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 some understanding and knowledge of God’s disposition? How much understanding and knowledge have you gained? Are you clear about this in your heart? 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 having this knowledge and understanding of God means that you have knowledge of the entire essence of God, and all that He has and is? No, obviously not! This is because, through these fellowships, you only learned about a portion of God’s disposition and what He has and is—not all of it in its entirety. These fellowships enabled you to understand part of the work done by God in the past; through learning about this work, you beheld the disposition of God and what He has and is, as well as the attitude and thinking behind everything that He has done. But this is only a literal, spoken understanding of God, and, in your hearts, you remain uncertain about how much of it is real. What mainly determines whether there is any reality to people’s understanding of such things? It is determined by how much of God’s words and disposition they have truly experienced during their actual experiences, and how much they have been able to see and know during these actual experiences. Has anyone said words such as these: “The last several fellowships allowed us to understand the things done by God, the thoughts of God, and even God’s attitude toward mankind, His motivation in doing things, and the principles of His actions; and so we have come to understand the disposition of God, and have known the entirety of God”? Is it right to say this? Clearly, it is not. Why do I say that it is not right to say this? The things that God has done and the words God has spoken all contain expressions of God’s disposition, and all contain expressions of what God has and is. Through the work that God has done and the words that He has spoken, man is able to behold what God has and is, but this is only to say that the work and words enable man to understand but a part of God’s disposition, and a part of what He has and is. If man wishes to increase and further his understanding of God, then man must experience more of God’s words and work. Although man gains only 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 essence of God? Of course it represents the true disposition of God, and the essence 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 intentions, all that He reveals and expresses represents God Himself, God’s essence, 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 have only a partial understanding of God through His words, and through what they hear when they listen to sermons, and so to a certain extent, this understanding can only be said to be a theoretical knowledge. In view of your actual states, it is necessary for each of you to gain exposure in your actual experiences, and gradually gain experiential appreciation, only then can you verify the understanding or knowledge of God that you have heard or seen, or known and understood in your heart today. 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 am afraid, would be very difficult. That is because people must first have the words of God in order to know how to experience. However much of God’s words people eat, that is how much of God’s words 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 practical knowledge of God. But for those who do not have any true experience, or who have only just begun their experience, and have only just begun to touch upon the reality, this is a great test.

The main content of the last several fellowships concerned “God’s disposition, God’s work, and God Himself.” What did you see in the key and central parts of everything that I spoke of? Through these fellowships, can you be certain that He who did the work, He who revealed these dispositions, is the unique God Himself who holds sovereignty over all things? If your answer is yes, then what led you to such certainty? Which aspects made you so certain? Can anyone tell Me? I know that the last few fellowships did indeed touch you, and provided a new start in your hearts for your knowledge of God, which is excellent. But although, compared to before, you have made a great leap in your understanding of God, your definition of God’s identity has yet to progress beyond the names of Jehovah God of the Age of Law, the Lord Jesus of the Age of Grace, and Almighty God of the Age of Kingdom. This is to say that, although these fellowships about “God’s disposition, God’s work, and God Himself” gave you some understanding of the words once spoken by God, the work once done by God, and the possessions and being once revealed by God, you are incapable of providing a true definition and accurate orientation of the word “God.” Neither do you have a true and accurate orientation and knowledge of the status and identity of God Himself, which is to say, of the status of God among all things and throughout the entire universe. That is because, in the previous fellowships about God’s disposition and God Himself, all the content was based on what God expressed and revealed in the past, as recorded in the Bible, while the possessions and being that God reveals and expresses during, or outside of, His management and salvation of mankind are difficult for man to discover. So, even if you understand God’s possessions and being that were revealed in the work He has done in the past, there is still distance between your definition of God’s identity and status and “the unique God, the One who holds sovereignty over all things,” and it is different from “the Creator.” The last several fellowships made everyone feel the same way: How could man know the thoughts of God? If anyone truly knows them, then that person is certainly God, for only God Himself knows His own thoughts, and only God Himself knows the attitude and motivation behind everything that He does. It seems reasonable and logical for you to ascertain God’s identity in such a way, but who can tell from the disposition and work of God that this really is the work of God Himself, and not the work of man, work which cannot be done on God’s behalf by man? Who can see that this work falls under the sovereignty of the One who has the essence and power of God? This is to say, through what characteristics or essence do you ascertain that He is God Himself, who has the identity of God, and is the One who holds sovereignty over all things? Have you ever thought about that? If you have not, then this proves one fact: Through the last several fellowships, you only attained some understanding of this segment of the history of God’s past work, and of God’s attitude, manifestation, and revelations during that work. Although such understanding makes each of you certain beyond doubt that the One who carried out these two stages of work is the God Himself whom you believe in and follow, the One whom you will always follow, you still cannot be certain that He is the God who has existed since the creation of the world and who shall exist for eternity, nor can you be certain that He is the One who leads and holds sovereignty over all mankind. You have surely never thought about this issue. Be it Jehovah or the Lord Jesus, through what aspects of the essence and manifestation can you be certain that not only is He the God whom you want to follow, but also the One who commands mankind and holds sovereignty over the fate of mankind, who is, moreover, the unique God Himself who holds sovereignty over the heavens and earth and all things? Through what channels can you attain certainty that the One whom you believe in and follow is God Himself who holds sovereignty over all things? Through what channels can you connect the God you believe in to the God who holds sovereignty over the fate of mankind? Through what can you attain certainty that the God you believe in is the unique God Himself among the heavens and earth and all things? This is the issue that I shall resolve in the next section.

The issues that you have never thought about or cannot think about could well be those which are most crucial to knowing God, and in which may be sought truths unfathomable to man. When these issues come upon you, requiring you to face them and make a choice, if you are unable to fully resolve them because of your foolishness and ignorance, or because your experiences are too superficial and you have no true knowledge of God, then they shall become the greatest obstacle and the greatest hindrance on the path of your belief in God. And so I feel it is highly necessary to fellowship with you regarding this subject. Do you know what your issues are now? Are you clear about the issues I’m speaking of? Are these the issues that you will face? Are they the issues that you do not understand? Are they the issues that have never occurred to you? Are these issues important to you? Are they genuine issues? You are very unclear about this matter in your hearts, which shows that you do not have a true understanding of the God whom you believe in, and that you do not take Him seriously. Some people say, “I know He is God, and so I follow Him, because His words are the expression of God. That is enough. What more confirmation is needed? Surely we don’t need to raise doubts about God? Surely we aren’t supposed to test God? Surely we don’t need to question God’s essence and the identity of God Himself?” Regardless of whether you think in this way, I do not put forward such issues in order to make you doubt God, or to make you test Him, much less to make you question God’s identity and essence. Rather, I do so to enable you to understand God’s essence further, and to ascertain further and become more assured about God’s status, so that God may become the only One in the hearts of all those who follow God, and so that the original status of God—as the Creator, the Sovereign of all things, the unique God Himself—may be restored in the heart of every created being. This is also the theme about which I am going to fellowship.

Now, let us begin to read the following Scriptures from the Bible.

1. God Uses Words to Create All Things

Genesis 1:3–5 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:6–7 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Genesis 1:9–11 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:14–15 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for appointed times, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light on the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:20–21 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:24–25 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps on the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

On the First Day, the Day and Night of Mankind Come Into Being and Are Established Thanks to the Authority of God

Let us look at the first passage: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:3–5). This passage describes God’s first act at the beginning of creation, and the first day that God passed in which there was an evening and a morning. But it was an extraordinary day: God began to prepare the light for all things, and, furthermore, divided the light from the darkness. On this day, God began to speak, and His words and authority existed side by side. His authority began to show forth among all things, and His power spread among all things as a result of His words. From this day onward, all things were established and accomplished because of the words of God, the authority of God, and the power of God, and they began to function thanks to the words of God, the authority of God, and the power of God. When God said the words “Let there be light,” there was light. God did not carry out any kind of undertaking; the light appeared as a result of His words. This was the light that God called day, and which man still depends on for his existence today. Because God ordained it to be so, its essence and value have never changed, and it has never disappeared. Its existence shows forth the authority and power of God, and proclaims the existence of the Creator. In its recurring cycles, it confirms again and again the identity and status of the Creator. It is not nonexistent, or illusory, but is a real light that can be seen by man. From that time onward, in this empty world in which “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep,” there was produced the first material thing. This thing came from the words of the mouth of God, and appeared in the first scene of the creation of all things because of the authority and utterances of God. Soon after, God ordered the light and the darkness to separate…. Everything changed and was accomplished because of the words of God…. God called this light “Day,” and the darkness He called “Night.” After this, the first evening and the first morning were produced in the world God intended to create, and God said that this was the first day. This day was the first day of the Creator’s creation of all things, and was the beginning of the creation of all things, and was the first time that the authority and power of the Creator had been shown forth in this world that He had created.

Through these words, man is able to behold the authority of God and of God’s words, as well as God’s power. Because only God is possessed of such power, only God has such authority; because God is possessed of such authority, only God has such power. Could any man or object possess such authority and power as this? Is there an answer in your hearts? Apart from God, does any created or non-created being possess such authority? Have you ever seen an example of such a thing in any book or publication? Is there any record that someone created the heavens and earth and all things? It does not appear in any other books or records. These authoritative and powerful words are, of course, the only part of the Bible that records the magnificence of God’s creation of the world. These words represent the unique authority and identity of God. Can such authority and power be said to symbolize the unique identity of God? Can they be said to be possessed by God alone? Without a doubt, only God Himself possesses such authority and power! This authority and power cannot be possessed or replaced by any created or non-created being! Is this one of the characteristics of the unique God Himself? Do you see this? These words quickly and clearly allow people to understand the fact that God is possessed of unique authority, unique power, and supreme identity and status. From the fellowship above, can you say that the God you believe in is the unique God Himself?

On the Second Day, God’s Authority Orchestrates the Waters, and Makes the Firmament, and the Most Basic Space for Human Survival Appears

Let us read the second passage of the Bible: “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so” (Genesis 1:6–7). What changes occurred after God said: “Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters”? In the Scriptures it says: “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.” What was the result after God spoke and did this? The answer lies in the last part of the passage: “and it was so.”

These two short sentences record a magnificent event, and describe a wonderful scene—the tremendous undertaking in which God governed the waters, and created a space in which mankind could survive …

In this picture, the waters and the firmament appear before the eyes of God in an instant, and they are divided by the authority of God’s words, and separated into an “above” and a “below” in the manner appointed by God. This is to say, the firmament created by God not only had to cover the waters below, but also had to hold up the waters above…. In this, man cannot help but stare, dumbfounded, and gasp in admiration at the might of His authority and at the splendor of the scene in which the Creator mobilized and directed the waters, and created the firmament. Through the words of God, the power of God, and the authority of God, God achieved another great feat. Is this not the might of the Creator’s authority? Let us interpret God’s deeds through the Scriptures: God spoke a few words, and because of these words of God there was a firmament in the middle of the waters. At the same time, a complete, earth-shaking transformation occurred in this space because of a few words of God, and it was not a change in an ordinary sense, but a transition from nothing into something. It was born of the thoughts of the Creator, and became something from nothing because of the words spoken by the Creator, and, furthermore, from this point onward it would exist and be established for the sake of the Creator, and would shift, change, and renew in accordance with the thoughts of the Creator. This passage describes the second act of the Creator in His creation of the whole world. It was another expression of the authority and power of the Creator, and another pioneering undertaking by the Creator. This day was the second day that the Creator had passed since the creation of the world, and it was another wonderful day for Him: He walked among the light, He brought the firmament, He orchestrated and commanded the waters, and His deeds, His authority, and His power were put to work in the new day …

Was there a firmament in the middle of the waters before God spoke His words? Of course not! And what about after God said: “Let there be a firmament in the middle of the waters”? The things intended by God appeared; there was a firmament in the middle of the waters, and the waters separated because God said: “Let it divide the waters from the waters.” In this way, following the words of God, two new objects, two newly born things appeared among all things as a result of the authority and power of God. How do you feel about the appearance of these two new things? Do you feel the immensity of the Creator’s power? Do you feel the extraordinary force unique to the Creator? This force, this immensity of power, is due to the authority of God, and this authority is a representation of God Himself, and a unique characteristic of God Himself.

