Knowing God’s sovereignty is a very profound lesson. To see God’s sovereignty over everything, one must have spiritual understanding, and one must also comprehend many truths. When it comes to understanding God, people are very often narrow-minded and only look at what is in front of them. They always judge God based on their views of right and wrong, correct and incorrect, and black and white, or based on human notions and imaginings, and say that God was wrong to do this or wrong to do that. Yet what is right? As long as something has been done by God, it is right. Is it right for God to destroy people? (Yes.) God has raised up a race and made it prosperous, but you feel that this race should not be prosperous. How did it become prosperous, then? The Jews opposed God, so in people’s eyes, once God had become angry and cursed them, He should have wiped them out. But that is only man’s notion and imagining. After God cursed and punished the Jewish people, He allowed them to survive, and He made a promise to them that their roots would remain, that they would be scattered to other countries across the world, and that they would finally restore their own nation. God’s promises cannot be changed, and the words of punishment that God spoke had to be fulfilled too. God’s sovereignty is so marvelous. If you try to judge the work of God and the things that befall people from the perspective of right and wrong, and correct and incorrect, you will reject them. You will think that they do not seem like the work of God and that they are not in line with your notions and imaginings, and you will reject them. If you reject them, how can you submit to them as the truth? It will be impossible. Why do people reject them? This is caused by human notions, which means that there are limits to what the human brain can recognize, and what people can see of the deeds of God, and that there are limits to the truths that people can understand. How can you break through these limits to truly know God? You must accept things from God, and not lightly define the things you encounter that you cannot understand, and not blindly pass judgments if you cannot solve some problem. This is the reason that people should possess the most. If you say, “That is not what God does, God would never do that!” then you lack reason. What can you really understand? If you dare to pass judgments on behalf of God, then you are truly lacking in reason. God will not necessarily act exactly as you think or in the scope of your imaginings. God is too great, too unfathomable, too profound, too wonderful, and too wise! Why have I added the word “too”? Because humans cannot fathom God. You are a created being, so do not try to fathom God. Once you no longer have this thought, you will possess a bit of reason. Do not try to set rules for God, and if you are able to refrain from doing so, then you will possess reason. There are many people who always set rules for God and say that God should act in a certain way, that God would absolutely do it this way or God absolutely would not do it that way, that this is absolutely an act of God, and that something else is absolutely not an act of God. And how about this addition of the word “absolutely”? (It lacks reason.) You say that God is too wonderful and too wise but then you say that God would never act in a certain way. Isn’t that a contradiction? That is not true knowledge of God. It is utterly lacking in reason to always insist on one’s own views and to always set the rules for God.

God is doing this final stage of work, and no one thought that He could appear and work in China. Is the fact that you can’t imagine it not due to the notions and imaginings in your heart, and limitations to your thinking? You might think of America, the United Kingdom, or Israel as all being possible, but can absolutely not imagine that God would work in China. It’s inconceivable to you. It’s far beyond people’s notions and imaginings, but God has just begun His work in China, carrying out His final and most important work. This is too far at odds with human notions. So, what have you learned from this? (That God’s work doesn’t accord with human notions, and is wondrous and unfathomable.) God’s work is far beyond human imaginings, wondrous and unfathomable, wise, profound—these are human words used to describe all that God has and is, His disposition and essence, and this is considered reasonable. It’s through God doing things which are at odds with human notions that people sum it up with these words—God’s work is wondrous and unfathomable, at odds with human notions. What else can people learn from this? That mankind’s former notions and imaginings have all been subverted. So where have these notions come from? From what you see, China is poor and backward, the Communist Party wields power, Christians are persecuted, there’s no freedom, no human rights, and Chinese people are poorly educated, with a low standing on the world stage, appearing as the pitiful sick men of East Asia. How could God incarnate in China to do His work? Is this not a notion? Now, see if this notion is right or wrong. (It is completely wrong.) First, let’s not talk about why God would work in this way, whether it’s because He wants to be humble and hidden, or if working in this way carries a profound significance and value. Let’s not discuss this level, but talk about whether God working in this way conflicts a lot with human notions. Very much so! People cannot imagine. It’s a mystery of Heaven, and no one knows. Even if astronomers, geographers, historians, and prophets are called, would anyone be able to figure it out? No one would be able to, even if all capable people, living or dead, were convened to analyze and investigate, or observe and study with astronomical telescopes—it would all be to no avail. What