The practice of the truth is a path by which man’s life can grow. If you do not practice the truth, then you will be left with nothing more than theory and will have no actual life. Truth is the symbol of man’s stature, and whether or not you practice the truth is related to whether or not you have real stature. If you do not practice the truth, do not act righteously, or are swayed by emotions and care for your flesh, then you are far away from keeping the commandments. This is the most profound of lessons. In every age, there are many truths that people need to enter into and understand, but also in each age, there are different commandments that accompany those truths. The truths that people practice relate to the specific age, and so do the commandments they keep. Each age has its own truths to be practiced and commandments to be kept. However, depending on the various commandments promulgated by God—that is, depending on the different ages—the goal and effect of man’s practice of the truth differ commensurately. It can be said that the commandments serve the truth, and the truth exists to maintain the commandments. If there is only truth, then there will be no changes in God’s work to speak of. However, by referring to the commandments, man can identify the extent of the trends in the Holy Spirit’s work, and man can know the age in which God works. In religion, there are many people who can practice the truths that were practiced by people in the Age of Law. However, they do not possess the commandments of the new age, nor can they keep them. They still observe the old ways and remain as primordial humans. They are not accompanied by the new methods of work and cannot see the commandments of the new age. As such, they do not have God’s work. It is as though they only have empty eggshells; if there is no chick inside, then there is no spirit. To put it more accurately, it means they have no life. Such people have not yet entered the new age and have lagged many steps behind. Therefore, having truths from older ages but not having the commandments of the new age is useless. Many of you practice the truth of today but do not keep its commandments. You will gain nothing, and the truth you practice will be worthless and meaningless and God will not praise you. Practicing the truth must be done within the parameters of the methods of the Holy Spirit’s current work; it must be done in response to the voice of the practical God today. Without doing so, everything is null, akin to attempting to draw water using a bamboo basket. This is also the practical meaning of the promulgation of the commandments of the new age. If people are to abide by the commandments, at the very least they should know the practical God who appears in the flesh, without confusion. In other words, people should grasp the principles of abiding by the commandments. Abiding by the commandments does not mean following them haphazardly or arbitrarily, but abiding by them with a basis, with an objective, and with principles. The first thing to be achieved is for your visions to be clear. If you have a thorough understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in the current time, and if you enter into today’s methods of work, then you will naturally gain a clear understanding of keeping the commandments. If the day comes when you see through to the essence of the commandments of the new age and you can keep the commandments, then you will have been perfected. This is the practical significance of practicing the truth and keeping the commandments. Whether you can practice the truth or not depends on how you perceive the essence of the commandments of the new age. The work of the Holy Spirit will continuously appear to man, and God will require more and more of man. Therefore, the truths which man actually puts into practice will grow more in number, and become greater, and the effects of keeping the commandments will become more profound. Therefore, you must at once practice the truth and keep the commandments. Nobody should neglect this matter; let the new truth and the new commandments commence simultaneously in this new age.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Keeping the Commandments and Practicing the Truth