From this passage, do you once again have a profound sense of God’s uniqueness? In fact, this is far from enough; the authority and power of the Creator extend far beyond this. His uniqueness is not merely because He is possessed of an essence unlike that of any creature, but also because His authority and power are extraordinary, limitless, superlative to all, and stand above all, and even more so because His authority and what He has and is can create life, produce miracles, and create each and every spectacular and extraordinary minute and second. At the same time, He is able to command the life that He creates and hold sovereignty over the miracles and each and every minute and second that He creates.

On the Third Day, the Words of God Give Birth to the Land and the Seas, and the Authority of God Causes the World to Brim With Life

Next, let us read the following passage. The first sentence in Genesis 1:9–11 says: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear.” What changes occurred after God simply said: “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”? And what was there in this space apart from the light and the firmament? In the Scriptures, the next verse says: “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and God saw that it was good.” This is to say, there were now land and seas in this space. In other words, the land and waters were separated. The appearance of these new things followed the command from the mouth of God, “and it was so.” Do the Scriptures describe God rushing about while He was doing this? Do they describe Him working with His hands? So, how did God do this? How did God cause these new things to be produced? Self-evidently, God used words to achieve all of this, to create the entirety of this.

In the three passages above, we have learned of the occurrence of three great events. These three great events transpired and were brought into being through the words of God, and it is because of His words that, one after the other, these events appeared before the eyes of God. Thus it can be seen that the words “God speaks, and it is accomplished; He commands, and it is established” are not hollow. This essence of God is confirmed the instant that His thoughts are conceived, and when God opens His mouth to speak, His essence is fully reflected.

Let us continue to the final sentence of this passage: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth: and it was so.” While God was speaking, all these things came into being following the thoughts of God, and in an instant, a number of delicate little life forms of all different shapes and configurations were unsteadily poking their heads up through the soil, and before they had even shaken the bits of dirt from their bodies they were eagerly waving to each other in greeting, nodding and smiling to the world. They thanked the Creator for the life that He bestowed upon them, and announced to the world that they were a part of all things, and that they would each devote their lives to showing forth the authority of the Creator. As the words of God were spoken, the land became lush and green, all sorts of vegetables that could be enjoyed by man sprang forth and broke through the ground, and the mountains and plains became populated by dense trees and stretches of forest…. This barren world, in which there had not been any trace of life, was rapidly covered by a profusion of various plants like grasses, vegetables, and trees and overflowing with greenery…. The fragrance of grass and the aroma of the soil spread through the air, and a variety of plants began to breathe in tandem with the circulation of the air, and began the process of growing. At the same time, thanks to the words of God and following the thoughts of God, all the plants began the perpetual life cycles in which they grow, blossom, bear fruit, and multiply. They began to strictly adhere to their respective life courses and began to perform their respective roles among all things…. They were all born, and lived, because of the words of the Creator. They would receive the unceasing provision and nourishment of the Creator, and would always tenaciously survive in every corner of the land in order to show forth the authority and power of the Creator, and they would always show forth the life force bestowed upon them by the Creator …

The life of the Creator is extraordinary, His thoughts are extraordinary, and His authority is extraordinary, and so, whenever His words were uttered, the final result was “and it was so.” Clearly, God does not need to work with His hands when He acts; He merely uses His thoughts to direct, and uses His words to ordain, and in this way things are achieved. On this day, God gathered the waters together to one place, and let the dry land appear, after which God caused the land to sprout forth grass, seed-yielding vegetables, and fruit-bearing trees, and God sorted them each according to their kind, and caused each fruit to contain its own seed. All this was realized according to the desires of God and the commands of the words of God, and each appeared, one after the other, in this new world.

When He had yet to commence His work, God already had a picture of what He intended to achieve in His mind, and when God set about achieving these things, which was also when God opened His mouth to speak of the content of this picture, changes in all things began to occur thanks to the authority and power of God. Irrespective of how God did it, or how He exerted His authority, all was achieved step by step according to God’s plan and because of the words of God, and, step by step, changes occurred between heaven and earth thanks to the words and authority of God. All of these changes and occurrences showed forth the Creator’s authority, and the extraordinariness and greatness of the power of the Creator’s life. His thoughts are not simple concepts, or an empty picture, but an authority possessed of vitality and extraordinary energy, and they are the power to cause all things to change, revive, renew, and perish. Therefore, all things function as a result of His thoughts, and, at the same time, are achieved because of the words from His mouth …

Before all things appeared, in the thoughts of God a complete plan had long ago been formed, and a new world had long ago been achieved. Although on the third day there appeared all sorts of plants on the land, God had no reason to halt the steps of His creation of this world; He intended to continue to speak His words, to continue to achieve the creation of every new thing. He would speak, would issue His commands, and would exert His authority and show forth His power, and He was preparing everything that He had planned to prepare for all the things and the mankind that He intended to create …

On the Fourth Day, the Appointed Times, Days, and Years of Mankind Come Into Being as God Exerts His Authority Once Again

The Creator used His words to accomplish His plan, and in this way He passed the first three days of His plan. During these three days, God was not seen to be hurried nor to exhaust Himself; on the contrary, He passed a wonderful first three days of His plan, and achieved the great undertaking of the world’s radical transformation. A brand-new world appeared before His eyes, and, piece by piece, the beautiful picture that had been sealed within His thoughts was finally revealed in the words of God. The appearance of each new thing was like the birth of a newborn baby, and the Creator took pleasure in the picture that had once been in His thoughts, but which had now been brought to life. At this time, His heart gained a sliver of gratification, but His plan had only just begun. In the blink of an eye, a new day had arrived—and what was the next page in the Creator’s plan? What did He say? And how was His authority exercised? Meanwhile, what new things came into this new world? Following the guidance of the Creator, our gaze falls on the fourth day of God’s creation of all things, a day which was yet another new beginning. Of course, for the Creator, it was undoubtedly another wonderful day, and it was another day of the utmost importance for the mankind of today. It was, of course, a day of inestimable value. How was it wonderful, how was it so important, and how was it of inestimable value? Let us first listen to the words spoken by the Creator …

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for appointed times, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light on the earth” (Genesis 1:14–15). This was another exertion of God’s authority that was shown forth by creatures following His creation of dry land and the plants upon it. For God, such an act was just as easy as what He had already done, because God has such power; God means what He says, and what He means shall be done. God commanded lights to appear in the heavens, and that these lights would not only shine in the sky and upon the earth, but also serve as signs for day and night, for appointed times, days, and years. In this way, as God spoke His words, every act that God wished to achieve was fulfilled according to God’s desires and in the manner appointed by God.

The lights in the heaven are objects in the sky that can radiate light; they can illuminate the sky and the land and the seas. They revolve according to the rhythm and frequency commanded by God, and light up different time periods upon land, and in this way the revolving cycles of the lights cause day and night to be produced in the east and west of the land, and they are not only signs for night and day, but through these different cycles they also mark the feasts and various special days of mankind. They are the perfect complement and accompaniment to the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—issued forth by God, together with which the lights harmoniously serve as regular and accurate marks for the appointed times, days, and years of mankind. Although it was only after the advent of farming that mankind began to understand and encounter the division of appointed times, days, and years caused by the lights created by God, in fact the appointed times, days, and years that mankind understands today began to be produced long ago on the fourth day of God’s creation of all things, and so too did the interchanging cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter experienced by mankind begin long ago on the fourth day of God’s creation of all things. The lights created by God enabled man to regularly, precisely, and clearly differentiate between night and day, and count the days, and to clearly keep track of the appointed times and years. (The day of the round moon, that is, the day of the full moon, told man that a new cycle of the illumination of lights was beginning; the day of the half moon, that is, the quarter moon, told man that a new appointed time was beginning, from which it could be inferred how many days and nights were in an appointed time, how many appointed times were in a season, and how many seasons were in a year, and all this was revealed with great regularity.) So, mankind could easily keep track of the appointed times, days, and years marked by the revolutions of the lights. From this point onward, mankind and all things unconsciously lived within the laws of the alternation of night and day and changes of the seasons produced by the revolutions of the lights. This was the significance of the Creator’s creation of the lights on the fourth day. Similarly, the aims and significance of this action of the Creator were still inseparable from His authority and power. And so, the lights made by God and the value that they would soon bring to mankind were another masterstroke in the exertion of the Creator’s authority.

In this new world, in which mankind had yet to make an appearance, the Creator had prepared evening and morning, the firmament, land and seas, grass, vegetables and various types of trees, and the lights, appointed times, days, and years for the new life that He would soon create. The authority and power of the Creator were expressed in each new thing that He created, and His words and facts occurred simultaneously, without the slightest discrepancy, and without the slightest interval. The appearance and birth of all these new things were proof of the authority and power of the Creator: He means what He says, what He means shall be done, and what He does shall last forever. This fact has never changed: So it was in the past, so it is today, and so it will be for all eternity. When you look once more at those words of the Scriptures, do they feel fresh to you? Have you seen new content, and made new discoveries? That is because the deeds of the Creator have stirred your hearts, guided the direction of your knowledge of His authority and power, and opened the door to your understanding of the Creator. It is His deeds and His authority that have bestowed life upon these words. So, in these words man has seen the realness and vitality of the Creator’s authority, truly witnessed the supremacy of the Creator, and beheld the extraordinariness of the authority and power of the Creator.

The Creator’s authority and power produce miracle after miracle; He attracts man’s attention, and man cannot help but stare transfixed at one astounding deed after another, born from the exertion of His authority. His phenomenal power brings surprising delight after surprising delight, overwhelming man’s eyes and leaving him overjoyed, gasping in admiration, marveling, and cheering; even more, man is visibly moved and there is produced in him admiration, fear, and attachment. The authority and deeds of the Creator shock the spirit of man, wash it clean, and even more, they sate it. Every one of His thoughts, every one of His utterances, and every revelation of His authority is a masterpiece among all things, and is a tremendous undertaking most worthy of the created mankind’s deep understanding and knowledge. When we count every created thing born from the words of the Creator, our spirits are drawn to the wonder of God’s power, and we find ourselves following the footprints of the Creator to the next day: the fifth day of God’s creation of all things.

Let us continue reading the Scriptures passage by passage, as we look at more of the Creator’s deeds.

