Fellowship From the Brother Above – September 15, 2025 (Part Three)

An important part of pursuing the truth is the pursuit of self-knowledge. Life entry is forever inseparable from this. So, what is true self-knowledge? Some people say, “Yesterday I lied. I’ve realized that lying is a sin, and I must confess to God.” Others say, “I committed the sin of fornication with someone, and I must confess to God.” Still others say, “I spoke with arrogance and without reason, and I must confess to God.” Does this count as knowing oneself? (No.) Why not? Have they not recognized the corruption they’ve revealed? (They’ve only superficially admitted to the fact of their sin, but they haven’t come to know the root of the corrupt disposition they’ve revealed from God’s words. They also haven’t accepted the judgment and chastisement of God’s words or recognized whether the corruption they’ve revealed is resistance to God.) That’s pretty close. We need to discuss this matter in detail. This is beneficial for life entry, and even more so for dispositional change. Knowing oneself is the most fundamental lesson for life entry. Why is this? The extent and depth of your self-knowledge determine the extent and depth of the transformation of your disposition. These things determine how much you practice the truth, how great the reality of your submission to God is, and the stature you can attain in knowing God. The shallower your self-knowledge, the shallower your knowledge of God will be. The shallower your self-knowledge, the shallower your submission to God will be. If your self-knowledge is very shallow, then your transformation will be very shallow, consisting of nothing but changes in outward behavior, without any changes in your life disposition. Furthermore, knowing oneself is even more directly related to whether you can attain salvation, and to what degree you can be saved. The deeper your self-knowledge, the deeper the degree of your salvation will be. If your self-knowledge is very shallow, then the degree of your salvation will be very shallow. If the degree of your salvation is not up to standard and does not meet the criterion of true submission to God, then you cannot attain salvation. Is this not the case? (It is.) Some people admit they are not honest and that they often lie and deceive others. They have some knowledge of how many times a day they lie, say things that aren’t entirely true, speak deceptively, or say things to cover up their mistakes, but is it easy for them to stop lying? (No, it isn’t.) It’s hard enough for people just to not lie, so isn’t it even harder to not be hypocritical? People are always using sophistry to justify themselves, singing their own praises, and indirectly exalting themselves and showing off. This is hypocrisy. Tell me, between hypocrisy and lying, which is more serious in nature? (Hypocrisy.) Why is hypocrisy more serious? In what way is it more serious than lying? (The intention and purpose behind hypocrisy are to mislead others.) A hypocrite’s inner ambitions and desires are enormous, and they want to mislead people and win them over. This is much more serious in nature than lying, right? (Right.) Furthermore, can telling a single lie show that your nature essence is that of a Pharisee? (No.) But if you are capable of hypocrisy, always attributing what is right and positive to yourself and what is wrong and negative to others, thereby indirectly exalting yourself and showing off so that others will look up to and worship you—what kind of disposition is this? This is the very nature of Satan the devil. Such a person is a devil and a Satan. The pinnacle of lying is hypocrisy. If you can move from lying to being hypocritical, then the revelation of your deceitful disposition has also reached its peak. Not only do you lie, but you also engage in hypocrisy to mislead and control people, you want to hold a high position, and you even want to be on equal footing with God. Is this not the deepest level of corruption? (It is.) Some people are hypocritical, yet they only recognize that they occasionally lie and deceive others. They fail to recognize how they are hypocritical or the essence of their hypocrisy. Does this count as knowing oneself? (No.) Why not? They only admit to superficial and simple problems, while overlooking and covering up their more serious corrupt dispositions. They do not know the things that involve their nature essence. Can such people achieve transformation in their life disposition? Can they attain salvation? They cannot. Let’s take an example. Tell me, what kind of problem is it for a person to be capable of murder? Their nature must be extremely vicious for them to be able to kill. But if they only say, “I am capable of hating and cursing people. I pray that You, God, will forgive my sins,” do they know themselves? (No.) They only recognize the surface phenomena, the superficialities, but they have no knowledge of the things that involve their corrupt essence. So, will they still be capable of committing the evil deed of murder after this? There’s no guarantee that they won’t. Their self-knowledge is so shallow. They only recognize their sinful behavior but not their corrupt essence. Can they undergo a great transformation? (No.) One day, when circumstances allow, they will still be capable of murder. Do you now understand what true self-knowledge