Fellowship From the Brother Above – January 15, 2026 (Part Four)

Question 3: Sometimes we pass verdicts on people based on their minor flaws or revelations of corruption, and sometimes we are misled by people’s good outward behavior and think they are a right person. How should we avoid this kind of deviation? How can we judge whether someone is a right person? What are the key principles for discernment in this regard?

Answer: To judge whether someone is a right person, the key is to base your judgment on their actual stature. You must view people differently based on their differing statures during different periods and in different contexts. For example, some people do not know themselves, but you cannot directly determine that they are not a right person. You must first look at how many years they have believed in God. If they have believed in God for only three years, then it is normal for them not to know themselves. The stature of someone who has believed in God for three years is like that of a three-year-old child—it is still too small. Therefore, it is normal for them to reveal some corrupt dispositions, have no knowledge of themselves, and even try to justify themselves. If a person has believed in God for ten years and still does not know themselves, is this normal? (No.) Is it normal if they have believed in God for seven years and still do not know themselves? (No.) Then is it normal if they have believed in God for five years and still do not know themselves? (That is not normal either.) You have to analyze this based on the specific situation. Perhaps, some people who have believed in God for five years do not know themselves because their caliber is a bit poor and their comprehension ability is not good. People of poor caliber may need to believe in God for seven or eight years and experience enough failures before they can come to know themselves, or they may need someone who understands the truth by their side to water, support, and supply them before they can come to know themselves. If there is no such person by their side, then even if they have believed in God for seven or eight years, they will not be able to come to know themselves. Because their caliber is inherently poor and they have no one to help them, their failure to know themselves is normal. You must analyze and treat such people in this way. This is treating people differently based on objective circumstances, and based on their stature and the context. Is it not normal for people to show different manifestations in different contexts? It is very normal. There are distinctions between contexts in which revealing corruption is normal and contexts in which revealing corruption is not normal. Therefore, you cannot generalize, you cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach, and you certainly cannot apply regulations rigidly. Suppose a person has believed in God for five or six years, and they have made the same mistake three to five times in the same matter. Each time, they gained some self-knowledge and understood some of the truth in this regard, but the next time, they repeated the same old mistake. What is the problem here? This shows that they do not love the truth, do not accept the truth, and do not practice the truth. If they understand everything yet still repeat the same old mistake, this shows they do not love the truth. If they do not understand this aspect of the truth and it is their first mistake, then this is a normal situation. Anyone who does not understand the truth will transgress. When encountering such a person, you should treat them correctly and give them more loving help. If their manifestations are like this consistently, then you can determine that they are not a right person. Let’s take another example. If a person commits the sin of sexual immorality, you must look at the circumstances under which they committed it. Did they commit it on their own initiative, or did someone else seduce them into committing it? Is there a difference between these two situations? (Yes.) If they committed it on their own initiative once before and expressed a willingness to repent at the time, but later, without anyone seducing them, they took the initiative to seduce someone else and committed the same sin again, what is the problem here? This person has not truly repented. Remember, generally, for this kind of matter, a person is given only three chances. If they are a repeat offender, and they feel remorse after you prune them, then you can give them one more chance. If they commit the same sin again, do not give them another chance—it is a problem of their nature essence. With God, people are given three chances at most; you can be forgiven once or twice, but not a third or fourth time. Do you understand? (Yes.) So is there a difference here? (There is.) Let’s take prostitutes as an example. Some are forced into it; their parents sold them to a brothel, and although they were unwilling, they could not resist and had to work as a prostitute. Others choose it of their own accord; they are somewhat good-looking and feel that it would be a waste not to work as a prostitute. Are these two situations of the same nature? (No.) Should they be treated differently? (Yes.) If you apply regulations rigidly, take a one-size-fits-all approach, and pass final judgment on people according to legal procedures, then you have no principles. Look, do the laws of the world have principles? Strictly speaking, they do not. They do not treat people differently based on their essence and the context of the matter. They just apply regulations rigidly and determine the sentence based on the crime committed. In fact, some people commit crimes in a special context. They are not truly bad people, but the law does not consider this issue. The law has no justice or principles; it just applies regulations rigidly based on the facts. This has caused many cases to end in injustice and miscarriages of justice. Therefore, many good and innocent people have been sacrificed under the “butcher’s knife” of the law, and have been harmed and ruined by the law. In China, the Communist Party sentences people who believe in God for the “crime of subversion of state power.” Is this not unjust? (It is.) This is the greatest injustice. What crime have we committed by believing in God? Why should we be sentenced? What kind of law is this? This is an evil law, a wicked law. So, do you now understand the principles in this regard? (Yes.)

