[SIZE=12pt]As to how much of man’s work is the Holy Spirit’s work and how much is man’s experience, it can be said that even now people are still not clear about these questions. This is all because people do not know the principles of the Holy Spirit’s working. Man’s work I am speaking of, of course, refers to the work of the men who have the working of the Holy Spirit or who are used by the Holy Spirit. It does not mean men’s work of their human will, but the work of the apostles, workers, or ordinary brothers and sisters who are within the scope of the Holy Spirit’s working. “Man’s work” here does not refer to the work of the incarnated God, but refers to the scopes and the principles of the Holy Spirit’s working on man. Although they are the principles and the scopes of the Holy Spirit’s working, they are different from the principles and the scopes of the working of God’s incarnated flesh. Man’s work has man’s substance and principles, and God’s work has God’s substance and principles.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work in the stream of the Holy Spirit, whether it be the work of God Godself or the work of the men used, is the work of the Holy Spirit. The substance of God Godself is originally Spirit, who can be called the Holy Spirit and also the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Anyway, they are God’s Spirit. But because the ages are different, God’s Spirit is called by different names. Yet their substance is still one. So, the work of God Godself is essentially the work of the Holy Spirit, and the work of the incarnated God is also the work of the Holy Spirit. The work done by the men used is also the work of the Holy Spirit. It is only that the work of God is exactly the Holy Spirit’s complete expression, whereas the work of the men used is mixed with many human things and is not the direct expression of the Holy Spirit, much less his complete expression. The Holy Spirit works in various ways and without being limited by any conditions. He does different works on different men, which manifest the different substance of his working. The works he does in different ages are also different, and the works he does in different countries are also different. Of course, although the Holy Spirit works in many ways and by many principles, no matter how he works or on what kinds of men he works, his works have their different substance, and the works he does on different men have principles and can represent the substance of the working objects. This is because the Holy Spirit is quite strict in the scope and limits of his work. The work he does in the incarnated flesh is different from the work he does on men, and the works he does on men with different qualities are also different. On men he does not do the work he does in the incarnated flesh, and in the incarnated flesh he does not do the same work as he does on men. In a word, no matter how he works, the works he does on different objects are different, and the principles he works by are also different according to the states and the nature of different kinds of men. The Holy Spirit works on different men according to their original substance, and he does not make requirements of them beyond their original substance or work on them beyond their original qualities. So, the Holy Spirit’s works on men can let people see the substance of the working objects. Men’s original substance does not change, and their original qualities are limited. When the Holy Spirit uses men or works on men, he works according to their limited qualities, so that they can gain something from it. When the Holy Spirit works on the men used by him, he has all their talents and original qualities exerted without reserve and has all their original qualities exerted to serve the work. It can be said that he works by making use of the usable parts in men so as to achieve the working results. But the work he does in the incarnated flesh is to directly express the work of the Spirit, not mixed with human minds and human thinking, which is beyond the reach of man’s gift, man’s experience, and man’s natural qualities. All kinds of works of the Holy Spirit are done to benefit people and to edify people. But because some people can be perfected while others do not have the conditions for being perfected, that is, cannot be perfected and can hardly be saved, though they once had the working of the Holy Spirit, they are still eliminated in the end. This is to say, the work of the Holy Spirit is to edify people, but you cannot say that all those who have the working of the Holy Spirit are completely the ones to be perfected, because the way many people pursue along is not the way of being perfected. They only have the unilateral working of the Holy Spirit, but they do not cooperate on their own initiative or have a right pursuit. Thus, the Holy Spirit’s works on them become works serving those to be perfected. The work of the Holy Spirit cannot be directly seen or touched by people themselves, and it can only be expressed through some men who have the gifts of working. That is, the work of the Holy Spirit is expressed through men and supplied to the followers.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work of the Holy Spirit is accomplished and completed through various men and through different conditions. Although the work of God incarnate can represent the work of the entire age and represent people’s entering in in the entire age, the work concerning people’s detailed entering in has to be done by the men used by the Holy Spirit and does not need to be done by God incarnate. So, God’s work, or God’s own ministry, is a work done by God’s incarnated flesh, which cannot be done by man instead. The work of the Holy Spirit is completed through different kinds of men, and it cannot be completely accomplished by a certain man or thoroughly made clear by a certain man. Those who lead the churches also cannot represent all the work of the Holy Spirit but can only do some work of leading. Thus, the work of the Holy Spirit includes several parts: the work of God Godself, the work of the men used, and the work on all those in the stream of the Holy Spirit. Of these three parts, the work of God Godself is to lead the entire age; the work of the men used is to lead all the followers of God by being sent or receiving commissions after the work of God Godself, and they are the ones who cooperate with God’s work; the work done by the Holy Spirit on those in the stream is to maintain all his own work, that is, to maintain the entire management, and also to uphold his testimony, and at the same time to perfect those who can be perfected. These three parts are the complete work of the Holy Spirit. But without the work of God Godself, the entire management work would remain at a standstill. The work done by God Godself is a work that involves all mankind and is also a work that represents the entire age. That is to say, the work of God Godself represents the movement and the trend of all the work of the Holy Spirit. But the work of the apostles is to continue the work after the work of God Godself, and it is not to lead the age and does not represent the trend of the work of the Holy Spirit in the entire age. They are only doing the work man should do, which does not involve the management work. The work done by God Godself is an item in the management work, and the work done by men is only the duty performed by the men used, which has nothing to do with the management work. Because their identities and what their works represent are different, although the work of God Godself and men’s work are both the works of the Holy Spirit, there are always obvious substantive differences between them. Besides, the Holy Spirit’s works on the ones with different identities vary in degrees. These are the principles and the scopes of the Holy Spirit’s working.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work done by man represents his experience and his humanity. What man supplies and the work he does represent him. Man’s seeing, reasoning, logic, and rich imaginations are all included in his work. In particular, man’s experience can represent his work all the more. What man has experienced will be the elements in his work. Man’s work can express his experience. When a man is experiencing in a passive state, most of the words in his fellowship will be negative elements. If his experience is positive during a period of time and he particularly has ways on the positive side, what he fellowships will be very encouraging, and others can receive a positive supply from him. If a worker becomes passive during a period of time, the words of his fellowship will always carry negative elements. Such fellowship is depressing, and others will be depressed unconsciously after his fellowship. The states of the followers change with that of the leader. What a worker is within is what he expresses. And the work of the Holy Spirit always changes with man’s states, and he works according to man’s experience; he does not force man but makes requirements of man according to the normal course of his experience. That is to say, man’s fellowship is different from God’s word. What men fellowship about is their personal seeing and experience and is to express their seeing and experience on the basis of the work done by God. Their responsibility is to find out, after God works or speaks, what should be practiced and entered into, and then supply it to the followers. Therefore, men’s works represent their entering in and practice. Of course, these works are mixed with their experience and lessons or some thoughts of theirs. No matter how the Holy Spirit works, working on men or working through being incarnated, it is that the ones who work are expressing what they are. Although it is the Holy Spirit who works, he works on the basis of what men originally are, because the Holy Spirit does not work without any basis, that is, does not do any work out of nothing, but always works according to actual situations and actual conditions. Only in this way can men’s disposition be transformed and can their old notions and old thoughts be changed. All that men express is what they have seen, what they have experienced, and what they can imagine. Even if it is doctrines or notions, it is what their mind can reach. The works men do, great or small, cannot go beyond the scope of their experience and seeing or of what they can imagine and conceive. What God expresses is what God Godself is, which is beyond man’s capacity, that is, beyond the reach of man’s mind. He expresses his work of leading all mankind, which has nothing to do with man’s detailed experience but has to do with his own management. What man expresses is man’s experience; what God expresses is God’s being, and this being is God’s original disposition and is beyond man’s capacity. Man’s experience is his seeing and knowledge gained based on God’s expressing what he is. All these seeing and knowledge are called what man is. They are expressed on the basis of man’s original disposition and qualities, so they are called what man is. What man has experienced and seen he can fellowship. What he has not experienced or seen or what his mind cannot reach, that is, the things he does not have within, he cannot fellowship. If what man expresses is what he has not experienced, that is his imagination or is doctrine. In any case, there is not any reality in his words. If you have never contacted the things of society, you cannot fellowship clearly about the complicated relationships in society. If you do not have a family, when others fellowship about their family affairs, you cannot understand most of the things they are talking about. So, what man fellowships about and the work he does represent what he is within. When someone fellowships about his knowledge of chastisement and judgment, as you do not have the experience, you dare not deny his knowledge, much less be one hundred percent certain about it. This is because what he fellowships about is what you have never experienced or known and what your mind cannot imagine. You can only get from his knowledge the way in the chastisement and judgment in the future. But this way can only be your doctrinal knowledge and cannot replace your knowledge, much less your experience. Maybe you feel his knowledge is quite right when hearing it, but when you experience it, it is impracticable in many aspects. Maybe you feel some of his knowledge is not at all practicable to you when hearing it, and you have notions about it at the time; although you accept it, you accept it reluctantly. But when you experience, the knowledge about which you have notions becomes your way of practice. And the more you practice, the more you realize the real value and significance of his word. After you have experiences, you will be able to communicate the knowledge you should have about the things you have