Answer: This question is so critical! Many people can’t see through this key issue to investigating the true way. They accept Almighty God’s word is the truth and has authority and power, but because they can’t see through the differences between the words of famous spiritual figures that conform with the truth and the truths expressed by God, it is very difficult for them to accept God’s work and be raptured before God's throne. If we treat all words that conform with the truth as God’s words, then it is very easy for us to be deceived and follow and worship man, and follow Satan in resisting God, betraying God, and offending God’s disposition. It's like how so many people follow religious pastors and leaders, and follow false Christs. This is something that will be cursed by God. Therefore, believing in God requires discerning what is the truth and what is knowledge and doctrines, and the difference between the truth and words that conform with the truth. This is extremely important. If we cannot discern the truth then we cannot recognize Christ. If we cannot distinguish the essential difference between the truth and words that conform with the truth, then it is impossible for us to hear God’s voice and return to God. This is absolute. So just what is the truth and what are words that conform with the truth? Let’s see what Almighty God has to say about it.

“The truth is the most real of life’s aphorisms, and the highest of such aphorisms among all mankind. Because it is the requirement that God makes of man, and is the work personally done by God, thus it is called ‘life’s aphorism.’ It is not an aphorism summed up from something, nor is it a famous quote from a great figure. Instead, it is the utterance to mankind from the Master of the heavens and earth and all things; it is not some words summed up by man, but the inherent life of God. And so it is called ‘the highest of all life’s aphorisms’” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God).

“That which is directly expressed by God is truth. Anything that arises from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit merely conforms to the truth, for the Holy Spirit enlightens people based on their stature and cannot express the truth directly to man. This is something you must understand. And when, based upon the words of the truth, people gain insights, and knowledge from experiencing, do such insights and knowledge count as the truth? At most, this is a little knowledge of the truth. Words enlightened by the Holy Spirit do not represent the words of God, they do not represent the truth, they do not belong to the truth; they are merely a little knowledge of the truth, a little of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. … Everyone experiences the truth, but each does so under different circumstances, and everyone gains something different. Yet even if their knowledge were combined, they would still be incapable of fully articulating a single truth. That is how profound the truth is! Why is it said that the things you have gained and your knowledge cannot stand for the truth? You fellowship your knowledge with others, and it only takes two or three days of contemplation before they have fully experienced it. But people can spend a whole lifetime and still not fully experience the truth; even if what each person experienced were combined, the truth would still not be fully experienced. It can therefore be seen that the truth is extraordinarily profound. The truth cannot be fully articulated with words. In the language of man, the truth is the true essence of mankind. Man will never be able to fully experience the truth. Man should live by the truth. One truth can sustain the whole of mankind’s existence for several thousand years.

The truth is the life of God Himself; it represents His disposition, His essence, and everything in Him. If you say that having a bit of experience means possessing the truth, then can you represent God’s disposition? You may have some experience or light regarding a certain aspect or side of a truth, but you cannot supply others with it forever, so this light you have gained is not truth; it is merely a certain point that people can reach. It is simply the proper experience and the proper understanding a person should possess: some actual experience and knowledge of the truth. This light, enlightenment, and experiential understanding can never substitute for the truth; even if all people had completely experienced this truth, and pooled together all of their experiential understanding, it still would not be able to take the place of that one truth. … I mean that the life of man will always be the life of man, and no matter how much your understanding might accord with the truth, God’s intentions, and His requirements, it will never be able to be a substitute for the truth” (“Do You Know What the Truth Really Is?” in Records of Christ’s Talks).

Almighty God has made it very clear what the truth is and what are the words that conform with the truth. The truth originates from God. All words expressed by God are the truth. This is absolutely certain. Then just what is the truth? What is the essence of the truth? Because the truth is all an expression of God, it is naturally a revelation of the essence of God's life and a revelation of what God has and is, and are expressions of God’s disposition. The truth is the reality of all things positive. It will never change and will always exist. The truth is what God’s life is, and it carries authority and power. That is why the truth can cleanse man, save man, perfect man, and be man’s eternal life. The purpose of God expressing the truth is so that man can gain the truth as their life and live by God’s words. If mankind gains the truth as their life, their corrupt nature and satanic disposition will be completely cleansed. Living by the truth, mankind can live out the likeness of a real man and become a mankind that is holy and accords with God's intentions. This way, the meaning of God’s creation of man is completely achieved. This is the ultimate result that God's work of saving mankind seeks to achieve. After the great disasters, the surviving humans will all obey God and worship God. They are all human beings who have gained the truth and achieved salvation. Such people will be brought up by God into His kingdom, enjoy God’s promise and gain a wonderful destination. These are all facts accomplished by God’s words. These are all results achieved by the truths expressed by God. Even though the words of those famous spiritual figures conform with the truth and are constructive for people, they don’t count as truth and cannot be compared to God’s words. God’s words can be man’s life, but man’s words cannot be man’s life. The truth can cleanse man, change man, perfect man, but words of man that conform with the truth cannot cleanse, change, or perfect man. This is a fact nobody can deny. We can all see that there have been quite a few people used by God throughout the ages, but no matter who it was and no matter how many years of work or how many words spoken, their work and words cannot achieve the result of cleansing, saving, and perfecting man. Why is that so? It is because words spoken by man that conform with the truth are all defined by their limited experience and knowledge of God’s word and the truth. What is expressed are all their own viewpoints and opinions, and it represents their personal stature and knowledge of God and the truth. Even if the reception is pure, conforms with the truth, and is constructive and helpful to man, such words can only be said to be correct words, words that conform with the truth. But the words that conform with the truth are still very different from the essence of the truth itself, and cannot be said to be the truth. The books they write and words they preach all come from their own personal burden to the church and are for shepherding the church and comforting and exhorting believers, or helping people resolve some of their difficulties and confusion in their belief in God. But their words can only supply people for a period or a stage, and could never replace the results of God’s work. The facts are sufficient to show that words spoken by man that conform with the truth are entirely different from the essence of the truth itself, and therefore cannot be said to be the truth and moreover cannot be said to be God’s words. This is the essential difference between words spoken by man that conform with the truth and the truth itself. Everyone should understand this now, right?

It is through Almighty God’s revelation of these mysteries that we realize there is a substantive difference between what people say in accordance with the truth and God’s word that is the truth. The two are not comparable! The word of God is the truth. A man can spend his entire life in experiencing a single statement of God. For example, on being an honest person, the Lord Jesus had asked of people: “But let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatever is more than these comes of evil” (Mat 5:37). “And said, Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 18:3). Today, Almighty God has come and asked the same of man. Almighty God said, “In essence, God is faithful, and so His words can always be trusted; His actions, furthermore, are faultless and unquestionable, which is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Three Admonitions). “You should be an honest person, not someone who is always being clever and constantly deceitful. (Here I am asking you again to be an honest person.)” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Transgressions Will Lead Man to Hell). We realize from the word of God that it is of profound significance to be an honest man. Only honest people are ones with true humanity. Honest people are the likeness of true humans. God loves the honest man. God created man, saves man, and makes perfect man in order to make man honest. What the Lord Jesus said about becoming as little children is the style of an honest man. If a man succeeds in becoming an honest person, he will be blessed by God to enter the kingdom of heaven. What is most valuable about honest people is that they give their hearts to God, believe in God with their hearts, and love God with their hearts. They can purely open themselves to truly communicate with and give their hearts to God. In addition, honest people do not make deals, harbor motives or seek demands when they perform their duties. They deceive neither God nor man. This is the reality that normal humanity should possess. The truth about being an honest man appears simple, easy to understand and practice, but it is the most basic truth of being a man. It is enough for man to experience for a lifetime. No matter how many experiences and entries people have in the truth of being an honest person, they still do not feel it is complete or perfect. They always feel there is still certain crookedness, deception, and deals that have not been completely cleansed. They somehow always feel that they have not really lived the style of an honest person. This is the real experience of the truth behind living as an honest person. It can be seen that any truth is a mystery with a lot of practical content, which is inexhaustible. No matter how deeply man has experienced and understood the truth, it is impossible to explicitly state the essence of the truth in human languages. This is a fact. Therefore, as much as what one says is in conformity with the truth, it still cannot be compared with the word of the truth and regarded as the truth. The truth is possessed by God. Only God is the truth, so only Christ who possesses the divine essence can express the truth. Man only possesses the essence of humanity and what humanity is. Man himself is not the truth, and he does not possess the truth. So he can only express man’s views and knowledge. Even with the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and consistency with the truth, his words are never identical to the truth. If what man says in line with the truth is asserted as the word of God and the truth, it is purely an insult to God. It is blasphemy!

—the movie script of Who Is He That Has Returned