Fellowship From the Brother Above – July 1, 2025 (Part Six)

So, what kind of problem is it if we who believe in and follow God don’t submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements and can’t do our duty well according to God’s requirements? Is this not rebelling against and resisting God? (It is.) If you fail to do your duty well because you don’t understand the truth, we will water you with love. But if you understand all the truths and yet stubbornly refuse to practice them, what kind of problem is that? Can such a person still receive God’s blessings? (No.) So what kind of person is this in God’s eyes? This is a person who rebels against God. If such a person, after being helped and supported by brothers and sisters several times, still cannot turn around and cannot accept the truth and turn over a new leaf, then God will give up on them. Someone might ask, “What does it mean for God to give up on them? Does God directly tell them, ‘I’m not going to save you anymore’?” Is that how it is? (No.) So how does God do it? Outwardly, God doesn’t say to you, “I’m not going to save you anymore, because you don’t love the truth, and I’ve arranged so many environments to save you, but you have rejected them all. That’s why I’m giving up on you.” God doesn’t speak to people this way. God simply stops working on you. Do you understand? (Yes.) So what does a person feel when the Holy Spirit is not working on them? Although they don’t hear God speak directly, they have a feeling in their spirit. When the Holy Spirit isn’t working on them, they feel they can’t sense God’s presence, and they no longer feel moved in their spirit when they pray to God. No matter how many times they pray, they never feel moved or sense God’s presence. This is God setting them aside and giving up on them. Do you understand? (Yes.) So, tell me, when a person has this feeling, what is the most obvious sensation in their heart? (They feel like they’ve fallen into darkness, without peace or joy, and they’re in a constant state of fear and anxiety. They become a bit like a walking corpse.) That’s about right. When a person can’t sense God’s presence, the first thing they feel is astonishment. “Oh no,” they think, “I can’t feel God in my heart anymore, and I don’t feel moved by the Holy Spirit when I pray or read God’s words. Has God forsaken me? This is terrible! If God has forsaken me, doesn’t that mean I’m doomed to die? Doomed to go to hell?” In their heart, they feel scared, and feel fear and trembling. You see, Paul said in his epistles: “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). Paul had this experience of fear and trembling. The first time he had this experience was on the road to Damascus. A great light from heaven shone down, and as soon as he saw it, he was blinded. Tell me, was this punishment severe? The light he saw was the spiritual body of God. The spiritual body of God is light, an extremely strong light. It blinds the naked human eye straight away, and it can even melt a person’s entire being. Before Paul saw the light, he had a premonition in his spirit, “Oh no, woe is upon me! Woe is upon me!” Then the great light came, and he was blinded. The Lord Jesus appeared to him in this special way, and he was filled with fear and trembling. He said, “I’ve believed in Jehovah God for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve had this feeling. Could it be that I’ve truly offended God? Could it be that the Jesus I’m resisting is the true God?” He became afraid. After that, the Lord Jesus appointed him as an apostle, and he no longer dared to oppose. The Lord Jesus knew exactly what Paul was. Paul’s nature was to hate the truth and God, so the Lord Jesus used a sign to subdue him. In the Age of Grace, God used Paul, a person who resisted God the most but was also especially gifted, to render service. He appointed him as an apostle to preach the gospel, which was beneficial to the spread of the gospel. Because all of mankind resists God, and Paul, the chief of sinners who resisted God, was subdued by the signs and wonders shown by the Lord Jesus, this was enough to show people that the Lord Jesus was indeed the true God. It was perfect for God to use him to render this service. After that, Paul then continually preached the gospel and rendered service. When the great persecution came, he also felt fear and trembling. He pondered in his heart, “Is the path I’ve walked in preaching the gospel all these years correct? I’ve been constantly testifying to myself and showing myself off, belittling Peter and the other apostles. Is my disposition arrogant and self-righteous? I’ve also said, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness’ (2 Timothy 4:7–8). ‘For to me to live is christ, and to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:21). Are these words correct? Why do I now feel that these words seem to contain some errors? Can these words be taken back? But now that they’ve been spoken, they can’t be taken back.” Paul’s heart was once again filled with a wave of fear and trembling. He didn’t know what his outcome would be—he felt uncertain. Ultimately, he was martyred, and his life of rendering service for the Lord came to an end; it finished. In the Age of