experienced, and you can also discern whose knowledge is true and practical and whose knowledge is doctrinal and valueless. So, whether the knowledge you communicate is in accordance with the truth mainly depends on whether you have practical experience. If there is the truth in your experience, your knowledge will be practical and valuable. Through your experience, you will also gain discernment and insight, improve your knowledge, and increase your wisdom and common sense in conducting yourself. The knowledge communicated by those who have no truth, however high, is doctrine. Such people may be very clever about fleshly things, but they do not have discernment about spiritual things, because they have no experience of spiritual things at all. Such are the ones who are not enlightened in spiritual things and who do not understand the spirit. No matter what knowledge you communicate, as long as it is what you are, it is your own experience and your true knowledge. What those people who only speak doctrines, that is, who have no truth and no reality, communicate can also be said to be what they are, because their doctrines come from their thinking hard and are the results of their mind pondering deeply, but they are only doctrines and their imaginations! The experiences of different kinds of men represent the things they have within. Whoever has no spiritual experience cannot communicate any knowledge of the truth or any correct knowledge of different kinds of spiritual things. What man expresses is what he is within. This is certain. If man wants to have knowledge of spiritual things and of the truth, he has to have practical experiences. If you cannot even talk clearly about the common sense of human life, how much less about spiritual things? Those who can lead the churches, those who can supply people with life, and those who can be apostles of all must have practical experiences, have a correct knowledge of spiritual things, and have a correct understanding and experience of the truth. Only such men are qualified to be workers or apostles to lead the churches. Otherwise, they can only follow as the least and cannot be leaders, much less be apostles who supply people with life. This is because the function of apostles is not to run or to fight, but to do the work of ministering life and the work of leading people to have their disposition transformed, and it is the function performed by those who receive commissions and shoulder heavy responsibilities, which cannot be undertaken by every man. Such work can only be undertaken by those who have the being of life, that is, who have experience in the truth. It cannot be undertaken by everyone who can give up things and run and is willing to spend himself. Those who have no experience of the truth and who have not been pruned and judged cannot do such work. Those who have no experience, that is, those who have no reality, cannot see reality clearly, because they themselves do not have the being in this aspect. So, such men not only cannot do the work of leading, but they will be ones to be eliminated if they have no truth over a long time. The seeing communicated by you will show what hardships of life you have experienced, in what things you have undergone chastisement, and in what things you have experienced judgment. This is also true in trials. In what things one has been refined and in what things he has been weak, in those things he has experiences and has ways. If he suffered frustrations in marriage, most of the time he will fellowship: “Thank God and praise God. I must satisfy God’s heart’s desire and offer up my whole life and completely commit my marriage into God’s hand. I am willing to pledge my whole life to God.” The things a man has within, what he is, can be represented by his fellowship. A man’s speaking fast or slowly, speaking loud or low, and so on, which are not a matter of experience, cannot represent what he has and is. They can only show whether his temperament is good or bad or whether his nature is good or bad, but they cannot be equated with whether he has experience. A man’s ability to express himself or his skill and speed in speaking, which are a matter of exercise, cannot replace his experience. When you fellowship about your own experience, the things you pay attention to and you have within will be fellowshipped. What I speak represents what I am, but what I speak is beyond man’s capacity. What I speak is not what man has experienced or what man can see or contact, but all that is what I am. Some people only acknowledge that what I fellowship about is what I have experienced, but do not acknowledge that it is the direct expression of the Spirit. Of course, what I speak is what I have experienced. The six-thousand-year management work is done by me, and I have experienced all from the creation of mankind in the beginning until today. So how can I not tell? The things concerning man’s nature I have seen through and have long searched. So how can I not explain clearly? As I have seen through man’s essence, I am qualified to chastise man and to judge man, because all men are from me and are corrupted by satan. The works done by me I am certainly qualified to judge. Although these works are not done by my flesh, they are the direct expression of the Spirit, and they are what I have and what I am. So I am qualified to express them and to do the work I ought to do. All that man speaks is what he has experienced, what he has seen, what his mind can reach, and what his sense can feel. Man can fellowship about these things. The words spoken by God’s incarnated flesh are the direct expression of the Spirit, expressing the works the Spirit has done. Although the flesh has not experienced or seen them, what he expresses is still what he is, because the substance of the flesh is the Spirit and what he expresses is the works of the Spirit. Even though they are beyond the capacity of the flesh, they are the works the Spirit has done. After he is incarnated, through the expression of his flesh, he lets people know what God is and see God’s disposition and the works he has done. The work done by man is to cause people to be more clear about what they should enter into and what they should understand and is to lead them to understand and experience the truth. What man does is the sustaining work; the work done by God is to open up a new way and open a new age for mankind and to disclose to people the things the mortals do not know, so that they can know his disposition. What he does is the work of leading all mankind.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]All the works of the Holy Spirit are to benefit people and to edify people. None of them is unbeneficial to people. No matter whether the truth is deep or shallow and no matter what the qualities of those who receive the truth are like, whatever the Holy Spirit does is beneficial to them. But the Holy Spirit cannot work directly, and he has to express his work through the men who cooperate with him. Only in this way can he achieve the results of his doing the work. Of course, if the Holy Spirit directly does the work, it will be without any mixture. But when he does it through men, it is with much mixture and is not his original work. Thus, the truth is more or less changed, and what the followers receive is not the original meaning of the Holy Spirit but a combination of the Holy Spirit’s work and man’s experience or knowledge. The Holy Spirit’s work the followers receive is correct, but man’s experience and knowledge they receive vary with different workers. After the workers have the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, they experience on the basis of them. And in their experiences these are combined with their mind and experience and also with their being in humanity. Then they gain the knowledge or seeing they should. These are the ways of practice they gain after experiencing the truth. Such “ways of practice” are not completely the same because men’s experiences are different and the things they experience are also different. Thus, for the same inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as the men who receive it are different, their knowledge and practice of the “inspiration” are different. Some practice it with small errors, some with big errors, and others completely wrongly, because their understanding abilities are different and their original qualities are also different. Some understand a message this way after hearing it, and some understand a truth that way after hearing it. Some deviate slightly, whereas some do not understand the true meaning of the truth at all. So, one will lead others by what he understands, which is absolutely true, because his working is just expressing what he is. If a man has a correct knowledge of the truth, those led by him will also have a correct knowledge of the truth. Even if some understand it erroneously, they are very few; not all of them are erroneous. If a man has an erroneous understanding of the truth, all those led by him will undoubtedly be erroneous, and they will be erroneous ones, erroneous ones through and through. The level of the followers’ knowledge of the truth largely depends on the workers. Of course, the truth from God is completely right and absolutely sure, but the workers are not completely right and cannot be completely reliable. If a worker has ways to practice the truth and they are very practical, the followers will also have ways to practice it. If a worker does not have ways to practice the truth but only has doctrines, the followers will not have any reality. The qualities and the nature of the followers are determined by birth and have nothing to do with the workers. But the degree of the followers’ understanding of the truth and their knowledge of God depend on the workers. (This is only so with some people.) What a worker is like determines what the followers he leads are like. All that a worker expresses is what he is, without any reserve. What he requires of his followers is what he himself is willing to achieve or what he himself can achieve. Most men, in working, make requirements of their followers according to what they themselves do, though many of them they cannot achieve at all. What they cannot achieve becomes a hindrance to their entering in.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Those who have undergone pruning and judgment make much smaller errors in working, and their expression in working is much more accurate, but those who work by their naturalness make rather big errors. Those who have not undergone perfecting express too much naturalness in working, and that is a great hindrance to the work of the Holy Spirit. Even those who were born with qualities for working have to undergo pruning and judgment before they can do God’s work. If they have not undergone such judgment, no matter how well they do the work, it cannot be in accordance with the principles of the truth and is full of naturalness and human goodness. When those who have undergone pruning and judgment do God’s work, their working is much more accurate than that of those who have not undergone judgment. What those who have not undergone judgment express is only human flesh and human thinking, mixed with a lot of human cleverness and natural abilities, and it is not man’s accurate expression of God’s work. And those who follow them are led before them by their natural qualities. Because they express too many human seeings and experiences, which are almost divorced from God’s original meaning and are too far from it, such men in working cannot lead people before God but before them. So, those who have not undergone judgment and chastisement are not qualified to do God’s work. The work done by a qualified worker can lead people onto the right way and cause them to enter further into the truth. The work he does can lead people before God, and he can work according to people’s different situations, without being bound by regulations, so that people can be released and free and gradually grow in life and enter further into the truth. The work done by an unqualified worker falls far short of that. His work is foolish, and he can only lead people into regulations. What he requires people to do is not according to their different situations, and he does not work according to their actual needs. Such work has too many regulations and doctrines and cannot lead people into reality or into the normal practice in growing in life but can only make them observe some worthless regulations. Such a leader will lead people astray. He will lead you to become the kind of person he is, and he will lead you into what he has and is. For the followers to discern whether their leader is qualified, they should mainly look at what way he leads and what the results of his work are, whether what they receive is the principles in accordance with the truth, and whether they receive the ways of practice suitable for them to be transformed. You should have discernment of the different works of different kinds of men and should not be a foolish follower. This has to do with your entering in. If you cannot discern in whose leading there are ways and in whose there are not, you will easily be deceived. All these have a direct bearing on your own life. The work done by one who has not undergone perfecting has too much naturalness and is mixed with too much human will. What he is is his naturalness and is what he was born with, not the life he has after being dealt with or the reality he has after being transformed. How could such a man sustain those who pursue life? Man’s original life is man’s natural intelligence or abilities, which are far off from God’s exact requirements for man. If a man has not undergone perfecting and his corrupt disposition has not been dealt with and pruned, what he expresses will be far off from the truth and will be mixed with such vague things as his imaginations and his partial experiences. And no matter how he works, people will feel that there is no general goal and no truths fit for them all to enter into. And most of his requirements for people force them to do what they cannot do, driving a duck onto a perch. This is the work of man’s will. Man’s corrupt disposition, man’s thinking, and man’s notions pervade every part of his whole being. Man does not have the natural ability to practice the truth or to directly understand the truth. Besides, man has corrupt disposition. Isn’t it totally a disruption for such a natural man to work? But a man who has undergone perfecting has experience of the truth man should understand and has knowledge of man’s corrupt disposition, and the vague and impractical things in his work decrease gradually, that is, the truths expressed by him become more accurate and become realistic. Man’s mind especially hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. Man has rich imagination, reasonable logic, and old experience in handling things. If these are not pruned and corrected, they are all hindrances in the work. So, man’s work cannot reach the highest degree of accuracy, especially the work of those who have not undergone perfecting.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work done by man has a scope and has limitations. A man can only do the work of a certain phase and cannot do the work of the entire age. Otherwise, he will lead people into a kind of regulations. The work done by man can only be applicable to a certain period or to a certain phase, because man’s experience has a scope; man’s work cannot be compared with God’s work. The ways man practices and the truths he knows are applicable in a certain scope. The way walked by man cannot be said to be completely the will of the Holy Spirit, because man can only be inspired by the Holy Spirit but cannot be completely filled with the Holy Spirit. The things man can experience are all within the scope of the normal humanity and cannot go beyond the scope of the normal human mind. All those who have practical expression experience within this scope. When they experience the truth, they are all experiencing their normal human life under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not experiencing apart from their normal human life. They all experience the truths inspired by the Holy Spirit on the basis of living their human life, and such truths vary from person to person and their depth is related to their states. The way they walk can only be said to be the normal human life of a man who pursues the truth and the way walked by a normal man who has the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be said to be the way walked by the Holy Spirit. In the normal human experience, because the ones who pursue are different, the works the Holy Spirit does on them are also different. And because the circumstances and scopes they experience in are different, and because of the mixture of their minds and thinking, their experiences are mixed in different degrees. Everyone knows a certain truth according to their different conditions. The true meaning of the truth they know is not complete, but is only concerning one or several aspects of it. The scopes of the truth experienced by men are different because of their different conditions. Thus, the knowledge of the same truth expressed by different men is different. In other words, man’s experience is limited and cannot fully represent the will of the Holy Spirit. Man’s work cannot be considered to be God’s work, even if what man expresses is very much in accordance with God’s will, and even if man’s experience is very close to the perfecting work the Holy Spirit wants to do. Man can only be God’s servant and do the work committed by God. What man expresses can only be his knowledge under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the truths he gains through his personal experience. Man does not have the qualification or the condition to be the outlet of the Holy Spirit and is not entitled to say that the work he does is the work done by God. Man has man’s principles of working, and every man has different experiences and possesses different conditions. Man’s work includes all his experiences under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These experiences can only represent what man is but do not represent what God is or the Holy Spirit’s will. Therefore, the way walked by man cannot be said to be the way walked by the Holy Spirit, because man’s work cannot represent God’s work and man’s work and experience are not completely the Holy Spirit’s will. The work done by man is prone to fall into a certain regulation, and the ways of his working are prone to be restricted to a limited scope and cannot lead people into a free way. And most of the followers live in a limited scope, and the ways of their experience are also within a limited scope. Man’s experience is limited, and his ways of working are only a few. His work cannot be compared with the work of the Holy Spirit or the work of God Godself, because man’s experience is limited after all. The work of God Godself, however it is done, is free from regulations. However it is done, it is not done in only one way or according to any regulations but in a free and released way. Regardless of how long people have followed, they cannot sum up any rules concerning his ways of working. Although his work has strict principles, it is always done in new ways and always has new progress, which is beyond man’s capacity. During one period God can do several different works and lead people in several different ways, so that people can always have new entering in and new transformation. You cannot find out any rules concerning his working, because he always works in new ways. Only thus will those who follow him not fall into regulations. The work done by God Godself always shuns man’s notions and counters man’s notions. Only those who follow him with a true heart and who pursue him with a true heart can be transformed in their disposition and live in a free way, not being bound by any regulations or restricted by any religious notions. When man works, he makes requirements of people according to his own experience and what he himself can achieve. The standard of these requirements is restricted to a certain scope, and the ways of practice are also very limited. So, the followers unconsciously live within a limited scope. As time goes on, they become regulations and rituals. If the work of a period is entrusted to a man to lead who has not undergone God’s personal perfecting and who has not received judgment, his followers will all become religionists and become experts in resisting God. Therefore, if one is a qualified leader, he must have undergone judgment and received perfecting. For a man who has not undergone judgment, even if he has the working of the Holy Spirit, all that he expresses is vague and impractical things. If he leads people for a long time, he will lead them into vague and supernatural regulations. The work done by God is not according to man’s flesh and man’s thinking, counters man’s notions, and is not mixed with vague religious color. The results of his work cannot be achieved by a man who has not undergone his perfecting and are beyond the reach of man’s mind.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]It is very easy for man to work according to his mind. Take the pastors and leaders in the religious world for example. They work by their gifts and ranks. Those who follow them for a long time will be infected by their gifts and influenced by some of what they are. They pay attention to people’s gifts and people’s talents and knowledge, and they also pay attention to some supernatural things and many profound and unrealistic doctrines (of course, these profound doctrines are beyond people’s reach). They do not pay attention to the transformation of people’s disposition but pay attention to training their ability to preach and work and to increasing their knowledge and rich religious doctrines. They do not pay attention to how much people are transformed in their disposition and how much they understand the truth. They do not at all care about people’s substance, much less know about people’s normal and abnormal states. They do not counter or disclose people’s notions, much less prune their deficiencies or corruptions. Most of those who follow them serve by their natural gifts, and what they express is knowledge and vague religious truth, which are divorced from reality and simply cannot bring life to people. The substance of their working is actually training talents, training a person with nothing to be an outstanding graduate from a theological school, who will then go to work and lead others. God has been doing his work for six thousand years, and can you find out any rules? Man’s work has many regulations and rules. Man’s mind is too dogmatic. So what man expresses is some knowledge and realization he gains in all his experiences, and he cannot express things other than these things. Man’s experiences or knowledge are not out of his natural gift or innate ability, but because of God’s leading and God’s direct shepherding. Man only has the organ to receive the shepherding but not the organ to directly express what divinity is. Man cannot be the source but can only be a vessel to receive the water from the source. This is man’s innate ability and is an organ man should have. If man loses the organ to receive God’s word and loses his innate ability, he loses his most valuable thing and loses his duty as a created man. If man does not have knowledge and experience of God’s word and work, then he loses his duty, losing the duty a created being should perform and losing his dignity as a created being. To express what divinity is is God’s natural ability, whether he expresses it in the flesh or the Spirit directly expresses it, and it is God’s ministry. To express his own experience or knowledge (that is, express what he is) in or after God’s work is man’s innate ability and man’s duty and is what man should achieve. Although man’s expression falls far short of God’s expression and it has many regulations, man must fulfill the duty he should and do what he should do. In performing his duty, man should do his very best, without any reserve.