Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

At the mention of Paul, you will think of his history, and of some of the stories about him that are inaccurate and out of line with reality. He was taught by his parents from a young age, and received My life, and as a result of My predestination he was possessed of the caliber that I require. At the age of 19, he read various books about life; thus I do not need to go into detail about how, because of his caliber, and because of My enlightenment and illumination, he could not only speak with some insight about spiritual matters, but was also able to grasp My intentions. Of course, this does not exclude the combination of internal and external factors. Nevertheless, his one imperfection was that, because of his talents, he would often be glib and boastful. As a result, due to his rebelliousness, part of which directly represented the archangel, when I became flesh for the first time, he made every effort to defy Me. He was one of those who do not know My words, and My place in his heart had already vanished. Such people directly oppose My divinity, and are struck down by Me, and only bow down and confess their sins at the very end. Hence, after I had utilized his strong points—which is to say, after he had worked for Me for a period of time—he once more fell into his old ways, and although he did not rebel against My words directly, he rebelled against My inner guidance and enlightenment, and thus all that he had done in the past was futile; in other words, the crown of glory he spoke of had become empty words, a product of his own imagination, for even today he is still subjected to My judgment within the captivity of My bonds.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 4

Among those who seek life, Paul was someone who did not know his own substance. He was by no means humble or submissive, nor did he know his essence, which was in opposition to God. And so, he was someone who had not undergone detailed experiences, and was someone who did not put the truth into practice. … Paul did not know his own essence or corruption, much less did he know his own rebelliousness. He never mentioned his despicable defiance of Christ, nor was he overly regretful. He only offered a brief explanation and, deep down in his heart, he did not completely yield to God. Though he fell on the road to Damascus, he did not look deep within himself. He was content merely to keep working, and he did not consider knowing himself and changing his old disposition to be the most crucial of issues. He was satisfied with merely speaking the truth, with providing to others as a salve for his own conscience, and with no longer persecuting Jesus’ disciples to console himself and forgive himself for his past sins. The goal that he pursued was nothing more than a future crown and transitory work, the goal he pursued was abundant grace. He did not seek sufficient truth, nor did he seek to progress deeper into the truth which he had previously not understood. His knowledge of himself can therefore be said to be false, and he did not accept chastisement or judgment. That he was able to work does not mean he possessed a knowledge of his own nature or essence; his focus was on outward practices only. What he strived for, moreover, was not change, but knowledge. His work was completely the result of the appearance of Jesus on the road to Damascus. It was not something he had resolved to do originally, nor was it work that occurred after he had accepted the pruning of his old disposition. No matter how he worked, his old disposition did not change, and so his work did not atone for his past sins but merely played a certain role among the churches of the time. For someone such as this, whose old disposition did not change—that is to say, who did not gain salvation, and was even more without the truth—he was absolutely incapable of becoming one of those accepted by the Lord Jesus. He was not someone who was filled with love and fear for Jesus Christ, nor was he someone who was adept at seeking the truth, much less was he someone who sought the mystery of the incarnation. He was merely someone who was skilled in sophistry, and who would not yield to any who were higher than him or who were possessed of the truth. He envied people or truths that were contrary to him, or in enmity with him, preferring those gifted people who presented a great image and possessed profound knowledge. He did not like interacting with poor people who sought the true way and cared for nothing but the truth, and instead concerned himself with senior figures from religious organizations who only spoke of doctrines, and who were possessed of abundant knowledge. He had no love of the new work of the Holy Spirit and cared not for the movement of the new work of the Holy Spirit. Instead, he favored those rules and doctrines that were higher than general truths. In his innate substance and the entirety of what he sought, he does not deserve to be called a Christian who pursued the truth, much less a faithful servant in the house of God, for his hypocrisy was too much, and his rebelliousness too great. Though he is known as a servant of the Lord Jesus, he was not at all fit to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for his actions from beginning to end cannot be called righteous. He can merely be seen as one who was hypocritical, and did unrighteousness, yet who also worked for Christ. Though he cannot be called evil, he can suitably be called a man who did unrighteousness. He did much work, yet he must not be judged on the quantity of work he did, but only on its quality and essence. Only in this way is it possible to get to the bottom of this matter. He always believed: “I am capable of working, I am better than most people; I am considerate of the Lord’s burden as no one else, and no one repents as deeply as I, for the great light shone upon me, and I have seen the great light, and so my repentance is deeper than any other.” At the time, this is what he thought within his heart. At the end of his work, Paul said: “I have fought the fight, I have finished my course, and there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” His fight, work, and course were entirely for the sake of the crown of righteousness, and he did not actively forge ahead. Though he was not perfunctory in his work, it can be said that his work was done merely in order to make up for his mistakes, to make up for the accusations of his conscience. He only hoped to complete his work, finish his course, and fight his fight as soon as possible, so that he could gain his longed-for crown of righteousness all the sooner. What he longed for was not to meet the Lord Jesus with his experiences and true knowledge, but to finish his work as soon as possible, in order that he would receive the rewards that his work had earned him when he met the Lord Jesus. He used his work to comfort himself, and to make a deal in exchange for a future crown. What he sought was not the truth or God, but only the crown. How can such a pursuit be up to standard? His motivation, his work, the price he paid, and all of his efforts—his wonderful fantasies pervaded them all, and he worked wholly according to his own desires. In the entirety of his work, there was not the slightest willingness in the price he paid; he was merely engaged in making a deal. His efforts were not made willingly in order to perform his duty, but were made willingly in order to achieve the objective of the deal. Is there any worth to such efforts? Who would commend his impure efforts? Who has any interest in such efforts? His work was full of dreams for the future, full of wonderful plans, and contained no path by which to change the human disposition. So much of his benevolence was a pretense; his work did not provide life, but was a sham of civility; it was the making of a deal. How can work such as this lead man to the path of recovering his original duty?

