God’s Holiness (II)

Today, brothers and sisters, let us sing a hymn. Find one you like and that you sing regularly. (We’ll sing the hymn of God’s words, “Pure Love Without Blemish.”)

1  As I said, those who follow Me are many but those who truly love Me are few. Perhaps some might say, “Would I have paid so many prices if I did not love You? Would I have followed to this point if I did not love You?” Granted, you have many reasons, and your love is very great, but where is the essence of your love for Me? “Love,” as it is called, refers to an affection that is pure and unblemished, where you use your heart to love, to feel, and to be considerate. In love there are no conditions, no barriers, and no distance. In love there is no suspicion, no deceit, and no cunning. In love there are no transactions, and there are no adulterations whatsoever. If you have love, then you will not deceive, complain, betray, rebel, demand, or seek to gain something or to gain a certain amount of something. If you have love, then you will gladly dedicate yourself and gladly suffer hardship, you will be compatible with Me, and you will forsake all that you have for Me, forsaking your family, your prospects, your youth, and your marriage. If not, your love would not be love at all, but deceit and betrayal!

2  What kind of love is yours? Is it a true love? Or false? How much have you forsaken? How much have you offered up? How much love have I received from you? Do you know? Your hearts are filled with evil, betrayal, and deceit—so just how much impurity is there in your love? You think that you have already given up enough for Me; you think that your love for Me is already enough. But then why do your words and actions always contain rebelliousness and deceit? You follow Me, yet you do not acknowledge My word. Is this love? You follow Me, yet then reject Me. Is this love? You follow Me, yet you are mistrustful of Me. Is this love? You follow Me, yet you cannot accept My existence. Is this love? You follow Me, yet you do not treat Me as befits who I am, and you make things difficult for Me at every turn. Is this love? You follow Me, yet you try to fool Me and deceive Me in every matter. Is this love?

3  You serve Me, yet you do not dread Me. Is this love? You oppose Me in all respects and all things. Is any of this love? You have dedicated much, it is true, yet you have never practiced what I require of you. Can this be love? You don’t have the slightest hint of love for Me. After so many years of work and all the many words I have supplied, how much have you actually gained? Does this not merit a careful look back? I admonish you: Those I call to Me are not the ones who have never been corrupted; rather, those I choose are the ones who truly love Me. Therefore, you must be vigilant in your words and deeds, and examine your intentions and thoughts so that they do not cross the line. At the time of the last days, do your utmost to offer up your love before Me, or else My wrath shall never depart from you!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen

This hymn was a good choice. Do you all enjoy singing it? What do you feel after singing it? Are you able to feel that you have true love for God? (Not yet.) Which of its words inspire the deepest feelings in you? (“In love there are no conditions, no barriers, and no distance. In love there is no suspicion, no deceit, and no cunning. In love there are no transactions, and there are no adulterations whatsoever.” But within myself I still see many adulterations, and many elements of wishing to make deals with God. I really haven’t attained a kind of love that is pure and unblemished.) If you have not attained a pure and unblemished love, what is the degree of your love, then? (I am merely at the stage where I am willing to pursue, where I am yearning.) Based on your own stature and speaking from your own experience, what degree have you attained? Do you have deceit? Do you have complaints? Do you still have demands within your heart? Do you still request and desire things from God? (Yes, I have these adulterations within.) In what circumstances do they come out? (When the situation that God has set up for me doesn’t match up with my notions, or when my desires have not been met: in such moments, I reveal this kind of corrupt disposition.) You brothers and sisters who come from Taiwan, do you often sing this hymn, too? Can you talk a little about how you understand “pure love without blemish”? Why does God define love in this way? (I like this hymn very much because I can truly see from it that this love is a complete love. However, I still have quite a ways to go to meet that standard, and I am still very far from attaining true love. There are some things in which I have been able to strive upward in my cooperation through the strength God’s words give me and through prayer. However, when I’m faced with certain trials or revealed, I feel I don’t have a future or a destiny, that I don’t have a destination. At such moments, I feel very weak, and this issue often disturbs me.) What ultimately are you referring to when you say “future and destiny”? Is there something specific you are referring to? Is it a picture or something you imagined, or have you actually seen this “future and destiny”? Is it a real object? I want each one of you to think about it: What exactly does the future and destiny that you’re concerned about refer to? (To being able to be saved so that I can survive.) You other brothers and sisters, you too talk a little about your understanding of “pure love without blemish.” (It means not being tainted by personal adulterations, not being constrained by one’s future and destiny, and regardless of how one is treated by God, being able to wholeheartedly submit to God’s work, and submit to His orchestrations and follow Him to the very end. Only this kind of love for God is pure and unblemished love. Measuring myself against it, I have discovered that though I have outwardly expended myself and forsaken things over these few years of believing in God, I have not been able to truly give my heart to Him. When I am revealed by God, I feel I can’t be saved, and then I live in a negative state. I see that, while I’m doing my duty, I’m trying to make deals with God, unable to love God with all my heart, and always preoccupied with my destination, my future, and my destiny.) It seems that you all have some comprehension of this hymn, and have made some connections between it and your actual experiences. However, you have different degrees of comprehension when it comes to each phrase in the hymn of “Pure Love Without Blemish.” Some people focus on being willing to dedicate themselves and bear suffering, some people focus on seeking to let go of their future, some people are seeking to let go of their families, and some people are not seeking to gain anything. Others are requiring themselves to have no deceit, no complaints, or no rebelliousness. So, why would God bring up this kind of love and require that people love Him in this way? Is this love something people can achieve? That is to say, is it possible for people to achieve this kind of love? In people’s eyes, it may seem impossible, because they do not possess the slightest bit of this love. Under these circumstances of people not possessing it, and of them simply not knowing what love is, God speaks these words, and these words are unfamiliar to people. Since people live in this world and amid corrupt dispositions, if people had this type of love or if a person possessed this type of love, not having any demands, not seeking to gain anything, being willing to dedicate themselves and endure suffering and give up everything they own, then what would other people think of them? Would such a person not be perfect? (Yes.) Does a perfect person like that exist in this world? This type of person simply does not exist in this world. This is an absolute fact. Therefore, some people, in their experiences, expend great effort to measure themselves against these words. They prune themselves, restrain themselves, and even constantly rebel against themselves, making themselves endure suffering, and trying to let go of their notions, their rebelliousness, and their own desires and requests. But in the end when they measure themselves against these words, they still haven’t achieved this kind of love. Why does that happen? God says these things to provide people with a standard, so people will know what God’s required standard is for them. But does God ever say that people must achieve this right away? Does God ever say that people have to achieve this in a certain amount of time? (No.) Then does God ever say that people have to use this kind of love to love Him? Does this passage of text say that? No, it does not. God is just telling people what the love that He speaks of refers to. As for whether people are able to use this kind of love to love and treat God, what does God require of people? It is not for people to achieve this instantly, at once, because that would be beyond them. Have you ever thought about what sort of conditions a person needs to meet in order to achieve this kind of love? Is it the case that they will gradually come to possess this love if they frequently read these words? (No.) What are the conditions, then? First, how can a person come to be free from suspicions about God? (In order to achieve this, they have to be an honest person.) What about being free from deceit? (They also have to be an honest person.) What about not trying to make deals with God? They also have to be an honest person. What about being free of cunning? What does not making one’s own choices in love mean? Don’t all of these things refer to being an honest person? There are a lot of details within this. What is proved by God bringing up this kind of love, or God defining love in this way, and describing it like this? Can it be said that God possesses this kind of love? (Yes.) Where can you see this? (In the love God has for mankind.) Is God’s love for man conditional? On God’s part, are there any barriers or distance between Him and man? Does God have suspicions about man? (No.) God scrutinizes man and understands man; He truly understands man. Does God harbor deceit toward man? (No.) Since God speaks so perfectly of love, are His heart and His essence also this perfect? (Yes.) They certainly are; when people have reached a certain point in their experiences, they can feel this. Has any person ever defined love in this way? What are the circumstances in which people define love? How do people describe love? Do they not describe it in terms of giving or dedicating oneself? (Yes.) This is a simplistic description of love; there is no essence to it.