does this mean? That mankind is too insignificant, too ignorant, too lacking in insight to fathom God’s affairs. If you cannot fathom then don’t bother. What would be the end result if you tried? Your notions do not equal the truth, and are actually far removed from what God wants to do. They are not the same thing at all. What little knowledge humans have is useless, unable to figure anything out or solve any problems. Now that you read God’s words, and listen to sermons and fellowships, do you understand a little bit more in your hearts? Do you have some knowledge of God? Someone might say: “God doesn’t discuss what He does with us, if He would only give us a celestial sign so that we could understand what He intends to do, or even inspire a prophet to give a prediction.” You wouldn’t be able to see it, even with a celestial sign, and neither could a prophet. What God does in the spiritual realm has remained secret from ancient times until now, and is so secret that not a single human can know. No matter how talented a prophet or astronomer, or scholar, expert, or scientist in any discipline might be, they could study all they want but they would never understand God’s affairs. People can study God’s past work, and might be able to glean a few secrets or meaning which may have something to do with why God did it, but no one knows what God will do in the future, or His intentions. People shouldn’t, therefore, think to fathom God or ultimately fathom how He works through observation and study, long-term investigation and experience, multifaceted analysis, or much diligence and hard work. This is impossible, and will never work out. So, if people cannot fathom God, what should they do? (They should submit.) It’s most reasonable for people to submit, and most aligned with God’s will; submission is the premise. What is its purpose? It’s to be able, based on experiencing God’s work, to know Him more, to obtain the truth, and gain life. This is what you ought to gain, and the treasure you should desire. Regarding major external events, such as international affairs, how God does things, and how He leads this human race—if you can come to understand these, that’s even better. It’s also okay if you say: “I don’t really care about those things. I don’t have the caliber or the mind for that; I only care about how God provides me with the truth and changes my disposition.” As long as you have a submissive and God-fearing heart, you will ultimately be able to gain the truth from God, as well as wisdom. The truth changes people’s dispositions; it is the life that people should seek to gain, and the path they should walk. So, what is the wisdom that people get? Without even knowing it, you’ll be able to see the way God does many things, why He does them, what His intentions and goals are, and what His principles are in doing certain things. You will unconsciously be able to realize this through the process of experiencing the truth of God’s words. Perhaps these words and matters are too profound, and you won’t be able to express it in words, but you will feel it in your heart, and have real understanding without even realizing it.

Let’s start with the story of Abraham. When he had lived for 85 years but still did not have a son, God promised to give him one. What was his wife Sarah’s response? She thought to herself: “I’m already old and infertile. How could I bear a son?” Is this not a human notion? She used human notions to measure God’s work, and thus could doubt and think such a thing impossible. Then what did she do? She gave her maid Hagar to Abraham as concubine. So tell Me, did God see what she did? God knew. The following year, Hagar bore a son named Ishmael. When Abraham was 99 years old, Jehovah God appeared and promised him that Sarah would bear him a son around the same time the next year, and the whole land of Canaan would be given to him and his descendants as their everlasting possession. The following year, Sarah bore a son named Isaac. As the son of the mistress, Isaac was heir while Ishmael, born of a concubine, could not inherit. Later, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away, and Hagar brought him to the desert, where there was neither food nor water. Facing death, Hagar prayed to Jehovah God, saying: “There’s no way out. I have a child, and want to live.” Jehovah God sent an angel to give them water, and they survived. The desert later became their home, and they put down roots and had many descendants—modern people, such as Arabs, living in the Middle East. You see, there is God’s goodwill in allowing this. This is a major external event, which no one studied, but it doesn’t mean that God’s act is not present—it is. It’s not like someone did something secretly which God didn’t see, definitely not. There’s God’s goodwill here. God allowed and promised that the tribe of Ishmael would survive in order to balance the world and be of use when needed. They have always fought with the Israelites for territory, for the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. You must see God’s act in this matter. God did something which people see as bad, and they think that maybe He miscalculated, or didn’t watch closely enough, and that people took advantage of loopholes. This is what the average person’s mind is capable of reaching and imagining. People think that God dozed off and didn’t keep an eye on things, with the result that Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, and that God took pity on them and allowed them to survive, arranging for them to live in the desert. Is this really the case? (No, it isn’t.) God has a plan, and the birth and existence of various races—that is, the various ethnicities and skin colors of mankind—all play a role in balancing the entire human race, and you can see exactly what role they play by looking