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

When you look at all the ways Paul presented himself, you should be able to see his nature essence, and be fully capable of concluding that the direction, goals, source, and motivation for his pursuits were wrong, and that these things were rebellious and resistant to God, displeased Him, and were loathed by God. What is the first main way Paul presented himself? (He toiled and worked in exchange for a crown.) Where did you see him present himself in this way, or see that he was in this state? (Through his words.) Through his famous sayings. Usually, famous sayings are positive, and are helpful and beneficial to those with resolution, hope, and aspiration; they can encourage and motivate such people, but what was the function of Paul’s famous sayings? He had many. Can you recite one of his more famous ones? (“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).) What aspect of his nature essence do these words represent? How should we define it according to the truth? (Arrogant, self-righteous, and making a deal with God.) It was his arrogant nature that prompted him to say these words—he would not run the race, work, or even believe in God if there was not a crown at the end of it. After listening to so many sermons, people now should be able to recognize this manifestation and this state that Paul revealed, but can you define it? When we say “summarize,” we mean to define something; the words you use to define something are true understanding. When you can accurately define something, it proves that you see the matter clearly; when you cannot define something and only copy other people’s definitions, it proves you do not truly understand it. What mindset or state prompted Paul to speak those words at that moment? What intention made him do it? What is the essence of his pursuits that these words show you? (To gain blessings.) He ran hard, expended himself and gave so much of himself because his intention was to gain blessings. That was his nature essence, and what resided in the innermost place of his heart. … Paul saw fighting the good fight, running the race, working, expending himself, and even watering the church as chips he could use in exchange for the crown of righteousness, and as paths toward it. So, no matter whether he suffered, expended himself, or ran the race, no matter how much he suffered, the only goal in his mind was to obtain the crown of righteousness. He treated pursuing the crown of righteousness and pursuing blessings as the appropriate objective of believing in God, and suffering, expending himself, working, and running the race as paths toward it. All of his outwardly good behavior was done for show; he did it in exchange for getting blessings in the very end. This is the first of Paul’s major sins.

Everything Paul said and did, what he revealed, the intention and goal of both his work and the race he ran, as well as his attitude toward both—is there anything about these things that is in keeping with the truth? (No, there is not.) There is nothing in him that is in keeping with the truth, and nothing he did was in line with what the Lord Jesus instructed people to do, but did he reflect on this? (No, he did not.) He never reflected on it at all, nor did he seek, so what basis did he have for assuming his thinking was correct? (His notions and imaginings.) There is an issue with this; how could he make something he imagined the goal that he would pursue for his entire life? Did he ever give it any consideration or ask himself, “Is what I think correct? Other people do not think this way, just me. Is this a problem?” Not only did he not have these doubts, but he wrote his thoughts in letters and sent them to all the churches, so that everyone could read them. What is the nature of this behavior? There is a problem with this; why did he never question whether his thinking was in line with the truth, seek the truth, or compare it to what the Lord Jesus said? Instead, he treated what he imagined, and what he thought was right in his notions as the goals he should pursue. What is the problem here? He treated what he imagined and what he thought was right as the truth, and as a goal to be pursued. Is this not exceedingly arrogant and self-righteous? Did God still have a place in his heart? Was he still able to treat God’s words as the truth? If he was unable to treat God’s words as the truth, then what would be his attitude toward God? Did he want to be God as well? If not, he would not treat what he imagined in his own thoughts and notions as goals which he should pursue, nor would he pursue his notions or what he imagined as if they were the truth. He believed that what he thought was the truth, and that it was in line with the truth and God’s intentions. He also shared what he thought was correct with the brothers and sisters in the churches, and instilled it in them, making everyone abide by the ridiculous things he said; he replaced the Lord Jesus’ words with his own, and used these ridiculous words of his to testify that for him to live is Christ. Is this not the second major sin that Paul had? This problem is extremely severe!

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Identify the Nature Essence of Paul

