What Is Christ? Who Can Be Called Christ?
As for what Christ means, this is a mystery of the truth that we believers in the Lord fail to understand. Although we all know the Lord Jesus was Chr…
Although many people know that the Lord Jesus is Christ, the incarnate God Himself, they cannot explain clearly what incarnation is. Understanding what incarnation is, however, is critical for us welcoming the Lord. This is because the Bible has many prophecies that the Lord will become flesh again when He returns in the last days. For example, “Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes” (Matthew 24:44). “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in His day. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:24–25). These prophecies mention “the Son of man comes” and “the coming of the Son of man.” “The Son of man” refers to the incarnate God, the One who is born of man and who possesses normal humanity. God’s Spirit or the spiritual body of the Lord Jesus after He resurrected, however, is incredibly transcendent, and therefore cannot be called the Son of man. So, we can determine that “the Son of man comes” and “the coming of the Son of man” prophesied by the Lord Jesus refer to God returning incarnate in the last days. In particular, the Lord’s prophecy, “But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” is further proof that the Lord will appear in the flesh when He returns. If He didn’t incarnate in the flesh, He wouldn’t suffer as much, much less be rejected by this generation. Just as when the Lord Jesus became flesh to perform His work, because the Pharisees didn’t know what incarnation is, they regarded Him as an ordinary person, and even frantically resisted and condemned Him. In the end, they crucified the Lord Jesus upon the cross, thus incurring the punishment and imprecation of God. In the last days, the Lord will again incarnate as the Son of man to work amongst men, and if we don’t understand what incarnation is, won’t we be likely to make the same mistake as the Pharisees? Then what is incarnation? Let us fellowship this issue.
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The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
God’s words say, “The ‘incarnation’ is God’s appearance in the flesh; God works among created mankind in the image of the flesh. So for God to be incarnated, He must first be flesh, flesh with normal humanity; this is the most basic prerequisite. In fact, the implication of God’s incarnation is that God lives and works in the flesh, that God in His very essence becomes flesh, becomes a man.”
“The incarnate God is called Christ, and Christ is the flesh donned by the Spirit of God. This flesh is unlike any man that is of the flesh. This difference is because Christ is not of flesh and blood; He is the incarnation of the Spirit. He has both a normal humanity and a complete divinity. His divinity is not possessed by any man. His normal humanity sustains all His normal activities in the flesh, while His divinity carries out the work of God Himself.”
“Because He is a man with the essence of God, He is above all created humans, above any man who can perform God’s work. And so, among all those with a human shell like His, among all those who possess humanity, only He is the incarnate God Himself—all others are created humans. Though they all have humanity, created humans have nothing but humanity, while God incarnate is different: In His flesh He not only has humanity but, more importantly, divinity. His humanity can be seen in the outer appearance of His flesh and in His everyday life, but His divinity is difficult to perceive. Because His divinity is expressed only when He has humanity, and is not as supernatural as people imagine it to be, it is extremely difficult for people to see. Even today, people have the utmost difficulty fathoming the true essence of the incarnate God. Even after I have spoken about it at such length, I expect it is still a mystery to most of you. In fact, this issue is very simple: Since God becomes flesh, His essence is a combination of humanity and divinity. This combination is called God Himself, God Himself on earth.”
These words show us that God’s incarnation means God’s Spirit is materialized in the flesh with normal humanity and normal human thinking, and thereby becomes an ordinary and normal person working and speaking among men. God incarnate has both normal humanity and complete divinity. Although He looks like an ordinary, normal person from the outside, His essence is God. What God has and is, God’s almightiness and wisdom, God’s holiness and righteousness, and God’s authority and power—these have all been materialized in the flesh. This flesh is Christ. Because the incarnate Christ has complete divinity, He can represent God, and can express the truth to save people in the capacity of God. Because the incarnate Christ has complete divinity, He can give people the truth, the way, and the life, and can express the truth anytime and anyplace, supplying and watering man. Because the incarnate Christ has complete divinity, He can express God’s disposition and what God has and is. No created being is capable of such things. For example, the Lord Jesus was God incarnate, was Christ. He appeared to be an ordinary, normal human from the outside, but He possessed a divine essence, could express the truth to supply and shepherd man, and was able to do the work of redeeming mankind through crucifixion. Only because the Lord Jesus Christ had complete divinity, possessed God’s identity and substance, and could do God’s work, can we say that He was God’s incarnation, was God Himself.
So, God’s incarnation means God’s Spirit is realized in the flesh, and becomes an ordinary, normal person within the human world, to do His work and save man. This is the Word become flesh.
