The content of our last fellowship concerned the topic of “letting go of the barriers between oneself and God and one’s hostility toward God,” specifically addressing aspects concerning God’s incarnate flesh. We fellowshipped on how people should know and treat God’s incarnate flesh. The first principle is to not compare the incarnate God with the God in heaven. What is the second one? (The second one is to not put the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind.) Now that we have finished fellowshipping on the topic of not comparing the incarnate God with the God in heaven, do you have any new understanding regarding how to treat the incarnate God? Have you let go of some of your previous notions and imaginings about God incarnate, and been able to know the God on earth more practically? Have you realized that some of your previous thoughts, understandings, or attitudes concerning God were a result of human notions and imaginings? Now, through fellowshipping in this way, first of all, in terms of knowledge, you have righted many of your notions and imaginings regarding the incarnation, and going forward, the attitude and approach with which you treat God can also become a bit more practical and accurate. Do you all have some experiential knowledge in this regard? (Yes. Previously, I had some fanciful notions and imaginings about God’s incarnate flesh, feeling that God understood everything and was omniscient. Through God’s past two fellowships, I came to understand that God incarnate is particularly normal and practical. For example, when He goes to a country, He also looks up the local laws, and takes it as an article of faith to conduct Himself in a rule-abiding manner and do things dutifully. This part got to me a bit, because I do not conduct myself in a rule-abiding manner or do things dutifully; sometimes I am undisciplined, and I even want to exploit loopholes. After listening to God’s fellowship, I felt that the image of God in my heart suddenly became practical and concrete.) Now, through fellowshipping on this content, people have gained some more objective and practical knowledge and feelings about God. Do these feelings make you feel the practical existence of God even more, or does seeing God incarnate speak and act so normally and practically make you feel that God is so ordinary—even inconceivable—that you instead develop doubts and drift further away from God? These manifestations of God’s normality and practicality are completely inconsistent with the notions and imaginings about God that most people hold within; they are vastly different, and are also something people have never thought of. So, after hearing this content, do you feel very disappointed in God’s incarnate flesh? (No. After listening, I feel that the image of Christ has become more concrete in my heart, and He feels very approachable. Originally, I thought that Christ was the God in heaven come to earth, and that He should be very imposing and great. But now I see that Christ is very ordinary and practical; He likewise abides by the laws of the human world, and at the same time practically expresses the truth to provide for us. This makes Him feel extremely practical and concrete to me. I feel that my relationship with God is no longer so distant, and that I have instead grown closer to God.) Do you all feel this way? Have you all made similar gains? (Yes.) In that case, it is still necessary to fellowship on this content. This is an aspect of the truth that people need and should possess; it is indispensable. In the process of pursuing the truth, this aspect of the truth is something people must understand. Once people understand this aspect of the truth, the relationship between people and God will become more normal. Right? (Yes.) This content mainly involves fellowshipping on some manifestations of the normality and practicality of God’s incarnate flesh, allowing people to know the essence of God’s incarnate flesh, as well as some of His starting points and principles for conducting Himself and doing things. By knowing these starting points, principles, and specific viewpoints on doing things, people can more objectively and practically understand God and understand His normality and practicality.

Through understanding the normality and practicality of the incarnate God, shouldn’t you be able to recognize some of your notions and imaginings about the God in heaven? When God incarnate comes among people, in conducting Himself and doing things, He abides by the principle of conducting Himself in a rule-abiding manner and doing things dutifully. What about the God in heaven, then? Although He does not have concrete behaviors of self-conduct, and He is not involved in the various aspects of self-conduct, looking at how God does things—whether based on biblical records, or based on what people understand, perceive, and experience of God’s actions—is there any conflict with the essence and principles of how God incarnate conducts Himself and does things? (No.) Theoretically, we should be able to be certain that there is no conflict. Although the God in heaven cannot be seen or touched by people, He also does things dutifully and practically. God’s incarnate flesh has a normal and practical side that people can see and know, and the God in heaven likewise has a normal and practical side. We won’t go into God’s power, authority, wisdom, almightiness, and so on—that is one aspect of knowing God, knowing God’s essence, and knowing God’s identity, which might be beyond your reach. But in terms of some of the things God does that people can see and experience, the God in heaven still manifests this normal and practical side. For example, the Bible records that God created Adam and Eve, breathed His breath into them so that they became living people with spirits, and then placed them in the Garden of Eden. Before God created mankind’s ancestors, Adam and Eve, God did a series of things, all of which were prepared for these two people created by God. For man, God created the heavens and earth, rivers and lakes, various living things on earth, the four seasons, and everything else man needs. Before creating these two people, God had already completed this work step by step. With every step He took, all these things created by God practically emerged bit by bit in this material world, and these are all things that can be seen by the human eye. When these two people came into being, all of this was ready. As for what God did for them after creating these two people, this is also recorded in the Bible. First, God placed them in the Garden of Eden, and then He said something to them in a very practical way. What did He say? (“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16–17).) God gave mankind this instruction, and then a series of things happened. After that, what did God do for Adam and Eve? (He made coats of skins for them.) God made coats of skins to clothe them; you should be very familiar with this story. Does this series of things that God said, did, and instructed not paint a vivid picture? (It does.) Through these scenes, people are able to deeply or truly appreciate that what is revealed or contained in God’s each and every movement is not hollow, and moreover, the scenes presented to people by every single thing God does are not hollow either. Right? (Yes.) Not a single thing God does is hollow, and not a single thing is a mere theory or slogan; He does everything practically. Some people say, “Sometimes God accomplishes things with a thought, and sometimes He accomplishes things with just a word.” No matter how God accomplishes this matter, in any case, He is doing it practically; He is doing things in a down-to-earth and dutiful manner. He does not shout slogans or throw doctrines around, nor does He deceive people. What does doing things practically entail? God plans and thinks, and when He does something, He may use His thoughts, or use His words, or personally set His hands to doing it. How do we express “personally doing something” in human language? It means personally going to handle the matter, personally busying Himself with it, and personally setting His hands to doing it. Looking at all these instances of “personally,” is God not particularly down-to-earth and dutiful in how He does things? (Yes.) Of course, it is not very appropriate to use these words that describe how humans do things to describe how the God in heaven does things, but human language is limited. As long as people can understand that God does things in such a down-to-earth and practical way, that He is methodical, never goes through the motions, and never shouts slogans, that is enough. Of all the things done by God which human hands have recorded, which one was not personally planned by God Himself, implemented step by step, and personally followed up on, inspected, and verified? Although these things are recorded by human hands and presented in written form, they have left humankind with the best concrete evidence for knowing and understanding God.