at the state of the world. Is this an act of God? God controls how quickly a race reproduces, its global population, what role it plays on the earth and among the whole human race, and what its people do, both good and bad things. Speaking of bad, people believe that such things cannot possibly come from God, and are all Satan’s doing. But isn’t Satan also in God’s hands? Some people say, “Satan does as it pleases, and God has no control.” Is this the explanation? This matter cannot be reasoned logically, and it’s wrong to do so. Some things appear bad from the outside, and some appear good, but all are under God’s sovereignty. You cannot say that God only holds sovereignty over the good and not the bad, as both are in God’s hands, orchestrated and controlled by Him, and His goodwill is behind everything. This is the truth, and if you can see this clearly then you understand the truth. It is incorrect for you to conclude that things are bad and look only through that lens, as it is easy to misunderstand and resist God. Everything God does has His goodwill. So, what is God’s goodwill? People only see the bad things that happen right before their eyes, and can never see what the consequences might be ten or twenty years after the fact. What will happen one or two thousand years later, what place it will have and what key role it will play in shaping the state of the world and in the whole of mankind—people cannot see this, but this is the sovereignty of God. Is the development of the state of the world and all mankind a simple matter? Wherever something happens, wherever some major event occurs, or wherever there’s a plague or earthquake, God is in control! Some absurd people, with no spiritual understanding, might wonder: “If God controls everything, then devils’ suppression and the slaughter and cruel persecution of God’s chosen people is also under His control? Did God instigate it?” Is it right to look at it in this way? Does it hold water? This puts God in a negative position, and is wrong. So, how should you look at this matter? God instigates all things, and what does “all things” include? It includes everything: whatever can be seen by the naked eye, like mountains and rivers, trees, plants, people, and so on. It also includes microorganisms invisible to the naked eye, as well as devils, Satan, and all kinds of spirits and ghosts of the spiritual realm. These are all under God’s control. They do what God wants them to do. He lets them out whenever they are needed, and they do what they should. This is God’s sovereignty. However God rules and arranges, you can see God’s will being carried out in the end, and every one of God’s words will be fulfilled.

People may not now be able to see the effect of something God does, or know its purpose, why God does it, or what His will is. This may still be unseen after two hundred years, and mankind would still not know, but would be convinced after a thousand years: “It was so right and wonderful for God to do this! God is truly God!” Mankind will discover that everything God does is the truth, and nothing is wrong. For example, the crucifixion and death of the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace was at that time viewed by the world as a failure of that stage of work. They thought, “The Lord Jesus didn’t follow a mortal fate of birth, old age, sickness, and death, and yet was betrayed by Judas before He had done any work, arrested by soldiers, whipped, wore a crown of thorns, mocked, and finally nailed to the cross. Is this not a failure?” Is crucifixion a failure? Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus to the government, but what does the government represent? It represents the forces of Satan. Is it good or bad that Christ was delivered into Satan’s hands? (It looks bad on the outside.) People thought, “Oh, no! God’s work has been disturbed by the devil. This isn’t good, it’s a bad sign, because God wasn’t watching, and isn’t that powerful! How could the incarnate Christ still be betrayed and delivered into the hands of the rulers? Isn’t that clearly just being left to Satan’s mercy? The Lord Jesus must quickly find a way to escape, otherwise won’t this work be over? Christ still has a ministry.” Isn’t this what people would think? So Peter said, “Be it far from You, Lord: this shall not be to You” (Matthew 16:22), and out came human notions. They thought, “God couldn’t possibly be delivered into the hands of the rulers, so if He was, then He is not God.” Is this not a human notion? It’s only because they had this kind of notion that people could say such things, act or behave in such a way, and hinder God’s will from being carried out. What did Jesus say to Peter? “Get you behind Me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23). The Lord Jesus took Peter for Satan. Ultimately, the Lord Jesus was delivered into Satan’s hands, and those people became service objects to accomplish the work of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion. Was it a good or bad thing for the Lord Jesus to be delivered into Satan’s hands? (A good thing.) Looking at it in this way, it’s a good thing, not bad, for God’s work was accomplished by this means. Did God do anything from Judas’ betrayal through to the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion? Did He plan to escape, or did anyone come rescue Him? (No.) Did God think of a way to manifest a miracle, lifting the Lord Jesus straight up to heaven and hiding Him behind the clouds where no one could see Him? How glorious, how magnificent an ascension! But no one saw these things, as God didn’t do them. Does God not doing this prove that He cannot? Could God do it? (Yes, He could.) So, why didn’t He? (There was God’s goodwill, and He had a plan.) What was God’s plan? It was to hand Himself over to Satan, and then take