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After a man has worked for years, he sums up some experience, wisdom, and rules from his work of the years. He who has worked for a long time knows how to sense the movement of the working of the Holy Spirit and knows when the Holy Spirit works and when he does not. When he has a burden, he knows what to fellowship. He knows the normal states of the Holy Spirit’s working and the normal states of man’s growing in life. Such is a man who has knowledge of the working of the Holy Spirit after working for years. One who has worked for a long time is experienced and unhurried in speaking. Even if he has nothing to say, he does not get flustered and can keep praying within to seek the working of the Holy Spirit, not being agitated or nervous. Such is a man experienced in working. One who has worked for a long time and has a lot of experience and lessons has many things within which hinder the working of the Holy Spirit. This is a defect resulting from his long working. When a man first begins to work, it is not mixed with human lessons or experience, and in particular he has no idea how the Holy Spirit works. However, in the course of his progressive working, he learns to sense how the Holy Spirit works, knows how he can have the working of the Holy Spirit and how he can touch others’ vital spots, and so on, which are the common knowledge a worker should have. As time goes on, he knows such working wisdom and knowledge like the back of his hand, and he seems to be able to use them readily in working. However, when the Holy Spirit works in a new way, he still sticks to those old working knowledge and old working rules but knows very little about the new movement of the work. Working for years and having the constant presence and leading of the Holy Spirit cause him to have more and more working experience and lessons. These things result in a kind of self-confidence, which is not pride, within him. In other words, he is already very satisfied with his work and is quite content with the common knowledge he has gained about the working of the Holy Spirit. In particular, the things others have not gained or experienced cause him to be more confident of himself, as if he has never-quenching working of the Holy Spirit and yet others are not qualified to enjoy that kind of special treatment, and only he who has worked for years and has great use value is qualified to enjoy it. Those things become a great hindrance to his accepting the new work of the Holy Spirit. Even if he can accept the new work, it is not a matter of one day, and he has to undergo many struggles before he can accept it, turning around gradually through his old notions being dealt with and his old disposition being judged. Without going through these steps, he will not give up and easily accept the new sayings or works discordant with his old notions. This is where man is most difficult to deal with, and it is not easy to change. If a worker can not only know the Holy Spirit’s working but can also sum up the movements of the working of the Holy Spirit, be unrestricted by working experience, and accept the new work in light of the old work, then he is a sensible man and a qualified worker. As often happens, some men do not know how to sum up working experience after working for years, and others sum up working experience and wisdom, which later become hindrances to their accepting the new work, and they cannot properly understand and correctly treat the old and new works. Man is really too difficult! Most of you are like this. Those who have experienced the Holy Spirit’s work for years cannot easily accept the new work and are always full of notions and can hardly drop them, while those who have just begun to work lack working knowledge and they do not even know how to handle some simplest things. You are really difficult! Those with some seniority are so haughty and conceited that they do not know when they were born. They always look at the younger ones with scornful eyes, but they themselves cannot accept the new work and cannot drop the notions they have accumulated and kept over many years. The young, ignorant ones can accept some new work of the Holy Spirit and are quite zealous, but they always lose their heads and do not know what to do when they encounter things. Though zealous, they are too ignorant. Though with a little knowledge of the Holy Spirit’s work, they cannot apply it in their life, which only becomes some doctrines without any use value. There are too many such people among you. How many are fit for use? How many can do a work fit for the Holy Spirit? It seems that you, having followed until now, are all very obedient. Actually, you have not dropped your notions and are still seeking in the Bible, believing in vagueness, or wandering in notions. None of you investigates carefully the practical work of today or enters further into it. You all accept the way of today with your old notions. What can you gain through such a belief? It can be said that there are many notions hidden in you, which you have not manifested, and it is only that you try hard to cover them up and do not manifest them lightly. You do not accept the new work with a true heart and have no intention to drop your old notions. You have too many and too serious philosophies of life. You treat the new work half-heartedly while not dropping your old notions. Your hearts are really too sinister, and you simply do not have these steps of new works in your hearts. Can such good-for-nothings as you do the work of widely preaching the gospel? Can you undertake the work of spreading it to the entire universe? Such doings of yours are just the things that hinder you from being transformed in your disposition and from knowing God. If you continue like this, you are surely ones to be eliminated.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]You have to know how to distinguish between God’s work and man’s work. What can you see from man’s work? Man’s work has many elements of man’s experience, and what man expresses is what man is. When God works, he is also expressing what he is, but what he is is different from what man is. What man is represents man’s experiences and man’s life (what man has experienced or encountered in his life, or what philosophies of life he has), and the being expressed by men who live in different environments is different. Whether or not you have experienced the things of society and how you live and experience in your family can be seen from your expression. However, you cannot see from the work of God incarnate whether he has social experience. He knows man’s essence very well and can disclose all kinds of practices of all kinds of men and even more man’s corrupt disposition and disobedient acts; he does not live among the “worldly people,” but he knows the nature of the “mortals” and all the corruptions of the “worldly people.” This is what he is. Although he has never contacted society, he knows the conventions and rules in dealing with the world, because he has fully known man’s nature. He can know the Spirit’s work that man’s eyes cannot see and man’s ears cannot hear, both of the present and of the past. Here is contained the wisdom which is not philosophy of life and the wonderfulness unfathomable to man. These are what he is, which is open to man and also hidden from man. What he expresses is not what an extraordinary man is but the original attributes and being of the Spirit. He does not travel to all the countries, but he knows the things of the entire world. He contacts the “anthropoids” that have no knowledge and no insight, but he expresses words higher than knowledge and above great men. He lives among a group of obtuse and numb people who have no humanity and who do not know normal human rules or human life, but he can require mankind to live out a normal humanity, and at the same time he discloses mankind’s base and low humanity. All these are what he is, which is higher than what any fleshly man is. It is unnecessary for him to experience the complex, burdensome, and sordid social life before he can do the work he ought to do and thoroughly disclose the essence of corrupt mankind. The sordid social life cannot edify his flesh. His working and speaking is just to disclose man’s disobedience, not to supply man with experience and lessons of dealing with the world. He does not need to investigate society or investigate man’s family before he supplies man with life. His exposing and judging man is not to express the experiences of his flesh, but to disclose man’s unrighteousness after he has long known man’s disobedience and hated mankind’s corruption. All the work he does is making known his disposition and expressing his being to man. Such work can only be done by him, not by fleshly man. As far as his work is concerned, people cannot tell what kind of man he is. Nor can they classify him among created men according to his work or by what he is. Thus they can only class him among nonhuman beings, yet they do not know which category he should belong to, so they can only put him in the category of “God.” It is not without reason that they do so, because he has done many works among them that man cannot do.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work done by God does not represent the experience of his flesh. The work done by man represents his own experience. Every man speaks about his own experience. God can directly express the truth, whereas man can only express the corresponding experiences after he has experienced the truths. God works without any regulations or being limited by time and geography. He can express what he is at any time and in any place, and he does his work freely. Man works under some conditions and some backgrounds. Otherwise, he cannot do any work and cannot express any knowledge of God or any experience of the truth. As to whether it is God’s work or man’s work, as long as you compare them, you will know the differences between them. If God does not work but only men work, you will just know that men’s teachings are high, beyond the capacity of anyone else, and that their tones of speaking, their principles of handling things, and their experienced and steady manners in working are beyond the capacity of anyone else. You all admire such men with superior humanity. However, you cannot see from God’s work and word that he has a very superior humanity; instead, he is ordinary, and when he works, he is normal and practical and yet immeasurable to the mortals, so that people have a kind of fear of him. In men’s work, maybe their experiences and their imagination and reasoning are very high, and their humanity is very good. These can only cause people to admire them but not fear and dread them. People all admire those who have the ability to work and who have very deep experiences and can practice the truth. Yet anyway, they will not fear them but only admire and envy them. However, what those who have experienced God’s work have for God is not admiration; rather, they feel that his work is beyond man’s capacity and unfathomable to man and feel that it is fresh and wonderful. When people experience God’s work, their first knowledge of him is that he is “unfathomable” and wise and wonderful, and they unconsciously have a fear of him. And they feel that the work he does is mysterious and beyond the reach of man’s mind. People only hope that they can meet his requirements and satisfy his heart’s desire but do not hope that they can be above him, because the work he does is beyond man’s mind and man’s imagination and cannot be done by man instead. Even men themselves do not know their lack, but he opens up a new way and comes among them and leads them into a newer and more beautiful world, so that mankind has a new progress and a newer start. What people have for him is not admiration, or rather, not only admiration. Their deepest feelings toward him are fear and also love. They feel that God is indeed wonderful, that the works he does man cannot do, and that the words he speaks man cannot speak. Those who experience his work always have an indescribable feeling. Those who have deeper experiences have a very great love for God and always feel that he is lovely and the work he does is so wise and so wonderful. Thus, they have an inexhaustible strength within them, which is not dread or occasional adoration but a deep feeling of God’s mercy and tolerance for man. But those who have experienced his chastisement and judgment feel that he is majestic and inviolable. Even those who have experienced very many of his works cannot fathom him. All those who truly fear him know that his work does not fit but always counters man’s notions. He does not need people to have full admiration of him or outward obedience to him but to have a true fear of him and true obedience to him. In his so many works, all those who have true experience have a fear of him, which is higher than admiration. Because of his work of chastisement and judgment, people all see his disposition and thus have a fear of him. God is for man to fear and for man to obey, because his being and disposition are different from and higher than those of a created being. God is an uncreated being. He alone is worthy for man to fear and to obey, and man is not qualified. So, all those who have experienced his work and have a true knowledge of him have a fear of him. But those who do not drop their notions about him, that is, those who simply do not regard him as God, do not have any fear of him at all. Although they follow, they are not conquered. Such people are all ones disobedient by nature. He does such work to achieve the result that all created beings can have a fear of the Creator, worship him, and become subject under his authority unconditionally. This is the ultimate result all the works are to produce. If people have experienced these works but do not have any fear of God and their former disobedience is not changed at all, they are surely ones to be eliminated. If one’s attitude toward God is only admiring or keeping at a respectful distance from him but not having any love, this is what a person who does not have a heart of loving God reaches. Such people lack the qualification for being perfected. If so many works cannot win one’s true love, this shows that he has not gained God and that he does not have a heart of truly pursuing the truth. Those who do not love God do not love the truth, and thus they cannot gain God, much less receive God’s approval. No matter how such people experience the work of the Holy Spirit or experience judgment, they cannot have a fear of God. These are the ones whose nature is hard to change and whose disposition is extremely wicked. All those who do not have a fear of God are the ones to be eliminated and the ones to be punished, and they will receive the same punishment as those who do evil, and will even suffer more than those who do unrighteousness.