is? It is knowing your own nature essence, the truth of your corruption, and what rebellious and resistant things you are capable of doing toward God. It is absolutely necessary and of immense benefit for you to understand these things thoroughly. Therefore, your self-knowledge must reach a certain depth. If you are merely content with having some knowledge of your actions and practices, only recognizing what wrong things you have done and what corrupt dispositions you have revealed, then this does not count as true self-knowledge. Let’s look at another example. For instance, as you’re not facing any difficulties in your work right now, you can still do your duty and get things done normally, but as soon as the work presents some difficulties that require you to suffer and exert yourself, you complain, faltering and feeling utterly helpless. What kind of problem is this? Do you not have to rely on knowing yourself to resolve this problem? (Yes.) So you have to ponder: Why do you back down, stagnate, and shrink back in fear whenever you encounter difficulties? Do you have any loyalty to God? (No.) By doing your duty in this way, can you stand firm in your testimony? Can you fulfill God’s commission? (No.) Then where does your failure to fulfill God’s commission lie? What serious consequences will it bring about? At this point, you must properly reflect on and know yourself. If you don’t understand this problem thoroughly, it cannot be resolved. And if you can’t resolve this problem, you will fail in your duty, which can only hinder the work of God’s house and leave eternal regrets and transgressions in your wake.

Some people say, “My stature is small. Even if I recognize my problems, I still can’t resolve them.” What is to be done then? The end of man is the beginning of God. You can only pray to and rely on God. So how do you rely on God? Is it doing nothing yourself, and just praying for God to send someone to solve the problems for you? Is that how you practice relying on God? (No.) Then how should you practice this? One way is to read God’s words and seek the truth with a heart that looks to God. Another is to seek fellowship from brothers and sisters who understand the truth and cooperate with them to solve the problems. And a third is to pray and seek the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit. These three ways should be practiced simultaneously. For example, when you’re leading a gathering and find there are some issues you can’t fellowship on thoroughly, you should pray to God in your heart, seeking the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, you should ponder relevant truths and also let the brothers and sisters fellowship and express their views. Through fellowship, perhaps someone will receive the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, gain some illumination, and get to the heart of the problem. Others might also gain some illumination, and when everyone’s illumination is brought together, the problem can be thoroughly resolved. You see, as long as people truly rely on God and practically seek the truth, the Holy Spirit will work to guide them, and their problems will be solved. Those who rely on God will not be put to shame. If you have this faith, you will have the courage to solve problems on the spot. If you encounter a problem that is difficult to resolve, you can find two or three brothers and sisters to cooperate with, pray and rely on God with one heart and mind, and as soon as the Holy Spirit provides enlightenment and illumination, your heart will become bright and clear, you will see a path forward, and you will be able to solve the problem. Is this not seeing God’s deeds? (It is.) As of now, most leaders and workers in the churches overseas have only just believed for two to five years. Their experience and their understanding of the truth are both very shallow. There are many difficulties and problems in the church that they cannot see through, so they can only speak words and doctrines. In such a situation, if they don’t know how to look to and rely on God and cannot obtain the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, they won’t be able to do any work or solve any problems. Therefore, people must learn to look to and rely on God. Those who rely on and look to God will not be put to shame. Don’t retreat or hide whenever you encounter a difficulty; doing so will hinder the work. Many people always become negative when they encounter difficulties, and they are puzzled as to why. It’s because they lack faith, perseverance, and tenacity. They are too fragile and cannot bear heavy burdens. It’s like a woman who marries a man and settles down. At first, when there are no illnesses or troubles, she feels quite happy. But later, when her husband becomes gravely ill, or disaster befalls the family and life becomes difficult, she starts to complain, saying, “Hmph, I regret marrying you! It’s been all suffering instead of joy even since I’ve been with you!” You see, as soon as people encounter a little difficulty or suffering, they start to complain and voice grievances. They haven’t seen through to the fact that life has its ups and downs. There are times of prosperity and times of adversity, times of blessings and times of misfortune. No person’s life is all smooth sailing. All of God’s arrangements have meaning. They haven’t seen