Is Jesus Christ God or the Son of God?

By Xie Wen, Japan

Editor’s Note: Many believers think that the Lord Jesus is God’s Son, but is that understanding in line with the word of God? Is the Lord Jesus actually the Son of God or God Himself? Keep reading to find out.

Recently, as a Bible study group was about to wrap up, Sister Li, a coworker, asked this question: “The Bible records, ‘And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, see, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting on Him: And see a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:16–17). And when the Lord Jesus prayed, He would often say ‘God the Father,’ so we’ve come to believe in our hearts that there is a God the Father in heaven and the Lord Jesus is God’s Son. But in my devotionals a few days ago, I saw that the Lord Jesus said, ‘I and My Father are one’ (John 10:30). And in the Scripture, Philip asks the Lord to show them the Father, and the Lord Jesus’ response is, ‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known Me, Philip? he that has seen Me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father? Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?’ (John 14:9–10). It stands to reason that the Son is the Son and the Father is the Father, so how could They be one? Is the Lord Jesus actually God Himself or is He God’s Son?” I and the other coworkers there all gave serious thought to these passages, but we weren’t sure what to say, so we called the meeting to a close.

A Youth Without Regret

   “‘Love’ refers to an emotion that is pure and without blemish, where you use your heart to love, to feel, and to be thoughtful. In love there are no conditions, no barriers, and no distance. In love there is no suspicion, no deceit, and no cunning. In love there is no distance and nothing impure” (“Pure Love Without Blemish” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). This hymn of God’s words was once my companion as I lived through an interminable and painful seven years and four months of life in prison. Though the CCP government deprived me of the best years of my youth, I gained from Almighty God the truth that is most precious and most real. Therefore I have no regrets whatsoever!

The Fruits of Obeying God

Xie Cheng

    A few days ago, my leader Sister Cheng told me that the church had a new work that required some manpower, and asked me whether I’d be willing to do it. Hearing my leader say this, I was beside myself with joy, and I thought: “For three months now, I’ve been reflecting on how I was replaced because my striving for fame and gain in my duties interrupted and disturbed the church’s work. Now, at last, I can perform my duty again! If my brothers and sisters knew this, they’d definitely pay special regard to me, and would think that I’ve made progress by experiencing this failure.” I agreed to do it there and then. After my leader had gone, every day I looked forward to receiving notice of my new duty, but the days went by and no notice arrived. What did arrive was a stack of paper documents, and my leader asked me to type them up. Holding this stack of paper documents, my heart was full of questions: “What’s the meaning of this? Wasn’t it agreed that I’d be doing a new duty? How then can I be asked to type up all these paper documents? What am I, a typist? What on earth’s going on? If I’m not going to be doing the new duty, then surely my leader has to tell me why!” My mind was in a whirl, and I was unwilling to accept the reality of the situation. Faced with this pile of documents, I thought: “Typing isn’t a real duty. Anyone can do this work. Aren’t I a little overqualified to stay at home just typing up all these documents? If I’m not able to do any important duty, my brothers and sisters will surely say that, after being replaced, I still don’t have any true knowledge of myself and have not truly reflected on myself. What’s more, if I’m staying at home typing all day, then no matter how much I do or how well I do it, no one will know about it and I won’t have a chance to shine. I’ll forever be just a nobody, without any possibility of being promoted or put to some important use.” I was filled with misgivings, but I couldn’t refuse; all I could do was accept the duty.

God’s Grace Frees Her From Her Painful Marriage (Part 1)

By A’Jiao, Hong Kong

　　Jiao sat by the window looking at the divorce certificate in her hands with a sense of relief. Because of God’s grace and salvation, Jiao was finally free from her painful marriage. She gazed at the street outside the window, and everything that had happened between her and her ex-husband passed through her mind …

Finding Happiness

　　Jiao was just the same as so many other girls. When she was a teenager, she dreamed of growing up and finding a husband who would love her dearly. Especially when she read romance novels or watched screen idols on TV, and she saw the endless love between the main male and female characters, she would take the ideas of “love is supreme,” and “growing old together, hand-in-hand” as the ideals for her own future marriage, and she yearned to have a grand love. Only then, she thought, would her life not be lived in vain.