On the Fifth Day, Life of Varied and Diverse Forms Exhibits the Authority of the Creator in Different Ways

Scriptures say: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:20–21). Scriptures clearly tell us that, on this day, God made the creatures in the waters and the birds of the air, which is to say that He created the various fish and birds, and sorted them each according to their kind. In this way, the earth, the skies, and the waters were enriched by God’s creation …

As God’s words were spoken, fresh new life, each with a different form, instantly came alive amid the words of the Creator. They came into the world jostling for position, frolicking, jumping and cheering for joy…. Fish of all kinds swam through the water; shellfish of all kinds grew out of the underwater sands; scaled, shelled, and soft-bodied creatures competed to grow forth underwater in different forms; in body some were large and some small, some long and some short. So too did various kinds of seaweed race to grow, swaying to the motion of the various aquatic life, undulating, urging the stagnant waters, as if to say to them: “Surge forward! Bring your friends! For you’ll never be alone again!” From the moment that the various living things created by God appeared in the water, each fresh new life brought vigor to the waters that had been quiescent for so long, and ushered in a new era…. From that point onward, they nestled against each other, kept each other company, and kept no distance between themselves. The water existed for the living things within it, nourishing each life that resided within its embrace, and every life existed for the sake of the water because of its nourishment. Each conferred life upon the other, and at the same time, each, in the same way, bore testament to the miraculousness and greatness of the Creator’s creation, and to the unsurpassable power of the Creator’s authority …

As the sea was no longer silent, so too did life begin to fill the skies. One by one, birds, big and small, flew up into the sky from the ground. Unlike the many different types of sea creatures, they had wings and feathers, with forms full and graceful, and movements light and agile. They fluttered their wings, proudly and haughtily displaying their gorgeous coats of feathers and their special functions and skills bestowed upon them by the Creator. They soared freely, and skillfully shuttled between heaven and earth, across grasslands and forests…. They were the darlings of the air, they were the darlings of all things. They would soon become the tie between heaven and earth, and would pass on messages to all things…. They sang, they joyfully swooped about, they brought cheers, laughter, and vibrancy to this once empty world…. They used their clear, resonant singing, used the words within their hearts to praise the Creator for the life bestowed upon them. They cheerfully danced to display the perfection and extraordinariness of the Creator’s creation, and would devote their whole lives to bearing testament to the authority of the Creator through the special life that He had bestowed upon them …

Whether they are the various living things in the water or those flying in the air, by the Creator’s command they all live in differently structured forms, and by the command of the Creator, they survive in groups according to their respective species—and this law, this rule, cannot be changed by any creatures. Never did they dare to go beyond the bounds set forth for them by the Creator, nor were they able to. As ordained by the Creator, they lived and multiplied, and strictly adhered to the life course and laws set for them by the Creator, and consciously abided by His unspoken commands and the heavenly edicts and precepts that He gave them, all the way until today. They conversed with the Creator in their own special way, came to appreciate the desires of the Creator, and obeyed His commands. None ever transgressed the authority of the Creator. His sovereignty and control over them was exerted within His thoughts; no words were issued forth, but the authority that was unique to the Creator controlled all the things in silence that possessed no language function, and which differed from mankind. The exertion of His authority in this special way compels man to gain a new knowledge, and make a new interpretation, of the Creator’s unique authority. Here, I must say that on this new day, the exertion of the Creator’s authority demonstrated once more the uniqueness of the Creator.

Next, let us take a look at the last sentence of this passage of the Scriptures: “God saw that it was good.” What do you think this means? God’s state of mind is contained within these words. God was seeing that all things that He had created were established and accomplished because of His words, that everything was gradually beginning to change. At this time, was God satisfied with the various things He had created with His words and the various deeds He had accomplished with His words? The answer is that “God saw that it was good.” What do you see here? What does it represent that “God saw that it was good”? What does it symbolize? It means that God had the power and wisdom to accomplish that which He had planned and prescribed, to accomplish the goals that He had set out to accomplish. When God had completed each task, did He feel regret? The answer is still that “God saw that it was good.” In other words, not only did He feel no regret, but He was instead satisfied. What does it mean that He felt no regret? It means that God’s plan is perfect, that His power and wisdom are perfect, and that His authority is the sole source through which He can achieve perfection. When man performs a task, can he, like God, see that it is good? Can everything that man does attain perfection? Can man accomplish something once and for all eternity? Just as man says, “nothing’s perfect, only better,” nothing that man does can attain perfection. When God saw that all that He had done and achieved was good, everything made by God was set by His words, which is to say that, when “God saw that it was good,” the things that He had created assumed a permanent form, were classed according to type, and were given fixed positions, purposes, and functions, once and for all eternity. At the same time, their roles among all things, and the journeys that they must take during God’s management of all things, had already been ordained by God, and were immutable. This was the heavenly law given by the Creator to all things.

“God saw that it was good”—these plain and simple words, so hard to get people to notice and give sufficient weight to, are nevertheless words with which God issued heavenly laws and edicts to all of His creation. In these words, the Creator’s authority was once again embodied in a more practical and profound way. Through His words, the Creator was not only able to gain all that He set out to gain, and achieve all that He set out to achieve, but could also take all that He had created and control it in His hands, and take all things that He had made and hold sovereignty over them under His authority, in a systematic and regular manner. All things would also come into being, exist, and perish by His word and, moreover, by His authority exist amid the law that He had set forth, with none able to overstep it! This law began at the very instant that “God saw that it was good,” and it shall exist, continue, and function for the sake of God’s management plan right up until the day that it is repealed by the Creator! The unique authority of the Creator was manifested not only in that He creates all things and that He commands and it is established, but also in His ability to govern and hold sovereignty over all things, and bestow vigor and vitality upon all things, and, moreover, in His ability to cause, once and for all eternity, all things that He would create in His plan to appear and exist in the world made by Him in a perfect form, a perfect life structure, and a perfect role. So too was it manifested in the way that the thoughts of the Creator were not subject to any constraints, were not limited by time, space, or geography. Like His authority, the unique identity of the Creator shall remain unchanged from everlasting to everlasting. His authority shall always be a representation and symbol of His unique identity, and His authority shall forever exist side by side with His identity!

On the Sixth Day, the Creator Speaks, and Each Kind of Living Creature in His Mind Makes Its Appearance, One After Another

Imperceptibly, the Creator’s work of making all things had continued for five days, immediately following which the Creator welcomed the sixth day of His creation of all things. This day was another new beginning, and another extraordinary day. What, then, was the Creator’s plan on the eve of this new day? What new creatures would He produce, would He create? Listen, that is the voice of the Creator …

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps on the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:24–25). What living creatures are included? The Scriptures say: cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind. Which is to say that, on this day there were not only all sorts of living creatures upon the earth, but they were all classified according to their kind, and, likewise, “God saw that it was good.”

As during the previous five days, the Creator spoke with the same tone and ordered the birth of the living creatures that He desired, and that they appear upon the earth, each according to their kind. When the Creator exerts His authority, none of His words are spoken in vain, and so, on the sixth day, each living creature that He had intended to create appeared at the appointed time. As the Creator said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,” the earth was at once filled with life, and upon the land there suddenly emerged the breath of all sorts of living creatures…. In the grassy green wilderness, stout cows, swishing their tails to and fro, appeared one after the other, bleating sheep gathered themselves into herds, and neighing horses galloped forward…. In an instant, the vast expanses of silent grassland exploded with life…. The appearance of these various livestock added one beautiful scene after another to the tranquil grassland, and brought boundless vitality…. They would be the companions of the grasslands, and the masters of the grasslands, each mutually dependent on the other; so too would they become the guardians and keepers of these lands, which would be their permanent habitat, and which would provide them with all they needed, a source of eternal nourishment for their existence …

On the same day that these various livestock came into being, as the Creator’s words were uttered, all kinds of insects also appeared, one after the other. Even though they were the smallest of the living things among all creatures, their life force was still the miraculous creation of the Creator, and they did not arrive too late…. Some fluttered their little wings, while others slowly crawled; some hopped and bounced, others staggered; some moved forward powerfully, while others quickly retreated; some moved sideways, others hopped high and low…. All were busy trying to find homes for themselves: Some pushed their way into the grass, some set about burrowing holes in the ground, some flew up into the trees, hidden in the forests…. Though small in size, they were unwilling to endure the torment of an empty stomach, and after finding their own homes, they rushed to seek food to feed themselves. Some climbed upon the grass to eat its tender blades, some grabbed mouthfuls of dirt and swallowed it down into their stomachs, eating with much gusto and pleasure (as it turned out, this dirt became a fine meal for them); some were hidden in the forests, but they did not stop to rest, and the sap within the glossy dark green leaves provided a succulent meal…. After they were sated, still the insects did not cease their activity; though small in stature, they were possessed of tremendous energy and limitless exuberance, and so of all creatures, they are the most active and the most industrious. They were never lazy, and never craved ease and comfort. Once their appetites were sated, still they toiled about their labors for the sake of their future, busying themselves and rushing about for their tomorrows, for their survival…. They softly hummed ballads of various melodies and rhythms to encourage and urge themselves on. Their soft humming also added joy to the grass, trees, and every inch of soil, making each day, and each year, unique…. With their own languages and with their own ways, they passed on information to all the living things upon the land. Through their own respective special life courses, for the sake of all things, they developed their own markers, leaving behind traces…. They were on intimate terms with the soil, the grass, and the forests, and they brought vigor and vitality to the soil, the grass, and the forests. They also brought the exhortations and greetings of the Creator to all living things …

The Creator’s gaze swept across all things that He had created, and at this moment His eyes paused upon the forests and mountains, His mind turning. As His words were uttered forth, in the dense forests, and in the mountains, there appeared a type of creatures unlike any that had come before: They were the beasts spoken of by God. Long overdue, they shook their heads and swished their tails, each with their own unique face. You see, some had furry coats, some were armored, some bared fangs, some gaped with open mouths, some were long-necked, some short-tailed, some had fierce eyes, some had a timid gaze, some bent over to eat grass, some had mouths full of the scent of blood, some bounced along on two legs, some paced about on four hooves, some climbed up trees to look into the distance, some lay in wait in the forests, some searched for caves to rest, some ran and frolicked upon the plains, some moved through the forests…; some bellowed, some roared, some barked, some wailed…; some were soprano, some were baritone, some were full-throated, some were clear and melodious…; some were grim, some were pretty, some were disgusting, some were adorable, some were frightening, some were charmingly naive…. One by one, they each came forth. See how high and mighty they are, free-spirited, idly indifferent to each other, not bothering to spare a glance for one another…. Each bearing the particular life that the Creator endowed them with, and their own wildness, and brutishness, they appeared in the forests and in the mountains. “Contemptuous of all,” and full of an imposing, commanding air—after all, were they not the true masters of the mountains and forests? From the moment they were commanded to appear by the Creator, they “laid claim” to the forests and to the mountains, for the Creator had already sealed their boundaries and determined the scope of their existence. Only they were true lords of the mountains and forests, and that is why they were so wild, so “imperious.” They were called “beasts” purely because, of all creatures, they were the ones which were truly wild, brutish, and untamable. They could not be tamed, so they could not be reared, and could not live in harmony with mankind or perform labor for mankind. It was because they could not be reared, could not work for mankind, that they had to live at a distance from mankind, and could not be approached by mankind. In turn, it was because they lived at a distance from mankind, and could not be approached by mankind, that they were able to fulfill the responsibility bestowed upon them by the Creator: guarding the mountains and the forests. Their wildness was the best safeguard and assurance for the protection of the mountains and the guarding of the forests, and for their own existence and propagation. At the same time, their wildness maintained and ensured the balance among all things. Their arrival brought support and anchorage to the mountains and forests; their arrival injected boundless vigor and vitality into the still and empty mountains and forests. From this point onward, the mountains and forests became their permanent habitat, and they would never lose their home, because it was for them that the mountains and forests appeared and existed; the beasts would fulfill their duty and devote themselves fully to guarding them. So, too, would the beasts strictly abide by the exhortations of the Creator to hold on to their territory, and continue to use their beastly nature to maintain the balance of all things established by the Creator, and show forth the authority and power of the Creator!

All Things Under the Authority of the Creator Are Perfect

All things created by God, including those which could move and those which could not, such as birds and fish, such as trees, flowers, and grasses, and including the livestock, insects, and beasts made on the sixth day—they were all good in God’s eyes, and, furthermore, in the eyes of God, these things, in accordance with His plan, had all attained the acme of perfection and had reached the standards that God wished to achieve. Step by step, the Creator did the work He intended to do according to His plan. One after the other, the things He intended to create appeared, and the appearance of each was a reflection of the Creator’s authority, and also a crystallization of His authority; because of these crystallizations, all creatures could not help but be thankful for the grace and the provision of the Creator. As the miraculous deeds of God manifested themselves, this world swelled, piece by piece, with all of the things created by God, and it changed from chaos and darkness into clarity and brightness, from deathly stillness to liveliness and limitless vitality. Among all things of creation, from the great to the small, from the small to the microscopic, there was none which was not created by the authority and power of the Creator, and there was a unique and inherent necessity and value to the existence of each creature. Regardless of the differences in their form and structure, in any case, they had but to be made by the Creator to exist under the authority of the Creator. Sometimes people will see an insect, one which is very ugly, and they will say, “That insect is so ugly, there’s no way such an ugly thing could have been made by God—there’s no way He would create something so ugly.” What a foolish view! What they should say is, “Though this insect is so ugly, it was made by God, and so it must have its own unique purpose.” In the thoughts of God, He intended to give all kinds of appearances, and all sorts of functions and uses, to the various living things He created, and so none of the things God made were cut from the same cloth. From their exterior to their internal composition, from their living habits to the location that they occupy—each is different. Cows have the appearance of cows, donkeys have the appearance of donkeys, deer have the appearance of deer, and elephants have the appearance of elephants. Can you say which is the best looking, and which is the ugliest? Can you say which is the most useful, and which one’s existence is the least necessary? Some people like the way elephants look, but no one uses elephants to plant fields; some people like the way lions and tigers look, for their appearance is the most impressive among all things, but can you keep them as pets? In short, when it comes to all things of creation, man should have an attitude of submitting to the authority of the Creator, which is to say, deferring to the law appointed by the Creator for all things; this is the wisest. Man should also have an attitude of seeking, and submission to, the original intentions of the Creator; only this is true acceptance and affirmation of the authority of the Creator. It is good in God’s eyes, so what reason does man have to find fault?