God’s definition of love and God’s description of love are connected to an aspect of His essence. Which aspect is it? Last time we fellowshipped about a very important topic, a topic that people have often discussed before. This topic consists of a word that is often spoken about in the course of believing in God, and yet it is a word with which everyone feels both familiar and unfamiliar. Why do I say this? It is a word that comes from the languages of man; however, among man its definition is both distinct and vague. What is this word? (Holiness.) Holiness: that was our topic the last time we fellowshipped. We fellowshipped about one part of this topic. Through our last fellowship, did everyone gain some brand-new understanding about God’s essence of holiness? What aspects of this understanding do you consider to be new? That is, what is it within this understanding or within those words that made you feel that your understanding of God’s holiness was different or varied from God’s holiness as I spoke about it during fellowship? Do you have any impressions about this? (God says what He feels in His heart; His words are untainted. This is one manifestation of holiness.) (When God is wrathful toward man, His wrath is also holy and without blemish.) (As for God’s holiness, I understand that there is both God’s wrath and His mercy within His righteous disposition. This left a very strong impression on me. It was also mentioned that God’s righteous disposition is unique—I did not understand this in the past. Only after hearing what God had fellowshipped did I understand that God’s wrath is different from human anger. God’s wrath is a positive thing and it is principled; it is sent forth due to the inherent essence of God. God sees something negative, and so He releases His wrath. This is something not possessed by any created being.) Our topic today is God’s holiness. People have all heard and learned something about God’s righteous disposition. Furthermore, many people often talk about God’s holiness and God’s righteous disposition in the same breath; they say that God’s righteous disposition is holy. The word “holy” is not unfamiliar to anyone—it is a commonly used word. But in regard to the meanings within that word, what manifestations of God’s holiness are people able to see in God Himself? What has been revealed from God that people can recognize? I am afraid this is something that no one knows. God’s disposition is righteous, but then if you take God’s righteous disposition and say that it is holy, that seems a little vague, a little garbled; why is this? You say God’s disposition is righteous, or you say His righteous disposition is holy, so in your hearts how do you characterize God’s holiness, how do you understand it? That is to say, what would people recognize as holy in terms of what has been revealed from God, or what He has and is? Have you thought about this before? What I have seen is that people often come out with commonly used words or frequently spoken phrases, and they do not even know what they are saying. That is just how everyone says it, and they say it habitually, so it becomes a set term for them. However, if people were to carefully investigate and study the details, no one would know what the real meaning is or what it refers to. Just like the word “holy,” no one knows exactly what aspect of God’s essence is being referred to in regard to His holiness that they speak of, and no one knows how the word “holy” is manifested in God. People are confused in their hearts, and they just believe in a vague manner that God is holy. As for how God is holy, no one is quite clear. Today we will fellowship on this topic in order to see how the word “holy” is manifested in God so that people can see the actual content of God’s essence of holiness. This will prevent some people from frequently using this word carelessly and frequently saying things randomly, and not knowing what they mean or whether they are correct and accurate. People have always spoken like this; you have, he has, and thus it has become a habit of speech. This inadvertently tarnishes such a term.

On the surface, the word “holy” seems very easy to understand, does it not? At the very least people believe the word “holy” to mean clean, unsoiled, sacred, and pure. Or, just like with the hymn you sang earlier, “Pure Love Without Blemish,” there are those who associate “holiness” with “love.” There is no issue with this. God’s love is part of His essence, but it is not the entirety of it. However, when people see the literal word, in their notions they often associate it with things that they themselves believe are pure and clean, or with what they personally imagine are so-called “undefiled things” or “unsoiled things.” For example, some people said the lotus flower is clean, and that it blooms unblemished from dirty mud. So people began to apply the word “holy” to the lotus flower. Some people see fabricated love stories as holy, or they might view some fictional, great characters as holy. Some even regard as holy the spiritual experiences of certain figures recorded in the Bible or in spiritual books—such as saints, apostles, or others who once followed God while He did His work. These are all human imaginings and notions. Why do people hold notions like this? The reason is very simple: It is because, while people live within corrupt dispositions and dwell in a world of evil and filth, everything they see, everything they touch, everything they experience is Satan’s wickedness and corruption as well as the scheming, infighting, and war that occur among people under the influence of Satan. Therefore, even when God performs His work upon people, and even when He speaks to them and reveals His disposition and essence, they are not able to see or know God’s holiness and essence. People often say that God is holy, but they do not have true understanding; they are just saying empty words. People live in filth, in corruption, under the power of Satan, they cannot see the light, and they do not know what positive things and positive matters are, much less what the truth is, so no one truly knows what “holy” means. Are there any holy things or holy people among this corrupt humanity then? We can say with certainty: No, there are not, because only God’s essence is holy.

Last time, we fellowshipped on part of the content about God’s essence being holy. This provided some inspiration for people to gain knowledge of God’s holiness, but it is not enough. It cannot sufficiently enable people to fully know God’s holiness, or to understand that God’s holiness is unique, much less to understand the aspect of the true meaning of holiness that is fully embodied in God. Therefore, it is necessary that we continue our fellowship on this subject. Last time, our fellowship addressed three topics, so we should now fellowship on the fourth. We will begin by reading from the Scriptures.

The Temptation of Satan

Matthew 4:1–4 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If you be the son of god, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

These are the words with which the devil first tried to tempt the Lord Jesus. What is the content of what the devil said? (“If you be the son of god, command that these stones be made bread.”) These words that the devil spoke are quite simple, but is there a problem with their essence? The devil said, “If you be the son of god,” but in its heart, did it or did it not know that Jesus was the Son of God? Did it or did it not know that He was Christ? (It knew.) Then why did it say “If you be”? (It was trying to tempt God.) What was its purpose in doing so? It said, “If you be the son of god.” In its heart it knew that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, it was very clear about this in its heart, but no matter how clearly it knew, did it submit to Him and worship Him? (No.) What did it want to do? It wanted to use this method and these words to anger the Lord Jesus, and then to entice Him into its trap, making the Lord Jesus act in line with its intentions. Was this not the meaning behind the devil’s words? In Satan’s heart, it clearly knew that this was the Lord Jesus Christ, but it said these words nonetheless. Is this not Satan’s nature? What is Satan’s nature? (To be sly, wicked, and have no fear of God.) What consequences would result from having no fear of God? Was it not that it wanted to attack God? It wanted to use this method to attack God, and then it said, “If you be the son of god, command that these stones be made bread”; is this not Satan’s sinister intention? What was it really trying to do? Its purpose is very obvious: It was trying to use this method to deny the status and identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. What Satan meant by those words is, “If you are the son of god, turn these stones into bread. If you cannot do this, then you are not the son of god, so you should not carry out your work any longer.” Is this not so? It wanted to use this method to attack God, it wanted to dismantle and destroy God’s work; this is the maliciousness of Satan. Its maliciousness is a natural expression of its nature. Even though it knew the Lord Jesus Christ was the Son of God, God Himself incarnate, it could not help but do this kind of thing, following closely behind God’s back, continuing to attack Him and tirelessly disturb and sabotage God’s work.

Now, let us dissect this phrase that Satan spoke: “Command that these stones be made bread.” To turn stones into bread—does this mean anything? If there is food, why not eat it? Why is it necessary to turn stones into food? Is this not meaningless? Although He was fasting at the time, surely the Lord Jesus had food to eat? (He did.) So, here we can see the preposterousness of Satan’s words. For all Satan’s insidiousness and malice, we can still see its preposterousness and absurdity. When Satan does certain things, you can see its malicious nature, you can see it doing things that sabotage God’s work, and you feel that it is hateful and infuriating. But, on the other hand, do you not see a childish, ridiculous nature behind its words and actions? This is a revelation of Satan’s nature; since it has this kind of nature, it will do this kind of thing. To people today, these words of Satan are preposterous and laughable. But Satan is indeed capable of uttering such words. Can we say that it is ignorant and absurd? Satan’s wickedness is everywhere and it is constantly being revealed. And how did the Lord Jesus answer it? (“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”) Do these words have any power? (They do.) Why do we say that they have power? It is because these words are the truth. Now, does man live by bread alone? The Lord Jesus fasted for forty days and nights. Did He starve to death? He did not starve to death, so Satan approached Him, prompting Him to turn the stones into food by saying things such as: “If you turn the stones into food, won’t you then have things to eat? Won’t you then not have to fast, not have to go hungry?” But the Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone,” which means that, although man lives in a physical body, it is not food that allows his physical body to live and breathe, but each and every one of the words uttered from the mouth of God. On one level, these words are the truth; they give people faith, making them feel that they can depend on God and that He is the truth. On another level, is there a practical aspect to these words? Was the Lord Jesus not still standing, still alive after fasting for forty days and nights? Is this not a real example? He had not eaten any food for forty days and nights, and yet He was still alive. This is powerful evidence confirming the truth of His words. These words are simple, but for the Lord Jesus, did He speak them only when Satan tempted Him, or were they already naturally a part of Him? To put it another way, God is the truth, and God is the life. Were God’s truth and life a subsequent addition? Were they born of later experience? No—they are innate in God. That is to say, God’s essence is the truth and the life. Whatever happens to Him, all that He reveals is the truth. This truth, these words—whether the content of His speech be long or short—can enable man to live and give man life; they can enable people to gain the truth and clarity about the path of human life, and enable them to have faith in God. In other words, the source of God speaking these words is positive. So can we say that this positive thing is holy? (Yes.) Those words of Satan come from Satan’s nature. Satan reveals its wicked and malicious nature everywhere, constantly. Does Satan make these revelations naturally? Does anyone direct it to do this? Does anyone help it? Does anyone coerce it? No. All of these revelations, it makes of its own accord. This is Satan’s wicked nature. Whatever God does and however He does it, Satan follows on His heels. The essence and the true nature of these things that Satan says and does are Satan’s essence—an essence that is wicked and malicious. Now, as we read on, what else did Satan say? Let us read.

