God's will | Chapter 1 You Must Know That Almighty God Is the One True God Who Created the Heavens and the Earth and Everything in Them

God's will | Chapter 1 You Must Know That Almighty God Is the One True God Who Created the Heavens and the Earth and Everything in Them

1. Almighty God Is the One True God Who Rules Over All Things.

Relevant Words of God:

Mankind does not know who is the Sovereign of all things in the universe, much less does he know the beginning and future of mankind. Mankind merely lives, perforce, amidst this law. None can escape it and none can change it, for among all things and in the heavens there is but One from everlasting to everlasting who holds sovereignty over everything. He is the One who has never been beheld by man, the One whom mankind has never known, in whose existence mankind has never believed, yet He is the One who breathed the breath into mankind’s ancestors and gave life to mankind. He is the One who supplies and nourishes mankind for its existence, and guides mankind up to the present day. Moreover, He and He alone is whom mankind depends on for its survival. He holds sovereignty over all things and rules all living beings beneath the universe. He commands the four seasons, and it is He who calls forth wind, frost, snow, and rain. He gives mankind sunshine and brings the coming of night. It was He who laid out the heavens and earth, providing man with mountains, lakes and rivers and all the living things within them. His deed is everywhere, His power is everywhere, His wisdom is everywhere, and His authority is everywhere. Each of these laws and rules are the embodiment of His deed, and every one of them reveals His wisdom and authority. Who can exempt themselves from His sovereignty? And who can discharge themselves from His designs? All things exist beneath His gaze, and moreover, all things live beneath His sovereignty. His deed and His power leave mankind with no choice but to acknowledge the fact that He really does exist and holds sovereignty over all things. No other thing apart from Him can command the universe, much less can it ceaselessly provide for this mankind. Regardless of whether you are able to recognize the deed of God, and irrespective of whether you believe in the existence of God, there is no doubt that your fate lies within the ordination of God, and there is no doubt that God will always hold sovereignty over all things. His existence and authority are not predicated upon whether or not they can be recognized and comprehended by man. Only He knows man’s past, present and future, and only He can determine the fate of mankind. Regardless of whether you are able to accept this fact, it will not be long before mankind witnesses all of this with his own eyes, and this is the fact that God will soon bring to bear.

from “Man Can Only Be Saved Amidst the Management of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

I Have Found True Happiness

The Church of Almighty God - I Have Found True Happiness

Zhang Hua, Cambodia

I was born into an ordinary farming family. Even though my family was not wealthy, my father and mother loved each other and treated me very well. Our family life was quite abundant and blessed. After I grew up, I told myself: I must find a husband that will treat me well and I must establish a blissful and happy family. This is what is most important. I do not seek riches, I only need to have a loving relationship with my husband and a peaceful family life.

I met my husband through a mutual acquaintance. I disliked him because he was quite short, but my father and mother looked favorably upon him. They said to me: “He has a good heart and he will treat you well.” I saw that my husband treated people very sincerely and he seemed like someone who would treat his family well. I thought, “It’s fine that he is a little short. As long as he treats me well, it is fine.” As a result, I agreed to the wedding and in 1989, we got married. After we got married, my husband treated me very tenderly and he took care of me very well. My married life was very blissful and abundant. My husband treated me well, and I remembered that in my heart. I also cared for him intently and thought about him in all matters. After our two daughters were born, in order to allow my husband to be at ease at work, I stayed at home and took care of the family. At that time, my little daughter got sick frequently. One time, during the night, she suddenly got a fever. My husband was working the night shift and he was not at home. In panic, I decided to bring my daughter to the hospital by myself. When my husband learned of this, he wanted to return home. He did not want me to suffer too much. I was very happy that my husband had this kind of a heart. Afterward, the two children went outside the village for schooling. I rented a place in order to accompany them while they studied and to take care of them. As long as I could handle a certain matter, I would not trouble my husband about it. Even though sometimes, it was difficult and I was a bit tired, our relationship as husband and wife was filled with mutual love and support. I felt that my life was very blessed.

