569. Only by becoming flesh in the most backward and filthy of places can God reveal the entirety of His holy and righteous disposition. And through what is His righteous disposition revealed? It is revealed through His judging of man’s sins, His judging of Satan, His detestation of sin, and His hatred of the enemies that oppose and rebel against Him. The words I speak today are to judge man’s sins, to judge man’s unrighteousness, to curse man’s rebelliousness. Man’s crookedness and deceitfulness, man’s words and deeds—all that is at odds with God’s intentions must be subjected to judgment, and all of man’s rebelliousness is characterized as sin. His words revolve around the principles of judgment; He uses judgment of man’s unrighteousness, the curse of man’s rebelliousness, and exposure of all of man’s ugly faces to make manifest His righteous disposition. Holiness is a representation of His righteous disposition, and in fact His holiness is His righteous disposition. Your corrupt dispositions are the context of today’s words—I speak and judge, and carry out the work of conquest according to them. This alone is the practical work, and only in this way can God’s holiness be fully accentuated. If there is no trace of a corrupt disposition in you, then God will not judge you, nor will He show you His righteous disposition. Since you have a corrupt disposition, God will not let you off, and it is through this that His holiness is shown. If God were to see that man’s filthiness and rebelliousness were too great but He did not speak or judge you, nor chastise you for your unrighteousness, then this would prove that He is not God, for He would have no hatred of sin; He would be just as filthy as man. Today, it is because of your filth that I judge you, and it is because of your corruption and rebelliousness that I chastise you. I am not flaunting My power to you or deliberately oppressing you; I do these things because you, who have been born in this land of filth, have been so severely contaminated by filth. You have simply lost your integrity and humanity, like swine that live in dirty places. It is because of your filth and corruption that you are judged and that I unleash My wrath upon you. It is precisely because of the judgment of these words that you have been able to see that God is the righteous God, and that God is the holy God; it is precisely because of His holiness and His righteousness that He judges you and unleashes His wrath upon you; it is precisely because He sees the rebelliousness of mankind that He reveals His righteous disposition. Mankind’s filth and corruption reveals His holiness. This is enough to show that He is God Himself, who is holy and immaculate, and yet lives in the land of filth. If a person wallows in the mire with others, and there is nothing holy about them, and they have no righteous disposition, then they are not qualified to judge man’s unrighteousness, nor are they fit to carry out the judgment of man. How could people who are equally filthy as one another be qualified to judge those who are alike to them? Only the holy God Himself is able to judge the whole of filthy mankind. How could man judge man’s sins? How could man see the sins of man, and how could man be qualified to condemn man? If God were not qualified to judge the sins of man, then how could He be the righteous God Himself? It is because people reveal corrupt dispositions that God speaks in order to judge them, and only then can they see that He is a holy God. God judges and chastises man for his sins, and exposes these sins. No person or thing can escape this judgment. All that is filthy is judged by Him. It is only in this way that God’s disposition is revealed to be righteous. If it were otherwise, how could it be said that you are foils in both name and fact?

… It is through people who come from the land of filth that God’s holiness is made plain; today, He uses the filth revealed by these people of the land of filth, and He judges, and thus is what He is revealed amidst judgment. Why does He judge? He is able to speak the words of judgment because He abhors sin; how could He be so angry if He did not abhor the rebelliousness of mankind? If there were no abhorrence within Him, no revulsion, if He paid no heed to people’s rebelliousness, then that would prove Him as filthy as man. That He can judge and chastise man is because He abhors filth, and what He abhors is absent in Him. If there were also opposition and rebelliousness in Him, He would not abhor those who are antagonistic and rebellious. If the work of the last days were being carried out in Israel, there would be no meaning in it. Why is the work of the last days being done in China, the darkest and most backward place of all? It is in order to reveal His holiness and righteousness. In short, the darker the place, the more the holiness of God can be revealed. In fact, all of this is for the sake of God’s work.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How the Effects of the Second Step of the Work of Conquest Are Achieved

570. I have long seen clearly the various deeds of evil spirits. And people used by evil spirits (those with wrong intentions, those who lust after flesh or wealth, those who exalt themselves, those who disrupt the church, etc.) have also each been seen through by Me. Do not assume that everything is finished once the evil spirits have been cast out. Let Me tell you! From now on, I shall dispose of these people one by one, never to use them! That is to say, any person corrupted by evil spirits shall not be used by Me, and will be kicked out! Do not think I do not have feelings! Know this! I am the holy God, and I will not reside in a filthy temple! I only use honest and wise people who are completely loyal to Me and can be considerate of My burden. This is because such people were predestined by Me, and absolutely no evil spirits are working on them at all. Let Me make one thing clear: From now on, all those without the work of the Holy Spirit have the work of evil spirits. Let Me reiterate: I do not want a single person whom evil spirits work on. They shall all be cast down into Hades along with their flesh!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 76