through to this law of life. They don’t understand life. Every situation God arranges for people is most beneficial for them. God doesn’t let people live in comfort and ease. He always sets up difficulties for people so that they can learn their lessons, enabling them to rely on and look to God in all things, and ultimately come to understand the truth and achieve absolute submission to God. Tell me, is it a good thing or a bad thing to encounter some difficulties? (A good thing.) What if your child is sick and you have no money for treatment—is that a good thing or a bad thing? (A good thing.) What if your family has no way out and can’t make ends meet—is that a good thing or a bad thing? (A good thing.) Why do you say it’s a good thing? (It’s beneficial for a person’s growth in life. In adversity, people can learn real lessons, experience God’s work, and learn to submit to God, and their faith in God can also grow.) (Because only by encountering these difficulties are people forced to come before God to pray to Him and rely on Him. In this way, their relationship with God becomes closer. If their environment is too comfortable, it’s not easy for people to come before God to seek the truth. They just do everything on their own and move further and further away from God.) What you’ve all said is correct. Everything that befalls a person is meticulously and intentionally arranged by God—can we say that? (Yes.) So, can you understand God’s intentions? (Yes.) Regardless of whether you can understand God’s intentions, any situation He orchestrates for you is most beneficial for your growth in life and for your attaining salvation. Experiencing God’s work means experiencing all the situations He orchestrates. In God’s eyes, it is necessary for you to experience these things. Without experiencing them, it is not easy to gain the truth and attain salvation. Many people, when they encounter difficulties, do not seek God’s intentions. Instead, in their notions, they think, “God setting up this situation for me is just to put forth obstacles and difficulties for me. He doesn’t want me to do my duty. He wants to cut off my means of survival. There’s no way for me to live! What’s the use of believing in God?” You see, they don’t know to seek God’s intentions or rely on Him. As a result, they let down God’s intentions and painstaking thoughts. Is this not a loss for them? (It is.) In fact, encountering difficulties is God testing people and making them perfect. What is God testing and perfecting in people? God sees that in prosperity you are loyal and can forsake everything to expend yourself for Him, but can you still forsake everything and expend yourself for Him in adversity? This is what God wants to test, and it is also God perfecting you so that you can stand firm in your testimony for Him. If you can still expend yourself for God and persist in your duty in adversity, then this is having true and resounding testimony. Therefore, no matter what befalls us, it is a moment in which we must be considerate of God’s intentions and bear witness for Him. You must not neglect this. This is the moment in which we must bear witness for God. You must remember this. Let’s take an example. In God’s heart, Job was a man who feared Him, so when Job was seventy years old, God allowed a great trial to befall him. This was no small trial! This was a bet Satan made with God in the spiritual realm. Satan is the one who resists God most. It was defiant when it saw God approve of Job. It believed that if angels could betray God, then so could man. It thought that Job feared God because God had given him many benefits, and that if God were to strip away all these benefits, Job would immediately reject Him. This is what Satan believed. With its nature of betraying and resisting God, it was capable of thinking this way. In the end, Job’s testimony put Satan to shame. Job did not reject God; instead, he said: “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). Satan was waiting for Job to say something to reject God, but after waiting for a long time, it never expected Job to utter such words of gratitude to God. Satan was put to shame, and it turned and left. Job stood firm in his testimony through such a great trial, putting Satan to shame, so God approved of Job, saying he was a perfect man who feared God and shunned evil. This shows that God’s approval of people is based on them having borne a resounding testimony. Tell me, when a disaster suddenly befalls someone in the midst of prosperity, is this not meticulously arranged and designed by God? (It is.) Some people are able to accept it from God and recognize that God’s trial has befallen them. Is this true faith? (Yes.) And do those who cannot recognize this have true faith? (No.) Without true faith, how would a person view the trial that befell Job? They would think it was man-made, and not arranged by God, and that it was because the robbers were truly evil and saw Job’s immense wealth and his flocks and herds covering the mountains that they plundered these things from him. They would think that corrupt mankind is truly wicked and capable of any evil deed, and they would want to organize people to get those flocks and herds back. You see, when people do not know God’s sovereignty or recognize that these situations are arranged by God, they will use human methods to resolve them. Almighty God says: “Under the sovereignty of God’s authority, no man or thing can escape the exertion of His authority, nor can they alter the principles by which His authority is exerted” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique I). These are words spoken by God Himself. Among the universe and all things, there is not a single matter that is not ruled over and arranged by God. But some people believe that only major events are ruled over and arranged by God, while in minor matters, man has the final say. Is it correct to comprehend things in this way? Tell me, if a person suddenly gets sick, is this God’s arrangement? Some say, “I got sick because I wasn’t careful about what I ate and ate something I shouldn’t have. It has nothing to do with God.” Is this correct? (No.) No matter what it is, everything is under God’s sovereignty and arrangement. Even the things you do unconsciously are within God’s arrangements. You see, how many years must you experience things just to come to the realization that “All things are under God’s sovereignty”? If you only realize this at the moment of death, it will be too late. You must recognize every single thing you experience now in this way. In all things, you must recognize God’s sovereignty, arrangements, and ordination, and you must learn to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. Only then can you enter into the truth reality; such are the people who attain salvation. Those who attain salvation must meet this standard. In one respect, they must have true faith in and true submission to God, and in another they must also be able to recognize God’s deeds. This is entering into the truth reality. Therefore, regardless of the matter, people must recognize God’s sovereignty and arrangements. They must also know themselves. As soon as people know themselves, they find the path to life entry. As soon as people know themselves, they can seek the truth and God’s intentions. As soon as people know themselves, they can practice the truth to submit to God and bear witness for Him. If people do not know themselves, they become arrogant and self-righteous, thinking that it is not necessarily God who has the final say in everything, and that in many cases, success depends on human effort and that it is something that humans can bring about. They will then start to show their deeds. At that point, they will not be submitting to God, but will instead be resisting Him.

Is it easy for a person to choose to submit to God when something befalls them? On what basis is submission to God established? A person must have true faith and see that everything is under God’s sovereignty and arrangements before they can have the faith to submit to God and stand firm in their testimony. If they lack faith, do not know themselves or their limitations, and think they can do their duty well on their own, can they submit to God? (No.) Then tell me, how does knowing oneself relate to practicing the truth and submitting to God? (Self-knowledge is the foundation and prerequisite for practicing the truth and submitting to God.) Only when people know themselves thoroughly can they seek the truth, and only then can they long to gain the truth and submit to God. It is a law that the more people know themselves, the more they long to gain the truth, and the more they are willing to submit to God and satisfy Him. Is this not correct? (It is.) Then what kind of people are most likely to resist God? (Those who do not know themselves.) Why can those who don’t know themselves resist God? People who do not know themselves cannot cast off their satanic nature or their satanic disposition. Can people who live by their corrupt satanic nature do anything but resist God? Even if they don’t want to resist God, they are powerless to stop themselves. Therefore, the deeper a person’s self-knowledge, the more they long for the truth, and the more willing they are to submit to God and bear witness for Him, and the stronger their faith and resolution become. The more a person knows themselves, the greater their transformation. The more they know themselves, the more they can submit to God. The more they know themselves, the more they love and treasure the truth. They will then believe, “How precious the truth is! Without the truth, I could never have come to know myself. Without the truth, I would never have submitted to God. If I don’t gain the truth, I will inevitably perish. The truth is truly precious! The truth has allowed me to know myself, to see through to the truth of my corruption, and to see that I possess nothing and am nothing. Only by gaining the truth can I have life, and only by gaining the truth can I submit to God and live out a true life.” You see, only by knowing themselves can a person long for the truth, and knowing themselves enables them to strive to pursue and gain the truth. The more a person knows themselves, the more they can see that what is most needed in life is the truth, and not money, fame, gain, status, or any of the things that are of Satan. The more a person knows themselves, the more they can see that without the truth, everything is empty and void, that only God’s words are the truth, and that the truth determines and accomplishes everything. Can such people accept the truth and submit to God? Can they attain salvation? (Yes.) Tell me, can people