What is dispositional change?
Relevant Words of God:
What is the transformation of disposition? You must be a lover of truth, accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s word as you experience His work, and experience all kinds of suffering and refining, through which you are purified of the satanic poisons within you. This is the transformation in disposition. … The transformation in disposition means that a person, because he loves and can accept the truth, finally comes to know his disobedient and God-resisting nature; he understands that the corruption of man is too deep and understands man’s absurdness and deceitfulness.He knows man’s poorness and pitifulness, and finally understands man’s nature and essence. Knowing all this, he can deny and forsake himself completely, live by God’s word, and practice the truth in everything. Such a person knows God and has his disposition transformed.
from “How to Know Man’s Nature” in Records of Christ’s Talks
A transformation in disposition mainly refers to a transformation in your nature. Nature is not something you can see from outside behaviors; nature directly involves the worth and significance of people’s existence. It directly involves the values of human life, the things deep within the soul, and the essence of people. If people couldn’t accept the truth, then they would have no transformations in these aspects. Only if people have experienced God’s work and have fully entered into the truth, changed their values and outlooks on existence and life, viewed things the same way as God, and become capable of completely submitting and devoting themselves to God can their dispositions be said to have changed.
from “What You Should Know About Transforming Your Disposition” in Records of Christ’s Talks
What is nature? It is the substance of man. Disposition is the things that come out of people’s nature, and changes in disposition mean that your original, corrupt things will never appear again, and will be replaced with the truth. It is not the things at the root of nature that have changed, but the corrupt things that are revealed. The things of people’s dispositions that are revealed in their nature have changed. People have been corrupted by Satan, and have become Satan, they have become things that oppose God, and they are capable of the complete betrayal of God. Why is it asked that people’s dispositions change? In people who are finally made complete there is added much of the knowledge of God, and much that corresponds with God’s will. In the past, when people had a corrupt disposition, everything they did was wrong, it was all in opposition to God. Now they have the truth, they are able to do much that corresponds with God’s will—but that is not to say they do not betray God; they are still capable of betraying God. It is possible to change part of that which is revealed by people’s nature, and the part that is changed is the part of you that is capable of practicing according to the truth, but being able to put the truth into practice today does not mean that your nature has changed. … So what does changing refer to? When you understand God’s will, you will be able to obey. If you do not understand God’s will, you will still act according to your own wishes, you will still believe that you are after God’s own heart; this is betrayal, and the things within your nature. Of course, there are no limits to changes in disposition. The more truths that are gained—which is also to say, the deeper your knowledge of God—the less you will oppose God and betray Him. Pursuit of changes in disposition is mainly resolved by pursuit of the truth. Knowledge of the substance of people’s nature is also achieved by understanding the truth. When people have truly gained the truth, all problems are solved.
from “People Make Too Many Demands of God” in Records of Christ’s Talks
The Man’s Fellowship:
Change in life disposition can be summarized as a process, from resisting God and betraying God to finally becoming obedient to God, being loyal to God, and worshiping God. When people become able to be obedient to God, able to worship God, at this time they have truth and have humanity. This kind of person is someone who has changed in life disposition. We now see clearly the process of the change of life disposition; it is in fact the process of entering the truth, it is the process of obtaining the truth, it is the process of accepting the truth as life, and it is also the process of man knowing God. A person with true knowledge of God, a person whose heart is completely held by God, who can love God, who can be loyal to God, doing everything to satisfy God, and can be of one heart and mind with God; this kind of person is someone obtained by God. Now man’s heart cannot love God, cannot be obedient to God, proving that man’s heart is still held by Satan, and also that man’s heart is still controlled by Satan’s poison and Satan’s philosophy. When man has obtained all the truth that he should possess, when he has accepted it all in his heart, he will obtain a new life. When man obtains the new life, obedience to God, love for God, and worship of God will follow; at this time a person’s life disposition will have completely changed. The process of changing one’s life disposition is also the process of renewal of one’s life disposition. Originally Satan’s life, Satan’s poisons made man’s nature; now, these things are crumbled by all of the truth that man has accepted. Man’s heart is possessed by the truth, the truth has become the master of the heart, man’s life disposition is then renewed; originally man’s heart was controlled by Satan, now it is possessed by God’s words, possessed by God. The master that controls man’s heart has changed, the disposition expressed in life also follows suit and changes; the change of life disposition is like this. When Satan originally held power within you, you would be obedient to Satan, you would satisfy Satan, and all was done according to Satan. Today the truth holds power within you; you obey the truth, and satisfy God. The process for God to obtain man is like this: Originally for you to love Satan was very easy, and to love God was hard; now there is the truth inside of you, now you love the truth, and to love God is now easy, and when asked to love Satan, whatever is said to persuade you, you would not do it. Thus, once the truth holds power in man, man thoroughly changes, and becomes a new person. So it can be said that a person’s life disposition is changed mainly by pursuing the truth and obtaining the truth.
from “What Dispositional Change Is and the Four Processes of Dispositional Change” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (IV)
What are the criteria for achieving real change in a person’s life disposition? The following criteria can be used to measure this. First, when God subjects a person to deprivation of the greatest extent, if they do not revolt or rebel and are willing to satisfy God, then this kind of person is really not rebellious. Furthermore, when God prohibits a person’s right to be blessed by Him, prohibits their entitlement to be blessed by Him, if they do not rebel and are still able to obey, still able to be grateful to God and praise Him, it shows that the life disposition of this person has changed, has really changed. Another criterion is that when God deals with a person harshly, punishes them, and even expels them, this person is still able to obey God’s arrangements. They do not complain to God although their heart aches, they think that what God does is right, and they are willing to obey, which again shows that the life disposition of this person has indeed changed. Suppose this person does something without making any mistakes and yet God still curses them and abandons them. When the person receives this kind of unreasonable and unfair treatment, when they suffer this unfair treatment, they are still able to obey God without complaining, saying: “God is the Almighty God, He can do no wrong, I am willing to obey, even if I die I will still not complain.” If a person can obey God to this extent, do you think they are still rebelling or resisting? No! If a person still rebels, what does this prove? It proves that the life disposition inside them has not completely changed. They have not really substantially changed because they are still able to rebel against God, they are still able to complain about God, still able to resist God. This shows that their life disposition has not changed too much, it has not changed substantially or it has changed very little.
from “One Who Believes in God Must Understand the Truth and Pursue the Truth” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)
No comments:
Post a Comment