After God created Adam and Eve, He did another thing: He told them how to live their lives, what responsibilities the man should bear, and which things the woman should do. Look at how detailed and specific God’s words are! Human beings would not go about their work this way, right? (Yes.) Every step of work God does is this specific, down-to-earth, and practical; He aims for results. And what does this show? Let’s set aside such a big matter as the creation of the heavens and earth and all things; just speaking of what God has said to humankind and His exhortations to humankind, as well as His concerns, including His specific exhortations, instructions, and admonitions for every single thing, what do these show? In one respect, you see that God is very rigorous and earnest in how He does things. In another respect—and this is also something humankind should know—God created humankind, and besides His concern for them, He has always been fulfilling His responsibility toward them. This fulfillment of responsibility is not empty talk; God has always been following through on it. From the time God created humankind until now, God has always been providing for and leading humankind by centering around people’s lives. God’s actions toward humankind have been nothing but Him fulfilling His responsibility. The phrase “fulfilling His responsibility” is easy to write and easy to say, but the number of things God has done is beyond human imagination. Broadly speaking, this means things like God arranging for every soul’s reincarnation—what kind of family they will live in, what they will look like, when they will come to believe in God, what kind of fate they will have in this life, and a string of other such things. These are the arrangements God makes for people at the macro level. As for the smaller details, God provides for your daily needs, ensuring you are free from worries about food and clothing, and that your material life is secure. As for even smaller details, every day God arranges different people, events, and things to accompany you as you grow, and to be with you as you go through each day, every different period, and even every special period, allowing you to constantly gain new understanding and new feelings about the Creator, humankind, yourself, and life. God has expressed so many truths and done so many things—which of His words is a mere slogan or a doctrine? Which of the things He does is hollow and impractical? Not a single thing He does is hollow, and not a single word He speaks is a mere slogan or a doctrine. On the contrary, God had always been doing these things, even before making them known to humankind. Although humankind does not know, understand, believe, or acknowledge these facts, God has resolutely continued doing them. Let’s set aside how many things God has done for humankind, how much effort He has expended on humankind, and how much grace He has bestowed upon humankind. Just speaking of God’s deeds in themselves, which of them is not done in a down-to-earth and step-by-step manner? (He does every single thing in a down-to-earth manner.) Look at how humans raise their children: They are perfunctory and try to muddle through; sometimes they are emotional, sometimes they are extreme, and sometimes they even bring in their personal preferences, not valuing their daughters much, but doting on, spoiling, and pampering their sons, acting irresponsibly and not considering the consequences. It’s people’s responsibility to raise and educate children, but have people fulfilled this responsibility? (No.) Look at how every single thing God does is perfectly executed, enabling humankind to walk the right path under God’s sovereignty and arrangements, and to live under God’s guidance. Not a single step of God’s work or a single thing He does is hollow; it is all practical. From the creation of the world until now, no matter how much work God has done, and regardless of whether humankind is aware of or acknowledges all of this, God’s actions toward people and the responsibility He fulfills for them are, in any case, comprehensive and complete, not lacking in the slightest. He is never perfunctory and is absolutely never careless. What does “never careless” mean? It means He treats everyone in a serious manner, with particular earnestness and rigor, always in a rule-abiding manner and never according to personal preference, and with absolutely none of man’s willfulness or perfunctoriness. Let’s set everything else aside; just take the matter of protecting people’s safety—how well does God do this? Everyone’s life, death, and personal safety are held in God’s hands. To God, this is the greatest matter. Even if you sometimes encounter some danger and come face-to-face with death, if it’s not the day you’re meant to die, God will not let you die. If you are not ordained by God to die, God will guarantee your safety. This is without fail, and God handles it in a particularly thorough and accurate way. In short, what I have said is all true, and it can be seen by people. People cannot see how the God in heaven does things, but sooner or later, they will be able to see the facts of what God has done and the results He achieves. Throughout humankind’s several thousand years of living on earth, who has been able to do without God’s sovereignty and arrangements? Who has been able to do without God’s provision and guidance? (No one can do without them.) God’s sovereignty and arrangements, His provision and guidance, are all done by God Himself personally, and done practically. Without God doing things in such a down-to-earth and dutiful manner, humankind would have long been in chaos; at the very least, no one would be able to maintain order for humankind. So, whether in big or small things, people who have followed God up to now should be able to appreciate that God not only speaks, does things, and works in His incarnate flesh, providing humankind with the truth, the way, and the life, God’s Spirit is also ceaselessly holding sovereignty over, leading, and providing for humankind, and all of this is done practically. It’s just that people can see, hear, and practically appreciate God’s incarnate flesh speaking and working, whereas the scope of what the God in heaven does is much larger and a bit further removed from people, so people cannot feel and appreciate it up close in the way they do when the incarnate God speaks and works. Therefore, when it comes to knowing either the God in heaven or the God on earth, people should get rid of human notions and imaginings, break free from hollow theories and slogans, and practically appreciate God’s normality and practicality, as well as His wisdom and almightiness, through the work He does and the words He speaks. In this way, in one respect, you can correctly treat God’s incarnate flesh; in another respect, you can better rid yourself of your notions and imaginings about the God in heaven; and in yet another respect, you can better know that the God on earth and the God in heaven are one, rather than forcing your fanciful notions and imaginings about the God in heaven onto God’s incarnate flesh—doing so would be a huge mistake. That is, in one respect, you would be evaluating the God in heaven using fanciful notions and imaginings, while at the same time, you would not be able to accept and receive the God on earth any better. Doing these two things would not only fail to bring you closer to God, but would instead cause you to drift further away from Him, making you live in your own hollow notions and imaginings, unable to understand all the things God does.

Through fellowshipping on “not comparing the incarnate God with the God in heaven,” are people able to practice accurately in this regard? (Yes.) In short, in treating the incarnate God, if you can manage to accept Him, and then come to know His normality and practicality, and accept and submit to His words and work and His requirements for people, that is enough. As for the instincts and intrinsic conditions of the flesh within the normality and practicality of the incarnate God, people just need to have a correct apprehension of them and be able to treat them correctly. God incarnate is an ordinary Son of man; He certainly possesses the intrinsic conditions and the normal instincts and functions of the flesh that a person should possess. For example, an ordinary person will feel the heat when their hand touches fire, and God incarnate is no exception. A normal person will sneeze after catching a chill, and if it’s serious, they will catch a cold. Is the incarnate God also like this? (Yes.) Human beings will feel thirsty if their food is too salty, and they will get an upset stomach if they eat indigestible food. Does God’s incarnate flesh have these feelings? (Yes.) In hot weather, human beings will feel hot and want to find a cool place; the incarnate God is like this too. What did you think before? Did you think to yourselves, “This mortal flesh of us humans cannot stand the heat when the temperature reaches thirty or forty degrees Celsius, but God’s incarnate flesh is not afraid of the heat; He transcends the flesh and does not have these sensations”? What is the implication here? Do people think that God incarnate is like a robot or a wooden figure, who does not eat, sleep, or get sick? That is wrong. God incarnate has a life of the flesh, which is the same as that of a normal person. He is not extraordinary or unconventional. This flesh has a normal and practical side, which is that the functions and instincts of His flesh are the same as those of humankind. We fellowshipped before about how the functions and instincts of the flesh are all things that God bestowed upon humankind when He created them; they are innately possessed by humankind, not negative things. So why do you always avoid the fact that God incarnate possesses the normal functions and instincts of the flesh? Is the reason people avoid this that they think these things are abnormal, harbor prejudice in their hearts against these manifestations of the normal functions of the flesh, and are opposed to God incarnate possessing these manifestations? (I do indeed look down on these practical things in my heart.) Although people may look down on these things, or on the conscious level remain uncertain as to whether they are right or wrong, they will subconsciously condemn them. This proves that people lack a thorough understanding of the human flesh’s instincts, functions, and some of its intrinsic conditions, which were all created by God, and this is why they may have many distorted thoughts, or may have many impractical notions and imaginings. Tell Me, does God incarnate need to sleep? (Yes.) When He sleeps, is He still thinking about work? (No, He is asleep.) That’s an honest answer; He is really asleep. Otherwise, how could He get any rest? His brain needs rest too; this is a normal function of the flesh, and also an instinct of the flesh. When it’s cold, He wears thicker clothes, and when it’s hot, He wears thinner clothes. He can feel cold, heat, rain, and snow. This is normal humanity; it is not hollow at all. If you cannot feel anything, aren’t you a bit stupid? Aren’t you half-witted? (Yes.) All the senses and bodily functions of God’s incarnate flesh are real, they truly exist, and they function normally; they are not hollow at all. Yet you imagine them to be hollow and supernatural. I once met a Chinese person whose faith was a bit bizarre. He believed that faith should involve some bizarre and eerie things, and that only this is faith. For example, when it rained, he would chant some kind of incantation and the rain would not fall on him, and when he chanted another incantation, the rain would stop. He even showed this off, thinking he had real abilities. He believed that this was what faith is, and that it was higher than ordinary faith. Would you say this person is quite absurd? (Yes.) This is an evil spirit. But the thoughts and views of this kind of person represent those of a portion of people. Many people are always full of notions and imaginings about God incarnate, saying in their hearts: “God’s incarnate flesh must be an extraordinary person or someone who has attained the ‘way.’ He can do things ordinary people cannot do, speak words ordinary people cannot speak, see things ordinary people cannot see, and hear sounds ordinary people cannot hear. He knows what people say and do behind His back. He can feel and know whether there are any paranormal phenomena or unknown entities around Him, and He even knows what the God in heaven is doing. Only this is the incarnate God!” This kind of thought is the same as the notions and imaginings that nonbelievers have about God. People all hope to encounter such a God, and if one day they could see and come into contact with this God, it would be the blessing of a lifetime. However, God incarnate coming among people and living together with them has greatly disappointed people. No one can see any supernatural manifestations in God incarnate, nor can anyone sense these supernatural things from Him. Yet people’s imaginations are still very rich; people still have many notions and imaginings about God incarnate, and they still live in their imaginings. Since people have so many notions and imaginings about God incarnate, won’t they have even more notions and imaginings about the God in heaven? (Yes.) Those notions and imaginings are even more bizarre, even more inconsistent with the facts, and even less objective, and people even have lots of very eerie, inconceivable thoughts. In any case, through the content we have fellowshipped on, people will basically be able to correctly understand, correctly know, and correctly treat the normal humanity of God incarnate, or the normality, objectivity, and practicality of the flesh. In addition, through the flesh—which people can see and come into contact with—practically fellowshipping and speaking with people, interacting with people, and doing various aspects of work upon people, people can come to know how God does things and how God works in a better, more practical, and more objective way. By knowing the incarnate God, people can better understand the God in heaven too.