God’s Grace Frees Her From Her Painful Marriage (Part 2)

By A’jiao, Hong Kong

God’s Words Resolve Her Bewilderment and Her Heart Is Eased

     One time, in a meeting, Jiao told her brothers and sisters all about her pain and bewilderment, and one of the sisters read to her several passages of God’s words: “Born into such a filthy land, man has been severely blighted by society, he has been influenced by feudal ethics, and he has been taught at ‘institutes of higher learning.’ The backward thinking, corrupt morality, mean view on life, despicable philosophy, utterly worthless existence, and depraved lifestyle and customs—all of these things have severely intruded upon man’s heart, and severely undermined and attacked his conscience. As a result, man is ever more distant from God, and ever more opposed to Him” (“To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God”). “One after another, all these trends carry an evil influence that continually degenerates man, causing them to continually lose conscience, humanity and reason, and that lowers their morals and their quality of character more and more, to the extent that we can even say the majority of people now have no integrity, no humanity, neither do they have any conscience, much less any reason. So what are these trends? You cannot see these trends with the naked eye. When the wind of a trend blows through, perhaps only a small number of people will become the trendsetters. They start off doing this kind of thing, accepting this kind of idea or this kind of perspective. The majority of people, however, in the midst of their unawareness, will still be continually infected, assimilated and attracted by this kind of trend, until they all unknowingly and involuntarily accept it, and are all submerged in and controlled by it. For man who is not of sound body and mind, who never knows what is truth, who cannot tell the difference between positive and negative things, these kinds of trends one after another make them all willingly accept these trends, the life view and values that come from Satan. They accept what Satan tells them on how to approach life and the way to live that Satan ‘bestows’ on them. They have not the strength, neither do they have the ability, much less the awareness to resist” (“God Himself, the Unique VI”).

     The sister then gave fellowship, saying: “God’s words reveal how Satan corrupts man as well as the truth of our corruption by Satan. In today’s society, the breakup of marriages caused by extra-marital affairs and having someone on the side is a common occurrence, and this is directly related to us being deeply corrupted by Satan. Satan uses all manner of heresies and fallacies to deceive, seduce and corrupt man, such as ‘Seize the day for pleasure, for life is short,’ ‘The red flag at home does not fall, the colored flags outside flutter in the breeze,’ ‘Men go bad when they get money, and women get money when they go bad,’ and so on. Satan arouses these evil thoughts and views to corrode our spirits, and this results in our thinking becoming warped so that we regard the evil trends such as ‘extra-marital affairs,’ ‘having a mistress’ and ‘keeping another woman’ as positive things to pursue. Having a woman on the side has become a symbol that the man is capable and high-powered, and a woman having many paramours has become a reflection of how lovely she is. We as mankind live under the influence of these evil trends, and we become increasingly wicked, promiscuous and corrupt, and our consciences become ever more numb. Even though we do things that fly in the face of ethics and morality, we feel no shame at all. More and more people are becoming assimilated by Satan’s evil trends, and are becoming sacrifices to these trends…. In this way, many families are broken up, many people choose to commit suicide as they cannot bear their partner’s betrayal, and there are also many people who kill their partners because their love turns to hatred. Are these not the bitter fruits of following Satan’s evil trends? Were it not for God expressing the truth and exposing Satan’s cunning scheme to corrupt mankind, no one would be able to see and understand these things. We would just be living under Satan’s power, allowing it to harm us. We really do need God’s salvation, and we really need to understand the truth!”