Grace, God used Paul to preach the gospel and render service, and He used Peter to do the work of shepherding the church. Don’t you think these two people, who the Lord Jesus had arranged, were very suited to their tasks? (Yes.) In the last days, God fellowships on these two typical representatives, Paul and Peter, so that people can understand this: Peter is a typical representative of pursuing the truth and pursuing love for God. He was perfected by God, and the path he walked is called the path of Peter. Paul is a typical representative of an antichrist who only works based on their gifts, always shows off and testifies to themselves, and always wants to control God’s chosen people. The path he walked is called the path of Paul. If you choose to walk the path of Peter, you can gain God’s approval and blessings and be perfected by God. If you choose to walk the path of Paul, then in the end you will not only fail to receive blessings and be unable to survive—you will also be punished. Tell me, is there significance in God doing this? (Yes, it allows us to develop discernment and choose the correct path.) So, at the beginning of this stage of work, God held these two figures, Peter and Paul, up as examples and asked us to discern them, presenting them to us to refer to and choose between so that we may understand how exactly to walk the path of believing in God. If you don’t know the paths these two people walked and what their final outcomes were, then you won’t be able to embark upon the right path. If people don’t want to walk the path of Paul in their faith in God, then they must walk the path of Peter. If you don’t walk the path of Peter, you will surely end up on the path of Paul. There is no other path to choose. Isn’t that so? (It is.) There is no third path in believing in God. So how should you walk the path of Peter? It is to submissively accept God’s judgment and chastisement. In one respect, this judgment and chastisement is the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and in another respect, it is all manner of trials, refinement, and pruning. If you can’t accept pruning, can you embark upon the path of Peter? It’s not easy. So why do people not accept pruning? It’s because their satanic disposition is too severe, and they are too arrogant and self-righteous. Isn’t that how it is? (It is.) If you see a person who is good in every way except that they do not accept pruning, can you see clearly what their problem is? What is the crux of their problem? They don’t accept the truth. This single manifestation of not accepting pruning shows that their nature doesn’t accept the truth, they are too rebellious and too arrogant, and they don’t submit to anyone. So what does it mean when a person can accept pruning? It means that they can basically submit to the truth and can accept what is right, no matter who says it. This is a clear characteristic of a change in a person’s life disposition, a milestone in their life entry. Some people are selective in who they accept pruning from. They can only accept pruning from leaders and workers, but not from ordinary brothers and sisters. What’s the issue here? (This is selective acceptance. They are submitting to status, not truly accepting the truth.) Then is their submission to God genuine? (No.) What are the manifestations of a person with a changed disposition when they are pruned? A person with a changed disposition can accept pruning from anyone, as long as what is said is right. If what is said is wrong, they can also be tolerant and patient. Such a person has true submission. So now, if an ordinary brother or sister in the church prunes you, and they don’t have any truth reality, but what they say on this matter is right, should you accept it? (We should.) So, how do you accept it? They are not a leader, they have only believed for a year or two, don’t understand what truth reality is, and their views on other matters may not be correct—but they are right on this matter. Can you accept their suggestions? If you can accept it and submit, it says a lot. It shows that your life disposition has changed. Most people accept pruning because of the status of the person speaking. “If God prunes me, I’ll accept it. If the brother Above prunes me, I can also accept it. But if an ordinary leader or worker prunes me, I have to see if I acknowledge them or not. If I acknowledge them and they prune me, I’ll accept it. If I don’t acknowledge them and they prune me, I won’t accept it.” This submission is too limited, and this kind of person doesn’t have enough stature. If someone can accept anything that aligns with the truth, regardless of who says it—even if it’s a five-year-old child saying something correct—then that person can submit to God. They can submit to God in any situation. So how should submission to God be defined? It means being able to absolutely submit to the truth—being able to submit to all truths. No matter who is speaking, one can accept and submit, as long as what is said is right and in line with the truth. Such a person is guaranteed to be someone who submits to God. How is a person’s ability to submit to God manifested and proven? It is proven by their submission to the truth. This is the most practical way.