Eastern Lightning| The Fifteenth Utterance

Man is a creature without self-knowledge. Yet, unable to know himself, he nevertheless knows everyone else like the palm of his hand, as though all others have first passed his “inspection” and received his approval before they say or do anything, and hence as though he has taken the full measure of all others down to their psychological state. Human beings are all like this. Man has entered into the Age of Kingdom today, but his nature remains unchanged. He still does as I do in front of Me, but behind My back he starts getting up to his own unique “business.” Once that’s over and he comes before Me again, however, he is like a different person, seeming audaciously calm, features composed, pulse steady. Is this not precisely what makes man so despicable? How many people wear two completely different faces, one in front of Me and another one behind My back? How many of them are like newborn lambs before Me but behind Me turn into ravening tigers, and then become like little birds flitting merrily about in the hills? How many show purpose and resolve in front of Me? How many come before Me, seeking My words with thirst and longing but, behind My back, grow sick of them and renounce them, as though My words were an encumbrance? So many times, seeing the human race corrupted by My enemy, I have given up placing My hopes in mankind. So many times, seeing man come before Me in tears to sue for pardon, but on account of his lack of self-respect, his stubborn incorrigibility, I have closed My eyes to his action in anger, even when his heart is genuine and his intentions sincere. So many times, I see man capable of having faith to cooperate with Me, and how, before Me, he seems to be lying in My embrace, tasting the warmth of My embrace. So many times, seeing the innocence, liveliness, and loveliness of My chosen people, in My heart I have always taken pleasure on account of these things. Human beings know not how to enjoy their predestined blessing in My hands, because they do not know what is ultimately meant by either blessing or suffering. For this reason, mankind is far from sincere in their quest for Me. If there were no such thing as tomorrow, which of you, standing before Me, would be as white as the driven snow, as unspotted as pure jade? Surely your love for Me is not something that can be exchanged for a delicious meal, or a classy suit of clothes, or high office with handsome emoluments? Or can it be exchanged for the love that others bear you? Surely, undergoing trial will not drive man to abandon his love for Me? Surely, suffering and tribulation will not cause him to complain against what I have arranged? No man has ever truly appreciated the sword in My mouth: He knows only its surface meaning without truly grasping the inner. If human beings were genuinely able to see the sharpness of My sword, they would go scurrying like rats into their holes. Because of their numbness, human beings understand nothing of the true meaning of My words, and so they have no clue as to how formidable My words are, or just how much of their nature is revealed, and how much of their corruption has received judgment, within those words. For this reason, based on their half-baked ideas about My words, most people have taken up a lukewarm and noncommittal attitude.

Eastern Lightning| The Twelfth Utterance

When lightning issues forth from the East—which is also precisely the moment that I begin to speak—at the moment the lightning comes forth, the whole empyrean is illuminated, and all the stars begin to transform. It seems as though the entire human race is subjected to a proper cleaning and sorting out. Under the glow of this shaft of light from the East, all of mankind is revealed in their original form, eyes dazzled, stymied in confusion; still less are they able to conceal their ugly features. Again, they are like unto animals fleeing from My light for refuge in mountain caves; yet, not one among them can be effaced from within My light. All human beings lie in the grip of terror and alarm, all are waiting, all are watching; with the advent of My light, all rejoice at the day they were born, and likewise all are cursing the day they were born. Conflicting emotions are impossible to articulate; tears of self-castigation form rivers, and are borne away on the sweeping torrent, gone without trace in a twinkling. Once again, My day is pressing close upon the human race, once again arousing the human race, giving humanity a point from which to make a new beginning. My heart beats and, following the rhythms of My heartbeat, the mountains leap for joy, the waters dance with joy, and the waves, keeping time, beat upon the rocky reefs. It is difficult to express what is in My heart. I want all unclean things to burn up into ashes under My gaze, I want all the sons of disobedience to disappear from before My eyes, never more to linger on in existence. Not only have I made a new beginning in the dwelling place of the great red dragon, I have also embarked on new work in the universe. Soon the kingdoms of the earth will become My kingdom; soon the kingdoms of the earth will forever cease to exist because of My kingdom, because I have already achieved victory, because I have returned triumphant. The great red dragon has exhausted every conceivable means to disrupt My plan, hoping to erase My work on the earth, but can I grow disheartened on account of its deceitful stratagems? Can I be frightened into losing confidence by its threats? There has never been a single being in either heaven or earth that I do not hold in the palm of My hand; how much the more is this true of the great red dragon, this device that serves as a foil to Me? Is it not also an object to be manipulated with My hands?

Eastern Lightning | Almighty God's Word "What Viewpoint Believers Ought to Hold"

　　Almighty God says, "In times past, many pursued with their ambition and notions and for the sake of their hopes. These matters will not be discussed now. The key is to find a way of practice that will enable each of you to maintain a normal condition before God and to gradually break free of the shackles of Satan’s influence, so that you may be gained by God, and live out on earth what God asks of you. Only this can fulfill the desire of God."

The Church of Almighty God| The Eleventh Utterance

　　Every person in mankind should accept the observation of My Spirit, should closely scrutinize their every word and action, and, moreover, should look upon My wondrous deeds. How do you feel at the time of the kingdom’s arrival on earth? When My sons and people stream to My throne, I formally commence judgment before the great white throne. Which is to say, when I begin My work on earth in person, and when the era of judgment nears its end, I start to direct My words to the entire universe, and release the voice of My Spirit to the entire universe. Through My words, I will wash clean all the people and things among all that is in heaven and on earth, so that the land is no longer filthy and licentious, but is a holy kingdom. I will renew all things, so that they will be provided for My use, so that they will no longer bear the earthy breath, and no longer be stained with the flavor of the ground. On earth, man has groped for the goal and origins of My words, and has observed My deeds, yet no one has ever truly known the origins of My words, and no one has ever truly beheld the wondrousness in My deeds. It is only today, when I personally come among man and speak My words, that man has a little knowledge of Me, removing the place for “Me” in their thoughts, instead creating a place for the practical God in their consciousness. Man has conceptions and is full of curiosity; who would not want to see God? Who would not wish to encounter God? Yet the only thing that occupies a definite place in man’s heart is the God that man feels is vague and abstract. Who would realize this if I did not tell them plainly? Who would truly believe that I indeed exist? Surely without a hint of doubt? There is a vast difference between the “Me” in man’s heart and the “Me” of reality, and no one is capable of drawing comparisons between them. If I did not become flesh, man would never know Me, and even if he came to know Me, wouldn’t such knowledge still be a conception? Each day I walk among the unceasing flow of people, and each day I operate within every person. When man truly sees Me, he will be able to know Me in My words, and will grasp the means by which I speak as well as My intentions.

Eastern Lightning| The Ninth Utterance

Since you are one of the people of My household, and since you are faithful in My kingdom, all that you do must meet the standards that I require. I do not ask that you be nothing more than a drifting cloud, but that you be gleaming snow, and possessed of its substance and even more its value. Because I came from the holy land, not like the lotus, which has only a name and no substance because it came from the mire and not the holy land. The time that a new heaven descends upon the earth and a new earth spreads over the skies is also the very time that I formally work among man. Who among man knows Me? Who beheld the moment of My arrival? Who has seen that I not only have a name, but, moreover, am also possessed of substance? I sweep away the white clouds with My hand and closely observe the skies; in space, nothing is not arranged by My hand, and beneath space, no man does not contribute his own tiny effort to the accomplishment of My mighty enterprise. I do not make onerous demands of the people on earth, for I have always been the practical God, and because I am the Almighty that created man and knows man well. All people are before the eyes of the Almighty. How could even those in the remotest corners of the earth avoid the scrutiny of My Spirit? Although man “knows” My Spirit, he also offends My Spirit. My words lay bare the ugly face of all people, and lay bare the innermost thoughts of all people, and cause all upon earth to be made plain by My light and fall down in the midst of My scrutiny. But though man falls down, his heart does not dare to stray far from Me. Among the creatures of God, who does not come to love Me because of My deeds? Who does not yearn for Me as a result of My words? In whom are not born feelings of devotion because of My love? It is only because of the corruption of Satan that man is unable to reach the realm as required by Me. Even the lowest standards that I require produce misgivings in him, to say nothing of today, the era in which Satan runs riot and is madly despotic, or the time when man has been so trampled by Satan that his entire body is caked in filth. When has man’s failure to care for My heart as a result of his depravity not caused Me grief? Could it be that I pity Satan? Could it be that I am mistaken in My love? When man disobeys Me, My heart secretly weeps; when man opposes Me, I chastise him; when man is saved by Me and resurrected from the dead, I feed him with the utmost care; when man obeys Me, My heart rests easy and I immediately sense great changes in all things in heaven and on earth; when man praises Me, how could I not enjoy it? When man witnesses Me and is gained by Me, how could I not be glorified? Could it be that all man does is not governed and supplied by Me? When I do not provide direction, people are idle and quiescent, and, “behind My back,” they engage in those dirty dealings that bring “pleasure.” Do you think the flesh, with which I clothe Myself, knows nothing of your actions, your behavior, and your words? Many years have I endured the wind and the rain, and so too have I experienced the bitterness of the human world, yet upon closer reflection, no amount of suffering can make man of flesh lose hope in Me, much less can any sweetness cause man of flesh to become cold, downhearted, or dismissive toward Me. Is man’s love for Me really limited to that area between pain and sweetness?

God’s Righteous Disposition

Now that you have listened to the previous fellowship about God’s authority, I am confident that you are equipped with quite an array of words on the matter. How much you can accept, grasp and understand all depends on how much effort you will apply to it. It is My hope that you can approach this matter earnestly; by no means should you deal with it half-heartedly! Now, is knowing God’s authority equal to knowing God’s entirety? One can say that knowing God’s authority is the beginning of knowing the unique God Himself, and one could also say that knowing God’s authority means that one has already stepped into the gate of knowing the substance of the unique God Himself. This understanding is one part of knowing God. What is the other part, then? This is the subject that I would like to fellowship about today—God’s righteous disposition.

Eastern Lightning| God Himself, the Unique I God’s Authority (I)

My last several fellowships were about God’s work, God’s disposition, and God Himself. After hearing these fellowships, do you feel that you have gained an understanding and knowledge of God’s disposition? How great of an understanding and knowledge? Can you put a number to it? Did these fellowships give you a deeper understanding of God? Could it be said that this understanding is a true knowledge of God? Could it be said that this knowledge and understanding of God is a knowledge of the entire substance of God, and all that He has and is? No, obviously not! That is because these fellowships only provided an understanding of part of God’s disposition, and what He has and is—not all of it, or the entirety of it. The fellowships enabled you to understand part of the work once done by God, through which you beheld the disposition of God, and what He has and is, as well as the approach and thinking behind everything that He has done. But this is only a literal, spoken understanding of God, and, in your heart, you remain uncertain about how much of it is real. What mainly determines whether there is any reality to your understanding of such things? It is determined by how much of God’s words and disposition you have truly experienced during your actual experiences, and how much you have been able to see and know during these actual experiences. “The last several fellowships allowed us to understand the things done by God, the thoughts of God, and, moreover, God’s attitude toward mankind and the basis of His actions, as well as the principles of His actions. And so we have come to understand the disposition of God, and have known the entirety of God.” Has anyone said such words? Is it right to say this? It clearly isn’t. And why do I say that it isn’t? God’s disposition, and what He has and is, are expressed in the things that He has done and the words He has spoken. Man is able to behold what God has and is through the work that He has done and the words that He has spoken, but this is only to say that the work and words enable man to understand a part of God’s disposition, and a part of what He has and is. If man wishes to gain a more plentiful and profound understanding of God, then man must experience more of God’s words and work. Although man only gains a partial understanding of God when experiencing part of God’s words or work, does this partial understanding represent God’s true disposition? Does it represent the substance of God? Of course it represents the true disposition of God, and the substance of God, of that there is no doubt. Regardless of the time or place, or in what manner God does His work, or in what form He appears to man, or in what way He expresses His will, all that He reveals and expresses represents God Himself, God’s substance and what He has and is. God carries out His work with what He has and is, and in His true identity; this is absolutely true. Yet, today, people only have a partial understanding of God through His words, and through what they hear when they listen to the preaching, and so to a certain extent, this understanding can only be said to be a theoretical knowledge. In view of your actual states, you can only verify the understanding or knowledge of God that you have heard, seen, or known and understood in your heart today if each of you goes through this in your actual experiences, and comes to know it bit by bit. If I did not fellowship these words with you, would you be able to achieve true knowledge of God solely through your experiences? To do so, I’m afraid, would be very difficult. That is because people must first have the words of God in order to know how to experience. However many of God’s words people eat, such is the number that they can actually experience. God’s words lead the path ahead, and guide man in his experience. In short, for those who have some true experience, these last several fellowships will help them achieve a deeper understanding of the truth, and a more realistic knowledge of God. But for those who don’t have any true experience, or who have only just begun their experience, or have only just begun to touch upon the reality, this is a great test.