Paul has another serious sin, and that is that he did his work completely on the basis of his mental caliber, academic knowledge, theological knowledge and theory. This is something which pertains to his nature essence. You should summarize this, and then examine what his attitude is toward these things. This is a very crucial and important sin, and one that people must understand. … What did Paul possess from birth? (His innate abilities.) Paul was naturally smart, good at speaking, expressed himself well, and did not get stage fright. Let us focus now on talking about his innate abilities, gifts, intelligence, capabilities, as well as the knowledge he learned throughout his life. What does the fact that he was good at speaking mean? In what way did he reveal and present himself? He liked to ramble on about lofty theories; he constantly talked about profound spiritual doctrine, theories and knowledge, and his famous texts and sayings that people often mention. What is one word that sums up Paul’s words? (Empty.) Are empty words constructive for people? When they hear those words, they feel emboldened, but after a while their gusto fades away. The things Paul talked about were vague and illusory, things you cannot really lay out in concrete terms. In the theories he talked about, you cannot find any path to practice, or direction in which to practice; you cannot find anything you can accurately apply to real life—whether theories or foundations, none are applicable to real life. That is why I say that the religious theories and spiritual doctrine he talked about were empty, impractical words. What was Paul’s goal in talking about these things? Some people say, “He always talked about these things because he wanted to suck more people in, and make them revere and look up to him. He wanted to take the place of the Lord Jesus and win over more people, so that he would be blessed.” Is this the topic that we want to talk about today? (No, it is not.) It is exceedingly normal for a person who has not been pruned, has not been judged or chastised, has not gone through trials or refinement, who has gifts like his, and has the nature essence of an antichrist to show off like this and exhibit the behavior he did, so we will not delve into this matter. What are we going to delve into? The essence of this problem of his, the root cause and motivation behind him doing these things, and what prompted him to act this way. No matter whether people today would view all the things he talked about as doctrine, theories, theological knowledge, innate gifts, or his own interpretation of things, generally speaking, Paul’s biggest problem was that he treated things that came from human will as the truth. That is why he had the guts to use these theological theories decisively, boldly, and openly to suck people in and teach them. This is the essence of the problem. Is this a serious problem? (Yes, it is.) What things did he treat as the truth? The gifts he was born with, as well as the knowledge and theological theories he learned throughout life. His theological theories were learned from teachers, from reading the scriptures, and also generated from what he understood and imagined. He treated the notions and imaginings of his human understanding as the truth, but this was not the most serious problem, there was one even greater. He treated those things as the truth, but did he think at the time that those things were the truth? Did he have a concept of what the truth was? (No, he did not.) Then what did he treat those things as? (As life.) He treated all of those things as life. He thought that the more sermons he could preach, or the more lofty, the greater his life would be. He treated those things as life. Is this a serious matter? (Yes, it is serious.) What impact did this have? (It had an impact on the path he followed.) This is one side of it. What else? (He thought that obtaining these things would bring him salvation and allow him to enter the kingdom of heaven.) It still has to do with obtaining blessings; he thought that the greater his life was, the greater his chances of entering the kingdom of heaven and ascending to heaven. What is another way of saying “ascending to heaven”? (To reign and wield power alongside God.) His purpose in entering the kingdom of heaven was to reign and wield power alongside God, but this was not his ultimate goal, he had one more. He talked about it. How did he put it? (“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).) He said for him to live is Christ, and to die is gain. What does this mean? That he will turn into God after he dies? His ambition knows no limits! His problem is so severe! So, is it wrong for us to dissect Paul’s case? Not at all. He should never have treated his gifts and the knowledge he learned as life. This is his third major sin.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Identify the Nature Essence of Paul

“Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God.” Paul used this phrase often, and it is a loaded phrase. For starters, we know that Paul is an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, from Paul’s perspective, who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He is the Son of man, and second to the God in heaven. No matter whether he called the Lord Jesus Christ Master or called Him the Lord, from Paul’s perspective, the Christ on earth was not God, but rather a man who could teach people and get them to follow Him. What was Paul’s function as an apostle of a man such as this? To share the gospel, visit churches, preach sermons, and write letters. He believed he was doing these things on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his heart, he thought, “I will help You by going where You are not able to go, and I will take a look on Your behalf at the places You do not want to go.” This was Paul’s concept of an apostle. The ranking in his mind, was that both he and the Lord Jesus were regular people. He saw himself and the Lord Jesus Christ as equals, as human beings. In his mind, there was essentially no difference between their positions, nor was there a difference in their identities, let alone their ministries. Only their names, ages, family circumstances and backgrounds were different, and they had different external gifts and knowledge. In Paul’s mind, he was the same as the Lord Jesus Christ in every other way, and could be called the Son of man, too. The only reason he was second to the Lord Jesus Christ was because he was the apostle of the Lord Jesus; he exercised the Lord Jesus Christ’s power, and was sent to visit churches and do church work by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Paul believed his position and identity was as an apostle—this is how he interpreted it. Also, the second word at the beginning of the phrase, “Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ” is “called.” From this word we can see Paul’s mindset. Why did he use the six words “called … through the will of God”? He did not think that he was called by the Lord Jesus Christ to be His apostle; he thought, “The Lord Jesus Christ does not have the power to order me to do anything. I am not doing as He commanded; I am not doing anything for Him. Rather, I am doing these things through the will of God in heaven. I am the same as the Lord Jesus Christ.” This indicates another thing—Paul thought he was a Son of man, just like the Lord Jesus Christ. The six words “called … through the will of God” reveal how Paul denied and doubted the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ in the depths of his heart. Paul said he was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ through the will of God, that God told him to, he was ordained and established by God, and that he became an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ because God called him and willed it. In Paul’s mind, that was the relationship between himself and the Lord Jesus Christ. However, this is not even the worst part of it. What is the worst part? That Paul thought he was the Lord Jesus Christ’s apostle through God’s will, not the Lord Jesus Christ’s, that it was not the Lord Jesus who called him, but God in heaven who made him do it. He thought no one had the power or qualifications to make him an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, that only God in heaven had that power, and that he was being guided directly by God in heaven. So, what does this indicate? That deep in Paul’s heart, he believed that God in heaven was number one, and he himself was number two. So where did he put the Lord Jesus? (In the same position as himself.) This is the problem. With his lips, he proclaimed that the Lord Jesus was the Christ, but he did not recognize that Christ’s essence was that of God; he did not understand the relationship between Christ and God. It was this lack of understanding that caused such a severe problem. In what way was it severe? (He did not admit that the Lord Jesus was God incarnate. He denied the Lord Jesus.) Yes, that is really severe. He denied that the Lord Jesus Christ was God become flesh, that the Lord Jesus Christ was the flesh of God when He had come down from heaven to earth, and that the Lord Jesus was God’s incarnated flesh. Does this not imply that Paul denied the existence of the God on earth? (Yes, it does.) If he denied the existence of the God on earth, then could he acknowledge the Lord Jesus’ words? (No, he could not.) If he did not acknowledge His words, then could he accept it? (No, he could not.) He did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ’s words, teachings, or identity, so could he accept the Lord Jesus Christ’s work? (No, he could not.) He did not accept the work the Lord Jesus Christ did, or the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was God, yet this was not the worst part. What was the worst part? Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus came to earth to do the biggest work of all—the work of redemption in the Age of Grace, where He was incarnated and became the likeness of sinful flesh, and was nailed to the cross as a sin offering for all mankind. Was this a big work? (Yes, it was.) It was the work of redeeming all mankind, and it was done by God Himself, yet Paul stubbornly denied it. He denied that the work of redemption the Lord Jesus did was done by God Himself, which was denying the fact that God had already accomplished the work of redemption. Is this a serious problem? It is extremely serious! Not only did Paul not seek to understand the fact of the Lord Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, but he did not admit it, and to not admit it is to deny it. He did not admit that it was God who was crucified and redeemed all mankind, nor did he admit that God served as a sin offering for all mankind. This implies that he did not admit that all of mankind was redeemed after God did His work, or that their sins were pardoned. At the same time, he thought that his sins had not been pardoned. He did not admit the fact that the Lord Jesus redeemed mankind. From his standpoint, that had all been erased. This is the most serious issue. Just now, I mentioned that Paul was the biggest antichrist in the past two thousand years; this fact has already been revealed. If these facts had not been recorded in the Bible, and God said that Paul defied God and was an antichrist, would people believe it? They absolutely would not. Thankfully, the Bible kept a record of Paul’s letters, and there is factual proof here in those letters; otherwise, there would be nothing to back up what I am saying, and you may not accept it. Now, when we bring Paul’s words out and read them, how did Paul view all the things the Lord Jesus said? He thought the things the Lord Jesus said were not equal to even one of Paul’s own religious doctrines. So, after the Lord Jesus had left this world, although Paul spread the gospel, worked, preached, and shepherded churches, he never preached the Lord Jesus’ words, let alone practiced or experienced them. Instead, he preached his own understanding of the Old Testament, which was out-of-date and empty words. For the last two thousand years, those who believe in the Lord do so in accordance with the Bible, and everything they accept is Paul’s empty theories. As a result, people have been in the dark for two thousand years. If you say to a group of religious people today that Paul was wrong, they will protest and will not accept it, because they all look up to Paul. Paul is their idol and their founding father, and they are Paul’s filial sons and descendants. To what extent have they been misled? They are already standing on the same side as Paul in opposition to God; they have the same views as Paul, the same nature essence, and the same method of pursuit. They have been thoroughly assimilated by Paul. This is Paul’s fourth major sin. Paul denied the Lord Jesus Christ’s identity, and he denied the work God did in the Age of Grace after the Age of Law. This is the most serious thing. Another serious thing is that he put himself in the same league as the Lord Jesus Christ. In the age Paul lived in, he met the Lord Jesus Christ but did not see Him as God; instead, he treated the Lord Jesus Christ as a regular person, as though He was just another member of the human race; a man who had the same nature essence as corrupted humans. In no way did Paul treat the Lord Jesus as the Christ, let alone treat Him as God. This is a very serious matter. So why would Paul do this? (He did not recognize that God incarnate possessed the essence of God, so he did not treat the Lord Jesus Christ as God.) (He did not see the Lord Jesus’ words as the truth, nor see that the Lord Jesus Christ was the embodiment of the truth.) (On the surface, Paul professed to believe in the Lord Jesus, but what he actually believed in was a vague God in heaven.) (He did not seek the truth, so he was incapable of realizing that Christ was the truth and the life.) Keep going. (Paul said that for him to live was Christ. He wanted to become God and replace the Lord Jesus.) Everything you have said lines up with the facts. Each of the ways in which Paul manifested himself, and each of his sins, were more severe than that which came before.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Identify the Nature Essence of Paul