571. The flesh worn by the Spirit of God is God’s own flesh. The Spirit of God is supreme; He is almighty, holy, and righteous. Likewise, His flesh is also supreme, almighty, holy, and righteous. Such a flesh can only do that which is righteous and beneficial to mankind, that which is holy, glorious, and mighty; He is incapable of doing anything that violates the truth, that violates moral justice, and much less is He capable of anything that would betray God’s Spirit. The Spirit of God is holy, and thus His flesh is incorruptible by Satan; His flesh is of a different essence than the flesh of man. For it is man, not God, who is corrupted by Satan, and Satan could not possibly corrupt the flesh of God Himself. Thus, despite the fact that man and Christ dwell within the same space, it is only man who can be possessed and used by Satan, and harmed by Satan’s tricks. By contrast, Christ is eternally impervious to Satan’s corruption, because Satan will never be capable of ascending to the highest place, and will never be able to draw near to God. Today, you should all understand that it is only mankind, corrupted as it is by Satan, that betrays Me. Betrayal will never be an issue that involves Christ in the least.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2)

572. God Himself possesses no elements of rebelliousness; His essence is good. He is the expression of all beauty and goodness, as well as all love. Even in the flesh, God does not do anything that rebels against God the Father. Even at the expense of sacrificing His life, He would be wholeheartedly willing to do so, and He would make no other choice. God possesses no elements of self-righteousness or self-importance, or those of conceit and arrogance; He possesses no elements of crookedness. Everything that rebels against God comes from Satan; Satan is the source of all ugliness and evil. The reason that man has qualities similar to those of Satan is because man has been corrupted and processed by Satan. Christ has not been corrupted by Satan, hence He possesses only the characteristics of God, and none of the characteristics of Satan.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Essence of Christ Is Submission to the Will of the Heavenly Father

573. “The holiness of God” means that God’s essence is flawless, that God’s love is selfless, all that God provides to man is selfless; and God’s holiness is unblemished and irreproachable. These aspects of God’s essence are not just words He uses to flaunt His identity, but rather God uses His essence to treat each and every individual with quiet sincerity. In other words, the essence of God is not empty, nor is it theoretical or doctrinal, and it is certainly not a kind of knowledge. It is not a kind of education for man; instead it is the true revelation of God’s own actions and the revealed essence of what God has and is.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

574. What does the holiness of God of which I speak refer to? Think about it for a second. Is the holiness of God His truthfulness? Is the holiness of God His faithfulness? Is the holiness of God His selflessness? Is it His humility? His love for man? God freely bestows truth and life on man—is this His holiness? They are, all of them. All this that God reveals is unique and does not exist within corrupt humanity, and nor can it be seen in humanity. Not the slightest trace of it can be seen during the process of Satan’s corruption of man, neither in the corrupt disposition of Satan nor in the essence or nature of Satan. All that God has and is, is unique; only God Himself has and is possessed of this kind of essence. … The essence of holiness is true love, but more than this, it is the essence of truth, righteousness and light. The word “holy” is only appropriate when applied to God; nothing in creation is worthy of being called “holy.” Man must understand this.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

575. When God came to the earth, He was not of the world, and He did not become flesh in order to enjoy the world. He would be born wherever His work would reveal His disposition and be most meaningful, regardless of whether it was a holy or a filthy land. No matter where He works, He is holy. All things in the world were created by Him, though they have been corrupted by Satan. However, all things still belong to Him; they are all in His hands. He comes to a filthy land and works there in order to reveal His holiness; He only does this for the sake of His work, which means He only endures great humiliation to do such work in order to save the people of this filthy land. This is done for the sake of testimony, for the sake of all of mankind. What such work shows people is God’s righteousness, and it is better able to demonstrate that God is supreme. His greatness and uprightness are precisely manifested in the salvation of a group of lowly people whom others scorn. Being born in a filthy land does not prove that He is lowly; it simply allows all of the created beings to see His greatness and His true love for mankind. The more He does so, the more it reveals His pure love, His flawless love for man. God is holy and righteous, even though He was born in a filthy land, and even though He lives with those people who are full of filthiness, just as Jesus lived with sinners in the Age of Grace. Is every bit of His work not done for the sake of all mankind’s survival? Is it all not so that mankind can gain great salvation? Two thousand years ago, He lived with sinners for a number of years. That was for the sake of redemption. Today, He is living with a group of filthy, lowly people. This is for the sake of salvation. Is all His work not for the sake of you humans? If not to save mankind, why would He have lived and suffered with sinners for so many years after being born in a manger? And if not to save mankind, why would He return to the flesh a second time, born in this land where demons congregate, and live with these people who have been deeply corrupted by Satan? Is God not faithful? What part of His work has not been for mankind? What part has not been for your destiny? God is holy—this is immutable! He is unpolluted by filth, though He has come to a filthy land; all of this can only mean that God’s love for mankind is extremely selfless and the suffering and humiliation He endures is extremely great!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Significance of Saving the Descendants of Moab

