What should you know about the practical God? The Spirit, the Person, and the Word make up the practical God Himself, and this is the true meaning of the practical God Himself. If you only know the Person—if you know His habits and personality—but do not know the work of the Spirit, or what the Spirit does in the flesh, and only pay attention to the Spirit, and the Word, and only pray before the Spirit, unknowing of the work of God’s Spirit in the practical God, then this yet proves that you do not know the practical God. Knowledge of the practical God includes knowing and experiencing His words, and grasping the rules and principles of the work of the Holy Spirit, and how the Spirit of God works in the flesh. So, too, does it include knowing that every action of God in the flesh is governed by the Spirit, and that the words He speaks are the direct expression of the Spirit. Thus, if you wish to know the practical God, you must primarily know how God works in humanity and in divinity; this, in turn, concerns the expressions of the Spirit, which all people engage with.

What is covered in the expressions of the Spirit? Sometimes the practical God works in humanity, and sometimes in divinity—but overall, in both cases the Spirit is in command. Whatever the spirit within people, thus is their external expression. The Spirit works normally, but there are two parts to His direction by the Spirit: One part is His work in humanity, and the other is His work through divinity. You should know this clearly. The Spirit’s work varies according to the circumstances: When His human work is required, the Spirit directs this human work, and when His divine work is required, the divinity appears directly to carry it out. Because God works in the flesh and appears in the flesh, He both works in humanity and in divinity. His work in humanity is directed by the Spirit, and in order to satisfy people’s fleshly needs, to facilitate their engagement with Him, to allow them to behold the reality and normality of God, and to allow them to see that the Spirit of God has come in the flesh, and is among man, lives together with man, and engages with man. His work in divinity is in order to provide the life of people, and guide people in everything from the positive side, changing people’s dispositions and allowing them to truly behold the Spirit’s appearance in the flesh. In the main, the growth in man’s life is directly achieved through God’s work and words in divinity. Only if people accept God’s work in divinity can they achieve changes in their disposition, only then can they be sated in their spirit; only if there is added to this the work in humanity—God’s shepherding, support, and provision in humanity—can people satisfy God’s will. The practical God Himself that we speak of today works both in humanity and in divinity. Through the appearance of the practical God, His normal human work and life and His completely divine work are achieved. His humanity and divinity are combined in one, and the work of both is accomplished through words; whether in humanity or divinity, He utters words. When God works in humanity, He speaks the language of humanity, so that people may engage and understand. His words are spoken plainly, and are easy to understand, such that they can be provided to all people; regardless of whether these people are possessed of knowledge, or poorly educated, they can all receive God’s words. God’s work in divinity is also carried out through words, but it is full of provision, it is full of life, it is untainted by human meaning, it does not involve human preferences, and it is without human limits, it is outside the bounds of any normal humanity; it, too, is carried out in the flesh, but it is the direct expression of the Spirit. If people only accept God’s work in humanity, then they will confine themselves to a certain scope, and so will require perennial dealing, pruning, and discipline in order for there to be a slight change in them. Without the work or presence of the Holy Spirit, though, they will always resort to their old ways; it is only through the work of divinity that these maladies and deficiencies can be rectified, only then can people be made complete. Instead of sustained dealing and pruning, what is required is positive provision, using words to make up for all shortcomings, using words to reveal people’s every state, using words to direct their lives, their every utterance, their every action, to lay bare their intentions and motivations; this is the real work of the practical God. And thus, in your attitude to the practical God you should both submit before His humanity, recognizing and acknowledging Him, and, furthermore, you should also accept and obey the divine work and words. God’s appearance in the flesh means that all of the work and words of the Spirit of God are done through His normal humanity, and through His incarnate flesh. In other words, God’s Spirit both directs His human work and carries out the work of divinity in the flesh, and in God incarnate you can see both God’s work in humanity and completely divine work; this is the real significance of the practical God’s appearance in the flesh. If you can see this clearly, you will be able to connect all of the different parts of God, and will cease to place too much of a premium on His work in divinity, and to be too dismissive of His work in humanity, and you will not go to extremes, nor take any detours. Overall, the meaning of the practical God is that the work of His humanity and of His divinity, as directed by the Spirit, is expressed through His flesh, so that people can see that He is vivid and lifelike, and real and actual.

The Spirit of God’s work in humanity has transitional phases. By making humanity perfect, He enables His humanity to receive the direction of the Spirit, after which His humanity is able to provide and shepherd the churches. This is one expression of God’s normal work. Thus, if you can see clearly the principles of God’s work in humanity, then you will be unlikely to have conceptions about God’s work in humanity. Regardless of anything else, the Spirit of God cannot be wrong. He is right, and without error; He would not do anything incorrectly. Divine work is the direct expression of the will of God, without the interference of humanity. It does not undergo perfection, but comes directly from the Spirit. And yet, that He can work in divinity is because of His normal humanity; it is not in the least bit supernatural, and appears to be carried out by a normal person; God came from heaven to earth primarily in order to express the words of God through the flesh, to complete the work of the Spirit of God using the flesh.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Know That the Practical God Is God Himself