152. Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path by which man gains life, and it is the only path by which man shall know God and be approved of by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by words, and by the shackles of history will never be able to gain life nor gain the perpetual way of life. This is because all they gain is turbid water which has been clung to for thousands of years instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God? You only seek to hold on to the past, to stand still and keep things as they are, and do not seek to change the status quo and discard history, so will you not always be antagonistic toward God? The steps of God’s work are overwhelming and mighty, like surging waves and rolling thunders—yet you sit passively awaiting destruction, clinging to that which is old and waiting for things to fall into your lap. In this way, how can you be considered someone who follows the footsteps of the Lamb? How can this demonstrate that the God you hold on to is the God who is always new and never old? And how can the words of your yellowed books carry you across into a new age? How can they lead you to search for the steps of God’s work? And how can they take you up to heaven? What you hold in your hands are mere words that can provide but temporary solace, not truths that are capable of giving you life. The words of Scriptures you read can only enrich your tongue; they are not words of wisdom that can help you know human life, much less are they the path that can lead you to perfection. Does this discrepancy not give you cause for reflection? Does it not give you insight into the mysteries contained within? Are you capable of delivering yourself to heaven to meet God on your own? Without the coming of God, can you take yourself into heaven to enjoy family happiness with God? Are you still dreaming now? I exhort you, then, to stop dreaming and to look at who is working now—look to see who is now carrying out the work of saving man during the last days. If you do not, you shall never gain the truth, and shall never gain life.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

153. My words are the forever unchanging truth; I am the supply of life for man and the only guide for mankind; the value and meaning of My words are not determined by whether they are acknowledged and accepted by mankind, but by the essence of the words themselves; and even if not a single person on this earth can accept My words, the value of My words and their help to mankind are beyond the estimation of any person. Therefore, when faced with the many people who rebel against, refute, or are utterly contemptuous of My words, My attitude is only this: Let time and facts be My testimony and prove that My words are the truth, the way, and the life. Let them prove that all I have said is right, that it is that which man should possess and, even more so, that which man should accept. I will let all who follow Me know this fact: Those who cannot fully accept My words, those who cannot practice My words, those who cannot find a goal in My words, and those who cannot receive the grace of salvation through My words, are those who are condemned by My words; even more so, they are those who have lost the grace of My salvation, and My rod shall never leave them.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Ought to Consider Your Deeds

154. God Himself is life, and the truth, and His life and truth coexist. Those who are incapable of gaining the truth will surely not gain life. Without the guidance, support, and provision of the truth, all that you’ll gain is mere words, doctrines, and, even more so, death. God’s life is ever-present, and His truth and life coexist simultaneously. If you cannot find the source of truth, then you will not gain the nourishment of life; if you cannot gain the provision of life, then you will surely have no truth, and apart from imaginings and notions, your whole being shall contain nothing but your flesh—your stench-ridden flesh. Know that the mere words of books cannot count as life, the records of history cannot be enshrined as the truth, and the regulations of the past cannot serve as an account of God’s current words, and that only the words expressed by God when He comes to earth and lives among man are the truth, life, God’s intentions, and His current way of working.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

155. The truth is the most practical life maxim, and the highest life maxim for mankind. Because it is the requirement that God makes of man, and is the work personally done by God, it is called a “life maxim.” It is not a maxim summed up from something, nor is it a famous quote from a great figure. Instead, it is the utterance to mankind from the Sovereign of the heavens and earth and all things; it is not some words summed up by man, but the inherent life of God. And so it is called “the highest life maxim.”

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Know God and His Work Are the Ones Who Satisfy God

156. The truth comes from the world of man, yet the truth among man is passed on by Christ. It originates from Christ, that is, from God Himself, and this is not something man is capable of. Yet Christ is just providing the truth; He has not come here to decide whether man will be successful in his pursuit of the truth. Therefore, whether or not man is successful in terms of the truth depends entirely on his own pursuit. This is a matter that has never had anything to do with Christ, but is instead determined by man’s pursuit. Man’s destination and his success or failure cannot be all heaped upon the head of God, so that God Himself is made to bear it, because this is not a matter for God Himself, but is directly related to the duty that created beings should perform.