Let us analyze this phrase Paul said: “There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” These are impressive words. Look at the words he chose: “a crown of righteousness.” Usually, it is quite bold to use the word “crown” itself, but who would dare use “righteousness” as an attributive expression to define a crown? Only Paul would dare to use this word. Why did he use it? This word has an origin, and it was carefully chosen; there are deep connotations behind his words! What connotations? (He was trying to force God’s hand with this word.) Wanting to force God’s hand is one aspect of it. His intention was definitely to make a transaction, and there’s an element of trying to set conditions with God to it too. Besides this, was there a purpose behind why he always preached about this crown of righteousness? (He wanted to misguide people, and make them think that if he did not get a crown, God was not righteous.) There’s an inciting and misleading quality to him preaching about this, and this is connected to Paul’s desires and ambitions. In order to ultimately materialize and fulfill his desire of obtaining a crown of righteousness, he used the tactic of preaching about it everywhere. In part, his goal in preaching these words was to incite and mislead people; it was to instill a particular thought in those listening, namely, “Someone like me who expends so much of himself, who travels around so much, and pursues the way I do will be able to get a crown of righteousness.” After listening to this, people naturally felt that God was only righteous if a person like Paul received a crown. They felt that they must pursue, travel around, and expend themselves like Paul did, that they could not listen to the Lord Jesus, and that Paul was the benchmark, he was the Lord, and he was the direction and the goal toward which people should walk. They also thought that if people did things the way Paul did, they would get the same crown, outcome, and destination as him. In one respect, Paul was inciting and misleading people. In another respect, he had a most sinister goal. Deep in his heart, he thought, “In the unlikely circumstances that I do not get a crown, where it turns out to just have been my own imagining and my own wishful thinking, this will mean that everyone who believes in Christ, including myself, was misguided in their faith. It will mean that no God exists on earth, and I will also deny Your existence in heaven too, God, and You won’t be able to do anything about it!” What he was implying was: “If I do not get this crown, not only will the brothers and sisters deny You, but I will prevent You from gaining all the people I have incited and who know these words. I will also prevent them from gaining You, and at the same time, I will deny Your existence as God in heaven. You are not righteous. If I, Paul, cannot get a crown, no one should!” This was the sinister part of Paul. Is this not the behavior of an antichrist? This is the behavior of an antichrist demon: inciting, misleading, and enticing people, as well as openly clamoring against God and opposing Him. Deep in his heart, Paul thought, “If I do not get a crown, God is not righteous. If I get a crown, only then is it a crown of righteousness, and only then is God’s righteousness truly righteous.” This is the origin of his “crown of righteousness.” What was he doing by this? He was openly inciting and misleading those who followed God. At the same time, he was using these methods to openly clamor against and oppose God. In other words, his behavior was one of revolt. What was its nature? On the surface, the words Paul used seem genteel and proper, and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with them—who would not believe in God in order to get a crown of righteousness and be blessed? Even people with no caliber, at the very least, believe in God in order to get into heaven. They would be happy even if they were asked to sweep the streets or to guard a gate there. Having this intention and objective in one’s belief in God can be considered proper and understandable. However, that was not Paul’s only objective. He put in a lot of effort, spent a lot of energy, and made a lot of fuss when it came to him preaching about his crown of righteousness. The things Paul said exposed his malicious nature, as well as hidden, dark things deep within himself. At the time, Paul made a big name for himself and there were many people who idolized him. He went around everywhere preaching these theories and high-sounding ideas, his notions and imaginings, as well as the things he had learned in his studies, and the things he had deduced using his mind. When Paul preached these things everywhere, how big of an impact must it have had on people back then, and how severely must it have harmed and poisoned them deep in their hearts? Also, how big of an impact has it had on the people in later generations who learned these things from his letters? People who have read his words cannot rid themselves of these things no matter how long they try—they have been poisoned too deeply! How deep? A phenomenon has appeared, called the “Paul Effect.” What is the Paul Effect? There is a phenomenon in religion where people are influenced by Paul’s thoughts, views, arguments, and the corrupt dispositions he revealed. It particularly affects people whose families have believed in God for several generations—families who have followed Christ for many decades. They say, “Our family has believed in the Lord for generations, and does not follow worldly trends. We have distanced ourselves from the secular world, and given up our families and careers to expend ourselves for God. Everything we do is the same as Paul did. If we do not receive crowns or get into heaven, we will have a bone to pick with God when He comes.” Don’t people make this argument? (Yes, they do.) And this trend is quite significant. Where does this trend come from? (From what Paul preached.) It is the malignant result of the tumor Paul planted. If Paul did not incite people like this, and did not always say, “There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” and “To me to live is Christ,” then without the backdrop of that era of history, people now would not have any knowledge of those things. Even if they had that way of thinking, they would not have Paul’s gall. It was all due to Paul’s encouragement and incitement. If there comes a day when they are not blessed, these people will have the boldness to openly challenge the Lord Jesus, and will even want to march up to the third heaven and dispute this matter with the Lord. Is this not the religious world revolting against the Lord Jesus? It is clear that the religious world has been severely impacted by Paul! Now that I have talked up to this point, you can conclude what Paul’s fifth sin was, can’t you? When it comes to summarizing the origin of the “crown of righteousness” Paul spoke of, the focus is on the word “righteousness.” Why did he mention “righteousness”? On earth, it was because he wanted to incite and mislead God’s chosen people, so they would think the way he did. In heaven, he wanted to force God’s hand with this word, and clamor against Him. This was Paul’s goal. Although he never vocalized this, the word “righteousness” already completely betrayed his goal and inclination to clamor against God. It was already out in the open; these are all facts. Based on these facts, can Paul’s nature essence be summed up just as being arrogant, self-righteous, deceitful, and not loving the truth? (No.) These terms cannot sum it up. By Me bringing up these facts and dissecting, analyzing, and defining them, you should be able to see Paul’s nature essence more clearly and thoroughly. This is the effect that is achieved by analyzing an essence based on the facts. When Paul clamored against God, he was not having a minor emotional moment, a bit of a rebellious disposition, or an inability to submit, in private. This was not an average problem of revealing a corrupt disposition; rather, it had escalated to openly using all sorts of methods to incite and mislead people through letters and in public settings, so that everyone rose up together in anger to oppose and clamor against God. Not only did Paul clamor against God, but he incited everyone else to come clamor against God too—he was not just arrogant, he was a devil!