Christian Experience Articles | God’s Words Led Me Out of the Woods

By Xiao Rui, Sichuan Province

　　When my duty in The Church of Almighty God was preaching the gospel, while doing this I encountered religious leaders who bore false witness to frantically resist, disturb, and block people’s investigation and acceptance of God’s work in the last days. They even called the police to have them arrest those of us sharing the gospel. As a result, those we were preaching to didn’t dare come into contact with us, and those who had just accepted the gospel were subjected to disruptions and became uncertain about God’s work. Our gospel work was greatly hindered. I felt really anxious when I saw so many brothers and sisters with genuine faith who were hoodwinked and disrupted by the pastors and elders. They were unable to return before God and accept His purification and salvation of the last days. I worked hard every day to share fellowship on God’s words with them to resolve the notions they held regarding God’s work, but after doing this for a period of time, our gospel work still hadn’t taken a turn for the better. I thought: “Evangelical work is so difficult to carry out. It would be so wonderful if God just displayed some miracles and punished those who bear false witness as well as those who seriously resist Him to show to those who have been deceived. Then wouldn’t the work of the gospel advance more quickly? It wouldn’t be so difficult for us to preach the gospel.” This is how this hope came up in my heart every time I encountered difficulties. Later, I read the book of Classic Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God and during fellowship heard some testimonies on God’s signs and wonders, and I felt very glad in my heart. I hoped even more that God would do some things in the areas that I worked in so that our gospel work there could be carried out smoothly. But no matter how I hoped, I still didn’t see God perform any miracles there or do anything to punish evil people. The religious people were still fully resisting God, and the difficulties in our evangelical work were still great. I became negative, thinking: “Why doesn’t God open up a way out for us? Could it be that our faith is inadequate?”

Once Saved, We Can Always Be Saved: Is It True?

　　

　　By Emily

　　The Lord Jesus’ redemptive work has spread to the ends of the earth, reached every home and become a household name, and it is also because of the Lord Jesus’ redemption that mankind has survived until today. There are many brothers and sisters who back up the viewpoint of “once saved, always saved,” with the words of the apostle Paul, “For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:10). They think: Since the Lord Jesus redeemed us through crucifixion, we have already been absolved of all our sins and saved by our faith, and once saved, we are always saved, and so long as we endure until the end, we will be directly raptured into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord returns. However, some other brothers and sisters can’t help but question: “Is it really so easy for us to be saved? Can we attain salvation and enter into the kingdom of heaven through faith alone?”

The Testimony of a Christian | Before, when I used to hear people commenting on something

By Xiaowen, Henan Province

　　Before, when I used to hear people commenting on something, they often said “seeing is believing.” As time passed, I also took this as my basis for looking at things, and it was the same regarding God’s words after I had come to believe in God. I was always unable to believe in many of God’s words that had not been fulfilled. As my time spent believing in God went on, I saw God’s words in varying degrees of fulfillment, saw the facts of the accomplishments of God’s words and no longer had any doubt when reading God’s words. Thus, I thought that I had some understanding of God’s faithfulness, and that I was able to believe that everything God said was real.

　　One day, I read these words spoken by God, “Without the salvation of God incarnate in the last days, then God would have long ago destroyed all mankind in hell” (“Do You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). When I read these words, I felt a little uncertain. I thought, if it had said “without the salvation of God incarnate in the last days, then all of corrupt humanity must be finally destroyed,” then I could completely believe in it, as I knew how crucial God incarnate is to us. But to say that without the salvation of God incarnate in the last days, then God would have long ago destroyed man in hell, I thought that this was just an interpretation. When I thought this way, I felt reproach in my heart and I felt very uneasy—by thinking like this, wasn’t I doubting and denying God’s words? So I hurried before God, and I looked to Him and began to seek: Oh God! I don’t want to have this approach to Your words and I hate that I am so deceitful. I’ve followed You for so long and have seen many facts of the fulfillment of Your words, so how can I still be thinking this way? Oh God! I wish to believe every word You say and have a true belief in Your words. I wish for You to lead me into this reality.

In Your Experience, How Much Practical Understanding Do You Have of God’s Salvation?