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=12pt]The work in the stream of the Holy Spirit, whether it be the work of God Godself or the work of the men used, is the work of the Holy Spirit. The substance of God Godself is originally Spirit, who can be called the Holy Spirit and also the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Anyway, they are God’s Spirit. But because the ages are different, God’s Spirit is called by different names. Yet their substance is still one. So, the work of God Godself is essentially the work of the Holy Spirit, and the work of the incarnated God is also the work of the Holy Spirit. The work done by the men used is also the work of the Holy Spirit. It is only that the work of God is exactly the Holy Spirit’s complete expression, whereas the work of the men used is mixed with many human things and is not the direct expression of the Holy Spirit, much less his complete expression. The Holy Spirit works in various ways and without being limited by any conditions. He does different works on different men, which manifest the different substance of his working. The works he does in different ages are also different, and the works he does in different countries are also different. Of course, although the Holy Spirit works in many ways and by many principles, no matter how he works or on what kinds of men he works, his works have their different substance, and the works he does on different men have principles and can represent the substance of the working objects. This is because the Holy Spirit is quite strict in the scope and limits of his work. The work he does in the incarnated flesh is different from the work he does on men, and the works he does on men with different qualities are also different. On men he does not do the work he does in the incarnated flesh, and in the incarnated flesh he does not do the same work as he does on men. In a word, no matter how he works, the works he does on different objects are different, and the principles he works by are also different according to the states and the nature of different kinds of men. The Holy Spirit works on different men according to their original substance, and he does not make requirements of them beyond their original substance or work on them beyond their original qualities. So, the Holy Spirit’s works on men can let people see the substance of the working objects. Men’s original substance does not change, and their original qualities are limited. When the Holy Spirit uses men or works on men, he works according to their limited qualities, so that they can gain something from it. When the Holy Spirit works on the men used by him, he has all their talents and original qualities exerted without reserve and has all their original qualities exerted to serve the work. It can be said that he works by making use of the usable parts in men so as to achieve the working results. But the work he does in the incarnated flesh is to directly express the work of the Spirit, not mixed with human minds and human thinking, which is beyond the reach of man’s gift, man’s experience, and man’s natural qualities. All kinds of works of the Holy Spirit are done to benefit people and to edify people. But because some people can be perfected while others do not have the conditions for being perfected, that is, cannot be perfected and can hardly be saved, though they once had the working of the Holy Spirit, they are still eliminated in the end. This is to say, the work of the Holy Spirit is to edify people, but you cannot say that all those who have the working of the Holy Spirit are completely the ones to be perfected, because the way many people pursue along is not the way of being perfected. They only have the unilateral working of the Holy Spirit, but they do not cooperate on their own initiative or have a right pursuit. Thus, the Holy Spirit’s works on them become works serving those to be perfected. The work of the Holy Spirit cannot be directly seen or touched by people themselves, and it can only be expressed through some men who have the gifts of working. That is, the work of the Holy Spirit is expressed through men and supplied to the followers.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work of the Holy Spirit is accomplished and completed through various men and through different conditions. Although the work of God incarnate can represent the work of the entire age and represent people’s entering in in the entire age, the work concerning people’s detailed entering in has to be done by the men used by the Holy Spirit and does not need to be done by God incarnate. So, God’s work, or God’s own ministry, is a work done by God’s incarnated flesh, which cannot be done by man instead. The work of the Holy Spirit is completed through different kinds of men, and it cannot be completely accomplished by a certain man or thoroughly made clear by a certain man. Those who lead the churches also cannot represent all the work of the Holy Spirit but can only do some work of leading. Thus, the work of the Holy Spirit includes several parts: the work of God Godself, the work of the men used, and the work on all those in the stream of the Holy Spirit. Of these three parts, the work of God Godself is to lead the entire age; the work of the men used is to lead all the followers of God by being sent or receiving commissions after the work of God Godself, and they are the ones who cooperate with God’s work; the work done by the Holy Spirit on those in the stream is to maintain all his own work, that is, to maintain the entire management, and also to uphold his testimony, and at the same time to perfect those who can be perfected. These three parts are the complete work of the Holy Spirit. But without the work of God Godself, the entire management work would remain at a standstill. The work done by God Godself is a work that involves all mankind and is also a work that represents the entire age. That is to say, the work of God Godself represents the movement and the trend of all the work of the Holy Spirit. But the work of the apostles is to continue the work after the work of God Godself, and it is not to lead the age and does not represent the trend of the work of the Holy Spirit in the entire age. They are only doing the work man should do, which does not involve the management work. The work done by God Godself is an item in the management work, and the work done by men is only the duty performed by the men used, which has nothing to do with the management work. Because their identities and what their works represent are different, although the work of God Godself and men’s work are both the works of the Holy Spirit, there are always obvious substantive differences between them. Besides, the Holy Spirit’s works on the ones with different identities vary in degrees. These are the principles and the scopes of the Holy Spirit’s working.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work done by man represents his experience and his humanity. What man supplies and the work he does represent him. Man’s seeing, reasoning, logic, and rich imaginations are all included in his work. In particular, man’s experience can represent his work all the more. What man has experienced will be the elements in his work. Man’s work can express his experience. When a man is experiencing in a passive state, most of the words in his fellowship will be negative elements. If his experience is positive during a period of time and he particularly has ways on the positive side, what he fellowships will be very encouraging, and others can receive a positive supply from him. If a worker becomes passive during a period of time, the words of his fellowship will always carry negative elements. Such fellowship is depressing, and others will be depressed unconsciously after his fellowship. The states of the followers change with that of the leader. What a worker is within is what he expresses. And the work of the Holy Spirit always changes with man’s states, and he works according to man’s experience; he does not force man but makes requirements of man according to the normal course of his experience. That is to say, man’s fellowship is different from God’s word. What men fellowship about is their personal seeing and experience and is to express their seeing and experience on the basis of the work done by God. Their responsibility is to find out, after God works or speaks, what should be practiced and entered into, and then supply it to the followers. Therefore, men’s works represent their entering in and practice. Of course, these works are mixed with their experience and lessons or some thoughts of theirs. No matter how the Holy Spirit works, working on men or working through being incarnated, it is that the ones who work are expressing what they are. Although it is the Holy Spirit who works, he works on the basis of what men originally are, because the Holy Spirit does not work without any basis, that is, does not do any work out of nothing, but always works according to actual situations and actual conditions. Only in this way can men’s disposition be transformed and can their old notions and old thoughts be changed. All that men express is what they have seen, what they have experienced, and what they can imagine. Even if it is doctrines or notions, it is what their mind can reach. The works men do, great or small, cannot go beyond the scope of their experience and seeing or of what they can imagine and conceive. What God expresses is what God Godself is, which is beyond man’s capacity, that is, beyond the reach of man’s mind. He expresses his work of leading all mankind, which has nothing to do with man’s detailed experience but has to do with his own management. What man expresses is man’s experience; what God expresses is God’s being, and this being is God’s original disposition and is beyond man’s capacity. Man’s experience is his seeing and knowledge gained based on God’s expressing what he is. All these seeing and knowledge are called what man is. They are expressed on the basis of man’s original disposition and qualities, so they are called what man is. What man has experienced and seen he can fellowship. What he has not experienced or seen or what his mind cannot reach, that is, the things he does not have within, he cannot fellowship. If what man expresses is what he has not experienced, that is his imagination or is doctrine. In any case, there is not any reality in his words. If you have never contacted the things of society, you cannot fellowship clearly about the complicated relationships in society. If you do not have a family, when others fellowship about their family affairs, you cannot understand most of the things they are talking about. So, what man fellowships about and the work he does represent what he is within. When someone fellowships about his knowledge of chastisement and judgment, as you do not have the experience, you dare not deny his knowledge, much less be one hundred percent certain about it. This is because what he fellowships about is what you have never experienced or known and what your mind cannot imagine. You can only get from his knowledge the way in the chastisement and judgment in the future. But this way can only be your doctrinal knowledge and cannot replace your knowledge, much less your experience. Maybe you feel his knowledge is quite right when hearing it, but when you experience it, it is impracticable in many aspects. Maybe you feel some of his knowledge is not at all practicable to you when hearing it, and you have notions about it at the time; although you accept it, you accept it reluctantly. But when you experience, the knowledge about which you have notions becomes your way of practice. And the more you practice, the more you realize the real value and significance of his word. After you have experiences, you will be able to communicate the knowledge you should have about the things you have experienced, and you can also discern whose knowledge is true and practical and whose knowledge is doctrinal and valueless. So, whether the knowledge you communicate is in accordance with the truth mainly depends on whether you have practical experience. If there is the truth in your experience, your knowledge will be practical and valuable. Through your experience, you will also gain discernment and insight, improve your knowledge, and increase your wisdom and common sense in conducting yourself. The knowledge communicated by