When I first came to believe in the Lord, I didn’t understand the truth either. I just preached the gospel and did church work out of my enthusiasm, and I did many foolish things that were not in line with the principles. When I saw someone possessed by an evil spirit, I would pray to cast out the demon and even urge them to believe in the Lord. I was so foolish back then. Later, I met a nonbeliever who asked me, “What would you say a devil is?” I said, “A devil is a kind of evil spirit. It resists God.” He said, “You’re wrong. People are devils!” As soon as he said this, I felt ashamed. What he said was so practical. At the time, I hadn’t said such a thing myself; I had just offered him an explanation according to the words of the Bible because I was worried about giving him something to hold over me. Afterward, I pondered this matter for a long time. I thought to myself, “He’s a nonbeliever, yet he can say something so practical and correct. How come I can’t? Why are there still satanic philosophies in what I say? Why am I still afraid of giving him something to hold over me?” I felt so ashamed. Tell me, why did such a thing happen to me? (It was raised up by God.) God was using a nonbeliever to enlighten me. This nonbeliever didn’t believe in the Lord and didn’t understand any truth, yet he said something that was so correct and practical. Moreover, it was something that most believers in God don’t understand and can’t attain. This is an example of God using nonbelievers or various people, events, and things to guide and lead us, to help us understand the truth. Isn’t that how it is? (It is.) So, tell me, what is a devil? Is it good to just explain this question according to the Bible? (No.) Then what is the most realistic explanation? Corrupt mankind is the devil. Is this statement realistic? (It is.) By definition, anyone who resists God is a devil. Mankind has been deeply corrupted by Satan and all of mankind resists God, so corrupt mankind is the devil. This is an explanation based on logical analysis. Is this explanation correct? (It is.) Every member of corrupt mankind is a devil, except people who have accepted the truth and attained salvation—they are not devils. All other corrupt humans are devils. Let’s take it a step further. In God’s house, are those who have believed in God for many years but do not accept the truth at all devils? (They are.) Are those who have been leaders and workers for several years but have no principles and do not practice the truth devils? (They are.) Are new believers who do not understand the truth in the slightest devils? (They are as well.) So you are saying, “New believers are devils.” Is that appropriate to say? (No.) It shouldn’t be put that way. Although new believers don’t understand the truth, some of them yearn for and love the truth, so you can’t say these people are devils. They are God’s chosen people. If you see someone who doesn’t accept the truth at all, who has believed in God for many years but still doesn’t accept the truth, and who has shown repulsion to, hatred for, and loathing for the truth from the very beginning of their belief, then you can characterize them as a devil. If they haven’t revealed such a disposition, and you haven’t seen any manifestations of aversion to or hatred for the truth, then you can’t say they are a devil, regardless of whether they are a new believer or not. Do you understand? (Yes.) It’s the same when preaching the gospel. If what you say is in line with the truth and the potential gospel recipient can accept it, and they keep nodding in agreement, and in the end, after you’ve fellowshipped the truth thoroughly, they accept it, then are they a devil? If they can accept the truth, then they are not a devil. They are an object of God’s salvation; they are one of God’s predestined chosen people. If you fellowship the truth thoroughly and they accept it when they hear God’s voice, are they not one of God’s chosen people? If you fellowship the truth thoroughly and they still stubbornly refuse to accept it, then they are a devil. If they can accept it, then they are not a devil. Although they have the disposition of devils and Satan, their identity and status have changed. They are an object of God’s salvation; they are one of God’s chosen people. If you still call them a devil and treat them as such, that would be wrong, wouldn’t it? (It would.)