To grasp the purpose of God’s work, what effect to be achieved in man, and the will of God toward man, this is what every man who follows God should achieve. Now what all men lack is the knowledge of God’s work. Man neither comprehends nor understands exactly what constitutes the deeds of God in man, all the work of God, and the will of God since the creation of the world. This inadequacy is not merely seen throughout the religious world, but moreover in all believers of God. When the day comes that you truly behold God and realize the wisdom of God; when you behold all the deeds of God and recognize what God is and has; when you behold His abundance, wisdom, wonder, and all His work in man, it is then that you will have attained successful faith in God. When God is said to be all-encompassing and greatly abundant, what is meant by all-encompassing? And what is meant by abundance? If this you do not understand, then you cannot be deemed a believer of God. Why do I say that those in the religious world do not
believe in God and are evildoers, who are of the same kind as the devil? When I say they are evildoers, it is because they do not understand the will of God or see His wisdom. God at no time reveals His work to them; they are blind men, who do not see the deeds of God. They are those forsaken by God and do not possess at all the care and protection of God, much less the work of the Holy Spirit. Those without the work of God are evildoers and stand in opposition to God. Those who I say are in opposition to God are those who do not
know God, those who acknowledge God with empty words yet do not know Him, those who follow God yet do not obey Him, and those who revel in the grace of God yet cannot stand witness to Him. Without an understanding of the purpose of God’s work and the work of God in man, man cannot be in accord with the heart of God, and cannot stand witness to God. The reason that man opposes God stems, on the one hand, from the corrupt disposition of man, and on the other hand, from ignorance of God and lack of understanding of the principles of God’s work and His will toward man. These two aspects merge into a history of man’s resistance to God. Novices in the faith oppose God because such opposition lies within their nature, while the opposition against God of those with many years in the faith results from their ignorance of God, in addition to their corrupt disposition. In the time before God became flesh, the measure of whether a man opposed God was whether he kept the decrees set forth by God in heaven. For instance, in the Age of Law, any who did not keep the laws of Jehovah were those who opposed God; any who stole the offerings to Jehovah, and any who stood against those favored by Jehovah were those who opposed God and those who would be stoned to death; any who did not respect his father and mother, and any who struck or cursed another were those who did not keep the laws. And all who did not keep the laws of Jehovah were those who stood against Him. This was no longer so in the Age of Grace, when any who stood against Jesus were those who stood against God, and any who did not obey the words uttered by Jesus were those who stood against God. In this age, the determination of opposition to God became more clearly defined and more real. In the time when God had not become flesh, the measure of whether man opposed God was based on whether man worshiped and looked up to the invisible God in heaven. The definition of opposition to God at the time was not so real, for man then could neither see God nor know the image of God or how He worked and spoke. Man had no conceptions of God and believed in God in vagueness, for He had not appeared to man. Therefore, however man believed in God in their imaginations, God did not condemn man or ask much from man, for man could not see God at all. When God becomes flesh and comes to work among men, all behold God and hear His words, and all see the doings of God in the flesh. At that time, all the conceptions of man dissolve into nothing but foam. As for those who see the God appearing in the flesh, all who have obedience in their hearts shall not be condemned, whereas those who purposefully stand against Him shall be deemed an opponent of God. Such men are antichrists and are enemies who willfully stand against God. Those who have conceptions regarding God yet gladly obey will not be condemned. God condemns man on the basis of his intentions and actions, never for his thoughts and ideas. If man was condemned on such basis, then not one would be able to escape from the wrathful hands of God. Those who willfully stand against the incarnate God shall be punished for their disobedience. Their willful opposition to God stems from their conceptions of Him, which result in their disturbance to the work of God. Such men knowingly resist and destroy the work of God. Not merely do they have conceptions of God, but they do that which disturbs His work, and it is for this reason that such manner of men shall be condemned. Those who do not engage in willful disturbance of the work of God shall not be condemned as sinners, for they are able to willingly obey and not cause disruption and disturbance. Such men shall not be condemned. However, when men have experienced many years of
God’s work, if they still harbor their conceptions of God and remain unable to know the work of the incarnate God, and despite many years of experience, they continue to hold onto many conceptions of God and are still unable to come to know God, then even if they cause no trouble with so many conceptions of God in their hearts, and even if such conceptions do not show up, such men are of no service to the work of God. They are unable to preach the gospel or stand witness to God; such men are good-for-nothings and imbeciles. Because they do not know God and are incapable of casting away their conceptions of God, they are condemned. It can be said like this: It is not uncommon for novices in the faith to have conceptions of God or know nothing of Him, but it is abnormal for those who have believed for many years and experienced much of the work of God to hold such conceptions, and much more so for such men to have no knowledge of God. It is as a result of such abnormal state that such men are condemned. Such abnormal men are good-for-nothings; they are those who most oppose God and who have enjoyed the grace of God in vain. All such men shall be eliminated in the end!