those who have no truth, however high, is doctrine. Such people may be very clever about fleshly things, but they do not have discernment about spiritual things, because they have no experience of spiritual things at all. Such are the ones who are not enlightened in spiritual things and who do not understand the spirit. No matter what knowledge you communicate, as long as it is what you are, it is your own experience and your true knowledge. What those people who only speak doctrines, that is, who have no truth and no reality, communicate can also be said to be what they are, because their doctrines come from their thinking hard and are the results of their mind pondering deeply, but they are only doctrines and their imaginations! The experiences of different kinds of men represent the things they have within. Whoever has no spiritual experience cannot communicate any knowledge of the truth or any correct knowledge of different kinds of spiritual things. What man expresses is what he is within. This is certain. If man wants to have knowledge of spiritual things and of the truth, he has to have practical experiences. If you cannot even talk clearly about the common sense of human life, how much less about spiritual things? Those who can lead the churches, those who can supply people with life, and those who can be apostles of all must have practical experiences, have a correct knowledge of spiritual things, and have a correct understanding and experience of the truth. Only such men are qualified to be workers or apostles to lead the churches. Otherwise, they can only follow as the least and cannot be leaders, much less be apostles who supply people with life. This is because the function of apostles is not to run or to fight, but to do the work of ministering life and the work of leading people to have their disposition transformed, and it is the function performed by those who receive commissions and shoulder heavy responsibilities, which cannot be undertaken by every man. Such work can only be undertaken by those who have the being of life, that is, who have experience in the truth. It cannot be undertaken by everyone who can give up things and run and is willing to spend himself. Those who have no experience of the truth and who have not been pruned and judged cannot do such work. Those who have no experience, that is, those who have no reality, cannot see reality clearly, because they themselves do not have the being in this aspect. So, such men not only cannot do the work of leading, but they will be ones to be eliminated if they have no truth over a long time. The seeing communicated by you will show what hardships of life you have experienced, in what things you have undergone chastisement, and in what things you have experienced judgment. This is also true in trials. In what things one has been refined and in what things he has been weak, in those things he has experiences and has ways. If he suffered frustrations in marriage, most of the time he will fellowship: “Thank God and praise God. I must satisfy God’s heart’s desire and offer up my whole life and completely commit my marriage into God’s hand. I am willing to pledge my whole life to God.” The things a man has within, what he is, can be represented by his fellowship. A man’s speaking fast or slowly, speaking loud or low, and so on, which are not a matter of experience, cannot represent what he has and is. They can only show whether his temperament is good or bad or whether his nature is good or bad, but they cannot be equated with whether he has experience. A man’s ability to express himself or his skill and speed in speaking, which are a matter of exercise, cannot replace his experience. When you fellowship about your own experience, the things you pay attention to and you have within will be fellowshipped. What I speak represents what I am, but what I speak is beyond man’s capacity. What I speak is not what man has experienced or what man can see or contact, but all that is what I am. Some people only acknowledge that what I fellowship about is what I have experienced, but do not acknowledge that it is the direct expression of the Spirit. Of course, what I speak is what I have experienced. The six-thousand-year management work is done by me, and I have experienced all from the creation of mankind in the beginning until today. So how can I not tell? The things concerning man’s nature I have seen through and have long searched. So how can I not explain clearly? As I have seen through man’s essence, I am qualified to chastise man and to judge man, because all men are from me and are corrupted by satan. The works done by me I am certainly qualified to judge. Although these works are not done by my flesh, they are the direct expression of the Spirit, and they are what I have and what I am. So I am qualified to express them and to do the work I ought to do. All that man speaks is what he has experienced, what he has seen, what his mind can reach, and what his sense can feel. Man can fellowship about these things. The words spoken by God’s incarnated flesh are the direct expression of the Spirit, expressing the works the Spirit has done. Although the flesh has not experienced or seen them, what he expresses is still what he is, because the substance of the flesh is the Spirit and what he expresses is the works of the Spirit. Even though they are beyond the capacity of the flesh, they are the works the Spirit has done. After he is incarnated, through the expression of his flesh, he lets people know what God is and see God’s disposition and the works he has done. The work done by man is to cause people to be more clear about what they should enter into and what they should understand and is to lead them to understand and experience the truth. What man does is the sustaining work; the work done by God is to open up a new way and open a new age for mankind and to disclose to people the things the mortals do not know, so that they can know his disposition. What he does is the work of leading all mankind.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]All the works of the Holy Spirit are to benefit people and to edify people. None of them is unbeneficial to people. No matter whether the truth is deep or shallow and no matter what the qualities of those who receive the truth are like, whatever the Holy Spirit does is beneficial to them. But the Holy Spirit cannot work directly, and he has to express his work through the men who cooperate with him. Only in this way can he achieve the results of his doing the work. Of course, if the Holy Spirit directly does the work, it will be without any mixture. But when he does it through men, it is with much mixture and is not his original work. Thus, the truth is more or less changed, and what the followers receive is not the original meaning of the Holy Spirit but a combination of the Holy Spirit’s work and man’s experience or knowledge. The Holy Spirit’s work the followers receive is correct, but man’s experience and knowledge they receive vary with different workers. After the workers have the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, they experience on the basis of them. And in their experiences these are combined with their mind and experience and also with their being in humanity. Then they gain the knowledge or seeing they should. These are the ways of practice they gain after experiencing the truth. Such “ways of practice” are not completely the same because men’s experiences are different and the things they experience are also different. Thus, for the same inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as the men who receive it are different, their knowledge and practice of the “inspiration” are different. Some practice it with small errors, some with big errors, and others completely wrongly, because their understanding abilities are different and their original qualities are also different. Some understand a message this way after hearing it, and some understand a truth that way after hearing it. Some deviate slightly, whereas some do not understand the true meaning of the truth at all. So, one will lead others by what he understands, which is absolutely true, because his working is just expressing what he is. If a man has a correct knowledge of the truth, those led by him will also have a correct knowledge of the truth. Even if some understand it erroneously, they are very few; not all of them are erroneous. If a man has an erroneous understanding of the truth, all those led by him will undoubtedly be erroneous, and they will be erroneous ones, erroneous ones through and through. The level of the followers’ knowledge of the truth largely depends on the workers. Of course, the truth from God is completely right and absolutely sure, but the workers are not completely right and cannot be completely reliable. If a worker has ways to practice the truth and they are very practical, the followers will also have ways to practice it. If a worker does not have ways to practice the truth but only has doctrines, the followers will not have any reality. The qualities and the nature of the followers are determined by birth and have nothing to do with the workers. But the degree of the followers’ understanding of the truth and their knowledge of God depend on the workers. (This is only so with some people.) What a worker is like determines what the followers he leads are like. All that a worker expresses is what he is, without any reserve. What he requires of his followers is what he himself is willing to achieve or what he himself can achieve. Most men, in working, make requirements of their followers according to what they themselves do, though many of them they cannot achieve at all. What they cannot achieve becomes a hindrance to their entering in.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Those who have undergone pruning and judgment make much smaller errors in working, and their expression in working is much more accurate, but those who work by their naturalness make rather big errors. Those who have not undergone perfecting express too much naturalness in working, and that is a great hindrance to the work of the Holy Spirit. Even those who were born with qualities for working have to undergo pruning and judgment before they can do God’s work. If they have not undergone such judgment, no matter how well they do the work, it cannot be in accordance with the principles of the truth and is full of naturalness and human goodness. When those who have undergone pruning and judgment do God’s work, their working is much more accurate than that of those who have not undergone judgment. What those who have not undergone judgment express is only human flesh and human thinking, mixed with a lot of human cleverness and natural abilities, and it is not man’s accurate expression of God’s work. And those who follow them are led before them by their natural qualities. Because they express too many human seeings and experiences, which are almost divorced from God’s original meaning and are too far from it, such men in working cannot lead people before God but before them. So, those who have not undergone judgment and chastisement are not qualified to do God’s work. The work done by a qualified worker can lead people onto the right way and cause them to enter further into the truth. The work he does can lead people before God, and he can work according to people’s different situations, without being bound by regulations, so that people can be released and free and gradually grow in life and enter further into the truth. The work done by an unqualified worker falls far short of that. His work is foolish, and he can only lead people into regulations. What he requires people to do is not according to their different situations, and he does not work according to their actual needs. Such work has too many regulations and doctrines and cannot lead people into reality or into the normal practice in growing in life but can only make them observe some worthless regulations. Such a leader will lead people astray. He will lead you to become the kind of person he is, and he will lead you into what he has and is. For the followers to discern whether their leader is qualified, they should mainly look at what way he leads and what the results of his work are, whether what they receive is the principles in accordance with the truth, and whether they receive the ways of practice suitable for them to be transformed. You should have discernment of the different works of different kinds of men and should not be a foolish follower. This has to do with your entering in. If you cannot discern in whose leading there are ways and in whose there are not, you will easily be deceived. All these have a direct bearing on your own life. The work done by one who has not undergone perfecting has too much naturalness and is mixed with too much human will. What he is is his naturalness and is what he was born with, not the life he has after being dealt with or the reality he has after being transformed. How could such a man sustain those who pursue life? Man’s original life is man’s natural intelligence or abilities, which are far off from God’s exact requirements for man. If a man has not undergone perfecting and his corrupt disposition has not been dealt with and pruned, what he expresses will be far off from the truth and will be mixed with such vague things as his imaginations and his partial experiences. And no matter how he works, people will feel that there is no general goal and no truths fit for them all to enter into. And most of his requirements for people force them to do what they cannot do, driving a duck onto a perch. This is the work of man’s will. Man’s corrupt disposition, man’s thinking, and man’s notions pervade every part of his whole being. Man does not have the natural ability to practice the truth or to directly understand the truth. Besides, man has corrupt disposition. Isn’t it totally a disruption for such a natural man to work? But a man who has undergone perfecting has experience of the truth man should understand and has knowledge of man’s corrupt disposition, and the vague and impractical things in his work decrease gradually, that is, the truths expressed by him become more accurate and become realistic. Man’s mind especially hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. Man has rich imagination, reasonable logic, and old experience in handling things. If these are not pruned and corrected, they are all hindrances in the work. So, man’s work cannot reach the highest degree of accuracy, especially the work of those who have not undergone perfecting.