At this point, all things under the authority of the Creator would play a new symphony for the sovereignty of the Creator, and commence a brilliant prelude for His work of the new day, and at this moment the Creator would also open a new page in the work of His management! According to the law appointed by the Creator of sprouting in spring, flourishing in summer, harvest in autumn, and storage in winter, all things would echo with the Creator’s plan of management, and they would welcome their own new day, new beginning, and new life course. They would live on and reproduce in endless succession in order to welcome each day under the sovereignty of the Creator’s authority …

No Created Being or Non-created Being Can Replace the Identity of the Creator

From when He commenced the creation of all things, the power of God began to be expressed and revealed, for God used words to create all things. Regardless of in what manner He created them, regardless of why He created them, all things came into being, were established, and existed because of the words of God; this is the unique authority of the Creator. In the time before mankind appeared in the world, the Creator used His power and authority to create all things for mankind, and employed His unique methods to prepare a suitable living environment for mankind. All that He did was in preparation for mankind, who would receive His breath. This is to say, in the time before mankind was created, the authority of God was shown forth in all creations different from mankind, in things as great as the celestial bodies, the lights, the seas, and the land, and in those as small as animals and birds, as well as all sorts of insects and microorganisms, including various bacteria invisible to the naked eye. Each continued to exist due to the words of the Creator, each reproduced because of the words of the Creator, and each lived under the sovereignty of the Creator because of His words. Although they did not receive the breath of the Creator, they still showed forth through their different forms and structures the vitality of life that the Creator had endowed them with; although they did not receive the ability to speak given to mankind by the Creator, each received a way of expressing their life that was bestowed upon them by the Creator, and which differed from the language of mankind. The authority of the Creator not only endows seemingly static material objects with the vitality of life, so that they will never disappear, but even more so endows all kinds of living beings with the instinct to reproduce and live on, so that they will never vanish, and so that, generation after generation, they will pass on the laws and principles of survival that the Creator has endowed them with. The manner in which the Creator exerts His authority does not rigidly adhere to a macro or micro viewpoint, and is not limited to any form. He is able to command the operations of the universe and hold sovereignty over the life and death of all things, and, even more so, He is able to maneuver all things so that they serve Him. He can manage all the workings of the mountains, rivers, and lakes, and hold sovereignty over all things within them, and all the more He is able to provide that which is needed by all things. This is the manifestation of the unique authority of the Creator among all things besides mankind. Such a manifestation is not just for a lifetime; it will never cease, nor rest, and it cannot be altered or damaged by any person or thing, nor can it be added to or reduced by any person or thing—for none can replace the identity of the Creator, and, therefore, the authority of the Creator cannot be replaced by any created being, and is unattainable by any non-created being. Take God’s messengers and angels for example. They do not possess the power of God, much less the authority of the Creator, and the reason why they do not have the power and authority of God is because they are not possessed of the essence of the Creator. Among non-created beings, God’s messengers and angels, for example, can do some things on behalf of God, but they cannot represent God. Although they possess some power not possessed by mankind, they do not possess the authority of God, and they do not possess the same authority as God to create all things, to command all things, and to hold sovereignty over all things. So, the uniqueness of God cannot be replaced by any non-created being, and, similarly, the authority and power of God cannot be replaced by any non-created being. In the Bible, have you read of any messenger of God that created all things? Why did God not dispatch any of His messengers or angels to create all things? It is because they did not possess the authority of God, and so they did not possess the ability to exert the authority of God. Just like all created beings, they are all under the sovereignty of the Creator, and under the authority of the Creator, and the Creator is also their God and their Sovereign. Among them, there is not one—whether noble or lowly, whether of great or minor power—who can surpass the authority of the Creator, and so among them, there is not one who can replace the identity of the Creator. They shall never be called God, and shall never be able to become the Creator. These are immutable truths and facts!

Through the fellowship above, can we establish the following definition: only the Creator and Sovereign of all things, He who is possessed of the unique authority and the unique power, can be called the unique God Himself? At this point, you may feel that My question is too profound. You are, for the moment, incapable of understanding it, and cannot see through to the essence within, and so for now you feel that it is difficult to answer. In that case, I shall continue with My fellowship. Next, I will allow you to behold the practical deeds of many aspects of the authority and power owned by God alone, and thus I will allow you to truly understand, appreciate, and know what is meant by the uniqueness of God, and what is meant by the unique authority of God.

2. God Uses His Words to Establish a Covenant With Man

Genesis 9:11–13 And I will establish My covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth.

After He Makes All Things, the Authority of the Creator Is Confirmed and Shown Forth Once More in the Rainbow Covenant

The authority of the Creator is ever shown forth and exerted among all creatures, and He not only holds sovereignty over the fate of all things, but He also holds sovereignty over mankind which He created with His own hands, this special creature which is possessed of a different life structure and exists in a different life form. After making all things, the Creator did not cease to express His authority and power; for Him, the authority with which He held sovereignty over all things and the fate of the whole of mankind formally began only once mankind was truly born from His hand. He intended to manage mankind, and hold sovereignty over mankind; He intended to save mankind and to truly gain mankind, to gain a mankind that could manage all things; He intended to make such a mankind live under His authority, and know and submit to His authority. Thus, God began to officially express His authority among man using His words, and began to use His authority to realize His words. Of course, God’s authority was shown forth in all places during this process; I have merely picked out some specific, well-known examples from which you may understand and know the uniqueness of God and His unique authority.

There is a similarity between the passage in Genesis 9:11–13 and the passages above concerning the record of God’s creation of the world, yet there is also a difference. What is the similarity? The similarity lies in God’s use of words to do that which He intended, and the difference is that the passage quoted here is God’s discourse with man, in which He established a covenant with man and told man of that which was contained within the covenant. This exertion of God’s authority was achieved during His discourse with man. That is, prior to the creation of mankind, God’s words were commands and orders, which were issued to the creatures that He intended to create, but now there was someone to hear the words of God. Therefore, His words were both a discourse with man and also an exhortation and admonishment to man. Even more so, His words were commands that bore His authority and which were delivered to all things.

What action of God is recorded in this passage? The passage records the covenant that God established with man after His destruction of the world with a flood; it tells man that God would not wreak such destruction upon the world again, and that, to this end, God wanted to create a sign. What was this sign? In the Scriptures it is said that “I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth.” These are the original words spoken by the Creator to mankind. As He said these words, a rainbow appeared before the eyes of man, and it has remained there until this very day. Everyone has seen such a rainbow, and when you see it, do you know how it appears? Science is incapable of proving it, or of locating its source, or identifying its whereabouts. That is because the rainbow is a sign of the covenant established between the Creator and man; it requires no scientific basis, it was not made by man, nor is man capable of altering it. It is a continuation of the Creator’s authority after He spoke His words. The Creator used His own particular method to uphold His covenant with man and His commitment, and so His use of the rainbow as a sign of the covenant that He had established is a heavenly edict and law that shall remain forever unchanged, whether in regard to the Creator or the created mankind. This immutable law is, it must be said, another true manifestation of the Creator’s authority following His creation of all things, and it must be said that the authority and power of the Creator are limitless; His use of the rainbow as a sign is really a continuation and extension of the Creator’s authority. This was another act performed by God using His words, and was a sign of the covenant that God had established with man using words. He told man of that which He resolved to bring about, and in what manner it would be fulfilled and achieved. In this way the matter was fulfilled according to the words from God’s mouth. Only God is possessed of such power, and today, several thousand years after He spoke these words, man can still look upon the rainbow spoken from the mouth of God. Because of that one sentence uttered by God, this thing has remained unaltered and unchanged right up until today. None can remove this rainbow, none can change its laws, and it exists solely for the words of God. This is precisely the authority of God. “God means what He says, what He means shall be done, and what He does shall last forever.” Such words are clearly manifested here, and it is a clear sign and characteristic of the authority and power of God. Such a sign or characteristic is not possessed by or seen in any of the created beings, nor is it seen in any of the non-created beings. It belongs only to the unique God, and distinguishes the identity and essence possessed only by the Creator from that of the created beings. At the same time, it is also a sign and characteristic that, apart from God Himself, can never be surpassed by any created or non-created being.

To God, the establishment of His covenant with man was an act of great importance, one that He intended to use to communicate a fact to man and tell man His intention. To this end He employed a unique method, using a special sign to establish a covenant with man, and using this sign to commit to the covenant that He had established with man. So, was the establishment of this covenant a great event? Just how great was it? This is exactly what is so special about the covenant: It is not a covenant established between one man and another, or one group and another, or one country and another, but a covenant established between the Creator and the whole of mankind, and it shall remain valid until the day that the Creator abolishes all things. The executor of this covenant is the Creator, and its maintainer is also the Creator. In short, the entirety of the rainbow covenant established with mankind was fulfilled and achieved according to the Creator’s discourse with man, and has remained so right up until today. What else can the created beings do apart from submit to, obey, believe, appreciate, witness, and praise the authority of the Creator? For none but the unique God is possessed of the power to establish such a covenant. The appearance of the rainbow, time and time again, is an announcement to mankind and calls their attention to the covenant between the Creator and mankind. In the continual appearances of the covenant between the Creator and mankind, what is demonstrated to mankind is not a rainbow or the covenant itself, but the immutable authority of the Creator. The recurring appearance of the rainbow demonstrates the earth-shattering and miraculous deeds of the Creator in hidden places, and, at the same time, is a vibrant expression of the Creator’s authority that will never fade away, and will never change. Is this not another manifestation of the Creator’s unique authority?

3. The Blessings of God

Genesis 17:4–6 As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you.

Genesis 18:18–19 Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do justice and judgment; that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He has spoken of him.

Genesis 22:16–18 By Myself have I sworn, said Jehovah, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed My voice.

Job 42:12 So Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

The Unique Manner and Characteristics of the Creator’s Utterances Are a Symbol of the Unique Identity and Authority of the Creator

Many wish to seek, and gain, the blessings of God, but not everyone can gain these blessings, for God has His own principles, and blesses man in His own way. The promises that God makes to man, and the amount of grace that He bestows upon man, are allocated based on the thoughts and actions of man. So, what is shown by the blessings of God? What can people see within them? At this point, let us put aside discussion of what kinds of people God blesses, and the principles of God’s blessing of man. Instead, let us look at God’s blessing of man with the objective of knowing the authority of God, from the perspective of knowing the authority of God.

The four passages of Scripture above are all records about God’s blessing of man. They provide a detailed description of the recipients of God’s blessings, such as Abraham and Job, as well as of the reasons why God bestowed His blessings, and of what was contained within these blessings. The tone and manner of God’s utterances, and the perspective and position from which He spoke, allow people to appreciate that the One who bestows blessings and the recipient of such blessings are of a distinctly different identity, status, and essence. The tone and manner of these utterances, and the position from which they were spoken, are unique to God, who possesses the identity of the Creator. He has authority and might, as well as the honor of the Creator and majesty that brooks no doubt from any man.

