Many times God has required us to be ones who have reality. Then, what are the manifestations of “having reality”? Some leaders or workers think that they have had reality because they have meetings with the brothers and sisters every day fellowshipping about the truth and having resolved many of their negative states and many difficulties in the church. Some of the brothers and sisters who preach the gospel think that they have had reality because they can communicate God’s three-stage work quite clearly and have caused many people to accept God’s new work. Some brothers and sisters think that they have had reality in the truth of living out humanity because they pay much attention to their living out of humanity before the religious people or when they newly arrive at a host home and have received favorable comments and praise from them. Other brothers and sisters think that they have had reality because they have written several acceptable sermons or communication articles on the experience of life. And still other brothers and sisters think that they have had reality because they have never committed any serious transgressions or have never outwardly done anything that obviously offends God or resists God, and besides, brothers and sisters also have a good opinion of them.

Then, are the above states really the manifestations of “having reality”? What does “having reality” actually refer to?

Regarding this question, let us first look at what God’s word says: “It is not your words that prove you have reality but your living out. God’s word can become your life and become your natural expression, and only this is reality and means that you truly have knowledge and have a real stature. Being able to withstand a long period of test and able to live out the likeness that meets God’s requirements, which is not a pose but a natural expression, only this can be considered to be true reality and have life. … God’s requirement for man is not merely that man can communicate reality. If so, isn’t it too simple? Why does God also talk about life entering? Why does he talk about transformation? If one can only talk about reality, can he gain the transformation of his nature? To train a group of good soldiers of the kingdom is not for them to be the ones who can only talk about reality or the ones who can only talk big but the ones who can live out God’s word at all times. They will not yield or flinch no matter what setbacks they encounter, and they can live by God’s word at all times and never return to the world. Only this is the reality that God refers to and is God’s requirements for people. Therefore, do not regard the ‘reality’ that God refers to as very simple. Having only the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is not equivalent to having reality, and it cannot be considered to be man’s stature but is God’s favor, in which there is no achievement of man. On everyone there should be Peter’s suffering and much more, Peter’s glory, which is what man lives out after receiving God’s working. Only this is reality. Do not think that being able to talk about reality is having reality. It is a fallacy, a statement not after God’s heart. It has no practical significance!” From God’s words we see that “having reality” is not as simple as we have thought. It is not that one can communicate some knowledge of the truth, can receive some inspiration of the Holy Spirit in God’s word, or can temporarily have some manifestations in accordance with the truth under special circumstances or backgrounds. Instead, it is that one can bring the truths he has understood into his practical life and practice and enter into them, and under whatever circumstances or whatever tribulations and setbacks he encounters, he can live by God’s word, can live out the likeness that meets God’s requirements, and can live out the reality of God’s word. And it is that God’s word has become his life and his natural expression.

Let’s have a look at our so-called reality: So many times when we fellowship with the brothers and sisters, we are full of inspiration and can give a clear and reasonable fellowship, but when we encounter things, we have no practical entering in at all. Take, for example, a sister leader whom I knew had believed in God for several years. She had good qualities and was eloquent. At ordinary times, when she fellowshipped with the brothers and sisters who were being refined for losing their positions, she could give a clear and reasonable fellowship about these truths, such as, “position cannot make people perfect,” “exposing means salvation,” “how to love God and satisfy God in suffering and refining,” “one should take Peter’s path while believing in God,” and so on. Through her fellowship, some of them really struggled free from the bondage of position. At that time, we all admired her very much and felt that her fellowship was very practical. After a period of time, God’s family adjusted the administrative structure, and this sister was replaced. Much to our surprise, she left God because of losing her position. She had equipped herself with so much of God’s word and could resolve others’ states, and she seemed to really have some knowledge and reality when fellowshipping with others, but when this thing happened to her, she collapsed and fell. This shows that no matter how many things one understands and how well he can communicate, he cannot be said to have reality. Some brothers and sisters, when first coming into contact with the religious people or arriving at a new host home, fear that they may leave a bad impression on these people and thus cause them to reject the new work or be unwilling to receive them, so they are careful and conscientious in doing things and are also very godly and decent in their speeches and manners, appearing to have some likeness of a normal person. However, as time goes on, their lack of humanity and low character are gradually betrayed. This is enough to show that our so-called “living out a normal humanity” is only a temporary expression and is a forced living out under a certain background rather than a natural expression. Therefore, temporarily having some proper practices cannot be considered to have reality at all. Some brothers and sisters can communicate God’s three-stage work quite clearly during the evangelization and have caused many people to accept God’s new work. But this does not mean that they have reality either. As far as we know, there were so many who began to show off and testify about themselves after having preached the gospel for several years and won many people; and they also capitalized on that to barter and make bargains with God, thinking that God’s family should treat them properly in such and such a way because they had suffered a lot, rendered meritorious services, and borne many fruits. As a result, they were loathed by God and lost the working of the Holy Spirit. Some brothers and sisters have communicated some true knowledge of themselves and of the truth in the sermons and the communication articles on the experience of life they wrote. But after a period of time, when they examine their viewpoints on things and the expressions of their corruptions, they find that their states have scarcely changed compared with their previous ones described in the sermons and the articles, nor have they practiced according to the resolutions they have made or the ways to practice they have fellowshipped about in them. And what is even worse, some of them have betrayed God and left God when their articles are accepted and published. Still some brothers and sisters have won favorable comments from the people around them and outwardly have never done anything that obviously offends God or resists God, but there is no truth or principles in their doing things. They can have good actions and behavior maybe because they were born with a good humanity and have successfully observed some regulations after believing in God, or because they have seen that some people were punished for resisting God and thus become cautious and meticulous. All in all, anyone whose change is not brought about by his knowledge of God or by his understanding of the truth and practicing of the truth cannot be considered to have reality no matter how good his behavior is or how many favorable comments he has won from others. Anyone who cannot bring the word of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit into his real life and practice and enter into them cannot be said to have reality no matter how many things he understands or how well he communicates. After measuring the states of our so-called “having reality” against the standard of the truth, we will find that we actually do not possess the reality required by God, that the knowledge we have gained through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has not become our true stature, and that the outward practices we have cannot be considered to be reality at all.