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work done by man has a scope and has limitations. A man can only do the work of a certain phase and cannot do the work of the entire age. Otherwise, he will lead people into a kind of regulations. The work done by man can only be applicable to a certain period or to a certain phase, because man’s experience has a scope; man’s work cannot be compared with God’s work. The ways man practices and the truths he knows are applicable in a certain scope. The way walked by man cannot be said to be completely the will of the Holy Spirit, because man can only be inspired by the Holy Spirit but cannot be completely filled with the Holy Spirit. The things man can experience are all within the scope of the normal humanity and cannot go beyond the scope of the normal human mind. All those who have practical expression experience within this scope. When they experience the truth, they are all experiencing their normal human life under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not experiencing apart from their normal human life. They all experience the truths inspired by the Holy Spirit on the basis of living their human life, and such truths vary from person to person and their depth is related to their states. The way they walk can only be said to be the normal human life of a man who pursues the truth and the way walked by a normal man who has the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be said to be the way walked by the Holy Spirit. In the normal human experience, because the ones who pursue are different, the works the Holy Spirit does on them are also different. And because the circumstances and scopes they experience in are different, and because of the mixture of their minds and thinking, their experiences are mixed in different degrees. Everyone knows a certain truth according to their different conditions. The true meaning of the truth they know is not complete, but is only concerning one or several aspects of it. The scopes of the truth experienced by men are different because of their different conditions. Thus, the knowledge of the same truth expressed by different men is different. In other words, man’s experience is limited and cannot fully represent the will of the Holy Spirit. Man’s work cannot be considered to be God’s work, even if what man expresses is very much in accordance with God’s will, and even if man’s experience is very close to the perfecting work the Holy Spirit wants to do. Man can only be God’s servant and do the work committed by God. What man expresses can only be his knowledge under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the truths he gains through his personal experience. Man does not have the qualification or the condition to be the outlet of the Holy Spirit and is not entitled to say that the work he does is the work done by God. Man has man’s principles of working, and every man has different experiences and possesses different conditions. Man’s work includes all his experiences under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These experiences can only represent what man is but do not represent what God is or the Holy Spirit’s will. Therefore, the way walked by man cannot be said to be the way walked by the Holy Spirit, because man’s work cannot represent God’s work and man’s work and experience are not completely the Holy Spirit’s will. The work done by man is prone to fall into a certain regulation, and the ways of his working are prone to be restricted to a limited scope and cannot lead people into a free way. And most of the followers live in a limited scope, and the ways of their experience are also within a limited scope. Man’s experience is limited, and his ways of working are only a few. His work cannot be compared with the work of the Holy Spirit or the work of God Godself, because man’s experience is limited after all. The work of God Godself, however it is done, is free from regulations. However it is done, it is not done in only one way or according to any regulations but in a free and released way. Regardless of how long people have followed, they cannot sum up any rules concerning his ways of working. Although his work has strict principles, it is always done in new ways and always has new progress, which is beyond man’s capacity. During one period God can do several different works and lead people in several different ways, so that people can always have new entering in and new transformation. You cannot find out any rules concerning his working, because he always works in new ways. Only thus will those who follow him not fall into regulations. The work done by God Godself always shuns man’s notions and counters man’s notions. Only those who follow him with a true heart and who pursue him with a true heart can be transformed in their disposition and live in a free way, not being bound by any regulations or restricted by any religious notions. When man works, he makes requirements of people according to his own experience and what he himself can achieve. The standard of these requirements is restricted to a certain scope, and the ways of practice are also very limited. So, the followers unconsciously live within a limited scope. As time goes on, they become regulations and rituals. If the work of a period is entrusted to a man to lead who has not undergone God’s personal perfecting and who has not received judgment, his followers will all become religionists and become experts in resisting God. Therefore, if one is a qualified leader, he must have undergone judgment and received perfecting. For a man who has not undergone judgment, even if he has the working of the Holy Spirit, all that he expresses is vague and impractical things. If he leads people for a long time, he will lead them into vague and supernatural regulations. The work done by God is not according to man’s flesh and man’s thinking, counters man’s notions, and is not mixed with vague religious color. The results of his work cannot be achieved by a man who has not undergone his perfecting and are beyond the reach of man’s mind.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]It is very easy for man to work according to his mind. Take the pastors and leaders in the religious world for example. They work by their gifts and ranks. Those who follow them for a long time will be infected by their gifts and influenced by some of what they are. They pay attention to people’s gifts and people’s talents and knowledge, and they also pay attention to some supernatural things and many profound and unrealistic doctrines (of course, these profound doctrines are beyond people’s reach). They do not pay attention to the transformation of people’s disposition but pay attention to training their ability to preach and work and to increasing their knowledge and rich religious doctrines. They do not pay attention to how much people are transformed in their disposition and how much they understand the truth. They do not at all care about people’s substance, much less know about people’s normal and abnormal states. They do not counter or disclose people’s notions, much less prune their deficiencies or corruptions. Most of those who follow them serve by their natural gifts, and what they express is knowledge and vague religious truth, which are divorced from reality and simply cannot bring life to people. The substance of their working is actually training talents, training a person with nothing to be an outstanding graduate from a theological school, who will then go to work and lead others. God has been doing his work for six thousand years, and can you find out any rules? Man’s work has many regulations and rules. Man’s mind is too dogmatic. So what man expresses is some knowledge and realization he gains in all his experiences, and he cannot express things other than these things. Man’s experiences or knowledge are not out of his natural gift or innate ability, but because of God’s leading and God’s direct shepherding. Man only has the organ to receive the shepherding but not the organ to directly express what divinity is. Man cannot be the source but can only be a vessel to receive the water from the source. This is man’s innate ability and is an organ man should have. If man loses the organ to receive God’s word and loses his innate ability, he loses his most valuable thing and loses his duty as a created man. If man does not have knowledge and experience of God’s word and work, then he loses his duty, losing the duty a created being should perform and losing his dignity as a created being. To express what divinity is is God’s natural ability, whether he expresses it in the flesh or the Spirit directly expresses it, and it is God’s ministry. To express his own experience or knowledge (that is, express what he is) in or after God’s work is man’s innate ability and man’s duty and is what man should achieve. Although man’s expression falls far short of God’s expression and it has many regulations, man must fulfill the duty he should and do what he should do. In performing his duty, man should do his very best, without any reserve.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After a man has worked for years, he sums up some experience, wisdom, and rules from his work of the years. He who has worked for a long time knows how to sense the movement of the working of the Holy Spirit and knows when the Holy Spirit works and when he does not. When he has a burden, he knows what to fellowship. He knows the normal states of the Holy Spirit’s working and the normal states of man’s growing in life. Such is a man who has knowledge of the working of the Holy Spirit after working for years. One who has worked for a long time is experienced and unhurried in speaking. Even if he has nothing to say, he does not get flustered and can keep praying within to seek the working of the Holy Spirit, not being agitated or nervous. Such is a man experienced in working. One who has worked for a long time and has a lot of experience and lessons has many things within which hinder the working of the Holy Spirit. This is a defect resulting from his long working. When a man first begins to work, it is not mixed with human lessons or experience, and in particular he has no idea how the Holy Spirit works. However, in the course of his progressive working, he learns to sense how the Holy Spirit works, knows how he can have the working of the Holy Spirit and how he can touch others’ vital spots, and so on, which are the common knowledge a worker should have. As time goes on, he knows such working wisdom and knowledge like the back of his hand, and he seems to be able to use them readily in working. However, when the Holy Spirit works in a new way, he still sticks to those old working knowledge and old working rules but knows very little about the new movement of the work. Working for years and having the constant presence and leading of the Holy Spirit cause him to have more and more working experience and lessons. These things result in a kind of self-confidence, which is not pride, within him. In other words, he is already very satisfied with his work and is quite content with the common knowledge he has gained about the working of the