Answer: The work of God and the work of man are certainly different. If we investigate carefully we will all be able to see it. For instance, if we look at the utterance and work of the Lord Jesus and then take a look at the utterance and work of the apostles, we can say that the difference is too obvious. Every word uttered by the Lord Jesus is the truth and carries authority, and can reveal many mysteries. These are all things man can never do. That is why there are so many people who follow the Lord Jesus, whereas the work of the apostles can only spread the gospel, bear witness to God, and supply the church. The results are all very limited. The difference between God’s work and man’s work is so obvious. Then, why can’t people see through it? What is the reason? It’s because corrupt mankind doesn’t know God and possesses no truth whatsoever. Therefore, it results in man not knowing the difference between God’s work and man’s work, and makes it easy to treat the work of God incarnate as man’s work and makes it easy to treat the work of man we admire and the work of evil spirits, the work of false Christs and prophets as God’s work to be accepted and followed. This is deviating from the true way and resisting God, and is considered adoring man, following Satan and worshiping Satan. It's a serious offense against God’s disposition and will be cursed by God. People like this will lose the opportunity to be saved. That is why your question is very important to people’s investigation of the true way and knowing God’s work of the last days. From the outside, the work of God incarnate and the work of men used by God both look like man is working and speaking. But there is a world of difference between their essence and the nature of their work. Today, Almighty God has come and revealed all truths and mysteries and revealed the differences between God’s work and man’s work. Only now do we have knowledge and discernment over God’s work and man’s work. Let’s take a look at Almighty God’s words.

“The work of God Himself involves the work of all of mankind, and it also represents the work of the entire era, which means that God’s own work represents every dynamic and trend of the work of the Holy Spirit, whereas the work of the apostles comes after God’s own work and follows from it, and it does not lead the era, nor does it represent trends of the Holy Spirit’s work in a whole era. They only do the work man ought to do, which has nothing at all to do with the management work. The work God does Himself is a project within the management work. Man’s work is only the duty that people who are used fulfill, and it is unrelated to the management work” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Work).

“The work of God incarnate begins a new era, and those who continue His work are those who are used by Him. The work done by man is all within the ministry of God in the flesh, and it is incapable of going beyond this scope. If God incarnate had not come to do His work, man would not be able to bring the old age to an end and would not be able to usher in a new era. The work done by man is merely within the range of his duty that is humanly possible to do, and it does not represent the work of God. Only the incarnate God can come and complete the work that He should do and, besides Him, no one can do this work on His behalf. Of course, what I speak of is in regard to the work of incarnation” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of the Incarnate God).

“He who is God incarnate shall possess the essence of God, and He who is God incarnate shall possess the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He intends to do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon him, and point the way for him. Flesh that does not have the essence of God is decidedly not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt. … The words of God incarnate open up a new age, guide all of mankind, reveal mysteries, and show man the direction he is to take in the new age. The enlightenment obtained by man is but simple instructions for practice or knowledge. It cannot guide all of mankind into a new age or reveal the mysteries of God Himself. When all is said and done, God is God, and man is man. God has the essence of God, and man has the essence of man” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface).

“The incarnate God is essentially different from the people used by God. The incarnate God is able to do the work of divinity, whereas the people used by God are not. At the beginning of each age, God’s Spirit speaks personally and launches the new era to bring man into a new beginning. When He has finished speaking, this signifies that God’s work within His divinity is done. Thereafter, people all follow the lead of those used by God to enter into their life experience” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Essential Difference Between the Incarnate God and the People Used by God).

“All God expresses is what He Himself is, and this is unattainable by man—that is, beyond the reach of man’s thinking. He expresses His work of leading all mankind, and this is unrelated to the details of human experience, but is concerned instead with His own management. What man expresses is his experience, while what God expresses is His being, which is His inherent disposition, beyond the reach of man. Man’s experience is his insight and knowledge acquired on the basis of God’s expression of His being. Such insight and knowledge are called man’s being, and the basis of their expression is man’s inherent disposition and caliber—this is why they are also called man’s being. … The words spoken by God’s incarnate flesh are the direct expression of the Spirit and they express the work that has been done by the Spirit, which the flesh has not experienced or seen, yet He still expresses His being, for the essence of the flesh is the Spirit, and He expresses the work of the Spirit” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Work).

“The work God does is not representative of the experience of His flesh; the work man does is representative of his experience. Everyone talks about their personal experience. God can express the truth directly, while man can only express the experience that corresponds to his having experienced the truth. God’s work has no rules and is not subject to time or geographical constraints. He can express what He is at anytime, anywhere. He works as He pleases. Man’s work has conditions and context; without them, he would be unable to work and unable to express his knowledge of God or his experience of the truth. To tell whether something is God’s own work or man’s work, you must simply compare the differences between the two” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Work).

“If man were to do this work, then it would be too limited: It could take man to a certain point, but it would not be able to bring man to the eternal destination. Man is not able to decide man’s destiny, nor, moreover, is he able to ensure man’s prospects and future destination. The work done by God, however, is different. Since He created man, He leads him; since He saves man, He will thoroughly save him, and will completely gain him; since He leads man, He will bring him to the proper destination; and since He created and manages man, He must take responsibility for man’s fate and prospects. It is this which is the work done by the Creator” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination).

Almighty God’s words have made the difference between God’s work and man’s work very clear. As the essences of God incarnate and men used by God are different, the work they do is also very different. God incarnate looks like an ordinary and normal person from the outside, but He is the Spirit of God realized in the flesh. He therefore has a divine substance and is possessed of God’s authority, power, omnipotence, and wisdom. So God incarnate can directly express truths in His work and express God’s righteous disposition and all that He has and is, and can begin a new age and end the old age, and can reveal all the mysteries of God’s management plan, expressing God’s intentions and God’s requirements of mankind. All words expressed by God incarnate are the truth and can be man’s life and change man’s life disposition. The work of God incarnate can conquer and cleanse man and save man from Satan’s influence, and bring mankind to a beautiful destination. The effect of such work is something no person could do. The work of God incarnate is the work of God Himself, and cannot be replaced by anyone. On the other hand, the essence of a man used by God is man. They only have humanity and do not possess Christ’s divine essence, so they cannot express truths or God’s disposition and all that He has and is. They can only communicate their personal knowledge of God’s words on the foundation of God’s utterances and work, or speak of their own experiences and testimonies. Their knowledge and testimonies all represent their personal understanding of God’s words. No matter how high their knowledge or how accurate their words, what they say cannot be said to be the truth, and moreover cannot be said to be God’s words, so it cannot be man’s life and can only give man assistance, supply, support, and edification, cannot achieve the results of cleansing man, saving man, and perfecting man. Therefore, man used by God cannot perform the work of God Himself and can only coordinate with God to fulfill man’s duty.

When it comes to the difference between God’s work and man’s work, we can give an actual example to make it much clearer for everyone. In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus preached the way of repentance, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” revealing the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. And He was personally crucified as a sin offering for man, making man confess and repent, and forgiving man’s sins, absolving man from the conviction and curse of law so we can be qualified to come before God to pray and commune with God, and enjoy God’s rich grace and truths, and let us see God’s loving and merciful disposition. The work of the Lord Jesus began the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. This is the part of God’s work in the Age of Grace. After the Lord Jesus completed His work, His apostles led God’s chosen people to experience and practice the words of the Lord Jesus on the foundations of His utterances and work, spreading testimonies of His salvation and spreading His gospel of redeeming mankind throughout the earth. This is the work of the apostles in the Age of Grace, and also the work of men who were used by God. This allows us to see that there is a difference in essence between the work of the Lord Jesus and the work of the apostles. Almighty God incarnate of the last days has expressed all truths to cleanse and save mankind, revealing all mysteries of God’s 6,000-year management plan, performing the work of judgment beginning from the house of God to thoroughly save mankind from Satan’s corruption and influence, making man see God’s righteous, majestic, wrathful, and unoffendable disposition, so that corrupted mankind can break free from sin, achieve holiness, and be gained by God. The work of Almighty God began the Age of Kingdom and ended the Age of Grace. This is God’s work for the Age of Kingdom. The work of the man used by God, on the foundation of the work and words of Almighty God, is to water and shepherd God’s chosen people, leading them to enter the reality of God’s words and enter the right track to believing in God, and spread and testify to Almighty God’s gospel of the descent of the kingdom. This is the work of the man used by God in the Age of Kingdom. This allows us to see that the work of God both times He became flesh is the work of beginning an age and ending an age. His work is oriented toward all of mankind and is all a stage of work for completing God’s management plan. It is precisely the work of redeeming and saving mankind. The work of God both times He became flesh completely verifies that only God can express the truth in His work to cleanse and save mankind. No man can perform God’s work. Only God incarnate can perform God’s work. So both times God became flesh, He testifies that only Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. Apart from God in the flesh, no one else can do the work of God Himself. They cannot begin new ages, end old ages, and moreover cannot save mankind. The work of men used by God can only coordinate with God’s work, to lead and shepherd God’s chosen people and fulfill man’s duty. No matter how many years man has worked or how many words are spoken, or how great their work seems from the outside, its essence is all the work of man. That is a fact. That’s the main difference between the work of God in the flesh and the work of men used by God.

