Christ is the Truth, the Way, and the Life
X The Classic Words of God Concerning How to Pursue the Truth to Enter Into the Reality of Life
732 True faith in God means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So you shall be freed of your corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. Only through such a journey can you be said to believe in God.
from Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh
733 Faith means belief and trust; love means adoration and admiration in the heart, never parting. Yet your faith in and love of the Christ of this day fall far short of this. When it comes to faith, how do you have faith in Him? When it comes to love, how is it that you love Him? You know not at all of His disposition, much less His substance, so how is it that you have faith in Him? Where is the reality of your faith in Him? How do you love Him? Where is the reality of your love for Him?
from “How to Know the God on Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
734 You should know whether there is true faith and true loyalty within you, whether in your record you have suffered for God, and whether you wholly submit to God. If you lack these, then within you remains disobedience, deceit, greed, and discontent. As your heart is not honest, you have never received the appreciation of God and never lived in the light.
from “Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
735 Since you believe in God, then you must put faith in all of the words and work of God. That is to say, since you believe in God, you must obey Him. If you are unable to do this, then it matters not whether you believe in God.
from “The Truly Obedient Shall Surely Be Gained by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
736 The most fundamental requirement of man’s belief in God is that he have an honest heart, and that he fully devote himself, and truly obey. What is hardest for man is to provide his whole life in exchange for true belief, through which he can gain the entire truth, and fulfill his duty as a creature of God. This is what is unattainable by those who fail, and is even more unattainable by those who cannot find Christ.
from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
737 Today, God speaks to create faith, love, sufferance and obedience in these people. The words spoken by God incarnate of the last days are according to the substance of man’s nature, according to the behavior of man, and according to that which man should enter into today. His method of speaking[a] is both real and normal: He does not speak of tomorrow, nor does He look back on yesterday; He speaks only of that which should be entered into, put into practice, and understood today.
from “Knowing God’s Work Today” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
738 Just because you have a skin-deep knowledge of the truth doesn’t mean you actually understand it or recognize it; the true meaning of truth comes from having experienced it. This is why I say that only when you experience truth can you understand it, and only when you experience truth can you grasp the hidden parts of it. To experience it in depth is the only way to grasp the connotations of truth, to understand the essence of it. Therefore, you can go everywhere with truth, but if there is no truth in you, don’t even think of trying to convince religious people, much less your family. You will be like fluttering snow without truth, but with truth, you can be happy and free, where none can attack you. No matter how strong a theory is, it cannot overcome truth. With truth, the world itself can be swayed and mountains and seas moved, whereas a lack of truth leads to ruin by maggots; this is simply fact.
from “Practice the Truth Once You Understand It” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
739 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 is unattainable by man. Yet Christ provides only the truth; He does not come to decide whether man will be successful in his pursuit of the truth. Thus it follows that success or failure in the truth is all down to man’s pursuit. Man’s success or failure in the truth has never had anything to do with Christ, but is instead determined by his pursuit. Man’s destination and his success or failure cannot be 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 the creatures of God should perform.
from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
740 Man’s pursuit of putting the truth into practice is the performance of his duty, that is, the pursuit of satisfying God’s requirement. The essence of this requirement is the most real of all truths, rather than empty doctrine achievable by no man. If your pursuit is nothing but doctrine and contains no reality, do you not rebel against the truth? Are you not someone who attacks the truth? How could such a person pursue to love God? People who are without reality are those who betray the truth, and are all inherently rebellious!
from “Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
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