First let us look at Genesis 17:4–6: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you.” These words were the covenant that God established with Abraham, as well as God’s blessing of Abraham: God would make Abraham the father of many nations, would make him exceedingly fruitful, and would make nations of him, and kings would come of him. Do you see the authority of God in these words? And how do you see such authority? Which aspect of the essence of God’s authority do you see? From a close reading of these words, it is not hard to discover that the authority and identity of God are clearly revealed in the wording of God’s utterances. For example, when God says, “My covenant is with you, and you shall … have I made you … I will make you…,” wording such as “you shall” and “I will,” which is affirmative and bears God’s identity and authority, is, in one respect, an indication of the Creator’s faithfulness; in another respect, it is terminology exclusively and habitually used by God, who possesses the identity of the Creator. If someone blesses another person, saying that they will be exceedingly fruitful, that nations will be made from them, and that kings shall come from them, then that is without a doubt merely a kind of wish, not a promise or a blessing. So, people dare not say, “I will make you such and such, you shall such and such,” for they know that they do not possess such power; it is not up to them, and even if they say such things, their words would be empty talk and nonsense, driven by their desire and ambition. Does anyone dare to speak in such a grand tone if they feel that they cannot accomplish their wishes? Everyone wishes well for their descendants, and hopes that they will rise to prominence and stand out from the crowd. “What great fortune it would be for one of them to become emperor! If one were to be a governor that would be good, too—just as long as they’re above others!” These are all people’s wishes, but people can only wish blessings upon their descendants, and cannot fulfill or make any of their promises or commitments come true. In their hearts, everyone clearly knows that they do not possess the power to achieve such things, for everything about them is out of their hands, and so how could they control the fate of others? The reason why God can say words like these is because God possesses such authority, and is capable of accomplishing and realizing all the promises that He makes to man, and of making all the blessings that He bestows upon man come true. Man was created by God, and for God to make someone exceedingly fruitful would be child’s play; to make someone’s descendants prosperous would require but a word from Him. He would never have to work Himself into a sweat for such a thing, or task His mind, or exhaust His mental energy; this is the very power of God, the very authority of God.

After reading “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” in Genesis 18:18, can you feel the authority of God? Can you sense the extraordinariness of the Creator? Can you sense the supremacy of the Creator? The words of God are certain. God does not say such words because of, or in representation of, His confidence in success; they are, instead, proof of the authority of God’s utterances, and are a command that fulfills the words of God. There are two expressions that you should pay attention to here. When God says, “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him,” is there any element of ambiguity in these words? Is there any element of concern? Is there any element of fear? Because of the words “shall surely” and “shall be” in God’s utterances, these elements, which are particular to man and often exhibited in him, have never borne any relation to the Creator. No one would dare to use such words when wishing others well, and no one would dare to definitively bless someone else with a great and mighty nation, or promise that all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. The more certain the words of God, the more that they prove something—and what is that something? They prove that God has such authority, that His authority can accomplish these things, and that God will surely accomplish them. God was certain in His heart, without the slightest hesitation, of all that He blessed Abraham with. Furthermore, He would accomplish all of this in accordance with His words, and no force would be able to alter, obstruct, impair, or disturb its fulfillment. Regardless of what else happened, nothing could stop or influence the fulfillment and accomplishment of God’s words. This is the very might of the words uttered from the mouth of the Creator, and the authority of the Creator that does not brook the denial of man! Having read these words, do you still feel doubt? These words were spoken from the mouth of God, and there is power, majesty, and authority in the words of God. Such might and authority, and the inevitability of the accomplishment of fact, are unattainable by any created or non-created being, and unsurpassable by any created or non-created being. Only the Creator can converse with mankind with such a tone and intonation, and facts have proven that His promises are not empty words, or idle boasts, but are the expression of unique authority that is unsurpassable by any person, event, or thing.

What is the difference between the words spoken by God and the words spoken by man? When you read these words spoken by God, you sense the might of God’s words and the authority of God. How do you feel when you hear people saying such words? Do you think they are extremely arrogant, that they are bragging, and that they are making a show of themselves? For they do not have this power, they do not possess such authority, and so they are completely incapable of achieving such things. That they are so sure of their promises only shows that they are speaking recklessly. If someone says such words, then it would undoubtedly be a display of arrogance, an overestimation of their own abilities, and an outflow of the classic disposition of the archangel. These words came from the mouth of God; do you sense any element of arrogance here? Do you feel that God’s words are just a joke? The words of God are authority, the words of God are fact, and before the words are uttered from His mouth, which is to say, when He determines to accomplish something, that thing has already been accomplished. It can be said that all that God said to Abraham was a covenant that God established with Abraham, and a promise made by God to Abraham. This promise was an established fact, as well as an accomplished fact, and these facts were gradually fulfilled in God’s thoughts according to God’s plan. So, for God to say such words does not mean that He has an arrogant disposition, because God is able to achieve such things, He has this power and authority, and is fully capable of achieving these acts, and their accomplishment is entirely within the range of His ability. When words like these are uttered from the mouth of God, they are a revelation and expression of God’s true disposition, a perfect revelation and manifestation of the essence and authority of God, and there is no more appropriate and suitable proof of the Creator’s identity. The manner, tone, and wording of such utterances are precisely the mark of the Creator’s identity, and they are revelations that correspond perfectly to God’s own identity; in them there is no pretense, no impurity; they are, completely and utterly, the perfect demonstration of the essence and authority of the Creator. As created beings, humans possess neither this authority, nor this essence, much less do they possess power given by God. If man has such revelations, then unmistakably it is an eruption of his corrupt disposition; it is man’s arrogance and ambition acting up; it is the exposure of the malicious intention of out-and-out devils and Satans to mislead people and entice them to betray God. How does God regard such revelations of language? God would say that you wish to vie for status with Him and that you wish to impersonate and replace Him. When you imitate the tone of God’s utterances, your intention is to supplant God’s place in man’s heart, to appropriate the mankind that rightfully belongs to God. This makes you a bona fide Satan; these are the actions of the descendants of the archangel, intolerable to Heaven! Among you, are there any who have ever imitated God in a certain way by speaking a few words, with the intention of misguiding and misleading people, and making them feel as if the words and actions of this person carried the authority and might of God, as if this person’s essence and identity were unique, and even as if the tone of this person’s words was similar to God’s? Have you ever done something like this? Have you ever imitated the tone of God in your speech, with gestures that purportedly represent the disposition of God, with so-called might and authority? Do most of you often act, or plan to act, in such a way? Now, when you truly see, perceive, and know the authority of the Creator, and look back upon what you used to do, and what you used to reveal of yourselves, do you feel sickened? Do you recognize your despicableness and shamelessness? Having dissected the disposition and essence of such people, could it be said that they are the accursed sons of hell? Could it be said that everyone who does such things is bringing humiliation upon themselves? Do you recognize the seriousness of its nature? Just how serious is it? The intention of people who act in this way is to imitate God, to be God, to make people worship them as God, to abolish God’s place in people’s hearts, to drive out the God who works among man, and thus achieve their aim of controlling people, devouring people, and taking possession of them. Everyone has subconscious desires and ambitions like this, and everyone lives in this kind of satanic corrupt essence, in a satanic nature of being in enmity with God, betraying God, and wishing to become God. Following My fellowship on the topic of God’s authority, do you still harbor the desire and ambition to impersonate or imitate God? Do you still desire to be God? Do you still wish to become God? The authority of God cannot be imitated by man, and the identity and status of God cannot be impersonated by man. Though you are capable of imitating the tone with which God speaks, you cannot imitate the essence of God. Though you are able to stand in God’s place and impersonate God, you will never be able to do that which God intends to do, and will never be able to hold sovereignty over and rule over all things. In the eyes of God, you shall forever be a small created being, and regardless of how great your skills and ability are, regardless of how many gifts you have, you are, in your entirety, under the dominion of the Creator. Though you are capable of some tough talk, this can neither show that you have the essence of the Creator, nor represent that you possess the authority of the Creator. The authority and power of God are the essence of God Himself. They were not learned or added externally, but are the inherent essence of God Himself. And so the relationship between the Creator and created beings can never be altered. As a member of created mankind, you must keep to your proper position, and conduct yourself in a well-behaved manner. Dutifully hold fast to that which is entrusted to you by the Creator. Do not act out of line, or do things beyond your range of ability or which are loathsome to God. Do not pursue being a great person, a superman, or a grand individual, and do not pursue becoming God. These are all wishes that man should not have. Pursuing being a great person or a superman is absurd. Pursuing becoming God is even more disgraceful; it is disgusting, and despicable. What is truly precious, and what created beings should hold to more than anything else, is becoming a true created being; this is the only goal that all people should pursue.

The Creator’s Authority Is Not Constrained by Time, Space, or Geography, and the Creator’s Authority Is Beyond Calculation

Let us look at Genesis 22:17–18. This is another passage spoken by Jehovah God, in which He said to Abraham, “That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed My voice.” Jehovah God blessed Abraham many times, promising that his offspring would multiply—but to what extent would they multiply? To the extent spoken of in the Scriptures: “as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore.” This is to say that God wished to bestow upon Abraham a progeny as numerous as the stars of heaven, and as plentiful as the sand on the sea shore. This was merely a figurative expression, and from God’s imagery it is not hard to see that He would not merely bestow one, two, or even just thousands of descendants upon Abraham, but an uncountable number, enough that they would become a multitude of nations, for God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Now, was that number decided by man, or was it decided by God? Can man control how many descendants he has? Is it up to him? It is not even up to man whether or not he has several, let alone as many as “the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore.” Who does not wish for their offspring to be as numerous as the stars? Unfortunately, things often go contrary to one’s wishes. Regardless of how skillful or capable man is, it is not up to him; none can transcend that which is ordained by God. However much He allows you, that is how much you shall have: If God gives you a little, then you shall never have a lot, and if God gives you a lot, it is no use complaining that you have too much. Is this not the case? All of this is up to God, not man! Man is under God’s sovereignty, and no one is exempt!

When God said, “I will multiply your seed,” this was a covenant that God established with Abraham, and like the rainbow covenant, it would be accomplished for eternity, and it was also a promise made by God to Abraham. Only God is qualified and able to make this promise come true. Regardless of whether or not man believes it, regardless of whether or not man accepts it, and regardless of how man views and regards it, all of this shall be fulfilled to the letter, according to the words spoken by God. The words of God will not be altered because of changes in the will or notions of man, and they will not be altered because of changes in any person, event, or thing. All things may pass away, but the words of God will never pass away. In fact, the day that all things pass away is exactly the day upon which the words of God are completely fulfilled. He is the Creator; He possesses the authority of the Creator, the power of the Creator, and He controls all things and all life force; He is able to cause nothing to become something, or something to become nothing, and He controls all transitions between life and death. Therefore, for God, nothing could be simpler than multiplying someone’s offspring. This sounds fantastical to man, like a fairy tale, but to God, that which He decides to do and promises man is not fantastical, nor is it a fairy tale. Rather, it is a fact that God has already seen, and which shall surely be accomplished. Do you appreciate this? Do the facts prove that the descendants of Abraham were numerous? How numerous were they? Were they as numerous as “the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore” spoken of by God? Did they spread across all nations and regions, to every place in the world? Through what was this fact accomplished? Was it accomplished by the authority of God’s words? For several hundreds or thousands of years after the words of God were spoken, God’s words continued to be fulfilled, and were constantly becoming facts; this is the might of God’s words, and proof of the authority of God. When God created all things in the beginning, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. This happened very quickly, was fulfilled in a very short time, and there was no delay in its accomplishment and fulfillment; the effects of God’s words were immediate. Both were a manifestation of God’s authority, but when God blessed Abraham, He allowed man to see another side of the essence of God’s authority, as well as the fact that the Creator’s authority is beyond calculation, and even more so, He allowed man to see a more practical, more exquisite side of the Creator’s authority.

