Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh

Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh

His work in the flesh is of the utmost significance, which is spoken with regard to the work, and the One who ultimately concludes the work is the incarnate God, and not the Spirit. Some believe that God may sometime come to earth and appear to man, whereupon He shall personally judge the whole of mankind, testing them one by one without anyone being omitted. Those who think in this way do not know this stage of work of incarnation. God does not judge man one by one, and does not test man one by one; to do thus would not be the work of judgment. Is not the corruption of all mankind the same? Is not the substance of man all the same? What is judged is mankind’s corrupt substance, man’s substance corrupted by Satan, and all the sins of man. God does not judge the trifling and insignificant faults of man. The work of judgment is representative, and is not carried out especially for a certain person. Rather, it is work in which a group of people are judged in order to represent the judgment of all of mankind. By personally carrying out His work on a group of people, God in the flesh uses His work to represent the work of the whole of mankind, after which it is gradually spread. The work of judgment is also thus. God does not judge a certain kind of person or a certain group of people, but judges the unrighteousness of the whole of mankind—man’s opposition to God, for example, or man’s irreverence against Him, or disturbance of the work of God, and so on. What is judged is mankind’s substance of opposition to God, and this work is the work of conquest of the last days. The work and word of the incarnate God witnessed by man are the work of judgment before the great white throne during the last days, which was conceived by man during times past. The work that is currently being done by the incarnate God is exactly the judgment before the great white throne. The incarnate God of today is the God who judges the whole of mankind during the last days. This flesh and His work, word, and entire disposition are the entirety of Him. Although the scope of His work is limited, and does not directly involve the entire universe, the substance of the work of judgment is the direct judgment of all mankind; it is not work that is undertaken only for China, or for a small number of people. During the work of God in the flesh, although the scope of this work does not involve the entire universe, it represents the work of the entire universe, and after He concludes the work within the work scope of His flesh, He will immediately expand this work to the entire universe, in the same way that the gospel of Jesus spread throughout the universe following His resurrection and ascension. Regardless of whether it is the work of the Spirit or the work of the flesh, it is work that is carried out within a limited scope, but which represents the work of the entire universe. During the last days, God appears to do His work using His incarnate identity, and God in the flesh is the God who judges man before the great white throne. Regardless of whether He is the Spirit or the flesh, He who does the work of judgment is the God who judges mankind during the last days. This is defined based on His work, and is not defined according to His external appearance or several other factors. Although man has conceptions of these words, no one can deny the fact of the incarnate God’s judgment and conquest of all mankind. Regardless of how it is evaluated, facts are, after all, facts. No one can say that “The work is done by God, but the flesh is not God.” This is nonsense, for this work can be done by no one except God in the flesh. Since this work has already been completed, following this work the work of God’s judgment of man shall not appear for a second time; the second incarnate God has already concluded all of the work of the entire management, and there shall not be a fourth stage of God’s work.

Because the one who is judged is man, man who is of the flesh and has been corrupted, and it is not the spirit of Satan that is judged directly, the work of judgment is not carried out in the spiritual world, but among man. No one is more suitable, and qualified, than God in the flesh for the work of judging the corruption of man’s flesh. If judgment were carried out directly by the Spirit of God, then it would not be all-embracing. Furthermore, such work would be difficult for man to accept, for the Spirit is unable to come face-to-face with man, and because of this, the effects would not be immediate, much less would man be able to behold the unoffendable disposition of God more clearly. Satan can only be fully defeated if God in the flesh judges the corruption of mankind. Being the same as man possessed of normal humanity, God in the flesh can directly judge the unrighteousness of man; this is the mark of His innate holiness, and of His extraordinariness. Only God is qualified to, and in the position to judge man, for He is possessed of the truth, and righteousness, and so He is able to judge man. Those who are without the truth and righteousness are not fit to judge others. If this work were done by the Spirit of God, then it would not be victory over Satan. The Spirit is inherently more exalted than mortal beings, and the Spirit of God is inherently holy, and triumphant over the flesh. If the Spirit did this work directly, He would not be able to judge all of man’s disobedience, and could not reveal all of man’s unrighteousness. For the work of judgment is also carried out through man’s conceptions of God, and man has never had any conceptions of the Spirit, and so the Spirit is incapable of better revealing the unrighteousness of man, much less of completely disclosing such unrighteousness. The incarnate God is the enemy of all those who do not know Him. Through judging man’s conceptions and opposition to Him, He discloses all the disobedience of mankind. The effects of His work in the flesh are more apparent than those of the work of the Spirit. And so, the judgment of all mankind is not carried out directly by the Spirit, but is the work of the incarnate God. God in the flesh can be seen and touched by man, and God in the flesh can completely conquer man. In his relationship with God in the flesh, man progresses from opposition to obedience, from persecution to acceptance, from conception to knowledge, and from rejection to love. These are the effects of the work of the incarnate God. Man is only saved through the acceptance of His judgment, only gradually comes to know Him through the words of His mouth, is conquered by Him during his opposition to Him, and receives the life supply from Him during the acceptance of His chastisement. All of this work is the work of God in the flesh, and not the work of God in His identity as the Spirit. The work done by God incarnate is the greatest work, and the most profound work, and the crucial part of the three stages of God’s work are the two stages of the work of incarnation. The profound corruption of man is a great obstacle to the work of God incarnate. In particular, the work carried out on the people of the last days is tremendously difficult, and the environment is hostile, and the caliber of every kind of person is quite poor. Yet at the end of this work, it will still achieve the proper effect, without any flaws; this is the effect of the work of the flesh, and this effect is more persuasive than that of the work of the Spirit. The three stages of God’s work shall be concluded by God in the flesh, and must be concluded by the incarnate God. The most important and most crucial work is done by God in the flesh, and the salvation of man must be personally carried out by God in the flesh. Even though all mankind feel that God in the flesh is unrelated to man, in fact this flesh concerns the fate and existence of the whole of mankind.

Every stage of God’s work is for the sake of all mankind, and is directed at the whole of mankind. Even though it is His work in the flesh, it is still directed at all mankind; He is the God of all mankind, and is the God of all created and non-created beings. Although His work in the flesh is within a limited scope, and the object of this work is also limited, each time He becomes flesh to do His work He chooses an object of His work that is supremely representative; He does not select a group of simple and unremarkable people on which to work, but instead picks as the object of His work a group of people capable of being the representative of His work in the flesh. This group of people is chosen because the scope of His work in the flesh is limited, and is prepared especially for His incarnate flesh, and is chosen especially for His work in the flesh. God’s selection of the objects of His work is not baseless, but according to principle: The object of the work must be of benefit to the work of God in the flesh, and must be able to represent the whole of mankind. For example, the Jews were able to represent the whole of mankind in accepting the personal redemption of Jesus, and the Chinese are able to represent the whole of mankind in accepting the personal conquest of the incarnate God. There is a basis to the Jews’ representation of the whole of mankind, and there is also a basis to Chinese people’s representation of the whole of mankind in accepting the personal conquest of God. Nothing reveals the significance of redemption more than the work of redemption done among the Jews, and nothing reveals the thoroughness and success of the work of conquest more than the work of conquest among Chinese people. The work and word of God incarnate appear to only be aimed at a small group of people, but in fact, His work among this small group is the work of the entire universe, and His word is directed at the whole of mankind. After His work in the flesh comes to an end, those who follow Him shall begin to spread the work He has done among them. The best thing about His work in the flesh is that He can leave accurate words and exhortations, and His accurate will for mankind to those who follow Him, so that afterward His followers can more accurately and more concretely pass on all of His work in the flesh and His will for the whole of mankind to those who accept this way. Only the work of God in the flesh among man truly accomplishes the fact of God’s being and living together with man. Only this work fulfills man’s desire to behold the face of God, witness the work of God, and hear the personal word of God. The incarnate God brings to an end the age when only the back of Jehovah appeared to mankind, and also concludes the age of mankind’s belief in the vague God. In particular, the work of the last incarnate God brings all mankind into an age that is more realistic, more practical, and more pleasant. He not only concludes the age of law and doctrine; more importantly, He reveals to mankind a God who is real and normal, who is righteous and holy, who unlocks the work of the management plan and demonstrates the mysteries and destination of mankind, who created mankind and brings to an end the management work, and who has remained hidden for thousands of years. He brings the age of vagueness to a complete end, He concludes the age in which the whole of mankind wished to seek God’s face but was unable to, He ends the age in which the whole of mankind served Satan, and leads the whole of mankind all the way into a completely new era. All this is the outcome of the work of God in the flesh instead of God’s Spirit. When God works in His flesh, those who follow Him no longer seek and grope after those vague and ambiguous things, and cease to guess at the will of the vague God. When God spreads His work in the flesh, those who follow Him shall pass on the work that He has done in the flesh to all religions and denominations, and they shall communicate all of His words to the ears of the whole of mankind. All that is heard by those who receive His gospel shall be the facts of His work, shall be things personally seen and heard by man, and shall be facts and not hearsay. These facts are the evidence with which He spreads the work, and are also the tools that He uses in spreading the work. Without the existence of facts, His gospel would not spread across all countries and to all places; without facts but only with man’s imaginations, He would never be able to do the work of conquering the entire universe. The Spirit is impalpable to man, and invisible to man, and the work of the Spirit is incapable of leaving any further evidence or facts of God’s work for man. Man shall never behold the real face of God, and shall always believe in a vague God that does not exist. Man shall never behold the face of God, nor will man ever hear words personally spoken by God. Man’s imaginings are, after all, empty, and cannot replace the true face of God; the inherent disposition of God, and the work of God Himself cannot be impersonated by man. The invisible God in heaven and His work can only be brought to earth by God incarnate who personally does His work among man. This is the most ideal way in which God appears to man, in which man sees God and comes to know the true face of God, and it cannot be achieved by a non-incarnate God. God having carried out His work to this stage, His work has already achieved the optimal effect, and has been a complete success. The personal work of God in the flesh has already completed ninety percent of the work of God’s entire management. This flesh has provided a better beginning to all of His work, and a summary for all of His work, and has promulgated all of His work, and made the last thorough replenishment to all of this work. Henceforth, there will not be another incarnate God to do the fourth stage of God’s work, and there will be no more wondrous work of the third incarnation of God.

Each stage of God’s work in the flesh represents His work of the entire age, and does not represent a certain period like the work of man. And so the end of the work of His last incarnation does not mean that His work has come to a complete end, for His work in the flesh represents the entire age, and does not only represent the period in which He does His work in the flesh. It is just that He finishes His work of the entire age during the time that He is in the flesh, after which it spreads to all places. After the incarnate God fulfills His ministry, He will entrust His future work to those who follow Him. In this way, His work of the entire age will be carried on unbroken. The work of the entire age of incarnation shall only be considered complete once it has spread throughout the entire universe. The work of God incarnate begins a new era, and those who continue His work are the men who are used by Him. The work done by man is all within the ministry of God in the flesh, and is incapable of going beyond this scope. If God incarnate does not come to do His work, man is not able to bring the old age to an end, and is not able to usher in a new era. The work done by man is merely within the range of his duty that is humanly possible, and does not represent the work of God. Only the incarnate God can come and complete the work that He should do, and apart from Him, no one can do this work on His behalf. Of course, what I speak of is in regard with the work of incarnation. This incarnate God first carries out a step of work that does not conform to the conceptions of man, after which He does more work that does not conform to the conceptions of man. The aim of the work is the conquest of man. In one regard, God’s incarnation does not conform to the conceptions of man, in addition to which He does more work that does not conform to the conceptions of man, and so man develops even more critical views about Him. He just does the work of conquest among men who have myriad conceptions toward Him. Regardless of how they treat Him, once He has fulfilled His ministry, all men will have become subject to His dominion. The fact of this work is not only reflected among Chinese people, but represents how the whole of mankind shall be conquered. The effects that are achieved on these people are a precursor of the effects that shall be achieved on the whole of mankind, and the effects of the work that He does in the future shall even increasingly exceed the effects on these people. The work of God in the flesh does not involve great fanfare, nor is it shrouded in mystery. It is real and actual, and it is work in which one and one equals two. It is not hidden from anyone, nor does it deceive anyone. What people see are real and genuine things, and what man gains is real truth and knowledge. When the work ends, man shall have a new knowledge of Him, and those who truly seek God shall no longer have any conceptions of Him. This is not just the effect of His work on Chinese people, but also represents the effect of His work in conquering the whole of mankind, for nothing is more beneficial to the work of conquering the whole of mankind than this flesh, and the work of this flesh, and everything of this flesh. They are beneficial to His work today, and beneficial to His work in the future. This flesh shall conquer the whole of mankind and shall gain the whole of mankind. There is no better work through which the whole of mankind shall behold God, and obey God, and know God. The work done by man only represents a limited scope, and when God does His work He does not speak to a certain person, but speaks to the whole of mankind, and all those who accept His words. The end that He proclaims is the end of all men, not just the end of a certain person. He does not give anyone special treatment, nor does He victimize anyone, and He works for, and speaks to, the whole of mankind. And so this incarnate God has already classed the whole of mankind according to kind, has already judged the whole of mankind, and has arranged a suitable destination for the whole of mankind. Although God only does His work in China, in fact He has already resolved the work of the entire universe. He cannot wait until His work has spread among the whole of mankind before making His utterances and arrangements step by step. Would that not be too late? Now He is fully able to complete the future work in advance. Because the One who is working is God in the flesh, He is doing limitless work within a limited scope, and afterward He shall make man perform the duty that man should; this is the principle of His work. He can only live with man for a time, and cannot accompany man until the work of the whole era is concluded. It is because He is God that He foretells His future work in advance. Afterward, He shall class the whole of mankind according to kind by His words, and mankind shall enter into His step-by-step work according to His words. None shall escape, and all must practice according to this. So, in the future the age shall be guided by His words, and not guided by the Spirit.

The work of God in the flesh must be done in the flesh. If it were done directly by the Spirit of God it would yield no effects. Even if it were done by the Spirit, the work would be of no great significance, and would ultimately be unpersuasive. All creatures wish to know whether the work of the Creator has significance, and what it represents, and what it is for the sake of, and whether the work of God is full of authority and wisdom, and whether it is of the utmost value and significance. The work He does is for the salvation of the whole of mankind, for the sake of defeating Satan, and for bearing testimony to Himself among all things. As such, the work that He does must be of great significance. The flesh of man has been corrupted by Satan, and most deeply blinded, and profoundly harmed. The most fundamental reason why God works personally in the flesh is because the object of His salvation is man, who is of the flesh, and because Satan also uses the flesh of man to disturb the work of God. The battle with Satan is actually the work of conquering man, and at the same time, man is also the object of God’s salvation. In this way, the work of God incarnate is essential. Satan corrupted the flesh of man, and man became the embodiment of Satan, and became the object to be defeated by God. In this way, the work of doing battle with Satan and saving mankind occurs on earth, and God must become human in order to do battle with Satan. This is work of the utmost practicality. When God is working in the flesh, He is actually doing battle with Satan in the flesh. When He works in the flesh, He is doing His work in the spiritual realm, and makes the whole of His work in the spiritual realm real on earth. The one who is conquered is man, who is disobedient to Him, the one who is defeated is the embodiment of Satan (of course, this is also man), who is in enmity of Him, and the one who is ultimately saved is also man. In this way, it is even more necessary for Him to become a man who has the outer shell of a creature, so that He is able to do real battle with Satan, conquering man, who is disobedient to Him and possessed of the same outer shell as Him, and saving man, who is of the same outer shell as Him and has been harmed by Satan. His enemy is man, the object of His conquest is man, and the object of His salvation is man, who was created by Him. So He must become man, and in this way, His work becomes much easier. He is able to defeat Satan and conquer mankind, and, moreover, is able to save mankind. Although this flesh is normal and real, He is no common flesh: He is not flesh that is only human, but flesh that is both human and divine. This is His difference to man, and is the mark of the identity of God. Only flesh such as this can do the work that He intends to do, and fulfill the ministry of God in the flesh, and fully complete His work among man. If it were not thus, His work among man would always be empty and flawed. Even though God can do battle with the spirit of Satan and emerge victorious, the old disposition of corrupted man can never be resolved, and those who are disobedient to Him and oppose Him can never truly become subject to His dominion, which is to say, He can never conquer mankind, and can never gain the whole of mankind. If His work on earth cannot be resolved, then His management shall never be brought to an end, and the whole of mankind will not be able to enter rest. If God cannot enter rest with all of His creatures, then there shall never be an outcome to such management work, and the glory of God shall consequently disappear. Although His flesh has no authority, the work He does will have achieved its effect. This is the inevitable direction of His work. Regardless of whether or not His flesh is possessed of authority, as long as He is capable of doing the work of God Himself, then He is God Himself. Regardless of how normal and ordinary this flesh is, He can do the work He should do, for this flesh is God and not just a man. The reason this flesh can do the work that man cannot do is because His inward substance is unlike that of any man, and the reason He can save man is because His identity is different from that of any man. This flesh is so important to mankind because He is man and even more God, because He can do the work that no ordinary man of flesh can do, and because He can save corrupt man, who lives together with Him on earth. Though He is identical to man, the incarnate God is more important to mankind than any person of value, for He can do the work that cannot be done by the Spirit of God, is more able than the Spirit of God to bear testimony to God Himself, and is more able than the Spirit of God to fully gain mankind. As a result, although this flesh is normal and ordinary, His contribution to mankind and His significance to the existence of mankind make Him highly precious, and the real value and significance of this flesh is immeasurable to any man. Although this flesh cannot directly destroy Satan, He can use His work to conquer mankind and defeat Satan, and make Satan fully submit to His dominion. It is because God is incarnated that He can defeat Satan and is able to save mankind. He does not directly destroy Satan, but becomes flesh to do the work to conquer mankind, who has been corrupted by Satan. In this way, He is better able to bear testimony to Himself among the creatures, and is better able to save corrupted man. God incarnate’s defeat of Satan bears greater testimony, and is more persuasive, than the direct destruction of Satan by the Spirit of God. God in the flesh is better able to help man know the Creator, and is better able to bear testimony to Himself among the creatures.

from The Word Appears in the Flesh