Matthew 4:5–7 Then the devil takes Him up into the holy city, and sets Him on a pinnacle of the temple, And said to Him, If you be the son of god, cast yourself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning you: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.

Let us first see the words that Satan spoke here. Satan said, “If you be the son of god, cast yourself down,” and then it quoted from the Scriptures: “He shall give his angels charge concerning you: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.” How do you feel when you hear Satan’s words? Are they not very childish? They are childish, preposterous, and disgusting. Why do I say this? Satan often does foolish things, and it believes itself to be very clever. It often quotes from the Scriptures—even the very words spoken by God—trying to turn these words against God to attack Him and to tempt Him in an attempt to achieve its objective of sabotaging God’s plan of work. Are you able to see anything in these words spoken by Satan? (Satan harbors wicked intentions.) In all that Satan does, it has always sought to tempt man. Satan does not speak straightforwardly, but in a roundabout way using temptation, enticement, and seduction. Satan tempts God as if He were an ordinary human being. It believes that God, like man, is also ignorant, foolish, unable to clearly distinguish the true form of things, unable to see through to its essence, and unable to see through its deceitfulness and sinister intention. Is this not what Satan’s foolishness is? Furthermore, Satan overtly quotes from the Scriptures, believing that its statements are well-grounded, and that you will be unable to pick out any flaws in its words or to avoid being fooled. Is this not Satan’s preposterousness and childishness? This is just like when people preach the gospel and testify to God: Will not nonbelievers say something similar to what Satan said? Have you heard people say something similar? How do you feel when you hear such things? Do you feel disgusted? (Yes.) When you feel disgusted, do you also have feelings of loathing and hate? When you have these feelings, are you able to realize that Satan and the corrupt dispositions Satan works into man are wicked? When you have these feelings, in your heart, do you ever have this realization: “When Satan speaks, its words carry an attack and an enticement; Satan’s words are preposterous, laughable, childish, and disgusting. Yet in what God has said and what God has done, He has never used that kind of method to speak or work, and there has never been that kind of method”? Of course, in this situation people are only able to faintly sense it, and still do not realize God’s holiness. With your current stature, you merely feel that “Everything God says is the truth, is beneficial to us, and we must accept it.” Regardless of whether you are able to accept what He has said or not, you say without exception that God’s words are the truth and that God is the truth, but you do not know that truth itself is holy and that God is holy.

So, what was Jesus’ response to these words of Satan? Jesus said to it: “It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Is there truth in these words that Jesus said? There certainly is. On the surface, these words are an order for people to follow, a simple phrase, yet nonetheless, both man and Satan have often violated these words. So, the Lord Jesus said to Satan, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God,” because this is what Satan often did, doing so tirelessly, and it could be said that Satan did this brazenly and without shame. It is in Satan’s nature essence to not be frightened of God and to not have a God-fearing heart. Even when Satan stood beside God and could see Him, it could not help but tempt God. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said to Satan: “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” These are words that God has often said to Satan. So, is it appropriate for this phrase to be applied in the present day? (Yes, as we also often tempt God.) Why do people often tempt God? Isn’t it because people are full of Satan’s corrupt dispositions? (Yes.) So are the words of Satan above not something people often say? And in what situations do people say these words? One could say that people have been saying things like this irrespective of time and place. This proves that the disposition of people is no different from Satan’s corrupt disposition. The Lord Jesus said a few simple words, words that represent the truth, words that people need. However, was the Lord Jesus arguing at all with Satan? Was there anything confrontational in what He said to Satan? (No.) How did the Lord Jesus feel about Satan’s temptation in His heart? Did He feel disgust and loathing? The Lord Jesus felt loathing and disgust, and yet He did not argue with Satan, and much less did He speak about any grand principles. Why is that? (Because Satan is always like this; it can never change.) Could it be said that Satan is impervious to reason? (Yes.) Can Satan recognize that God is the truth? Satan will never recognize that God is the truth and will never admit that God is the truth; this is its nature. There is yet another aspect of Satan’s nature that is disgusting. What is it? In its efforts to tempt the Lord Jesus, Satan thought that even if it was unsuccessful, it would nonetheless still try to do so. Even if it would be punished, it would try anyway. Even if it would gain no advantage out of doing so, it would try nonetheless, persisting in its efforts and opposing God until the very end. What sort of nature is this? Is it not wickedness? Suppose someone sees red or gets angry when God is mentioned: Have they seen God? Do they know who God is? They don’t know who God is, don’t believe in Him, God has not spoken to them, and God has never provoked them—so why would they be angry? Could we say that this person is wicked? Worldly trends, eating, drinking, and pleasure-seeking, and worshiping celebrities—none of these things would anger such a person. However, at the very mention of the word “God,” or of the truth of God’s words, they get angry. Does this not constitute having a wicked nature? This is sufficient to prove that this is their wicked nature. Think about whether you ever experience times like these: When the truth is mentioned, or when God’s trials of man or God’s words of judgment of man are mentioned, you feel an aversion or a kind of loathing, and you do not want to hear such things, and you think, “Don’t people all say that God is the truth? Some of His words are not the truth! They are clearly just God’s words chiding man!” Some of you even feel an aversion in your hearts, and think, “This is spoken about every day—His trials, His judgment, when will it end? When will we receive the good destination?” This inexplicable anger comes out of nowhere. What sort of nature is this? (Wicked nature.) It is directed by the wicked nature of Satan. From God’s perspective, with regard to the wicked nature of Satan and the corrupt dispositions of man, He never argues or keeps score, and He never makes a fuss when people act foolishly. You will never see God hold similar views on things to human beings, and even more, you will not see Him use mankind’s viewpoints, knowledge, science, philosophy, or imagination to handle matters. Rather, everything God does and everything He reveals is connected to the truth. That is, every word He has said and every action He has taken is related to the truth. This truth is not the product of some baseless fantasy; this truth and these words are revealed from God’s essence and God’s life. Because these words and the essence of everything God has done are the truth, we can say that God’s essence is holy. In other words, everything God says and does brings vitality and light to people, enables people to see positive things and the reality of those positive things, and points the way for humanity so that they may walk the right path. These things are all determined by God’s essence and by God’s essence of holiness. You see this now, do you not? Now, we will continue with another reading from the Scriptures.

Matthew 4:8–11 Again, the devil takes Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and said to Him, All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me. Then said Jesus to him, Get you hence, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve. Then the devil leaves Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

The devil Satan, having failed at its previous two ploys, tried yet another: It showed all the kingdoms of the world and their glory to the Lord Jesus and asked Him to worship it. What can you see about the true face of the devil from this situation? Is the devil Satan not absolutely shameless? (Yes.) How is it shameless? All things were created by God, and yet Satan turned around and showed all things to God, saying, “Look at the wealth and glory of all these kingdoms. If you worship me I’ll give them all to you.” Is this not a complete role reversal? Is Satan not shameless? God created all things, but does He enjoy these things? God bestowed all things upon mankind, but Satan wanted to seize them and having seized them, it told God, “Worship me! Worship me and I’ll give this all to you.” This is the ugly face of Satan; it is absolutely shameless! Satan does not even know the meaning of the word “shame.” This is just another example of its wickedness. It does not even know what shame is. Satan clearly knows that God created all things and that He manages and holds sovereignty over all things. It knows that all things belong not to man, and much less to Satan, but to God, and yet the devil Satan brazenly said that it would give all things to God. Is this not another example of Satan acting absurdly and shamelessly? This caused God to loathe Satan even more, did it not? Yet no matter what Satan tried, was the Lord Jesus fooled? What did the Lord Jesus say? (“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”) Do these words have a practical meaning? (Yes.) What sort of practical meaning? We see Satan’s wickedness and shamelessness in its speech. So if man worshiped Satan, what would be the outcome? Would he obtain the wealth and glory of all the kingdoms? (No.) What would he obtain? Would he become just as shameless and laughable as Satan? (Yes.) He would be no different from Satan then. Therefore, these words of the Lord Jesus are very important for each and every person: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” This means that except for the Lord, except for God Himself, if you served another, if you worshiped the devil Satan, then you would wallow in the same filth as Satan. You would then share Satan’s shamelessness and its wickedness, and just like Satan you would tempt God and attack God. Then what would the outcome be for you? You would be loathed by God, struck down by God, and destroyed by God. After Satan had tempted the Lord Jesus several times without success, did it try again? Satan did not try again and then it left. What does this prove? It proves that Satan’s wicked nature, its maliciousness, and its absurdity and preposterousness are not worth even mentioning in the face of God. The Lord Jesus defeated Satan with only three sentences, after which it scurried away with its tail between its legs, too ashamed to show its face, and it did not tempt the Lord Jesus again. Since the Lord Jesus had defeated this temptation of Satan, He could now, without hindrance, continue the work that He would do, the work that He would shoulder. Does everything that the Lord Jesus did and said in this situation carry any practical meaning for each and every person in the present day? (Yes.) What sort of practical meaning? Is defeating Satan an easy thing to do? Must people have a clear understanding of Satan’s wicked nature? Must people have an accurate understanding of Satan’s temptations? (Yes.) When you experience Satan’s temptations, if you are able to see through to Satan’s wicked nature, will you not be able to defeat it? If you know about Satan’s absurdity and preposterousness, will you still stand by its side and attack God together with Satan? If you understand that Satan’s maliciousness and shamelessness is revealed in you—if you clearly recognize and understand this fact—will you still attack and tempt God in this way? (No, we won’t.) What will you do? (We will rebel against Satan and cast it aside.) Is that an easy thing to do? It is not easy. To do this, people must frequently pray; they must often come before God and examine themselves. And they must let God’s discipline and His judgment and chastisement come upon them. Only in this way will people gradually extricate themselves from being misled and controlled by Satan.

