Does fellowshipping on the topic of letting go of one’s notions and imaginings about God incarnate have anything to do with knowing the incarnate God? (It does.) What is the connection? (If we do not know the incarnate God, and only believe in God based on our own notions and imaginings, in the end it is very likely that we will be left empty-handed and that all our efforts will have been in vain, with us having gained nothing. So, if we want to get on the right track in our belief in God, we must know the incarnate God. This truth is very important.) This is what you should understand in terms of theory—how should you practice, then? This is an important question. After you gain knowledge of the incarnate God, you should handle and resolve all kinds of things in real life based on this knowledge, and use it to work out what the principles of practice for all kinds of things should be. No matter what kind of knowledge you have, the point of having this knowledge is to resolve problems, not for you to master a theory. You see, we have fellowshipped on so many topics involving the incarnate God, but no matter which topic it is, it involves actual problems in real life. When you face these actual problems, you should give them some thought. What do you think about them? What is your attitude toward them? How do you plan to resolve them? Will you just let them pass, or will you seek the truth to resolve them? If, after listening to My fellowship on these topics, you only remember some theories, but cannot apply My words to real life to resolve your difficulties and problems, then what you’ve gained is just doctrine, which is of no help to you. But if, after listening to My fellowship on these topics, you apply My words to real life, correcting your erroneous viewpoints and erroneous attitudes regarding God, getting rid of your notions and imaginings about God, and improving your relationship with God, then what you’ve gained is the truth. If you use the words and content I have fellowshipped with you to resolve your notions and imaginings, your erroneous thoughts and views, and your erroneous attitudes regarding God, you will be able to establish a normal relationship with God. But if you treat the problems you have indifferently and don’t care about them, you never reflect by seeing how you match up to God’s words, and you clearly know there are problems with your attitude toward God yet do not seek the truth to resolve this actual problem, then My words have meant nothing to you, and you’ve listened to them in vain, right? (Yes.) What is your situation like? (Although we know we should not treat God’s words as doctrines, and that we should practice them in real life, our entry is still relatively shallow right now.) That your life entry is shallow is nothing to worry about—as long as you continuously seek the truth, you will gradually achieve deeper entry. On this foundation, gradually ponder things and examine yourself, and match yourself up against God’s words, and then correct your erroneous thoughts and views—and your erroneous attitudes regarding God—and come to treat and know God with correct thoughts and views, and a correct attitude. In this way, step by step, your relationship with God will become ever more normal.

What we have spoken about regarding the topic of God incarnate is not abstract or hollow. It is very specific, involves real life, and is not at all divorced from real life, which is why I say it is not hollow or abstract. If you listen and ponder with your heart, you will become increasingly clear on this aspect of the truth. In short, if one wants to attain genuine knowledge of God, and wants to establish the normal relationship between a created being and the Creator, this lesson of knowing God is something they must learn, and the process of knowing God is something they must experience. This lesson of knowing God should start with two things: knowing the normality and practicality of God incarnate, and letting go of notions and imaginings about God incarnate. It can also be said that this lesson should start with the most basic aspects that there are. Once you have established with the incarnate God the normal relationship between a created being and the Creator, and established a normal relationship between man and God, you will take a human perspective and treat the incarnate God, His words and work, and whatever attitude He has toward you with correct thoughts and views, and with a correct attitude. Once you have established the normal relationship with God incarnate—the relationship between man and God—it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to be open and honest with God, respectful toward Him, and obedient to Him, right? (Yes.) This is a goal man should pursue, and it is also a principle man should practice. Establishing a normal relationship with God incarnate should begin with interacting, associating, communicating, and having dealings with Him. On this foundation, you should enhance your understanding of God incarnate, frequently conversing and communicating with Him, and thus attain genuine understanding and knowledge of God. If conversing, communicating, and interacting with the God in heaven is something very distant and even out of reach for man, and is also unrealistic and unobjective, then how can man manage to interact, communicate, and associate with God on the foundation of having established a normal relationship with Him? During this period in which God incarnate is speaking and working, the conditions exist for man to achieve these things; whether in life or in doing work, these conditions are available. Since these conditions are available, man should not miss out. This is a fine opportunity for man to train in how to treat the Creator correctly. If man seizes this opportunity and makes good use of it, he will have the opportunity and the means to understand and know the God in heaven in a more practical way. For man, understanding and knowing the God in heaven then becomes something that is no longer nebulous and hollow, and of course, it ceases being something he can only think about but cannot achieve. In the process of humans coming into contact and associating with the incarnate God, for one thing, they gradually learn about themselves and come to know the various notions and imaginings they have about God. Additionally, they also gradually learn about the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of God, God’s various attitudes toward man, and the principles and ways by which God speaks and works, as well as His purpose in doing so. What is important here is allowing man, through what he sees with his eyes, hears with his ears, and experiences with his heart, to more practically and accurately understand the various aspects of God’s words and actions. Under these circumstances, man will no longer be living amid his notions and imaginings about God. Had God not become flesh in the last days, even if man still believed in the Lord Jesus of the Age of Grace, and had done so for many years, his understanding and knowledge of God would be practically zero; he would not have the slightest bit of genuine knowledge of God. So, there is no one in the religious world who genuinely knows God. The knowledge of God gained by those who accept the incarnate God of the last days is different; those who possess it know much more about God than those who believed in the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace. Because God incarnate of the last days has been working for a long time, expresses many truths, does a massive amount of work, has interacted, associated, and lived with man for a long time, and comes into contact with a wide range of people, the conditions for man to understand and know God are consequently more favorable. That is, this incarnation has provided man with more favorable conditions and opportunities to come into contact with God, allowing him to hear God’s voice with his own ears, and witness with his own eyes God’s every move, the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of God, as well as the many details of the various aspects of God’s daily life. Besides the outward appearance of God incarnate’s humanity that man can come into contact with, the details involving God’s life and His essence should all be sufficient to allow man to have a deeper and more accurate understanding of God. Of course, this deeper and more accurate understanding should enable man to establish a better, healthier relationship with God and break free from various notions and imaginings, casting off all of the notions and imaginings he has about God. Right? (Yes.) Therefore, no matter what I fellowship on, the aim of the fellowship is to help man better understand and know God. Of course, I have never spoken about the family of God incarnate as a person, the education He received, or the environment in which He grew up, much less have I ever talked about His family history, His family’s customs, His home environment, or the specific lifestyle and educational methods His family adopted. Of course, I have also never told you what kind of personality I have or what My living habits are, nor have I ever talked about the trivial details of My life regarding basic necessities. Rather, what have I talked about? (Some of the principles by which God incarnate conducts Himself and does things.) Whether it was giving examples, speaking about the facts in some regard, or speaking about some aspect of the truth, everything I’ve covered has involved God’s work, God’s essence, and God’s identity; it all pertains to man’s knowledge of God. Even if I give some examples involving basic necessities, My aim is not to have you focus on what I eat, what I wear, or what My living habits are, but rather to help you know what God’s principles for conducting Himself and doing things are when He comes in the flesh and lives together with people. Even if what I speak about involves some of God incarnate’s ways of living, it’s to help you understand His viewpoints and principles regarding these things, understand and grasp the principles in one regard, and, on this foundation, better understand God’s normality and practicality, as well as His principles for conducting Himself and doing things. Understanding the specific details of these principles is precisely to enable you to understand what kind of life God incarnate, this ordinary person, has, and how His life is related to God. I fellowship according to this principle. My aim is not to have you imitate My choices regarding basic necessities, My specific lifestyle, or what colors I like. That is not My aim. I am merely telling you My principles. For example, when I tell you what I eat or what My daily habits are, it’s not so you can imitate Me or keep to a certain rule, but rather to let you know what is contained within the ordinariness and normality of God incarnate when He comes to earth, and what His principles for conducting Himself and doing things are. It is enough that, through the examples I give and through some facts, you understand the principles, this aspect of the truth, and the life and disposition of God that you ought to know. So, I never tell you whether I like long hair or short hair; I only tell you what the reasons and principles are for letting one’s hair grow long or keeping it short, so that you can understand the principles. Fellowshipping on these truths about God incarnate involves man’s knowledge of God’s essence and God’s identity, and it involves God’s normality and practicality. If someone believes that the God on earth merely pertains to God’s work and words, and it’s only the God in heaven who pertains to God’s deeds, is this comprehension correct? (No.) Then do the words spoken and the work done by the God on earth originate from the God in heaven? (Yes.) It’s good if you can comprehend it this way. I have never told you where I was born, what growing up was like for Me, or what kind of education I received, nor have I ever talked about the environment I grew up in, the educational environment I was exposed to, or My family history, have I? (No.) Some people say, “Your family is not a prominent one. You grew up just like an ordinary person. It’s not worth talking about, so You don’t bring it up.” Is this the reason I don’t talk about these things? (No.) Then why do I not talk about them? (Talking about those things would be of no help to us in knowing the incarnate God.) They have nothing to do with knowing the incarnate God, so I don’t talk about them. If I were to talk about those things, you could leave and not listen. But if I tell you about the work, words, disposition, and essence of God incarnate, as well as the various manifestations and revelations of His life, you should listen carefully and earnestly. You must listen to that which involves the truth; listening to this content is helpful for you to know God. Some people say, “What does knowing God have to do with my pursuit of the truth?” Tell Me, is there a connection? (Yes.) Can knowing God replace pursuing the truth? What is the connection between knowing God and pursuing the truth? Do you think the principles for doing things and speaking manifested in the normality and practicality of God incarnate, which I am now fellowshipping with you on, have anything to do with the truth? (Yes.) Then what does knowing God have to do with pursuing the truth? (I think that knowing God is in itself pursuing the truth. This is because knowing God allows us to know the various principles by which God does things and the various dispositions God reveals, and helps us reflect on our own actions and deeds and the corrupt dispositions we reveal. It also gives us a direction for our practice. This is one point. Another point is that knowing God can spur man to pursue the truth. When one has some knowledge of God’s essence and disposition, a positive desire and resolve will arise in their heart—they will want to know God more, and will want to embark on the path of pursuing the truth—and they will gradually cast off their corrupt dispositions and live out the likeness required by God. Therefore, I think that knowing God is in itself pursuing the truth, and it can spur man to pursue the truth.) When someone is pursuing knowledge of God, they’re also actually pursuing the truth; they’re taking the truth seriously, and seeing exactly how God acts and what God requires in various areas. Once man understands these things in detail, he will have a clearer goal and a more accurate direction in his practice. Pursuing knowledge of God is in itself pursuing the truth—this statement is not wrong, and these two things do not clash. So, can pursuing the truth allow you to come to know God? (Yes.) While you pursue the truth, you also gradually come to know God. The process of pursuing the truth is the process of practicing the truth. While you practice the truth, you gradually understand God’s intentions and God’s requirements of you, and you also understand what God’s required standards, desires, and intentions are in specific matters. Once you understand these things, you gradually come to know God. This process of understanding is the very process of knowing God. These two things complement each other; neither exists in isolation. No matter in which aspect of the truth you have genuine experience, knowledge, and appreciation, no matter in which aspect of the truth you have these gains, what you gain will also include knowledge of God. When you have experience and knowledge of the truth, you also have knowledge and understanding of God at the same time. Once you have knowledge of God, you can be more certain of God’s intentions and God’s required standards. Afterward, when you practice the truth, you will be more accurate, and you will not be holding onto notions and imaginings; you will clearly know what God’s intentions are and what God would have you do. Knowing God and pursuing the truth are not independent of each other, and they do not clash with one another; rather, they complement each other. Therefore, knowing the incarnate God is helpful and beneficial to your pursuit and practice of the truth. It can serve as a driving force in this regard. Before this, many people thought, “Now that I have these words expressed by the incarnate God, I have gained God. When I encounter things, I just need to practice according to these words. Even if I don’t have an understanding or knowledge of God, it’s fine; it won’t affect my practice of the truth.” But when they tried to practice the truth in real life, they could all feel that, although God spoke with great specificity, and from His words they could understand what the principles of practice and God’s required standards are for many specific matters, when it came to many of the things that happened to them in their daily lives, they still lacked certainty. They were not one hundred percent certain that doing things this way was right, or that doing things this way was in accordance with God’s intentions. But when you understand the precise principles by which the incarnate God conducts Himself and acts, you will feel completely at ease. When you encounter similar things again, you will not handle them as you did before, acting based on guesswork, as if you were gambling, and not knowing afterward whether what you did was right or wrong. Through understanding the principles by which the incarnate God speaks and acts, man’s notions and imaginings about God will decrease and diminish without him even realizing it, and they will gradually be resolved. That is to say, when you know the incarnate God, and especially when you know the principles and ways by which He conducts Himself and acts, you will have a more accurate goal and direction for practicing the truth and handling all kinds of things in life. When God had not become flesh and it was the God in heaven or the Holy Spirit working on man, man would never get answers to these things, nor would he ever receive any benefit from the God in heaven by understanding the various specific issues of human life that man ought to understand. Even if man can adhere to some laws and commandments, as for the truth principles and the path he walks, if God had not been incarnated to work and speak, humankind would never be able to know or understand them. Man cannot gain them from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, nor can he gain them from the God in heaven. The only pathway is to gain from the incarnate God these truth principles that man must understand in order to live and survive. In short, knowing the incarnate God is a pathway to knowing God, a pathway to understanding God, and even more so, a necessary pathway for man to establish or maintain a relationship with God.