Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Before he was corrupted by Satan, man originally submitted to God and submitted to His words after hearing them. He was originally of sound reason and conscience, and of normal humanity. After man was corrupted by Satan, his original reason, conscience, and humanity all grew numb and were spoiled by Satan. Thus, he has lost his submission and love toward God. Man’s reason has become abnormal, his disposition has become the same as that of a beast, and his rebelliousness against God is ever increasing and growing more grievous. Yet man still neither knows nor understands this, and merely opposes and rebels persistently. The revelations of man’s disposition are the expressions of his reason, insight, and conscience. Because his reason and insight are unsound, and his conscience has grown supremely numb, his disposition is rebellious against God. If man’s reason and insight cannot change, then changes in his disposition are out of the question, as is aligning with God’s intentions. If man’s reason is unsound, then he cannot serve God and is unfit for use by God. “Normal reason” refers to submitting to and being loyal to God, to yearning for God, to being absolute toward God, and to having a conscience toward God. It refers to being of one heart and mind toward God, and not deliberately opposing God. Having an abnormal reason is not like this. Since man was corrupted by Satan, he has come up with notions about God, and he has had no loyalty to God or yearning for Him, to say nothing of a conscience toward God. Man deliberately opposes God and passes judgments on Him, and, furthermore, hurls invective at Him behind His back. Man passes judgment on God behind His back, knowing full well that He is God; man has absolutely no intention of submitting to God, but merely keeps making demands and requests of Him. Such people—people who have abnormal reason—are incapable of knowing their own despicable behavior or of regretting their acts of rebellion. If people are capable of knowing themselves, then they have regained a little of their reason; the more that people are rebellious against God and yet do not know themselves, the less sound of reason they are.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Remain Unchanged in Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God

That man cannot submit to God is because he is possessed by what came before. The things that came before have produced all manner of notions and various imaginings about God in man, and these have become the image of god in his mind. Thus, what he believes in is his own notions, and the standards of his 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.

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

If God is to save humankind, for one thing He must express the truth to judge and cleanse people’s corrupt dispositions; make people understand the truth, and come to know God and submit to Him; teach people how they should conduct themselves and how they can walk the correct path; and tell people how they should practice the truth, how they can perform their duty well and how they can enter into the truth realities. For another thing, He must expose Satan’s thoughts and views. He must expose and dissect the various heresies and fallacies with which Satan corrupts people, so that people can identify them. Then, people can clear these satanic things from their hearts, become cleansed and reach salvation. This way, people will understand what the truth is, and they will also be able to discern Satan’s disposition, Satan’s nature and its heresies and fallacies. While acknowledging that God is the Creator and having the faith to follow God, they will be able to see the ugliness of Satan with clarity from deep within their hearts, and truly hate and reject Satan. In this way, people’s hearts can completely turn to God. At the very least, when people’s hearts have not yet completely turned to God, that is, when their hearts are not yet possessed by the truth, and have not yet been gained by God, they will, in the course of their experience of life, use the word of God to discern, dissect and see through the various statements that Satan instills in people and ultimately come to reject Satan. In this way, Satan’s place in people’s hearts will become smaller and smaller, until it is completely eradicated. It will be replaced with the word of God, the teachings God gives people, the truth principles God provides, and so on. This life of positivity and truth will gradually take root inside people and occupy a foremost place in their heart, and as a result, God will have dominion over people’s hearts. That is, when the various thoughts, views, heresies and fallacies with which Satan corrupts people are identified and seen through, so that people hate and abandon them, the truth will gradually occupy people’s hearts. It will gradually become people’s lives and they will actively submit to and follow God. No matter how God works and leads, people will be able to actively accept the truth and the word of God and submit to the work of God. Furthermore, through this experience, they will actively strive for the truth and gain an understanding of the truth. This is how people develop true faith in God, and as the truth becomes more and more clear to them, their faith will grow and grow. When people have true faith in God, it also creates a fear of God in them. When people fear God, they have a desire to gain God deep in their hearts, and willingly submit to His dominion. They submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and submit to the plans God has for their destiny. They submit to each day and all the special circumstances that God sets up for them. When people have this kind of willingness and thirst, they will also actively accept and submit to the demands God has of them. When the results of this become more and more clear in people, and more and more real, Satan’s statements, thoughts and views will lose their effect in people’s hearts. In other words, Satan’s statements, thoughts and views will have less and less control and influence over people.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (15)

As people experience God’s work, through the exposure and guidance of His words, they begin to see through to the corruption, wickedness, and ugliness of all humankind, as well as the essence of all humankind’s antagonism toward God, and find the root cause of all this, thus understanding why humans are not compatible with God—because the essence of humans is inherently incompatible with that of God. It’s just like how water and oil can never mix—only when the essence of one changes to match the other’s can they mix together. So, whom does God intend to change by expressing the truth? Humans. God expresses the truth and judges and chastises people, resolving their corrupt dispositions and everything within them that goes against the truth and is incompatible with God, so that they can be compatible with God, and everything within them can align with the truth. In this way, there will be no barriers between you and God. If your corrupt disposition is not removed, issues such as your guardedness, misunderstanding, rejection, suspicion, doubt, and even rebelliousness and condemnation toward God cannot be resolved. These are all things that reside within human nature; they are things that lie at the root. If these corrupt dispositions are resolved from their very root, it becomes easier for people to submit to God. Even when what God says or does doesn’t align with their notions and imaginings, they won’t judge or condemn Him. Even if they were to die and go to hell, they wouldn’t complain against God but would only hate themselves for not pursuing the truth, believing that they deserve the punishment. Only such people are truly submissive to God, with no barriers between them and God. They understand the truth, their corruption has been cleansed, they can submit to God and never again have notions, rebelliousness, or resistance, and they can then be compatible with God—they have the truth as their life, and so they have life that is compatible with God. Within this life, there is true submission to God and true worship of God.