Now, by looking at all of these words spoken by Satan, we will summarize the things that make up the essence of Satan. Firstly, Satan’s essence can generally be said to be wicked, in contrast to the holiness of God. Why do I say that Satan’s essence is wicked? To answer this question, one must examine the consequences of what Satan does to people. Satan corrupts and controls man, and man acts under satanic corrupt dispositions, and lives in a world of people corrupted by Satan. Mankind is unwittingly possessed and assimilated by Satan; man therefore has Satan’s corrupt dispositions, which are Satan’s very nature. From everything Satan has said and done, have you seen its arrogance? Have you seen its deceitfulness and maliciousness? How is Satan’s arrogance primarily displayed? Isn’t it that Satan always wants to possess God’s status? Satan always wants to eradicate God’s work and God’s status, and take His status for itself so that people will follow, support, and worship it; this is the arrogant nature of Satan. When Satan corrupts people, does it directly tell them what they should do? When Satan tempts God, does it come out and say, “I am going to tempt you, I am going to attack you”? It absolutely does not. So what method does Satan use? It seduces, tempts, attacks, and sets traps, and even quotes from the Scriptures. Satan speaks and acts in various ways to achieve its sinister intentions and objectives. After Satan has done this, what can be seen from what is manifested in man? Are people not also arrogant? Man has endured Satan’s corruption for thousands of years and so man has become arrogant, deceitful, malicious, and beyond reason. All of these things are brought about due to Satan’s nature. Since Satan’s nature is wicked, it has given man this wicked nature and brought to man these wicked, corrupt dispositions. Therefore, man lives under satanic corrupt dispositions and, like Satan, resists God, attacks God, and tempts Him, such that man cannot worship God and does not have a God-fearing heart.

Five Ways in Which Satan Corrupts Man

Regarding God’s holiness, even though it may be a familiar topic, it is a topic which, when spoken about, might become a bit abstract for some people and be a bit profound and beyond their reach. But there is no need to be anxious. I will help you to understand what God’s holiness is. To understand what kind of person someone is, look at what they do and the outcomes of their actions, and then you will be able to see the essence of that person. Could it be put in this way? (Yes.) Then, let us first fellowship on God’s holiness from this perspective. It can be said that Satan’s essence is wicked, and so Satan’s actions toward mankind have been to ceaselessly corrupt them. Satan is wicked, so the people it has corrupted are certainly wicked. Would anyone say, “Satan is wicked, but perhaps someone it corrupted is holy”? That would be a joke, would it not? Could such a thing be possible? (No.) Satan is wicked, and contained within its wickedness there is both an essential and a practical side. This is not empty talk. We are not trying to smear Satan; we are merely fellowshipping about the facts and reality. Fellowshipping on the reality of this aspect might hurt some people or a certain subsection of people, but there is no malicious intent; perhaps you will hear this today and feel a bit uncomfortable, but someday soon, when you are able to recognize it, you will hate yourselves, and you will feel that what I talk about today is very useful to you and very valuable. Could we say that since the essence of Satan is wicked, the results of Satan’s actions are inevitably wicked, or at the very least, have something to do with its wickedness? (Yes.) So how does Satan corrupt man? Of Satan’s wickedness in this world and among humanity, which specific aspects of it are visible and perceptible to people? Have you ever thought about this before? You might not have given it much thought, so let Me bring up several main points. Everyone knows about the theory of evolution that Satan proposes, right? This is an area of knowledge studied by man, is it not? (Yes.) So, Satan first uses knowledge to corrupt man and uses its own satanic methods to impart knowledge to him. Then it uses science to corrupt man, arousing his interest in knowledge, science, mystery or in matters people desire to explore. The next things Satan uses to corrupt man are traditional culture and superstition, and following that, social trends. These are all things that people encounter in their daily lives, and all exist in close proximity to people; they are all connected to the things they see, things they hear, things they touch, and things they experience. One could say that each and every human being lives their life surrounded by these things, unable to escape or free themselves of them even if they wanted to. Mankind is left with no choice but to be influenced, infected, controlled, and bound by these things, and is powerless to free themselves from them.

a. How Satan Uses Knowledge to Corrupt Man

First, we will talk about knowledge. Is knowledge something that everyone considers to be a positive thing? At the very least, people think that the connotation of the word “knowledge” is positive rather than negative. So why are we mentioning here that Satan uses knowledge to corrupt man? Is the theory of evolution not an aspect of knowledge? Are Newton’s laws not a part of knowledge? The gravitational pull of the Earth is also a part of knowledge, is it not? (Yes.) So why is knowledge listed among the things that Satan uses to corrupt mankind? What is your view on this? Does knowledge have even a shred of truth in it? (No.) Then what is the essence of knowledge? What is the basis of all the knowledge that people acquire? Isn’t it based on the theory of evolution? Isn’t the knowledge that man has gained through exploration and summation based on atheism? Does any of this knowledge have a connection to God? Is it connected with worshiping God? Is it connected to the truth? (No.) So how does Satan use knowledge to corrupt man? I just said that none of this knowledge is connected to worshiping God or to the truth. Some people think about it like this: “Knowledge might not have anything to do with the truth, but still, it doesn’t corrupt people.” What is your view on this? Were you taught by knowledge that a person’s happiness is created with their own two hands? Did knowledge teach you that man’s fate is in his own hands? (Yes.) What kind of talk is this? (It is devilish talk.) Absolutely right! It is devilish talk! Knowledge is actually pretty complicated. To put it simply, no matter what field it belongs to, knowledge is something people regard as good. How does knowledge come about? All knowledge has been derived by nonbelievers who do not know God and do not worship Him. When people study this field of knowledge, they cannot see God holding sovereignty over all things; they cannot see God being in charge of or managing all things. Instead, all they do is endlessly research and explore in the realm of knowledge, and seek out answers that are knowledge. However, is it not true that if people do not believe in God and instead only pursue research, they will never find the true answers? All that knowledge can give you is a livelihood, a job, and income so that you do not go hungry; but it will never make you worship God, and it will never make you shun evil. The more people acquire knowledge, the more they will desire to rebel against God, to scrutinize God, to test God, and to oppose God. So, what do we now see that knowledge is teaching people? It is all the philosophy of Satan. Do the philosophies and laws of survival spread by Satan among corrupt mankind have any relation to the truth? They have nothing to do with the truth and, in fact, are counter to the truth. People often say, “Life is motion” and “Man is iron, rice is steel, man feels famished if he skips a meal”; what are these sayings? They are fallacies, and hearing them causes a feeling of disgust. In man’s so-called knowledge, Satan has imbued quite a bit of its philosophy for worldly dealings and its thinking. And as Satan does this, it allows man to, by means of its thinking, philosophy, and points of view, deny the existence of God, and deny God’s sovereignty over all things and over man’s fate. So when man learns more and gains more knowledge, he feels the existence of God become vague, and might even no longer feel that God exists. Because Satan has instilled certain thoughts, views, and notions in man, once Satan has instilled these poisons inside man, is man not misled and corrupted by Satan? So what would you say the people of today live by? Do they not live by the knowledge and thoughts instilled by Satan? And the things hidden inside this knowledge and these thoughts—are they not the philosophies and poisons of Satan? Man lives by the philosophies and poisons of Satan. And what lies at the core of Satan’s corruption of man? Satan wants to make man deny, resist, and stand against God like it does; this is Satan’s goal in corrupting man, and also the consequence of Satan corrupting man.