The words of Almighty God have made us realize the substantive difference between God’s work and man’s work. Only now do we know that as God incarnate works He can express truths, express God’s disposition and all that God has and is. If we accept and experience God’s work we will be able to understand the truth, and be able to understand God’s holy and righteous disposition, God’s essence, God’s intentions of saving mankind, God’s methods of saving mankind, and God’s love for mankind more and more. At the same time, we will also gain an understanding of the essence, nature and truth of our being corrupted by Satan. That way, our corrupt disposition can achieve purification and change, and we can generate true obedience and fear toward God, and achieve God’s salvation. However, man’s work and God’s work are completely different. Because man cannot express the truth and can only discuss their personal experiences and knowledge of God’s words, even if it conforms with the truth, it can only guide, shepherd, support, and assist God’s chosen people. This shows that if it is a person approved by God, the work they do is just to coordinate with God’s work and fulfill man’s duty. If it is not a person used by God, a person without the work of the Holy Spirit, then they are a person who exalts man’s gifts, talents, and fame. Even when they explain the Bible, they are exalting the words of man in the Bible, making God’s words irrelevant and using man’s words to replace God’s words. The work of such people is the work of the Pharisees and is the work of resisting God. The work of man mainly falls into these two different situations. No matter what, the biggest difference between man’s work and God’s work is this: If it is only man’s work, it cannot achieve the results of cleansing and saving man. Only God is capable of expressing the truth in His work and only His work can achieve the results of cleansing and saving man. That’s a fact. The main thing we’re talking about here is the difference between God’s work and the work of people used by God. The work of those religious leaders not used by God is another matter.

The work of God and the work of man have such obvious differences, then why can we still worship and follow man at the same time as believing in God? Why are there still so many people who treat the work of those they worship, such as famous spiritual figures and religious leaders as the work of God? Why are there people who even treat the deception of false Christs and evil spirits as God’s work? It’s because we don’t possess the truth and can’t distinguish between God’s work and man’s work. We don’t know the essence of God incarnate and the essence of man, and don’t know how to discern what is the truth and what conforms with the truth. We can’t distinguish between God’s voice and man’s utterances, plus we have been corrupted by Satan and we all worship knowledge and gifts, so it is very easy to treat the biblical knowledge, religious doctrines, and theological theories that come from man as the truth. Accepting these things that are not the truth and that come from man might serve to increase our knowledge, but it provides no supply whatsoever to our life, and moreover cannot achieve the effects of knowing God and revering God. This is an undeniable fact. Therefore, no matter how much work man does, how many words man speaks, how long man works, or how great the work is, it cannot achieve the result of cleansing and saving man. Man’s life will not change. This reveals that man’s work can never replace God’s work. Only God’s work can save man. No matter how short the period of God’s work and how limited the words He utters, it can begin an age and end an age, and can achieve the results of redeeming and saving mankind. This is the obvious difference between the work of God and the work of man. Only when we understand the difference between God’s work and man’s work will we not blindly worship and follow man, and be able to discern and reject the deception and control of false Christs and antichrists. In this way, we will be able to accept and obey the work of Almighty God of the last days, and gain God’s judgment and purification to achieve God’s salvation. If we cannot distinguish between God’s work and man’s work, we will not be able to break free from the deception and control of false Christs and antichrists. Such people believe in God nominally, but are in fact believing in man, following man, and worshiping man; they are worshiping idols. This is resisting God and betraying God. If they still refuse to realize the error of their ways, they will ultimately be cursed by God and eliminated by God for offending God’s disposition. Just as Almighty God says. “It would be best for those people who claim to follow God to open their eyes and take a good look to see exactly who they believe in: Is it really God that you believe in, or Satan? If you know that what you believe in is not God, but your own idols, then it would be best if you did not claim to be a believer. If you really do not know who you believe in, then, again, it would be best if you did not claim to be a believer. To say so would be blasphemy! No one is forcing you to believe in God. Do not say you believe in Me; I have had enough of such talk, and do not wish to hear it again, because what you believe in are the idols in your hearts and the local bullies among you. Those who shake their heads when they hear the truth, who grin when they hear talk of death, are all the spawn of Satan, and they are the ones who will be eliminated” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. A Warning to Those Who Do Not Practice the Truth).

—The movie script of Who Is He That Has Returned