Nannan

　　Since I was small, I had always had a strong desire to be better than others. No matter what group of people I was in, I always sought to be the best. While I was still at school, though I had an average mind and my grades weren’t outstanding, I studied very hard so that I wouldn’t fall behind the other students. Teachers praised me for my desire to make progress, and relatives also praised me for being such a diligent student and taking my studies so seriously. I would often feel proud of myself for receiving their praise and getting favorable comments from them, and I considered myself top of my age group. After I’d accepted God’s work in the last days, I came to understand some truths by reading God’s words and living the church life, and I saw that, no matter what disposition God expresses, whether it be mercy, lovingkindness or righteous judgment and chastisement, they are all God’s true love for man. My heart was moved and inspired by God’s love, and I felt that the only right path in life was to believe in God and seek to be perfected by God. I therefore made a resolution to pursue the truth in earnest, to give up everything and expend myself for God to repay His love. But because my deeply-rooted corrupt disposition and satanic nature had not yet been resolved, I still sought to distinguish myself and to make others look highly upon me when performing my duties. I remember one time when I was given the choice of two duties, and without any hesitation whatsoever I chose the duty that I thought would cause others to look highly upon me. Once I’d started this duty, a sense of superiority arose in my heart, so much so that I looked down on other brothers and sisters, thinking that they were only doing common duties, whereas I was performing an important duty, and that I was a person of talent in God’s family.

　　

　　In June 2016, I started performing a duty that required me to use English. This was something I’d never dared to even dream of, and my heart was totally elated. I hadn’t expected to see a day when I could distinguish myself, and I had always used to feel distressed about not being smart enough, thinking that I’d be like this the rest of my life and that I had no great future prospects. Little did I realize that even lilies of the field have a spring too, and my spring had come at last. This was a turning point in my life and it was the beginning of the realization of my dreams—I would show my skills to the best of my ability. Thinking this, I felt so elated. How I wished I could immediately tell this news to my brothers and sisters in the church at home, letting them know what duty I was doing. I was even beginning to imagine how envious my brothers and sisters would feel once they came to know that I was doing this duty…. While I was so immersed in happiness and joy that I had forgotten myself completely, God’s judgment and chastisement came upon me again and again …

Why Are There So Many Denominations in Christianity?

　　When the Lord Jesus came to earth to do His work in person, all those who believed in Him came under His name. The apostles spread the gospel everywhere, and joined all the brothers and sisters who had accepted the salvation of the Lord Jesus and come under His name together, uniting them into one in Christ. The believers then only followed Jesus Christ. Just as the scriptures read, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:5-6). Therefore, there didn’t appear different denominations in the age of apostles.

　　The last days have arrived. The followers of the Lord all have faith in the same God, read the same Bible, and all speak of the Lord’s teachings. However, more than two thousand different denominations have come into being among the believers in the Lord. What’s more, each of them holds onto the tenet: Our denomination is the most orthodox among the world. So there appears a situation where they each want to become the “king of the castle,” form cliques and stick to their own views. This makes lots of devout believers in the Lord confused: All those who are in the name of the Lord Jesus look up to His salvation of the cross, practice baptism, breaking bread, humility, patience, forbearance and love, and walk the way opened up by Him. Why do so many denominations arise? What is the cause?

Every Word of God Is an Expression of His Disposition

By Hu Ke, Shandong Province

　　Whenever I saw these words spoken by God, I felt anxious: “Every sentence I have spoken contains within it the disposition of God. You would do well to ponder My words carefully, and you will surely profit greatly from them” (“It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I felt anxious because understanding God’s disposition is so important both to man’s understanding of God and their seeking to love and satisfy Him. But when reading the words of God, I always felt like God’s disposition was too abstract, and I didn’t know how to understand it. Afterward, through fellowship from my church leader, I came to know that I should understand what God likes and what He hates from His words, and thereby come to understand God’s disposition. I subsequently tried for a while to put this into practice and I saw some results. But I still felt at a loss regarding God’s words, “Every sentence I have spoken contains within it the disposition of God,” and had no idea how exactly to understand it.