Regarding this content on the normality and practicality of God’s incarnate flesh, we first fellowshipped on how God incarnate conducts Himself and does things, what things He does, and what His principles for doing things are. We have fellowshipped on these aspects quite thoroughly. Is there anything you still do not understand? Do I need to add anything else? Do you understand a bit more about the normality and practicality of God incarnate? (Yes.) What can you see from these practical manifestations? (I see that God incarnate is normal and practical.) God incarnate is normal and practical; He also has to think before He speaks, and His speech and behavior are all normal, without the slightest supernatural manifestation. This is something you did not expect, isn’t it? (Yes.) God incarnate does not have a third eye, nor does He have superhuman hearing, much less any extraordinary supernatural abilities that transcend the instincts of the flesh. If there is exposed electrical wiring somewhere, I wouldn’t touch it either. Why wouldn’t I touch it? (You would get shocked and injured.) According to your imagination, even if I touched it directly, I would not get shocked and injured. But I really do not have that capability, and I would not touch it either. In one respect, I know that getting an electric shock causes injury; I have common sense in this regard, and I have normal rationality. In another respect, I would absolutely never say, “It’s fine. I am a special figure with a special identity and special status. Electricity won’t hurt Me. I’ll just touch it and see if I die.” I would not do such an irrational thing. According to your notions, anything dangerous that people dare not touch, I would dare to touch; you would be afraid of such things, but I would not be, because My identity is special, I am different from you, I came from heaven, and I am God incarnate, so I am not afraid and can act that way. Tell Me, would I act like that? (No.) I would not act like that. What is this based on? The rationality of normal humanity. The conscience and rationality pertaining to the humanity of God incarnate are also normal. If God incarnate had no awareness of conscience, and if His rationality were not normal, how could He do work in normal humanity? If He had no awareness of conscience and His rationality were not normal, what kind of human is this? Is this not non-human? (Yes.) Therefore, the notions and imaginings people have about the thinking and lifestyle of the normal humanity of God incarnate are all impractical; they are all extraordinary, freakish, eerie, and bizarre, and they are all disconnected from the conscience and rationality pertaining to the humanity of God incarnate. Tell Me, if we are sitting together and there are mosquitoes around, will I get bitten? (Yes.) Did you previously think, “No matter who else mosquitoes bite, they won’t bite Christ. Mosquitoes were created by God; they can’t bite the Creator”? Is it wrong to think this way? Is this divorced from reality? (Yes.) Mosquitoes don’t show Me any courtesy either. They have no feelings; as long as someone is of mortal flesh and has blood in their body, they will bite, and after they bite, a bump appears. What should you do when you get a bump? I quickly cut a slice of garlic and apply it. Garlic can reduce inflammation, kill bacteria, and stop the itching. After it’s been applied for a while, the bite stops itching, and the bump gradually disappears. This is common sense. You might think it is unremarkable, but it is very practical. You see, when you encounter issues in life, you look for some home remedies and clever little hacks, and I am the same. What do I mean by this? I mean to tell you that the conscience and reason possessed by the humanity of God incarnate, His thinking and thoughts, as well as the thoughts, views, and attitudes He forms and the solutions He comes up with in viewing people and things and when facing various problems in real life, are all normal and practical; they are not bizarre, weird, supernatural, distorted, or extreme. Understood? (Understood.) I give these examples so that you can have a more practical understanding of the life and manifestations of the normal humanity of God incarnate. These manifestations are not hollow at all, nor are they freakish, much less extraordinary; rather, they are very normal and practical. This normality and practicality is true normality and practicality. Besides the viewpoints and principles He possesses for conducting Himself and acting, the instincts and functions of His flesh are also normal. For example, when you catch a cold, you sneeze and cough, and it takes a week or two to get better. If I catch a cold, I will also have these symptoms, and it will also take Me a week or two to get better. You are like this, and God incarnate is exactly the same. These aspects are not divorced from reality at all, nor do they affect Him doing specific work, or affect His carrying out the work He intends to do among people. That is, this normal and practical side of God incarnate will not in any way affect the ministry performed by God incarnate, nor will it hold things back or affect the results of God’s work, let alone affect the progress of God’s work. The ministry performed by God incarnate is precisely to express words, do work, and walk among people through a normal and practical flesh.

Everything we have fellowshipped on above is about the normality and practicality of God’s incarnate flesh. The purpose of fellowshipping on this content is to resolve the problem of people always comparing the incarnate God with the God in heaven. The content we have fellowshipped on basically covers one aspect of the manifestations of the normality and practicality of the instincts of the normal humanity of God incarnate; another aspect mainly covers how God’s incarnate flesh conducts Himself and acts. Of course, this is not to say that just because people know how normal and practical God incarnate is in His speech and actions, they are able to treat the incarnate God in a completely correct manner; this is still far from enough. Now that we know how God incarnate speaks and works, and how He conducts Himself and acts, let’s fellowship on what things the incarnate God does not do, or in what ways He is different from humankind.

Some manifestations of the normality and practicality of God’s incarnate flesh are, in many respects, the same as the instincts of humankind—that is, the instincts, functions, and innate conditions of the human flesh. It can be said that God incarnate and ordinary humankind are the same in terms of instincts. However, apart from this similarity, His life essence, identity, disposition, and so on are completely different from those of corrupt humankind. This involves the ways in which the manifestations of His living out and His disposition essence differ from those of corrupt humankind. Speaking of this brings us to the next topic we are going to fellowship on, which is the second topic concerning letting go of notions and imaginings about God incarnate: not putting the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind. To resolve this problem, we still have to base our fellowship on the various revelations and the various aspects of living out manifested by the incarnate God. Theoretically, do you agree with the statement, “Do not put the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind”? (Yes.) You also want to practice according to this statement, and are willing to resolve this problem, but do you have a path of practice for how to avoid putting the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind? It’s far from easy to find a path of practice, isn’t it? Not putting the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind is a requirement placed upon you, but why is such a requirement made? This is worth pondering. When people come into contact with the incarnate God, because of the form of His incarnation and His outward appearance, they often naturally treat Him as a member of corrupt humankind. This is equivalent to treating God incarnate as a person with absolutely nothing to do with God’s essence, identity, and disposition, and then adopting corrupt humankind’s way of thinking when interacting with Him, using the ways they interact with others to treat the incarnate God. As such, the way people treat God in one respect reveals their wrong attitude toward Him, and in another respect reveals a huge problem that exists within them: They do not know the incarnate God. Although people verbally acknowledge the incarnate God and follow Him in form, they have not substantively come to know or accept this ordinary person. Not accepting this ordinary person means not treating this ordinary person as the incarnate God; the implication is that people treat this ordinary person as a member of corrupt humankind. To avoid this problem, and also to resolve it, today we will once again fellowship on the manifestations of the normal humanity of the incarnate God in His daily life, and how people should know and understand the various manifestations which He reveals in His interactions and dealings with people. Let’s first look at some issues to do with God incarnate that people cannot understand, or some issues that people easily view through the lens of corrupt humankind. First, let’s determine what things this ordinary Son of man, God incarnate, does not do, or some things revealed in Him that people fail to recognize. What exactly do these things refer to? First of all, He does not deceive, nor does He do things like contending, fighting, scheming, attacking, retaliating, enticing, and so on. Why should people understand these things? Once you understand these things, you will have a true understanding of the disposition and essence of God incarnate. Only with a true understanding can you manage to not put the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind. Only when you manage to not put the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind can you achieve a normal relationship with the incarnate God, stand in the proper position of a created being, and treat the incarnate God with the attitude a created being should have.

Regarding the things God incarnate does not do, let’s first fellowship on the aspect of not deceiving. What are the specific manifestations of deception? Telling lies, engaging in falsification, making pretenses, passing yourself off as what you are not, talking big, shooting your mouth off, and so on. Are the manifestations I just mentioned commonly seen in corrupt humankind? (Yes.) Deception and lying are a major and obvious characteristic of corrupt humankind; they are a common trait of all corrupt humankind, and no one can escape this, without exception. Everyone lies, everyone fakes it, and everyone passes themselves off as what they’re not, puts on acts, and makes pretenses. Moreover, it comes naturally to them; they do not need their parents to teach them, nor do they need anyone to influence, instigate, or incite them. They are born liars. Is saying this going too far? (No.) What about God’s incarnate flesh? Let’s not talk about far-removed things; as for the way I speak, in human terms, I call a spade a spade. For example, when guiding you in some professional work, if there is something I do not know how to do, I will say, “I am not very clear about this matter. I don’t know how to do it. You should look up some reference materials.” If I know a little about the matter, I will say however much I know. After I finish saying what I know and understand, I will say, “If there is anything I missed and you know it, you can add it.” You see, are these words I speak objective and honest? (Yes.) You have been listening to Me speak all these years, so do you see any deception in My words? Any pretense? Any falsification? (No.) When I fellowship in gatherings or ordinarily guide some professional work, I often give examples, citing some minor, unremarkable things from daily life. Although some details of the process might be omitted in certain matters, the matter itself is a fact. In addition, there are witnesses to how I handled and went about those matters. Have I ever lied? (No.) I do not lie, nor do I put on acts or make pretenses. You see, I wear the same clothes when I go out as I do at home. Sometimes, if My clothes are dirty, I will change into clean ones when I go out. It is merely dressing a bit more cleanly; I will not change into a set of high-end, name-brand clothes just to go out. Wearing ordinary clothes at home and dressing a bit more cleanly when going out—this is not putting on an act; this is normal humanity.

