When God speaks His word from the perspective of the Spirit, His tone is directed at all mankind. When God speaks His word from the perspective of man, His tone is directed at all who follow the leadership of His Spirit. When God speaks His word from the perspective of the third person (what people refer to as an observer), He is directly showing His word to people so that people will see Him as a commentator, and it seems that from His mouth come forth boundless things that man does not know, things that man cannot fathom. Isn’t that right?
When God speaks His word from the perspective of the Spirit it astonishes all of humanity: “Man’s love of Me is too meager and his faith in Me is pitifully small. If the brunt of My words was not directed at man’s weaknesses, he would boast and exaggerate, and would pontificate and concoct high-sounding theories, as if he was omniscient and all-knowing about matters upon the earth.” These words not only reveal man’s true colors and reveal God’s position in the hearts of men, but they also lay bare the entire life of mankind. Each person believes that they are extraordinary and they actually don’t even know there is a word called “God” so they concoct high-sounding theories. However, this “concocting high-sounding theories” is not “speaking” in the sense that people understand it. Instead, it means that humanity has been corrupted by Satan such that everything they do disobeys God and directly opposes God, and that the very essence of what man does comes from Satan and it is in opposition to God, is an act of independence, and it runs counter to God’s will. This is why God says that men all concoct high-sounding theories. Why does God say that the brunt of His words is directed at man’s weaknesses? Because in accordance with God’s intention, if He did not reveal the things hidden in the inner world of men’s hearts, then no man would submit, and therefore they would not understand themselves, and they would not hold God in reverence. This is to say that if man’s intentions are not laid bare, then man will dare to do anything, perhaps even direct curses at Heaven or at God. These are man’s weaknesses, so God says this: “My footsteps tread across all corners of the universe world in perpetual search of those who are after My own heart and fit for My use.” This statement, in conjunction with what is later said about the salute of the kingdom formally ringing out, serves to show that God’s Spirit is engaged in new work on earth; it’s just that mankind’s physical eyes do not see it. Since it is said that the Spirit is on earth doing new work, the entire universe world also undergoes momentous change: Not only do God’s sons and God’s people begin to accept the witnessing of “God’s incarnation,” moreover, every denomination, every sect, every walk of life, and every place, to varying degrees, accept it as well. It is a great movement of the universe world in the spiritual realm. It shakes the entire religious world to its core, which is part of the meaning of the “earthquake” that was mentioned in the past. Next, the angels begin their formal work and the people of Israel return to their home country, never again to wander, and all those included start to accept shepherding. In contrast, the Egyptians begin to break away from the scope of My salvation, that is, to receive My chastisement (but that does not formally begin yet). So it is during this time of these contemporaneous great changes in the world that the salute of the kingdom formally rings out. This is what people have called, “the time when the seven-fold intensified Spirit begins to work.” Each time God does the work of recovery, at these phases (or turns of events), all people have been unable to feel the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God’s words that “When man loses hope” ring true. Furthermore, at each of these transition phases when mankind loses hope, or when they feel this stream is wrong, God begins anew and takes the next step of His work. From the time of creation until now, God’s doing the work of recovery and changing the methods by which He works is similar in this way. Even though most people, to varying degrees, can grasp some aspect of it, in the end they are nonetheless washed away by a torrent of water because their stature is too small; they are unable to grasp the steps of God’s work and so they are eliminated. However, this is also God’s method of purifying people, and this is God’s judgment toward mankind’s old notions. The more of a foundation people have, the greater their religious notions about God, which are difficult for them to set aside; they cling to old things and it is tough for them to accept new light. On the other hand, if one is standing, one must have some foundation, but most people have a problem putting their notions aside. This is especially true for their notions about the God incarnate of today, which is clear and easy to see.
In this day’s utterance, God talked a lot about visions, which I won’t go into detail here, but the main thing He said was about how the foundation for building the kingdom is the building of the church. To be more specific, in the period of the building of the church the main goal is to allow people to be convinced in heart and by word despite not having known God incarnate with their own eyes. Even though they hold faith in their hearts, they do not know God incarnate because at that stage He is indistinguishable from a person. In the Age of Kingdom, all must show conviction in their hearts, their speech, and their eyes. From here, it is clear that in order for all to show conviction in their hearts, their speech, and their eyes, they must be allowed to know the God living in the flesh with their physical eyes. This cannot be accomplished in a situation where people are compelled to do something because they have no other option or where people have a casual belief. Instead, people will be convinced in heart and by word through understanding. Therefore, at this stage of construction there is no beating or killing. Instead, it allows people to receive enlightenment through God’s word, and through this they may pursue and explore so that they will subconsciously come to know God incarnate. So as for God, this stage of work is much easier, lets nature take its course and does not run counter to mankind. It will, in the end, allow man to naturally come to know God, so don’t be worried or become anxious. When God said, “the battle of the spiritual realm is made plain directly among all My people,” He meant that when people get on the right track and start to know God, it includes not only each person being tempted within by Satan, but that they may also be tempted by Satan in the church itself. However, this is the only road so no one should be alarmed. Satan’s temptation may come in several forms: Someone may give the cold shoulder or abandon what God says, and he might say negative things to wear down other people’s positivity, however, he usually doesn’t rope in other people; these things are difficult for people to discern. The main reason for this is: He might still be proactive in attending meetings, but he is unclear regarding visions. If the church does not guard against him, then the entire church could be swayed by his negativity into responding tepidly to God, thereby not paying attention to God’s word and this would be falling right into Satan’s temptation. He may not directly rebel against God, but because he can’t figure out God’s word and he doesn’t know God, he may complain or have resentment build in his heart. He may say that God has abandoned him so he is incapable of receiving enlightenment and illumination. He may wish to leave, but a quiet feeling of fear dwells within him and he might say that God’s work isn’t from God but is instead the work of evil spirits.
Why does God mention Peter so often? And why does He say that even Job does not come close to him? This not only allows people to pay attention to Peter’s deeds, but also allows them to set aside all of the examples they have in their hearts, and even the example of Job—who had the greatest faith—should also be set aside. Only through this can there be a better result wherein people are able to cast aside everything to imitate Peter, and thereby come a step closer in knowing God. God introduced people to the way of practice that Peter took to knowing God, the goal of which was to give people a point of reference. God then goes on to predict one of the ways that Satan will tempt people when He says, “But if you are cold and uncaring toward My words, then you undoubtedly oppose Me. This is fact.” Within these words, God foretells the crafty schemes Satan will try to use and He alerts people to consider it a warning. Even though not everyone will be cold toward God’s word, nonetheless some people will be taken captive by this temptation, so at the end God says again with emphasis, “If you do not know My words, do not accept them, and do not put them into practice, then you will inevitably become the object of My chastisement! You will surely become a victim of Satan!” This is God’s counsel to mankind, but in the end, as God foretold, a portion of people will become victims of Satan.
from The Word Appears in the Flesh
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