Christian Experience Articles | Do You Possess the “Immunity” Needed to Defeat Temptation? (Audio Essay)

One day, I came across a story. This story mainly told about a mouse that came out of its hole and found that people had intentionally placed a piece of meat in a mousetrap in order to lure it in. The mouse knew that if it touched that piece of meat, then it would be killed by the trap, so it initially thought to refuse the lure, and that it would absolutely not touch that piece of meat. But when the smell of the meat reached its nose, it just couldn’t overcome the temptation, and against its own will it crept closer and closer to the trap. In the end, it couldn’t resist the enticement, and so when it went to eat the piece of meat, it was killed by the trap.

The Holy Spirit Works in a Principled Way

By Qin Shuting, Shandong Province

　　For some time, whenever I read the words of God, I never felt the light. I didn’t reflect on the reason for that, but just continued to pray to God, asking Him to enlighten me. But when I read God’s words after that, I still didn’t have any enlightenment. So I thought, “There is a time for God to enlighten each man, so there is no use in trying to rush it.” After that, I unhurriedly plodded along reading God’s words, patiently awaiting God’s enlightenment.

　　Until one day, I read these words of God: “Only if your heart is at peace before God will your pursuit of the truth and of changes in your disposition bear fruit. Because you come burdened before God and you always feel that you are lacking too much, that there are many truths that you need to know, much reality that you need to experience, and that you should give every care to God’s will—these things are always on your mind, and it is as if they are pressing down on you so hard that you can’t breathe, and thus you feel heavy of heart (but not in a negative state). Only people such as this are qualified to accept the enlightenment of God’s words and be moved by the Spirit of God. It is because of their burden, because they are heavy of heart, and, it can be said, because of the price they have paid and the torment they have suffered before God that they receive His enlightenment and illumination, for God does not give anyone special treatment. He is always fair in His treatment of people, but He is also not arbitrary in His provision to people, and does not give to them unconditionally. This is one aspect of His righteous disposition” (“Establishing a Proper Relationship With God Is Very Important” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). In pondering God’s words, I understood: God is a righteous God. He is never arbitrary in His provision to man, and does not give to man unconditionally. There is a principle behind God’s work. For people to receive God’s enlightenment and illumination when reading His words, they must quiet their hearts before God and have a heart that yearns for and seeks God’s words. They must bear the burden for their own lives and search for their own shortcomings according to the words of God. Bearing their burden, they must purposefully read the words of God to go ever deeper into the truth and resolve their corrupt disposition and fulfill their duties. Only by practically paying such a price to work with God can one obtain the enlightenment of God. If someone does not thirst for God’s words, but just aimlessly, mechanically reads His words, treating them lightly, they cannot possibly gain the work of the Holy Spirit. In retrospect, every time I picked up the book of the word of God, I would flick through and see that I had read this passage and read that passage, thinking that I had a rough idea about every passage. Then I would find any old one, give it a cursory read, and then I was done, perfunctorily reading the words of God in such an unconcerned way. At that time, I saw that I didn’t remotely have a heart of longing when reading God’s words. I was just going through the motions and upholding certain rules and conventions, content to just understand some literal doctrines. I placed no importance on seriously pondering God’s words and seeking to understand the truth, nor did I place importance on integrating His words to reflect on myself and resolve my problems. I shouldered no burden for my own life and I wasn’t remotely concerned about my lack of entry into the reality of the truth or a change in disposition. With such a cavalier attitude to the words of God, how would I have obtained His enlightenment and illumination? I was not realistically reflecting on my own state or seeking the truth to resolve my problems. Instead, I was relying on my own notions and imaginings, believing “There is a time for God to enlighten each man.” I continued to passively wait for God’s enlightenment. I really was being so ignorant! Only then did I recognize that, although there is a time for God to enlighten each man, this much is true, there is a principle behind the Holy Spirit’s work on man. The degree to which man cooperates is the degree to which God works; however much people work with God is however much He will bestow on them. God will not enlighten someone if they just passively wait for the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and do nothing else. The fruit of God’s work on mankind is determined by how much they cooperate. As God said: “The Holy Spirit works by this principle: Through people’s cooperation, through them actively praying, searching and coming closer to God, results can be achieved and they can be enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. It is not the case that the Holy Spirit acts unilaterally, or that man acts unilaterally. Both are indispensable, and the more that people cooperate, and the more they pursue the attainment of the standards of God’s requirements, the greater the work of the Holy Spirit. Only people’s real cooperation, added to the work of the Holy Spirit, can produce real experiences and the substantive knowledge of God’s words. Gradually, through experiencing in this way, a perfect person is ultimately produced. God does not do supernatural things; in people’s conceptions, God is almighty, and everything is done by God—with the result that people wait passively, do not read the words of God or pray, and merely await the touch of the Holy Spirit. Those with a correct understanding, however, believe this: God’s actions can only go as far as my cooperation, and the effect that God’s work has in me depends on how I cooperate. When God speaks, I should do all I can to seek and strive toward God’s words; this is what I should achieve” (“How to Know Reality” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

The Testimony of a Christian | Resolving Persistent Concerns

Max, USA

      I was born in the USA in 1994 and my mom and dad were both Chinese. My mother was a typical successful career woman and was very independent and capable. I loved my mom very much. When I started second grade, my parents brought me back to China so I could learn Chinese, and I also began to learn about the Lord Jesus at that time. I remember it was one day in 2004, I got out of class and went home to discover that we had a guest. My mom introduced her as a pastor who had come from America. I was really happy, because I knew that my mom had already believed in the Lord Jesus for a while. On that same day, this American pastor told me some stories about the Lord Jesus. Shortly after, I was led to the bathroom, and without even waiting for my response, the pastor dunked my head into the bath with a splash. In an instant I was again pulled out of the water by the pastor. I just heard my mom and the pastor saying to me at the same time: “Welcome to the embrace of the Lord Jesus. We are all the lost sheep.” Just like that, I became a believer in the Lord in a way that was unfathomable. After that, I went to the church every week to attend services, to hear the pastor tell stories from the Bible, and to read the scripture. I was always happy, and was very steadfast in my heart, feeling that the Lord Jesus was truly good.

      In 2008, I came to America to study, and my dad went with me to accompany me. The whole time I was there I kept going to the church to take part in gatherings. In 2012, when I graduated from high school I returned to China to visit my mom. When I was about to leave, my father talked to me in a heartfelt and meaningful way. He told me that my mom back in our home country had begun to believe in something called “Eastern Lightning,” and hoped that after I went back I would talk to my mom about it and get her to give up her belief in Eastern Lightning. As someone who was about to begin university, I of course could not just hear my father’s side of the story. So, after that, I got online and searched a little for information about Eastern Lightning, wanting to really understand it a little bit. As a result, I found some remarks spread by the Chinese Communist Party and the religious pastors and elders accusing and slandering Eastern Lightning. I was a little worried about my mom while I was preparing to go back to China and see my mother’s recent situation. After I got back, I saw that everything was normal, and she hadn’t changed at all in her love and care for me. She had especially grown in her faith in God, and had become even more pious than before. I set aside my worries about my mom.

There Is a Way to Resolve the Generation Gap (Audio Essay)

　　
　　Brothers and sisters,

　　Good day!

　　Recently my relationship with my son has been particularly strained. As he has grown older, the generation gap between us has got deeper and deeper. My son is now in junior high school and I am worried that he will play games online and put off studying. I am also worried about him experiencing puppy love and learning bad ways and so I often watch him. To prevent him picking up bad habits, I check whether there is anything bad on his cell phone. Unexpectedly, he was particularly angry and disgusted after he found out and even asked why I controlled him. My son’s words made me extremely sad. I am his mother. If I do not care for him who will? Isn’t my so-doing for his own good? How come he cannot understand me. He has not spoken to me for several days because of this. I feel so distressed that I can only pray to the Lord. But no matter how much I pray I cannot feel the Lord’s presence. Now I do not know what to do. A sister told me that brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God often help her overcome difficulties, so I am sending you this letter in the hope that you can help me.

