Chapter 3 You Must Know the Truths About the Three Stages of God’s Work

2. You Must Know the Aim of the Three Stages of God’s Work

Relevant Words of God:

My entire management plan, the six-thousand-year management plan, consists of three stages, or three ages: the Age of Law of the beginning; the Age of Grace (which is also the Age of Redemption); and the Age of Kingdom of the last days. My work in these three ages differs in content according to the nature of each age, but at each stage this work befits the needs of man—or, to be more precise, is done according to the tricks that Satan employs in the war that I wage against it. The purpose of My work is to defeat Satan, to make manifest My wisdom and omnipotence, to expose all of Satan’s tricks, and thereby to save the entire human race, which lives under Satan’s domain. It is to show My wisdom and omnipotence, and to reveal the unbearable hideousness of Satan; even more than that, it is to allow created beings to discriminate between good and evil, to know that I am the Ruler of all things, to see clearly that Satan is the enemy of humanity, a degenerate, the evil one, and to allow them to tell, with absolute certainty, the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood, holiness and filth, and what is great and what is ignoble. Thus will ignorant humanity become able to bear witness to Me that it is not I who corrupt humanity, and only I—the Creator—can save humanity, can bestow upon people the things that they can enjoy; and they will come to know that I am the Ruler of all things and Satan is merely one of the beings that I created and that later turned against Me. My six-thousand-year management plan is divided into three stages, and I work thus to achieve the effect of enabling created beings to bear witness to Me, and comprehend My will, and know that I am the truth.

from “The True Story Behind the Work of the Age of Redemption” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Chapter 3 You Must Know the Truths About the Three Stages of God’s Work

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

Knowing the Lord Jesus: Why Did the Lord Jesus Work Amongst Man in an Ordinary Form?

By Li Qian

I am a pastor and I’ve worked and preached for the Lord for many years. Each time I opened up the Bible, I saw the words written in Matthew 13:53–57 which say: “When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed there. And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, From where has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not His mother called Mary? and His brothers, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? From where then has this man all these things? And they were offended in Him.” And also John 19:6–7 which say: “When the chief priests therefore and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him. Pilate said to them, Take you Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault in Him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” Each time I read these words, I couldn’t help but think: “When the Lord Jesus was performing His work, many people denied His identity and essence because He appeared normal and ordinary, and they treated Him as an ordinary man. The Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees in particular knew perfectly well that the miracles performed and the way preached by the Lord came from God, but not only did they not seek or investigate this way with a God-fearing heart, on the contrary, they relied on their conceptions and imaginings to judge the Lord Jesus as being nothing more than a carpenter’s son, and they blasphemed against the Lord, saying that He cast out demons by the prince of the devils. In the end, they colluded with the Roman authorities and crucified the Lord Jesus upon the cross. God is so supreme, so why would He deliberately choose such a normal, ordinary form to come amongst man and perform His work? If God had been born into a king’s family in a high and noble form and after the manner of a great man, then not just the Pharisees but all the people of Israel would have easily accepted the Lord Jesus’ gospel.” This issue perplexed me for a long time.

How to Have True Faith in God

By Huafei

What God requires of each of us as Christians is to possess genuine faith. There are many examples recorded in the Bible of people who were able to see God’s wondrous deeds and be blessed by Him because of their faith. Moses had faith in God and through His guidance, was able to overcome the myriad obstructions and limitations of the Pharaoh, successfully leading the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt. Abraham had faith in God and was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac to God, and ultimately God blessed him, allowing his descendants to multiply and become great nations. Job had faith in God and was able to stand witness for God through two trials; God blessed Him even more, and appeared to him and spoke to him from a storm. The Canaanite woman in Matthew had faith in the Lord Jesus and believed that He could drive out the evil spirit from her daughter; she made her plea to the Lord Jesus and her daughter’s sickness was cured. As Christians, it is imperative that we understand the truth pertaining to what true faith is so that no matter what hardships we encounter in our lives—failures in business, setbacks in life, unfortunate family events—we are able to rely on our faith and unwaveringly follow God, being resounding witnesses for Him and ultimately gaining His approval.

Is Forgiveness of Sins Gaining the Way of Eternal Life?

By Chenchen

Very early one morning, a ray of sun came through the window blinds and landed on the bamboo plant on my desk. It seemed to glow with vitality in the sun. Finishing up my spiritual devotionals, I turned on my computer and browsed to a gospel website where I happened to see someone had posted a question about if we have gained the way of eternal life on a discussion board. Everyone was really actively and enthusiastically posting their own opinions, of which there were many. Some brothers and sisters said that as long as we’ve accepted the Lord Jesus’ redemption, we have already gained the way of eternal life. Others said that we are always living in sin and cannot keep fast to the Lord’s way, so when living in such a state, is that really gaining the way of eternal life? …

How Can We Dine at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?

By Li Min

It is recorded in Revelation 19:9, “And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God.”

Main Paths for Reading the Bible to Gain the Guidance of the Holy Spirit

By Xiao Xiao, France

Reading the Bible is a daily must for Christians, and it’s also indispensable on the path to gaining the truth and growing in our spiritual lives. The Lord Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Clearly, frequently reading God’s words and holding them firmly in our hearts is something that every Christian ought to do, but how should we read the Bible so that we can gain the Holy Spirit’s guidance and achieve good results? This is an extremely important question for us. Probably every one of us has had the following experience in our Scripture reading. Sometimes we’re able to gain God’s enlightenment and guidance, and understand God’s will and requirements; our spirit is moved, and we have the faith and resolve to put God’s words into practice in our daily lives. We love attending gatherings, praying, and reading the Scripture more and more, and for that period of time we also grow in our spiritual lives. But then at times, we lack enjoyment in our Bible reading and can’t feel the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment or illumination. We only understand the literal meanings of the Bible passages and don’t have a sense of God’s will and requirements; we don’t know how we should uphold God’s words in our day-to-day lives and we experience no spiritual growth. Sometimes we might even get sleepy while reading the Bible and become less and less willing to read the Scripture, attending gatherings, and pray. This can be very confusing. We’re reading the Bible just like always, so why are there two totally different outcomes? How can we read the Bible to achieve good results? In order to gain light from our Bible reading, by grasping three principles we can easily grow closer to God and attain God’s enlightenment and guidance.