How to distinguish whether Almighty God is truly God Himself or just an ordinary person.
Question 1: Recently, when testifying, we’ve noticed that not many people deny the coming of God, but many are still uncertain whether God has truly come after hearing our preaching. We’ve shared the results of God’s work, the truth God has expressed, and how to distinguish whether Almighty God is truly God Himself or just an ordinary person. Despite this, they still don’t acknowledge that God has truly returned, but they also don’t deny it. They just say they need to learn more. For these gospel seekers who are uncertain about the Lord’s return, from which aspects should we testify to convince them? Or how can we testify to achieve better results?
Answer:
First, we need to understand a fact: Those who don’t understand the truth will only acknowledge that God has come when they see God’s spiritual body and the manifestation of God’s real person, right?
(Yes.) Before we accepted this stage of God’s work, on what basis would we confirm it to be God’s return? On what basis would we acknowledge it as God’s return? It would be based on seeing God’s spiritual body appear—who is capable of performing signs and wonders, speaks with authority and power, and is majestic and awe-inspiring—only then would we acknowledge that it is God who has returned. If we hadn’t experienced so many years of the incarnate God’s work, and gained some understanding of God’s disposition, His essence, and what He has and is, we would still hold notions about God and would not dare to fully acknowledge that this Son of man is God, right? (Yes.)
If we can confirm this, then it’s easy to understand the issue with the gospel seekers about the Lord’s return, isn’t it? (Yes, they may need some time and process.)
Those who don’t understand the truth and haven’t experienced the incarnate God’s practical work will treat God’s return with their notions and imaginings. So today, when we testify about God’s return to those who don’t recognize the incarnate God, it’s not enough to simply share our experiential testimonies and expect them to acknowledge it. Their notion of “God is a spiritual being, God cannot become man” hasn’t been resolved yet. If we directly testify that God has returned, they will feel that it is a little vague and doesn’t make sense after hearing it, so they won’t fully believe. This is because they haven’t lived among us and haven’t listened to such a fellowship before. So, when they suddenly listen to our preaching for one or two days, do you think they will immediately change their views and believe that the incarnate God who you are testifying to is completely real?
It had taken you so many years to experience God’s work before you acknowledged that the incarnate God is the true God, and that this is indeed God incarnate. How many years did it take you to achieve this? Have they gone through this process? Not only have they not experienced them, but this is the first time they’ve heard someone preach like this. Isn’t that the case? (Yes.) Let me give you a real-life example. It’s just like when you’re looking for a partner. When the matchmaker introduces someone to you saying how great he is, you might think it sounds good, so you go meet him. At this point, will you fall in love with him right away? Will you truly like him? (No.) Why not? (I don’t know him.) You only hear the matchmaker say that this person is good, but you have no contact with him or experience with him. No matter how good others say he is, it won’t work. You admit in theory that this person is good, but you are always confused in your heart, “Is it really like this? What kind of person is he?” Can you tell from his behavior throughout the day? You can’t tell. Do you think a couple can completely see through each other after being together for five or ten years? (No.)
How many years do they have to be together before they can completely see through each other? (Ten years.) Even ten years is not enough. There are some couples who get divorced after being together for ten years, aren’t there? They have to be together for twenty or thirty years or even a lifetime. Generally, half a lifetime is enough, right? So people’s inner cognition requires a process. It’s not that one immediately believes something just because they hear someone speak some doctrine about it. They need to confirm it through actual experiences in their hearts before they can truly believe, right? So, how can we testify about the incarnate God in a way that allows people to accept and understand Him? First, we must break down and dissect people’s notions. You can first ask: “We believe in the true God, but can you really recognize God when He comes? Do you dare to say that you can recognize Him? Even if God comes in His spiritual body, would you dare to say that you can recognize Him? What if an evil spirit comes? Evil spirits can also perform miracles. So, the fact that God has come is not something anyone can directly acknowledge as true. Even if God comes in His spiritual body, we wouldn’t dare say it’s the true God, because evil spirits also have spiritual forms, and angels have spiritual forms too!” So, recognizing that God has come is not a simple matter. It does not mean that just because you preach a high-level sermon or fellowship the truth well and communicate with people for several days in a row, they will acknowledge that God has returned.
This cannot be achieved. We have believed in the true God for ten or twenty years and have basically been certain about the true God. Even if we have some notions, we will not withdraw. This is because we have experienced God’s work for such a long time, and have seen and heard God’s words with our own eyes and ears. In addition, we have also personally experienced God’s work, God’s discipline, God’s pruning, and God’s trials and refinement. We have understood some truths, and have some understanding of God’s work, God’s disposition, and God’s intention to save mankind. Only then have we seen that God has become flesh, and this Son of man is God who has returned in flesh. It took us many years of experiencing God’s work to confirm this. Can you expect someone to believe this after only listening to our preaching two or three times, or three or five times? Is this possible? (It cannot be achieved.) Since it cannot be achieved, should we require them to do so? (It should not be.) It is excessive to require people to do so. It is not right and unrealistic.
How can we help them quickly acknowledge, at least in theory, that God has returned? We need to fellowship about how God will appear when He returns. Even if God appears in His spiritual body, you may not recognize Him. If you only see that a spiritual body is great, awesome, and powerful and acknowledge it as the true God, what if it is the act of an evil spirit? If you believe it, wouldn’t you be misled? So how we can know the essence of God is a very crucial issue. Knowing the essence of God is mainly about knowing God’s disposition and essence. God’s disposition and His essence may seem abstract, and we can simplify them: We must first acknowledge that only God can express the truth, and that only God is the truth, the way, and the life. This sums up the essence of God as the truth, the way, and the life. To confirm that this Son of man who possesses the truth, the way, and the life is God, what aspects should we examine?
The most important thing is to see whether He can express the truth, for only God can express the truth. Let’s first use the truth to summarize God’s essence and His disposition. Do you think God’s disposition is the truth? Yes, it is the truth. God’s righteousness, God’s majesty, God’s wrath, and God’s mercy and lovingkindness are all the truth. So how can we be sure that they are the truth? This requires discernment. As far as God’s words, His work, His requirements for humanity, and His revealed disposition are concerned, everything He expresses is truth and represents positive things. Although Satan can perform signs and wonders, can it express the truth? Can famous people or great figures express the truth? If you clearly fellowship about this, and the gospel prospects will come to realize that Satan, evil spirits, and any renowned figures cannot express the truth, but only God can, they will gain discernment. This focuses the way to know, confirm, and verify God’s appearance on whether He can express the truth. This makes it easier for people to accept God, doesn’t it? Then you can bear witness to how Christ judges mankind and how many truths He has expressed.
Although the incarnate God appears to be an ordinary person, a real person, and can be touched and seen by people, what is the biggest difference between this person and all other people? It is that He can express the truth and do the work of judgment. The words He expresses can change mankind and the entire world. According to the prophecy of the Lord Jesus, in the last days He will come as the Son of man, so how can we confirm that this Son of man is God? We have to look at whether He can express the truth and do the work of judgment. Through this, we can determine whether God has returned. If you explain these words clearly and thoroughly, won’t it be easier for them to accept that God has returned? (Yes.) So, is this question hard to answer? (No, it’s clear now.) Focus on explaining “why corrupt mankind cannot express the truth, why God can express the truth, and why only God can express the truth.” Once these things are explained clearly, they will acknowledge that this Son of man, this incarnate Christ, is God.
Then how should you treat people who, after you have fellowshipped with them for a few days, are still not sure that God has returned? Can you understand them now? (I can understand.) You cannot be too demanding of them. Just because they have listened to your preaching for a few days and do not acknowledge that God has become flesh and are not sure that God has returned, you cannot say that their caliber is too poor, that they have no comprehension ability, and that they are not people who love the truth. Do not condemn them. When you condemn others, think about how long it took you to be certain about the true God? After you accepted God, did you have no notions at all? Did you really treat God as God? Recalling your own experiences will help you understand others.
Excerpt from 20241208 The Brother Above’s Answers to the Gospel Team’s Questions (Part One)
Naxt:
Question 2：Some gospel prospects ask, “How is the kingdom of Christ realized on earth?” How can we answer this question in a way that is practical and easy for the prospects to understand?