Knowing God must be done by reading God’s words, and practicing and experiencing God’s words, as well as experiencing many trials, refinements, and pruning; only then is it possible to have true knowledge of God’s work and God’s disposition. Some say: “I haven’t seen God incarnate, so how should I come to know God?” In fact, God’s words are an expression of His disposition. From God’s words, you can see His love and salvation for humans, as well as His method for saving them…. This is because His words are expressed by God Himself, not written by humans. They have been personally expressed by God; God Himself is expressing His own words and His heart’s voice, which can also be called the words from His heart. Why are they called the words from His heart? It is because they are issued from deep down, and express His disposition, His intentions, His ideas and thoughts, His love for mankind, His salvation of mankind, and His expectations of mankind…. God’s utterances include harsh words, and gentle and considerate words, as well as some revelatory words that are not mindful of people’s feelings. If you look only at the revelatory words, you might feel that God is rather stern. If you look only at the gentle words, you might feel that God is not very authoritative. You therefore should not take them out of context; rather, look at them from every angle. Sometimes God speaks from a merciful perspective, and then people see His love for mankind; sometimes He speaks from a very strict perspective, and then people see that His disposition tolerates no offense, that man is deplorably filthy, and is not worthy of seeing God’s face or of coming before Him, and that it is purely by His grace that they are now allowed to come before Him. God’s wisdom can be seen from the way He works and in the significance of His work. People can still see these things in God’s words, even without any direct contact with Him. When someone who genuinely knows God comes into contact with Christ, their encounter with Christ can correspond with their existing knowledge of God; however, when someone who has only a theoretical understanding encounters Christ, they cannot see the correlation. The truth of God’s incarnation is the most profound of mysteries; it is difficult for man to fathom. Draw together God’s words on the mystery of the incarnation, look at them from all angles, and then pray together, ponder, and fellowship further on this aspect of the truth. In doing so, you will be able to gain the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and come to understand. Because humans have no chance of having direct contact with God, they must rely on this kind of experience to feel their way through and enter a little bit at a time if they are to ultimately attain true knowledge of God.

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