Question 5: Upon learning that we had accepted Almighty God, the pastor and elder have been ceaselessly bothering us, explaining the Bible to us nonstop. Though we refute them, and reject them, they do not let up. This is severe harassment of citizens. In the past, when we were weak or negative, they were never so diligent. Now, as soon as we accept Almighty God, however, they have become very angry, using both carrot and stick, endlessly annoying us. It seems that this evil of theirs won’t let up until they have dragged us into hell with them! I just don’t understand it. The pastor and elder, as persons who serve the Lord, and who often talk of the Bible, they should be able to see that all words expressed by Almighty God are truth. Why do they not seek truth? Why don’t they investigate the last-days work of Almighty God, instead of wildly condemning, resisting, and blaspheming Almighty God? The pastor and elder expend such effort to obstruct our acceptance of Almighty God. We really do need to understand. Please fellowship this a bit with us.

Answer: Can the pastor and elder not be worried about your acceptance of Almighty God? In the eyes of the pastor and elder, you are their sheep. You have been stolen away—this strikes the pastor and elder at a vital part. They therefore must do whatever it takes to entangle you, and seize you back. Recall the times during which the Lord Jesus appeared and worked. The chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees of the Jewish religion slandered, condemned, and blasphemed the Lord Jesus in an unbridled way; they even crucified the Lord Jesus. 

Question 1: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2Ti 3:16), Paul’s words are in the Bible. Therefore, they were inspired by God; they are God’s words. Believing in the Lord is believing in the Bible. Regardless of the denomination, if it strays from the Bible, it’s heresy! We believe in the Lord, so we must always act according to the Bible, that is to say, we must keep the words of the Bible. The Bible is Christianity’s canon, the foundation of our faith. Leaving the Bible is not believing in the Lord; if we leave the Bible, how can we believe in the Lord? The Lord’s words are written in the Bible. Is there anywhere else where we can find His words? If our faith in the Lord is not based on the Bible, then what is it based on?

Answer: You say that because Paul’s words are in the Bible, they were inspired by God; they are God’s words. That’s not really proper, is it? Did the Lord Jesus ever say, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”? Did the Holy Spirit testify to this? No! Well then, can you really say that all the words in the Bible were inspired by God?

Question 4: If we accept Almighty God’s work in the last days, how should we then seek to receive the way of everlasting life?

Answer: Almighty God, in the last days, expresses the entirety of the truth that can thoroughly purify and save mankind, these truths are expressed according to our corrupt substance and what we lack, which means they are the reality of truth that we humans should have. God wants us to receive these truths as our everlasting life. This truth is the way of everlasting life bestowed to us by God. So, how are we to seek and gain the way of eternal life? 

Question 1: The apostle Paul once said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness …” (2Ti 4:7–8). Therefore, acting in accordance with Paul’s words means we are doing God’s will. In that case, we will definitely be able to enter the kingdom of heaven and gain rewards.

Answer: As to the question of what kinds of people can enter the kingdom of heaven, the Lord Jesus said long ago, “but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven.” This completely shows God’s substance of righteousness and holiness.

Question 2: Pastors and elders often read the scriptures and preach to people, pray for brothers and sisters, have love for believers and ask people to hold on to the Bible. If we say they are hypocritical Pharisees, most believers will not be able to see through or distinguish. Then please communicate to us in more detail.

Answer: Back then, the Jewish Pharisees often explained the Scriptures and prayed for believers in synagogues. Didn’t they appear quite godly to people too? Then why did the Lord Jesus expose and curse the Pharisees, saying woe to the hypocritical Pharisees? Could the Lord Jesus have wronged them? Do people not believe that the word of the Lord Jesus is the truth? Do people still suspect that the Lord Jesus did the wrong thing?

Question 4: When the incarnate Lord Jesus was resurrected after His crucifixion, He became the life-giving Spirit. And thereby the life-giving Spirit dwells within us, blends with our spirit, and the two spirits will become one. So how could we not become God in the end? How could I be wrong about this?

Answer: You said “When the Lord Jesus was resurrected after His crucifixion, He became the life-giving Spirit.” Is there any basis in God’s word for such an idea? Did the Lord Jesus say anything about this after His resurrection? Since the Lord Jesus has never said such a thing, on what basis do you make such claims? I never heard the Lord Jesus say anything about becoming the life-giving Spirit after His resurrection, and the Holy Spirit hasn’t borne testimony to this either. So what basis do you have for saying that the Lord Jesus became the life-giving Spirit after His resurrection?

Question 1: “God became man that man may become God” is the supreme vision of Brother Lin’s preachings! Even though what God created in the beginning was man, God’s purpose in creating man was to get them to become God. At first, because mankind lacked God’s life disposition, Satan was able to trick them into sinning. God’s purpose in saving mankind is to dispense His life disposition into us. Won’t we become God once we have acquired God’s life disposition?! How could there be anything wrong here?

Answer: The members of your church say “God became man that man may become God.” By saying that, what you really mean is that God was incarnated as man in order to make man become God. According to this idea, God’s purpose in creating man was to make them become God. But does this idea actually accord with God’s will? 

Question 2: How does Almighty God do His work of judgment in the last days? How does He express His words to judge, cleanse and perfect man? This is the truth that we desperately need to know now. If we realize Almighty God’s work, then we can really hear God’s voice and be raised up before God’s throne. Please tell us in more detail!

Answer: Studying how Almighty God does His work of judgment in the last days is very important to our ability to obtain salvation by pursuing the truth. Almighty God works in the last days by expressing truths to judge and cleanse people. He does this solely to lift His saints into the kingdom of heaven.

3. The True Meaning of Service and the Duties of Workers

The true meaning of service is to exalt God, to bear witness to God, and to do God’s will. It is that simple, but to truly perform service is not easy. All those church leaders were eliminated in the past because they did not carry out such service and they were despised and proscribed by God. They exalted themselves, bore witness to themselves, firmly established their own authority making others acknowledge them and obey them, achieving the aim of acting tyrannically. These people are mean little men who have lost their conscience and reason. Of course, in spite of themselves, they understand principles but they do not act on them. It is obvious that their humanity is too bad. If they had had the slightest humanity, they would not have come to such a final outcome of being eliminated after having undergone so much pruning and dealing. Truly exalting God and bearing witness to God enables man to worship God in the highest, to magnify God and to submit under God’s dominion, making men know God and worship God, allowing God to be glorified. Doing God’s will means to bring men before God so that they can be completely obtained by Him, and it is only by attaining this outcome that service is in accord with God’s will. It was often communicated in the past that service to God means leading man to know God, and by taking the opportunity to exalt God, and to bear witness to God, man is led before God and able to submit to God, and to know and love God. If anyone’s service has reached this outcome, then his service is qualified, while the service of those which cannot reach this outcome is unqualified. Should anyone exalt himself and bear witness to himself in his service so that others are submitting to him and do not know God, he is an antichrist. This is absolutely right, and this is the state of things. It has subsequently come to light that the service of some people is of this kind. They are always concerned about the state of their personal prestige, and if they perceive that no one is attaching much importance to them or paying them much heed, they are discomfited and view the matter as particularly grave. They believe that if they cannot resolve this problem they will have no means of doing their work and therefore they display death-defying determination to bring others under their control and establish their individual prestige. This is how work is performed when man’s life disposition has not changed. Even though from the outside they treat God quite kindly, their essence is still disobedient. To resolve the question of submission to God, one needs to commence with understanding the truth and resolve the question of changing their disposition. They should not first resolve the problem of their own prestige as this is too selfish. It is important that they be considerate of God’s intentions because God wants to obtain men, and it is God that man believes in. God asks man to exalt Him in order to resolve the question of man’s submission to God, and of man knowing God. It is not in order to resolve the question of whether or not people are taking heed of you. Some people always complain, asking why others don’t listen to them. First, they have not grasped the essence of the problem. Secondly, because they do not know God, they do not have the truth. Thirdly, in the way they go about things they have lost their reason and do not have humanity. Therefore, no one pays them any heed. If your communication truly has achievements in respect of others’ life, and it truly enables them to know God, submit to God, and have a path to practice, then others will immediately like you and respect you, and be willing to open up their hearts to communicate with you, and to do as you say. This is absolute, and my understanding is very profound.