We will start by addressing the most superficial aspect of knowledge. Are the grammar or characters in languages able to corrupt people? Can words corrupt people? Words cannot corrupt people; they are a tool that people use to speak and they are also the tool with which people communicate with God, not to mention that at present, language and words are how God communicates with people. They are tools, and they are a necessity. One plus one equals two, and two multiplied by two equals four; is this not knowledge? But can this corrupt you? This is common knowledge—it is a fixed pattern—and it cannot corrupt people. So what type of knowledge does corrupt people? It is the viewpoints and thoughts which Satan mixes into knowledge. It seeks to inculcate these viewpoints and thoughts into humanity through the medium of knowledge. For example, in an article, there is nothing wrong with the written words in themselves. The problem lies with the viewpoints and intent of the author when they wrote the article, as well as the content of their thoughts. These things are the soul of the work, and they are able to corrupt people. For example, if you were watching a television show, what sort of things in it could change people’s view? Would what the performers said, the words themselves, be able to corrupt people? (No.) What sort of things would corrupt people? It would be the core thoughts and content of the show, which would represent the director’s views. The information carried in these views could sway people’s hearts and minds. Is that not so? Now you know what I am referring to in My discussion of Satan using knowledge to corrupt people. You will not misinterpret this, will you? So the next time you read a novel or an article, will you be able to evaluate whether the thoughts expressed in the written words corrupt or edify people? (Yes, to a small extent.) This is something that must be studied and experienced at a slow pace, and it is not something that can be seen through right away. For example, when you research or study an area of knowledge, some positive aspects of that knowledge may help you to understand some general knowledge about that field, while also enabling you to know what people should avoid. For example, take “electricity”—this is a field of knowledge, is it not? Would you not be ignorant if you did not know that electricity can shock and hurt people? But once you understand this field of knowledge, you will not be careless about touching objects with electrical currents, and you will know how to use electricity. These are both positive things. Are you now clear on which things are meant when we say knowledge corrupts people? There are many types of knowledge studied in the world, and you must take your time to differentiate them for yourselves.

b. How Satan Uses Science to Corrupt Man

What is science? Is not science held in high prestige in the mind of each and every human and considered profound? When science is mentioned, do people not feel, “This is something beyond the reach of ordinary people; this is a topic that only scientific research personnel or specialists in doing research can touch; it has nothing to do with us regular folks”? Does it have any connection to ordinary people? (Yes.) How does Satan use science to corrupt people? Let’s not get into other issues, but only talk about the things that people often run into. Have you heard of the word “genes”? You all know it. Were genes not discovered by science? What do these “genes” do for people? Do they not make people feel that the body is a mysterious thing? When people are introduced to this topic, won’t some of them, especially the curious, want to know more and want more details? These curious people will devote their energy to this subject, and when they do not have other things to do, they will search for information in various literature and on the internet, wanting to know about more detailed issues related to it. What is science? To speak plainly, science is a kind of imagination and theory regarding things that man is curious about, things that are unknown, things not told to him by God, and the mysteries that man explores. What is the scope of science? You could say that it is rather broad; man takes whatever he is interested in and researches it, researching its details and laws and then putting forth specious conclusions which cause everyone to think, “These scientists are really terrific! They know so much! How much knowledge must they have, to understand these things!” They have so much admiration for scientists, do they not? What sort of views are held by people who do scientific research? Do they not want to research all things, to research the mysteries in their area of interest? What is the final outcome of this? Parts of it are based on conjecture, and others are derived in reliance on human experience. Yet others are derived based on historical and background observations. Is this not so? So what does science do for people? Science allows people to just see the objects of the physical world, merely satisfying man’s curiosity, but it cannot enable man to see the laws by which God holds sovereignty over all things. Man seems to have found answers in science, and those answers are misleading and bring temporary satisfaction, a satisfaction that serves to confine the heart of man to the material world. Man feels that he has received answers from science, so whatever issue arises, he uses scientific views as a basis to verify and accept that issue. Man’s heart becomes seduced by science and possessed by it, and as a result, man no longer has the mind to know God, to worship God, and to believe that all things come from God, and that man should obtain all answers from God. Is this not so? The more someone is a believer in science, the more absurd they are, believing that everything has a scientific solution, that research can solve anything. They do not seek God and they do not believe He exists. There are many long-term believers in God who, when faced with any problem, will use a computer to look things up and search for answers; they believe only in scientific knowledge. They do not believe that God’s words are the truth, they do not believe that God’s words can solve all of mankind’s problems, and they do not view every one of mankind’s problems from the perspective of the truth. No matter what problem they encounter, they never pray to God or try to resolve it by seeking the truth in God’s words. In many matters, they still believe that knowledge can solve the problem, and that science is the ultimate answer. God is totally absent from such people’s hearts. They are disbelievers, and their views on belief in God are no different from those of many high-level intellectuals and scientists, who are always trying to study God using scientific methods. For example, there are many religious experts who have gone and inspected the mountain where the ark came to rest, and thus they proved the existence of the ark. But in the outward appearance of the ark they do not see the existence of God. They believe only in the stories and the history; this is the result of their scientific research and study of the material world. If you research material things, whether it be microbiology, astronomy, or geography, you will never find a result that determines that God exists or that He holds sovereignty over all things. So what does science do for man? Does it not distance man from God? Does it not cause people to subject God to studies? Does it not make people more doubtful of God’s existence and sovereignty, and thus cause them to deny and betray God? This is the consequence. So when Satan uses science to corrupt man, what aim is Satan trying to achieve? It wants to use scientific conclusions to mislead people and make them numb, and use ambiguous answers to occupy people’s hearts so that they will not seek out or believe in God’s existence. So this is why I say that science is also one of the ways in which Satan corrupts people.

c. How Satan Uses Traditional Culture to Corrupt Man

Are there or are there not many things that are considered part of traditional culture? (There are.) What does this “traditional culture” mean? Some say it is what has been passed down from the ancestors—this is one aspect. From the beginning, ways of life, conventions, sayings, and regulations have been passed down within families, ethnic groups, and even the entire human race, and they have become instilled in people’s thoughts. People consider them an indispensable part of their lives and regard them as regulations, observing them as though they were life itself, so much so that they never want to change or abandon these things, because they were passed down from their ancestors. There are other aspects of traditional culture which are ingrained into people’s very bones, like the things that were passed down from Confucius and Mencius, and the things taught to people by Chinese Taoism and Confucianism. Is this not so? What things are included in traditional culture? Does it include the holidays people celebrate? For example, there are the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Ghost Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and even, in some families, major birthdays of the elderly, children’s one-month or hundred-day celebrations, and so on; these are all traditional holidays. Is there not traditional culture underlying these holidays? What is the core of traditional culture? Does it have anything to do with worshiping God? Does it have anything to do with telling people to practice the truth? Are there any holidays for people to offer sacrifices to God, go to God’s altar and receive His teachings? Are there holidays like this? (No.) What use are all of these holidays? In modern times they are seen as occasions for eating, drinking, and having fun. What is the source underlying traditional culture? Who does traditional culture come from? It comes from Satan. Behind the scenes of these traditional holidays, Satan instills certain things in man. What are these things? Ensuring that people remember their ancestors—isn’t this one example? For instance, during Tomb Sweeping Day, people sweep graves and make offerings to their ancestors; this is Satan causing people not to forget their ancestors. Or take the Dragon Boat Festival, at which Satan ensures that people remember to be patriotic. What about the Mid-Autumn Festival? (Family reunions.) What is the background of family reunions? What is the reason for it? It is to communicate and connect emotionally. Of course, whether it be celebrating Lunar New Year’s Eve or the Lantern Festival, there are quite a few sayings associated with these celebrations. All of these sayings are a kind of Satan’s philosophy and Satan’s thought which Satan instills in people. It instills these things so that people will stray from God—preferably not even knowing God exists—and offer sacrifices either to their ancestors or to Satan, or simply eat, drink, and have fun for the sake of the flesh. As each of these holidays is celebrated, Satan’s thoughts and views are planted deep within the minds of people without their knowing. When people reach their forties, fifties, or even older ages, these thoughts and viewpoints of Satan have already been planted in their hearts and taken deep root. Moreover, people do their utmost to transmit these viewpoints, whether right or wrong, down to the next generation, indiscriminately and without reservation. Is not this so? (Yes.) How do traditional culture and these holidays corrupt people? Do you know? (People become constrained and bound by these regulations, such that they have no time or energy to seek God.) This is one aspect. For example, everyone celebrates during Lunar New Year—if you did not celebrate it, would you not feel sad? Do you have any reservations in your heart? Might you feel, “I didn’t celebrate the New Year, and since Lunar New Year’s day was a bad day, won’t the whole of the rest of the year also be bad?” Would you not feel ill at ease and a bit afraid? There are even some people who have not made sacrifices to their ancestors in years and who suddenly have a dream in which a deceased person asks them for money. What would they feel? “How sad that this person now gone needs money to spend! I’ll burn some paper money for them. If I don’t, that just wouldn’t be right. It might cause trouble for us living people—who can say when misfortune will strike?” They will always have this little cloud of fear and worry in their hearts. Who gives them this worry? Satan is the source of this worry. Is this not one of the ways that Satan corrupts man? It uses different means and pretexts to control you, to threaten you, and to bind you, so that you fall into a daze and yield and give in to it; this is how Satan corrupts man. Often when people are weak or when they are not aware of the situation, they may inadvertently do muddleheaded things. That is, they are inadvertently and involuntarily captured by Satan, and involuntarily do certain things without even knowing. This is the way Satan corrupts man. There are even quite a few people now who are still reluctant to part with deep-rooted traditional culture, who just cannot give it up. It is especially when they are weak and negative that they wish to celebrate these kinds of holidays and they wish to meet Satan and satisfy Satan again, to bring comfort to their hearts. What lies behind this traditional culture? Is the black hand of Satan pulling the strings behind the scenes? Is Satan’s wicked nature manipulating and controlling? Does Satan hold sway over all of this? (Yes.) When people live in a traditional culture and celebrate these kinds of traditional holidays, could we say that they are being fooled and corrupted by Satan in this environment, and that they do so happily? (Yes.) This is something you all acknowledge, something that you know about.

d. How Satan Uses Superstition to Corrupt Man

You are familiar with the term “superstition,” yes? There is some common ground between superstition and traditional culture, but we will not talk about that today. Rather, I will discuss the forms of superstition people often encounter: divination, fortune-telling, burning incense, and worshiping Buddha. Some people practice divination, others worship Buddha and burn incense, while others have their fortunes read or have someone read their facial features and tell their fortunes in this way. How many of you have had your fortunes told or had a face-reading? This is something most people are interested in, is it not? (Yes.) Why? What sort of benefit do people gain from fortune-telling and divination? What kind of satisfaction do they gain from it? (Curiosity.) Is it just curiosity? That is not necessarily it, as I see it. What is the goal of divination and fortune-telling? Why is it done? Is it not to see the future? Some people have their face read to predict the future, others do it to know of their fortunes and misfortunes. Some people do it to see what their marriage will be like, and yet others do it to see what fortune the year ahead will bring. Some people have their face read to see what their prospects and those of their sons or daughters will be, and some business people do it to see how much money they will make, seeking the guidance of the face-reader about what actions they should take. So, is this done just to satisfy curiosity? When people have their face read or do these sorts of things, it is for their own future personal benefit; they believe that all of this is closely connected with their own fate. Is any of this useful? (No.) Why is it not useful? Is it not a good thing to gain some knowledge through these things? That way, you won’t be caught unaware when disaster strikes; if you knew in advance, could you not avoid it? If you have your fortune told, it might show you how to find the right path out of the maze, so that you may enjoy good luck in the year ahead and come into great wealth through your business. So, is it or is it not useful? Whether it is useful or not has no connection with us, and our fellowship today will not involve this topic. How does Satan use superstition to corrupt man? People all want to know their fate, so Satan takes advantage of their curiosity to entice them. People engage in divination, fortune-telling, and face-reading in order to learn their future fortunes and what sort of road lies ahead. In the end, though, in whose hands are the fate and prospects with which people are so concerned? (In God’s hands.) All of these things are in God’s hands. In using these methods, what does Satan want people to know? Satan wants to use face-reading and fortune-telling to tell people that it knows their future fortunes, and that it not only knows these things but is also in control of them. Satan wants to take advantage of this opportunity and use these methods to control people, such that people put blind faith in it and obey its every word. For example, if you have a face-reading done, if the face-reader closes his eyes and tells you everything that has happened to you in the last few decades with perfect clarity, how would you feel inside? You would immediately feel, “He’s so accurate! I’ve never told my past to anyone before; how did he know about it? I really admire this face-reader!” For Satan, is it not too easy to know about your past? God has led you to where you are today, and all the while Satan has been corrupting people and following you. The passage of decades of your life is nothing to Satan, and its knowing these things is no great matter. When you learn that all that Satan says is accurate, are you not giving your heart over to it? Are you not depending on it to take control of your future and your fortunes? In an instant, your heart will feel some veneration or reverence for it, and for some people, their souls may already be snatched away by it at this point. And they will immediately ask the face-reader, “What should I do next? What should I avoid in the coming year? What things must I not do?” And then, he will say, “You must not go there, you must not do this, do not wear clothes of a certain color, you should go to certain places less, do certain things more….” Will you not take everything he says immediately to heart? You would memorize his words faster than the words of God. Why would you memorize them so quickly? Because you would want to rely on Satan for good luck. Is this not when it seizes your heart? When its predictions come true, one after the other, would you not want to go right back to it to find out what fortune the next year will bring? (Yes.) You would do whatever Satan tells you to do and you would avoid the things it says to avoid. In this way, are you not obeying everything it says? Very quickly, you will fall into its embrace, be misled, and come under its control. This happens because you believe what it says is real and because you believe that it knows about your past lives, this life, and what the future will bring. This is the method Satan uses to control people. But in reality, who is really in control? God Himself is in control, not Satan. Satan is just using its clever ploys in this case to trick ignorant people, trick people who only see the material world, into believing and relying on it. Then, they are captured by Satan and obey its every word. But does Satan ever loosen its grip when people want to believe in and follow God? Satan does not. In this situation, people really have been captured by Satan, haven’t they? (Yes.) Could we say that Satan’s behavior in this regard is shameless? (Yes.) Why would we say that? Because these are fraudulent and deceptive tactics. Satan is shameless and misguides people into thinking it rules over everything about them and that it manipulates their very fate. This causes ignorant people to obey it completely. It only says two or three things and deceives people into a stupor; once people are in this stupor, they bow down before it. So, what sort of methods does Satan use, what does it say to cause you to believe in it? For example, you might not have told Satan how many people are in your family, but it might still be able to tell you how many people there are, and the ages of your parents and children. Though you might have had your suspicions and doubts about Satan before this, after hearing it say these things, would you not then feel it is a little more believable? Satan might then say how difficult work has been for you recently, that your superiors do not give you recognition and are always working against you, and so on. After hearing that, you would think, “That’s exactly right! Things haven’t been going smoothly at work.” Wouldn’t this make you believe it even more? Then it would say something else to mislead you, making you believe it still more. Little by little, against your own will, you would be rendered powerless to resist or remain suspicious of it anymore. Satan merely uses a few trivial tricks, even trifling little tricks, and in this way misleads you. As you become misled, you will be unable to establish your bearings, you will be at a loss as to what to do, and you will begin to heed Satan’s every word. This is Satan using a “brilliant” way of corrupting people to make you unwittingly take the bait and be enticed. Satan tells you a few things that people imagine to be good, and then it tells you what to do and what to avoid. This is how you are unwittingly tricked. Once you have fallen for it, things will get sticky for you; you will constantly be thinking about what Satan said and what it told you to do, and you will unknowingly be possessed by it. Why is this? It is because mankind does not possess the truth and so is powerless to resist Satan’s seduction and enticement. Faced with Satan’s wickedness and its deceitfulness, insidiousness, and cruelty, people are so ignorant, immature, and weak—isn’t that so? Is this not one of the ways Satan corrupts man? (Yes.) Man is unwittingly enticed and deceived, little by little, by Satan’s various methods, because he lacks the ability to differentiate between the positive and the negative; he does not possess this stature, nor the ability to triumph over Satan.

e. How Satan Uses Social Trends to Corrupt Man

When did social trends come into existence? Did they only come into being in the present day? One could say that social trends came to be when Satan started corrupting people. What do social trends include? (Dress and grooming.) These are things that people often come into contact with. Dress and grooming, fashion, and clothing trends—these things make up one small aspect. Is there anything else? Do the popular phrases that people often come out with count too? Do the lifestyles that people desire count? Do the music stars, celebrities, magazines, and novels that people like count? (Yes.) In your minds, which aspect of social trends is able to corrupt man? Which of these trends is most alluring to you? Some people say, “We’ve all reached a certain age, we are in our fifties or sixties, our seventies or eighties, we don’t go in for these trends, and trends are no temptation to us.” Is this correct? Others say, “We don’t follow celebrities, that’s something youngsters in their twenties do; we also don’t wear fashionable clothes, that’s something image-conscious people do.” So what things are able to corrupt you? (Popular sayings.) Can these sayings corrupt people? I will give an example, and you can see whether or not it corrupts people: “Money makes the world go round”; is this a trend? Compared to the fashion and gourmet trends you mentioned, is this not more powerful? “Money makes the world go round” is a philosophy of Satan. It is very prevalent among people, in every society; you could say it is a trend. This is because it has been instilled in the heart of every single person, who at first did not accept this saying, but then gave it tacit acceptance when they came into contact with real life, and began to feel that these words were in fact true. Is this not a process of Satan corrupting man? Perhaps people do not have the same degree of first-hand knowledge of this saying, but everyone has different degrees of interpretation and acknowledgment of this saying based on things that have happened around them and on everything they have personally experienced. Is that not the case? Regardless of how deep the experience a person has with this saying, what negative effect has it had on their heart? It is that the people in this world—and it can be said that this includes each and every one of you—reveal something from their disposition. What is it? It is the worship of money. Is it easy to remove this from people’s hearts? No, it is not easy! This shows that Satan’s corruption of man is deep indeed! Satan uses money to entice people, and corrupts all of them into things that worship money and material desires. And how is this worship of money manifested in people? Don’t you think that in this world you couldn’t survive without money, and that you couldn’t go a single day without it? How much money people have determines how high their status is, and how distinguished they are. The poor do not feel they can stand tall and proud, while the rich have high status, stand tall and proud, and can speak loudly and live in an arrogant and unbridled manner. What does this saying and trend bring to people? Is it not true that many people are willing to make any sacrifice in order to make money? Do many people not lose their dignity and integrity in the pursuit of more money? Do many people not lose the opportunity to do their duty and follow God for the sake of money? Is losing the chance to gain the truth and be saved not the greatest of all losses for people? Just using this method and this saying, Satan corrupts man to such a degree. Is Satan’s intention not sinister? Is this not a malicious trick? As this saying becomes popular, you go from disagreeing with it to finally believing that it is the truth, and by that point your heart has fallen completely into Satan’s grasp, and therefore you involuntarily come to live by the saying. To what degree has this saying affected you? You might know the true way, and you might know the truth, but you are powerless to pursue it. You may clearly know that God’s words are the truth, but you are unwilling to pay the price or to suffer in order to gain the truth. Instead, you would rather sacrifice your own future and fate to oppose God to the very end. No matter what God says, no matter what God does, no matter how deep and how great the love that God has for you is, insofar as you are able to understand it, you would stubbornly insist on exerting yourself because of this saying. That is to say, this saying has already misled and controlled your thoughts, it has already governed your behavior, and you would rather let it rule your fate than let go of your pursuit of wealth. That you can act thus, that you can be controlled and manipulated by the words of Satan—does this not mean that you have been misled and corrupted by Satan? Does this not mean the philosophy and thoughts of Satan, and the disposition of Satan, have taken root in your heart? When you single-mindedly pursue wealth, and abandon the pursuit of the truth, has Satan not achieved its aim of misleading you? This is exactly the case. So can you feel it when you are misled and corrupted by Satan? You cannot. If you cannot see Satan standing right in front of you, or feel that it is Satan acting in the shadows, would you be able to see the wickedness of Satan? Could you know how Satan corrupts mankind? Satan corrupts people at all times and in all places. Satan makes it impossible for them to defend against this corruption and makes them helpless against it. Satan makes people accept its thoughts, its viewpoints, and the wicked things that come from it in situations where they are unknowing and when they have no recognition of what is happening to them, and after accepting these things, people take no exception to them. They cherish and hold on to these things like a treasure, they let these things manipulate them and toy with them; this is how people live under the power of Satan, and unconsciously obey Satan, and Satan’s corruption of man grows ever deeper.

Satan uses these several methods to corrupt man. Man has knowledge and an understanding of some scientific principles; man lives under the influence of traditional culture. Every person is an inheritor of traditional culture and, as their bounden duty, carries on the traditional culture Satan has given to man. Man also cooperates with the social trends Satan brings to mankind. People all follow Satan and are inextricably linked to Satan, they constantly cooperate with everything Satan does and accept the various wicked thoughts and views and various poisons brought to them by Satan, and they all deny and resist God. Is it happy or tragic for people to live under Satan’s power in this way? (Tragic.) Why do you say that? (Because man is tied down and controlled by these corrupt things, he lives in sin and is engulfed in an arduous struggle.) Some people wear spectacles, appearing to be very intellectual; they might speak very respectably, with eloquence and reason. Because they have gone through many things, they might be experienced and have seen a great deal of life; they might be able to explain the ins and outs of matters great and small; they might also be able to assess the authenticity and reason of things. Some might look at the behavior and appearance of these people, as well as their integrity, humanity, self-conduct, and so on, and find no fault with them. Such people are particularly able to adapt to current social trends. Even though these people might be older, they never fall behind the trends of the times and are never too old to learn. On the surface, no one can find fault with such a person, yet in their inner essence, they are someone who has been utterly and completely corrupted by Satan. Though no external fault can be found with such a person, though on the surface they are gentle, refined, and possess knowledge and a certain morality, and they have integrity, and though in terms of knowledge they are in no way inferior to young people, yet in regard to their nature essence, such a person is a living model of Satan through and through, no different from Satan in the slightest. This is the “fruit” of Satan’s corruption of man. What I have said may be hurtful to you, but it is all true. The knowledge man studies, the science he understands, and the means he chooses by which he fits in with social trends are without exception tools of Satan’s corruption of man. This is absolutely true. Therefore, man lives within such a complete satanic corrupt disposition, and man has no way of knowing what God’s holiness is or what God’s essence is. This is because: No fault can be found with these things Satan uses to corrupt man in the eyes of corrupt mankind, and on the surface, there is nothing abnormal about people’s behavior. Everyone goes about their work normally and lives normal lives, they read books and newspapers normally, they study and speak normally, and some people have learned certain morals and are good at talking, are understanding and friendly, are helpful and charitable, or do not engage in petty score-keeping or take advantage of people. However, people’s dispositions corrupted by Satan are deeply rooted within them, and this essence cannot be changed by relying on external effort. Because of this essence, man is not able to know God’s holiness, and despite God’s essence of holiness being open to man, man does not take it seriously. This is because Satan has, through various means, already come to completely possess man’s thoughts and ideas, viewpoints and ways of thinking. This possession and corruption is not temporary or occasional, but is present everywhere and at all times. Thus, a great many people who have believed in God for three or four years, or even five or six, still take these wicked thoughts, views, logic, and philosophies that Satan has instilled in them as treasures, and are unable to let go of them. Precisely because everything man has accepted consists of wicked, arrogant, and malicious things from Satan’s nature, inevitably in man’s interpersonal relationships there are frequent conflicts, frequent petty score-keeping, and mutual incompatibility, all of which comes about as a result of Satan’s arrogant nature. If Satan had given mankind positive things—for example, if the traditional culture of Confucianism and Taoism that man has accepted were good—then after accepting those things, similar types of people should be able to be compatible when they are together. So why is it that people who have accepted the same things become even more divided when they are together? Why is that? It is because these things come from Satan and Satan creates division among people. No matter how dignified or great things from Satan may appear on the surface, what they bring to man and cause people to live out is all arrogance, all a deceitful, wicked nature. Is that not so? No matter how adept a person is at disguising themselves, how knowledgeable they are, or how well-bred they are, they would still have a hard time concealing their satanic corrupt dispositions. That is to say, no matter how adept a person is at putting up a front outwardly, whether you think of them as a saint, or you think they are perfect, or think they are an angel, no matter how pure you think they are, when you look at their life behind the scenes and the essence revealed in their disposition, what is it all? It is, without exception, entirely the wicked nature of Satan. Is it admissible to say that? (Yes.) For example, take someone around you whom you once thought of as a good person, an idol you once worshiped. Given your current stature, how do you view such a person now? First, you look at whether or not this type of person has humanity, whether they are honest, whether they have true love for people, and whether their words and actions edify or help others. (They do not.) What is the so-called kindness, love, or goodness that they reveal? It is all pretense, it is all a facade. Behind this facade there is an ulterior wicked purpose: to make people worship them and regard them as an idol. Do you see this clearly? (Yes.)

