The Bible represents the Lord. (Right. That's right!)
To believe in the Bible is to believe in the Lord.
Straying from the Bible means not believing in the Lord!
If anyone still insists that the Bible represents God,
and that belief in the Bible is belief in God,
I ask you: Does the Bible save people or does God save people?
It's God. God saves people. God saves.
Can the Bible replace God's work? (It can't.)
Is God greater or the Bible? Did God come first or did the Bible?
Have you ever considered these things?
We haven't really thought about it before.
Brothers and sisters,
I don't deny what they said of God's words existing outside the Bible,
but we believers know the Bible is given by God's inspiration. (Amen!)
All words within the Bible are the words of God. (Yes!)
The Bible represents the Lord. (Right. That's right!)
To believe in the Bible is to believe in the Lord.
Straying from the Bible means not believing in the Lord! (Yes. That's right!)
We just need to hold on to the Bible.
Even if we reject God's work in the last days,
we will enter the kingdom of heaven! (Amen!)
Our understanding will not be wrong! (That's right! Yes.)
Brother Jia is correct!
Paul made it very clear in 2 Timothy, the Bible is inspired by God.
This means that every word in it is the word of God, (Amen!)
and that it represents the Lord. (Right.)
We only need to stick to the Bible.
We don't need to accept God's work in the last days.
That's right. The coming of the Lord Jesus will take us to His kingdom.
The Lord did not say to accept His work in the last days. (Amen.)
Therefore, as long as we stick to the Bible,
we will surely be taken into the kingdom of heaven. (Amen!)
Do you dare deny this?
Brother Jia, Brother Jiang,
you say that moving away from the Bible means not believing in the Lord.
So let me ask:
Back when the Lord Jesus was preaching,
those who followed the Lord Jesus came away from the Bible to accept His work.
Were these not believers in the Lord?
Yeah. I see.
The Pharisees resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus
because they clung to the Bible,
so they were condemned by the Lord, they were cursed by the Lord.
What's the problem?
Does holding onto the Bible represent obeying the Lord?
Does it mean when you hold onto the Bible that you revere the Lord?
Is the Bible greater or the Lord?
The Pharisees made it clear to us.
Did they believe in the Lord or resist the Lord?
Are you going to keep going down the path of the Pharisees and resist the Lord?
Don't you know the outcome of this?
Is knowing the fate of the Pharisees still not enough to wake us up?
He's right. We can't go the same path of the Pharisees.
Most of the religious world rely on the words of Paul,
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God,"
to think that everything in the Bible is the word of God,
and that by following it, they'll be let into the kingdom of heaven.
In the last days, most believers still believe in this.
But does this viewpoint align with truth and fact?
Did the Lord Jesus ever say "All scripture is given by inspiration of God"?
Did the Holy Spirit say it?
No!
Right. Never. It was Paul who said those things.
Many believers use the words of Paul as the basis of their belief
that every word in the Bible is the word of God.
But isn't doing this a big mistake?
Yes. Completely. It is.
Big mistake.
Some people believe
that even words spoken by people are the words of God,
if they're in the Bible.
Isn't this idea fallacious and absurd?
Indeed. Yes, absolutely.
All believers should be clear.
The Bible is a testimony of God and a record of His work.
The creation of the Bible was based on God's salvation.
Every stage of God's work
is filled with the battle between God and the forces of Satan, (That's right.)
which is why the Bible has not only God's word,
but the words of people and even the words of Satan.
Yes. That's right.
This is just a fact.
Hey, he's right. The Bible has the words of the apostles too.
Yeah. Not to mention the words of the Pharisees and Satan.
That's all completely true.
Yeah.
So then, are we able to say that every word in the Bible is the word of God?
No, of course not.
Isn't this confusing what is simply black and white?
Yes. It is.
How can people even think of these erroneous ideas?
Why think that when the facts are so clear to us?
Anyone who's read the Bible knows
there are conversations between God and Moses, and between God and Job,
between God and His chosen people, and between God and Satan.
Yeah. True.
If someone's conversing with God,
does that mean that they utter the word of God?
They definitely don't.
Not at all.
Isn't that idea ridiculous?
Yeah. Yes, it is.
The saying that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God"
cannot possibly be the truth.
Some people insist that man's word in the Bible is the word of God.
This is nowhere near the truth.
That notion is seriously offensive to God, it tarnishes and blasphemes God.
