Who Knows the Motherly Heart of God? | The Church of Almighty God

Who Knows the Motherly Heart of God? | The Church of Almighty God 

Regarding the “God is righteous” aspect of the truth, I used to always have a somewhat absurd understanding. I thought that as long as someone reveals corruption in their work or commits transgressions that damage the church’s work, that person shall face retribution, or lose their duty or be subjected to punishment. That is God’s righteousness. Given this incorrect understanding, plus the fear of losing my duty from committing mistakes in my work, I thought of a “clever” method: Whenever I do something wrong, I try my best to not let the leaders know first, and quickly try to make up for it myself and do my utmost to make it right. Won’t that then help me keep my duty? Hence, whenever I gave reports on my work, I would reduce big issues into small ones and small issues into nothing. If I was sometimes passive I would do my best to cover it up in front of the leaders and pretend to be very active and positive, terrified that the leaders would think I was incompetent and stop using me. So just like that, I would be very carefully guarded against the leaders in everything I did.

However, God inspects people’s hearts, and my “superb trick” could never escape God’s eyes. I discovered that the more I tried to cover things up, the more God exposed me in the light. For instance: Whenever I tried to show off my “talent” in front of leaders, I would always stuff up and make a fool of myself; whenever I tried to cover up my passive situation, “dark clouds” would always inadvertently surface on my face and be figured out by brothers and sisters; whenever I tried to cover up the perfunctory way I dealt with my job, the result would be like a mirror that revealed everything. … Time after time of embarrassment and torment of my conscience from being dishonest made me fall down, yet I did not understand from this the intentions and purpose behind why God worked in this way, nor did I understand how God saved people. I merely waited passively for the arrival of “God’s righteous judgment”—to be dealt with by the church.

But reality did not progress as I had envisioned: In my work, even though I was pruned and dealt with for not fulfilling my duty properly, I was able to receive the devoted guidance of brothers and sisters, who let me know what was perfunctory and what was loyally fulfilling my duty. I understood that only by acting in accordance with God’s requirements can one fulfill their duty properly. In terms of entry into life, I got caught up many times in evil thoughts I could not get rid of, leaving my heart in agony. I wanted to open up my heart and seek communication, but I felt too embarrassed to speak. In the end, I fell into darkness and lost the work of the Holy Spirit. But after I went all out and spoke up, I saw that brothers and sisters not only did not laugh at or look down on me because of it, they instead gave me help and exhortation, enabling me to live in the light and giving me a path to practice and the power to defeat sin. Later on, I saw that when brothers and sisters around me did something wrong or revealed corruption, the church did not send them home because of it. Rather, the church did its utmost to communicate to and support them, giving them chance after chance. Even if a particular person is sent home in the end, it’s only because they repeatedly offended God’s disposition and still refused to repent even after being pruned, dealt with, and communicated to many times. But even for such people, the church is still waiting for them to repent and wake up. If they really do self-reflect and change after a period of time, the church will still give them opportunities to practice and prepare good deeds. These facts made me see that God’s attitude is like how parents treat the return of their prodigal son—with unparalleled love and affection. They also made me see that the work God performs is the work of saving people, changing people, and perfecting people. It was only then that I realized that my idea of “God’s righteousness” was too preposterous and too far off from reality. Although God’s disposition is righteous, what He reveals most to the people who follow Him is extreme patience, tolerance, and mercy—and it is unlimited and immeasurable. It can be said that the love God expresses is even greater than His righteousness.

