God’s Appearance and God’s Work

31 You say that the Lord Jesus has already come, but we do not believe. We’ve believed in the Lord for many years and been working hard for Him. When He comes, He shall first give us revelation. But we haven’t received it, which proves the Lord has not come yet. Can it be wrong to believe so?

The answer from God’s word:

“The work of God continues to advance, and though the purpose of His work remains unchanging, the means by which He works are constantly changing, and thereby so are those who follow God. … All men wish to gain God yet are unable to tolerate any changes in God’s work. Those who do not accept the new work of God believe that the work of God is changeless, and that the work of God forever remains at a standstill. In their belief, all that is needed to gain eternal salvation from God is to keep the law, and as long as they repent and confess their sins, the heart of God will be forever satisfied. They are of the opinion that God can only be the God under the law and the God who was nailed on the cross for man; it is their opinion too that God should not and cannot exceed the Bible. It is precisely these opinions that have shackled them firmly to the law of old and kept them fettered by rigid regulations. Even more believe that whatever the new work of God, it must be substantiated by prophecies, and that in each stage of such work, all those who follow Him with a true heart must also be shown revelations, else that work could not be that of God. It is already no easy task for man to come to know God. Taken in addition to man’s absurd heart and his rebellious nature of self-importance and conceit, then it is all the more difficult for man to accept the new work of God. Man neither studies the new work of God with care nor accepts it with humility; rather, man adopts an attitude of contempt, waiting for the revelations and guidance of God. Is this not the behavior of a man who rebels against and opposes God? How can such men gain the approval of God?

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… The greatest book of prophecy of Isaiah in the Old Testament never mentioned that a child named Jesus would be born in the age of the New Testament, merely that a male infant would be born by the name of Emmanuel. Why did he not specify the name Jesus? Nowhere in the Old Testament does this name appear, so why then do you still believe in Jesus? Surely you did not see Jesus with your own eyes before you came to believe in Him? Or did you begin to believe upon receiving a revelation? Would God really show you such grace? And bestow upon you such a great blessing? On what basis did you believe in Jesus? Why then do you not believe that God has become flesh this day? Why do you say that the absence of a revelation to you from God proves that He has not become flesh? Must God tell man prior to commencing His work? Must He first receive the approval of man? Isaiah only proclaimed that a male infant would be born in a manger but never prophesied that Mary would give birth to Jesus. Why then did you believe in Jesus whom Mary gave birth to? Surely your belief is not one of uncertainty and confusion! …

The Jews of the time all read from the Old Testament and knew of Isaiah’s prophecy that a male infant would be born in a manger. Why then, with this knowledge, did they still persecute Jesus? Is this not because of their rebellious nature and ignorance of the work of the Holy Spirit? At that time, the Pharisees believed that the work of Jesus was unlike what they knew of the prophesied male infant; man of today rejects God because the work of the incarnate God does not conform to the Bible. Is not the substance of their rebelliousness against God one and the same? Can you be such that you accept without question all the work of the Holy Spirit? If it is the work of the Holy Spirit, then it is the right ‘stream.’ You should accept it without the slightest misgivings, rather than picking and choosing what to accept. If you gain some knowledge from God and exercise some caution against Him, is this not an act truly uncalled for? What you ought to do is acceptance of, without the need for further substantiation from the Bible, any work so long as it is that of the Holy Spirit, for you believe in God to follow God, not to investigate Him. You should not search out further proof for Me to show that I am your God. Rather, you ought to discern whether I am of benefit to you; that is the key.”

from “How Can Man Who Has Defined God in His Conceptions Receive the Revelations of God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Does God have to personally reveal the things to you and let you see and subdue you before you can believe? As a human being, you consider, what qualifies us to require God to personally appear to us? What qualifies us to ask God to personally speak to us corrupt men? And what qualifies us to ask God to make clear all things to us before we can believe? None. So, if you have sense, you will believe when reading these words of God. If you truly have belief, you will not mind how God works or what God says, but instead, on seeing that these words are the truth, you will believe one hundred percent in your heart that they are spoken by God and this is done by God, and you will be ready to follow God to the end, with no doubt.”

from “To Understand Yourself, You Must Understand the Points of View Rooted Deeply Within You” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church

“… since we are searching for the footprints of God, we must search for God’s will, for the words of God, for the utterances of God—for where there are the new words of God, there is the voice of God, and where there are the footsteps of God, there are the deeds of God. Where there is the expression of God, there is the appearance of God, and where there is the appearance of God, there exists the truth, the way, and the life. While seeking the footprints of God, you ignored the words that ‘God is the truth, the way, and the life.’ So when many people receive the truth, they do not believe that they have found the footprints of God and much less acknowledge the appearance of God. What a serious error that is! The appearance of God cannot be reconciled with the conceptions of man, much less can God appear at the behest of man. God makes His own choices and has His own plans when He does His work; moreover, He has His own objectives, and His own methods. It is not necessary for Him to discuss the work He does with man or to seek the advice of man, much less notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God and, moreover, should be recognized by everyone. If you desire to witness the appearance of God, if you wish to follow the footprints of God, then you must first transcend your own conceptions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own conceptions. Instead, you should ask how you should seek the footprints of God, how you should accept the appearance of God, and how you should submit to the new work of God; that is what should be done by man. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, man should seek, accept, and obey.”

from “The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh