People raise this question probably according to these words in Galatians 1:6-9 in the Bible, “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel to you than that you have received, let him be accursed.” But what’s the background for Paul to say these words? We all know that the book of Galatians is the letter the apostle Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia in about A.D. 60. At that time, the Lord Jesus’ gospel had been spread dynamically to the Gentile nations. Many people in Galatia accepted the Lord’s new work and churches were established there. It was in thetransitional period from the Age of the Law to the Age of the Grace, and among the Jews of thattime, there were two groups of gospel preachers: One group was preaching the old work of the Age of the Law, asking people to keep the law of Jehovah, that is, to be circumcised, to keep the Sabbath, to enter the temple, and so on; the other group (primarily the twelve disciples of Jesus) was preaching the new work of the Age of the Grace, telling people to believe in Jesus to be saved and to act according to what the Lord Jesus required, that is, to confess and repent of their sins, be baptized, break bread, love one another, be forbearing and patient, and so on. Those Pharisees who kept the law of the Old Testament said that the gospel the disciples of Jesus preached was totally different from the one they preached, and that the way of Jesus had abolished the law of Jehovah and had gone beyond the Old Testament. They refused to accept Jesus’ new work and disturbed those who had accepted the salvation of the cross of Jesus. At that time, Paul had left the churches of Galatia due to his busy work, so those who preached the law of the Old Testament grasped the opportunity to enter into the churches of Galatia, saying that by believing in Jesus, they disobeyed Jehovah’s teachings and could not be saved, and that they should continue to keep the Sabbath, be circumcised, and so on. As the Galatians of that time had no discernment, they left Jesus’ gospel that Paul had preached and followed those who preached the law. When hearing that the brothers and sisters in the churches of Galatia had forsaken the new grace and turned back to believe in the law, Paul was worried about theGalatians’ ignorance and also utterly detested those who preached the old work. But because he was occupied with many affairs, he could not go to Galatia immediately; so he wrote a letter to the churches of Galatia. He said, “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel to you than that you have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-8) By this, he exhorted the Galatians to come back to the true way. He also said, “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:1-2) From this, we can clearly see that the “different gospel” Paul spoke of refers to the one that asks people to keep the law and not the end-time gospel—the eternal gospel. If it referred to the end-time gospel, then how would we explain this prophecy in the Bible, “…having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth” (Revelation 14:6)? Besides, when Paul wrote this letter, there was not the book ofRevelation yet, let alone anyone preaching the kingdom gospel. Hence, we can see that the “different gospel” Paul mentioned doesn’t refer to the gospel of the Age of the Kingdom at all. If we think that the “different gospel” mentioned in this verse refers to the kingdom gospel of today, it will be too ridiculous!
When Paul wrote that letter, it was in the period of turning from the Age of the Law to the Age of the Grace, and it was the first time there merged two groups of people preaching. Today,we are also at a crucial time of the transition of the age, that is, the transition from the Age of the Grace to the Age of the Kingdom. God has done a higher and deeper work on the basis of the work of the Age of the Grace, so that we, whose sins have been forgiven, can be purified and brought by God into the pleasant destination. This is exactly the “eternal gospel” mentioned inRevelation. And this last salvation had long been revealed to the Lord Jesus’ disciples by the Holy Spirit. For example, Peter said, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5) Paul also said, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.” (2 Corinthians 1:10) However, when the end-time salvation—the kingdom gospel—arrives, there appear again two groups of gospel preachers standing in opposition to each other. One group preaches Jesus’ gospel of the Age of the Grace; the other group preaches Almighty God’s gospel of the Age of the Kingdom. Those who preach the Lord Jesus’s gospel of the Age of the Grace do their utmost to slander the preachers of Almighty God’s gospel, deny Almighty God’s gospel, and disturb people from accepting Almighty God’s gospel, just as those who preached the law in the transitional period from the Age of the Law to the Age of the Grace did their utmost to slander the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then today, which one is after God’s heart, preaching the gospel of the Age of the Grace or preaching the gospel of the Age of the Kingdom? I think the answer is already self-evident.