Holy Spirit. In particular, the things others have not gained or experienced cause him to be more confident of himself, as if he has never-quenching working of the Holy Spirit and yet others are not qualified to enjoy that kind of special treatment, and only he who has worked for years and has great use value is qualified to enjoy it. Those things become a great hindrance to his accepting the new work of the Holy Spirit. Even if he can accept the new work, it is not a matter of one day, and he has to undergo many struggles before he can accept it, turning around gradually through his old notions being dealt with and his old disposition being judged. Without going through these steps, he will not give up and easily accept the new sayings or works discordant with his old notions. This is where man is most difficult to deal with, and it is not easy to change. If a worker can not only know the Holy Spirit’s working but can also sum up the movements of the working of the Holy Spirit, be unrestricted by working experience, and accept the new work in light of the old work, then he is a sensible man and a qualified worker. As often happens, some men do not know how to sum up working experience after working for years, and others sum up working experience and wisdom, which later become hindrances to their accepting the new work, and they cannot properly understand and correctly treat the old and new works. Man is really too difficult! Most of you are like this. Those who have experienced the Holy Spirit’s work for years cannot easily accept the new work and are always full of notions and can hardly drop them, while those who have just begun to work lack working knowledge and they do not even know how to handle some simplest things. You are really difficult! Those with some seniority are so haughty and conceited that they do not know when they were born. They always look at the younger ones with scornful eyes, but they themselves cannot accept the new work and cannot drop the notions they have accumulated and kept over many years. The young, ignorant ones can accept some new work of the Holy Spirit and are quite zealous, but they always lose their heads and do not know what to do when they encounter things. Though zealous, they are too ignorant. Though with a little knowledge of the Holy Spirit’s work, they cannot apply it in their life, which only becomes some doctrines without any use value. There are too many such people among you. How many are fit for use? How many can do a work fit for the Holy Spirit? It seems that you, having followed until now, are all very obedient. Actually, you have not dropped your notions and are still seeking in the Bible, believing in vagueness, or wandering in notions. None of you investigates carefully the practical work of today or enters further into it. You all accept the way of today with your old notions. What can you gain through such a belief? It can be said that there are many notions hidden in you, which you have not manifested, and it is only that you try hard to cover them up and do not manifest them lightly. You do not accept the new work with a true heart and have no intention to drop your old notions. You have too many and too serious philosophies of life. You treat the new work half-heartedly while not dropping your old notions. Your hearts are really too sinister, and you simply do not have these steps of new works in your hearts. Can such good-for-nothings as you do the work of widely preaching the gospel? Can you undertake the work of spreading it to the entire universe? Such doings of yours are just the things that hinder you from being transformed in your disposition and from knowing God. If you continue like this, you are surely ones to be eliminated.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]You have to know how to distinguish between God’s work and man’s work. What can you see from man’s work? Man’s work has many elements of man’s experience, and what man expresses is what man is. When God works, he is also expressing what he is, but what he is is different from what man is. What man is represents man’s experiences and man’s life (what man has experienced or encountered in his life, or what philosophies of life he has), and the being expressed by men who live in different environments is different. Whether or not you have experienced the things of society and how you live and experience in your family can be seen from your expression. However, you cannot see from the work of God incarnate whether he has social experience. He knows man’s essence very well and can disclose all kinds of practices of all kinds of men and even more man’s corrupt disposition and disobedient acts; he does not live among the “worldly people,” but he knows the nature of the “mortals” and all the corruptions of the “worldly people.” This is what he is. Although he has never contacted society, he knows the conventions and rules in dealing with the world, because he has fully known man’s nature. He can know the Spirit’s work that man’s eyes cannot see and man’s ears cannot hear, both of the present and of the past. Here is contained the wisdom which is not philosophy of life and the wonderfulness unfathomable to man. These are what he is, which is open to man and also hidden from man. What he expresses is not what an extraordinary man is but the original attributes and being of the Spirit. He does not travel to all the countries, but he knows the things of the entire world. He contacts the “anthropoids” that have no knowledge and no insight, but he expresses words higher than knowledge and above great men. He lives among a group of obtuse and numb people who have no humanity and who do not know normal human rules or human life, but he can require mankind to live out a normal humanity, and at the same time he discloses mankind’s base and low humanity. All these are what he is, which is higher than what any fleshly man is. It is unnecessary for him to experience the complex, burdensome, and sordid social life before he can do the work he ought to do and thoroughly disclose the essence of corrupt mankind. The sordid social life cannot edify his flesh. His working and speaking is just to disclose man’s disobedience, not to supply man with experience and lessons of dealing with the world. He does not need to investigate society or investigate man’s family before he supplies man with life. His exposing and judging man is not to express the experiences of his flesh, but to disclose man’s unrighteousness after he has long known man’s disobedience and hated mankind’s corruption. All the work he does is making known his disposition and expressing his being to man. Such work can only be done by him, not by fleshly man. As far as his work is concerned, people cannot tell what kind of man he is. Nor can they classify him among created men according to his work or by what he is. Thus they can only class him among nonhuman beings, yet they do not know which category he should belong to, so they can only put him in the category of “God.” It is not without reason that they do so, because he has done many works among them that man cannot do.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The work done by God does not represent the experience of his flesh. The work done by man represents his own experience. Every man speaks about his own experience. God can directly express the truth, whereas man can only express the corresponding experiences after he has experienced the truths. God works without any regulations or being limited by time and geography. He can express what he is at any time and in any place, and he does his work freely. Man works under some conditions and some backgrounds. Otherwise, he cannot do any work and cannot express any knowledge of God or any experience of the truth. As to whether it is God’s work or man’s work, as long as you compare them, you will know the differences between them. If God does not work but only men work, you will just know that men’s teachings are high, beyond the capacity of anyone else, and that their tones of speaking, their principles of handling things, and their experienced and steady manners in working are beyond the capacity of anyone else. You all admire such men with superior humanity. However, you cannot see from God’s work and word that he has a very superior humanity; instead, he is ordinary, and when he works, he is normal and practical and yet immeasurable to the mortals, so that people have a kind of fear of him. In men’s work, maybe their experiences and their imagination and reasoning are very high, and their humanity is very good. These can only cause people to admire them but not fear and dread them. People all admire those who have the ability to work and who have very deep experiences and can practice the truth. Yet anyway, they will not fear them but only admire and envy them. However, what those who have experienced God’s work have for God is not admiration; rather, they feel that his work is beyond man’s capacity and unfathomable to man and feel that it is fresh and wonderful. When people experience God’s work, their first knowledge of him is that he is “unfathomable” and wise and wonderful, and they unconsciously have a fear of him. And they feel that the work he does is mysterious and beyond the reach of man’s mind. People only hope that they can meet his requirements and satisfy his heart’s desire but do not hope that they can be above him, because the work he does is beyond man’s mind and man’s imagination and cannot be done by man instead. Even men themselves do not know their lack, but he opens up a new way and comes among them and leads them into a newer and more beautiful world, so that mankind has a new progress and a newer start. What people have for him is not admiration, or rather, not only admiration. Their deepest feelings toward him are fear and also love. They feel that God is indeed wonderful, that the works he does man cannot do, and that the words he speaks man cannot speak. Those who experience his work always have an indescribable feeling. Those who have deeper experiences have a very great love for God and always feel that he is lovely and the work he does is so wise and so wonderful. Thus, they have an inexhaustible strength within them, which is not dread or occasional adoration but a deep feeling of God’s mercy and tolerance for man. But those who have experienced his chastisement and judgment feel that he is majestic and inviolable. Even those who have experienced very many of his works cannot fathom him. All those who truly fear him know that his work does not fit but always counters man’s notions. He does not need people to have full admiration of him or outward obedience to him but to have a true fear of him and true obedience to him. In his so many works, all those who have true experience have a fear of him, which is higher than admiration. Because of his work of chastisement and judgment, people all see his disposition and thus have a fear of him. God is for man to fear and for man to obey, because his being and disposition are different from and higher than those of a created being. God is an uncreated being. He alone is worthy for man to fear and to obey, and man is not qualified. So, all those who have experienced his work and have a true knowledge of him have a fear of him. But those who do not drop their notions about him, that is, those who simply do not regard him as God, do not have any fear of him at all. Although they follow, they are not conquered. Such people are all ones disobedient by nature. He does such work to achieve the result that all created beings can have a fear of the Creator, worship him, and become subject under his authority unconditionally. This is the ultimate result all the works are to produce. If people have experienced these works but do not have any fear of God and their former disobedience is not changed at all, they are surely ones to be eliminated. If one’s attitude toward God is only admiring or keeping at a respectful distance from him but not having any love, this is what a person who does not have a heart of loving God reaches. Such people lack the qualification for being perfected. If so many works cannot win one’s true love, this shows that he has not gained God and that he does not have a heart of truly pursuing the truth. Those who do not love God do not love the truth, and thus they cannot gain God, much less receive God’s approval. No matter how such people experience the work of the Holy Spirit or experience judgment, they cannot have a fear of God. These are the ones whose nature is hard to change and whose disposition is extremely wicked. All those who do not have a fear of God are the ones to be eliminated and the ones to be punished, and they will receive the same punishment as those who do evil, and will even suffer more than those who do unrighteousness.[/SIZE]
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