the place of those sinners on the cross, sacrificing Himself to redeem mankind. This is what God wanted to do; He doesn’t do the things people imagine in their notions. Many people think, “God should send more lightning to strike down all those evil people who resisted Him and, after striking them down, the Lord Jesus would ascend to heaven. How glorious and awesome that would be, and how that would reveal God’s authority! Let these devils and Satans, and these humans all see the consequences of crucifying God, then they won’t dare in the future, right?” People may dare not resist, but isn’t it a hindrance if God’s work is not accomplished? Human notions always disrupt God’s work, so He doesn’t work in that way. Some people really believe in the Lord Jesus because He was crucified to do His work of redemption, but at the same time will say with all good intentions, “The Lord Jesus should not have been crucified. It was not easy to be incarnated, and He had to work in humility and hiddenness, be forsaken by people and slandered by those scribes and Pharisees. This is so pitiful. He should’ve avoided crucifixion, not lowered Himself to that level, there’s no need for it.” Is it right for people to look at it like this? (No, it isn’t.) Looking at it now, two thousand years later, this way of thinking is wrong. Is there truth in the human mind? (No, there isn’t.) So, what is in people’s mind? It’s all human imaginings and notions, as well as good intentions, feelings, compassion, and selfishness. Can these things accomplish God’s work? Can they carry out His will? They cannot, hence the Lord Jesus’ words, “Get you behind Me, Satan.” God wanted to personally deliver Himself into Satan’s hands, allow Satan itself to crucify Christ, and through the crucifixion thus accomplish the work of redemption. God didn’t manifest any miracles. God has said several times, “God keeps silent.” What is meant by this? Does it mean that God sees not, concerns Himself not, heeds not, speaks not a word, and keeps total silence? (No, it doesn’t.) So, what is the meaning of “keeps silent”? This contains God’s will, wisdom, and disposition. What is God’s disposition revealed in God’s keeping silent? There is God’s wisdom here. He wants to complete His management work. No matter how many notions or imaginings people have, He first avoids these without offering an explanation, but works silently and practically until the day comes when His chosen people understand the truth and can submit to Him, His will is carried out and His work on them is complete, and He has totally vanquished Satan and gained glory. He uses these facts and results as proof for all mankind to see, proof for Satan to see—this is God’s disposition and will revealed in God’s keeping silent. What aspect of God’s disposition is this? Does it show God’s patience? (It does.) Why was God patient at this time? Why did He keep silent? Here is God’s wisdom. Some things are mysteries that no created being, non-created being, or angel, is permitted to understand or grasp. This is God’s wisdom. God can’t speak prematurely, and is there any benefit in Him speaking even one more word? There’s no benefit, for they don’t understand. If He spoke with someone, would they understand? (They would not.) In that case, there’s no benefit in speaking. Would people have understood if, two thousand years ago, God had said to mankind, “I want to be crucified, offer My precious blood to redeem mankind in the likeness of sinful flesh”? (They would not.) What were God’s only words? He said, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and had people practice patience and tolerance. Did God say any more to man? (No, He didn’t.) Why didn’t He? (Man couldn’t comprehend.) There’s no way mankind could comprehend. This is why God was compelled to reveal His disposition and thoughts in silence. Even if God spoke with any created or non-created being, they would not understand. So, He could only use His deeds and facts to prove to mankind and carry out His will. Not until now, two thousand years later, has God exposed these things as He does the work of judgment in the last days; people look back on events of two millennia ago and only now understand the significance of the Lord Jesus being crucified back then. About the reason for God’s crucifixion, deliverance to Satan, betrayal by Judas in those circumstances and, after the betrayal, the Lord Jesus suffered so much, draining the last drop of blood to carry out God’s will, why God did this, and its significance—God only speaks about this when bearing witness to the incarnation as He appears and works in the last days and, additionally, discloses many mysteries such as God’s will and management. Now that people have seen the connection between the three stages of work, they finally know the vision of God’s management plan, and understand these truths and God’s good intentions. If God had told mankind a thousand years in advance, would people have understood? (They would not.) So, God often does everything while keeping silent. What is the reason for this silence? It’s because the work God does is too wise, too wonderful, and too profound—if God had spoken earlier, no matter what was said, then people would not be able to understand or comprehend. So God can only keep pressing ahead silently, always speaking to do His work and lead mankind. It’s right for humans to follow God, and the farther down the road the brighter it gets. God won’t lead you astray, and even if He delivers you to Satan, God is responsible to the end. You must have this faith, and this is the attitude created beings should have toward God. If you can say, “Even if God delivers me to Satan as a plaything, He is still God, and I cannot change my heart which follows Him, cannot change my faith in Him,” then this is true belief in God.