After understanding what incarnation is, maybe some people will ask how to be certain about the incarnate God so as to welcome the Lord when hearing someone testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned in the flesh. God’s words tell us, “It is not difficult to inquire into such a thing, but it requires each of us to know this one truth: He who is God incarnate shall possess the essence of God, and He who is God incarnate shall possess the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He intends to do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon him, and point the way for him. Flesh that does not have the essence of God is decidedly not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt. If man intends to inquire into whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, then he must corroborate this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, to corroborate whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, one must discriminate on the basis of His essence. And so, in determining whether it is the flesh of God incarnate, the key lies in His essence (His work, His utterances, His disposition, and many other aspects), rather than external appearance. If man scrutinizes only His external appearance, and as a result overlooks His essence, this shows that man is benighted and ignorant.”
From here we can see that whether it is God’s incarnation cannot be determined based on His appearance, because in outward appearance, Christ is just an ordinary and normal Son of man. If we do not possess a seeking heart, and do not come to recognize Christ through His words and work, it will be very hard for us to know His divine substance and become certain of His identity as the incarnate God. So, in order to welcome the Lord, we must investigate His work and words to see whether what He expresses is the truth, whether His words display God’s disposition and what God has and is, and whether the truth He expresses and His work can save people. Only by doing that can we recognize Christ incarnate and welcome the Lord. Just as when the Lord Jesus incarnated to do His work, the way which He preached and the demands which He made of man were all the truth and were all manifestations of God’s life disposition and what God has and is. The miracles He performed, such as calming the wind and sea, raising the dead, feeding five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish and so on, were all manifestations of God’s own authority and power. If the Lord hadn’t had a divine essence, could He have expressed the truth and done the work of God Himself? Those that sought the truth at the time, like Peter, John, Matthew, and Nathanael, recognized from the Lord Jesus’ work and words that He was the promised Messiah, and so followed Him and received His salvation.
Therefore, if we want to recognize the incarnate Christ in the last days and welcome the Lord’s return, when we hear someone testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned, we must examine whether what He expresses contains the truth and whether He is able to do the work of God Himself and express God’s disposition and what God has and is. In this way, we can ascertain whether He is Christ incarnate and the returned Lord Jesus.
Today, across the whole world, only The Church of Almighty God is openly testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned already as the incarnated Almighty God. Almighty God incarnate looks like an ordinary, normal person from the outside, but He possesses a divine essence, and can express the truth and do the work of God Himself. If we study Almighty God’s work of the last days, we will know that Almighty God has expressed millions of words, and has expressed the truth and done the work of judgment beginning with the house of God on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption to utterly save and purify man. This fulfills the Lord Jesus’ prophecies, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). “And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47–48). “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). And Revelation 22:14 prophesies, “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
The words expressed by Almighty God not only judge and expose the satanic nature of corrupt mankind and the truth of their corruption, but also have revealed all of the mysteries of God’s six-thousand-year management plan of saving mankind, how God performs the work of judgment of the last days, the necessity and important meaning of the work of judgment, as well as the inside story and essence of God’s three-stage work. Almighty God’s words also expose mankind’s satanic dispositions as well as their nature and essence of opposing God, show mankind the way to cleanse their sins, and reveal God’s righteous disposition, what God has and is, and God’s unique authority and power, etc. Almighty God’s words and work are a complete manifestation of the identity and substance of God: Almighty God is God incarnate, Christ of the last days.
Now, the book of Almighty God’s words, The Word Appears in the Flesh, and experiential testimonies of all kinds from God’s chosen people, who have experienced the judgment and chastisement of Almighty God’s words and whose life dispositions have undergone change, are publicly available online for people from all nations and all lands to seek and investigate. Many who have longed for God to appear have investigated Almighty God’s words and work and seen that His words are all the truth and that His work of judgment and chastisement can indeed cleanse and save people. They have become certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned, Christ incarnate, and they have come before Almighty God’s throne, thereby following the footsteps of the Lamb and attending the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Today, Almighty God’s work of judgment and purification in the last days is drawing to a close, and the great disasters have begun. At this crucial time, we should read more of Almighty God’s words to see if they are the truth and God’s voice, for only in this way can we welcome the Lord. If we treat God’s work in the last days based on our notions and imaginings, and ignore the divine substance of Almighty God incarnate, then we will easily regard Him as a normal human being, and become a person who resists and condemns Christ, thus being swept away by the great disasters with much weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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