1. What Is the Work of Managing Mankind?

Relevant Words of God:

The work of managing mankind is divided into three stages, which means that the work of saving mankind is divided into three stages. These three stages do not include the work of creating the world, but are rather the three stages of the work of the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom. The work of creating the world was the work of producing the whole of mankind. It was not the work of saving mankind, and bears no relation to the work of saving mankind, for when the world was created mankind had not been corrupted by Satan, and so there was no need to carry out the work of mankind’s salvation. The work of saving mankind only began when mankind had been corrupted by Satan, and so the work of managing mankind also only began when mankind had been corrupted. In other words, God’s management of man began as a result of the work of saving mankind, and did not arise from the work of creating the world. It was only after mankind acquired a corrupt disposition that the work of management came into existence, and so the work of managing mankind includes three parts, rather than four stages, or four ages. Only this is the correct way to refer to God’s management of mankind. When the final age comes to a close, the work of managing mankind will have come to a complete end. The conclusion of the work of management means that the work of saving all mankind has been completely finished, and that mankind has reached his journey’s end. Without the work of saving all mankind, the work of managing mankind would not exist, nor would there be the three stages of work. It was precisely because of mankind’s depravity, and because mankind was in such urgent need of salvation, that Jehovah concluded the creation of the world and began the work of the Age of Law. Only then did the work of managing mankind begin, which means that only then did the work of saving mankind begin. “Managing mankind” does not mean guiding the life of mankind, newly created, on earth (which is to say, a mankind that had yet to be corrupted). Rather, it is the salvation of a mankind that has been corrupted by Satan, which is to say, it is to transform this corrupt mankind. This is the meaning of managing mankind. The work of saving mankind does not include the work of creating the world, and so the work of managing mankind does not include the work of creating the world, and only includes three stages of work that are separate from the world’s creation. To understand the work of managing mankind, it is necessary to be aware of the history of the three stages of work—this is what everyone must be aware of in order to be saved.

from “Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Testimony of Faith: How to Overcome the Temptations of Satan (Part 2)

By Geng Xin

Though when I was tempted this time, I had understood God’s will and not been caught out by Satan’s deceitful scheme, Satan was not quite done yet. Not long after, Satan began to attack me once again.

2. The Significance of God’s Work of Conquest

Relevant Words of God:

Mankind, too deeply corrupted by Satan, knows not that there is a God and has stopped worshiping God. In the beginning, when Adam and Eve were created, Jehovah’s glory and Jehovah’s testimony were ever present. But after being corrupted, man lost the glory and the testimony because everyone rebelled against God and stopped revering Him altogether. Today’s conquering work is to get back all the testimony and all the glory, and to have all men worship God, so that there is testimony among the created. This is what needs to be done in this stage of work. How exactly is mankind to be conquered? It will be done by using this work of words to fully convince man; by using disclosure, judgment, chastisement, and merciless curse to thoroughly subdue him; and by disclosing man’s rebelliousness and judging his resistance so he can know mankind’s unrighteousness and filth, which will be used to highlight God’s righteous disposition. Mainly, it will be the use of these words that conquers man and fully convinces him. Words are the means to the ultimate conquering of mankind, and all who accept conquering must accept the smiting and judgment of the words. The current process of speaking is the process of conquering. How exactly should people cooperate? By eating and drinking these words effectively and understanding them. People cannot become conquered by themselves. You must, from eating and drinking these words, come to know your corruption and filth, your rebelliousness and unrighteousness, and fall down before God. If you can understand God’s will and then put it into practice and, further, have the vision, and if you can completely obey these words and not exercise any of your own choices, then you will have been conquered. And it will be these words that have conquered you. Why did mankind lose the testimony? Because no one has faith in God or holds God in his heart at all anymore. Conquering mankind means having people restore this faith. People always tend toward the world, harboring too many hopes, wanting too much for their future, and having too many extravagant demands. They are always thinking about and planning for their flesh and never interested in seeking the way of belief in God. Their hearts have been captured by Satan, they have lost their reverence for God, and they are devoting their heart to Satan. But man was created by God. Thus, man has lost the testimony, meaning he has lost the glory of God. The purpose of conquering mankind is to seize back the glory of man’s reverence for God.

from “The Inside Truth of the Conquering Work (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh