I

Only in the practical experience of God’s words

can man be supplied with the truth and with life;

only herein can man come to understand

what is normal humanity, what is a meaningful life,

what is a genuine created being, what is real submission to God;

only herein can man come to understand how he should care for God,

how to fulfill the duty of a created being,

and how to possess the likeness of a real man;

only herein can man come to understand

what’s meant by genuine faith and genuine worship;

II

only in the practical experience of God’s words

can man come to understand

who is the Sovereign of the heavens and earth and all things,

the heavens and earth and all things;

only herein can man understand

the means by which the Sovereign of all things

rules over, leads, and provides for them;

and only herein can man understand and grasp

the means by which He exists, appears, and works.

III

Separated from the real experience of God’s words,

man has no real knowledge of

or insight into God’s words and the truth.

Such a man is a downright living corpse, a consummate shell;

all knowledge about the Creator has nothing to do with him.

In God’s eyes, such a man has never believed in Him,

nor has he ever followed Him,

and so God recognizes him neither as His believer nor as His follower,

even less as a genuine created being, a genuine created being.

from The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. Preface