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Identify the Nature Essence of Paul

Paul has another famous phrase—what is it? (“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).) He did not acknowledge the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the Lord Jesus Christ was the incarnate God living on earth, or the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was the embodiment of God. By contrast, Paul saw himself as Christ. Isn’t that revolting? (It is.) It is revolting, and the essence of this problem is very severe. In Paul’s mind, who exactly was Christ? What was His identity? How could Paul be so obsessed with being Christ? If, in Paul’s mind, Christ was an ordinary person with corrupt dispositions, or an insignificant person who played an unremarkable role, who had no power, no noble identity, and no abilities or skills that surpassed those of ordinary people, would Paul still want to be Christ? (No, he would not.) He certainly would not. He thought of himself as well-educated, and did not want to be an ordinary person, he wanted to be a superhuman, great man, and to surpass others—how could he wish to be a Christ that other people considered humble and insignificant? Given this, what status and role did Christ have in Paul’s heart? What identity and status must someone have, and what authority, power, and bearing must they display in order to be Christ? This exposes what Paul imagined Christ to be, and what he knew about Christ, that is, how he defined Christ. This is why Paul had the ambition and desire to be Christ. There is a certain reason why Paul wanted to be Christ, and it is partly revealed in his letters. Let us analyze several matters. When the Lord Jesus was performing work, He did some things which represented His identity as Christ. These things are symbols and concepts that Paul saw the identity of Christ as possessing. What things were these? (Performing signs and wonders.) Exactly. Those things were Christ healing people of their illnesses, casting out demons, and performing signs, wonders, and miracles. Even though Paul admitted that the Lord Jesus was Christ, it was just because of the signs and wonders that He performed. Therefore, when Paul spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus, he never talked about the words the Lord Jesus spoke, or what He preached. In the eyes of Paul, a disbeliever, the fact that Christ could say so many things, preach so much, perform so much work, and get so many people to follow Him, lent a certain honor to the Lord Jesus’ identity and status; He had limitless glory and nobleness, making the Lord Jesus’ status among men particularly great and distinguished. This is what Paul saw. From what the Lord Jesus Christ manifested and revealed while performing work, as well as His identity and essence, what Paul saw was not God’s essence, truth, way, or life, nor God’s loveliness or wisdom. What did Paul see? To use a modern turn of phrase, what he saw was the glitter of fame, and he wanted to be a fan of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus spoke or performed work, so many people listened—how glorious must that have been! This was something that Paul had long-awaited, he coveted the arrival of this moment. He longed for the day when he could preach without end like the Lord Jesus, who had so many people looking at Him in rapt attention, with admiration and longing in their eyes, wanting to follow Him. Paul was bowled over by the Lord Jesus’ impressive bearing. Actually, he was not truly bowled over by it; rather, he envied having an identity and bearing which people looked up to, paid attention to, idolized, and thought highly of. This is what he envied. So how could he achieve it? He did not believe the Lord Jesus Christ achieved these things through His essence and identity, but believed that it was because of His title. Therefore, Paul longed to be a personage, and to have a role, where he could bear the name of Christ. Paul put a lot of effort into getting himself into a role like that, didn’t he? (Yes.) What efforts did he go to? He preached all over the place, and even performed miracles. Ultimately, he used a phrase to define himself which satisfied his inner desires and ambitions. What phrase did he use to define himself? (“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”) To live is Christ. This is the main thing he wanted to accomplish; his chief desire was to be Christ. What connection does this desire have to his personal pursuits and the path he walked? (He revered power, and sought to have people look up to him.) This is a theory; you should speak about some facts. Paul manifested his desire to be Christ in practical ways; My definition of him is not just based on a single phrase that he said. From the style, methods, and principles of his actions, we can see that everything he did revolved around his goal of becoming Christ. This is the root and essence of why Paul said and did so many things. Paul wanted to be Christ, and this influenced his pursuits, his path in life, and his belief. In what ways was this influence manifested? (Paul showed off and testified to himself in all of his work and preaching.) This is one way; Paul showed off at every turn. He made it clear to people how he had suffered, how he did things, and what his intentions were, so that when people heard this, they thought he resembled Christ to a tee, and truly wanted to call him Christ. That was his goal. If people truly did call him Christ, would he have denied it? Would he have rejected it? (No, he would not.) He definitely would not have—he would certainly have been elated. This is one way the influence it had on his pursuits manifested. What other ways were there? (He wrote letters.) Yes, he wrote some letters so that they would be passed down through the ages. In his letters, work, and throughout the process of him shepherding churches, he never once mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ’s name, or did things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, or exalted the Lord Jesus Christ’s name. What negative effect did him always working and speaking in this way have? How did it influence those who followed the Lord Jesus? It made people deny the Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul took His place. He longed for people to ask, “Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? I’ve never heard of Him. We believe in Paul the Christ.” That way he would be happy. This was his goal, and one of the things he sought after. One way that influence manifested was the way he worked; he rambled on about hollow ideas, and talked endlessly about empty theories to make people see how capable and compelling he was in his work, how much he helped people, and that he had a certain bearing, as though the Lord Jesus Christ had reappeared. Another way that influence manifested was that he never exalted the Lord Jesus Christ, and he certainly did not exalt His name, nor did he testify to the Lord Jesus Christ’s words and work, or how people benefited from them. Did Paul preach sermons about how people should repent? He certainly didn’t do that. Paul never preached about the work the Lord Jesus Christ performed, the words He spoke, or all the truths He taught people—Paul denied these things in his heart. Not only did Paul deny the words the Lord Jesus Christ said and the truths He taught people, but he treated his own words, work, and teachings as the truth. He used these things to replace the words of the Lord Jesus, and made people practice and adhere to his words as though they were the truth. What prompted these manifestations and revelations? (His wish to be Christ.) They were prompted by his intention, desire, and ambition to be Christ. This was closely connected to his practice and pursuits. This is Paul’s sixth sin. Is it a serious one? (Yes, it is.) Actually, all of his sins are serious. They all spell death.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Identify the Nature Essence of Paul