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

157. The truth is not formulaic, neither is it a fixed rule. It is not dead—it is life, it is a living thing, and it is the law that a created being must follow in their life and the law a human must have in order to exist. This is something that you must try to appreciate more through experience. Regardless of the depth of your experiences, you can never do without God’s word or the truth. The disposition of God that you come to understand, as well as the possessions and being of God that you come to know, are all expressed in His words; they are inextricably linked with the truth. God’s disposition and what He has and is are, in themselves, the truth; the truth is an authentic manifestation of God’s disposition and what He has and is. It makes what He has and is concrete and explicit; it tells you more straightforwardly what God likes and what He does not like, what He wants you to do and what He does not permit you to do, which people He hates and which people He is pleased with. Behind the truths that God expresses, people can see His happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy, as well as His essence—these are the revelations of His disposition.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III

158. Whether the words spoken by God be plain or profound in outward appearance, they are all truths indispensable to man’s life entry; they are the fountain of living waters that enables man to survive in both spirit and flesh. They provide what man needs to stay alive; the rules and creed for his self-conduct in his daily life; the path he must take to salvation, as well as the goals and direction for attaining salvation; every truth that he should possess as a created being before God; and every truth about how man should submit to and worship God. They are the guarantee that ensures man’s survival, they are man’s daily bread, and they are also the sturdy support that enables man to be strong and stand firm. They are rich in the truth reality by which created mankind lives out normal humanity, rich in the truth by which mankind breaks free from corruption and emerges from Satan’s snare, rich in the earnest and patient teaching, exhortation, encouragement, and solace that the Creator gives to created humanity. They are the beacon that guides and enlightens men to understand all positive things, the guarantee which ensures that men will live out and come into possession of all that is just, beautiful, and good, the criterion by which all people, events, and things are measured, and also the navigation marker that leads men toward salvation and the path of light.

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

159. The word of God cannot be made out to be the word of man, and still less can one make the word of man out to be the word of God. A person used by God is not the incarnate God, and the incarnate God is not a person used by God. In this, there is an essential difference. Perhaps, after reading these words, you do not acknowledge them to be the words of God, but only as the enlightenment that a person has received. In that case, you are too ignorant. How can the words of God be the same as the enlightenment that man has received? The words of God incarnate open up a new age, guide all of mankind, unveil mysteries, and show man the direction he is to take in the new age. The enlightenment received by man is nothing but some simple practices or knowledge. It cannot guide all of mankind into a new age or unveil God’s mysteries. When all is said and done, God is God, and man is man. God has the essence of God, and man has the essence of man. If man views the words spoken by God as simple enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, and takes the words of the apostles and prophets as words personally spoken by God, that would be man’s mistake.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface

160. The truth is the life of God Himself; it represents His disposition, His essence, and what He has and is. If you say that by having some experiential understanding, you thereby have the truth, then have you become sanctified? Why do you still reveal corruption? Why can’t you discern different types of people? Why can’t you bear witness to God? Even if you understand some truths, can you represent God? Can you live out God’s disposition? You may have some experiential understanding regarding a certain aspect of a truth, and you may be able to share some light, but what you can provide to people is extremely limited and absolutely not something that can endure. This is because what you have understood and the light you have gained do not represent the essence of the truth, and they do not represent the entirety of the truth. They are just one side, one small aspect of the truth, they are only the level that humans can reach, and they are still far from the essence of the truth. This little bit of light, enlightenment, and experiential understanding can never replace the truth. Even if all people achieved some results in experiencing this truth, and all their experiential understanding was put together, it would still fall short of the entirety and essence of even a single sentence of the truth. I’ve said before, “I sum this up with an aphorism for the human world: Among men, there is no one who loves Me.” This sentence is the truth, the verity of people’s lives; it is the most profound thing, and what God Himself expresses. You experience this sentence of truth, and after three years of experience, you may have a little superficial understanding; after seven or eight years, you may have a little more—but this understanding can never replace this one sentence of truth. After two years of experience, someone else may have a little understanding. After ten years, they may have some more. And after a lifetime, their understanding could be relatively profound. But even if both of your understandings were combined, it could not replace this sentence of truth. No matter how much insight, light, and experiential understanding the two of you may collectively have, it could never replace this sentence of truth. That is to say, human life will forever be human life. No matter how much your understanding conforms to the truth, God’s intentions, and God’s requirements, it can never replace the truth. To say that someone has the truth means they genuinely understand the truth, live out some of the reality of God’s word, truly have some understanding of God, and can exalt and bear witness to God. However, it cannot be said that they already possess the truth, because the truth is too profound. Just one sentence of God’s word is enough for a lifetime of experience; even with several lifetimes of experience, or thousands of years, a single sentence of God’s word could not be thoroughly experienced. It is clear that understanding the truth and knowing God is indeed an endless process, and that there is a limit to the truth people can understand in a lifetime of experience. Some people, after just having understood a bit of the literal aspect of God’s word, say they have the truth. Isn’t this nonsense?