God's words are God's words, man's words are man's words. (Yes.)
Satan's words are just Satan's words.
That's right.
Why would people mix them up?
God's words are always the truth. (Amen!)
Man's words can never be the truth.
At most, they can conform to the truth.
Yes. Amen.
Satan's words will always be lies and falsehoods.
Even if spoken a thousand times, they will always be lies and falsehoods.
Amen!
If we were wise, we would know this for sure. (Yes.)
Only fools insist on a false viewpoint. (Yes.)
We will understand even more after we read the words of Almighty God.
Okay. Yes. Thanks be to the Lord!
That's a great point.
Thanks be to God. So not all the Bible is inspired by God. (Yes.)
The Bible has the words of man and of God.
If we want to find which words in the Bible were from God
and which were from man,
we simply need to read who said them. (Yeah. Right.)
If it's said by God, it's God's words.
If it's said by man, then it's man's words,
excluding the words spoken by God through the prophets.
If it's Satan's words, then we know that it's false!
Yes, that's right.
This is such a practical way to distinguish them. It's great!
Thanks be to God!
Now when I think back,
which words in the Bible were spoken by God, which words were spoken by man,
and who the authors of the epistles were—
it's all so clearly stated in the Bible.
Yeah. Yes, it is.
It's very clear.
Then why are we going against facts
and treating all words in the Bible as God's?
I think Paul's words misled us
that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God."
Indeed. Of course, I agree. Right.
It seems those who don't understand the truth are easily deceived.
Yes. That's right.
Worshiping man makes it easy to stray from the true way. (Yes.)
From here on out, we mustn't blindly trust the words of Paul.
We have to differentiate them.
Amen. Yes.
She's absolutely right.
Hey, aren't we putting too much distinction
between the words of God and man here?
Is it necessary?
Believing in the Lord is believing in the Bible. (Right.)
That's what the pastors say. (Indeed.)
How can that be wrong?
Your belief is confused!
We should be clear about our belief.
Yeah.
It's clearer now.
Many believers think that the Bible represents the Lord, represents God.
They say that belief in the Lord is belief in the Bible.
This viewpoint may not seem very wrong.
However, for those who have experience, this view really is.
It shows men believe in God but don't know Him,
and they're unclear on the relationship between the Bible and God.
If anyone still insists that the Bible represents God,
and that belief in the Bible is belief in God,
I ask you: Does the Bible save people or does God save people?
It's God. God saves people. God saves.
Can the Bible replace God's work?
It can't.
Can it replace the work of the Holy Spirit?
No. Definitely not. Of course not.
God made the heavens and the earth.
Could the Bible do such a thing?
No.
Is God greater or the Bible?
Did God come first or did the Bible?
Have you ever considered these things?
No. No, I hadn't.
We haven't really thought about it before.
If believers can't understand these essential truths
that are little more than common sense,
then how can they ever hope to experience God's work?
Don't they know anything about the work of the Holy Spirit?
Do they have any knowledge of God's almightiness and wisdom?
We all know God is the one true God, the Lord of creation.
Amen!
God speaks words, created the heavens and the earth, and rules all things.
Amen.
God is a Spirit but can become flesh to speak and work among man
to redeem and save us.
Amen!
God is real and alive.
Amen!
The Almighty, who is, and was, and is to come. (Amen!)
The Bible is merely a record of God's work
in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace.
It's just a history book.
How can it possibly compare to God? (Right.)
That's why, no matter how you look at it, the Bible can't represent God.
Belief in the Bible isn't belief in God,
and clinging to the Bible isn't following God.
The Bible is the Bible, God is God. (Amen!)
The Bible and God are completely separate things.
That's a fact nobody can deny.
Today has finally made me understand.
The Bible is the Bible and God is God. They're separate things.
After hearing everything today,
I understand the Bible can't represent God at all. (That's right.)
But then what is the relationship between God and the Bible?
I think we'd all like to know some more.
Yes, please tell us now! Yes, please do tell us.
Thanks be to God. The Lord Jesus has given us a clear answer.
Please open up to John 5:39-40.
Sister, will you read it for us?
Sure.
Amen!
The Lord Jesus explained the relationship between them. (Yeah.)
The Bible is a testimony.
It doesn't have eternal life and can't bestow life.
Christ alone is the truth, the way, and the life.
Amen!
So then, only by accepting and following Christ
and obeying God's end-time word and work,
can we gain the truth and eternal life.