Distressed XX

Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing

In August of 2015, we suspended business operations because the company was not doing well, and I returned home. At that time, I felt very depressed, and would get drunk and play cards all day. When my wife told me I should stop drinking, I would horribly abuse her by saying: “It’s my money, I earned it, and I’ll spend it however I want….” I cursed her so horribly, and my daughter didn’t dare to say anything, but just stood nervously on one side watching. My wife could do nothing to me but sit to the side and cry. After every time I hurt my own family like this, I regretted it but I just had no way to stop myself. In those days I had already completely lost the decency of a Christian, and my behavior and actions were just like those of an unbeliever.

When I was helpless and suffering, I went back to the church again. In that period, I constantly prayed to the Lord Jesus: “Lord! I did many things that I didn’t want to do, and said many hurtful things to people. Every time I committed this sin, I regretted it. I especially hated myself, but I could never control it. I prayed and confessed my sins in the evening, but during the day I repeated the same sins, and so I’ve ended up today as someone nobody wants to have anything to do with. Everyone has drifted away from me. Oh, Lord! I beg You to save me. What should I do to finally be free of sins?”

Experience Testimonies of the Church of Almighty God | From Suffering Is Emitted the Fragrance of Love

Xiaokai, Jiangxi Province

I’m an ordinary country woman and, because of the feudalistic idea of only valuing male children, I was unable to raise my head in front of others for shame at having borne no son. Just when I was suffering the most, I was chosen by the Lord Jesus and, two years later, I accepted the salvation of Almighty God. Moreover, I understood much truth from within the words of Almighty God and my heart obtained true release. However, while I was performing my duty to repay God’s love, I was twice arrested by the CCP government and I suffered brutal torture and torment at the hands of the CCP’s pawns. Just when I was on the verge of death, the words of Almighty God guided me and inspired me and caused me to stand witness in the midst of Satan’s cruel harm, thereby strengthening my determination to follow God and love God for all my life.

I was born in the countryside and, after I married, I gave birth to three daughters, one after another. Because the feudalistic idea of valuing only male children is so strong in rural areas, my family and the people of the village all looked down on me, and moreover, my sisters-in-law bullied and ridiculed me. I felt so pained and oppressed inside; I felt depressed all day long. In 1998, I began to believe in Jesus and, although my distressed mind became more optimistic within the Lord Jesus’ love, the knots in my heart could still not be undone. Two years later, I accepted Almighty God’s salvation of the last days and, when I read these words of God, they were like medicine that cured a chronic sickness: “Since the creation of the world I have begun to predestine and select this group of people, namely, you today. Your temperament, caliber, appearance, stature, family in which you were born, your job and your marriage, the entirety of you, even the color of your hair and your skin, and the time of your birth were all arranged by My hands” (“The Seventy-fourth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). These words of God made me understand that all things and events are in God’s hands, that my destiny was arranged by God long ago and that my having had three daughters was also predestined by God, and to God this was for the best. I was therefore no longer under the ties and bonds of feudalistic ideas, and my heart obtained the greatest release. From that day on, I actively lived the church life, I hungered to read the words of God, enjoyed the life provided by the words of Almighty God, and I gradually came to understand much truth, such as how Satan corrupts man, how God saves man and what the value and significance of man’s life is. Having understood these things, my heart felt peaceful and filled with light, always with a joy I could not express in words, and more and more I came to firmly believe that Almighty God is the one true God that saved me from the sea of misery, and I became resolved to follow Almighty God and live out a real life. After a short while, God raised me up to be a leader in the church. While I was performing my duty, however, I was twice arrested by the CCP government and subjected to ruthless persecution ...

Books of the Church of Almighty God | What Does It Mean to Have Humanity?