How can we judge whether someone is a right person? Let’s first talk about the basis on which we determine someone is not a right person. For one thing, we determine this based on their character and disposition. If a person is deceitful, then they are not a right person. For another, we determine this based on the path they walk. If a person only pursues fame, gain, and status, and never accepts or pursues the truth, then they are not a right person. If a person participates in infighting between political groups and has embarked on the path of politics, are they a right person? (No.) Why would they walk the path of politics? They have no other purpose than wanting to be an official and hold power. So what must you do if you want to be an official and hold power in this evil world? You have to be good at speaking and acting against your conscience. You cannot say what you think in your heart, nor can you judge according to your conscience and call right right and wicked wicked. Instead, you must speak and act against your conscience. If the master you follow is a devil, and he tells you to kill or frame people, you must do it unscrupulously. Otherwise, you cannot keep your official post, and you might even lose your life. Therefore, once someone embarks on the path of politics, they are capable of doing things that harm people. This is certain. So tell me, is someone who can harm people a right person? (No.) If you are a good person, can you thrive on the political stage? (No.) Those officials would love nothing more than to see you dead, because there are too many evil and sinister people on the political stage, and too many evil devils who kill without blinking an eye. A good person cannot stand firm on the political stage and will sooner or later be assassinated. So, what kind of path is the path of politics? (A path to destruction.) You cannot walk this path. If you insist on walking the path of politics, then your claim that you love the truth does not hold water. People must see these things clearly. Now do you know what it means for someone to not be a right person? To say someone is not a right person means, for one thing, that their character is really bad. They are not an honest person and have no conscience or reason. Such a person is not a right person. For another, it depends on the path they walk. If they do not walk the path of pursuing the truth, but instead walk the path of Paul and the Pharisees, only pursuing fame, gain, and status, and pursuing blessings and rewards, then they are not a right person. You can determine it by looking at these two things. Do you understand? (Yes.) There is another issue here. Some people have just started believing in God and only know that believing in God is good, but they do not yet know what path they should walk in their faith, nor do they know what salvation is or how to attain it. Such people are like newborn babies. Can we tell immediately that they are not right people? (No.) They have just started believing in God and understand nothing. It’s already good enough if they know a few doctrines about faith. Generally, it is best not to determine that someone who has believed in God for less than a year is not a right person. However, if you find that a new believer who does not understand the truth has serious problems with their appearance—they look quite evil and improper—how should you view them? You must know that such a person is not a right person and cannot walk the path of pursuing the truth. Do not think, “They are just a new believer now and understand no truth. Maybe they can pursue the truth in the future.” Is this view valid? (No.) The fact that they have an evil appearance allows you to determine that their character is bad, and that they cannot walk the path of pursuing the truth. All those who can walk the path of pursuing the truth are people of good character. Only a right person can embark on the correct path. With some people, you cannot immediately tell what their character is like from their behavior, but you can quickly tell from their appearance. For people you do not know well, their appearance is a very good reference, is it not? (It is.) Tell me, can someone with a vicious and evil appearance be a kind person? Can they be a person of good character? (Impossible.) Then can such people pursue the truth? (No.) What are the special characteristics of a person’s appearance that allow you to basically conclude at a glance that they are not a right person? One category is having irregular facial features, such as obviously askew eyes, a crooked mouth, or a nose that isn’t straight. However, some people have irregular features caused by illness or injury after birth—they are not congenital. This does not come under this category. Another category is being particularly ugly. What does being particularly ugly mean? It means that as soon as others see their appearance, they feel repulsed and uncomfortable. Can such a person be a right person? (No.) They are definitely not a right person. Remember this sentence: Those with a particularly vicious and ugly appearance are absolutely not good people, but those with a good appearance are not necessarily kind people. Some people have a very good appearance; they look dignified and have an aura, a look of wealth and nobility. We really cannot see any problems from their outward appearance, but their hearts are particularly sinister, and they do all kinds of bad things. Do such people exist? (Yes.) Therefore, there are mysteries in people’s facial features. A person’s character, the path they walk, and their fate in life are already reflected in their facial features. It is just that we have experienced very few of these things and can’t see them clearly enough. What we can see clearly now is that those with a vicious and ugly appearance are absolutely not good people, but those who are too good-looking or too beautiful are not necessarily good people either. As long as you grasp these two ideas, you will generally not make big mistakes when you look at people. If you see someone with a strange appearance, then observe them more carefully. After observing them for three to five years, you will basically reach a conclusion, and you will know what kind of person they are and what path they will walk in the future. Someone might ask, “Do we judge people only based on their appearance? Shouldn’t we also look at their practice and manifestations?” Of course, that is more important. When we talk about looking at appearance, we mean using it as a first reference when we do not know the person well. If you have seen all their actions and already have some understanding of them, then isn’t it easier to verify whether they are a good person or a bad person? (Yes.) Looking at a person’s consistent words, behavior, and actions makes it easier to see clearly what kind of person they really are.

Then how should we judge whether someone is a right person? We should mainly judge this based on their humanity and the path they walk. This is the most accurate way. However, some people do not know how to spot whether a person is good or evil, or whether they love the truth, nor can they discern whether the path a person walks is correct. They only look at the fact that the person is quite energetic and enthusiastic in their faith on the outside, and can say some correct things, and so they think that this person is a right person. Is this view correct? (No.) If a person is outwardly enthusiastic and has done some good things, does this mean they are a right person? (No.) Why not? (A person being enthusiastic does not necessarily mean they are pursuing the truth. Sometimes they are governed by the intention to gain blessings.) There is an old Chinese saying, “It is easy for a person to do one good thing, but difficult to do good things for a lifetime.” Therefore, being enthusiastic and being able to do some good things does not mean anything. Even devils and Satans can sometimes do some good things, and say some correct things and some words of conscience, but this cannot prove that they are kind people. At a different time, in a different environment, and in a different context, they might do evil things and commit heinous acts. They said good words and did good things in the beginning, but they also later said evil words and did evil things. In this situation, how do you judge whether they are a right person? (We must judge them based on the bad things they have done, not the good things.) Why do you say that? Could it be that the good things they did were all against their will? Did they do them deliberately to show off, so others would see? (Their ability to do some good things stems only from temporary disguise. This does not mean they are a right person. The extent to which they do bad things is what represents their nature essence.) Therefore, in discerning people, you cannot think that someone is a right person just because they have outwardly done a few good things and said a few correct things. This method of discernment is incorrect. Some people say, “I see the work of the Holy Spirit in him, so he must be a right person.” Is this view correct? (No.) Why is it incorrect? (Paul also had the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, but he was not a right person. The work God did in him was merely to make use of him, not to make him perfect.) Most people in the Age of Grace had the work of the Holy Spirit, but how many of them are right people? Why do they not accept Almighty God when He appeared to work and express so many truths in the last days? This is the problem. Therefore, having the work of the Holy Spirit alone does not mean someone is a right person. Is this statement correct? (Yes.) Then why does having the work of the Holy Spirit still not mean that they are a right person? Because the Holy Spirit has principles in His work, and the purpose of the Holy Spirit’s work in different types of people is different. The work that the Holy Spirit does in service-doers is to make use of them to render service. This was how He worked in Paul, enlightening him to understand some truths about preaching the gospel, giving him some ideas for preaching the gospel, and guiding him to speak so that he achieved results in preaching the gospel. Therefore, the Holy Spirit worked in him to make use of him to render service, and this did not mean that He wanted to make Paul perfect. In addition, the Holy Spirit also gave him opportunities to repent, enlightening and illuminating him to make him know himself, but Paul refused to accept this enlightenment and illumination. He did not know himself nor did he repent, so the Holy Spirit could only do the work of making use of him to render service. Most people in the Age of Grace enjoyed the work of the Holy Spirit, but they could not obtain the work of the Holy Spirit over the long term. Why was this? It was because they did not accept the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit and stubbornly persisted on their own mistaken paths. The Holy Spirit could not work in them and could only abandon them. Sometimes the Holy Spirit also gives people some enlightenment and illumination according to their stature at the right time, but if they do much evil and refuse to repent, the Holy Spirit will completely abandon them and no longer work in them. God gives everyone many opportunities, but if people repeatedly fail to grasp them, God will eventually spurn them and give up working in them. God has said such words, and this is a principle of the Holy Spirit’s work. So, based on this principle of the Holy Spirit’s work, we can conclude that many people once had the work of the Holy Spirit. So why, later, in some critical matters and when they insisted on walking their chosen path, did the Holy Spirit stop working in them? It was because the path they chose was incorrect, and they constantly refused to accept the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit and God’s work, so God abandoned them. Thus, the path a person walks determines whether they can ultimately attain salvation and be perfected. Therefore, we cannot conclude that someone is a right person or that they can ultimately attain salvation and be perfected just because the Holy Spirit worked in them for a time. I say this based on this principle of the Holy Spirit’s work, and it is in line with the truth. If you always apply regulations rigidly and think that as long as a person has the work of the Holy Spirit you can conclude that they are a right person, this view is wrong. It shows that you do not understand God’s intentions at all, that you cannot see things clearly at all, and that your experience is too shallow. It is very normal for people to be a bit enthusiastic and have some of the work of the Holy Spirit when they first start believing in God, but the path of faith is long, and there is a long road ahead still to walk. In the future, in critical matters and when choosing a path, the Holy Spirit will always work in you and will not stop if you choose correctly and walk the right path. If you choose wrongly and walk the wrong path, and you betray and resist God when major and critical matters come upon you, then the work of the Holy Spirit will cease because of this, and the Holy Spirit will no longer continue to work in you. The Holy Spirit can still work when people commit some minor transgressions, but once they commit major transgressions or errors of principle involving rebellion against, resistance to, or betrayal of God, the Holy Spirit will never work in them again, and they will lose the work of the Holy Spirit forever. Therefore, we cannot conclude that someone is a right person based on the fact that they have the work of the Holy Spirit for a time, nor can we draw a conclusion based on a person’s temporary behavior. The key is to look at what path they walk and what their consistent behavior is like. Is this a good way to discern people? (Yes.)