Does God Have Gender? Will the Lord Be Male or Female When He Returns?
Does God have gender distinction? I believe some Christians may say, “At that time, the Lord Jesus incarnated as a man and prayed to God the Father. This showed that God is male.” When someone testifies that the Lord has returned, and that He has incarnated as a woman, some brothers and sisters are unable to figure it out, “The Lord Jesus is obviously a male. How could the second coming of the Lord be a woman?” Once, clinging to this notion I did not seek or investigate God’s work of the last days, and in the end, through a sermon I finally came to a new understanding of this and accepted God’s salvation in the last days in a foreign country.
I heard the good news that the Lord has returned.
In February 2014, I went to Brazil to do business and without a friend there I believed in the Lord Jesus. In 2017, I found a Chinese church and went to meetings there every week. The church was very big but usually only a dozen people regularly attended gatherings. During congregations, I saw some believers playing with their phones and sending messages, some dozing off when listening to sermons, and apart from preaching about helping and being loving to each other, my pastor preached the doctrine of making offerings. My spirit was not being provided for at all.
One day, my Facebook friend Sister Chen invited me to listen to a sermon together. We had a meeting with Brother Xiao in Japan on Facebook, who was very familiar with the Bible. He fellowshiped with us about the reasons for the desolation in the churches, how the Lord will knock at the door, what the wise virgins are, how the prophecies of the Lord’s return will be fulfilled, how to separate the sheep from the goats and the good servants from the evil, and the three stages of work carried out by God to save mankind. He also fellowshiped that the Old and New Testaments record God’s previous two stages of work, and that God would return in the last days and perform a stage of work of judging and cleansing man with words, which fulfilled the prophecy in Revelation where it says: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). I felt what he preached was quite fresh and also felt brightened in my heart. This way, I listened to his sermons for five days in a row.
My spirit was in darkness because I was hindered by my notions.
On the sixth day, Brother Xiao told us, “Our Lord Jesus has returned as the incarnated Almighty God. God never repeats His work. The first time God came incarnate, He worked as a male, and this time He works as a female. Whether God’s incarnate flesh is male or female, His substance is God’s Spirit and He is able to accomplish the work God is going to do …” As I heard that this time God has incarnated as a female, I thought, “How could it be possible? The Lord Jesus prayed to the heavenly Father and after He was baptized in the Jordan river, the heaven was opened, and a voice said, ‘This is my beloved Son.’ Since They are Father and Son, doesn’t this imply God being male? How could he say that God has incarnated as a female? Besides, there are no such prophecies in the Bible.” So, I was immediately conflicted in my heart and did not want to listen anymore. The following evening, when Sister Chen asked me to attend a gathering online, I then made up an excuse, “I have something to do at home, so I have no time to listen to the sermon. You’ll have to do on your own.”
Because I was always offline, the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God were unable to get in touch with me, and so they were worried about me and sent me messages to ask me whether something happened to me. Despite this, I still did not return messages. For over a month when I cut off contact with the brothers and sisters, I didn’t feel moved through prayer, nor did I want to read the Bible, and I suffered from spiritual darkness. In helplessness, I prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, have You already returned? Is Almighty God really Your return? Lord! If He is Your appearance and work, I beg You to guide and enlighten me as well as move brothers and sisters to help me. If He isn’t Your return, may You guide me …”
With God’s love to guide me, I decided to study Almighty God’s work.
Afterward, the brothers and sisters sent me repeated messages and asked me to rely on and seek to God in all things, and to pray to God a lot about my difficulties. I was moved by the love from God and thought, “I didn’t know these brothers and sisters before and only because of our faith in God did we get to know each other. Even though I intentionally ignore them, they’re still so compassionate. Without the work or guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is able to do this? What’s more, if Almighty God is really the Lord Jesus returned and I’m rejecting and not accepting in this way, then aren’t my sins greater? Won’t I be abandoned by God? When I came into contact with the brothers and sisters, their fellowship was enlightening and helpful to my life progression, and they also advised me to seriously look into God’s work in the last days. But just because I was unable to understand some problems, I avoided and time after time refused them. Am I not so hardened?” Pondering all of this, I was very moved and also felt so remorseful. So, I decided to continue seeking and examining Almighty God’s work of the last days.