Introduction

Brothers and sisters, peace be with you! The majority of us understand “normal humanity” as, if nothing else but, living harmoniously with others, having a loving heart, tolerance and acceptance for others or being kind and charitable. Now, do you know how we should live out a normal humanity as God requests us to? As Christians, how can we practice and gain entry so that we can live out a genuine humanity in accordance with God’s will? The essay that will be shared today will provide us with a new understanding about this topic. Please listen …

Yue Ming

God said: “Normal humanity includes these aspects: insight, sense, conscience, and character. If you can achieve normality in each of these respects, your humanity is up to standard. You should have the likeness of a normal human being and behave like a believer in God. You don’t have to achieve great heights or engage in diplomacy. You just have to be a normal human being, with a normal person’s sense, be able to see through things, and at least look like a normal human being. That will be enough” (“Improving Caliber Is for Receiving God’s Salvation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). In the past, my understanding was that as long as one did not fight or quarrel with others and could live harmoniously with others, one was living out a normal humanity. Today, when I contemplate this passage of God’s word, suddenly I understand that when God is talking about normal humanity, it does not merely involve being conscientious and sensible when getting along with others. The key is being considerate of God’s will while one is fulfilling one’s duties, seeking to love and satisfy God and fulfill the responsibilities of one of God’s creations. When I compare God’s words with my own actions and deeds, I can see that I am quite far from fulfilling God’s demands. Many times, on the surface, I am fulfilling duties. However, when I encounter practical problems, I am not considerate of God’s will and I do not have a heart that loves God. Instead, I am very prudent in protecting my own interests and reputation. After many instances of God’s judgment and chastisement, my conscience has gradually started to perceive. I started to focus on practicing the truth to satisfy God during the daily fulfillment of my duties, thereby living out a bit of normal humanity.

Principles of Practice for Church Life

1. Church Meetings Must Always Be for Eating, Drinking and Enjoying God’s Words

All people who accept the judgment and chastisement work of Almighty God should eat, drink, and enjoy all of Almighty God’s words. This is the unalterable duty of God’s created beings, something no one can interfere with. One can only be saved by eating, drinking, and enjoying Almighty God’s words, obeying all of God’s work, and accepting all truths expressed by God. That’s why church life only permits eating, drinking and enjoying God’s words, and prohibits reading texts outside of God’s words. This is the first principle of church life, and it must not be altered by anyone. If any church leader at different levels violates this principle in their work and insists on reading texts outside of God’s words, then they have betrayed God’s will and are someone who resists and forsakes God. Regardless of the local circumstances of the church, meetings must always be for eating, drinking and enjoying God’s words. Eating and drinking the words of Almighty God must always be the heart of meetings at any time. That is, the main focus must be on eating and drinking God’s words that are in The Word Appears in the Flesh. Man’s preachings should only be spare-time reading, and learning hymns at meetings also shouldn’t take up the time of enjoying God’s words. If, during meetings, a person reads the Bible or any texts that analyze the Bible, or other spiritual books, then that is completely deviating from the current work of the Holy Spirit. If someone leads others to fellowship about man’s preachings and communications, that is also betraying God’s will. Anyone in the church has the right to restrict this from happening. The Bible and other spiritual texts of religion are already outdated and should only be regarded as spare-time reading. Bringing them into meetings to read is disrupting God’s work, is resisting and betraying God, and must be strictly restricted. If someone insists on reading the Bible or spiritual texts at meetings, then that proves they resist God and disrupt God’s work, and are surely antichrists. God’s chosen people must reject such a person and remove them. All meetings of Almighty God’s believers must be for eating, drinking and enjoying the words of Almighty God—this is an administrative decree of the church that can’t be changed by anyone.

A Letter From a Recovered Cancer Patient to Her Sister

Little Sister:

Hello! I got your letter a few days ago and it made me really happy. We haven’t been in contact for a long time, so now that I know you’re all well and that you’re living the proper church life, my mind can rest easy. You asked why I hadn’t been in touch with you for such a long time; you must surely have been worried that something had happened to me, right? Actually, I’ve been going through a trial of illness during this time, and the doctor gave me a death sentence. But I miraculously survived under the guidance of God’s words, and now I’m completely fine. You probably want to know how God guided me through this trial of illness, don’t you? Let me take you through everything that’s happened.