What is the fifth thing? This thing is closely related to each day of every person’s life. So close is its relation to human life that the human body could not live in this material world without it. This thing is airflow. Perhaps anyone could understand the noun “airflow” having just heard it. So, what is airflow? You could say that “airflow” is simply the flowing movement of air. Airflow is a wind that the human eye cannot see. It is also one way in which gases move. Yet, in this talk, to what does “airflow” primarily refer? As soon as I say it, you will understand. The earth carries the mountains, the seas, and all the things of creation as it turns, and when it turns, it turns with speed. Though you do not feel any of this spinning, the rotation of the earth exists nonetheless. What does its rotation engender? When you run, does wind not arise and rush past your ears? If wind can be generated when you run, how can there not be wind when the earth rotates? When the earth rotates, all things are in motion. The earth itself is in motion and rotating at a certain speed, while all things on it are also constantly propagating and developing. Therefore, movement at a certain speed will naturally give rise to airflow. This is what I mean by “airflow.” Does this airflow not affect the human body to a certain extent? Consider typhoons: Normal typhoons are not particularly powerful, but when they strike, people cannot even stand steadily, and it is difficult for them to walk in the wind. Even a single step is arduous, and some people may even be pushed against something by the wind, unable to move. This is one of the ways airflow can affect mankind. If the entire earth were covered in plains, then, when the earth and all things rotated, the human body would be entirely unable to withstand the airflow thereby generated. It would be extremely difficult to respond to such a situation. If this were really the case, such airflow would not only bring harm to mankind, but total destruction. Humans would be unable to survive in such an environment. This is why God made different geographical environments to resolve such airflows—in different environments, airflows grow weaker, change their direction, change their speed, and change their force. That is why people can see different geographical features, such as mountains, great mountain ranges, plains, hills, basins, valleys, plateaus, and great rivers. With these different geographical features, God changes an airflow’s speed, direction, and force. This is the method He uses to reduce or manipulate airflow into wind whose speed, direction, and force are appropriate, so that humans may have a normal environment in which to live. Is there need of this? (Yes.) Doing something like this seems difficult for humans, but it is easy for God, because He observes all things. For Him, it could not be simpler or easier to create an environment with a suitable airflow for mankind. Therefore, in such an environment created by God, each thing within all of His creation is indispensable. There is value and necessity in the existence of each and every thing. However, this principle is not understood by Satan or by mankind who has been corrupted. They continue destroying and developing and exploiting, with vain dreams of turning mountains into flat land, filling in canyons, and building skyscrapers on flat land to create concrete jungles. It is God’s hope that mankind can live happily, grow happily, and spend each day happily in this most suitable environment, which He has prepared for them. That is why God has never been careless in how He treats the environment in which mankind lives. From temperature to air, from sound to light, God has made intricate plans and arrangements, so that the bodies of men and their living environment would not be subject to any interference from natural conditions, and that instead, mankind would be able to live and multiply normally, and live normally with all things in harmonious coexistence. All of this is provided by God to all things and to mankind.

In the way God arranged these five basic conditions for human survival, can you see how He provides for mankind? (Yes.) That is to say, God is the Creator of all the most basic conditions for human survival, and God is also managing and controlling these things; even now, after thousands of years of human existence, God is still continuously making alterations to their living environment, providing them the best and most suitable environment so that their lives can be maintained in a regular way. For how long can such a situation be maintained? In other words, how long will God continue providing such an environment? It will last until God fully completes His management work. Then, God will change mankind’s living environment. It might be that He will make these changes with the same methods, or it might be with different methods. But what people must now know is that God is continuously providing for mankind’s needs; managing the environment in which mankind lives; and preserving, protecting and maintaining that environment. With such an environment, God’s chosen people are able to live in a regular manner and accept God’s salvation and chastisement and judgment. All things continue to survive because of God’s sovereignty, and all mankind continues moving forward because of such provisions from God.

Has this last part of our fellowship brought you any new thoughts? Have you now become aware of the greatest difference between God and mankind? Ultimately, who is the master of all things? Is it man? (No.) Then what is the difference between how God and humans treat all creation? (God rules over and arranges all things, while man enjoys them.) Do you agree with this? The greatest difference between God and mankind is that God rules over and provides for all creation. He is the source of everything, and while God provides for all creation, mankind enjoys it. That is to say, man enjoys all the things of creation when he accepts the life that God bestows on all things. God is the Master, and mankind enjoys the fruits of God’s creation of all things. What, then, from the perspective of all the things of God’s creation, is the difference between God and mankind? God can see clearly the laws of how all things grow, and He controls and dominates these laws. That is, all things are within God’s sight and within the scope of His scrutiny. Can mankind see all things? What mankind can see is limited to what is directly in front of them. If you climb a mountain, then what you see is just that mountain. You cannot see what is on the other side of the mountain. If you go to the shore, then what you see is just one side of the ocean, and you cannot know what the other side of the ocean is like. If you go into a forest, you can see the vegetation in front of you and around you, but you cannot see what lies farther ahead. Humans cannot see places that are higher, farther, deeper. All that they can see is what is directly in front of them, within their field of vision. Even if humans know the law that dictates the four seasons of the year, or the laws of how all things grow, they are still unable to manage or dictate all things. Yet the way God sees all of creation is just as He would see a machine that He built Himself. He is deeply familiar with every component and every connection, what their principles are, what their patterns are, and what their purposes are—God knows all of this with the highest degree of clarity. Hence God is God, and man is man! Though man may go deep in his research of science and the laws that govern all things, that research is limited in scope, whereas God controls everything, which, to man, is an infinite control. A man could spend his entire life researching God’s smallest deed without achieving any true results. This is why, if you use just knowledge and what you have learned to study God, you will never be able to know God or understand Him. But if you choose the way of seeking the truth and seeking God, and look at God from the perspective of coming to know Him, then, one day, you will recognize that God’s actions and wisdom are everywhere at once, and you will know why God is called the Master of all things and the source of life for all things. The more you gain such understanding, the more you will understand why God is called the Master of all things. All things and everything, including you, are constantly receiving the steady flow of God’s provision. You will also be able to clearly sense that in this world, and among this mankind, there is no one apart from God who could have the ability and the essence with which He rules over, manages, and maintains the existence of all things. When you arrive at this understanding, you will truly recognize that God is your God. When you reach this point, you will have truly accepted God and allowed Him to be your God and your Master. When you have obtained such an understanding and your life has reached such a point, God will no longer test you and judge you, nor will He make any demands of you, because you will understand God, will know His heart, and will have truly accepted God in your heart. This is an important reason to fellowship on these topics of God’s domination and management of all things. Doing so is meant to give people more knowledge and understanding—not merely to have you acknowledge, but to have you know and understand God’s actions in a more practical way.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VIII