576. Your ideas, your thoughts, your behavior, your words and deeds—do all of these expressions not amount to a foil to God’s righteousness and holiness? Are your expressions not manifestations of the corrupt disposition exposed by God’s words? Your thoughts and ideas, your motivations, and the corruption that is revealed in you show the righteous disposition of God, as well as His holiness. God, too, was born in the land of filth, yet He remains unsullied by filth. He lives in the same filthy world as you, but He is possessed of reason and perception, and He detests the filth. You may not even be able to detect anything filthy in your words and deeds, but He can, and He points them out to you. Those old things of yours—your lack of cultivation, insight, and reason, and your backward ways of living—have now been revealed by today’s exposure; only by God coming to earth to work thus do people behold His holiness and righteous disposition. He judges and chastises you, causing you to gain understanding; sometimes, your demonic nature is manifested, and He points it out to you. He knows man’s essence like the back of His hand. He lives among you, He eats the same food as you, and He lives in the same environment—but even so, He knows more; He can expose you and see through the corrupt essence of humanity. There is nothing He detests more than man’s philosophies for worldly dealings and crookedness and deceitfulness. He particularly hates people’s fleshly interactions. He may not be familiar with man’s philosophies for worldly dealings, but He can clearly see and expose the corrupt dispositions that people reveal. He works to speak and teach man through these things, He uses these things to judge people, and to reveal His own righteous and holy disposition. Thus do people become foils to His work. Only God incarnate can reveal the corrupt dispositions of man and all the ugly faces of Satan. Though He does not punish you, and merely uses you as a foil to His righteousness and holiness, you feel ashamed and find no place to hide yourself, for you are too filthy. He speaks using those things which are exposed in man, and only when these things are exposed do people become aware of how holy God is. He does not overlook even the slightest impurity in people, not even the filthy thoughts in their hearts; if people’s words and deeds are at odds with His intentions, then He does not excuse them. In His words, there is no room for the filth of humans or of anything else—it all must be exposed.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How the Effects of the Second Step of the Work of Conquest Are Achieved

577. You will never see God hold similar views on things to human beings, and moreover 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 truth. That is, every word He has said and every action He has taken is bound 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 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 the essence of His holiness.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique V

578. When you come to comprehend the holiness of God, you can then really believe in God; when you come to comprehend the holiness of God, you can then really realize the true meaning of the words “God Himself, the Unique.” You will no longer fantasize, thinking there are other paths besides this one that you could choose to walk, and you will no longer be willing to betray everything that God has arranged for you. Because the essence of God is holy, that means that only through God can you embark on the right, bright path of human life; only through God can you know the meaning of life; only through God can you live out real humanity and both possess and know the truth. Only through God can you obtain life from the truth. Only God Himself can help you shun evil and deliver you from the harm and control of Satan. Besides God, no one and nothing can save you from the sea of suffering so that you suffer no longer. This is determined by the essence of God. Only God Himself saves you so selflessly; only God is ultimately responsible for your future, for your destiny and for your life, and He arranges all things for you. This is something that nothing created or non-created can achieve. Because nothing created or non-created possesses an essence like the essence of God, no person or thing has the ability to save you or to lead you. This is the importance of God’s essence to man.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

579. I have held man to a strict standard throughout. If your loyalty comes with intentions and conditions, then I would rather be without your so-called loyalty, for I abhor those who deceive Me through their intentions and extort Me with conditions. I wish only for man to be absolutely loyal to Me, and to do all things for the sake of—and in order to prove—one word: faith. I detest your use of blandishments to try to make Me rejoice, for I have always treated you with sincerity, and so wish for you to also act with true faith toward Me.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Are You a True Believer in God?

580. You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are impure are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are impure are not permitted to besmirch the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and worked for many years, in the end if you are still deplorably filthy, then it will be intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom! From the foundation of the world until today, never have I offered easy access to My kingdom to those who curry favor with Me. This is a heavenly rule, and no one can break it! You must pursue life. Today, those who will be made perfect are the same kind as Peter: They are those who pursue changes in their own disposition, and who are willing to bear testimony to God and fulfill their duty as a created being. Only people such as this will be made perfect. If you only look to rewards, and do not pursue changing your own life disposition, then all your efforts will be in vain—this is an unalterable truth!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks

581. God Himself has His own possessions and being. All that He expresses and reveals represents His own essence and His own identity. These possessions and this being, as well as this essence and identity, are things that cannot be replaced by any man. His disposition encompasses His love for mankind, solace toward mankind, hatred of mankind, and even more, a thorough understanding of mankind. The personality of man, however, may include being cheerful, lively, or unfeeling. God’s disposition is that which the Sovereign of all things and living beings possesses; it is that which the Creator possesses. His disposition represents honorableness, power, nobility, greatness, and most of all, supremacy. His disposition is the symbol of authority, the symbol of all that is just, the symbol of all that is beautiful and good. More than that, His disposition is a symbol of invulnerability against being overcome or invaded by darkness or by any enemy force, as well as a symbol of invulnerability against offense (and intolerance of offense) by any created being. His disposition is the symbol of the highest power. No person or persons can or may disturb His work or His disposition. But the personality of man is no more than a mere symbol of the slight superiority of man over beast. Man in and of himself has no authority, no autonomy, and no ability to transcend the self, but is in his essence one who cowers at the mercy of all manner of people, events, and things. The joy of God is due to the existence and emergence of justice and light, because of the destruction of darkness and evil. He takes delight in bringing the light and a good life to mankind; His joy is a just joy, a symbol of the existence of all that is positive and, even more, a symbol of auspiciousness. The anger of God is due to the harm that the existence and disturbance of injustice brings upon His mankind, because of the existence of evil and darkness, because of the existence of things that drive out the truth, and even more, because of the existence of things that oppose what is good and beautiful. His anger is a symbol that all things negative no longer exist and, even more than that, it is a symbol of His holiness. His sorrow is due to mankind, for whom He has hopes but who has fallen into darkness, and it is because the work He does on man does not meet His intentions, because the mankind He loves cannot all live in the light. He feels sorrow for the innocent mankind, for the honest but ignorant man, and for the man who is good but lacking in his own views. His sorrow is a symbol of His goodness and of His mercy, a symbol of beauty and of kindness. His happiness, of course, comes from defeating His enemies and gaining the good faith of man. More than this, it arises from the expulsion and destruction of all enemy forces, and because mankind receives a good and peaceful life. The happiness of God is unlike the joy of man; rather, it is the feeling of garnering good fruits, a feeling even greater than joy. His happiness is a symbol of mankind breaking free of suffering from this time forth, and a symbol of mankind entering a world of light. The emotions of mankind, on the other hand, all arise for the sake of his own interests, not for justice, light, or what is beautiful, and least of all for the grace bestowed by Heaven. The emotions of mankind are selfish and belong to the world of darkness. They do not arise for the sake of the will, much less for the plan of God, and so man and God can never be spoken of in the same breath. God is forever supreme and forever honorable, while man is forever base and forever worthless. This is because God is forever devoting Himself and expending for mankind, whereas man forever solicits and strives only for himself. God is forever taking pains for mankind’s survival, yet man never contributes anything for the sake of justice or the light, and even if man makes a temporary effort, it cannot withstand a single blow, for the effort of man is always for his own sake and not for others. Man is forever selfish, while God is forever selfless. God is the origin of all that is just, good, and beautiful, while man is the one who succeeds to and expresses all ugliness and evil. God will never alter His essence of justice and beauty, yet man may betray justice and distance himself from God at any time and in any situation.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition

582. God’s intolerance of offense is His unique essence; God’s wrath is His unique disposition; God’s majesty is His unique essence. The principle behind God’s anger is the representation of His identity and status, which only He possesses. It goes without saying that this principle is also a symbol of the essence of the unique God Himself. God’s disposition is His own inherent essence, which is not changed at all by the passage of time, and nor is it altered by changes of geographical location. His inherent disposition is His intrinsic essence. Regardless of whom He carries out His work upon, His essence does not change, and neither does His righteous disposition. When one angers God, that which God sends forth is His inherent disposition; at this time the principle behind His anger does not change, nor do His unique identity and status. He does not grow angry because of a change in His essence or because different elements arise from His disposition, but because man’s opposition against Him offends His disposition. Man’s flagrant provocation of God is a severe challenge to God’s own identity and status. In God’s view, when man challenges Him, man is contesting Him and tempting His anger. When man opposes God, when man contests God, when man continuously tempts God’s anger, that is precisely when sin runs rampant—at such times, God’s wrath will naturally reveal and present itself. Therefore, God’s expression of His wrath is a symbol that all wicked forces will cease to exist, and it is a symbol that all hostile forces will be destroyed. This is the uniqueness of God’s righteous disposition, and of God’s wrath. When God’s dignity and holiness are challenged, when the forces of justice are obstructed and unseen by man, then God will send forth His wrath. Because of God’s essence, all those forces on earth which contest God, oppose Him and contend with Him, are wicked, corrupt and unjust; they come from and are of Satan. Because God is just, of the light, and flawless and holy, thus all things wicked, corrupt, and satanic will vanish when God’s wrath is unleashed.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique II