contact. What’s more, God’s flesh with tangible form can better be understood and trusted by man, and can further deepen man’s knowledge of God, and can leave upon man a more profound impression of the actual deeds of God. The work of the Spirit is shrouded in mystery, it is difficult for mortal beings to fathom, and even harder for them to see, and so they can only rely on hollow imaginings. The work of the flesh, however, is normal, and based on reality, and possessed of rich wisdom, and is a fact that can be beheld by the physical eye of man; man can personally experience the wisdom of the work of God, and has no need to employ his bountiful imagination. This is the accuracy and real value of the work of God in the flesh. The Spirit can only do things that are invisible to man and difficult for him to imagine, for example the enlightenment of the Spirit, the moving of the Spirit, and the guidance of the Spirit, but for man who has a mind, these do not provide any clear meaning. They only provide a moving, or a broad meaning, and cannot give an instruction with words. The work of God in the flesh, however, is greatly different: It has accurate guidance of words, has clear will, and has clear required goals. And so man does not need to grope around, or employ his imagination, much less make guesses. This is the clarity of the work in the flesh, and its great difference from the work of the Spirit. The work of the Spirit is only suitable for a limited scope, and cannot replace the work of the flesh. The work of the flesh gives man far more exact and necessary goals and far more real, valuable knowledge than the work of the Spirit. The work that is of greatest value to corrupt man is that which provides accurate words, clear goals to pursue, and which can be seen and touched. Only realistic work and timely guidance are suited to man’s tastes, and only real work can save man from his corrupt and depraved disposition. This can only be achieved by the incarnate God; only the incarnate God can save man from his formerly corrupt and depraved disposition. Although the Spirit is the inherent substance of God, work such as this can only be done by His flesh. If the Spirit worked single-handedly, then it would not be possible for His work to be effective—this is a plain truth.

For everyone who seeks the truth and longs for the appearance of God, the Spirit’s work can only provide moving or revelation, and a sense of wondrousness that it is inexplicable and unimaginable, and a sense that it is great, transcendent, and admirable, yet also unattainable and unobtainable to all. Man and the Spirit of God can only look upon each other from afar, as if there is a great distance between them, and they can never be alike, as if separated by an invisible divide. In fact, this is an illusion given to man by the Spirit, which is because the Spirit and man are not of the same kind, and the Spirit and man shall never coexist in the same world, and because the Spirit possesses nothing of man. So man does not have need of the Spirit, for the Spirit cannot directly do the work most needed by man. The work of the flesh offers man real objectives to pursue, clear words, and a sense that He is real and normal, that He is humble and ordinary. Although man may fear Him, for most people He is easy to relate to: Man can behold His face, and hear His voice, and does not need to look at Him from afar. This flesh feels approachable to man, not distant, or unfathomable, but visible and touchable, for this flesh is in the same world as man.

from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

When God had not become flesh, people did not understand much of what He said because it came out of complete divinity. The perspective and context of what He said was invisible and unreachable to mankind; it was expressed from a spiritual realm that people could not see. For people who lived in the flesh, they could not pass through the spiritual realm. But after God became flesh, He spoke to mankind from the perspective of humanity, and this dialogue came out of and surpassed the scope of the spiritual realm. He could express His divine disposition, will, and attitude, through things humans could imagine and things they saw and encountered in their lives, and using methods that humans could accept, in a language they could understand, and knowledge they could grasp, to allow mankind to understand and to know God, to comprehend His meaning and His required standards within the scope of their capacity, to the degree that they were able. This was the method and principle of God’s work in humanity. Even though God’s ways and His principles of working in the flesh were mostly achieved by or through humanity, it truly did achieve results that could not be achieved by working directly in divinity.

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

This was the advantage of God becoming flesh: He could take advantage of mankind’s knowledge and use human language to speak to people, to express His will. He explained or “translated” to man His profound, divine language that people struggled to understand in human language, in a human way. This helped people understand His will and know what He wanted to do. He could also have conversations with people from the human perspective, using human language, and communicate with people in a way they understood. He could even speak and work using human language and knowledge so that people could feel God’s kindness and closeness, so that they could see His heart.

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

The work done by the Spirit is implied and unfathomable, and it is fearful and unapproachable to man; the Spirit is not suited to directly doing the work of salvation, and is not suited to directly providing life to man. Most suitable for man is to transform the work of the Spirit into an approach that is close to man, which is to say, what is most suitable for man is for God to become an ordinary, normal person to do His work. This requires God to be incarnated to replace the work of the Spirit, and for man, there is no more suitable way for God to work.

from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If the Spirit of God directly spoke to man, they would all submit to the voice, falling down without words of revelation, much like how Paul fell to the ground amid the light as he journeyed to Damascus. If God continued to work in this way, man would never be able to recognize his own corruption through judgment by the word and attain salvation. Only through becoming flesh can He personally deliver His words to the ears of all so that all who have ears can hear His words and receive His work of judgment by the word. Only such is the result achieved by His word, rather than the emergence of the Spirit frightening man into submission. Only through such practical and extraordinary work can the old disposition of man, hidden deep within for many years, be fully revealed so that man may recognize it and have it changed. This is the practical work of God incarnate; He speaks and executes judgment in a practical manner to achieve the results of judgment upon man by the word. This is the authority of God incarnate and the significance of God’s incarnation. … He becomes flesh because the flesh can also possess authority, and He is capable of carrying out work among man in a practical manner, which is visible and tangible to man. Such work is much more realistic than any work directly done by the Spirit of God who possesses all authority, and its results are apparent as well. This is because His incarnate flesh can speak and do work in a practical way; the outward form of His flesh holds no authority and can be approached by man. His substance carries authority, but His authority is visible to none. When He speaks and works, man is unable to detect the existence of His authority; this is even more favorable to His actual work. And all of such work can achieve results. Even though no man realizes that He holds authority or sees that He cannot be offended or sees His wrath, through His veiled authority and wrath and public speech, He achieves the intended results of His words. In other words, through His tone of voice, sternness of speech, and all the wisdom of His words, man is utterly convinced. In this way, man submits to the word of God incarnate, who seemingly has no authority, thereby attaining His aim of salvation for man. This is another significance of His incarnation: to speak more realistically and allow the reality of His words to have an effect upon man so that they witness the power of the word of God. So this work, if not done through incarnation, would not achieve the slightest results and would not be able to fully save sinners.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Because the one who is judged is man, man who is of the flesh and has been corrupted, and it is not the spirit of Satan that is judged directly, the work of judgment is not carried out in the spiritual world, but among man. No one is more suitable, and qualified, than God in the flesh for the work of judging the corruption of man’s flesh. If judgment were carried out directly by the Spirit of God, then it would not be all-embracing. Furthermore, such work would be difficult for man to accept, for the Spirit is unable to come face-to-face with man, and because of this, the effects would not be immediate, much less would man be able to behold the unoffendable disposition of God more clearly. Satan can only be fully defeated if God in the flesh judges the corruption of mankind. … If this work were done by the Spirit of God, then it would not be victory over Satan. The Spirit is inherently more exalted than mortal beings, and the Spirit of God is inherently holy, and triumphant over the flesh. If the Spirit did this work directly, He would not be able to judge all of man’s disobedience, and could not reveal all of man’s unrighteousness. For the work of judgment is also carried out through man’s conceptions of God, and man has never had any conceptions of the Spirit, and so the Spirit is incapable of better revealing the unrighteousness of man, much less of completely disclosing such unrighteousness. The incarnate God is the enemy of all those who do not know Him. Through judging man’s conceptions and opposition to Him, He discloses all the disobedience of mankind. The effects of His work in the flesh are more apparent than those of the work of the Spirit. And so, the judgment of all mankind is not carried out directly by the Spirit, but is the work of the incarnate God. God in the flesh can be seen and touched by man, and God in the flesh can completely conquer man. In his relationship with God in the flesh, man progresses from opposition to obedience, from persecution to acceptance, from conception to knowledge, and from rejection to love. These are the effects of the work of the incarnate God. Man is only saved through the acceptance of His judgment, only gradually comes to know Him through the words of His mouth, is conquered by Him during his opposition to Him, and receives the life supply from Him during the acceptance of His chastisement. All of this work is the work of God in the flesh, and not the work of God in His identity as the Spirit.

from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Yet there is one truth that you do not know: The corrupt disposition and rebellion and resistance of man are exposed when he sees Christ, and the rebellion and resistance exposed on such occasion are more absolute and complete than on any other. It is because Christ is the Son of man and possesses normal humanity that man neither honors nor respects Him. It is because God lives in the flesh that the rebellion of man is brought to light thoroughly and vividly. So I say that the coming of Christ has unearthed all the rebellion of mankind and has thrown the nature of mankind into sharp relief. This is called “luring a tiger down the mountain” and “luring a wolf out of the cave.”

from “Those Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The conceptions of man are laid bare when the incarnate God officially does His work, because the normality and reality of the incarnate God is the antithesis of the vague and supernatural God in man’s imagination. The original conceptions of man can only be revealed through their contrast to the incarnate God. Without the comparison to the incarnate God, the conceptions of man could not be revealed; in other words, without the contrast of reality the vague things could not be revealed. No one is capable of using words to do this work, and no one is capable of articulating this work using words. Only God Himself can do His own work, and no one else can do this work on His behalf. No matter how rich the language of man is, he is incapable of articulating the reality and normality of God. Man can only know God more practically, and can only see Him more clearly, if God personally works among man and completely shows forth His image and His being. This effect cannot be achieved by any fleshly man. Of course, God’s Spirit is also incapable of achieving this effect. God can save corrupt man from the influence of Satan, but this work cannot be directly accomplished by the Spirit of God; rather, it can only be done by the flesh God’s Spirit wears, by God’s incarnate flesh.

from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The best thing about His work in the flesh is that He can leave accurate words and exhortations, and His accurate will for mankind to those who follow Him, so that afterward His followers can more accurately and more concretely pass on all of His work in the flesh and His will for the whole of mankind to those who accept this way. Only the work of God in the flesh among man truly accomplishes the fact of God’s being and living together with man. Only this work fulfills man’s desire to behold the face of God, witness the work of God, and hear the personal word of God. The incarnate God brings to an end the age when only the back of Jehovah appeared to mankind, and also concludes the age of mankind’s belief in the vague God. In particular, the work of the last incarnate God brings all mankind into an age that is more realistic, more practical, and more pleasant. He not only concludes the age of law and doctrine; more importantly, He reveals to mankind a God who is real and normal, who is righteous and holy, who unlocks the work of the management plan and demonstrates the mysteries and destination of mankind, who created mankind and brings to an end the management work, and who has remained hidden for thousands of years. He brings the age of vagueness to a complete end, He concludes the age in which the whole of mankind wished to seek God’s face but was unable to, He ends the age in which the whole of mankind served Satan, and leads the whole of mankind all the way into a completely new era. All this is the outcome of the work of God in the flesh instead of God’s Spirit. When God works in His flesh, those who follow Him no longer seek and grope after those vague and ambiguous things, and cease to guess at the will of the vague God. When God spreads His work in the flesh, those who follow Him shall pass on the work that He has done in the flesh to all denominations and sects, and they shall communicate all of His words to the ears of the whole of mankind. All that is heard by those who receive His gospel shall be the facts of His work, shall be things personally seen and heard by man, and shall be facts and not hearsay. These facts are the evidence with which He spreads the work, and are also the tools that He uses in spreading the work. Without the existence of facts, His gospel would not spread across all countries and to all places; without facts but only with man’s imaginations, He would never be able to do the work of conquering the entire universe. The Spirit is impalpable to man, and invisible to man, and the work of the Spirit is incapable of leaving any further evidence or facts of God’s work for man. Man shall never behold the real face of God, and shall always believe in a vague God that does not exist. Man shall never behold the face of God, nor will man ever hear words personally spoken by God. Man’s imaginings are, after all, empty, and cannot replace the true face of God; the inherent disposition of God, and the work of God Himself cannot be impersonated by man. The invisible God in heaven and His work can only be brought to earth by God incarnate who personally does His work among man. This is the most ideal way in which God appears to man, in which man sees God and comes to know the true face of God, and it cannot be achieved by a non-incarnate God.

from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

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"The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father" (Selected Passage)

"The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father" (Selected Passage)

Almighty God says, "The incarnate God is called Christ, and Christ is the flesh donned by the Spirit of God. This flesh is unlike any man that is of the flesh. This difference is because Christ is not of flesh and blood but is the incarnation of the Spirit. He has both a normal humanity and a complete divinity. His divinity is not possessed by any man. His normal humanity sustains all His normal activities in the flesh, while His divinity carries out the work of God Himself. Be it His humanity or divinity, both submit to the will of the heavenly Father. The substance of Christ is the Spirit, that is, the divinity. Therefore, His substance is that of God Himself; this substance will not interrupt His own work, and He could not possibly do anything that destroys His own work, nor would He ever utter any words that go against His own will. Therefore, the incarnate God would absolutely never do any work that interrupts His own management. This is what all man should understand. The essence of the work of the Holy Spirit is to save man and is for the sake of God’s own management. Similarly, the work of Christ is to save man and is for the sake of God’s will. Given that God becomes flesh, He realizes His substance within His flesh, such that His flesh is sufficient to undertake His work. Therefore, all the work of God’s Spirit is replaced by the work of Christ during the time of incarnation, and at the core of all work throughout the time of incarnation is the work of Christ. It cannot be commingled with work from any other age. And since God becomes flesh, He works in the identity of His flesh; since He comes in the flesh, He then finishes in the flesh the work that He ought to do. Be it the Spirit of God or be it Christ, both are God Himself, and He does the work that He ought to do and performs the ministry that He ought to perform."

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Almighty God's word "How Is Your Relationship With God"

How Is Your Relationship With God

In believing in God, you must at least resolve the issue of having a normal relationship with God. Without a normal relationship with God, then the significance in believing in God is lost. Establishing a normal relationship with God is entirely attained through quieting your heart in God’s presence. A normal relationship with God means being able to not doubt or deny any of God’s work and submit to it, and furthermore it means having the right intentions in the presence of God, not thinking of yourself, always having the interests of God’s family as the most important thing no matter what you are doing, accepting God’s observation, and submitting to God’s arrangements. You are able to quiet your heart in God’s presence whenever you do anything; even if you do not understand God’s will, you must still fulfill your duties and responsibilities to the best of your ability. It is not too late to wait for God’s will to be revealed to you and then put this into practice. When your relationship with God has become normal, then you will also have a normal relationship with people. Everything is established on the foundation of God’s words. Through eating and drinking the words of God, practice in accordance with God’s requirements, put your viewpoints right, and do not do things that resist God or disturb the church. Do not do things that do not benefit the lives of the brothers and sisters, do not say things that do not contribute to other people, do not do shameful things. Be just and honorable when doing all things and make them presentable before God. Even though the flesh is weak sometimes, you are able to attach the highest importance to benefiting God’s family, not covet your own benefits, and carry out righteousness. If you can practice in this way, your relationship with God will be normal.

Whenever you do anything, you must examine whether your motivations are right. If you are able to act according to the requirements of God, then your relationship with God is normal. This is the minimum criterion. If, when you examine your motivations, there emerge those that are incorrect, and if you are able to turn your back on them and act according to the words of God, then you will become someone who is right before God, which will show that your relationship with God is normal, and that all that you do is for the sake of God, and not for yourself. Whenever you do or say anything, you must put your heart right, be righteous, and not be led by your emotions, or act according to your own will. These are the principles by which believers in God conduct themselves. A person’s motivations and stature can be revealed in a small thing, and thus, for people to enter onto the path of being made perfect by God, they must first resolve their own motivations and their relationship with God. Only when your relationship with God is normal will you be able to be made perfect by God, and only then will God’s dealing, pruning, discipline, and refinement in you be able to achieve their desired effect. That is to say, people are able to have God in their hearts, not seek personal benefits, not think about their personal future (referring to thinking of the flesh), but rather they bear the burden of entering life, do their best to seek truth, and submit to God’s work. This way, the objectives you seek are correct, and your relationship with God is normal. It can be said that fixing one’s relationship with God is the first step on entry into one’s spiritual journey. Although man’s destiny is in God’s hands, and has been predestined by God, and cannot be changed by themselves, whether or not you can be made perfect or gained by God depends on whether or not your relationship with God is normal. Perhaps there are parts of you that are weak or disobedient—but as long as your outlook is right and your motivations are correct, and as long as you have put right your relationship with God and made it normal, then you will be qualified to be made perfect by God. If you do not have the right relationship with God, and act for the sake of the flesh, or your family, then regardless of how hard you work it will all be for nothing. If your relationship with God is normal, then everything else will fall into place. God looks at nothing else, but He looks only at whether your views on the belief in God are right: who you believe in, for whose sake you believe, and why you believe. If you are able to see these things clearly, and are able to put right your views and practice, then your life will make progress, and you are sure to be able to enter onto the right track. If your relationship with God is not normal, and your views on the belief in God are deviant, then these will preclude all else. No matter how you believe in God, you will gain nothing. Only if your relationship with God is normal will you be approved by God when you turn your back on the flesh, pray, suffer, endure, obey, help your brothers and sisters, devote more effort to God, and so on. Whether or not something you do has value and significance depends on whether your intentions are right and whether your viewpoints are correct. Nowadays, many people’s belief in God is like looking at a clock with their head turned to one side—their viewpoints are deviant. Everything will be good if a breakthrough can be made here, everything will be fine if this is resolved, while everything shall come to nothing if this is not resolved. Some people behave well in My presence, but behind My back all that they do is resist. These are crooked and deceitful manifestations and this type of person is a servant of Satan, they are the typical embodiment of Satan to test God. You are only a right person if you are able to submit to My work and My words. As long as you are able to eat and drink the words of God, as long as everything you do is presentable before God, everything you do is just and honorable, as long as you do not do shameful things, do not do things that would harm the lives of people, as long as you live in the light, and are not exploited by Satan, then your relationship with God will be put right.

In believing in God, your intentions and viewpoints must be put right; you must have a correct understanding and correct treatment of the words of God, God’s work, the environments arranged by God, the man testified by God, and of the practical God. You must not practice according to your personal thoughts, or make your own little plans. You must be able to seek truth in everything and stand in your place as a creation of God and submit to all of God’s work. If you want to pursue being perfected by God and enter into the right track of life, then your heart must always live in God’s presence, not be dissolute, not follow Satan, not leave Satan any opportunities to do its work, and not let Satan use you. You must completely give yourself to God and let God rule over you.

Are you willing to be Satan’s servant? Are you willing to be exploited by Satan? Do you believe in God and pursue God so that you can be perfected by Him, or is it so you become a foil in God’s work? Are you willing to be obtained by God and live a meaningful life, or are you willing to live a worthless and empty life? Are you willing to be used by God, or exploited by Satan? Are you willing to let God’s words and truth fill you, or let sin and Satan fill you? Consider and weigh this out. In your daily life, you must grasp those words you say and those things you do that will cause your relationship with God to be abnormal, then rectify yourself and enter into the correct manner. Examine your words, your actions, your each and every move, and your thoughts and ideas at all times. Grasp your true state and enter into the way of the work of the Holy Spirit. Only in this way can you have a normal relationship with God. By weighing out whether your relationship with God is normal, you will be able to rectify your intentions, understand the essence of man, and understand yourself; through this, you will be able to enter into real experiences, truly forsake yourself, and achieve deliberate submission. In such matters as when you are experiencing whether your relationship with God is normal, you will be able to find opportunities to be perfected by God, you will be able to understand many situations under which the Holy Spirit is working, and you will be able to see through many of Satan’s tricks and conspiracies. Only through this way can you be perfected by God. You put right your relationship with God so that you will submit yourself to all the arrangements of God. It is so you will more deeply enter into real experiences, and obtain more work of the Holy Spirit. When you are practicing having a normal relationship with God, most of the time, you will attain this through forsaking the flesh and through your real cooperation with God. You should understand that “without a cooperative heart, it is difficult to receive the work of God; if the flesh does not suffer hardships, there are no blessings from God; if the spirit does not struggle, Satan will not be ashamed.” If you practice and clearly understand these principles, your viewpoints on the faith in God will be put right. In your current practices, you must discard the viewpoint of “seeking bread to satisfy hunger,” you must discard the viewpoint of “everything is done by the Holy Spirit and people are unable to intervene.” People who speak this way all think, “People can do whatever they are willing to do, and when the time comes the Holy Spirit will work and people will have no need to overcome the flesh, they will have no need to cooperate, and only need the Holy Spirit to move them.” These viewpoints are all absurd. Under these circumstances, the Holy Spirit is unable to work. It is this kind of viewpoint that becomes a great obstruction to the work of the Holy Spirit. Often times, the work of the Holy Spirit is attained through people’s cooperation. Without cooperation and resolution, then wanting to change one’s disposition, obtain the work of the Holy Spirit, and obtain enlightenment and illumination from God are all extravagant thoughts; this is called “indulging one’s self and pardoning Satan.” People like this do not have a normal relationship with God. You have found many manifestations of Satan in yourself, and in your past actions, there are many things that have run counter to God’s current requirements. Are you able to forsake them now? Attain a normal relationship with God, do according to God’s intentions, become a new person and have a new life, don’t look back at past transgressions, don’t be overly remorseful, be able to stand up and cooperate with God, and fulfill the duties that you should perform. This way, your relationship with God will be normal.