Deceiving, putting on acts, and making pretenses—these are things corrupt humankind often does. You see, most of what human beings say contains adulteration; especially when it involves their own interests, privacy, pride, status, or reputation, people will lie. For example, some people are particularly dissolute, often laughing and joking around, very slack in doing their duties, and not serious about anything they do. When the leader is not around, they chat idly, drink tea, go to the bathroom one moment, and stroll in the yard the next, living a particularly leisurely life. When the leader comes, they hurriedly scramble to busy themselves with work, pretending to be particularly responsible. Is this not engaging in falsification? Is this not making pretenses? (Yes.) Corrupt humankind has another shortcoming: They like to describe themselves as particularly noble and lofty, as especially insightful and affluent, and as people with special status and background. They never mention the sordid or foolish things they have done in secret, the mistakes they’ve made, or the shortcomings and defects they have—they never bring up an iota, or reveal a bit of these things, deeply afraid that others will see through to the truth and look down on them. Is this not engaging in falsification? Is this not lying and deceiving? (Yes.) They even claim they can do things that they cannot. If they previously served as a leader at a certain level, did some important work, or made some contribution, they have to publicize it extensively, deeply afraid that others will look down on them. When it comes to shooting their mouths off and talking big, they are “capable of anything,” but they never mention their own shortcomings or the defects of their humanity. People all conduct themselves and act this way. People view these manifestations as a common trait of humankind, and think that conducting oneself this way is very normal and commonplace and belongs to normal humanity, so, many people naturally impute this view to the incarnate God, thinking, “Does the incarnate God also lie and deceive?” For example, when I say I know how to make dumplings, some people do not believe it, saying, “Hmph, besides expressing the truth, You also know how to cook? That’s impossible.” They think, “Who has never told a lie? Who has never talked big?” The incarnate God is included in that “who.” Are they right in saying this? (No.) Where did they go wrong? (They put the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind.) Because all of humankind is capable of lying, you think God incarnate can also lie, imagining God incarnate to be the same as corrupt humankind, and even saying in your heart, “As long as God incarnate can express the truth, that’s enough. Even if You occasionally lie, we don’t mind; it doesn’t affect Your identity as God incarnate.” This is not a matter of whether you mind or not; you have to ponder whether these thoughts you have about God incarnate are right. Although theoretically you know that this is wrong and that you shouldn’t think this way, you have to ponder why you can think this way. It is because you are too deceitful and are dishonest, which is why you think everyone can tell lies and put on acts, and that God incarnate is no exception. Are you not making a mistake by thinking this way? Although making this mistake is not a big deal and does not affect your gaining the truth, we really must be meticulous about this matter and explain it clearly. If you treat the ordinary words spoken by God incarnate with such a doubting and disbelieving attitude, then how will you treat it when He fellowships on the truth, expresses the truth, and expresses God’s intentions, and when He judges, exposes, condemns, and prunes you? Will you change your attitude? You will not; you will treat it with the same attitude, thinking that the words spoken by the incarnate God are not necessarily all correct. Theoretically, you acknowledge that what He says is correct and that all of it is the truth, but when you do things that violate the principles and He prunes and exposes you, you think in your heart, “In this matter, God’s words are not the truth, because I don’t think that way about it. I have a very good excuse and reason for this, so I can choose not to accept it. I can reject and oppose Him with an attitude of ignoring it, avoiding the topic, and not accepting it, and treat the incarnate God with the same attitude as I use when reasoning with a person.” If you treat the incarnate God with such an attitude, what is the essence of the problem? Is your attitude toward the incarnate God rebellious or proper? (It is rebellious, not proper.) If you think the incarnate God can deceive, lie, talk big, spout high-sounding ideas, and shout slogans, then when He prunes and exposes you, you will think you have a reason not to accept it and to reject it: “I just won’t accept it, and I will oppose Him. Isn’t He just an ordinary person? Why should I accept what He says? I will accept what He says if it’s right, and I won’t accept what I think is wrong; I will accept it if I’m happy, and I won’t accept it if I’m not happy; I will accept it if what He says aligns with my interests, tastes, and mood, and I won’t accept it if it doesn’t align with my interests and mood. Isn’t this perfectly natural and justified? This is very proper, this is my right, and I feel not the slightest reproach in my heart.” If this is your attitude toward God, then is your relationship with God really the relationship between a created being and the Creator? Is it the relationship between man and God? (No.) Judging from your attitude or manifestations, the relationship between the incarnate God and you is merely the relationship between an ordinary person and an ordinary corrupt human; it merely remains at the level of a relationship between people. Is there not a problem here? (Yes.) Therefore, you must first be certain that since the incarnate God requires humankind to be honest people, He Himself is honest first. His humanity possesses the essence of honesty; this is beyond doubt. You should recognize this point, and you should also accept it from your heart. Not only must you recognize it in your heart, but you must also have such an attitude of acceptance in real life. Corrupt humankind can lie and engage in falsification in any circumstances, and anyone can make pretenses, shoot their mouth off, and talk big. The reason corrupt humankind can do this is that Satan’s corrupt disposition has become man’s life and nature, which is why they have these natural revelations. However, the incarnate God has the aspect of honesty in His humanity. Precisely because His life is divine, the element of honesty is even more so an aspect of His essence. This is beyond doubt, and people should not be skeptical.

Once I was chatting with someone, and they said they had a bad stomach, had gotten a lot of medicine from the hospital, and had been taking it for several years. Later their stomach problem got a bit better. I asked them, “What kind of stomach problem do you have? Is it a stomach cold, a stomach ulcer, or excess stomach acid?” When they heard Me ask for details, they wouldn’t give Me a straight answer, but still kept saying, “I have a bad stomach, and I’ve taken a lot of medicine.” Why did I ask them this? It was just a normal chat, to find out what kind of stomach problem they had. I sometimes get an upset stomach too, so if they had this kind of problem, perhaps they could offer some help. Chatting is not like fellowshipping on the truth or formally doing work, where there are clear goals, rigorous procedures, and a serious attitude. Chatting is more casual, with no particular purpose or scheming involved. But when I asked them exactly what kind of stomach problem they had, they wouldn’t give Me a straight answer. Were they lying? Were they telling the truth? (They were not.) Then why didn’t they tell the truth? Because they wanted to conceal the issue, and their reason for concealing it was that they were worried about how I would treat them after knowing about their illness. Whether they were worried that I would look down on them, or that I would dismiss them or adjust their duty assignment, which would affect their salvation, in short, they were worried, so they wanted to conceal it. Tell Me, was there any need for this? Wasn’t it very foolish of them to do this? (It was.) Then what kind of disposition do such people reveal? (A wicked disposition.) Where does the wickedness lie? (They speculate about God, constantly imagining things in their heart, treating their imaginings as facts, speculating about the intent behind God’s words, and guarding against God in every respect just as they guard against people.) If the object of your speculation and guardedness were a member of corrupt humankind, it would be somewhat necessary, because society today is too complicated, people are complicated, and human hearts are sinister. You don’t know who might act maliciously behind your back after finding out your actual situation, so you don’t want outsiders to know too much about your actual situation; this is understandable. You have to be guarded and cautious in every respect when interacting with people, and you cannot tell outsiders anything about your actual situation. This is a philosophical tactic or a principle for worldly dealings when interacting with people. But where did they apply this principle and tactic? They applied it to interacting with Me. I had never interacted with them before, but just from that one chat, I completely figured this person out: They tell too many lies. Tell Me, am I someone who would set you up or harm you? Am I someone you need to guard against? (No.) If even I am someone you guard against, then what meaning or value is there in your belief in God? Not daring to tell the truth about even such a minor matter, lacking even the courage to tell the truth—what kind of person would you call that? Isn’t such a person very deceitful? (Yes.) Isn’t it totally unnecessary to apply methods for worldly dealings and principles for treating nonbelievers to Me? Do I really want to find out about you? Isn’t this just chatting? Even if I did want to find out about you, I wouldn’t set you up or harm you, nor would I make an issue of it behind your back. So, for each one of you, I sometimes chat with you, asking how life is where you are, what the climate is like, whether the environment for doing your duty is suitable now, whether you have had any difficulties in doing your duty recently. Or, for some who have just come from mainland China, I ask them what the environment is like over there and how most people are getting on in doing their duties. This is just normal chatting. In one respect, it stems from the needs of normal humanity; in another respect, because you believe in God, the things we chat about are all matters concerning belief in God, and we don’t chat about topics of the nonbelieving world like stars, celebrities, social trends, or politics. If you have to be guarded even during normal chatting, I won’t chat with you anymore. Some people always think, “Do You have a specific purpose in chatting with us? You always ask us some questions when You interact with us; do You want to find out something? I absolutely cannot tell You the real situation.” If you think this way, you should say in advance, “Don’t chat with us. I’m afraid You’ll find out some information. I don’t want to tell You, so don’t ask anymore!” Once I hear that you are unwilling to chat, I’ll let it go. Do you think I have to chat with you? Most people do not have normal humanity, and I am unwilling to chat with such people.