Must God’s work be substantiated by prophecies?
After that, I continued to listen to sermons. When listening to Brother Lin’s fellowship, I spoke openly about my notions that had been bothering me so long, “You testify that the Lord Jesus has incarnated as a female. Is there a basis for it in biblical prophecies?” The brother said, “Sister, have we ever thought that whether God’s work must have the Bible as its base? Without the biblical prophecies, can God not do work? God created all things in heaven and on earth, and He destroyed the world with flood and destroyed Sodom, and so on. Were all these works done based on the prophecies? The first thing we must understand is that God is the Creator, and that God’s work to save people is not constrained by any person, event or thing, and not restricted by the Bible, much less the prophecies. With the biblical prophecies, God can do work; without them, God still can do. God’s work is carried out in accordance with the needs of mankind as well as according to His plan. For example, God inspired Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and this was not prophesied before. The Lord Jesus performed signs and wonders and healed the sick and cast out demons, and in the Bible there was also no prophecy about this. Therefore, God incarnating as a woman in the last days doesn’t have to be prophesied before. Let’s read God’s words, and we will understand more clearly. Almighty God says, ‘Does doctrine need to be applied to the work of God? And must God work according to the foretelling of prophets? After all, which is greater: God or the Bible? Why must God work according to the Bible? Could it be that God has no right to exceed the Bible? Can God not depart from the Bible and do other work? Why did Jesus and His disciples not keep the Sabbath? If He were to practice in light of the Sabbath and according to the commandments of the Old Testament, why did Jesus not keep the Sabbath after He came, but instead washed feet, covered head, broke bread, and drank wine? Is this not all absent from the commandments of the Old Testament? If Jesus honored the Old Testament, why did He break with these doctrines? You should know which came first, God or the Bible! Being the Lord of the Sabbath, could He not also be the Lord of the Bible?’
“From Almighty God’s words we can understand that God’s work does not follow rules and is without restriction. It’s because He is the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of the Bible, and most importantly the Lord of all creation. We have no right or reason to require that, no matter what work God shall do, He must prophesy them before. The truth is that even though God’s work is prophesied before, if we don’t have a heart that longs to seek things out and don’t investigate God’s work, we’re still unable to know God. Like the Jewish Pharisees, for example. They knew clearly that the prophecy states ‘To us a son is given’ (Isaiah 9:6), but why did they still crucify the Lord Jesus? Although they knew the prophecy and also heard that Christ had come, they didn’t seek or investigate, nor did they accept the truth spoken by the Lord Jesus, and instead they blindly resisted and condemned based on their literal understanding of the prophecies, and finally crucified the Lord Jesus. Weren’t they ruined by their imaginings and misunderstandings? However, although three wise men in the East were unbelievers, they had seeking and obedient hearts, followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and so saw the Lord Jesus. There are also the disciples who followed the Lord Jesus. They also didn’t compare the literal meaning of the prophecies of Old Testament scripture with what the Lord Jesus did, but rather paid attention to listening to the Lord’s words. They recognized from His work and words that He was the Messiah they were waiting for. Therefore, if we want to know God and God’s work, then it does not depend on whether or not His work was prophesied, but crucially it depends on whether or not we are able to humbly seek and submit. If we can seek in this way, God will surely enlighten and guide us to welcome the Lord’s return.”
Hearing what the brother said, my heart felt enlightened and was somewhat moved. “Yes,” I thought. “How could God’s work be restricted by the prophecies? God created everything in heaven and on earth and used Moses to issue the laws, the Lord Jesus performed miracles and healed the sick and cast out demons. None of this was prophesied. Even though at that time it was prophesied that the Messiah would come, the Pharisees just upheld the words of the prophecies, kept to their own notions and imaginings, did not accept the work and words of the Lord Jesus, and crucified the Lord. Clearly, whether we are able to welcome the Lord does not depend on whether or not there is a basis in the prophecies, but crucially it indeed depends on whether or not we have a seeking heart.”
I finally understood the mystery of the phrases Father and Son.
Then I continued to ask, “At that time, after the Lord Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you Him’ (Matthew 17:5). And the Lord Jesus called God of heaven Father as He prayed. Since They were Father and Son, this implies God being male. So how could the Lord Jesus be female when He returns? I was never able to understand this problem.”
After hearing my question, the brother patiently fellowshiped in answer, “Based on the fact that the Lord Jesus called God in heaven Father as He prayed and God in heaven called the Lord Jesus Son, we conclude that God is male and develop notions about the Lord coming incarnate as a female. But have we ever thought whether this surmise is really right? This is an issue that many people do not fully understand. Let’s read Almighty God’s words, and we’ll understand it. Almighty God says, ‘When Jesus called God in heaven by the name of Father as He prayed, this was done only from the perspective of a created man, only because the Spirit of God had put on an ordinary and normal flesh and had the exterior cover of a created being. Even if within Him was the Spirit of God, His exterior appearance was still that of a normal man; in other words, He had become the “Son of man” of which all men, including Jesus Himself, spoke. Given that He is called the Son of man, He is a person (whether man or woman, in any case one with the exterior shell of a human being) born into a normal family of ordinary people. Therefore, Jesus calling God in heaven by the name of Father was the same as how you at first called Him Father; He did so from the perspective of a created man.’ ‘There are still those who say, “Did not God expressly state that Jesus was His beloved Son?” Jesus is the beloved Son of God, in whom He is well pleased — this was certainly spoken by God Himself. That was God bearing witness to Himself, but merely from a different perspective, that of the Spirit in heaven bearing witness to His own incarnation. Jesus is His incarnation, not His Son in heaven. Do you understand? Do not the words of Jesus, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me,” indicate that They are one Spirit? And is it not because of the incarnation that They were separated between heaven and earth? In reality, They are still one; no matter what, it is simply God bearing witness to Himself.’
“We can see from God’s words that the Lord Jesus called God in heaven Father as He prayed because He was speaking from the perspective of a created being. And when God in heaven called the Lord Jesus His beloved Son, it was God testifying that the Lord Jesus was God Himself in the flesh from a spiritual perspective, it doesn’t mean that the Lord Jesus is the son of God, and nor does it refer to God’s gender. We cannot define God as male according to the Lord Jesus calling God in heaven Father as He prayed and God in heaven calling the Lord Jesus His beloved Son. The Bible says clearly, ‘So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them’ (Genesis 1:27). God created male and female in His own image, but if we define God as male, how can we explain the fact that God created woman in His form? The truth is that God incarnate is God’s Spirit clothed in the flesh as a person. At that time, the incarnate Lord Jesus was a male, and this time God has become flesh as a female. Male and female are used with regard to the flesh of God incarnate, not God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit originally isn’t confined by sex. However, many of us don’t understand this mystery and so define God as male based on our own imaginations. Isn’t that blaspheming God?” Hearing this, I nodded in silence.
I struggled with remorse when I understood the significance of the Lord returning as a woman.
The brother continued, “God is so supreme, great, wondrous, and unfathomable, so delimiting God within our own notions and imaginings is a deed that defies God, and that it goes contrary to God’s will. It is also regarded as blaspheming God. In the last days God has incarnated as a woman, which is really contrary to our notions and resolves many misconceptions we have had about God. Let’s read another passage of God’s words and then it’ll be a lot clearer. Almighty God says, ‘Each stage of work done by God has its own practical significance. Back then, when Jesus came, He was male, and when God comes this time, He is female. From this, you can see that God created both male and female for the sake of His work, and with Him there is no distinction of gender. When His Spirit comes, He can take on any flesh He pleases, and that flesh can represent Him; whether male or female, it can represent God as long as it is His incarnate flesh. If Jesus had appeared as a female when He came, in other words, if an infant girl, and not a boy, had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, that stage of work would have been completed all the same. If that had been the case, then the present stage of work would have to be completed by a male instead, but the work would be completed all the same. The work done in either stage is equally significant; neither stage of work is repeated, nor does it conflict with the other. … With God there is no distinction of gender. He does His work as He wishes, and in doing His work He is not subject to any restrictions, but is especially free. Yet every stage of work has its own practical significance. God became flesh twice, and it is self-evident that His incarnation during the last days is the final time. He has come to make known all His deeds. If in this stage He did not become flesh in order personally to do work for man to witness, man would forever cling to the notion that God is only male, not female.’