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

161. When speaking of people understanding the truth, and having it as their life, what does “life” mean in this context? It means the truth reigns in their hearts, it means they are able to live by God’s words, and it means they have real knowledge of God’s words and a genuine understanding of the truth. When people possess this new life within them, it is entirely achieved by practicing and experiencing God’s words, it is built on the foundation of the truth of God’s words, and it is attained by their living within the realm of the truth; all that people’s life contains is their knowledge and experience of the truth. This is the scope it falls within; gaining life refers to gaining the truth. Being able to live by the truth of God’s words does not mean that the life of truth is inside people, nor that if they possess the truth as their life, they become the truth, and their internal life becomes the life of truth; let alone that they are the truth and life. Ultimately, their life is still the life of a human. That is to say, if you can live by God’s words and possess knowledge of the truth, if this knowledge takes root within you and becomes your life, and the truth you have gained through experience becomes the foundation of your existence, if you live by these words of God, no one can change you, and Satan cannot mislead or corrupt you, then you will have gained the truth and life. That is, your life merely contains the truth, and your understanding and experience of the truth; and no matter what you do, you will live by these truths, and you will not go beyond the scope of them. Then you will possess the truth reality, and such people are what God ultimately wants to gain through His work. But no matter how many truths people understand, their essence is still one of humanity, and is not at all comparable to the essence of God. This is because they can never experience all of the truth, and it is impossible for them to completely live out the truth; they can only live out the extremely limited bit of the truth attainable by humans. How, then, could they turn into God? … If you have a bit of experience of God’s words, and are living by genuine experiential knowledge of truth, then God’s words will gradually become your life. However, you still cannot say that the truth is your life or that what you are expressing is the truth; if this is what you believe, then you are again wrong. You only have some experience with one particular aspect of the truth—can this in itself represent you possessing the truth? Can this be considered to be gaining the truth? Can you thoroughly explain the truth? Can you discover God’s disposition, and what God has and is, from the truth? If these effects are not achieved, this proves that having only experienced a certain aspect of the truth cannot be considered to truly understand the truth, or to know God, much less can it be said to have gained the truth. Each person’s experience of the truth only entails one aspect, one sphere; they experience it within their limited scope, and their experience cannot cover all aspects of the truth. Can people live out the inherent meaning of the truth? What proportion does your little bit of experience account for? Only a single grain of sand on a beach; a lone drop of water in the ocean. Therefore, no matter how precious that knowledge and those feelings you have gained from your experiences might be, they still cannot be said to be the truth. They can only be said to be in accordance with the truth.