If you merely accept these words verbally after reading them but are not moved in your heart, and are not serious about having a normal relationship with God, then it proves that you do not attach importance to your relationship with God, your viewpoints have not yet been put right, your intentions are still not directed at allowing God to obtain you, and allowing God the glory, but rather are directed at allowing Satan’s conspiracies to prevail and for obtaining your personal purposes. This kind of people all have incorrect intentions and viewpoints. Regardless of what God has said or how it is said, they are indifferent and no transformation can be seen. Their hearts don’t feel any fear and they are unashamed. This kind of person is a confused person without a spirit. For every utterance of God, after you have read it and you have gained an understanding, you shall put it into practice. Regardless of how you used to practice before—perhaps in the past your flesh was weak, you were rebellious, and you resisted—this is not a big deal, and it can’t obstruct your life from growing today. As long as you are able to have a normal relationship with God today, then there is hope. If for every time that you read God’s words, you have changes and allow other people to see that your life has transformed for the better, it shows that you have a normal relationship with God and that it is put right. God does not treat people based on their transgressions. As long as you are able to not rebel again and not resist again after you have understood and are aware, then God will still have mercy on you. When you have this understanding and the will to pursue being perfected by God, then your condition in God’s presence will be normal. No matter what you do, consider: What will God think if I do this? How will it affect the brothers and sisters? Examine your intentions in your prayer, fellowship, speech, work, and contact with people, and examine whether your relationship with God is normal or not. If you are unable to distinguish your intentions and thoughts, then you have no discrimination, which proves that you understand too little about truth. Have a clear understanding of everything that God does, see things according to God’s word and see things by standing on the side of God. This way your viewpoints will be correct. Therefore, to build a good relationship with God is a top priority for anyone believing in God; everyone should treat it as the most important task and as their major life event. Everything you do should be weighed against whether or not you have a normal relationship with God. If your relationship with God is normal and your intentions are correct, then do it. In order to maintain a normal relationship with God, you can’t be afraid of losing out on personal interests, you can’t allow Satan to prevail, you can’t allow Satan to have a handle on you, and you can’t allow Satan to make you into a laughing stock. Such an intention is a manifestation that your relationship with God is normal. It is not for the flesh, but rather it is for peace of spirit, it is for obtaining the work of the Holy Spirit and for satisfying the will of God. If you are to enter into a correct state, you must build a good relationship with God, you must set right your viewpoint of belief in God. It is to allow God to obtain you, to allow God to reveal the fruits of His words in you, and to enlighten and illuminate you even more. This way you will enter into the correct manner. Continuously eat and drink God’s current words, enter into the current way of the Holy Spirit’s work, do according to God’s current requirements, not follow old-fashioned practices, not cling to old ways of doing things, and quickly enter into the manner of today’s work. This way your relationship with God will be completely normal and you will enter into the right track of believing in God.

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