In that moment, I couldn’t help but think of a passage of God’s word. So I opened up Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church and found the following passage. God said: “What is the essence of Christ? To man, Christ’s essence is love, and for those who follow Him that love is boundless. If He does not have love and does not have mercy, man would not have followed Him until now. Some people say: ‘What about God’s righteousness?’ Yes! He indeed also has righteousness, but from the perspective of His disposition, His righteousness is despising mankind’s corruption and evil. What if He only has righteousness but not love or if His love is less than His righteousness? It could be said then that it’s all over for mankind. Therefore, I tell you the truth, and that’s that during the period God in the flesh does work on man, the part of His essence that stands out the most is His love and His limitless tolerance. If it was not love, then the way God smote people like you imagined would happen all the time; if He hated anyone He would punish them, curse them, judge them, and chastise them. How harsh would that be? If He got angry at someone, that person would tremble in fear, unable to stand before the eyes of God…. This is just one way of expressing God’s disposition. Ultimately, His purpose is still salvation. His love runs through all of the revelations of His disposition. Think back: During the time God in the flesh works on man, the thing He reveals the most is His love. Then what is patience? It is only because there is love inside His patience that there is mercy and there is still salvation. God can only have mercy on man because of love. It is just like how spouses who are truly in love won’t look at each other’s flaws and shortcomings and are patient when the other person has made them mad. Everything is built on the foundation of love. What if He was hate? Then it wouldn’t be this attitude and it wouldn’t be this kind of revelation or result. If God only had hate and wrath, only judgment and chastisement, and with no love therein, then the situation would not be what you see today, and all you people would not be fine. Would He still supply you with the truth?” (“God’s True Love for Mankind” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church). When I saw this passage in the past, even though I would say I acknowledge it, I never really comprehended it and was still full of distrust and guardedness toward God. It is only now that I have a bit of actual understanding of these words and can appreciate that they have too much substance. The spaces between the lines are filled with God’s deep affection for mankind and His well-intentioned supply, support and teaching of them.

At this point, I could not help but develop deep feelings of guilt toward God in my heart: Oh God! For all the time I have followed You, even though I believed in You I did not know You. I not only blindly and falsely misunderstood Your motherly heart, I also caused You too much pain. I really am too unworthy to come before You, and even more unworthy of Your salvation. I am only worthy of Your curse! Yet the way You treat me is not based on my disobedience. Rather, You strongly exalt, pity and tolerate me, giving me the opportunity to achieve rebirth, allowing me to enjoy all Your love and grace, letting me see Your beauty and kindness, and experience the practicality of Your word—God is righteous and moreover is love! From now on, I want to get to know more of Your adorableness through Your word and through real life, and strive to be a person who is honest, who loves You, and loyally fulfill my duty to repay Your great love!

from Who Knows the Motherly Heart of God?

RECOMMEND: He Is Our God

How to Know Almighty God’s Work of Judgment and Chastisement in the End Time

How to Know Almighty God’s Work of Judgment and Chastisement in the End Time

 In the Bible it is prophesied the most that God will come to do the work of judgment and chastisement in the end time. There are at least over two hundred places in the Bible where it is mentioned that God will come to execute judgment. It can be said that those words all prophesy that God will do the work of judgment and chastisement in the end time. Here only a small number of verses selected can sufficiently prove that God’s coming to execute judgment and chastisement is a necessary step in God’s end-time work. God’s end-time work is a work of purifying and saving and perfecting mankind by means of judgment and chastisement, and is a work of dividing men into their kinds and ending the age by means of judgment and chastisement. And in the end the kingdom of Christ—God’s beloved kingdom will be established, and this is the crystallization of God’s saving mankind by three stages of works and the glorious mark of overcoming satan. So, verses prophesying that God will do the judgment work in the end time can be seen everywhere in the Bible. If one has read the Bible for many years yet has never seen that God will surely do the work of judgment and chastisement in the end time, he is one who does not understand the Bible at all and he is absolutely not one who knows God’s work.

If I believe in Almighty God, doesn’t it mean that I have betrayed the Lord Jesus? Isn’t this apostasy?

Bible Reference

“Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name” (Revelation 3:12).

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

“And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give you thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which are, and were, and are to come; because you have taken to you your great power, and have reigned” (Revelation 11:16-17).