Brothers and sisters, we should see that history is advancing forward and God’s work is also progressing forward. If the work of the Age of the Law had continued, people would have died under the condemnation of the law, and mankind could not have developed until today. Likewise, if Jesus’ work of the Age of the Grace had continued, people would only have remainedin the condition of “confessing sins after committing them and committing sins after confessing them,” and their sinful nature could never be cast off. So, in the Age of the Kingdom of the end time, God still needs to do a stage of new work, the work of purifying men. He will thoroughly rid men of their corrupt disposition and their sinful nature through this stage of work, so that theycan be completely purified and saved by him. Therefore, we shall not stick to the old but shouldkeep up with the pace of God’s working. Just as the Scripture says, “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” (Revelation 14:4) Only in this way can we receive God’s end-time salvation and receive the eternal blessings. In order for us to better understand this aspect of the truth and understand God’s will, let’s read two passages of Almighty God’s word.Almighty God says, “The work done now has advanced the work of the Age of the Grace, and it also means that the work in the entire six-thousand-year management plan has progressed forward. Although the Age of the Grace has ended, God’s work has advanced deeper. Why do I say again and again that this stage of work is done on the basis of the Age of the Grace and the Age of the Law? That is to say, the work of today is a continuation of the work of the Age of the Grace and is an uplifting of the work of the Age of the Law. The three stages of works are closely connected, with one stage closely linked to the previous one. Why do I also say that this stage of work is done on the basis of the stage of Jesus’ work? If it were not done on its basis, in this stage God would have to be crucified again, still doing the redemptive work of the previous stage. That would be meaningless. So, it is not that the work has completely ended, but that the age has progressed forward and the work has become higher than before. It can be said that this stage of work is a work built on the basis of the Age of the Law and also on the rock of the work of Jesus. They are built one stage upon another, and it is not that this stage of work is another start. Only the three stages of works together can be called the six-thousand-year management plan.” “In each age God will carry out a new work, and in each age he will make a new start among men. If one only holds on to such truths as, ‘Jehovah is God’ or ‘Jesus is Christ,’ which are only applicable in one age, he will never be able to keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit and will never receive the work of the Holy Spirit. No matter what work God does, if one follows it without any doubt and follows it closely, then how could he be eliminated by the Holy Spirit? No matter what work God does, if one cooperates with the Holy Spirit’s work and tries to meet God’s requirements without any misgiving when he knows for certain that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, then how could he be punished? God’s work never stops, and his footsteps never stop either. Before he has accomplished the management work, he is always busy and never stops his footsteps. Men, however, are different: After they receive a little work of the Holy Spirit, they take it as something never-changing; after they gain a little knowledge, they do not go forward to ‘trace’ God’s newer work; after they see a little work of God, they rashly circumscribe God as a fixed wooden image, thinking that God is forever in the image they have seen, being so in the past and forever so in the future; after they gain a little superficial knowledge, they are so pleased with themselves and begin to wildly preach about the non-existent disposition and being of God; after they have confirmed one stage of work of the Holy Spirit, regardless of who preaches God’s new work, they will not accept it. These people are all ones who cannot accept the new work of the Holy Spirit and ones who are too conservative and unable to accept new things. They are all ones who believe in God but reject God.” (from The Word Appears in the Flesh)
Brothers and sisters, from Almighty God’s words, we see that God is ever new and never old and the work of the Holy Spirit is continuously progressing forward. However, people are apt to stick to the old and circumscribe God’s work, and are unwilling to accept new things or God’s new work. We all know that the Pharisees, because of holding on to the old and circumscribing God’s work, were eliminated by the new work of the Holy Spirit and even received God’s punishment. Then, how should we face God’s new work today? This is what we should considercarefully. May we all know God’s new work, understand God’s present will, draw lessons from the failures of men of former times, and never follow their path to failure. God doesn’t want to see those who have ever followed him be eliminated by the new work of the Holy Spirit, but hopes that we all can keep up with the footsteps of the Lamb and gain God’s end-time salvation.
The
Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the
returned Lord Jesus—the end-time Christ, “Almighty
God”—in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ
is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s
expression, you will see that God has appeared.
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