What do the methods Satan uses to corrupt people bring to mankind? Do they bring anything positive? Firstly, can man differentiate between good and evil? Look at this world: Whether it is some famous person or great figure, or some magazine or publication, are their standards for judging good and evil, right and wrong accurate? Are their assessments of events and people fair? Do they contain truth? Does this world, this humanity, assess positive and negative things based on the standard of truth? (No.) Why do people not have that ability? People have acquired so much knowledge and know so much about science, so they are possessed of great abilities, are they not? So why are they incapable of differentiating between positive and negative things? Why is this? (Because people do not have truth; science and knowledge are not truth.) Everything that Satan brings to humanity is wickedness and corruption; it contains no truth, no life, and no way. With the wickedness and corruption that Satan brings to man, can you say that Satan has love? Can you say that this humanity has love? Some people might say, “You’re wrong; there are many people around the world who help the poor or homeless. Aren’t those good people? There are also charitable organizations that do good work; isn’t that a good deed?” What would you say to that? Satan uses many different methods and theories to corrupt man; is this corruption of man a vague concept? No, it is not vague. Satan also does some practical things, and it also promotes a viewpoint or a theory in this world and in society. In every dynasty and in every epoch, it promotes a theory and instills thoughts into the minds of man. These thoughts and theories gradually take root in people’s hearts, and then they begin to live by them. Once they start to live by these things, do they not unwittingly become Satans? Do people not then become one with Satan? When people have become one with Satan, what is their attitude toward God in the end? Is it not the same attitude that Satan has toward God? No one dares to admit this, do they? How horrifying! Why do I say that Satan’s nature is wicked? This is a characterization and dissection of Satan based on what it has done and the things it has revealed; I am not saying this groundlessly. If I just said Satan was wicked, what would you think? You would think, “Obviously Satan is wicked.” So I ask you, “Which aspects of Satan are wicked?” You would say, “Satan’s resistance against God is wicked.” But you still would not be able to explain it clearly. Now that I have spoken about the specifics in this way, do you have an understanding about the specific content of the wicked essence of Satan? (Yes.) If you are able to see clearly Satan’s wicked nature, then you will see your own states. Is there any relationship between these two things? Is this helpful to you or not? (It is.) When I fellowship about God’s essence of holiness, is it necessary that I fellowship about the wicked essence of Satan? What is your opinion about this? (Yes, it is necessary.) Why? (Satan’s wickedness sets God’s holiness in relief.) Is that how it is? This is partially correct, in the sense that without Satan’s wickedness, people would not know that God is holy; it is right to say this. However, if you say that God’s holiness only exists due to its contrast with Satan’s wickedness, is this right? If you are speaking in this dialectical way, then it is wrong. God’s holiness is the inherent essence of God; even when God reveals it through His deeds, this is still a natural revelation of God’s essence and it is still God’s inherent essence; it has always existed and is intrinsic and innate to God Himself. It’s just that man cannot see it, because he lives amid the satanic corrupt dispositions and under Satan’s influence, and he does not know what is holy, much less about the specific content of God’s holiness. So, is it essential that we fellowship first about Satan’s wicked essence? (Yes, it is.) Some people may express some doubt: “You are fellowshipping about God Himself, so why are You always talking about how Satan corrupts people and always talking about Satan’s wicked nature?” Now you have put this doubt to rest, haven’t you? When people have discernment of Satan’s wickedness and when they have an accurate definition of it, when people can clearly see the specific content and manifestation of wickedness, the source and essence of wickedness, only then, through discussion of God’s holiness, can people clearly realize or recognize what God’s holiness is, what holiness is. If I do not discuss the wickedness of Satan, some people will mistakenly believe that some things that people do in society and among mankind—or certain things that exist in this world—may bear some relation to holiness. Is this not a wrong viewpoint? (Yes, it is.)

Now that I have fellowshipped on Satan’s essence in this way, what sort of understanding of God’s holiness have you gained through your experiences in the past few years, from your reading the word of God and from experiencing His work? Go ahead and speak about it. You do not have to use words that are pleasing to the ear, but just speak from your own experiences. Does God’s holiness consist solely of His love? Is it only God’s love that can be said to be holiness? That would be too one-sided, would it not? Besides God’s love, are there other aspects of God’s essence? Have you seen them? (Yes. God detests festivals and holidays, customs, and superstitions; this is also God’s holiness.) God is holy, so He detests these things; is that what you mean? When it comes down to it, what is God’s holiness? Is it that God’s holiness has no actual content, only detestation? In your minds are you thinking, “Because God detests these wicked things, one can say that God is holy”? Is this not a kind of reasoning? Is this not a form of extrapolation and judgment? What is the greatest taboo when it comes to our understanding God’s essence? (It is when we leave reality behind and instead speak of doctrines.) This is the greatest taboo. Is there anything else? (Reasoning and imagination.) These are also serious taboos. Why should reasoning and imagination not be used? Are things that you reason out and imagine things you can truly see? Are they the true essence of God? (No.) What else must be avoided? Is it taboo to use pleasant-sounding language to list out and describe God’s essence? (Yes.) Is this not grandiose? Is this not talking nonsense? Talk that comes from judgment and reasoning is nonsense, and exclusively picking out pleasant-sounding words is talking nonsense. Empty praise is also talking nonsense, is it not? Does God enjoy listening to people talk this kind of nonsense? (No, He does not.) He feels uncomfortable when He hears it! God guides and saves a group of people. After this group of people hear His words, they never understand what He means. Someone may ask, “Is God good?” and they would respond, “Yes!” “How good?” “So very good!” “Does God love man?” “Yes!” “How much? Can you describe it?” “So very much! God’s love is deeper than the sea, higher than the sky!” Are these words not nonsense? And is this nonsense not similar to what you just said: “God hates Satan’s corrupt dispositions, and therefore God is holy”? (Yes.) Is what you just said not nonsense? And where do the majority of nonsensical things that are said come from? Nonsensical things that are said primarily come from people’s irresponsibility and lack of fear of God. Could we say that? You did not have any understanding, and yet still you talked nonsense. Is that not irresponsible? Is that not disrespectful to God? You have learned some knowledge, understood some reasoning and logic, and then you have gone and used these things and, furthermore, done so as a way to know God. Do you think God feels upset when He hears you speak in that way? How can you try to know God using these methods? When you speak like that, does it not sound awkward? Therefore, when it comes to knowledge of God, one must be careful and cautious. Speak only to the extent that you know God; speak honestly and practically. Do not resort to empty pleasantries, and do not use flattery; God does not need it; this sort of thing comes from Satan. Satan’s disposition is arrogant; Satan likes to be flattered and to hear nice words. Satan will be pleased and happy if people recite all the pleasant words they have learned and use them for Satan. But God does not need this; God does not need adulation or flattery and He does not need people to close their eyes and speak nonsense and blindly praise Him. God detests and will not even listen to praise and flattery that does not align with reality. So, when some people insincerely and blindly praise God, make vows, and pray to Him, God does not listen at all. You must take responsibility for what you say. If you do not know something, just say so; if you do know something, express it in a practical way. So, do you have a true understanding of what concrete and actual content God’s holiness contains? (When I revealed rebelliousness, when I committed transgressions, God’s judgment and chastisement came upon me, and therein I saw God’s holiness. And when I encountered environments that did not accord with my own will, I prayed about these things and I sought God’s intentions, and as God enlightened and guided me with His words, I saw God’s holiness.) This is something you have come to appreciate through experience. (From what God has said, I have seen what man has become after being corrupted and harmed by Satan. Nonetheless, God does not hesitate to pay any price to save us, and from this I see God’s holiness.) This way of speaking is quite practical; it is true knowledge. Are there any different ways of understanding this? (I see Satan’s wickedness from the words it spoke to entice Eve into sinning and its temptation of the Lord Jesus. From the words with which God told Adam and Eve what they could and could not eat, I see that God speaks straightforwardly, cleanly, and trustworthily; from this I see God’s holiness.) Having heard the above remarks, whose words most inspire you to say “amen”? Whose fellowship was closer to today’s fellowship topic and more practical? How was the fellowship of the last sister? (Good.) You say “amen” to what she said. What did she say that was right on target? (In the words the sister just spoke, I heard that God speaks very directly and plainly, and that it is not at all like Satan’s beating about the bush. I saw God’s holiness in this.) This is part of it. Was it right? (Yes.) Very good. I see that you have gained something in these past two fellowships, but you must continue to work hard because knowing the essence of God is a very profound lesson; it is not something that can be explained clearly in a day or two, or in a sentence or two.

Every aspect of people’s satanic corrupt dispositions, knowledge, philosophy, people’s thoughts and viewpoints, and certain personal aspects of individual people hinder them greatly from knowing God’s essence; so when you hear these topics, some of them may be beyond your reach; some you may not understand, while some you may fundamentally not be able to match up with reality. Regardless, I have heard about your understanding of God’s holiness and I know that in your hearts you are beginning to acknowledge what I have said and fellowshipped about God’s holiness. I know that in your hearts your desire to know God’s essence of holiness is starting to sprout. What makes Me even happier is that some of you are already able to use the simplest words to describe your knowledge of God’s holiness. Even though this is a simple thing to say and I have said this before, yet in the hearts of the majority of you, there is still no acknowledgment of these words, and they have made no impression in your minds. Nonetheless, some of you have committed these words to memory. This is very good and is a very promising start. I hope that you will continue to ponder and fellowship more and more on the topics that you think of as profound—or the topics that are beyond your reach. For those areas that are beyond your reach there will be someone to give you more guidance. Just fellowship more on the part that is within your reach now; as you fellowship, the Holy Spirit will work and enable you to understand more. Understanding the essence of God and knowing the essence of God is of the utmost importance to every person’s life entry. I hope that you do not ignore this or see it as a game, because knowing God is the foundation of man’s faith and the key for man to pursue truth and attain salvation. If people believe in God yet do not know Him, if they only live in words and doctrines, it will never be possible for them to attain salvation, even if they act and live in accordance with the superficial meaning of the truth. That is to say, if you believe in God but do not know Him, then your faith is all for naught and contains nothing of reality. You understand, don’t you? (Yes, we understand.) Our fellowship will end here for today.

January 4, 2014