Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Humans were created by God, and ought to worship God, but they actually turned their backs on Him and worshiped Satan instead. Satan became the idol in their hearts. Thus, God lost His standing in their hearts, which is to say that He lost the meaning behind His creation of humanity. Therefore, to restore the meaning behind His creation of humanity, He must restore their original likeness and rid humanity of their corrupt dispositions. To reclaim humans from Satan, He must save them from sin. Only in this way can God gradually restore their original likeness and function, and finally, restore His kingdom. The ultimate destruction of those sons of rebellion will also be carried out in order to allow humans to better worship God and better live upon the earth. Because God created humans, He will make them worship Him; because He wishes to restore humanity’s original function, He will restore it completely and without any adulteration. Restoring His authority means making humans worship Him and submit to Him; it means that God will make humans live because of Him and cause His enemies to perish as a result of His authority. It means that God will cause everything about Him to persist among humans without resistance from anybody. The kingdom God wishes to establish is His own kingdom. The humanity He desires is one that will worship Him, one that will submit to Him completely and manifest His glory. If God does not save corrupt humanity, then the meaning behind His creation of humanity will be lost; He will have no more authority among humans, and His kingdom will no longer be able to exist upon the earth. If God does not destroy those enemies who are rebellious against Him, He will be unable to obtain His complete glory, nor will He be able to establish His kingdom upon the earth. These will be marks of the completion of His work and of His great accomplishment: to utterly destroy those among humanity who are rebellious against Him, and to bring into rest those who have been made complete. When humans have been restored to their original likeness, and when they can fulfill their respective duties, keep to their own proper places and submit to all of God’s arrangements, God will have obtained a group of people upon the earth who worship Him, and He will also have established a kingdom upon the earth that worships Him.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together

Believing in God requires submission to God—isn’t this crucial? Why is the truth of submitting to God crucial? It is the responsibility, instinct, and primary task of a created being. If you lack this instinct, this concept, this understanding, and you don’t even grasp the truth of submitting to God which is basic to all believers in God, then when you claim to understand many truths, isn’t that just empty talk? It’s all empty talk. If you don’t know how to speak before God, don’t know how to act in a way that satisfies the Creator, and don’t know which actions demonstrate fearing God and shunning evil, these are not major issues; but if you don’t understand that you should submit to God, haven’t you lost the instincts of a human being? This is indeed losing the instincts of a human being and the value a person should have. It’s so pitiful for you not to know the greatest thing in your life, your primary task! You have all believed in God for at least three to five years, yet you still don’t understand how you should submit to God as a believer in God—this is quite dangerous. It makes it far too easy to resist God and betray Him. Adam and Eve didn’t know to submit to God. When God said not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, how did they think? “God said not to eat it, but why not? God didn’t explain why. I guess I won’t eat it, then.” They didn’t take it seriously and treated God’s words with an irreverent attitude, disregarding them. When Satan misled them, what did Satan say? (“Has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). “You shall not surely die: For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5).) What did Satan mean by these words? “God said not to eat that fruit, but what will happen if you do? You won’t necessarily die.” If Adam and Eve had cleaved firmly to God’s words and absolutely submitted to them, could they have been deceived by Satan? (No.) But they had no concept of submitting to God in their hearts. They didn’t understand that humans should submit to God. They didn’t have the following realization in their hearts: “God said not to eat it, so no matter who tells me to eat it, I won’t. I must adhere to God’s words. I don’t know the exact reason God forbade it or if eating it really will cause death because I haven’t tried it. It might lead to death or it might not, but what God has told me to do, I must adhere to.” Adam and Eve didn’t adhere to God’s words, so they succumbed to the serpent’s temptation, betrayed God, and fell from grace. Is submission to God important? (Yes.) To achieve submission to God, you don’t actually need to understand many truths or have a deep understanding. As long as you have a God-fearing heart and know how to submit to God, you can achieve submission to Him. Even if you can’t fully understand how certain behaviors might affect your outcome or to what extent, it doesn’t matter. But you must at least have reason, and possess a heart and attitude of submission. This is what your humanity should have. In other words, you must know who you are and who God is. You need to know that you are a created being, and God is the Creator, and what the distinctions between the identities and statuses of the two are. Additionally, you should know what you are required to do and what your primary task is. If you say, “My primary task is to heed God’s words; God’s sheep hear His voice, and whatever God asks me to do, I will do it,” then this is an attitude of submission. If you say, “My primary task is to heed God’s words,” but after hearing God’s words, you start pondering, “What does God mean by this? How will this benefit me?”—and you are always considering your own interests, this is wrong. Where does the error in this lie? (In scrutinizing and doubting God’s words.) This means you are not assuming your proper position. Scrutinizing God’s words stems from people’s corrupt dispositions and their lack of understanding of the truth. But what causes not assuming one’s proper position? (A lack of submission within a person.) If you don’t know what it is to submit, don’t understand the truth, and lack reason, you will assume the wrong position. Submission is crucial, and it depends on how you perceive and understand it. God has expressed so many truths, but people must understand what the highest truth is, which is that as created beings they must submit absolutely to the orchestrations and arrangements of the Creator. It is perfectly natural and justified for created beings to submit to the Creator—it is exactly what ought to happen. This truth is eternally unchanging, regardless of time, place, year, or month, in any space or geographical environment. Even if this world and this humankind were to pass away, and all things along with them, the statement that “Created beings must submit to the Creator” can never change. Your rationality should be possessed of this fact; it is the first truth you must possess as someone who believes in God.

—God’s Fellowship

Since you believe in God, you must put faith in all of the words of God and in all of His work. Which is to say, since you believe in God, you must submit to Him. If you are unable to do this, then it does not matter whether you believe in God or not. If you have believed in God for many years, and yet have never submitted to Him, and do not accept the entirety of His words, and instead ask that God submit to you and act according to your notions, then you are the most rebellious of all, you are a disbeliever. How could such people be able to submit to the work and words of God that do not conform to the notions of man? Most rebellious of all are those who intentionally defy and resist God. They are the enemies of God, the antichrists. Theirs is always an attitude of hostility toward the new work of God; they never have the slightest inclination to submit, nor have they ever gladly submitted or humbled themselves. They exalt themselves before others and never submit to anyone. Before God, they consider themselves the best at preaching the word, and the most skillful in working on others. Never do they discard the “treasures” in their possession, but treat them as family heirlooms for worship, for preaching about to others, and they use them to lecture those fools who idolize them. There are indeed a certain number of people like this in the church. It can be said that they are “indomitable heroes,” generation after generation sojourning in the house of God. They take preaching the word (doctrine) to be their highest duty. Year after year, generation after generation, they go about vigorously enforcing their “sacred and inviolable” duty. None dare touch them; not a single person dares openly reproach them. They become “kings” in the house of God, running rampant as they tyrannize others from age to age. This pack of demons seeks to join hands and demolish My work; how can I allow these living devils to exist before My eyes? Even those who are only half submissive cannot carry on until the end, much less these tyrants without the slightest submission in their hearts! The work of God is not easily gained by man. Even using all the strength they have, people can only gain a mere portion of it, ultimately allowing them to be made perfect. What, then, of the children of the archangel, who seek to destroy the work of God? Do they not have even less hope of being gained by God? My purpose in doing the work of conquest is not solely to conquer for the sake of conquest, but to conquer so as to reveal righteousness and unrighteousness, to obtain proof for the punishment of man, to condemn the evil, and, furthermore, to conquer for the sake of perfecting those who willingly submit. In the end, all will be separated according to kind, and the ones who are perfected will be the ones whose thoughts and ideas are filled with submission. This is the work that shall ultimately be accomplished. Those whose every action is rebellious, meanwhile, will be punished and sent to burn in the fires, the objects of eternal curse. When that time comes, those “great and indomitable heroes” of ages past will become the basest and most shunned “weak and impotent cowards.” Only this can illustrate every aspect of God’s righteousness, and His disposition that is unoffendable by man, and only this can appease the hatred in My heart. Do you not agree that this is entirely reasonable?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Submit to God With a True Heart Shall Surely Be Gained by God

During God’s time in the flesh, the submission He requires of people does not involve refraining from making judgments or resisting, as they imagine; rather, He requires that people use His words as their principle to live by and the foundation of their survival, that they absolutely put the essence of His words into practice, and that they completely satisfy His intentions. One aspect of requiring people to submit to God incarnate refers to putting His words into practice, while another aspect refers to being able to submit to His normality and practicality. These must be both absolute. Those who can achieve both of these aspects are all those who harbor genuine God-loving hearts. They are all people who have been gained by God, and they all love God as they love their own lives. God incarnate bears normal and practical humanity in His work. In this way, His exterior shell of both normal and practical humanity becomes an enormous trial for people; it becomes their greatest difficulty. However, God’s normality and practicality cannot be avoided. He tried everything to find a solution, but in the end could not rid Himself of the exterior shell of His normal humanity. This was because, after all, He is God become flesh, not the God of the Spirit in heaven. He is not the God that people cannot see, but the God wearing the shell of a created being. Thus, ridding Himself of the shell of His normal humanity would by no means be easy. Therefore, no matter what, He still does the work that He wants to do from the perspective of the flesh. This work is the expression of the normal and practical God, so how could it be okay for people to not submit? What on earth can people do about the actions of God? He does whatever He wants to do; whatever He is happy with is just the way it is. If people do not submit, then what other sound plans can they have? So far, only submission has been able to save people; no one has had any other bright ideas. If God wants to test people, what can they do about it? However, all of this was not thought up by God in heaven; it was thought up by God incarnate. He wants to do this, so no person can change it. God in heaven does not interfere with what God incarnate does, so is this not even more reason why people should submit to Him? Although He is both practical and normal, He is completely the God become flesh. Based on His own ideas, He does whatever He wants to. God in heaven has handed over all tasks to Him; you must submit to whatever He does. Although He has humanity and is very normal, He has deliberately arranged all of this, so how can people glare at Him with their eyes wide with disapproval? He wants to be normal, so He is normal. He wants to live within humanity, so He lives within humanity. He wants to live within divinity, so He lives within divinity. People can see it however they want, but God will always be God and humans will always be humans. His essence cannot be denied because of some minor detail, nor can He be pushed outside of the “person” of God because of one little thing. People have the freedom of human beings, and God has the dignity of God; these do not interfere with each other. Can people not give God a little freedom? Can they not tolerate God’s being a little more casual? Do not be so strict with God! Each should have tolerance for one another; would everything not then be settled? Would any estrangement still exist? If one cannot tolerate such a trivial matter, then how can they even say anything like “A prime minister’s heart is big enough to sail a boat in”? How can they be a true man? It is not God who causes difficulty for mankind, but mankind who causes difficulty for God. They are always handling things by making mountains out of molehills. They really do make something out of nothing, and it is so unnecessary! When God works within normal and practical humanity, what He does is not the work of mankind, but the work of God. However, humans do not see the essence of His work; they always just see the exterior shell of His humanity. They have not seen such great work, yet they insist on seeing His ordinary and normal humanity, and will not let go of it. How can this be called submitting before God? God in heaven has now “turned into” God on earth, and God on earth is now God in heaven. It does not matter if Their external appearances are the same, nor does it matter just how exactly They work. In the end, He who does God’s own work is God Himself. You must submit whether you want to or not—this is not a matter in which you have a choice! God must be submitted to by humans, and humans must absolutely submit to God without the slightest bit of pretense.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Truly Love God Are Those Who Can Submit Absolutely to His Practicality

What should people’s attitude be toward God, God incarnate, and the truth? (We should listen, accept, and submit.) That’s right. You must listen, accept, and submit. Nothing is more simple than this. After listening, you must accept in your heart. If you are unable to accept something, you must keep seeking until you are capable of complete acceptance—then, as soon as you accept it, you must submit. What does it mean to submit? It means to practice and implement. Do not dismiss things after hearing them, outwardly promising to do them, noting them down, committing them to writing, hearing them with your ears, but not taking them to heart, and just carrying on in your same old ways and doing whatever you wish when the time comes to act, putting what you wrote down to the back of your mind and treating it as unimportant. This is not submitting. True submission to God’s words means listening to them and comprehending them with your heart, and truly accepting them—accepting them as an unshirkable responsibility. It is not simply a matter of saying one accepts God’s words; instead, it is accepting His words from the heart, turning your acceptance of His words into practical actions and implementing His words, without any deviation. If what you think, what you set your hand to do, and the price you pay are all to meet God’s demands, that is implementing God’s words. What does “submission” imply? It implies practice and implementation, turning God’s words into reality. If you write the words God says and His demands in a notebook and put them to paper, but do not record them in your heart, and you do as you wish when the time comes to act, and it seems from the outside as if you have done what God asked, but you have done it according to your own will, then this isn’t listening to, accepting, and submitting to God’s words, this is despising the truth, it is brazenly flouting the principles, and ignoring the arrangements of God’s house. It is rebellion.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus Three: How Noah and Abraham Obeyed God’s Words and Submitted to Him (Part Two)

Submission to God and submission to the work of God are one and the same. Those who submit only to God but not to His work cannot be deemed submissive, much less those who do not truly submit but are outwardly sycophantic. Those who truly submit to God are all able to gain from the work and achieve understanding of the disposition and work of God. Only such people truly submit to God. Such people are able to gain new knowledge, and undergo new changes, from new work. Only these people are praised by God, only these people are perfected, and only these are the ones whose dispositions have changed. Those who are praised by God are those who gladly submit to God, and to His word and work. Only such people are in the right, only such people sincerely want God, and sincerely seek God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Submit to God With a True Heart Shall Surely Be Gained by God

The key to submitting to God is accepting the new light, and being able to accept it and put it into practice. This alone is true submission. Those who lack the will to yearn for God are incapable of intentionally submitting to Him, and can only oppose God as a result of their satisfaction with the status quo. That man cannot submit to God is because he is possessed by what came before. The things that came before have given people all manner of notions and imaginings about God, and these have become the image of God in their minds. Thus, what they believe in are their own notions, and the standards of their own imagination. If you measure the God who does practical work today against the God of your own imagination, then your faith comes from Satan, and is tainted by your own preferences—God does not want this kind of faith. Regardless of how lofty their credentials, and regardless of their dedication—even if they have devoted a lifetime of efforts to His work, and have martyred themselves—God does not approve of anyone with faith such as this. He merely bestows upon them a little grace and allows them to enjoy it for a time. People such as this are incapable of putting the truth into practice. The Holy Spirit does not work within them, and God will eliminate each of them in turn. Young and old alike, those who do not submit to God in their faith and have the wrong intentions are those who oppose and disrupt, and such people will unquestionably be eliminated by God. Those who are without the slightest submission to God, who merely acknowledge His name, and have some sense of God’s kindness and loveliness, yet do not keep pace with the steps of the Holy Spirit, and do not submit to the present work and words of the Holy Spirit—such people live amid the grace of God, and will not be gained or made perfect by Him. God makes people perfect through their submission, through their eating, drinking, and enjoying of God’s words, and through the suffering and refinement in their lives. Only through faith such as this can people’s dispositions change, and only then can they possess the true knowledge of God. Not being satisfied with living amid God’s grace, actively yearning and searching for the truth, and seeking to be gained by God—this is what it means to consciously submit to God and this is precisely the kind of faith that He wants. People who do nothing more than enjoy God’s grace cannot be made perfect or changed; and their submission, piety, love, and patience are all superficial. Those who only enjoy God’s grace cannot truly know God, and even when they do know God, their knowledge is superficial, and they say things like “God loves man,” or “God is compassionate toward man.” This does not represent the life of man, and does not show that people truly know God. If, when God’s words refine them, or when His trials come upon them, people are unable to submit to God—if, instead, they become doubtful, and fall down—then they are not in the least bit submissive. Within them, there are many rules and restrictions about faith in God, old experiences that are the result of many years of faith, or various rules based upon the Bible. Could people such as this submit to God? These people are full of human things—how could they submit to God? Their “submission” is according to personal preference—would God want submission like this? This is not submission to God, but adherence to rules; it is the satisfaction and appeasement of themselves. If you say that this is submission to God, do you not blaspheme against Him?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. In Your Faith in God You Should Submit to God

If people can let go of religious notions, they will not use their minds to measure the words and work of God today, and instead will submit directly. Even though God’s work today is manifestly unlike that of the past, you are yet able to let go of the views of the past and submit to the work of God today directly. If you are capable of understanding that you must give pride of place to the work of God today, regardless of how God worked in the past, then you are someone who has let go of their notions, who submits to God, and who is able to submit to the work and words of God and follow His footsteps. In this, you will be someone who truly submits to God. You do not analyze or scrutinize the work of God; it is as if God has forgotten His previous work, and you, too, have forgotten it. The present is the present, and the past is the past, and since today, God has put aside that which He did in the past, you should not dwell on it. Only such a person is one who submits to God completely and has let go of their religious notions completely.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Know the Work of God Today May Serve God

The work done by God differs from period to period. If you are of great submission to God’s work in one phase, but in the next phase your submission toward His work is poor, or you are incapable of submission, then God shall desert you. If you keep pace with God as He takes this step, then you must continue to keep pace when He ascends the next; only then will you be someone who is submissive to the Holy Spirit. Since you believe in God, you must remain constant in your submission. You cannot simply submit when you please and do not submit when you do not. This kind of submission is not praised by God. If you cannot keep pace with the new work I fellowship, and continue to hold on to the former sayings, then how can there be progress in your life? God’s work is to supply you through His words. When you submit to and accept His words, the Holy Spirit shall surely work in you. The Holy Spirit works exactly as I speak; do as I have said, and the Holy Spirit will promptly work in you. I release a new light for you to behold, bringing you into the light of the present, and when you walk into this light, the Holy Spirit shall immediately work in you. There are some who may be recalcitrant, saying, “I simply will not carry out what You say.” In which case, I tell you that you have now come to the end of the road; you are dried up, and have no more life. Thus, in experiencing the transformation of your disposition, nothing is more crucial than keeping pace with the present light. The Holy Spirit not only works in certain people who are used by God, but, furthermore, in the church. He could be working in anyone. He may work in you during the present time, and you will experience this work. During the next period, He may work in someone else, in which case you must haste to follow; the more closely you follow the present light, the more your life can grow. No matter what manner of person someone is, if the Holy Spirit works in them, then you must follow. Take in their experiences through your own, and you will receive even higher things. In so doing you will progress more quickly. This is the path of perfection for man and the means by which life grows.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Submit to God With a True Heart Shall Surely Be Gained by God

In measuring whether or not people can submit to God, the key is whether or not they have any extravagant desires or ulterior motives toward Him. If people are always making demands of God, it proves that they are not submissive to Him. No matter what happens to you, if you do not accept it from God, and you do not seek the truth, and you are always arguing for yourself and always feeling that only you are right, and if you are even capable of doubting that God is the truth and righteousness, then you will be in trouble. Such people are the most arrogant and rebellious to God. People who always make demands of God cannot truly submit to Him. If you make demands of God, this proves that you are trying to make a deal with God, that you are choosing your own will, and acting according to it. In this, you are betraying God, and you lack submission. To make demands of God is in and of itself lacking in reason; if you truly believe that He is God, then you will not dare to make demands of Him, nor will you feel qualified to make demands of Him, whether you think them reasonable or not. If you have true belief in God, and believe that He is God, then you will only worship and submit to Him, there is no other choice. People today not only make their own choices, they even ask God to act according to their own will. Not only do they not choose to submit to God, they even ask God to submit to them. Isn’t this so lacking in reason? Therefore, if there is no true faith within a person, and no substantial belief, they can never obtain God’s approval. When people are able to make fewer demands of God, they have more true faith and submission, and their reason is comparatively normal.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. People Make Too Many Demands of God

When Noah did as God instructed, he did not know what God’s intentions were. He did not know what God wanted to accomplish. God had only given him a command and instructed him to do something, and without much explanation, Noah went ahead and did it. He did not try to secretly figure out God’s desires, nor did he resist God or show insincerity. He just went and did it accordingly with a pure and simple heart. Whatever God had him do, he did, and submitting and listening to God’s word underpinned his belief in what he did. That was how straightforwardly and simply he dealt with what God entrusted. His essence—the essence of his actions was submission, not second-guessing, not resisting, and moreover, not thinking of his own personal interests or his gains and losses. Further, when God said He would destroy the world with a flood, Noah did not ask when or ask what would become of things, and he certainly did not ask God how He was going to destroy the world. He simply did as God instructed. However God wanted it to be made and made with what, he did exactly as God asked and also commenced action immediately. He acted according to God’s instructions with an attitude of wanting to satisfy God. Was he doing it to help himself avoid the disaster? No. Did he ask God how much longer it would be before the world was to be destroyed? He did not. Did he ask God or did he know how long it would take to build the ark? He did not know that either. He simply submitted, listened, and acted accordingly.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself I

When God wishes to orchestrate someone, this orchestration is often at odds with man’s notions and incomprehensible to him, yet it is precisely this dissonance and incomprehensibility that are God’s trial and test of man. Abraham, meanwhile, was able to demonstrate submission to God, which was the most fundamental condition of his being able to satisfy God’s requirement. Only then, when Abraham was able to submit to God’s requirement, when he offered up Isaac, did God truly feel reassurance and approval toward mankind—toward Abraham, whom He had chosen. Only then was God sure that this person whom He had chosen was an indispensable leader who could undertake His promise and His subsequent management plan. Though it was but a trial and a test, God felt gratified, He felt man’s love for Him, and He felt comforted by man as never before. At the moment that Abraham lifted up his knife to slay Isaac, did God stop him? God did not let Abraham sacrifice Isaac, for God simply had no intention of taking Isaac’s life. Thus, God stopped Abraham just in time. For God, Abraham’s submission had already passed the test, what he did was sufficient, and God had already seen the outcome of what He intended to do. Was this outcome satisfactory to God? It can be said that this outcome was satisfactory to God, that it was what God wanted, and was what God had longed to see. Is this true? Although, in different contexts, God uses different ways of testing each person, in Abraham God saw what He wanted, He saw that Abraham’s heart was true, and that his submission was unconditional. It was precisely this “unconditional” that God desired.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II

So then, to what extent did God work on Peter to make him realize that people should practice submission? We previously mentioned something Peter said. Do you remember what it was? (“If God treated me like a toy, how could I not be ready and willing?”) That’s right, that’s the one. In the process of experiencing and undergoing God’s work or guidance, Peter unconsciously developed this feeling: “Doesn’t God treat people like toys?” But this is certainly not what motivates God’s actions. People rely on their human perspective, thinking, and knowledge to assess this matter and feel that God casually plays with people as if they were toys. One day He says to do this, and tomorrow He tells them to do that. Unconsciously, you start to feel, “Oh, God has said so many things. What is He even trying to do?” People feel confused and a little overwhelmed. They don’t know what choices to make. God used this method to test Peter. What was the final result of this test? (Peter achieved submission unto death.) He achieved submission. This was the result that God wanted, and God saw it. What words that Peter spoke show us that he had become submissive and grown in stature? What did Peter say? How did Peter accept and view all that God had done and God’s attitude of treating man as a toy? What was Peter’s attitude? (He said: “How could I not be ready and willing?”) Yes, that was Peter’s attitude. Those were his exact words. People who have no experience of God’s trials and refinements would never say these words because they don’t understand the narrative of the story here and have never experienced it. As they have not experienced it, they definitely are not clear on this matter. If they are not clear on this matter, how could they say this so casually? These words are something a human could never think up. Peter was able to say this because he had experienced so many trials and refinements. God deprived him of many things, but also gave much to him at the same time. After giving, He took away once again. After taking things from him, God made Peter learn to submit and then gave to him once more. From man’s point of view, many of the things God does seem capricious, which gives people the illusion that God treats people as toys, does not respect people, and does not treat people as human beings. People think that they live without dignity, like toys; they think that God does not give them the right to make free choices, and that God can say whatever He wants. When He gives something to you, He says, “You deserve this reward for what you have done. This is the blessing of God.” When He takes things away, He just has something else to say. In this process, what should people do? It is not for you to judge God as being right or wrong, it is not for you to identify the nature of God’s actions, and it is certainly not for you to give your life greater dignity in this process. This is not the choice you should make. This role is not yours. So what is your role? Through experience, you should learn to understand God’s intentions. If you cannot understand God’s intentions and cannot meet God’s requirements, your only option is to submit. Under such circumstances, would it be easy for you to submit? (No.) It is not easy to submit. This is a lesson you should learn. If it were easy for you to submit, you wouldn’t need to learn lessons, you wouldn’t need to be pruned and undergo trials and refinements. It is because it is difficult for you to submit to God that He constantly tests you, willfully playing with you as if you were a toy. On the day it becomes easy for you to submit to God, when your submission to God comes without difficulty or hindrance, when you can submit willingly and joyfully, without your own choices, intentions, or preferences, then God will not treat you as a toy and you will do exactly as you should. If, one day, you say, “God treats me as a toy and I live without dignity. I don’t agree to this and I won’t submit,” that may be the day when God abandons you. What if your stature has reached the level where you say “Although God’s intentions are not easy to grasp and God always hides from me, everything God does is right. No matter what God does, I will willingly submit. Even if I cannot submit, I must still adopt this attitude and make no complaints or choices of my own. This is because I am a created being. My duty is to submit, and this is a clear obligation I cannot escape. God is the Creator, and whatever God does is right. I should not entertain any notions or imaginings about what God does. This is not proper for a created being. For what God has given me, I thank God. For what God did not give me or gave me and then took away, I also thank God. The actions of God are all beneficial to me; even if I cannot see the benefit, the thing I should do is still submit”? Aren’t these words to the same effect as those of Peter when he said “How could I not be ready and willing”? Only those who possess such stature truly understand the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. To Fulfill One’s Duty Well, Understanding the Truth Is Most Crucial

People must understand that there is a fundamental principle of the Creator’s treatment of created beings, which is also the highest principle. How the Creator treats created beings is completely based on His management plan and on His work requirements; He does not need to consult any single person, nor does He need to get any single person to agree with Him. Whatever He ought to do and however He ought to treat people, He does, and, no matter what He does or how He treats people, it all accords with the truth principles, and the principles by which the Creator works. As a created being, the only thing to do is to submit to the Creator; one should not make any choice of one’s own. This is reason that created beings ought to have, and if a person does not have it, then they are not fit to be called a person. People must understand that the Creator will always be the Creator; He has the power and the qualifications to orchestrate and hold sovereignty over any created being as He pleases, and does not need a reason to do so. This is His authority. There is not one among the created beings who has the right or is qualified to pass judgment on whether what the Creator does is right or wrong, or how He should act. No created being is entitled to choose whether to accept the sovereignty and arrangements of the Creator; and no created being is entitled to make demands of how the Creator holds sovereignty over and arranges their fate. This is the highest truth. No matter what the Creator has done to His created beings, and no matter how He has done it, the humans He created should do only one thing: seek, submit, know, and accept everything put in place by the Creator. The final result will be that the Creator will have accomplished His management plan and completed His work, having caused His management plan to progress without any obstructions; meanwhile, because the created beings have accepted the Creator’s sovereignty and arrangements, and submitted to His sovereignty and arrangements, they will have gained the truth, understood the Creator’s intentions, and come to know His disposition. There is yet another principle I must tell you: No matter what the Creator does, no matter how He manifests, and no matter whether what He does is a great deed or a small one, He is still the Creator; whereas all mankind, which He created, regardless of what they have done, and regardless of how talented or gifted they might be, remain created beings. As for created humanity, no matter how much grace and how many blessings they have received from the Creator, or how much mercy, lovingkindness, or benevolence, they should not believe themselves to stand apart from the masses, or think they can be on equal footing with God and that they have become highly ranked among created beings. Regardless of how many gifts God has bestowed on you, or how much grace He has given you, or how kindly He has treated you, or whether He has given you a few special talents, none of these are your assets. You are a created being, and you will thus forever be a created being. You must never think, “I am a little darling in the hands of God. God will not ever abandon me, God’s attitude toward me will always be one of love, care and gentle caresses, with warm whispers of comfort and exhortation.” To the contrary, in the eyes of the Creator, you are the same as all other created beings; God can use you as He wishes, and can also orchestrate you as He wishes, and He can arrange as He wishes for you to play any role among all sorts of people, events, and things. This is the knowledge people should have, and the reason that they should possess. If one can understand and accept these words, their relationship with God will grow more normal, and they will establish a most legitimate relationship with Him; if one can understand and accept these words, they will orient their station properly, assume their place there, and uphold their duty.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Understanding the Truth Can One Know God’s Deeds

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The Criteria for Man’s Submission to God