We just fellowshipped on how the incarnate God does not deceive. This statement does not remain at the level of a theory, nor is it a mechanical saying. First of all, not deceiving is an aspect of the living out and revelation of the essence possessed by the incarnate God, who has God’s identity. It is not a theory, much less a slogan, but a true living out, a practical living out. Whether in everyday life or when fellowshipping on the truth and discussing work, the words I speak contain absolutely no deception, absolutely no lies; much less will I make things up. For example, when I am fellowshipping on a topic and cannot remember a word, I will ask if you remember this word. Sometimes you can remember it, and sometimes you cannot, so I will use another word to express it, or say that I cannot remember it either. In one respect, I have an honest attitude and do not make things up; if I have forgotten, I say that I have forgotten, and if I cannot remember, I say that I cannot remember. In another respect, sometimes I cannot find the right word or I lose My train of thought, in which case I will not pretend to cough, or say, “The doorbell is ringing; I’ll go open the door,” or “The phone is ringing; I’ll answer it.” I will not engage in falsification. How I am when interacting with you and fellowshipping about work face to face is how I am in My everyday life out of your sight. I am just this kind of person; I am the same to your face as I am behind your back. If I like to eat something, I say I like to eat it; I do not lie. For example, I say, “I like to eat tofu mixed with scallions, and shredded potatoes with vinegar.” Some people say, “I don’t believe it. What could You possibly be lacking now? You probably eat braised pork and dumplings every day!” I say, “Although braised pork is delicious, I really don’t like eating things that are too greasy. For breakfast, I just have a bowl of porridge and some side dishes; it’s that simple.” These are all actual facts; not a single sentence is a lie. The words I speak to you, the examples I give, or these things from real life that I mention—whether you view them as fairly human, ordinary and normal, or as a bit unrefined—in any case, what I say is all the honest truth, all based on facts. It is not to show you, “Look how ordinary I am, how much I blend into human life, how simple and unadorned I am.” I really do not have these thoughts. Sometimes, to fellowship on an aspect of the truth, I mention some minor things in life, and some people think this is God’s humbleness and hiddenness. Actually, that is really not My meaning. When I mention those things, I am just telling it like it is; I do not say anything lofty and grand. The purpose is to allow people to better apprehend the truth, and I have no other intentions. In My speech and actions, I will absolutely never do things such as calling a deer a horse, making an example of someone to frighten others, or punishing people severely as a warning to others. In the past, when we went to the places where brothers and sisters lived, they would busy themselves making dumplings, stir-frying meat, and cooking dishes. Actually, there is no need to host us like this. I say that I am not normally this particular about My meals; My meals are particularly simple, and I do not care for ostentation. Some people never believe what I say; they always think I am lying. No matter what I say, they do not believe it. Such people are such a hassle; they’re totally unreasonable. It is not that I am untrustworthy, or that the words I speak contain untruths, but that you are very wicked. No matter what I say, you are unable to take it the right way; you hold a doubting attitude toward whatever I say, and even think about it in a distorted way, considering it all to be deception, and you even put your guard up. You never believe that the words I speak are all the honest truth. What kind of problem is this? You can believe the words of devils and Satans, so why can’t you believe My words? Then can you still gain the truth by believing in God this way? The truth is certainly not hollow words, but the life reality lived out by people. The words I speak to you are all practical words. If you do not believe them, then how can you believe in God? God’s words are all honest and true; He never lies, engages in falsification, makes pretenses, or passes Himself off as what He is not. If you can appreciate these forms of conduct, you will have an understanding of God, and only thus can you, through God incarnate, gradually appreciate and come to know that God is practical in His actions and speech and truly comprehend the words He speaks and the truths He fellowships on. We have finished fellowshipping on the aspect of not deceiving.

Let’s continue to fellowship on the aspect of not contending. What does not contending mean? It means not arguing, not contending for status, not being competitive, and not arguing with you over some statement or other. If you recognize what I say to you, you accept it; if you do not recognize it, I will not force you. If your comprehension is distorted, I will expose you and correct you. If you can comprehend it purely, that is best; if you cannot comprehend it purely, I will not make you accept it by force. You can just let things take their natural course and come to know it slowly. In addition, whether in interactions or conversations between people, when speaking, people always contend for reputation, contend for superiority, contend to show off, and contend for others’ high regard. People also often act this way when coming into contact with the incarnate God. You should not treat the incarnate God with the viewpoints with which you treat humankind, viewing the incarnate God as the same as corrupt humankind. You see, when I am speaking with you, I try to keep things conversational to let all of you talk freely about what’s in your hearts, and chat about what you know and understand. It may be that what you say does not conform to the facts or is not very objective, but I still give you the opportunity to speak. Our usual chatting is not a formal gathering; everyone has the right to speak. I will not make you all listen only to Me, but rather try to let everyone speak. Sometimes, through casual chatting, some problems in the work are discovered, so we go ahead and resolve the problems. If there are no problems, everyone can open their hearts and chat, feel at ease, and just treat it as entertainment. No matter what occasion I am at or what group of people I am with, I will not say, “No one’s voice is allowed to be louder than Mine. I must be superior to all of you. Especially when discussing an issue, I must do the most talking, and My insights must be the most profound. No one else can surpass Me. If you surpass Me, then I will contend with you for superiority.” I will not do this. Although I must speak no matter the occasion, I am still not too keen on talking a lot; I like to let everyone speak. Sometimes I ask everyone, “Have you been learning any dances lately? Which dances have you learned?” If someone says something wrong, or what they say is not objective or accurate, there is no need to argue. Some people say, “What if someone affronts You?” What does it mean to affront Me? I really haven’t come across anyone who publicly judges Me, curses Me, or contradicts Me. If there really were such a person, I would have to ask them, “Why are you doing this? Does what you say align with the facts?” If what they said was right, I would apologize to them. If they were wrong, I would have to fellowship on the truth with them, so that they could recognize their own problem, and that would be enough. I would not contend with them for superiority, insisting that they concede to Me and acknowledge that I am the boss. So, sometimes when everyone is chatting together, some people’s voices get louder and louder, and the discussion gets quite heated; I just patiently listen to them speak. Corrupt humankind is different. You see, when some people talk together, they end up arguing. Deep down, they look down on each other, and they argue endlessly, insisting on contending over who is right and who is wrong, asking everyone to judge, and not allowing anyone to affront them. Sometimes when some people converse with Me, they interrupt, jump ahead, or make some amateur comments, and even affront Me. I feel it’s no big deal; they are not doing it on purpose. People all have corrupt dispositions, so it is very normal to have this kind of conduct. There are even people who, when handling matters with Me, make decisions directly without waiting for Me to speak. I think to Myself, “You made the decision directly without discussing this matter with everyone, but your way of handling it is reasonable, so it’s fine.” Then I don’t say anything. I do not argue with you; I’m able to do this, and I really am doing this. If leaders and workers ask Me about the various items of professional work in the church, I fellowship and give pointers based on whatever comes to mind at the time, and then the leaders and workers go to the church to convey and implement it. Later, when I go to the church and see some people, I just listen on the sidelines when they fellowship on the work. Actually, I know all these things, but some people think I don’t. They think, “This is the business of us humans; it has nothing to do with You. You are an onlooker, so You should just listen to us speak.” In that situation, I don’t say much; I do not argue with people. But corrupt humankind is unable to do this. Anyone with a bit of status or who bears some responsibility wants to have the final say among people, to protect their status, and to protect their official post. If someone does not take them seriously, they feel particularly upset, feeling that their dignity, pride, and character have been greatly challenged. I feel nothing about this kind of thing; in My heart and mind, I am not interested in things like status, reputation, and prestige among people. If wherever I go, there are always people following behind Me, always surrounding and crowding around Me like I’m the center of attention, or if people always address Me with honorifics, being very polite to Me, flattering Me, and treating Me like an extraordinary person or an elder with status, I really feel uncomfortable. If you stand on an equal footing with Me and chat calmly, I feel quite at ease; if you act servile and particularly artificial in front of Me, I really feel quite uncomfortable. But almost one hundred percent of corrupt humankind cannot overcome the hurdle of status, reputation, and pride; they all pursue and enjoy these things.

When I was chatting with someone, they brought something up, and following their topic, I brought something up too. They thought to themselves that I wanted to contend with them for superiority, so they immediately brought up two more things to see if I could bring up two more. I have said that chatting is not as serious and rigorous as doing work; it is just casual. As long as everyone is happy, it’s fine; there aren’t so many twists and turns involved. I am a simple person. Whatever someone talks about, I just chime in and chat a bit along those lines, but it ended up causing trouble. What did they mean? Whatever topic they chatted about, I couldn’t talk about it anymore. If I kept talking, they wouldn’t look superior and would complain in their heart, “Why are You so clueless? Why don’t You understand what I mean? Who do You think You are? You even want to interact with me on an equal footing!” Seeing that they didn’t like chatting this way, I got the idea. I interact with people using the ways of normal humanity. If it doesn’t work, I will rationally yield; I will not argue with people. It is impossible to get along with nonbelievers, and some people in the church are also unreasonable. When you fellowship with them, their sense of pride keeps them from saying anything outright, but they have corrupt dispositions inside, and they will still contend with you. They are incapable of refraining from contention. Why? That is their life. For matters that do not involve truth principles, there is no need to start an argument. For example, Easterners say drinking tea is healthy, while Westerners say drinking coffee is healthy. Which one is actually healthy? There is no need to argue about such things. This matter does not involve truth principles; just choose based on your own preferences, living conditions, and lifestyle habits. If you have the means to drink tea, then drink tea; if you don’t, then drink plain boiled water. No matter what you drink, it does not affect how you conduct yourself at all. Sometimes, our thoughts and views are different, yet I do not split hairs with you; I still adhere to My principles. I will not argue with you over things that do not involve principles. Absolutely never will I argue until I’m blue in the face with you over a statement that in no way involves principles, or a doctrine or theory, just to make Myself look like someone who strongly adheres to principles. I will absolutely never do that! Sometimes when some people ask Me questions, I will fellowship on the principles with them, and in special circumstances, I will directly tell them what to do. Afterward, they propose another way of doing it and ask Me if that works. Hearing that the effect of their proposed way is about the same as Mine, I say, “If it is convenient for you to do it and the local conditions are suitable, you can do it according to your idea; you don’t have to do it according to what I said.” I will absolutely never say, “My word is law; what I say goes, and you must listen.” It is also fine if you do not listen. If what you say is reasonable, does not differ much from the approach I suggested, has the same goal, and the effect is about the same, then you can choose not to listen to My suggestion. I will absolutely never force you.