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

162. God Himself is the truth, and He possesses all the truths. God is the source of the truth. Every positive thing and every truth come from God. He can pass judgment on the rightness and wrongness of all things and events; He can pass judgment on things that have happened, things that are happening now, and future things yet unknown to man. God is the only Judge who can pass judgment on the rightness and wrongness of all things, and this means the rightness and wrongness of all things can only be judged by God. He knows the criteria for all things. He can express truths at any time and place. God is the embodiment of the truth, which means that He Himself is possessed of the essence of the truth. Even if man understands many truths and is perfected by God, would he then have anything to do with the embodiment of the truth? No. This is a certainty. When man is made perfect, regarding God’s current work and the various standards God requires of man, he will have accurate judgment and methods of practice, and he will fully understand God’s intentions. He can differentiate between what comes from God and what comes from man, between what is right and what is wrong. Yet there are some things which remain unattainable and unclear to man, things which he can only know after God tells him. Could man know or predict things yet unknown, things that God has not yet told him? Absolutely not. Moreover, even if man gained the truth from God, possessed the truth reality, and knew the essence of many truths, and had the ability to discern right from wrong, would he have the ability to control and govern all things? He would not have this ability. That is the difference between God and man. Created beings can only ever gain the truth from the source of the truth. Can they gain the truth from man? Is man the truth? Can man provide the truth? He cannot, and therein lies the difference. You can only receive the truth, not provide it—can you be called a person that possesses the truth, then? Can you be called the embodiment of the truth? Absolutely not! What exactly is the essence of the embodiment of the truth? It is the source that provides the truth, the source of governance and sovereignty over all things, and it is also the sole criterion and standard by which all things and events are judged. This is the embodiment of the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part Three)

163. The truth is the reality of all positive things. It can be a person’s life and the direction in which they walk; it can allow one to cast off their corrupt dispositions, to come to fear God and shun evil, to become one who submits to God, who is up to standard as a created being, and whom God loves and finds acceptable. Given the preciousness of the truth, what attitude and perspective should one have regarding God’s words and the truth? It is quite obvious: For those who truly believe in God and those who have a God-fearing heart, His words are their lifeblood. People should treasure God’s words, eat and drink them, enjoy them, and accept them as their life, as the direction in which they walk, as a ready aid and provision; people should practice and experience in accordance with the statements and requirements of the truth, and submit to the various requirements and principles that the truth grants to them. Only thus can a person gain life. The pursuit of the truth is mainly the practice and experience of God’s words, rather than subjecting them to scrutiny, analysis, speculation, and doubt. As the truth is people’s ready aid and provision, and can be their life, they should treat the truth as the most precious thing. This is because they must rely on the truth to live, to come to satisfy God’s requirements, to come to fear Him and shun evil, and to find within their daily life the path of practice and grasp the principles of practice, achieving submission to God; people must also rely on the truth to cast off their corrupt dispositions, to become one who is saved and a created being who is up to standard.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Ten: They Despise the Truth, Brazenly Flout Principles, and Ignore the Arrangements of God’s House (Part Seven)

164. In His expression of the truth, God expresses His disposition and essence; His expression of the truth is not based on the various positive things and statements people believe that have been summed up by humankind. God’s words are God’s words; God’s words are the truth. They are the sole foundation and law by which humankind exists. All those so-called tenets that originate from man are wrong, absurd, and condemned by God. They do not earn His recognition, and less still are they the origin or basis of His utterances. God expresses His disposition and His essence through His words. All the words expressed by God are the truth, because He has the essence of God, and He is the reality of all positive things. No matter how this corrupt humankind positions or defines God’s words, or how they view them or understand them, God’s words are eternally the truth, and this is a fact that never alters. No matter how many words God has spoken, and no matter how this corrupt, wicked humankind condemns and rejects them, there remains a fact that is forever unchanging: God’s words will always be the truth. Man can never change this. In the end, all of mankind will acknowledge that God’s words are the truth, and that humankind’s esteemed traditional culture and scientific knowledge can never become positive things, and that they can never become the truth. This is absolute. Humankind’s traditional culture and ways of survival will not become the truth as time goes on or after long passages of time, and neither will the words of God become the words of man due to humankind’s condemnation or forgetfulness. The truth will always be the truth; this essence will never change. What fact exists herein? It is that these common sayings which humankind has summed up find their source in Satan and human imaginings and notions, or they arise from human hotheadedness and the corrupt dispositions of humans, and they have nothing at all to do with positive things. The words of God, on the other hand, are expressions of God’s essence and identity. For what reason does He express these words? Why do I say they are the truth? The reason is that God is sovereign over, and grasps in His hands, all the laws, rules, roots, essences, actualities, and mysteries of all things. Therefore, only God knows the rules, actualities, facts, and mysteries of all things. God knows the origin of all things, and God knows what exactly the root of all things is. Only the definitions for all things presented in God’s words are the most accurate, and only God’s words are the standards and principles for the life of human beings and the truths and criteria by which human beings can live.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part One)