in the religious world know themselves? (No.) Most people in the religious world are arrogant and self-righteous, and they cling to the Bible. No matter how you testify to them about Almighty God, they refuse to accept the truth. Even if such people were to one day see the Mount of Olives split open, all the prophecies in the Bible fulfilled, and the Lord descend on a cloud, what would they gain? Would they not just perish? Have you seen these things clearly? (Yes.) If people do not accept the truth or know themselves, their ultimate outcome can only be destruction. Then what kind of people dislike knowing themselves the most? What kind of people feel repulsed, become averse, and stay away as soon as self-knowledge is mentioned? The arrogant and self-righteous. Arrogant and self-righteous people are the most unwilling to talk about self-knowledge. As soon as self-knowledge is mentioned, they feel repulsed and resistant, and they avoid and stay away from those speaking of the topic. There is another case: Evil people never talk about knowing themselves. Evil people are averse to the truth and hate the truth; they submit to no one and even dare to resist God. Evil people never talk about self-knowledge, and Satan and devils never talk about self-knowledge either. Therefore, anyone who believes in God but does not know themselves in the slightest, anyone who never talks about self-knowledge, is certainly so arrogant that they have lost all reason. Their natural corrupt disposition hasn’t changed one bit. They are Satans and devils, completely unchanged, and they absolutely cannot attain salvation. Have you seen this matter clearly? (Yes, we have.) If, when preaching the gospel, you meet someone who has no self-knowledge whatsoever, and who, no matter how you talk about self-knowledge, doesn’t see themselves in what you are describing, doesn’t admit that mankind is deeply corrupt, that humans are the descendants of Satan, and that humans are devils and Satans, then that person is incorrigible. They do not accept the truth in the slightest and cannot possibly attain salvation. There’s no need to preach the gospel to such a person. Is this not the case? (It is.) So, how should you discern who is an antichrist or a false leader, and who is a person who pursues the truth? (See if they talk about self-knowledge and see whether they have true self-knowledge.) You just see if they know themselves. Anyone who doesn’t talk about knowing themselves in the slightest, who doesn’t admit to any mistake they make, who always defends themselves, and who claims credit for all good things and blames others for all bad things is one of the false brothers and sisters. If they are a leader or a worker, then they are a false leader or a false worker. If they are an apostle, then they are a false apostle. As long as a person has no self-knowledge whatsoever, then whatever they say or do is false. Their essence is that of a Satan and a devil. Therefore, if you want to discern whether a leader or worker is an antichrist, you must first see if they know themselves. If their actions violate the truth principles but they have some self-knowledge, then you can’t yet characterize them as an antichrist. They only have an antichrist disposition and still have hope of repenting. If they have no self-knowledge whatsoever and are also arrogant, self-righteous, and submit to no one, then they are clearly walking the path of an antichrist. If they never repent, they are an antichrist. If you follow them in your belief in God, it will be a case of the blind leading the blind, and you will be sure to walk the path of resisting God and will ultimately be destroyed by God. Therefore, you should quickly expose and reject such a person. What do you think of discerning people this way? (It’s good and accurate.) No matter if a person has believed in God for three, five, or ten years, if they never talk about self-knowledge, then they are the most dangerous kind of person. It is impossible for such a person to enter into the truth reality or gain God’s approval. A person who never talks about self-knowledge cannot possibly attain salvation. There are some details about this that need to be discussed. Some people don’t talk about self-knowledge because they lack the faculty of comprehension for the truth. They lack spiritual understanding and are incapable of understanding the truth, and so they cannot achieve self-knowledge. Some people don’t talk about self-knowledge because they do not love the truth. They have a satanic nature within them and are unwilling to know themselves. And some people don’t talk about self-knowledge because their life experience is too shallow, and they don’t understand the truth. There are three situations in which people do not talk about knowing themselves. The first is that a person lacks spiritual understanding and their caliber is too poor for them to be capable of understanding the truth. The second is when a person’s nature is one of not loving the truth, and they are evil people. The third is when a person’s life experience is too shallow and they don’t understand the truth. If this type of person does not pursue the truth and in the end still fails to achieve self-knowledge, then they too cannot attain salvation. You must be able to discern these three situations. You can’t jump to conclusions about people blindly.