Ever since being struck down, Paul believed that the Lord Jesus Christ existed, and that the Lord Jesus Christ was God. The God he believed in had instantly switched from God in heaven to the Lord Jesus Christ—it had switched to God on the earth. From that moment on, he could not refuse the Lord Jesus’ commission, and began to labor for the incarnate God—the Lord Jesus—unyieldingly. Of course, the goal of his laboring was partly to absolve him of his sins, but it was also partly to satisfy his desire to be blessed, and to obtain the destination he wanted. When Paul said “through the will of God,” did “God” refer to Jehovah or Jesus? He became a bit confused, and thought, “I believe in Jehovah, so why was I struck down by Jesus? Why didn’t Jehovah stop Jesus when He struck me down? Exactly which one of Them is God?” He couldn’t figure it out. Either way, he would never see the Lord Jesus as his God. Even if he acknowledged Him verbally, there was still doubt in his heart. As time went on, he gradually went back to believing that “only Jehovah is God,” so in all of Paul’s letters after that, when he wrote “through the will of God,” “God” likely referred mainly to Jehovah God. Because Paul never clearly stated that the Lord Jesus is Jehovah, always saw the Lord Jesus as God’s Son, referred to Him as the Son, and never said anything like “the Son and the Father are one,” it proves that Paul never recognized the Lord Jesus as the one true God; he was doubtful and only half believed it. Looking at this view he had of God, and his method of pursuit, Paul was not someone who pursued the truth. He never understood the mystery of incarnation, and never recognized the Lord Jesus as the one true God. From this, it’s not hard to tell that Paul was someone who worshiped power and was slippery and crafty. What does the fact that Paul worshiped wickedness, power, and status show us about what his belief was? Did he have true belief? (No.) He had no true belief, so did the God he defined in his heart actually exist? (No.) Then why did he still travel around, expend himself, and do work for the Lord Jesus Christ? (He was controlled by his intention to be blessed.) (He was afraid of being punished.) We have circled back to this point again. It was because he was afraid of being punished, and because he had a thorn in his flesh that he could not remove, so he always had to travel around and do work, lest the thorn in his flesh hurt more than he could bear. From these manifestations of his, from his words, his reaction to what happened on the road to Damascus, and the effect being struck down on the road to Damascus had on him after the fact, we can see that he had no belief in his heart; one can more or less be sure that he was a disbeliever and an atheist. His perspective was, “Whoever has power, in them I will believe. Whoever has power and can subdue me, for them I will run errands and do my utmost. Whoever can give me a destination, a crown, and satisfy my desire to be blessed, that is who I will follow. I will follow them to the end.” Who was the God in his heart? Anyone could be his God, so long as they were more powerful than him and could subdue him. Was this not Paul’s nature essence? (Yes.) So, who was the entity he eventually believed in who was capable of striking him down on the road to Damascus? (The Lord Jesus Christ.) “The Lord Jesus Christ” was the name he used, but the entity he really believed in was the God in his heart. Where is his God? If you were to ask him, “Where is your God? Is He in the heavens? Is He amongst all created things? Is He the One who is sovereign over all humankind?” he would say, “No, my God is on the road to Damascus.” That’s who his God really was. Is the reason Paul was able to go from persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ to working, expending himself, and even sacrificing his life for the Lord Jesus Christ—the reason he was able to make such a big turnabout—because there was a change in his belief? Was it because his conscience had awakened? (No.) Then what caused it? What changed? His psychological crutch changed. Before, his psychological crutch was in the heavens; it was an empty, vague thing. If it were replaced with Jesus Christ, Paul would think He was too insignificant—Jesus was just a regular person, He couldn’t be a psychological crutch—and Paul had even less regard for famous religious figures. Paul just wanted to find someone he could rely on, who was capable of subduing him and making him blessed. He thought that the entity he encountered on the road to Damascus was the mightiest, and that that was the one he should believe in. His psychological crutch changed at the same time as his belief changed. Based on this, did Paul truly believe in God or not? (No.) Let’s summarize, now, in one sentence what influenced Paul’s pursuits and the road he was on. (His psychological crutch.) Then, how should we define Paul’s seventh sin? In all respects, Paul’s belief was a psychological crutch; it was empty and vague. He was a disbeliever and an atheist through and through. Why didn’t an atheist and disbeliever like him leave the religious world behind? For one thing, in his vague imagination there was the issue of destination. For another, there was the issue of him having a meal ticket in life. Fame, gain, status, and a meal ticket were his pursuits in this life, and the idea of having a destination in the world to come was a comfort to him. These things constitute every root and crutch behind what people like this pursue and reveal, and of the path they walk. From this perspective, what was Paul? (A disbeliever. He believed in a vague God.) (An atheist.) It is accurate to say he was an atheist, and that he was a disbeliever and an opportunist who lurked in Christianity. If you just call him a Pharisee, isn’t that an understatement? If you look at the letters Paul wrote, and see that on the surface they say “through the will of God,” you might assume that Paul viewed the God in heaven as the highest, and that it was only because of people’s notions, or because they were ignorant and didn’t understand God, that they divided God into three levels: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that that is just man’s foolishness, and it is not a very serious problem, because the entire religious world thinks that way, too. However, now, after analyzing it is this the case? (No, it’s not.) Paul didn’t even acknowledge the existence of God. This is an atheist and a disbeliever, and he should be put under the same umbrella as atheists and nonbelievers.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Identify the Nature Essence of Paul