A few years ago, some people performed a dance for a program. Seeing that there were some problems with some of their movements, I pointed them out to them. Some of them were unhappy to hear this and were unwilling to accept it. I did not argue with them; I just asked them to watch it carefully a few times to see if there were problems with those movements. I said, “If you still can’t feel the problems I mentioned, then I will give you another alternative. Try this alternative and compare it with the previous one to see which is better.” It turned out that they tried doing it according to the alternative I suggested and felt that My alternative was indeed better, and only then did they admit that there were some problems with the previous dance movements. They couldn’t realize it at the time. It might just be that onlookers see more clearly than those involved. They had become proficient in those movements because they performed them constantly, so suddenly hearing Me say some movements were not good, they might have felt their pride was hurt and were momentarily unable to accept it. I say it is normal for young people to be like this. What is the purpose of telling you this? I just want to tell you that, under normal circumstances, I will absolutely never argue with you over issues that do not involve principles. If it involves a matter of principle, I will only point out a solution for you. I will not forcibly use status to suppress you and make you listen to Me. In most cases, I slowly sort things out, talk them through, and resolve them. If all these methods do not work, perhaps some people will have to be pruned. Of course, some people are pruned not because they affronted Me, but because they violated administrative decrees, violated principles, and caused disturbances to the church’s work. Therefore, when any person makes a mistake or rebels and is disciplined or punished, it is not because they affronted God’s identity or God’s status, not because they affronted God, but because they violated principles and violated administrative decrees. Look at the whole world: Has anyone ever been punished or suffered retribution for affronting God? No one. There are too many people in this world who do not believe in God, who curse God, who speak preposterous words, and who speak presumptuous words. When they are ultimately punished, which of them is punished for affronting God? None of them; it is all because they have committed numerous evils, and they should be punished based on these evil deeds. When encountering matters that can cause arguments, I try to talk things through with you, allowing you to understand what the principles for handling the matter are. If you have a better plan, of course you can also stick to it. I will not contend with you for superiority, nor will I say, “Since I have spoken, it must be implemented according to My plan. Even if your plan is good, it cannot be implemented. I must have the final say in this matter!” I will not do this. I will try to get your input and bring everyone’s strengths into play. If none of you have any opinions or ideas, then I will have the final say—this goes without saying. But I will absolutely never contend with any of you over pride, status, or who gets the final say. Having interacted and dealt with you these years, perhaps you have also appreciated this: Many times I have said things to you, and after I finished speaking, you had your own ideas and did not practice or implement what I said. Then I would try to find a way to explain it more clearly. If you can accept it, that is even better. If you do not accept it and it affects the church’s work, then the church has administrative decrees: If you should be dismissed, you will be dismissed; if you should be pruned, you will be pruned; the church will handle you however it should. As far as the matter itself is concerned, I will absolutely never argue with you over anything to win back My pride, or to protect My status and prestige. I only focus on clearly explaining the whole story of the matter and the principles people should understand. I patiently explain things again and again so that you can better understand the truth and enter the truth reality. The purpose of fellowshipping on this content is to allow you to better understand the incarnate God. Besides having an understanding of the normal and practical living out of God incarnate on the outside, you can also have a further understanding of the essence, disposition, thoughts, and viewpoints of the incarnate God. We just fellowshipped on the topic of not contending. When status and pride are involved, the principle the incarnate God follows is not to argue with people, and not to contend with people for status, pride, or reputation. The propensity to contend with others over these things is precisely a prominent manifestation of corrupt humankind revealing corrupt dispositions. Therefore, not contending is also where the essence of the incarnate God’s humanity differs from that of humankind, and it is an aspect of the content that people should understand.

Now that we have finished fellowshipping on the aspect of not contending, let’s fellowship on the aspect of not fighting. Not fighting is somewhat similar to not contending, but there are also some differences. Besides having those manifestations of not contending, the incarnate God also has some practical living out and revelations in the aspect of not fighting. Through this living out and these revelations, people can also better understand an aspect of the humanity essence of the incarnate God. What does this aspect, not fighting, generally involve? It still involves interacting and associating with people. The incarnate God’s principle for interacting and associating with people is to treat people fairly, do things according to principles, and not play mind games or use tricks with people in His heart or in secret. When interacting with people and discussing certain topics, He will absolutely never ponder in His heart, “What do you mean by that? Are you deliberately targeting Me? Is there a hidden meaning in your words? Is there something else going on in secret? I have to think about how to speak to you, how to show you what I’m made of, or how to fight with you.” When I interact and talk with you, I do not have these thoughts. Even if the other party intentionally wants to fight, I will absolutely never fight with them. Even if the other party is a nonbeliever who wants to find out the real situation or seize upon something to use against Me, I still do things according to principles. I do not fight with them; I do what I should do and say what I should say. I act and speak according to My principles and My boundaries for conducting Myself. In short, no matter who it is, I do not fight with them. For example, I ask someone, “How are the results of preaching the gospel this month?” They think to themselves, “Why is He suddenly asking about the situation of preaching the gospel this month? What does this mean? Has someone reported some problem about me behind my back? Is He trying to find out the truth about my situation and dismiss me?” Why would they think this way? Do I have an ulterior motive in asking this? Is there a hidden meaning? (No.) They want to fight, so they feel that My words have a hidden meaning; or, because they have done some bad things behind the scenes and have a guilty conscience, they feel I must have an ulterior motive in speaking. Actually, when I ask how the gospel preaching is going this month, the sentence means exactly what it says on the surface; there is no other meaning. I have no intention of fighting, nor am I trying to make you give the game away, make you admit that the results this month are not good, or make you come clean about how preaching the gospel has been going recently, so that I can use this as an excuse to seize upon something to prune and dismiss you. Rather, I am trying, in a practical manner, to find out about the situation of the church’s work and help you resolve the problems that exist in doing your duty. But if you always want to read into My words, and always want to fight with Me, then I won’t ask you. I can ask other people. I will go to whoever I can find out the actual situation from, whoever can converse normally, speak like a normal human being, and tell the truth. You make an issue out of everything and are too much of a hassle. You are too suspicious and your mind is too complicated, so I won’t converse with you. This is My principle for interacting and talking with people. Would you say it is simple? (Yes, it is simple.) For example, someone bragged to Me about having been on a luxury cruise ship. I said, “I really haven’t been on a luxury cruise ship. You are rich people; you have seen the world.” These are not words spoken in anger, nor are they spoken out of impetuousness. I haven’t been on one, so I tell the honest truth; I do not make pretenses. When encountering such a person, I stand down and absolutely do not fight with them. Some Chinese people always speak English to Me, using some words I haven’t heard before. Seeing that I haven’t heard them, they show off even more vigorously: “I’ll specifically say things You don’t know. I’ll make sure You cannot understand me, make You envious and jealous, and make You mad!” Isn’t this fighting? (It is.) I say, “I haven’t heard the words you used. Your English is quite good.” Some people love to show off and look down on people, always acting superior, thinking they are something special, and feeling that they are capable and a cut above others. When encountering such people, I can treat them correctly too. If you love to show off, then I will let you show off to the fullest extent. I will not interrupt you, much less fight with you.

