Question 2: The Lord Jesus and Almighty God are one God, but do different work in different ages. Jesus did the work of redemption and preached the way of repentance. But now, Almighty God does the work of purifying mankind and brings the way of everlasting life. Here I have another question: What is the difference between the way of repentance and the way of eternal life?
Answer: There is but one God, and His work of saving mankind cannot be done in one or two stages, because there are three stages of work in God’s management plan. The truth expressed by God in each stage is different, and gradually deepens so that it reaches perfection in the end. God does different work across the ages based on the needs of man at the time, so the way God gives to man in every each age is in fact different. What’s the difference between the way of repentance and the way of eternal life, which is a crucial question. It is a truth every true believer in God must understand, because it’s related to how man knows the truth and gains eternal life. Now we all know that the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption in the Age of Grace and gave man the way to repent. As the Lord Jesus said, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Which is to say, man should confess his sins and repent before God if he wants to enter the kingdom of heaven. After man admits previous sins, such sins will be forgiven. It means man will no longer sin, but repent and be born again. Back then Jesus only taught man not to commit sins or do evil, but to confess his sins and repent, to deny himself, take up the cross, and follow the Lord, to love the Lord with all his heart, his soul, and his mind, to love others as himself, to be humble, forbearing, patient, and to forgive others seventy times seven and so on. These are the ways for man to repent. When man confesses and repents before the Lord Jesus, his sins will be forgiven, and this qualifies man to pray before God and also to fellowship with Him, and enjoy the bountiful grace and the truth given by Him. But what we can’t deny is even if man’s sins are forgiven, his sinful nature still exists, and he still sins and betrays and opposes God. This proves that although man’s sins are forgiven, he still commits sins and can’t become holy, because the Lord Jesus only did the work of redemption, which lets man confess sins, repent, and return to God to be able to enjoy His grace. This shows the truth expressed by the Lord Jesus is the way to repent. Just as Almighty God says, “At the time, Jesus only spoke to His disciples a series of sermons in the Age of Grace, such as how to practice, how to gather together, how to ask in prayer, how to treat others, and so forth. The work He carried out was that of the Age of Grace, and He expounded only on how the disciples and those who followed Him ought to practice. He did only the work of the Age of Grace and none of the last days. … The work of God in each age has clear boundaries; He does only the work of the current age and never does He carry out the next stage of work in advance. Only in this way can His representative work of each age be brought to the fore. Jesus had spoken only of the signs of the last days, of how to be patient and how to be saved, how to repent and confess, as well as how to bear the cross and endure suffering; never did He speak of what man in the last days should enter into or how to seek to satisfy God’s will …” (“How Can Man Who Has Defined God in His Conceptions Receive the Revelations of God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but man has been unable to resolve the issue of just how he can no longer sin and how his sinful nature can be cast away completely and be transformed. The sins of man were forgiven because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live in the old, corrupt satanic disposition. As such, man must be completely saved from the corrupt satanic disposition so that the sinful nature of man is completely cast away and never again develops, thus allowing the disposition of man to be changed. This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, the way of life, and the way to change his disposition. It also needs man to act in accordance with this path so that the disposition of man can gradually be changed and he can live under the shining of the light, and that he can do all things in accord with the will of God, cast away the corrupt satanic disposition, and break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From the words of Almighty God, we see clearly that Jesus did the work of redemption and gave us only the way to repent, but He didn’t give man the way of everlasting life to cast off his satanic nature and become holy. In the last days, Almighty God has come to build upon the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption. He’s done the work of “judgment beginning at the house of God” and gives us the way of everlasting life. Only by accepting His way in the last days can man become obedient to the will of the Father in heaven, completely escape the dark influence of Satan, reach a state of holiness and enter the kingdom of God.
Just now we fellowshiped about the way of repentance, which I think you all understand. Now I’ll discuss what the way of everlasting life is, and then I’ll discuss about the differences between the way of repentance and the way of everlasting life. When we talk about the way of everlasting life, we don’t mean simple confession and repentance. We mean the truth that gives people everlasting life, more specifically, how men gain salvation and break free from Satan’s influence, how people gain the truth as life, become compatible with God, and then be fully gained by God. That’s the way of everlasting life. So, those who attain the way of everlasting life are those who receive the truth and gain the truth as life, and are those who are perfected by God and are fit to enter the kingdom of heaven. Are these not the ones gaining the way of everlasting life? Would those who gain the truth as their life ever oppose or betray God? Would those who enter the kingdom of heaven ever die, or be sent to hell? So then, any who gain the truth as life and come to know God attain the way of everlasting life, right? Let’s look at Almighty God’s words on the subject.