What was the nature essence of Paul? At the very least there is an item of wickedness. He frantically pursued knowledge and status, he pursued rewards and a crown, and he ran around, worked, and paid the price for that crown, without pursuing the truth at all. Moreover, over the course of his work, he never bore witness to the words of the Lord Jesus, nor did he bear witness that the Lord Jesus is Christ, is God, or is God incarnate, that the Lord Jesus represents God, and all the words He speaks are the words spoken by God. Paul couldn’t comprehend these things. So, what was the path Paul took? He stubbornly pursued knowledge and theology, defied the truth, refused to accept the truth, and used his gifts and knowledge to do work to manage, maintain, and stabilize his status. What was his final outcome? Maybe you can’t see from the outside what punishment he received before his death, or whether he had an abnormal manifestation, but his final outcome was different from Peter’s. What did this “difference” depend on? One thing is a person’s nature essence, and the other is the path that they take. Regarding Paul’s attitude and viewpoint toward the Lord Jesus, how was his resistance different from that of normal people? Also, what is the difference between Paul denying and rejecting the Lord, and Peter denying God’s name and failing to acknowledge the Lord three times out of weakness and fear? Paul used knowledge, learning, and his gifts to do his work. He did not practice the truth at all, nor did he follow God’s way. Therefore, could you see his weakness in the period he spent running around and working, or in his letters? You couldn’t, could you? Over and over he taught people what to do and encouraged people to pursue getting rewards, crowns, and a good destination. He had no experience, comprehension, or appreciation for practicing the truth. However, Peter was very low-key in his actions. He did not have those profound theories or letters that were too famous. He possessed some real comprehension and practice of the truth. Although he experienced weakness and corruption in his life, after many trials, the relationship he established with God was the relationship between man and God, which was completely different from Paul. Although Paul worked, nothing he did had anything to do with God. He did not bear testimony about God’s words, His work, His love, or His salvation of mankind, and even less about God’s intentions toward people or His demands. He even often told people that the Lord Jesus was the Son of God, which ultimately led to people viewing God as a Trinity. The term “Trinity” originated from Paul. If there is no such thing as “Father and Son,” can there be a “Trinity”? There cannot. Human imaginings are just too “rich.” If you can’t understand God’s incarnation, don’t pass verdicts blindly or make blind judgments. Just listen to the words of the Lord Jesus and treat Him as God, as God appearing in the flesh and becoming a human being. It’s more objective to treat it this way.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Seven: They Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful (Part Three)

After he had experienced the work of the Holy Spirit for so many years, the changes in Paul were close to non-existent. He still remained almost in his natural state, and he was still the Paul of before. It was merely that after enduring the hardship of many years of work, he had learned how to “work,” and had learned endurance, but his old nature—his highly competitive and mercenary nature—still remained. After working for so many years, he did not know his corrupt disposition, nor had he rid himself of his old disposition, and it was still clearly visible in his work. In him there was merely more work experience, but such little experience alone was incapable of changing him and could not alter his views about existence or the significance of his pursuit. Though he worked many years for Christ, and never again persecuted the Lord Jesus, in his heart there was no change in his knowledge of God. This means that he did not work in order to devote himself to God, but rather he was compelled to work for the sake of his future destination. For, in the beginning, he persecuted Christ, and did not submit to Christ; he was inherently a rebel who deliberately opposed Christ, and someone who had no knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit. When his work was almost concluded, still he did not know the work of the Holy Spirit, and merely acted of his own accord pursuant to his own character, without paying the slightest attention to the intentions of the Holy Spirit. And so his nature was in enmity to Christ and did not submit to the truth. Someone like this, who had been forsaken by the work of the Holy Spirit, who did not know the work of the Holy Spirit, and who also opposed Christ—how could such a person be saved? Whether or not man can be saved does not depend on how much work he does, or how much he devotes, but is instead determined by whether or not he knows the work of the Holy Spirit, whether or not he can put the truth into practice, and whether or not his views toward pursuit are in conformity with the truth.

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

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