You can see people who like to fight everywhere; wherever there are groups of people, there will be those who like to fight. They often contend and fight with others, and will fight over a single word, a single item, or a single matter. I have seen too many people like this. I, however, do not fight with people. Why don’t I? Because fighting has simply never come naturally to Me. In the church, there are also many people who always play mind games when interacting and speaking with Me. They always speculate, “What are You getting at? Have You found out about some bad behavior of mine behind my back? Are You going to dismiss me?” “Why are You saying this? Are You dropping a hint? Is there some hidden meaning in what You’re saying? Are You trying to get me to do something?” For example, someone was wearing a T-shirt, and I said, “The color of your T-shirt is quite nice. Does it keep you cool? Is it cotton?” Isn’t this a very normal and ordinary thing to say? (Yes.) That person then thought to themselves, “Are You asking this because You want one too? Isn’t this how officials usually ask for things from regular folks? They don’t ask openly, but speak in a roundabout way, letting people take the hint and voluntarily deliver the items to their door. That way, if it comes up afterward, they can say they didn’t ask for it, and it wasn’t extortion. Is this what God was getting at? If that’s what He meant, then I must quickly buy a few T-shirts and send them over.” After thinking this, they bought a few T-shirts and sent them to Me. They thought that because I said the shirt was nice, I wanted one. Actually, I really didn’t want one; I was just chatting. If I really did want one, I would just say so directly; I would absolutely never make people read between the lines. So I couldn’t accept the shirts, and quickly had them returned. I am not short of clothes to wear. I have My own preferences for what I wear, and nobody else can figure it out. Is that clear? (Yes.) When I speak with people, even in casual conversation, I speak very specifically and seriously. Often, some people with complicated minds will interpret what I say in a twisted way, and speculate whether My words have some hidden meaning, becoming belligerent. Allow Me to clarify something for you: I have absolutely no intention of fighting with anyone. What I convey when I speak is exactly what the literal meaning of My words is; there is absolutely no hidden meaning in what I say. So when you chat with Me, whatever you hear Me say is exactly what it means. Do not over-interpret it, do not overthink it, and do not play mind games, let alone use any tricks to test Me or speculate about Me. The words I speak are the simplest and clearest; anyone with a bit of normal thinking can understand what I say. If you do not fight, it will be easy for us to get along and handle matters. When I instruct you to do something, I don’t obfuscate things; you just need to do exactly as I say. If you fight, it will instead delay things, and I will feel a sense of aversion toward you. I will say, “You like to fight, have an overly complicated mind, and are not straightforward. I do not like interacting or conversing with people like you. I would rather play with My pet dog than chat or interact with you. You fight with this person and that person all day long; that’s not something I like doing. By nature, I call it like it is when I say and do things; I do not fight with people.” You absolutely must not fight. If you’re always fighting, you will forfeit your integrity, and you will carry no weight in My heart. When asked about something, just tell the truth. Say whatever comes to mind at the time, and say however much you can remember. Do not always ponder why I want to find out about something, what the drawbacks would be if you told the truth about it, or whether it would affect your status or how the Above views you. If you always ponder these things, you will find yourself in trouble. I’m telling you, speak honestly, and do not play mind games or use tricks. Even if you have done something wrong, you should tell the truth and not conceal it. Even if you are not fit for your duties, God’s house will only dismiss you according to principles, and will not bear hatred toward you. But if you always conceal the real situation and always play mind games when speaking with Me, then even if you don’t get dismissed, I will be repulsed by you inside. Whenever I think of you, I will feel disgusted, and it will bring Me no joy if I have to use you. So which path do you choose? (We will speak truthfully.) That’s right. Never play mind games. No matter when, speaking honest words, doing honest things, and telling the truth should be the boundary for your self-conduct, and also the most fundamental principle you should abide by in conducting yourself. Do not always play mind games. Especially when speaking or handling matters with Me, you absolutely mustn’t play mind games. Do not beat around the bush or keep people in suspense when speaking, and do not play mind games when handling matters. If you try to be clever, thinking to yourself, “I will handle this matter in front of You to let You see how busy I am, and how rigorously and tightly my work is arranged, but behind Your back I won’t do anything”—if you ponder like this, you’re headed for trouble. I deal with you by the book and handle things according to principles. I will not fight with you; I will not fight with you using your methods or the tricks you use to fight. The church has administrative decrees, and God’s house has principles for handling people. Sooner or later, you will be held accountable and pay the price for these improper behaviors and even evil deeds of yours. Is that clear? (Yes.)

Sometimes we go to visit some Chinese churches in the US. As soon as we arrive and see the brothers and sisters, some people tip off the others, shouting, “God is here! The Brother is here!” They had been slacking off, but upon hearing this, the atmosphere suddenly changes. Some start the machines to mow the lawn, some clean up, and they get busy. I say, “Why did you start cleaning up when you saw Me coming? Are you doing this just to put on a show for Me? Are you acting with reason by doing this?” People can play mind games with other people and try to deceive them, and they do the same with God; this is human nature. What aspect of human nature does this reveal? Aren’t people like this of low character? (Yes.) People are too deceitful and severely scummy. They have become used to fighting with people, and they even want to fight with God. You are always guarded against Me and always resistant in your heart; what kind of person do you take Me for? Actually, I have no desire to see what you do when I’m not around. I just fellowship on the truth to lead you onto the right path in life and have you act according to principles in all things. If you can consciously walk the right path, then you are a human. If you do not walk the right path, but engage in petty tricks behind My back and fight with Me, then you are not a human; you are a devil, an animal. In that case, no matter how much I say, it is useless; God does not save people like you. You want to fight, but I really will not fight with you; I will stay far away from you. Not only will I try not to go to the places where you live and work, but you should also try not to enter the places where I personally live and work. Why? Because I do not like fighting with you. You like fighting so much; if you are always near Me, wouldn’t I feel exhausted? Some people say, “If You don’t fight, why do You feel exhausted?” If you always fight with Me, I will constantly have to fellowship on the truth with you. Even for a minor matter, I will have to fellowship on it with you for a long time. Don’t you think I would feel exhausted? If I didn’t talk things through with you and make you understand, you would always have a sense of resentment in your heart, always be negative, have misunderstandings, and complain, and your mind would be full of negative things. The nature essence of man is of Satan, and Satan’s disposition has become his life. Corrupt mankind is prone to fighting, and it is very difficult for man to refrain from fighting. So, when you no longer play mind games while interacting and speaking with Me, when you can treat whatever I say seriously and comprehend it purely, and when we can be open and honest with each other and talk about anything, then there will be a rapport between us. Even without speaking, we will be compatible in spirit, there will be no barriers or misunderstandings between us, and we will be able to communicate completely in our hearts. Then we will be able to live together and get along. Right now, I unilaterally do not fight with you, but you cannot stop yourselves from fighting. Therefore, even if you do not openly rise up to oppose, reject, judge, and condemn My words, you will still be resistant in your hearts and still fight with Me surreptitiously. This proves that man cannot have true submission without resolving his corrupt dispositions. In most matters, not only can you not achieve unity with Me, but you do not even have the most basic rapport with Me or understanding of Me; you cannot achieve this at all. Thus, it would be very difficult for us to live together in a way where everyone would be happy and feel joyful. If I were with you, I would always want to lead you onto the right path, so that you could have pure comprehension and make correct choices in all matters, so that you could walk the right path whether in life, in conducting yourselves, or on the path of believing in God, and so that whether I spoke or not, you would have a most basic trust in Me, as well as obedience and submission to Me, in your hearts. But right now, people cannot even achieve this most basic trust, obedience, and submission; people’s minds are too complicated. If I’m somewhat nice to you, you will think no one can compare with you and that you are high above everyone else, and will become bossy because of your association with Me and use My name to throw your weight around. If I treat you normally or somewhat coldly, you will feel that I have no love. If I’m somewhat strict with you or always prune and lecture you, you will feel wronged and unjustly treated, thinking that I have no love or tolerance for you. No matter what I do, you will have your own opinions on it, because your problems are too severe and your minds are too complicated. Therefore, even if I were to live together with you, problems would constantly arise as we communicate and interact. In the end, these problems would constantly lead to conflict, and once the conflict intensified, it would be hard to say whether you would be able to continue walking this path of believing in God. You thought you had great faith? Your stature is too small! Even now that I have been incarnated as a very ordinary person, and have spoken with you and done work on you for such a long time, interacting with you presents great difficulties. What is the root of these difficulties? (We are too deceitful and prone to fighting.) People’s minds are not pure, and people are not honest; they are full of corrupt dispositions. If, when I discover that you reveal corrupt dispositions or have some defects in your humanity, I don’t point them out to you, that would seem to be irresponsible on My part. If I pointed such things out to you and you could accept them, that would of course be better. But if you do not accept it, should I indulge you, or should I prune you and strictly discipline you? If I were to indulge you, I could not square that with My conscience. If I pruned you, you could not accept it and would feel wronged. If I always fellowshipped on the truth with you and you still did not accept it in your heart, then tell Me, would it be worth it for Me to do this? Wouldn’t I feel exhausted? (Yes.) If I preached to each of you every day, wouldn’t I become a robot? Wouldn’t I become a tool? That is not the work I am meant to do. I speak to all of humankind; this is My ministry. My words are not directed at any specific individual. I speak to all of humankind, and you are a member of humankind, so these words apply to you. Eat and drink them slowly yourself, slowly compare yourself against them, and slowly experience and change. But how long will this slow change take? Is it three to five years, or ten to twenty years? And to what extent will you change? That depends on your personal resolve and comprehension ability. During this period, when we interact together, you lie and deceive, contend and fight, and play tricks. So it really is not easy for us to achieve harmony, a rapport, and unity, or to feel happy and joyful in our interactions. At any rate, whether it’s people I have contact with up close or from a distance, up to now I have not felt sincerity or change from anyone, nor a sense of happiness or comfort from anyone. Moreover, having lived as long as I have, what is My deepest realization now? It can be accurately said that the one thing I am most unwilling to do is to have close contact with people and interact closely with them. I do not deceive, contend, or fight with anyone, but people always want to contend, fight, and deceive. What should I do? Should I cater to people’s deception, contention, and fighting, or should I change people’s deception, contention, and fighting? I cannot cater to people. I really do have some ability and some paths to change people, but this process of change is too long and too difficult. In the end, I settle for the next best thing: When coming into contact with people, I try My best to help those who can be helped. For those who do not accept help no matter what, I try to avoid contact and interaction with them, and spend time waiting!

Accepting the truth and submitting to the truth in order to cast off corrupt dispositions and attain purification is a process; this is not an easy thing. Over the years of interacting with people, no matter what group of people I find Myself in, and no matter how people differ in terms of their age, appearance, skin color, personality, and living background, I always feel that their nature essence is so familiar, like I’ve seen it all before. I feel that the disposition essence of all kinds of people is the same, and after I interact with them, they all turn out exactly as I expect. Under these circumstances, what kind of mood am I in? Is it a good mood? (No.) No one knows why I am in a bad mood. Do people have this awareness when they interact with Me? (No.) Living in corruption, humankind relies on means of survival like deception, contending, and fighting to live. They are completely in their element like this, living carefree and at ease. They live in sin, enjoying the pleasures of sin without any worries, and do not feel that this is something painful. Precisely because all people have a sinful nature, sin is people’s life, and the essence of people’s life is sin, they do not feel that living in sin is painful. It’s like a pig; a pig is a dirty thing, a filthy thing. It eats and sleeps in pits of mud and garbage dumps without feeling dirty or filthy. There are also maggots; they live in dung heaps and fetid ditches without ever feeling the slightest bit of filth—they even feel quite at home and comfortable. People live within their corrupt dispositions and amid contention and fighting, and they don’t find it painful or trying either. Some people even feel that if they were to go a single day without contending, fighting, or playing tricks, their lives would be too boring and uninteresting, so they have to find something to fight over or someone to play tricks on. In their eyes, living in the flesh and wearing human skin, people must contend and fight; if they don’t, their existence loses its value. For Me, the feeling is completely different. I feel that contending and fighting with people is a very exhausting thing, and also something annoying; it is the one major thing I most want to escape from in this life. I do not know how to contend or fight, nor am I willing to contend or fight. When I really encounter matters involving contending and fighting, I just want to back away, to bypass and avoid them, so I find these things particularly annoying. After many years of Me being annoyed, these emotions have built up and reached their limit, and ultimately I’ve come to feel that interacting with human beings is the most painful thing in the world. Every time I encounter someone who contends and fights with Me, it feels like being pushed through a meat grinder, like being toyed with; that is the feeling. After having these feelings, I ponder, “How is this aspect of their corrupt disposition revealed? What is the essence of this kind of person? If there is an opportunity, I will fellowship with them about it. If they can accept the truth, that would be for the best, and they are truly worth helping. If they do not accept the truth, then I’ll just let things take their natural course, and let fate do with them what it will.” People who do not accept the truth are people without humanity, and they are also people without blessings; they are the most foolish people, the most worthless people. Having interacted with many people, I have developed this thought and viewpoint about people and worldly affairs: Interacting with people has become a tiring thing. This is not physical exhaustion, but spiritual exhaustion. Within this exhaustion, there is also a sense of dullness, repression, and pain. If I do not interact with people, I encounter fewer instances of people contending and fighting with Me, and My spirit feels quite liberated and relaxed.

In recent years, when interacting with some brothers and sisters, I often hear some people say, “I misspoke just now; let me correct myself,” or “There’s a slight discrepancy in the situation I learned about earlier; let me rectify it.” Also, some people have a more proper attitude in handling matters than before, and are a bit more earnest and responsible. Moreover, they can endure hardship and pay a price, and they have fewer complaints. Most people can discuss things with each other and cooperate harmoniously when doing their duties together. Compared to a few years ago, they are much better and have changed a bit. Every time I notice this happening, I feel quite good. I feel that all these years of going over these things again and again have not been in vain—finally, a portion of people have taken these words seriously. After hearing these words, they can understand the truth and know to practice according to God’s words. Regardless of how much they’re able to put into practice, at the very least, they have life entry and have changed somewhat. In short, their attitudes and viewpoints toward the truth have become relatively proper and correct. Although some people have changed a bit, they have not changed enough. Sometimes, when encountering different matters, there are still instances of people contending and fighting; the problem has not been resolved at its root. You have only changed a bit, and have not yet reached the point of being able to submit completely. You still have to continue pursuing the truth, and continue experiencing pruning, trials, and refinement. Change is not an outward change—so what exactly changes? I have spoken for so many years, and you have come to recognize that you have quite a few corrupt dispositions, and that you actually have quite a few defects in your humanity as well. You should be clear on how to cast off your corrupt dispositions and do your duties properly, and how to practice the truth to do your duties up to standard, right? At the very least, you should all be clear on how to be honest people, and also know how to practice this. If, with regard to the problems that you understand and that are within your abilities, you can put effort into seeking the truth to resolve them one by one, endure a bit of suffering to overcome your various difficulties, and be able to practice the truth, then I might come to consider you as basically having a bit of human likeness. Even if you occasionally still show a slight inclination to fight when I interact with you, if I feel it’s not obvious, My view of you will be very different from before, and it will be much less difficult for us to get along. You must fellowship and make plans about this, about how to pursue in order to achieve change. You cannot just be content in the performance of your duty with putting in a bit of effort, laboring a bit, going through the motions, not doing wrong things, not causing disruptions and disturbances, or just not being dismissed or cleared out. Rather, you must put effort into the truth, into practicing the truth, and into accepting and submitting to the truth. In this regard, I have to commend most of the sisters; most of the sisters are doing well, while most of the brothers are doing poorly. From the experiential testimony videos, I see that in the various items of church work, most of those who play major roles and serve as supervisors are sisters; there are very few brothers. Most brothers do not take things seriously when it comes to the various items of professional work, nor do they take things seriously when it comes to the truth principles and life entry, or the various truths regarding submitting to God and attaining salvation. Even more so, many brothers simply have no spiritual life at all; they do not read God’s words, do not listen to sermons and fellowships, do not watch the movies and videos of God’s house, and when they encounter issues, they do not seek the truth or fellowship with brothers and sisters. Sisters do better than brothers in this regard. In particular, some sisters who currently serve as supervisors for important work in God’s house are more obedient and submissive than before. They can endure hardship, are willing to pay a price, do things meticulously, and are very serious, rigorous, and earnest. When pruned, they don’t abandon their duties or complain; they are still able to pray and submit, and can seek the truth to know and resolve their corrupt dispositions. Brothers, you can look at how the sisters around you do things. They are more meticulous than you, and more serious, responsible, and earnest in their actions than you are; moreover, they are obedient and submissive, and they focus on seeking the truth principles when doing things. Of course, there is also a portion of brothers who are relatively obedient and can be meticulous and earnest in the things they do, but most brothers are always a bit sloppy. Nonbelievers call this being rough-and-ready and uninhibited. God’s house doesn’t go in for “being rough-and-ready”; God’s house emphasizes fellowshipping on the truth and handling matters according to principles, and doing things earnestly and rigorously. Being inattentive and slipshod is absolutely unacceptable. Most brothers are careless in handling matters and are never earnest, always thinking, “‘Roughly’ or ‘close enough’ will do; this is good enough.” When they see some sisters putting effort into the truth and approaching it earnestly, and being serious and rigorous with their duties, they even look down on them, saying, “We are real men. Do those things have to be done in such minute, trivial detail? All this fellowshipping on the truth, all this praying and seeking—as long as we’re basically moving in the right direction, it’s fine. What’s the use of being so fastidious? Could we still call ourselves men if we were so fussy about everything? People would laugh at us!” This attitude of yours is wrong. Who would laugh at you for doing things seriously? Let them laugh if they want to. A true man must do things seriously; there is no shame in this. Doing things seriously is the attitude toward the truth, toward responsibilities, and toward duties that all humans—created beings—should have, regardless of gender. When it comes to doing strenuous physical labor or operating things like machinery, there is a distinction between men and women, but there is no such distinction in the pursuit of the truth. The truth is not directed solely at either men or women, but at humankind, which includes both men and women. Among all the truths we’ve fellowshipped on, only in matters involving marriage is there a distinction between men and women, requiring men to fulfill male responsibilities and women to fulfill female responsibilities. There are no distinctions between men and women in other aspects of the truth; they are all things that people should practice. Especially in matters involving truth principles, you must not go wrong, and your direction and goal must not be wrong either. In pursuing the truth, when one’s corrupt dispositions, the states one reveals, and one’s thoughts and ideas are involved, you must examine and discern them in detail. If you do not examine them, you will never find the root problem. If you cannot find it, you cannot resolve it, and you will always live within your corrupt dispositions, being troubled and manipulated by them—you will be unable to achieve change, and unable to cast off your corrupt dispositions.

Today we fellowshipped on several aspects involved in the topic of “not putting the incarnate God on a par with corrupt humankind.” This was mainly to tell you about the principles by which I conduct Myself and interact with people, as well as My inner disposition and essence when I interact with people. You cannot see, understand, or appreciate these things from the outside, so I shared My feelings and My principles for doing things with you. I am not testifying to Myself; I am just sharing these things with you so that you can know and understand the principles by which I conduct Myself and do things, and the life, disposition, and essence I live out. These are not secrets, nor are they mysteries. Once you understand and are clear about them, you will be able to know God and know God’s incarnate flesh more accurately. Otherwise, the statement “God’s incarnate flesh can represent the God in heaven, and He possesses God’s identity and essence” might forever be an empty phrase to you, or it might forever remain within your notions and imaginings, or it might forever be a mystery to you. Actually, this is a resolvable issue; it is not a theory, nor is it a formulaic saying. Although the form in which the life of the incarnate God exists is somewhat different from the form in which the God in heaven exists—it is God’s Spirit existing in the flesh—there is no difference in Their life, and no difference in Their life essence. So, where do these things we talked about—God’s incarnate flesh not deceiving, contending, or fighting with people—come from? They come from God’s own life; to be exact, they come from the expression of God’s own disposition. Therefore, telling you “I do not deceive, contend, or fight with anyone” is not a bureaucratic turn of phrase, nor is it a mystery. He is just such a person, He just lives within such a life, and His principles for conducting Himself, as well as the life, disposition, and essence He lives out, all contain the elements of not deceiving, not contending, and not fighting with people. Is that clear? (Yes.) We will end our fellowship here for today. Goodbye!

August 17, 2024