I

Man has ever lived beneath the shroud of the influence of darkness,

held in bondage to the influence of Satan, unable to escape,

and his disposition, having been processed by Satan,

becomes increasingly corrupt.

Man has always lived amid his corrupt satanic disposition

and cannot truly love God.

If man wishes to love God,

he must be stripped of his self-righteousness, self-importance,

arrogance, conceit, and the like—

all that is of Satan’s disposition.

If not, his love is an impure love, a satanic love,

and one which absolutely cannot receive God’s approval.

II

Without being directly perfected, broken,

pruned, disciplined, chastened, and refined by the Holy Spirit,

no one is able truly to love God,

no one is able truly to love God.

If you say that a part of your disposition represents God

and therefore you are able truly to love God,

then you are someone, someone whose words are arrogant,

and you are preposterous.

Such people are the archangel!

The inborn nature of man is incapable of directly representing God;

man must shed his innate nature through God’s perfection,

then show consideration for God’s intentions, satisfy God’s intentions,

and undergo the Holy Spirit’s work—

only then can what he lives out be approved of by God.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Corrupt Man Is Incapable of Representing God