—God’s Fellowship

What is the main corrupt disposition that must be resolved in order to learn the lesson of submission? It is actually the disposition of arrogance and self-righteousness, which is the greatest impediment to people practicing the truth and submitting to God. People with an arrogant and self-righteous disposition are most inclined to argue their reasoning and be disobedient, they always think they’re right, and so nothing is more urgent than resolving and pruning one’s arrogant and self-righteous disposition. Once people become well-behaved and stop arguing their own reasoning, the problem of rebelliousness will be solved, and they will be capable of submission. If people are to be able to attain submission, do they not need to be possessed of a certain degree of rationality? They must be possessed of a normal person’s reason. In some matter, for example, regardless of whether we have done the right thing or not, if God is not satisfied, we should do as He says, and treat His words as the standard for everything. Is this rational? This is the reason that people ought to have, and it is what people should possess above anything else. No matter how much we suffer, and no matter what our intentions, aims, and reasons are, if God is not satisfied—if His requirements have not been met—then our actions have unquestionably not been in line with the truth, so we must listen to and submit to God, and we should not try to argue our reasoning or rationalize with Him. When you possess such rationality, when you possess a normal person’s reason, it is easy to solve your problems, and you will be truly submissive. No matter what situation you are in, you will not be rebellious, and will not defy God’s requirements; you will not analyze whether what God asks is right or wrong, good or bad, and you will be able to submit—thus solving your state of self-justification, intransigence, and rebelliousness. Does everyone have these rebellious states within them? These states often appear in people, and they think to themselves, “As long as my approach, propositions, and suggestions are sensible, then even if I violate the truth principles, I should not be pruned, because I have not committed evil.” This is a common state in people. Their view is that if they have not committed evil, they should not be pruned; only people who have committed evil should be pruned. Is this view correct? Definitely not. Pruning is chiefly aimed at people’s corrupt dispositions. If someone has a corrupt disposition, they should be pruned. If they were only pruned after committing evil, it would already be too late, for the trouble would have already been caused. If God’s disposition has been offended, then you’re in trouble, and God may cease to work in you—in which case, what is the point in pruning you? There is no choice but to reveal and eliminate you. The main difficulty that prevents people from submitting to God is their arrogant disposition. If people are truly able to accept judgment and chastisement, they will be able to effectively resolve their own arrogant disposition. No matter the degree to which they are able to resolve it, this is beneficial to practicing the truth and submitting to God. Acceptance of judgment and chastisement is, above all, in order to resolve one’s corrupt disposition, in order to be saved by God. And if people are truly able to attain absolute submission to God, need they still experience judgment and chastisement? Need they still experience pruning? They need not, for their corrupt dispositions have already been resolved.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Five Conditions That Must Be Met to Embark on the Right Track of Belief in God

People’s dispositions cannot be changed by people themselves; they must undergo the judgment and chastisement, and trials and refinement, of God’s words, or being pruned and disciplined by His words. Only then can they achieve submission and loyalty to God, and no longer be perfunctory toward Him. It is under the refinement of God’s words that people’s dispositions change. Only through the exposure, judgment, discipline, and pruning of His words will they no longer dare to act rashly but instead will become steady and composed. The most important point is that they will be able to submit to God’s current words, and to His work. Even if it is not in line with human notions, they will be able to let go of these notions and intentionally submit.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. People Whose Dispositions Have Changed Are Those Who Have Entered Into the Reality of God’s Words

If, when God does things that are at odds with your notions, you are liable to misinterpret God—even to rebel against God, and betray Him—then you are far from being able to submit to God. While people are provided for and watered by the word of God, they are in fact striving for a single goal, which is ultimately to be able to achieve unconditional, absolute submission to God. When you reach this point, you, this created being, will be up to standard. There are times when God deliberately does things that are at odds with your notions, and deliberately does things that go against your wishes, and which may even seem to be at odds with the truth, inconsiderate toward you, and not in keeping with your own preferences. These things may be difficult for you to accept, you may not be able to get your head round them, and no matter how you analyze them, they may feel wrong to you and you may not be able to accept them, you may feel that God was unreasonable to do this—but in fact, God did this deliberately. So what is God’s aim in doing these things? It is to test and reveal you, to see whether or not you are able to seek the truth, whether or not you have true submission to God. Do not seek a basis for all that God does and asks, and do not ask why. Trying to present your case to God has no use. You just have to recognize that God is the truth and be capable of absolute submission. You just have to recognize that God is your Creator and your God. This is higher than any reasoning, higher than any worldly wisdom, higher than any human morality, ethics, knowledge, philosophy, or traditional culture—higher, even, than human feelings, human righteousness, and so-called human love. It is higher than everything. If this is not clear to you, then a day will sooner or later come when something happens to you and you fall. At the very least, you will rebel against God and walk a deviant path; if you are ultimately able to repent, and recognize the loveliness of God, and recognize the significance of God’s work in you, then you will still have hope of salvation—but if you fall because of this thing and are unable to climb back up, you have no hope. Whether God judges, chastises, or curses people, this is all in order to save them, and they need have no fear. What should you fear? You should fear God saying, “I spurn you.” If God says this, you are in trouble: This means that God will not save you, that you have no hope of salvation. And so, in accepting God’s work, people must understand God’s intentions. Whatever you do, do not nitpick when it comes to God’s words, saying, “Judgment and chastisement are okay, but condemnation, curse, destruction—won’t that mean it’s all over for me? What’s the point of being a created being? So I’m not going to be, and You won’t be my God anymore.” If you reject God and do not stand firm in your testimony, then God may truly reject you. Do you know this? No matter how long people have believed in God, no matter how many roads they have traveled, how much work they have done, or how many duties they have performed, everything they have done during this time has been in preparation for one thing. What is that? They have been preparing to ultimately have absolute submission to God, unconditional submission. What does “unconditional” mean? It means that you make no justification, and speak nothing of your own objective reasons, it means that you don’t split any hairs; you are not worthy of this, for you are a created being. When you split hairs with God, you have mistaken your place, and when you try to present your case to God—again, you have mistaken your place. Do not argue with God, do not always try to figure out the reason, do not insist on understanding before you submit, and on not submitting when you don’t understand. When you do this, you have mistaken your place, in which case your submission to God is not absolute; it is submission that is relative and conditional. Are those who make conditions for their submission to God people who truly submit to God? Are you treating God as God? Do you worship God as the Creator? If you do not, then God does not acknowledge you. What must you experience in order to attain the absolute and unconditional submission to God? And how should you experience? For one thing, people must accept the judgment and chastisement of God, and they must accept pruning. In addition, they must accept God’s commission, they must pursue the truth as they perform their duty, they must understand the various aspects of the truth that relate to life entry, and attain understanding of God’s intentions. Sometimes, this is beyond people’s caliber, and they lack the powers of insight to attain understanding of the truth, and can only understand a little when others fellowship with them or through learning lessons from the various situations set up by God. But you must be aware that you must have a heart of submission to God, you must not try to present your case to God or make conditions; everything that God does is what ought to be done, for He is the Creator and you are a created being. You must have an attitude of submission, and must not always ask the reason or speak of conditions. If you lack even the most basic attitude of submission, and are even liable to doubt and be wary of God, or to think, in your heart, “I have to see if God is really going to save me, and whether God is really righteous. Everyone says that God is love—well, then, I have to see whether there really is love involved in what God does in me, whether it really is love,” if you constantly examine whether what God does is in line with your notions and tastes, or even what you believe to be the truth, then you have mistaken your place, and you are in trouble: You will be likely to offend God’s disposition. Truths relating to submission are crucial, and no truth can be completely and clearly explained in just a couple of sentences; they all relate to people’s various states and corruption. Entry into the truth reality cannot be attained in one or two—or three or five—years. It requires experiencing many things, experiencing much of the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, experiencing much pruning. Only when you ultimately attain the ability to practice the truth will your pursuit of the truth be effective, and only then will you possess the truth reality. Only those who possess the truth reality are those who have true experience.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

In his belief in God, Peter sought to satisfy God in everything, and sought to submit to all that came from God. He was able to accept chastisement and judgment, as well as refinement, tribulation, and going without in his life, all the while not uttering a single complaint. None of this could alter his God-loving heart. Was this not the ultimate love for God? Was this not the fulfillment of the duty of a created being? Whether it be in chastisement, judgment, or tribulation, you are capable of achieving submission unto death, and this is what should be achieved by a created being, this is the purity of the love for God. If man can achieve this much, then he is a created being who is up to standard, and there is nothing which better satisfies the intentions of the Creator. Imagine that you are able to work for God, yet you do not submit to God, and are incapable of truly loving God. In this way, not only will you not have fulfilled the duty of a created being, but you will also be condemned by God, for you are someone who does not possess the truth, who is incapable of submitting to God, and who rebels against God. You care only about working for God, and not about putting the truth into practice or knowing yourself; you do not understand or know the Creator, you do not submit to or love the Creator, and you are someone who is innately rebellious against God. It is for these reasons that such people are not liked by the Creator.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

The lessons of submission are the hardest, but they are also the easiest. In what way are they hard? (People have their own ideas.) People having ideas is not the problem—what person does not have ideas? People all have hearts and brains, they all have their own ideas. That is not the problem here. So, what is it then? The problem is man’s corrupt disposition. If you did not have a corrupt disposition, you would be able to submit no matter how many ideas you had—they would not be an issue. If one has this reason and says, “I must submit to God in all things. I won’t give excuses or insist on my own ideas, I won’t reach my own verdict on this matter,” is it not easy for them to submit? If a person does not reach their own verdicts, it is a sign that they are not self-righteous; if they do not insist on their own ideas, it is a sign that they have reason. If they can also submit, then they have achieved practice of the truth. Not reaching one’s own verdicts and not insisting on one’s ideas are preconditions for being able to submit. If you possess these two qualities, it will be easy for you to submit and achieve practice of the truth. So, before you submit, you must equip yourself with them, and figure out how you should act and what you should do in order to have an attitude of practicing the truth. This is not really that difficult—but it is not that easy, either. Why is it difficult? It is difficult because man has a corrupt disposition. No matter what mentality or state you have when practicing submission, if it hinders you from practicing the truth, then that mindset or state stems from a corrupt disposition. That is simply the fact of the matter. If you resolve the corrupt dispositions of self-righteousness, arrogance, rebelliousness, absurdity, obstinance and prejudice, and intransigence, it will be easy for you to submit. So, how should these corruptions be resolved? You must pray when you are unwilling to submit, you must reflect on yourself and ask: “Why am I unable to submit to God? Why do I always insist on doing things my own way? Why can’t I seek the truth and put it into practice? What is the root of this problem? I should be practicing obedience to God, and I should be practicing the truth, not implementing my own will or my own desires. I should be able to submit to God’s words, His orchestrations, and arrangements. Only that is in line with God’s intentions.” Achieving this kind of outcome requires praying to God and seeking the truth. When you have understood the truth, you will be able to put it into practice more easily; then, you will be able to rebel against the flesh and let go of its desires. If you understand the truth within your heart but can’t let go of the benefits of the flesh, status, vanity and face, then you’ll struggle to put the truth into practice. This is because, in your heart, you put the benefits of the flesh, vanity, and face above all else. This means that you do not love the truth—instead, you love status and reputation. So how should this issue be resolved? You must pray, seek the truth, and fully see the essence of things like status and reputation. You must be less preoccupied with these things, and it’s necessary to see practicing the truth as important, and to value this above all else. When you do all this, you will have the resolve to practice the truth. Sometimes people cannot practice the truth. They need to be pruned, and receive God’s judgment and chastisement, so that the essence of the problem is completely clear and it’s easier to practice the truth. In fact, the greatest obstacle to practicing the truth is when one’s own will is too great and comes before everything else—that is, when one’s own self-interest comes before anything else, when one’s own reputation and status come before anything else. That’s why such people always pass verdicts based on their own will when things come up, and do whatever will personally benefit them, without any consideration of truth principles. They’re always clinging to their own ideas. What does it mean to cling to one’s own ideas? It means to pass a verdict: “If you want this, I want that. If you want yours, I will insist on mine.” Is this a display of submission? (No.) They do not seek the truth at all, but pass verdicts based on their own will. It’s an arrogant disposition, and an unreasonable display. If, one day, you are able to become aware that your preferences and verdicts are contrary to the truth; if you are able to deny and see through yourself, no longer believing in yourself, and after that gradually come to not do things your own way or blindly pass your own verdicts, but are able to seek the truth, pray to God and lean on Him, then that is the correct practice. Before you confirm what sort of practice conforms with the truth, you must seek. That is absolutely the correct thing to do, it is what should be done. If you wait until you are pruned to seek, it is a bit passive, and it is likely to delay things. Learning to seek the truth is so crucial. What are the benefits of seeking the truth? Firstly, one can avoid following their own will and acting rashly; secondly, one can avoid revelations of corruption and adverse consequences; thirdly, one can learn how to wait and be patient, and stop mistakes from occurring by perceiving things clearly and accurately. These things can all be achieved by seeking the truth. When you learn to seek the truth in all things, you will discover that nothing is simple, that if you are inattentive and do not make an effort, you will do things poorly. After training like this for a while, you will be more mature and seasoned when things befall you. Your attitude will be softer and more moderate, and instead of being impulsive, risk-taking, and competitive, you will be able to seek the truth, practice the truth, and submit to God. Then, the problem of your revelations of corrupt dispositions will be resolved. So, it will be easy for you to submit, it is really not that difficult. It might be a little hard in the beginning, but you can be patient, wait and keep seeking the truth until you resolve that problem.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Submission to God Is a Basic Lesson for Gaining the Truth

Obeying the word of God and submitting to God’s requirements is man’s bounden duty. And if God says something that does not accord with man’s notions, man should not analyze or examine it. Whomever God condemns or eliminates, giving rise in however many people to notions and resistance, God’s identity, His essence, His disposition, and His status are forever unchanging. He is forever God. Since you have no doubt that He is God, your only responsibility, the only thing you should do, is to obey what He says and practice according to His word; this is the path of practice. A created being should not examine, analyze, discuss, reject, contradict, rebel against, or deny the words of God; this is loathed by God, and not what He wishes to see in man. How, exactly, are God’s words to be treated? How should you practice? It is actually very simple: learn to obey them, listen to them with your heart, accept them with your heart, understand and comprehend them with your heart, and then go and practice and implement them with your heart. What you hear and comprehend in your heart should be closely connected to your practice. Do not separate the two; everything—what you practice, what you submit to, what you do by your own hand, everything you run around for—should be correlated to God’s words, then you should practice in accordance with His words and implement them through your actions. That is what it is to submit to the words of the Creator. This is the path of practicing God’s words.

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

What are the principles of practice for submission? They are to listen to God’s words and submit, and to practice according to what God says. Don’t harbor your own intentions, and you also cannot be capricious. Whether you understand God’s words clearly or not, you should meekly go about putting them into practice, and doing things according to His requirements. From the process of practicing and experiencing, you will unconsciously come to understand the truth. If your mouth says that you submit to God, but you never let go and rebel against your inner plans and desires, isn’t this saying one thing and thinking another? (Yes.) This is not true submission. If you do not truly submit, you will have many requirements of God whenever things befall you, and inwardly you will be impatient for God to meet your requirements. If God doesn’t do as you wish, you will feel very anguished and upset, you will suffer a great deal, and you will not be able to submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements and the environments that God has set up for you. Why is this? Because you always have your own requirements and wishes, and you cannot let go of your own personal ideas, and you want to be the one calling the shots. Therefore, whenever you encounter things that are at odds with your notions, you cannot submit, and it’s hard for you to submit to God. Although people know in theory that they should submit to God and let go of their own ideas, they just cannot let go of them, constantly fearing that they will be disadvantaged and incur losses. Tell Me, does this not put them in great difficulty? Does their anguish not then increase? (Yes.) If you can give up everything, and let go of the things that you like and demand but which are contrary to God’s intentions, if you can proactively and willingly let go of them, and not set terms with God, but be willing to do what God requires, then the difficulty within you will be much smaller and the obstacles will be much smaller.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (11)

What is the practical side of an attitude of submission? It is this: You must bring yourself to accept God’s words. Although your life entry is shallow, and your stature is insufficient, and your knowledge of the practical side of the truth is not yet deep enough, you are still able to follow God and submit to Him—that is an attitude of submission. Before you can achieve total submission, you must first adopt an attitude of submission, that is, you must accept God’s words, believe they are right, take God’s words as the truth and as the principles of practice, and be able to uphold them as regulations even when you do not have a good grasp of the principles. That is a kind of attitude of submission. Because your disposition now still has not changed, if you want to achieve genuine submission to God, you first must have a mentality of submission and the resolve to submit, saying, “I will submit no matter what God does. I do not understand much truth, but I know that when God tells me what to do, I will do it.” God sees this as an attitude of submission. Some people say, “What if it is the wrong thing to submit to?” Is God capable of being in error? God is truth and righteousness. God does not make errors; there are just many things God does which do not line up with people’s notions. You should say, “No matter whether what God does lines up with my own notions, I will just focus on listening, submitting, accepting, and following God. This is what I should do as a created being.” Even if there are people who judge you as submitting blindly, you should not care. Your heart is sure that God is truth, and that you should submit. This is right, and that is the sort of mentality with which one should submit. Only people possessed of such a mentality can gain the truth. If you do not have a mentality like this, but say, “Nothing gets by me. No one’s going to fool me. I’m too shrewd and cannot be made to submit to anything! Whatever comes my way, I have to look into it and analyze it. Only when it aligns with my views, and I can accept it, will I submit”—is that an attitude of submission? It is not an attitude of submission; it is a lack of a submissive mentality, with no intention in one’s heart to submit. If you say, “Even if it is god, I’ll still have to look into it. Even kings and queens get the same treatment from me. What you’re saying to me is useless. It’s true that I am a created being, but I’m no dummy—so don’t treat me like one,” then it is over for you; you lack the conditions to accept the truth. Such people lack any rationality. They do not possess normal humanity, so are they not a beast? Without rationality, how can a person achieve submission? To achieve submission, one must first be possessed of a submissive mentality. Only with a mentality of submission can a person have any rationality to speak of. If they do not have a mentality of submission, then they do not have any rationality. People are created beings; how can they fathom the Creator? All of humanity has not been able to decipher one of God’s ideas for 6,000 years, so how can people instantly understand what God is doing? You cannot understand. There are many things which God has been doing for thousands of years, and which God has already revealed to humanity, but if He did not spell it out for people, they would still not understand. Maybe you understand His words in a literal sense now, but you will only truly understand a little twenty years later. This is how big a gap there is between people and what God demands. In light of this, people should possess rationality and a mentality of submission. People are just ants and maggots, yet they wish to fathom the Creator. This is a most unreasonable thing. Some people always complain that God does not tell His mysteries to them, and does not explain the truth directly, always making people seek. But saying these things is not right, and is unreasonable. How many of all these words that God has told you do you understand? How many of God’s words can you put into practice? God’s work always happens in steps. If God had told people 2,000 years ago about His work of the last days, would they have understood? In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus became the likeness of sinful flesh, and was a sin offering for all humanity. If He were to tell people at that time, who would understand? And now, people like you understand some conceptual theories, but as for truths like God’s real disposition, God’s intention in loving humanity, and the origin of and plan behind things God did at that time, people will never ever be capable of understanding. This is the mystery of the truth; this is the essence of God. How can people fathom it? It is completely unreasonable for you to wish to fathom the Creator. You are too arrogant and overestimate your abilities. People should not wish to fathom God. It is already good if they can understand some of the truth. As far as you are concerned, understanding a bit of the truth is already a sufficient accomplishment. Therefore, is it rational to have a mentality of submission? This is absolutely a rational thing to do. A mentality and attitude of submission is the minimum of what every created being should possess.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Resolving One’s Notions Can One Embark on the Right Track of Belief in God (3)

To achieve submission to God, one must first accept the truth and practice it, and one must submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. That is the first hurdle. So, what do God’s orchestrations and arrangements consist of? They consist of the people, events, and things that God gives rise to around you. Sometimes these people, events and things will prune you, sometimes they will tempt you, or try you, or disturb you, or make you negative—but as long as you can seek the truth to resolve problems, you will be able to learn something, gain stature, and have the strength to resist. Submitting to the orchestrations and arrangements of God is the most fundamental lesson in submitting to God. God’s orchestrations and arrangements include the people, events, things, and various situations that God gives rise to around you. So how should you react when faced with these situations? The most fundamental thing is to accept from God. What does “accept from God” mean? Complaining and resisting—is this accepting from God? Arguing and making excuses—is this accepting from God? No. So how should you practice accepting from God? When something happens to you, first calm down, seek the truth, and practice submitting. Don’t come out with excuses or explanations. Don’t try to analyze or speculate about who is right and who is wrong, and don’t analyze whose mistake is more serious, and whose is less so. Is always analyzing these things an attitude of accepting from God? Is it an attitude of submission to God? It is not an attitude of submission to God, or of accepting from God, or of accepting God’s sovereignty and arrangements. Accepting from God is part of the principles for practicing submission to God. If you are certain that everything that befalls you is within God’s sovereignty, that those things happen because of God’s arrangements and His good intentions, then you can accept them from God. Begin by not analyzing right and wrong, not making excuses for yourself, not finding fault with others, not splitting hairs, not parsing through the objective causes of what happened, and not using your human mind to analyze and examine things. These are the details of what you must do in order to accept from God. And the way to practice this is to begin with submission. Even if you have notions or if things are not clear to you, submit. Do not start off with excuses or rebelliousness. And after submitting, seek the truth, pray to God and seek from Him. How should you pray? Say, “Oh God, You have orchestrated this situation for me out of Your good intention.” What does it mean when you say this? It means that you already have an attitude of acceptance in your heart and have acknowledged that God orchestrated that situation for you. Say: “Oh God, I don’t know how to practice in the situation I encountered today. I ask You to enlighten and guide me, and to make me understand Your intention, so that I can act according to it, and be neither rebellious nor resistant, and not rely on my own will. I am willing to practice the truth and act according to the principles.” Having prayed, you will feel peace at heart, and you will naturally let go of your excuses. Is this not a change in your mindset? This paves the way for you to seek and practice the truth, and the only problem that remains is how you should practice the truth when you have understood it. If you reveal rebelliousness again when the time comes for you to practice the truth, you must pray to God again. Once your rebelliousness has been resolved, naturally it will be easy for you to practice the truth. When problems crop up, you must learn to quiet yourself before God and seek the truth. If you are constantly disrupted by external things, if your state is always erratic, what is that caused by? It is because you don’t understand the truth, and because your corrupt disposition is in charge within you—you can’t help yourself. At times like this, you have to self-reflect and find the problem within yourself. Look for the relevant words of God and see what they expose. Then, listen to sermons and fellowships, or hymns of God’s words. Look at your own state in light of these words. That is how you can see what problems there are within you, and gaining clarity on these problems will make them easier to handle.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Submission to God Is a Basic Lesson for Gaining the Truth

If you believe in God’s sovereignty, then you have to believe that the things which happen every day, be they good or bad, do not occur at random. It is not that someone is deliberately being hard on you or targeting you; this is all arranged and orchestrated by God. Why does God orchestrate all these things? It is not to expose you for who you are or to reveal and eliminate you; revealing you is not the end goal. The goal is to perfect you and save you. How does God perfect you? And how does He save you? He starts by making you aware of your own corrupt dispositions, and by making you know your nature essence, your inadequacies, and what you lack. Only by knowing these things, and having an understanding of them, can you pursue the truth and gradually cast off your corrupt dispositions. This is God providing you with an opportunity. This is God’s mercy. You should know to seize this opportunity. You should not feel resistant toward God, butt heads with Him, or misunderstand Him. In particular, when faced with the people, events, and things that God arranges around you, do not constantly feel that they are not as you wish them to be, do not constantly wish to escape them or always complain about and misunderstand God. If you are constantly doing those things, then you are not experiencing God’s work, and it will be very difficult for you to enter the truth reality. No matter what you encounter that you cannot fully understand, or find difficult, you must learn to submit. You should first come before God and pray more. That way, before you know it, a shift will occur in your internal state, and you will be able to seek the truth to resolve the problem. As such, you will be able to experience God’s work. As this happens, the truth reality will be wrought within you, and this is how you will progress and undergo a transformation of the state of your life. Once you have undergone this change and possess this truth reality, you will have stature, and when you have stature, you will have life.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. To Gain the Truth, One Must Learn Lessons From the People, Events, and Things Nearby

Submitting to God’s orchestrations and arrangements is the most basic lesson faced by each and every follower of God. It is also the most profound lesson. To whatever degree you are able to submit to God, that is how great your stature is, and how great your faith is—these things are corresponding. Which truths do you need to be equipped with to reach absolute submission? First, you cannot make any demands of God—this is a truth. How can you implement this truth? When you make a demand of God, use this truth to consider and reflect on yourself. “What demands do I have of God? Are they in line with the truth? Are they reasonable? Where did they come from? Did they come from my own imaginings, or are they thoughts given to me by Satan?” It’s actually none of those things. These ideas are produced by people’s corrupt dispositions. You have to dissect the motives and desires behind these unreasonable demands, and see whether or not they fit the reason of normal humanity. What should you pursue? If you are someone who loves the truth, you should pursue being a follower, just like Peter. Peter said, “Even if God treated me like a plaything, how could I not be willing and happy?” Some people don’t understand what Peter said. They ask: “When has God ever treated people like toys and handed us over to Satan? I haven’t seen that. God has been wonderful to me, so gracious. God isn’t that kind of God. God couldn’t possibly love humans any more, so why would He treat people like toys? That doesn’t match the truth. This is a misunderstanding of God and is not true knowledge of God.” But where did Peter’s words come from? (They came from his knowledge of God, gained after going through all sorts of trials.) Peter went through so many trials and refinements. He let go of all of his personal demands, plans, and desires, and didn’t demand that God do anything. He didn’t have his own thoughts, and he handed himself over fully. He thought: “God can do whatever He wants to do. He can put me through trials, He can chasten me, He can judge or chastise me. He can create situations to prune me or temper me, He can put me in the lion’s den or the wolves’ lair. Whatever God does, it is correct, and I will submit to it. Everything God does is the truth. I won’t have any complaints or any choices.” Is this not absolute submission? Sometimes people think: “People all say that everything God does is the truth, but why haven’t I discovered any truth in this thing that God did? It seems that even God is wrong at times. But no matter what, that God is able to express the truth shows that He is God, so I’ll submit!” Is this kind of submission genuine? (No.) This is just claiming to submit. This is selective submission; it is not genuine submission. This is at odds with how Peter thought about it. The way Peter saw it, even if God treated him like a plaything, he was willing and happy to be treated that way. God treating you like a plaything means that He doesn’t need to give you a reason why He does this, or act in a way that you find reasonable, and that He can treat you any way He likes without having to discuss it with you, or elucidate the facts and lay out the reasoning for you. If He had to wait for your approval before doing things, would that being treating you like a plaything? No—that would be giving you full human rights and freedoms, and total respect, and treating you as a human being; that would not be treating you like a plaything. What is a plaything? (It’s something that has no autonomy and no rights.) Is it only something without rights? How should you implement Peter’s words? For example, say that you’ve been seeking for a while in a particular matter, but still haven’t understood God’s intention. Or, say that you’ve believed in God for over 20 years and still don’t know what it’s all about. Should you not submit in this situation? You have to submit. And what is this submission based on? It’s based on what Peter said: “Even if God treated me like a plaything, how could I not be willing and happy?” If you always treat God according to the notions and imaginings of man, and use them to measure all that God does, to measure the words and work of God, is this not passing verdicts on God, is it not resisting God? Could all that God does fit with the notions and imaginings of man? And if it does not, do you thus not accept or submit to it? At such times, how should you seek the truth? How should you follow God? This involves the truth; you should seek answers in the words of God. When you believe in God, you should stand firm in the position of a created being. No matter when, regardless of whether God is hidden from you or has appeared to you, irrespective of whether you can feel God’s love or not, you must know what your responsibilities, obligations, and duties are—you must understand these truths about practice. If you still cling to your notions, saying, “If I can clearly see that this matter is in line with the truth and in line with my thoughts, then I will submit; if it is not clear to me and I cannot confirm that these are the actions of God, then I will wait a while, and will submit once I’m sure this was done by God,” then is this submitting to God? It is not. This is a conditional submission, not absolute, full submission. None of God’s work accords with human notions and imaginings—the incarnation does not accord with human notions and imaginings, and judgment and chastisement especially do not. The majority of people really struggle to accept and submit to it. If you can’t submit to God’s work, then can you fulfill the duty of a created being? That’s just not possible. What is the duty of a created being? (To stand in the position of a created being, accept God’s commission and submit to God’s arrangements.) That’s right, that’s the root of it. Then isn’t it easy to address this issue? To stand in a created being’s position and submit to the Creator, your God—this is what every created being should most uphold. There are many truths that you don’t understand or don’t know about. You cannot grasp God’s intentions, so you won’t accept the truths or submit to them—is that right? For example, you don’t understand some prophecies, so you don’t acknowledge that they are God’s words? You cannot deny it. Those words will always be words from God, and they contain the truth. Even though you don’t understand them, they are still God’s words. If some words of God haven’t been fulfilled, does that mean that they’re not God’s words, that they’re not the truth? If you say: “If it hasn’t been fulfilled it probably isn’t God’s words. It’s probably been adulterated,” what kind of attitude is this? This is an attitude of rebellion. You must have reason. What is reason? What is having reason based on? It is based on standing in the place of a created being and submitting to the Creator, your God. This is the truth; an eternally immutable truth. Does submission to God need to be based on whether you know or understand God’s intentions, or whether or not God has shown His intentions to you? Does it need to be based on all this? (No.) Then what is it based on? It’s based on the truth of submission. What is the truth of submission? (Standing in a created being’s place and submitting to the Creator.) This is the truth of submission. Then, is there any need for you to analyze right and wrong? Do you need to consider whether God has done the right thing or not to achieve absolute submission? Does God need to clearly, thoroughly explain this aspect of the truth for you to submit? (No, He doesn’t.) No matter what God does, you should practice the truth of submission—that is good enough.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Submission to God Is a Basic Lesson for Gaining the Truth

When confronting problems in real life, how should you understand and appreciate God’s authority and His sovereignty? When you are faced with these problems and do not know how to understand, handle, and experience them, what attitude should you adopt to demonstrate that you have the intention and the desire to submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements, and the reality of this submission? First you must learn to wait; then you must learn to seek; then you must learn to submit. “Waiting” means waiting for the time of God, awaiting the people, events, and things that He has arranged for you, and waiting for His intentions to be gradually revealed to you. “Seeking” means examining and understanding God’s painstaking intentions through the people, events, and things that He has orchestrated, understanding the truths in them, understanding what humans should do and the ways they should adhere to, and understanding what results God means to achieve in humans and what accomplishments He means to attain in them. “Submitting,” of course, refers to accepting the people, events, and things that God has orchestrated, accepting His sovereignty and, through it, experiencing how the Creator holds sovereignty over man’s fate, how He supplies man with His life, and how He works the truth into man. All things under God’s sovereignty and arrangements obey natural laws, and if you have the faith to accept everything that God arranges and exercises sovereignty over for you, you should learn to wait, you should learn to seek, and you should learn to submit. This is the attitude every person who is willing to submit to God’s authority should adopt, and it is also the most basic quality every person who is willing to accept and submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements should possess. To hold such an attitude, to possess such a quality, you must work harder; only when you understand the truth can you achieve genuine submission and enter into the true reality.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III

Among all men, Noah was the figure of fearing God, submitting to God, and completing God’s commission that is most worthy of emulation; he was approved of by God, and should be a model to those who follow God today. And what was most precious about him? He had only one attitude toward God’s words: to listen and accept, to accept and submit, and to submit until death. It was this attitude, which was most precious of all, that won him God’s approval. When it came to God’s words, he wasn’t perfunctory, he didn’t go through the motions, and he did not scrutinize, analyze, resist, or reject them inside his head, then relegate them to the back of his mind; instead, he listened in earnest, accepted them, little by little, in his heart, and then pondered how to put them into practice, how to implement them, how to practice them as originally intended, without any deviation. And as he pondered God’s words, he said privately to himself, “These are the words of God, they are God’s instructions, God’s commission, I am duty-bound, I must submit, I cannot leave out any details, I cannot go against any of God’s wishes, nor can I overlook any one of the details of what He said, or else I would not be fit to be called human, I would be unworthy of God’s commission, and unworthy of His exaltation. In this life, if I fail to complete all that God has told me and entrusted to me, then I will be left with regrets. More than that, I will be unworthy of God’s commission and His exaltation of me, and will not have the face to return before the Creator.” Everything that Noah had thought and contemplated in his heart, his every perspective, and his every attitude, each determined that he was eventually able to put God’s words into practice, make God’s words a reality, bring God’s words to fruition, and make it so that they were fulfilled and accomplished through his hard work and turned into a reality through him, and so that God’s commission did not come to nothing. Judging by everything that Noah thought, every idea that arose in his heart, and his attitude toward God, Noah was worthy of God’s commission, he was a man trusted by God, and one looked upon favorably by God. God observes people’s every word and deed, He observes their thoughts and ideas. In God’s eyes, for Noah to be able to think like this, He had not mischosen; Noah could shoulder God’s commission and God’s trust, and he was able to complete God’s commission: He was the only choice among all of humankind.

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

Abraham had true faith in God, and this illustrates a matter, which is that Abraham was an honest person. His sole attitude toward God’s words was one of obedience, acceptance, and submission—he would obey whatever God said. If God were to say something was black, then even if Abraham could not see it as black, he would believe what God said to be true, and be convinced that it was black. If God told him something was white, he would be convinced that it was white. It’s as simple as that. God told him that He would bestow a child upon him, and Abraham thought to himself, “I’m already 100 years old, but if God says He is going to give me a child, then I am thankful to my Lord, God!” He didn’t have too many other ideas, he just believed in God. What was the essence of this belief? He believed in the essence and identity of God, and his knowledge of the Creator was real. He was not like those people who say they believe God to be almighty and the Creator of mankind, but hold doubts in their hearts such as “Are humans actually evolved from apes? It is said that god created all things, but people haven’t seen this with their own eyes.” No matter what God says, those people are always halfway between belief and doubt, and rely on what they see to determine whether things are true or false. They doubt anything they can’t see with their eyes, therefore whenever they hear God speak, they put question marks behind His words. They carefully, diligently, and cautiously examine and analyze every fact, matter, and command that God puts forward. They think that, in their belief in God, they ought to examine God’s words and the truth with an attitude of scientific research, to see if these words are actually the truth, otherwise they’ll be liable to be scammed and deceived. But Abraham was not like this, he listened to God’s word with a pure heart. However, on this occasion, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, to Him. This caused Abraham pain, but he still chose to submit. Abraham believed that God’s words were immutable, and that God’s words would become reality. Created humans should accept and submit to God’s word as a matter of course, and in the face of God’s word, created humans have no right of choice, much less should they analyze or examine God’s word. This was the attitude that Abraham held toward God’s word. Even though Abraham was in great pain, and even though his love for and reluctance to give up his son caused him extreme stress and pain, he still chose to return his child to God. Why was he going to return Isaac to God? When God hadn’t asked Abraham to do this, there was no need for him to take the initiative to return his son, but since God had asked, he had to return his son to God, there were no excuses to give, and he should not try to argue with God—this was the attitude that Abraham held. He submitted to God with this kind of pure heart. This was what God wanted and this was what God wished to see. Abraham’s behavior and what he achieved when it came to the matter of sacrificing Isaac was exactly what God wanted to see, and this matter was God testing and verifying him. And yet, God did not treat Abraham as He treated Noah. He did not tell Abraham the reasons behind this matter, the process, or everything about it. Abraham only knew one thing, which was that God had asked him to return Isaac—that was all. He did not know that in doing this, God was testing him, nor was he aware of what God wished to accomplish in him and his descendants after he was subjected to this test. God didn’t tell Abraham any of this, He just gave him a simple command, a request. And though these words of God were very simple, and inconsiderate of human feelings, Abraham lived up to God’s expectations by doing as God wished and required: He offered Isaac as a sacrifice upon the altar. His every move showed that his offering of Isaac was not him going through the motions, that he was not doing it in a perfunctory way, but was sincere, and doing it from his innermost heart. Even though he couldn’t bear to give up Isaac, even though it pained him, when faced with what the Creator had asked, Abraham chose that method which no other person would: absolute submission to what the Creator asked, submission without compromise, without excuses, and without any conditions—he acted just how God asked him to. And what did Abraham possess, when he could do what God asked? In one respect, there was within him the true faith in God; he was sure that the Creator was God, his God, his Lord, the One who is sovereign over all things and who created humankind. This was true faith. In another respect, he had a pure heart. He believed every word uttered by the Creator, and was able to simply and directly accept every word uttered by Him. And in yet another respect, no matter how great the difficulty of what the Creator asked, how much pain it would bring him, the attitude he chose was submission, not trying to argue with God, or resist, or refuse, but complete and total submission, acting and practicing in accordance with what God asked, according to His every word, and the order He issued. Just as God asked and wished to see, Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar, he offered him to God—and all that he did proved that God had chosen the right person, and that in God’s eyes, he was righteous.

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

Only when you have genuine faith can you possess true submission. Only when you can truly submit to God can real trust in God gradually arise within you. You gain real trust in the process of truly submitting to God, but if you lack real trust, can you truly submit to God? (No.) These things are connected, and this is not a matter of regulations or logic. Truth is not philosophy, it is not logical. Truths are interrelated and absolutely inseparable. If you say, “To submit to God, you must have trust in God, and if you have trust in God, you must submit to God,” this is a regulation, a phrase, a theory, a high-sounding view! Matters of life are not regulations. You keep verbally acknowledging that Almighty God is your only Savior and the one true God, but do you have real trust in God? What do you rely on to stand firm when you meet with tribulation? Many people accept Almighty God because He has expressed so many truths. They accept Him in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. However, when confronted with arrest and tribulations, many people withdraw, many people hide in their homes and do not dare to perform their duties. At this time, the words you spoke—“I believe in God’s sovereignty, I believe in God’s control over man’s destiny, and that my destiny is in God’s hands”—have long since disappeared without a trace. It was merely a catchphrase for you. Since you dare not practice and experience these words, and you do not live by these words, do you have real trust in God? The essence of having faith in God is not just believing in God’s name, but believing in the fact that God is sovereign over all things. You must turn this fact into your life, turn it into the actual testimony of your life. You have to live by these words. That means allowing these words to guide your behavior and guide the direction and goals of your actions when situations confront you. Why do you have to live by these words? For example, let’s say that you are able to go to a foreign country to believe in God and perform your duty, and you think this is quite good. The rule of the great red dragon does not exist overseas, and there is no persecution of beliefs; believing in God does not endanger your life, so you don’t have to take risks. Whereas, believers in God in mainland China are in danger of being arrested at any time; they are living in the demon’s den, and that is very dangerous! Then one day, God says, “You have been believing in God overseas for several years, and gained some life experience. There is a place in mainland China, the brothers and sisters there are immature in terms of life. You should return and shepherd them.” What would you do when confronted with this responsibility? (Submit to and accept it.) You might accept it externally, but your heart would feel uneasy. In your bed at night, you’d cry and pray to God, “God, You know my weakness. My stature is too small. Even if I return to the mainland, I would not be able to shepherd God’s chosen people! Can’t You choose someone else to go? This commission has come to me, and I do want to go, but I am afraid that, if I go, I will not carry it out well, that I will not be able to perform my duty satisfactorily, and that I will fail to live up to Your intentions! Can’t I stay overseas for two more years?” What is the choice you are making? You are not completely refusing to go, but you are not fully agreeing to go either. This is tacit evasion. Is this submitting to God? This is a most clear rebellion against God. You not wanting to return means that you possess resistant emotions. Does God know this? (He knows.) God will say, “Don’t go. I am not being hard on you, I am just giving you a trial.” In this way, He has revealed you. Do you love God? Do you submit to God? Do you have real trust? (No.) Is this weakness? (No.) It is rebellion, it is opposing God. This trial has revealed that you do not have real trust in God, you do not have true submission, and you do not believe that God is sovereign over all things. You say, “As long as I am afraid, I am justified in choosing not to go. As long as my life is in danger, I can refuse. I do not have to accept this commission and can choose my own path. I can be filled with complaints and grievances.” What sort of trust is this? There is no real trust here. No matter how lofty the slogans you chant are, will they have any effect now? None at all. Will your oaths have any effect? Will it do any good if other people fellowship on the truth and work to persuade you? (No.) Even if you reluctantly go to the mainland after they work to persuade you, would this be true submission? This is not how God wants you to submit. If you go unwillingly, you will go in vain. God will not work in you, and you will gain nothing from it. God doesn’t force people to do things. You must be willing. If you don’t want to go, want to take a third way, and always seek to escape, reject, and evade, then you don’t have to go. When your stature is large enough and you have such trust, you will voluntarily request to go, saying, “I will go, even if no one else does. This time I am truly unafraid, and I will risk my life! Isn’t life given by God? What is so scary about Satan? It is a plaything in the hands of God, and I do not fear it! If I am not arrested, it will be thanks to God’s grace and mercy. If circumstances are such that I am arrested, it is because God allows it. Even if I die in prison, I must still bear witness to God! I must have this resolve—I will hand over my life to God. I will take what I have understood, experienced, and come to know in my life and fellowship on it with those brothers and sisters who lack understanding and knowledge. This way, they can have the same trust and resolve as I do, and can come before God and testify for Him. I must be considerate of God’s intentions and shoulder this heavy burden. Although carrying this heavy burden requires taking risks and sacrificing my life, I am not afraid. I no longer think of myself; I have God, my life is in His hands, and I willingly submit to His orchestrations and arrangements.” After you return, you will have to suffer in that environment. You may age quickly, with your hair going gray and your face wrinkling. You may get sick or be arrested and persecuted, or even find yourself in mortal danger. How should you confront these problems? This again involves real trust. Some people can return in a burst of determination, but what will they do when confronted by these hardships after their return? You must take the plunge and believe in God’s sovereignty. Even if you visibly age a bit or get a little sick, these are trivial matters. If you offend God and refuse His commission, you will lose out on your chance to be perfected by God in this life. In your life, if you offend God and reject His commission, that will be an eternal stain! Losing this opportunity is something you can’t buy back with any number of years of your youth. What use is it to have a healthy and strong body? What’s the use of having a pretty face and a good figure? Even if you live to be eighty and your mind is still sharp, if you can’t understand the meaning of even one sentence spoken by God, wouldn’t that be pathetic? It would be extremely pathetic! So, what is the most important and precious thing that people must obtain when they come before God? It is genuine faith in God. No matter what befalls you, if you first submit, even if you have some small misconceptions about God at the time, or you don’t quite understand why God is acting in that way, you will not be negative and weak. As Peter said, “Even if God were playing with humans as if they were toys, what complaint would humans have?” If you lack even this bit of trust, could you still be as submissive as Peter? Very often, what God does to you is appropriate and reasonable, in line with your stature, imaginings, and notions. God works according to your stature. If you still can’t accept it, can you achieve the submission of Peter? That would be even more impossible. Therefore, you have to pursue toward this direction and this goal. Only then can you achieve genuine faith in God.

If people lack genuine faith, can they submit to God? It’s hard to say. Only by having real trust in God can they truly submit to Him. That’s exactly it. If you do not truly submit to God, you will have no more opportunities to receive God’s enlightenment, guidance, or perfection. You have pushed away all these opportunities for God to perfect you. You don’t want them. You refuse, avoid, and are constantly dodging them. You always choose an environment with the comforts of the flesh and free from suffering. This is a problem! You can’t experience God’s work. You can’t experience God’s guidance, God’s leadership, and God’s protection. You can’t see God’s deeds. As a result, you won’t gain the truth and won’t gain real trust—you won’t gain anything!

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only With True Submission Can One Have Real Trust

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 the needs of His work; He does not need to consult any person, nor does He need to obtain any person’s approval. 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 acts. 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 the reason that created beings ought to possess, and if a person does not possess 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 to and is qualified 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. Created beings do not have the right and are not qualified to pass judgment on whether anything 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 only things that created humans should do are: seek, submit, come to know, and accept everything done by the Creator. The final result will be that the Creator will have accomplished His management plan and completed His work, and that His management plan will have progressed 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 what kind of manifestations He exhibits, 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 capital. 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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