“From this passage, we can see that God is a Spirit and there can be no differentiation of gender with God. The reason why God adopted two different genders in His incarnate form is because of the needs of God’s work. But whether male or female, as long as it is the fleshly incarnation of God’s Spirit, it is Christ and can do God’s own work. Just as when the Lord Jesus worked, He expressed His disposition of love and mercy, cured illness, cast out demons, fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, calmed the wind and sea, was resurrected three days after being nailed to the cross, and redeemed mankind. These were all works of a divine nature. Similarly, in the last days God has come incarnate as a female, and although He externally appears normal and ordinary, He reveals to us all the mysteries, such as the mystery of God’s three stages of work, the mystery of God’s names, the mystery of the Bible, the mystery of the incarnation, and the end and final destination for mankind, and so on. And He also expresses His righteous and majestic disposition, judges people’s sins and injustice with His words, reveals people’s corruption, points out the path for people to attain salvation and be purified, and takes mankind to a wonderful destination. These can only be done by God incarnate, and not a single corrupt human being such as us can take His place.
Besides, in the last days, God has come incarnate as a female, to eliminate our biased, fallacious understanding of God, which is really contrary to our notions, and makes us realize that God can incarnate as either male or female, that God is not only the God of men — He is also the God of women, and that He not only saves men but also saves women. This way, we’ll no longer delimit God with our own misconceptions and imaginings. God coming incarnate as female in the last days is so meaningful!”
After listening to Almighty God’s words and the brother’s fellowship, I understood that God’s essence is Spirit and that there is no distinction of gender. He incarnates as male or female to do His work in accordance with the needs of His work. But whether God incarnates as male or female, in essence it is God’s Spirit doing His own work. I thought of how I had no knowledge of God, defined Him as male by relying on my imaginings, and when hearing that the Lord Jesus had appeared to us as a female this time, I had my own conceptions and did not seek or investigate God’s words and work. I really was so blind! At the thought of this, I turned to God and prayed, “God! I’m a sinner. I was using my own notions and imaginings to delimit and resist You, but You didn’t treat me according to my transgressions and still used brothers and sisters to fellowship with me to make me return to Your family. Thank You God!”
My conceptions vanished and I followed the footsteps of the Lamb.
The brother also fellowshiped with me on aspects of the truth such as the inside story and meaning of God’s three stages of work, God’s name, God’s incarnation. Hearing all that I had a sudden flash of insight and also deeply felt that, in the past I was just like the Pharisees, persistently clung to my own conceptions, did not seek or accept the truths expressed by God. I felt so ashamed and a lot of remorse.
After some time had passed, through getting into contact with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God, I saw that they were enthusiastic and compassionate, and fellowshiped about the truth with light. In The Church of Almighty God, it was as if I lived in a warm family. I came to deeply appreciate that I was able to attain God’s salvation in the last days — this was entirely because of God’s great love for me. The Lord Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Through this experience, I also truly understood the practical significance of God saying this. At the crucial time of welcoming the coming of the Lord, it is very important to have a heart that longs for and seeks the truth.
I thank God for allowing me to accept His salvation in the last days in a foreign country. This is my blessing. In the future I will read more of God’s words, have more fellowship with my brothers and sisters, equip myself more with the truth, and fulfill my duty properly to repay God’s love. All the glory be to Almighty God!
From: Grow in Christ
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