The answer from God’s word:

“The work done at present has pushed forward the work of the Age of Grace; that is, the work in the entire six-thousand-year management plan has moved forward. Though the Age of Grace has ended, the work of God has progressed further. Why do I say time and again that this stage of work builds upon the Age of Grace and the Age of Law? This means that the work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace and an uplifting of that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are closely interconnected and linked one to the next. Why do I also say that this stage of work builds on that done by Jesus? If this stage did not build on the work done by Jesus, then in this stage the crucifixion, the work of redemption done previously, would still need to be carried out. This would be meaningless. Therefore, it is not that the work has completely finished, but that the age has moved forward, and the work has become even higher than before. It could be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and the rock of the work of Jesus. The work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work can be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan. … Jesus and I come from the same Spirit. Though Our fleshes have no relationship, Our Spirits are one; though what We do and the work We bear are not the same, We are alike in essence….”

from “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Although Jehovah, Jesus, and the Messiah all represent My Spirit, these names only denote the different ages in My management plan, and do not represent Me in My entirety. The names by which people on earth call Me cannot articulate My entire disposition and all that I am. They are merely different names by which I am called during different ages. And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah, but shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end. I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior because they loved and respected Me. But today I am not the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past—I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. I am the God Himself that rises up at the ends of the earth, replete with My entire disposition, and full of authority, honor and glory. People have never engaged with Me, have never known Me, and have always been ignorant of My disposition. From the creation of the world until today, not one person has seen Me. This is the God who appears to man during the last days but is hidden among man. He resides among man, true and real, like the burning sun and the flaming fire, filled with power and brimming with authority. There is not a single person or thing that shall not be judged by My words, and not a single person or thing that shall not be purified through the burning of fire. Eventually, all nations shall be blessed because of My words, and also smashed to pieces because of My words. In this way, all people during the last days shall see that I am the Savior returned, I am the Almighty God that conquers all of mankind, and I was once the sin offering for man, but in the last days I also become the flames of the sun that burn all things, as well as the Sun of righteousness that reveals all things. Such is My work of the last days. I took this name and am possessed of this disposition so that all people may see that I am a righteous God, and am the burning sun, and the flaming fire. It is so that all may worship Me, the only true God, and so that they may see My true face: I am not only the God of the Israelites, and am not just the Redeemer—I am the God of all creatures throughout heavens and earth and seas.”

from “The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Only those who follow the footsteps of the Lamb to the very end can gain the final blessing, whereas those clever people, who are unable to follow to the very end yet believe they have gained all, are incapable of witnessing the appearance of God. They all believe they are the smartest person on earth, and they cut short the continued development of God’s work for no reason at all, and seem to believe with absolute certainty that God will take them up to heaven, they who ‘have the utmost loyalty to God, follow God, and abide by the words of God.’ … Those who do not follow to the very end, who do not keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and who only cleave to the old work have not only failed to achieve loyalty to God, but on the contrary, have become those who oppose God, have become those who are rejected by the new age, and who will be punished. Are there any more pitiable than them? Many even believe that all those who reject the old law and accept the new work are without conscience. These people, who only talk of conscience, and do not know the work of the Holy Spirit, will ultimately have their prospects cut short by their own consciences. God’s work does not abide by doctrine, and even though it is His own work, still God does not cling to it. That which should be denied is denied, that which should be eliminated is eliminated. Yet man places himself in enmity of God by holding onto but one small part of the work of God’s management. Is this not the absurdity of man? Is this not the ignorance of man? The more that people are timid and overcautious because they are afraid of not gaining God’s blessings, the more that they are incapable of gaining greater blessings, and of receiving the final blessing. Those people who slavishly abide by the law all display the utmost loyalty toward the law, and the more they display such loyalty toward the law, the more they are rebels who oppose God. For now is the Age of Kingdom and not the Age of Law, and the work of today cannot be held up against the work of the past, and the work of the past cannot be compared to the work of today. The work of God has changed, and the practice of man has also changed; it is not to hold onto the law or bear the cross. So, people’s loyalty toward the law and the cross will not gain God’s approval.”

from “God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“The work done by God differs across periods of time. If you show great obedience in one phase, yet in the next phase show less or none at all, then God shall desert you. If you keep pace with God as He ascends this step, then you must continue to keep pace when He ascends the next. Only such men are obedient to the Holy Spirit.”

from “The Truly Obedient Shall Surely Be Gained by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“… recall what followed after the Jews nailed Jesus to the cross 2,000 years ago. The Jews were expelled from Israel and fled to countries around the world. Many were killed, and the entire Jewish nation was subjected to unprecedented destruction. They had nailed God to the cross—committed a heinous crime—and provoked the disposition of God. They were made to pay for what they did, were made to bear the consequences of their actions. They condemned God, rejected God, and so they had but one fate: to be punished by God. …

Today, God has returned to the world to do His work. …

The work of God is like mightily surging waves. No one can detain Him, and no one can halt His footsteps. Only those who listen carefully to His words, and who seek and thirst for Him, can follow His footsteps and receive His promise. Those who do not shall be subjected to overwhelming disaster and deserved punishment.”

from “God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“God’s work waits for no one, and His salvation will not be randomly thrown to anyone like rubbish, but rather, it has its object, its goal, and its choice. If you do not know to treasure it, then what awaits you will only be God’s righteous judgment and punishment. God treats everyone with righteousness. No matter how old you are, how senior you are, or even how much you have suffered, God’s righteous disposition will never change because of these. God will not think highly of anyone nor show favoritism to anyone. His attitude toward a person depends on whether he can drop everything to accept the truth and accept His new work. If you can receive His new work and receive the truth He expresses, then you will receive God’s salvation; if you flaunt your seniority, put on the airs of a veteran, and bargain over terms with God, then God’s salvation will leave you. The Jews, for example, could not accept Jesus Christ but only waited for the Messiah, and what came upon them in the end was God’s curse and wrath. This is a fact obvious to us all.”

from Postscript to Typical Cases of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God

from If I believe in Almighty God, doesn’t it mean that I have betrayed the Lord Jesus? Isn’t this apostasy?

God is ever unchanging. Then how can the Lord Jesus change His name to Almighty God?

The answer from God’s word:

“Each time God arrives on earth, He shall change His name, His gender, His image, and His work; He does not repeat His work, and He is always new and never old. When He came before, He was called Jesus; could He still be called Jesus when He comes again this time? When He came before, He was male; could He be male again this time? His work when He came during the Age of Grace was to be nailed to the cross; when He comes again will He still redeem mankind from sin? Will He still be nailed to a cross? Would that not be a repetition of His work? Did you not know that God is always new and never old? There are those who say that God is immutable. That is correct, but it refers to the immutability of God’s disposition and substance. Changes in His name and work do not prove that His substance has altered; in other words, God will always be God, and this will never change. If you say that the work of God always stays the same, then would He be able to finish His six-thousand-year management plan? You merely know that God is forever unchanging, but do you know that God is always new and never old? If the work of God never changed, then could He have brought mankind to today? If God is immutable, then why is it that He has already done the work of two ages? His work is always progressing forward, and so His disposition is gradually revealed to man, and what is revealed is His inherent disposition. In the beginning, God’s disposition was hidden from man, He never openly revealed His disposition to man, and man had no knowledge of Him, so He used His work to gradually reveal His disposition to man, but this does not mean that His disposition changes in each age. It is not the case that God’s disposition is constantly changing because His will is always changing. Rather, because the work of God is carried out in different ages, His inherent disposition in its entirety is gradually revealed to man, so that man is able to know Him. But this is by no means proof that God originally has no particular disposition and His disposition has gradually changed with the passing of the ages—such belief is nonsense. God reveals to man His inherent, particular disposition, what He is, according to the passing of the ages. The work of a single age cannot express the entire disposition of God. And so, the words ‘God is always new and never old’ are in reference to His work, and the words ‘God is immutable’ are in regard to what God inherently has and is. Regardless, you cannot define the six-thousand-year work in one point, or portray it with mere static words. Such is the stupidity of man. God is not as simple as man imagines, and His work will not stop in one age. Jehovah, for example, will not always stand for the name of God; God also does His work under the name of Jesus, which is a symbol of how God’s work is always progressing forward.