Almighty God says, “Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“The work in the last days lays bare the work of Jehovah and Jesus and all mysteries not understood by man. This is done to reveal the destination and end of mankind and conclude all work of salvation among mankind. This stage of work in the last days brings everything to a close. All mysteries not understood by man must be unraveled to allow man to gain insight into such and have a clear understanding in their hearts. Only then can man be divided according to their kinds. … all mysteries not understood by man shall have been revealed, all truths previously not understood shall have been made clear, and mankind shall have been told of its future path and destination. This is all the work that is to be done in this stage” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“In this final stage of work, results are achieved through the word. Through the word, man comes to understand many mysteries and God’s work throughout generations past; through the word, man is enlightened by the Holy Spirit; through the word, man comes to understand the mysteries never before unraveled by generations past, as well as the work of prophets and apostles of times past, and the principles by which they worked; through the word, man also comes to know the disposition of God Himself, as well as the rebelliousness and resistance of man, and comes to know their own substance. Through these steps of work and all words spoken, man comes to know the work of the Spirit, the work of God’s incarnate flesh, and moreover, His entire disposition” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that could not be understood by man. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of such work is actually the work of opening up the truth, way, and life of God to all those who have faith in Him” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
From the words of Almighty God, we can see, the way of everlasting life isn’t something that can just be taught with a few rules, nor can man’s tendency to sin and oppose God be solved with several pieces of God’s word. Mankind has been deeply corrupted by Satan, and filled with all kinds of Satan’s poisons. They are brazenly arrogant, prideful, and self-centered, full of notions, fanciful ideas, and outrageous demands toward God. They have no real knowledge of God, much less do they have true fear, or obedience, or love. If man wants to cast off his satanic dispositions and become holy, or truly come to know, obey, fear, and love God, and become compatible with God, it requires them to understand many aspects of truth. As required by the corruption in man in the last days, God does the work of “judgment beginning at the house of God,” and expresses all truths man needs to escape Satan’s influence and attain salvation. So the way of everlasting life is more than one or two facts of truth. It’s comprised of many aspects of truth. When people experience God’s work in the last days, they come to understand the entirety of the truths God has expressed to save mankind, and enter into the reality of the truth, without doubt they can achieve a dispositional change in their life, and become those who truly obey and worship God. They’re the ones who gain the way of everlasting life. What is the way of everlasting life? It’s all the truths God expresses in the last days to grant mankind salvation. God’s work in the last days is to instill these truths in man so that they become man’s life. People who live by these words of God are those who gain the way of everlasting life. No matter how deeply a person experiences the truth of God’s words, so long as we practice all aspects of these truths to some extent, live out the likeness of a real man, are honest, truly obey God, act in a principled manner, fear God, and avoid evil, we become people who possess the truth and humanity. Hence we gain the way of everlasting life. When we attain the way of everlasting life, we’ll break away from sin and the influence of Satan completely, meaning that we will no longer sin or rebel against God. We’ll gain true knowledge of God and have our life disposition transformed, and we’ll obey God, worship God, love God, become compatible with God, and become ones who obey God’s will. Gaining the way of eternal life means you’ll never die. You’ll enjoy God’s blessings, and are promised entry into the kingdom of God.
Almighty God says, “After humanity enters into the right track, people will have normal human lives. They will all do their own respective duty and be absolutely faithful to God. They will utterly shed their disobedience and their corrupt disposition, and they will live for God and because of God. They will lack disobedience and resistance. They will be able to entirely obey God. This is the life of God and man and the life of the kingdom, and it is the life of rest” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“I rest upon the throne, I recline across the whole universe, and I am fully satisfied, for all things have recovered their holiness, and I can peacefully reside within Zion once again, and the people on earth can lead serene, contented lives under My guidance. All peoples are managing everything in My hand, all peoples have regained their former intelligence and original appearance; they are no longer covered with dust, but, in My kingdom, are as pure as jade, each with the face like that of the holy one within man’s heart, for My kingdom has been established among man” (“The Sixteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“In the kingdom, the life of God and His people is one of boundless joy. The waters dance with joy for the happy life of all My people; the myriad mountains enjoy My bounty alongside My people. The people are striving to improve, working hard, devoting their loyalty to My kingdom. In the kingdom there is no more disobedience, no more resistance. Heaven and earth are intertwined, man and I in deep affection, living together in happiness and in closeness …” (“All the People! Rejoice!” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
from the movie script of From the Throne Flows the Water of Life
From: Grow in Christ
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