Once the words of God are uttered, the authority of God takes command of this work, and the fact promised by the mouth of God begins to gradually become a reality. As a result, different changes begin to appear among all things; for example, at the arrival of spring, the grass turns green, the flowers bloom, buds sprout from the trees, the birds begin to sing, the geese return, and the fields teem with people…. With the arrival of spring all things are rejuvenated, and this is the miraculous deed of the Creator. When God accomplishes His promises, all things in heaven and on earth renew and change in accordance with the thoughts of God—none is exempt. For the fulfillment of a commitment or promise uttered from the mouth of God, all things serve and are maneuvered; all creatures are orchestrated and arranged under the dominion of the Creator, playing their respective roles, and serving their respective functions with reverence. This is the manifestation of the Creator’s authority. What do you see in this? How do you know the authority of God? Is there a range to God’s authority? Is there a time limit? Can it be measured in terms of height and length? Can it be measured in terms of size or strength? Can it be measured by the dimensions of man? The authority of God does not flicker on and off, does not come and go, and there is no one who can measure just how great His authority is. Regardless of how much time passes, when God blesses a person, this blessing will continue forth, and its continuation will bear testament to the immeasurability of God’s authority, and will allow mankind to behold the reappearance of the inextinguishable life force of the Creator, time and time again. Each manifestation of His authority takes the words from His mouth and demonstrates them perfectly, demonstrating them to all things, and to mankind. Furthermore, everything accomplished by His authority is exquisite beyond compare, and utterly flawless. It can be said that His thoughts, His words, His authority, and all the work that He accomplishes are all an incomparably exquisite picture, and for the creatures, the language of mankind is far from capable of articulating the significance and value of these things. After God makes a promise to a person, regardless of where they are and what they are doing, regardless of their situation before or after they received the promise, and regardless of how much their living environment has changed, everything about them is as familiar to God as the back of His own hand. No matter how much time elapses after God’s words have been spoken, for Him, it is as if they have just been uttered. This is to say that God has the power and the kind of authority to keep track of, control, and fulfill every promise He makes to mankind, and regardless of what the promise is, regardless of how long it takes to be completely fulfilled, and, even more so, regardless of how broad the scope is that its accomplishment touches upon—for example, time, geography, race, and so on—this promise will be accomplished and fulfilled, and for Him, its accomplishment and fulfillment will not require the slightest effort. What does this prove? It proves that the scope of governance of God’s authority and power is the whole of the universe, and the whole of mankind. God made light, but it cannot be said that God therefore only manages light, or that He only manages water because He created water, and that everything else is unrelated to God. Would this not be a misunderstanding? Although God’s blessing of Abraham had gradually faded from the memory of man after several hundred years, for God, this promise still remains the same. It is still in the process of accomplishment, and has never stopped. Man never knew or heard how God exerted His authority, how all things were orchestrated and arranged, and how many wonderful stories occurred among all things of God’s creation during this time, but every wonderful piece of the manifestation of God’s authority and the revelation of His deeds has been passed on and exalted among all things. All things have shown forth and spoken of the miraculous deeds of the Creator, and each wonderful story of the Creator’s sovereignty over all things shall be proclaimed by all things forevermore. The authority by which God holds sovereignty over all things, and the power of God, show to all things that God is present everywhere and at all times. When you have witnessed the omnipresence of the authority and power of God, you will see that God is present everywhere and at all times. The authority and power of God are unconstrained by time, geography, space, or any person, event, or thing. The breadth of God’s authority and power surpasses the imagination of man; it is unfathomable to man, unimaginable to man, and shall never be completely known by man.

Some people like to infer and imagine, but how far can man’s imagination reach? Can it go beyond this world? Are the inference and imagination of man capable of constructing the authenticity and accuracy of God’s authority? Are they capable of allowing him to achieve a knowledge of God’s authority? Can they make man truly appreciate and submit to the authority of God? Facts prove that the inferences and imaginings of man are only a product of man’s brain, and provide not the slightest help or benefit to man’s knowledge of God’s authority. Some people have read a few science fiction novels; they are able to imagine what the moon is like and know about other planets, yet this does not mean that man has any understanding of the authority of God. Man’s imagination is just that: imagination. Of the facts of these things, which is to say, of their connection to God’s authority, he has absolutely no grasp. What does it matter even if you have been to the moon? Does this show that you have a multidimensional understanding of God’s authority? Does it show that you are able to imagine the breadth of God’s authority and power? Since the inference and imagination of man are incapable of allowing him to know the authority of God, what should man do? The wisest option would be to not infer or imagine, which is to say that man must never rely on imagination and depend on inference when it comes to knowing the authority of God. What is it I wish to say to you here? Knowledge of God’s authority, God’s power, God’s own identity, and God’s essence cannot be achieved by relying on your imagination. Since you cannot rely on imagination to know the authority of God, then in what way can you achieve a true knowledge of God’s authority? The way is to gradually experience and verify God’s authority through eating and drinking the words of God, through fellowshipping, and through experiencing the words of God, and thereby gain a gradual understanding and incremental knowledge of it. This is the only way to achieve the knowledge of God’s authority; there are no shortcuts. Asking you not to imagine is not the same as making you sit passively to await destruction, or stopping you from doing anything. Not using your brain to think and imagine means not using logic to infer, not using knowledge to analyze, not using science as the basis, but instead appreciating, verifying, and confirming that the God you believe in has authority, confirming that He holds sovereignty over your fate, and that His power at all times proves Him to be the true God Himself, through the words of God, through the truth, through everything that you encounter in life. This is the path everyone must experience to achieve an understanding of God. Some say that they wish to find a simpler way of achieving this aim, but have you come up with such a way? I tell you, there is no need to think about it at all; there are no other ways! The only way is to honestly and steadily come to know and verify what God has and is through every word that He expresses and everything that He does. This is the only way to know God. For what God has and is, and everything of God, is not empty, but practical.

The Fact of the Creator’s Control and Sovereignty Over All Things and Living Beings Speaks of the True Existence of the Creator’s Authority

Similarly, Jehovah’s blessing of Job is recorded in the Book of Job. What did God bestow upon Job? “So Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12). From mankind’s perspective, what were these things that were bestowed upon Job? Were they not assets of man? With these assets, would Job not have been very wealthy during that age? Then, how did he acquire such assets? What caused his wealth? It goes without saying—it was thanks to the blessing of God that Job came to possess them. How Job treated these assets, and how he treated the blessings of God, is not something we will discuss here. When it comes to the blessings of God, all people yearn, day and night, to be blessed by God, yet man has no control over how many assets he can gain during his lifetime, or whether he can receive blessings from God—this is an indisputable fact! God has the authority and power to bestow any assets upon man, to allow man to obtain any blessings, and yet there is a principle to God’s blessings. What kind of people does God bless? He blesses the people that are pleasing to Him, of course! Abraham and Job were both blessed by God, yet the blessings which they received were not the same. God blessed Abraham with descendants as numerous as the sand and the stars. In the matter of blessing Abraham, God caused the descendants of a single man, one nation, to become powerful and prosperous. In this, what God’s authority held sovereignty over was mankind, who breathed the breath of God among all things and living beings. Under the sovereignty of God’s authority, this mankind multiplied and survived at a speed determined by God, and within a scope determined by God. Specifically, this nation’s viability, rate of expansion, and life expectancy were all part of God’s orchestration, and the principle of God doing all of this was wholly based on the promise that God made to Abraham. This is to say that, regardless of the circumstances, God’s promises would proceed without hindrance and be realized under the protection of God’s authority. In terms of the promise that God made to Abraham, regardless of the world’s upheavals, regardless of the era, regardless of the disasters endured by mankind, the descendants of Abraham would not face the risk of annihilation, and their nation would not die out. God’s blessing of Job, however, made him extremely wealthy. What God bestowed upon him was primarily a variety of breathing living beings, the particulars of which—their number, their speed of propagation, survival rates, and whether or not they were plump and sturdy, and so on—were also controlled by God. Though these living beings did not possess the ability to speak, they too were part of the Creator’s orchestration, and the principle behind God’s orchestration for them was based on the blessings that God promised to Job. Speaking of the blessings that God gave to Abraham and Job, though what was promised was different, the authority with which the Creator held sovereignty over all things and living beings was the same. Every detail of God’s authority and power is expressed in His different promises and blessings to Abraham and Job, and shows mankind, once again, that the authority of God is far beyond man’s imagination. These details tell mankind once more that if he wishes to know God’s authority, then this can only be achieved through God’s words and through experiencing God’s work.

The authority of God’s sovereignty over all things allows man to see a fact: God’s authority is not only embodied in the words “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light, and, Let there be a firmament, and there was firmament, and, Let there be land, and there was land,” but, to a greater extent, His authority is also embodied in how He made the light continue, prevented the firmament from disappearing, and kept the land forever separate from the water, as well as in the details of how He held sovereignty over and managed the things He created: light, firmament, and land. What else do you see in God’s blessing of mankind? Clearly, after God blessed Abraham and Job, God’s footsteps did not cease, for He had only just begun to exert His authority, and He intended to make every one of His words a reality, and to make every one of the details of which He spoke come true, and so, in the years to come, He continued doing everything that He intended. Perhaps it seems to man that because God has authority, He need only speak, and without lifting a finger, all matters and things are accomplished. This imagining is inevitably somewhat absurd! If you only take the one-sided view of God’s establishment of the covenant with man using words, and of God’s accomplishment of everything using words, and you are incapable of seeing the various signs and facts that the authority of God holds sovereignty over the existence of all things, then your understanding of God’s authority is so hollow and ridiculous! If man imagines God to be thus, then, it must be said, man’s knowledge of God has reached an impasse and hit a dead end, for the god that man imagines is but a machine that issues orders, not the God who is possessed of authority. What have you seen through the examples of Abraham and Job? Have you seen the practical side of God’s authority and power? After God blessed Abraham and Job, God did not stay where He was, nor did He put His messengers to work while waiting to see what fruits would be borne. On the contrary, as soon as God uttered His words, under the guidance of God’s authority, all things began to comply with the work that God intended to do, preparing the people, events, and things that God required. This is to say that, as soon as the words were uttered from the mouth of God, God’s authority began to be exerted across the whole land, and opened up a path by which to accomplish and fulfill the promises that God made to Abraham and Job, while also making all the proper plans and preparations for everything that was required for each step and each key stage that was to be carried out. During this time, God not only maneuvered His messengers, but also all things that had been created by Him. This is to say that the scope of the exertion of God’s authority was not His messengers, but that God even more so maneuvered all things so they complied with the work that He intended to accomplish; these were the specific manners in which the authority of God was exerted. In your thoughts, some may have the following understanding of God’s authority: God has authority, and God has power, and so God need only remain in the third heaven, or in a fixed place, and need not do any particular work, and the entirety of God’s work is completed within His thoughts. Some may also believe that, although God blessed Abraham, God did not need to do anything, and it was enough for Him to merely speak His words. Is this what really happened? Clearly not! Although God is possessed of authority and power, His authority is true and practical, not empty. The authenticity and practicality of God’s authority and power are gradually revealed and embodied in His creation of all things, in His control over all things, and in the process by which He leads and manages mankind. Every method, every perspective, and every detail of God’s sovereignty over mankind and all things, and all the work that He has accomplished, as well as His understanding of all things—they all really and truly prove that the authority and power of God are not empty words. His authority and power are shown forth and revealed constantly, and in all things. These manifestations and revelations speak of the real existence of God’s authority, for He is using His authority and power to continue His work, to command all things, and to hold sovereignty over all things at every moment; His power and authority can’t be replaced even by the angels or by the messengers of God. God decided what blessings He would bestow upon Abraham and Job—it was God’s decision to make. Even though the messengers of God personally visited Abraham or Job, their actions were based on the commands of God, and their actions were taken under the authority of God and, likewise, the messengers were under the sovereignty of God. Although man sees the messengers of God visit Abraham, and does not witness Jehovah God personally do anything in the records of the Bible, in fact, the only One who truly exerts power and authority is God Himself, and this brooks no doubt from any man! Even if you have seen that the angels or the messengers possess great power and have performed miracles, or that they have accepted God’s commission and done certain things, their actions are merely for the sake of completing God’s commission, and are by no means a manifestation of the authority of God—for no person or thing has, or possesses, the authority of the Creator to create all things and hold sovereignty over all things. So, no person or thing can exert or show forth the authority of the Creator.

The Authority of the Creator Is Immutable and Must Not Be Offended

What have you seen in these three parts of the Scriptures? Have you seen that there is a principle by which God exerts His authority? For example, God used a rainbow to establish a covenant with man—He placed a rainbow in the clouds and told man that He would never again use a flood to destroy the world. Is the rainbow people see today still the same one that was spoken of by God? Have its nature and meaning changed? Without a doubt, they have not. God used His authority to carry out this action, and the covenant that He established with man has continued until today, and the time at which this covenant shall be altered will, of course, be God’s decision. After God said, “set My bow in the cloud,” God has always upheld this covenant, right up until today. What do you see in this? Although God is possessed of authority and power, He is very rigorous and principled in His actions, and stays true to His word. His rigorousness, and the principles of His actions, show the Creator’s intolerance of offense and the insuperability of the Creator’s authority. Though He is possessed of supreme authority, and all things are under His dominion, and although He has the power to hold sovereignty over all things, God has never damaged or disrupted His own plan, and each time He exerts His authority, it is in strict accordance with His own principles, and precisely follows that which was spoken from His mouth, and follows the steps and objectives of His plan. Needless to say, all things under God’s sovereignty also obey the principles by which God’s authority is exerted, and no man or thing can escape from the orchestrations of His authority, nor can they alter the principles by which His authority is exerted. In God’s eyes, those who are blessed receive the blessings due to His authority, and those who are cursed receive their punishment due to His authority. Under the sovereignty of God’s authority, no man or thing can escape the exertion of His authority, nor can they alter the principles by which His authority is exerted. The authority of the Creator is not altered by changes in any factor, and, similarly, the principles by which His authority is exerted do not alter for any reason. Heaven and earth may undergo great upheavals, but the authority of the Creator will not change; all things may pass away, but the authority of the Creator never will. This is the essence of the Creator’s immutable authority that must not be offended, and this is the very uniqueness of the Creator!

The words below must be mentioned in order to know the authority of God, and their meaning is given in the fellowship below. Let us continue reading the Scriptures.

4. God’s Command to Satan

Job 2:6 And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life.

Satan Has Never Dared to Transgress the Authority of the Creator, and Because of This, All Things Live in Order

This is an excerpt from the Book of Job, and the “he” in these words refers to Job. Though brief, this sentence is indicative of many things. It describes a particular exchange between God and Satan in the spiritual realm, and tells us that the object of God’s words was Satan. It also records what was specifically said by God. God’s words were a command and an order to Satan. The specific details of this order relate to sparing the life of Job and where God drew the line in Satan’s treatment of Job—Satan had to spare Job’s life. The first thing we learn from this sentence is that these were words spoken by God to Satan. According to the original text of the Book of Job, it tells us the background to such words: Satan wished to accuse Job, and so it had to obtain the agreement of God before it could tempt him. When consenting to Satan’s request to tempt Job, God put forward the following condition to Satan: “Job is in your hand; but save his life.” What is the nature of these words? They are clearly a command, an order. Having understood the nature of these words, you should, of course, also grasp that the One who issued this order was God, and that the one who received this order, and obeyed it, was Satan. Needless to say, in this order, the relationship between God and Satan is evident to anyone who reads these words. Of course, this is also the relationship between God and Satan in the spiritual realm, and the difference between the identity and status of God and Satan, provided in the records of the exchanges between God and Satan in the Scriptures, and is the distinct difference between the identity and status of God and Satan that to date man can learn of in the specific example and textual record. At this point, I must say that the record of these words is an important document in mankind’s knowledge of the identity and status of God, and it provides important information for mankind’s knowledge of God. Through one of the exchanges between the Creator and Satan in the spiritual realm, man is able to understand one more specific aspect in the authority of the Creator. In these words, the Creator’s unique authority is confirmed once again.

Outwardly, Jehovah God is engaging in a dialogue with Satan. In terms of essence, the attitude with which Jehovah God speaks and the position in which He stands are superior to those of Satan. This is to say that Jehovah God is commanding Satan with the tone of an order, and is telling Satan what it should and should not do, that Job is already in its hands, and that it is free to treat Job however it wishes—but that it may not take Job’s life. The subtext is that, although Job has been placed in Satan’s hands, his life is not given over to Satan; no one can take the life of Job from God’s hands unless permitted by God. God’s attitude emanates very clearly from this order to Satan, and at the same time this order also manifests and reveals the position from which Jehovah God converses with Satan. In this, Jehovah God not only holds the status of God who created light, and air, and all things and living beings, of the God who holds sovereignty over all things and living beings, but also of the God who commands mankind, and commands Hades, the God who controls the life and death of all living beings. In the spiritual realm, who apart from God would dare to issue such an order to Satan? And why did God personally issue His order to Satan? Because the life of man, including that of Job, is controlled by God. God did not permit Satan to harm or take the life of Job, and even when God permitted Satan to tempt Job, God still did not forget to specially issue such an order, and once again commanded Satan not to take the life of Job. Satan has never dared to overstep the authority of God, and has even been careful to follow and obey the orders and specific commands of God, never daring to defy them, and, of course, not daring to freely alter any of God’s orders. Such are the limits that God has set out for Satan, and so Satan has never dared to cross these limits. Is this not the might of God’s authority? Is this not a confirmation of God’s authority? Satan has a much clearer grasp than mankind in how it treats God, and how it views God. Satan, which is in the spiritual realm, sees the status and authority of God very clearly, and has had profound experience with the might of God’s authority and the principles behind the exertion of His authority. It thus does not dare in the slightest to overlook them, nor does it dare to violate them in any way. It does not dare to do anything that oversteps the authority of God, nor does it dare to challenge God’s anger in any way. Though it is wicked and arrogant in nature, Satan has never dared to cross the boundaries and limits set out for it by God. For tens of millions of years, it has strictly abided by these boundaries, has abided by every command and order given to it by God, and has never dared to overstep the mark. Though it is malicious, Satan is much “wiser” than corrupt mankind; it knows the identity of the Creator, and knows its own boundaries. From Satan’s “rule-abiding” actions it can be seen that the authority and power of God are heavenly edicts which Satan must not overstep. It is precisely because of the uniqueness and authority of God that all things change and subsist in an orderly way, that mankind can live and multiply within the course established by God, with no person or thing capable of upsetting this order, and no person or thing capable of changing this rule—for they all come from the hands of the Creator, and from the ordination and authority of the Creator.

Only God, Who Has the Identity of the Creator, Possesses the Unique Authority

The special identity of Satan has caused many people to exhibit a strong interest in its manifestations of various aspects. There are even many muddleheaded people who believe that, apart from God, Satan is also possessed of authority, for Satan is capable of showing miracles, and is capable of doing all kinds of things that are impossible for mankind. Thus, in addition to worshiping God, mankind also reserves a place for Satan in his heart, and even worships Satan as god. These people are both pitiable and hateful. They are pitiable because of their ignorance, and hateful because of their heinous rebelliousness and inherently wicked substance. At this point, I feel that it is necessary to make you understand what authority is, what it symbolizes, and what it represents. Broadly speaking, God Himself is authority, His authority symbolizes the supremacy and essence of God, and the authority of God Himself represents the status and identity of God. Since this is the case, does Satan dare to say that it itself is God? Does Satan dare to say that it created all things, and holds sovereignty over all things? Of course it does not! For it is incapable of creating all things; to date, it has never made anything created by God, and has never created anything that has life. Because it does not have God’s authority, it could never possibly possess the status and identity of God, and this is determined by its essence. Does it have the same power as God? Of course it does not! What do we call the acts of Satan, and the miracles exhibited by Satan? Is it power? Could it be called authority? Of course not! Satan directs the tide of evil, and disturbs, impairs, and disrupts God’s work everywhere. For the last several thousand years, apart from corrupting and grievously harming mankind, and luring and misleading man to depravity and to rejecting God so that man walks toward the valley of the shadow of death, has Satan done anything that deserves even the slightest remembrance, commendation, or cherishment by man? If Satan possessed authority and power, would mankind have been corrupted by it? If Satan possessed authority and power, would mankind have been grievously harmed by it? If Satan possessed power and authority, would mankind have forsaken God and turned to death? Since Satan has no authority or power, what should we conclude about the essence of all that it does? There are those who define all that Satan does as petty tricks, yet I believe that such a definition is not so appropriate. Are the evil deeds of its corruption of mankind petty tricks? The evil momentum with which Satan grievously harmed Job, and its fierce desire to do so and devour him, could not possibly be achieved by petty tricks. Looking back, in an instant, the flocks and herds of Job, scattered far and wide across hills and mountains, were gone; in an instant, Job’s great fortune disappeared. Could that have been achieved by petty tricks? The nature of all that Satan does corresponds to and fits with negative terms such as impair, disrupt, destroy, grievously harm, evil, maliciousness, and darkness, and so the occurrence of all that is unjust and evil is inextricably linked to the acts of Satan, and is inseparable from the hideous essence of Satan. Regardless of how “immensely powerful” Satan is, how insolent and ambitious it is, how great its ability to inflict damage is, how wide-ranging its capabilities for corrupting and luring man are, how clever the tricks and schemes with which it intimidates man are, or how varied the forms of its existence are, it has never been able to create a single living thing, set down laws or rules for the existence of all things, or govern or hold sovereignty over any object, whether animate or inanimate. Within the cosmos and the firmament, there is not a single person or thing that was brought into being by it or that exists because of it; there is not a single person or thing that is under its sovereignty or governed by it. On the contrary, not only does it have to exist under the dominion of God, but more importantly, it must also obey all of God’s commands and orders. Without God’s permission, Satan cannot easily touch even a drop of water or a grain of sand upon the land; without God’s permission, Satan cannot even mess with the ants upon the land, let alone mankind, who was created by God. In the eyes of God, Satan is inferior to the lilies on the mountain, to the birds flying in the air, to the fish in the sea, and to the maggots on the earth. Its role among all things is to serve all things, to serve mankind, and to serve God’s work and His management plan. Regardless of how malicious its nature is, and how wicked its essence is, the only thing it can do is to compliantly keep to its function: rendering service to God—serving well as a foil. Such is the substance and original position of Satan. Its essence has nothing to do with life, power, or authority; it is merely a plaything in God’s hands, just a machine that God uses for service!

Having understood the true face of Satan, many people still do not understand what authority is, so let Me tell you! Authority itself can be explained as the power of God. Firstly, it can be said with certainty that both authority and power are positive. They have no connection to anything negative, and are unrelated to any created or non-created beings. The power of God is able to create things of any form that have life and vitality, and this is determined by the life of God. God is life, so He is the source of all living beings. Furthermore, the authority of God can make all living beings submit to every word of God, that is, come into being according to the words from God’s mouth, and live and reproduce by God’s command, after which God holds sovereignty over and governs all living beings, and there shall never be any error, forever and ever. No person or thing possesses these; only the Creator possesses and bears such power, and so it is called authority. This is the uniqueness of the Creator. As such, regardless of whether it is the word “authority” itself or the essence of this authority, each can only be associated with the Creator, because it is a symbol of the unique identity and essence of the Creator, and it represents the identity and status of the Creator; apart from the Creator, no person or thing can be associated with the word “authority.” This is an interpretation of the unique authority of the Creator.

Though Satan eyed Job like a tiger watching its prey, without God’s permission it did not dare to touch a single hair on Job’s body. Though Satan is inherently wicked and cruel, after God issued His order to it, it had no choice but to abide by God’s command. Thus, even though Satan was as ferocious and unbridled as a wolf pouncing on a flock of sheep when it descended upon Job, it did not dare to forget the limits set for it by God, did not dare to transgress the orders of God, and in all that it did, Satan did not dare to deviate from the principles and limits of God’s words—is this not a fact? From this it can be seen that Satan does not dare to contravene any of the words of Jehovah God. For Satan, every word from the mouth of God is an order and a heavenly law, an expression of God’s authority—for within every word of God is hidden His punishment of those who violate the orders of God, and of those who disobey and oppose the heavenly laws. Satan clearly knows that if it transgresses God’s orders, then it must accept the consequences of transgressing the authority of God and opposing the heavenly laws. Just what are these consequences? Needless to say, they are its punishment by God. Satan’s actions toward Job were merely a microcosm of its corruption of mankind, and the limits and orders laid out by God that Satan adhered to while carrying out these actions were merely a microcosm of the principles behind everything that it does. In addition, the role and position of Satan in this matter was merely a microcosm of its role and position in the work of God’s management, and Satan’s complete obedience to God in its temptation of Job was merely a microcosm of how Satan did not dare to pose the slightest opposition to God in the work of God’s management. What warning do these microcosms give you? Among all things, including Satan, there is no person or thing that can transgress the heavenly laws and edicts set out by the Creator, and no person or thing that dares to defy these heavenly laws and edicts, for no person or thing can alter or escape the punishment that the Creator inflicts upon those who defy them. Only the Creator can establish heavenly laws and edicts, only the Creator has the power to put them into effect, and only the power of the Creator cannot be surpassed by any person or thing. This is the unique authority of the Creator, and this authority is supreme among all things, and so, it is impossible to say that “God is the greatest and Satan is number two.” Except for the Creator who possesses the unique authority, there is no other God!

Now, what entirely fresh understanding do you have of God’s authority? Firstly, is there a difference between the authority of God just mentioned, and the power of man? What is the difference? Some people say that the two cannot be mentioned in the same breath. Well said! Though people say the two cannot be mentioned in the same breath, in the thoughts and notions of man, the power of man is often equated with authority, and the two are often compared side by side. What is going on here? Are not people making the mistake of quietly substituting one concept for another? The two cannot be connected, and they cannot be compared, yet people still cannot help themselves. How should this be resolved? If you truly wish to find a resolution, the only way is to understand and know the unique authority of God. After understanding and knowing the authority of the Creator, you will not mention the power of man and the authority of God in the same breath.

What does the power of man refer to? Simply put, it is an ability or capability which enables the corrupt disposition, desires, or ambitions of man to expand and prevail to the greatest extent. Does this count as authority? Regardless of the extent to which a person’s ambitions and desires can expand and prevail, that person cannot be said to possess authority; at most, this expansion and prevailing is merely a demonstration of Satan’s buffoonery among man; at most it is a farce in which Satan acts as its own ancestor in order to fulfill its ambition to be God.

How exactly do you view the authority of God now? Now that these words have been fellowshipped, you should have an entirely new knowledge of God’s authority. So I ask you: What does God’s authority symbolize? Does it symbolize the identity of God Himself? Does it symbolize the power of God Himself? Does it symbolize the unique status of God Himself? Among all things, in what have you seen the authority of God? How did you see it? In terms of the four seasons experienced by man, can anyone change the law of the interchange between spring, summer, autumn, and winter? In spring, the trees bud and bloom; in summer they are covered with leaves; in autumn they bear fruit, and in winter the leaves fall. Is anyone able to alter this law? Isn’t this a reflection of God’s authority? God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Does this light still exist? What does it exist because of? It exists because of the words of God, of course, and because of the authority of God. Does the air created by God still exist? Does the air that man breathes come from God? Can anyone take away the things that come from God? Can anyone alter their essence and function? Is there anyone who can break the day and night allocated by God, or this law He ordained for day and night? Can Satan do such a thing? Even if you do not sleep at night, and take night as day, then it is still nighttime; you may change your daily routine, but you are incapable of changing the law of the interchange between night and day—this fact is unalterable by any person, is it not? Is anyone capable of making a lion plow the land like an ox? Is anyone capable of changing an elephant into a donkey? Is anyone capable of making a chicken soar through the air like an eagle? Is anyone capable of making a wolf eat grass like a sheep? (No.) Is anyone capable of making the fish in the water live on dry land? That cannot be done by humans. Why not? It is because God ordained that the fish live in water, and so they must live in water. On land they would not be able to survive, and would die; they are unable to transgress the limits of God’s ordination. All things have a law and limit to their existence, and they each have their own instincts. These are ordained by the Creator, and are unalterable and unsurpassable by anyone. For example, the lion will always live in the wild, at a distance from the communities of man, and could never be as docile and faithful as the ox that accompanies and works for man. Although elephants and donkeys are both animals and both have four legs, and are creatures that breathe air, they are different species. Because they were divided into different types by God and they each have their own instincts, they will never be interchangeable. Although the chicken has two legs and wings just like an eagle, it will never be able to fly in the air; at most it can only fly up a tree—this is determined by its instinct. Needless to say, this is all because of the ordination of the authority of God.

With mankind’s development reaching where it is today, the science of mankind can be said to be “flourishing,” and the achievements of man’s scientific exploration can be described as “impressive.” Man’s ability, it must be said, is growing ever greater, but there is one thing that man’s science cannot crack: Mankind has made airplanes, aircraft carriers, and the atomic bomb, mankind has gone into space, walked on the moon, invented the Internet, and come to live a hi-tech lifestyle, yet mankind is incapable of creating a living thing that breathes. The instincts of every living thing and the laws by which they live, and the cycle of life and death of every kind of living thing—all these are beyond the power of mankind’s science, and cannot be controlled by it. At this point, it must be said that no matter what great heights are attained by the science of man, it is incomparable to a single thought of the Creator, nor can it fathom the miraculousness of the Creator’s creation and the might of His authority. There is so much seawater upon the earth, yet it has never transgressed its limits and come upon the land at will, and that is because God set boundaries for each of them; the seawater stays wherever He ordained it to be, and without God’s permission it cannot move around freely. Without God’s permission, neither may infringe upon the other, and the seawater can only move when God says so, and where it goes and stays is determined by the authority of God.

To put it plainly, “the authority of God” means that it is up to God. God has the right to decide how to do something, and it is done in whatever way He wishes. The law of all things is up to God, and not up to man; neither can it be altered by man. It cannot be shifted by the will of man, but is instead changed by the thoughts of God, the wisdom of God, and the ordination of God; this is a fact that is undeniable to any man. The heavens and earth and all things, the universe, the starry sky, the four seasons of the year, that which is visible and invisible to man—they all exist, function, and change without the slightest error, under the authority of God, according to the ordination of God, according to the commands of God, and according to the laws God created in the beginning. Not a single person or thing can change their laws, or change the inherent course by which they function; they came into being because of the authority of God, and perish because of the authority of God. This is the very authority of God. Now that this much has been said, can you feel that the authority of God is a symbol of the identity and status of God? Can the authority of God be possessed by any created or non-created being? Can it be imitated, impersonated, or replaced by any person, event, or thing?

The Creator’s Identity Is Unique, and You Should Not Adhere to Polytheism

Although the skills and abilities of Satan are greater than those of man, although it can do things that are unattainable by man, regardless of whether you admire or aspire to what Satan does, regardless of whether you hate or detest these things, regardless of whether or not you are capable of seeing them, and regardless of how much Satan can achieve, or how many people it can mislead into worshiping and enshrining it, and regardless of how you define it, you absolutely must not say that it has the authority and power of God. You should know that God is God, there is only one God, and even more so, you should know that only God has authority, that only God has the power to control and hold sovereignty over all things. Satan may have the ability to mislead people, and may be able to impersonate God and imitate the signs and miracles performed by God, and may have done things similar to what God has done. However, you mustn’t as a result of all this mistakenly believe that God isn’t unique, that there are many gods, and that they just have greater or lesser skills or different breadths of power, and rank their greatness by their order of arrival and age, or even more mistakenly believe that there are other deities apart from God, and think that His power and authority aren’t unique. If you have such ideas, if you do not recognize the uniqueness of God, do not believe that only God is possessed of authority, and if you only adhere to polytheism, then I say that you are the scum of created beings, you are the true embodiment of Satan, and you are an out-and-out wicked individual! Can you see just what I’m trying to get you to understand by saying these words? No matter the time, the place, or the circumstances, you must not confuse God with any other person, event, or thing. Regardless of how difficult you feel it is to know and approach the authority of God and essence of God Himself, regardless of how much the deeds and words of Satan agree with your notions and imaginings, regardless of how satisfying they are to you, do not be foolish, do not confuse these concepts, do not reject the existence of God, do not deny the identity and status of God, do not push God out the door and bring in Satan to replace the “God” within your heart and be your god. I have no doubt that you are capable of imagining the consequences of doing so!

Though Mankind Has Been Corrupted, He Still Lives Under the Sovereignty of the Creator’s Authority

Satan has been corrupting mankind for thousands of years. It has wrought untold amounts of evil, has misled generation after generation, and has committed heinous crimes in the human world. It has grievously harmed man, misled man, seduced man to oppose God, and has committed countless evil acts that disturb and impair God’s management plan. Yet, all things and living beings under the authority of God continue to abide by the rules and laws set down by God, as they always have. Compared to the authority of God, Satan’s wicked nature and its ferocity and wantonness are so ugly, so disgusting and detestable, and so minuscule and incapable of withstanding a single blow. Even though Satan roams among all things created by God, it is not able to bring about the slightest change in the people, events, and things ordained by God. Several thousand years have passed, and mankind still enjoys the light and air bestowed by God, still breathes the breath exhaled by God Himself, still enjoys the flowers, birds, fish, and insects created by God, and enjoys all the things provided by God; day and night still continually replace each other; the four seasons alternate as usual; the geese flying in the sky depart in the winter, and still return in the next spring; the fish in the water never leave the rivers and lakes—their home; the cicadas on the earth sing their hearts out during the summer days; the crickets in the grass gently hum in time to the wind during autumn; the geese gather into flocks, while the eagles remain solitary; the prides of lions sustain themselves by hunting; the elk cannot part from the grass and flowers…. Every kind of living being among all things departs and returns, and then departs again, a million changes occurring in the twinkling of an eye—but what does not change are their own instincts and their laws of survival. They live under the provision and nourishment of God, and no one can change their instincts, and neither can anyone impair their laws of survival. Although mankind, who lives among all things, has been corrupted and misled by Satan, they still cannot be without the water made by God, and the air made by God, and all things made by God, and mankind still multiplies and lives in this space created by God. The instincts of mankind have not changed. Mankind still relies on their eyes to see, on their ears to hear, on their brains to think, on their hearts to comprehend, on their legs and feet to walk, on their hands to work, and so on; all the instincts that God bestowed upon man by which he could receive the provision of God remain unaltered. The faculties through which mankind cooperates with God have not changed, mankind’s faculty for fulfilling the duty of a created being has not changed, the needs of mankind’s heart have not changed, mankind’s desire to find their origins and return to their roots has not changed, mankind’s desire to be saved by the Creator has not changed. Such are the current circumstances of mankind, who lives under the authority of God, and who has endured the bloody ravaging wrought by Satan. Though mankind has been subjected to much of the ravaging of Satan, and is no longer Adam and Eve who were created in the beginning, but is instead full of things that are antagonistic to God, such as knowledge, imaginings, notions, and so on, and full of Satan’s corrupt dispositions, in the eyes of God, it is still the mankind that He created. Mankind is still under the sovereignty and orchestrations of God, and still lives within the course set out by God, and so in the eyes of God, mankind, who has been corrupted by Satan, is merely covered in dirt, with a rumbling stomach, reactions that are a little slow, and a memory that has somewhat deteriorated, and is slightly older, that is all—whereas all the functions and instincts of man are completely intact. This is the mankind that God intends to save. This mankind has but to hear the call of the Creator, and hear the voice of the Creator, and they will be able to stand up and rush to locate the source of this voice. This mankind has but to see the figure of the Creator and they will disregard all else and forsake everything to expend themselves for God, and will even lay down their lives for Him. When mankind comprehends from their hearts the voice of the Creator’s heart, they will discard Satan and come to the side of the Creator; when mankind has completely washed the dirt from their bodies, and has once more received the nourishment and provision of the Creator, the memory of mankind will be restored, and at this time mankind will have truly returned to the dominion of the Creator.

December 14, 2013