God will always be God, and will never become Satan; Satan will always be Satan, and will never become God. God’s wisdom, God’s wondrousness, God’s righteousness, and God’s majesty shall never change. His substance and what He has and is shall never change. His work, however, is always progressing forward, always going deeper, for God is always new and never old. In every age God assumes a new name, in every age He does new work, and in every age He allows the creatures to see His new will and His new disposition. If people do not see the expression of God’s new disposition in the new age, would they not forever nail Him to the cross? And by doing so, would they not define God?”

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Some say that the name of God does not change, so why then did the name of Jehovah become Jesus? It was prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, so why then did a man by the name of Jesus come? Why did the name of God change? Was not such work carried out long ago? Cannot God this day do a new work? The work of yesterday can be altered, and the work of Jesus can follow on from that of Jehovah. Cannot then the work of Jesus be succeeded by another work? If the name of Jehovah can be changed to Jesus, then cannot the name of Jesus also be changed? This is not unusual, and people think so[a] only due to their simple-mindedness. God will always be God. Regardless of the changes to His work and His name, His disposition and wisdom remain forever unchanged. If you believe that God can only be called by the name of Jesus, then you know too little. Do you dare assert that Jesus is forever the name of God, that God will forever and always go by the name of Jesus, and that this will never change? Dare you assert with certainty it is the name of Jesus that concluded the Age of Law and also concludes the final age? Who can say that the grace of Jesus can conclude the age?”

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

Footnotes:

a. The original text reads “which is.”

from God is ever unchanging. Then how can the Lord Jesus change His name to Almighty God?

How Peter Came to Know Jesus | The Church of Almighty God

How Peter Came to Know Jesus | The Church of Almighty God 

During the time that Peter spent with Jesus, he saw many lovable characteristics in Jesus, many aspects worthy of emulation, and many which supplied him. Although Peter saw the being of God in Jesus in many ways, and saw many lovable qualities, at first he did not know Jesus. Peter began following Jesus when he was 20 years old, and continued so for six years. During that time, he never came to know Jesus, but was willing to follow Him purely out of admiration for Him. When Jesus first called to him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He asked: “Simon, son of Jonah, will you follow Me?” Peter said: “I must follow he who is sent by the heavenly Father. I must acknowledge he who is chosen by the Holy Spirit. I will follow You.”

Almighty God Is the Returned Jesus | The Church of Almighty God

Almighty God Is the Returned Jesus | The Church of Almighty God

I was formerly a leader of the Justification by Faith Church in the city of Guichi. Before I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, I, like all brothers and sisters, had been eagerly expecting the Lord Jesus’ coming again. But because of the constant “warnings” from the senior leader above and the biblical verse that there will surely appear many false Christs in the last days, I became one who resisted and condemned God’s work of the last days. Thinking of these, I feel very guilty. Now, I will tell brothers and sisters my personal experience, hoping that brothers and sisters will learn a lesson from it and come back to God’s family soon.

"The Symbol of God’s Disposition" | The Church of Almighty God

"The Symbol of God’s Disposition" | The Church of Almighty God

The disposition of God includes His love and His comfort for mankind,

includes His hatred and His thorough understanding of mankind.

The disposition of God,

the disposition of God 

is something the Ruler of all living things 

or the Lord of all creation should possess. 

The disposition of God, 

represents honor, power, and nobility, 

represents greatness and supremacy. 

The disposition of God.