Yes.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
But right now, I think we should look at
how so many people in religious circles still think
that to depart from the Bible is to depart from the Lord.
They even think that if they stick to the Bible,
they'll get into the kingdom of heaven.
But isn't this viewpoint just ridiculous?
Ah, yes. It really is.
Actually, the Bible is just a history book, a record of God's work.
If people ignore this fact and hold onto the Bible,
then I ask you all today:
Can the Bible replace God's work in the last days?
No, it can't.
Can the Bible replace Christ in expressing the truth?
No.
Can one really gain the truth and life by only sticking to the Bible?
No. Not a chance.
When people hold onto the Bible like the Pharisees,
does this prove that they follow and obey God?
If people only hold onto the Bible,
but they don't accept the work of Christ in the last days,
then how can they gain the truth and achieve salvation and enter God's kingdom?
Yes.
Everyone, let's read more words of Almighty God,
so we understand this more clearly.
All right.
Yes, let's do that. (Yes.)
Amen!
Almighty God has exposed religious leaders who exalt the Bible above all else
but never exalt or bear witness to God.
They use the Bible to replace and impersonate God,
and use the words of the Bible to resist and condemn God's work.
That's right. Yes.
They have been exposed as truth-hating and God-opposing as well.
Think back to the time when Pharisees held onto the Scriptures,
limited God to the Scriptures.
They never sought the truth or God's footsteps.
Even though the Lord Jesus, when preaching and doing His work,
expressed many truths and performed signs and wonders,
and demonstrated God's authority and power,
what did the Pharisees do?
They didn't care about the Lord Jesus' profound preaching or great authority.
If it did not conform with the Scriptures,
they would condemn and resist the Lord Jesus.
And because the Lord Jesus expressed the word of God,
they condemned the words of the Lord Jesus as blasphemy. (Yes.)
And then, in the end they nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross alive.
It's true. Yes. It is.
It completely exposed their truth-hating, God-opposing satanic nature.
Yeah.
Today, religious leaders are just like the Pharisees of old.
They do all they can to exalt the Bible
but never exalt or bear witness to the Lord.
They don't proclaim and testify to the words, the truth expressed by the Lord.
They just talk about Bible knowledge and theology.
They spread empty theories to deceive, control, and bind people.
They say that all God's words are in the Bible,
and that there're no words of God outside the Bible.
They say to depart from the Bible means not believing in God,
and if you hold firm to it, you'll be taken to God's kingdom.
So people mistakenly believe the eternal life is in the Bible,
and that they only need the Bible to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Before they knew it, the Bible had replaced God's position in their hearts.
Everyone blindly believes in and worships the Bible as if it were God.
The Bible has become like a binding spell for believers,
and the Lord's position in people's hearts has gone.
It's true.
Yes, that's right. It's so true.
What is the consequence of this?
People's faith and knowledge of the Lord are reduced to nothing.
That's the consequence of pastors and elders' explaining the Bible.
Is this not true? (Yeah. It is.)
What you've said is illuminating.
I never thought that the Bible could become a spell that could bind us.
Yeah.
It seems it's better to not have blind faith in the Bible. (That's right.)
It could be dangerous.
I'm glad we know this now.
I feel so ashamed and embarrassed after listening to this.
For so many years, I believed in the Lord but didn't practice His words,
and I did not search for the Lord's will and truth in His words.
Yes.
All I did was equip myself with biblical doctrine,
thinking that the more Bible knowledge I had,
the more I was after the Lord's heart,
and that understanding a lot of Bible knowledge
was the same as knowing the Lord.
But after all that, I don't have any understanding of truth at all,
and I don't have knowledge of the Lord.
The Lord has no place in my heart whatsoever. (Indeed. That's right.)
I can't believe I saw the Bible as higher than the Lord.
Wrongly I thought that belief in the Lord is belief in the Bible,
and that exalting the Bible is exalting the Lord.
I deviated from the way of the Lord without knowing.
My belief had become confused and lost.
I think we're all like that.
The words of Almighty God
corrected my biggest mistake of belief in the Lord, (Yes.)
and saved me from going down the wrong path.
Amen! Thanks be to the Lord.
From now on, I won't be controlled and bound by the Bible.
Yes.
I must read the words of Almighty God!
Amen!
Thanks be to Almighty God.
Thanks be to God!
Amen. Yes.
We should all read more words of Almighty God.
We will, we'll read it properly!