The Benefits of the Son of God to us no. 5

He that echoes the Son echoes Life

Sunday, August 1, 2004

Rev. Brian Kocourek

 

 

Prayer. 

 

If we would open our Bibles to 1 John chapter 5 and verse 12 to take our text for the message this morning.

 

1 John Chapter  5  Verse 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.  May the Lord add His blessings to His word. You may be seated.

 

This morning we will continue in our mini series concerning the benefits of the Revelation of the Doctrine of Christ. This will be number five in our series and today we will speak from our text which read, He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

 

This is quite a statement that the apostle John has given to us. And since we believe that the word of God is God breathed, then these words were not the words of john, but rather the Words of God given to us through God’s servant John.

 

Now, our studies concerning the benefits we receive by and through the Son of God, has its inception from those very strong and notable words that we found concerning the Doctrine of Christ which we find in 2 John 9.  Because here we find very strong language concerning the doctrine of Christ that says,  Whosoever  transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

 

Now, John is speaking to us here concerning two types of people, or shall we say twins, and he is contrasting to us the difference between these two different people.

 

First of all he speaks of those who would transgress and not abide in the doctrine. Now, the word transgress used in this verse of Scripture was translated from the Greek word para-baino which is made from two words coming together. The word para speaks of location, proximity, or vicinity. And the word Baino means to walk or keep pace. Placed together it speaks of not keeping pace with,  or going beyond the limits.

 

Therefore we can read this verse as Whosoever does not keep pace with, or goes beyond the limits of  the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

 

So we see the comparison John is speaking of here has to do with those who would abide in which means to remain in, verses those who will not keep pace with and thus will not abide in or remain in, and thus go beyond the limits of the doctrine of Christ. And then he tells us that those who will not keep pace with or remain in the doctrine of Christ do hath not God, while those who remain in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

 

It is this word hath that I wish to examine here this morning because we find this word hath used in both our text, and this most important scripture of 2 John 9 concerning the doctrine of Christ. And once you understand what this word hath means you will understand that the same thing is being spoken of here in both of these Scripture, showing the consistency of the Word of God.

 

In examining this word “hath” we find the word was translated from the Greek word “echo” and is used over 600 times throughout the Scriptures. The Greek word “echo” has various application of usage, including “to have” or “to hold”, both usages showing possession or relationship,  and so we can see that the root meaning of this word speaks of relationship, whether directly or remotely, and thus the main strength of usage concerning this word has to do with continuity of relationship.

 

Now the word continuity means 1. The state or quality of being continuous. 2. An uninterrupted succession or flow; a coherent whole. 3. a. A detailed script or scenario consulted to avoid discrepancies from shot to shot in a film.

 

And as you can see all these descriptive meanings show the attributes of what an “echo” really is. The purpose of an “echo” then, is to bring about continuity, an uninterrupted succession, or flow, so to speak,  to avoid discrepancies from shot to shot or from voice to voice, if we are to be more scripturally accurate.

 

Thus you can see that an echo will keep the continuity of thought and speech, because an echo not only will say the same thing, but will bring forth the same inflections, and dynamics of the original speech time and time again as it proceeds forth in its course of life.  Thus the Spoken Word we know is the Original Seed,  and as a seed is subject to the commands of God concerning all seeds, that He spoke in Genesis 1:11, that “every seed must bring forth after its kind” or nature.  

 

Thus in each seed that comes forth from the original seed, there must be an ability to echo or repeat what that seed is. And if the Original Spoken Word is a Seed, then that spoken Word Seed must bring forth after its kind.  Thus an ability to echo will guarantee the continuity that each time that Word is repeated it will not only say the same thing, but the same thought as the original will be behind it, because the expression or dynamics of that word will be the same from generation to generation as it repeats itself over and over again, and the repetition being reflected from echo to echo, will carry along with it the same expression and dynamics, and will sound exactly as the original seed sounded.   

 

Years ago I heard brother vayle preach a message called the Omega Reflection, and in it he spoke about when Moses came down from the mountain and his face were aglow from the presence of the Lord. And the people made him put a veil over his face because they were afraid of his face glowing from the shekinah glory of God. And Br. Vayle went on to speak of how the Prophet is in ddirect line with the Light or pillar of fire and as he reflects if we would stand there in that same light, pretty soon we would reflect ourselves that same light.

 

Now, this is a very good thought and it has inspired my studies throughout the past 20 years.

 

Church Age Book  Chapter 4 - The Smyrnaean Church Age P:140 In every age we have exactly the same pattern. That is why the light comes through some God-given messenger in a certain area, and then from that messenger there spreads the light through the ministry of others who have been faithfully taught. But of course all those who go out don't always learn how necessary it is to speak ONLY what the messenger has spoken. (Remember, Paul warned the people to say only what he said, I Corinthians 14:37, "If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD. What? came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?") They add here, or take away there, and soon the message is no longer pure, and the revival dies down. How careful we must be to hear ONE voice, for the Spirit has but one voice which is the voice of God. Paul warned them to say what he said, even as Peter did likewise. He warned them that EVEN HE (PAUL) could not change one word of what he had given by revelation. Oh, how important it is to hear the voice of God by way of His messengers, and then say what has been given them to say to the churches.

 

And that is a true echo. To say what has been said in the same way that it was said.

 

Now that we know what the Greek word is that was translated for the word hath, let’s read the two verses of Scripture over again and see how our understanding changes as we read them.

 

2 John 9.  Because here we find very strong language concerning the doctrine of Christ that says,  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

 

Now, again let’s plug in our understanding of what this Scripture is saying, and use the actual wording that best fits this Scripture.

 

Whosoever does not keep pace with, or goes beyond the limits of  the  doctrine of Christ, echoes not God. And why is that? Because if you do not keep pace with then you are either speeding up or slowing down, and an echo can not speed up nor can it slow down, it must say it just like it was said. That is why Brother Branham said, say it like the tapes say it. Because he was saying it on those tapes just like God said it. And John continues,  He that abideth (which means to remain) in the doctrine of Christ, he echoes both the Father and the Son.

 

Now, let’s examine this in light with our text verse this morning. 1 John 5:12 He that hath (he that echoes) the Son hath (echoes) life; and he that hath not (that means he that can not echo) the Son of God hath not life (or can not echo life).   

 

Then if you can not echo the son you can not echo Life itself, and God is Life. For you see when Jesus came he said, “It is written in the volume of the Book, I have come to do thy will o God”, and Jesus also said, in St. John 5:19 and 30, “The son can of himself do nothing, but whatsoever the Son seeth the Father do, that the son doeth likewise.” And he also said, “My doctrine is not mine but the Father s that sent me.”  And he said, the things I teach, the father commanded me what to say, and that is what I teach.”

 

And so we see that the Son of God reflected or echoed the Father in every detail, and thus he that can echo the son will echo Life for God is Life. And he that will remain in the Doctrine of Christ will echo both then, the Father and the Son. For if Jesus echoed the Father and we echo Jesus then we also will echo the father. For an echo is not a one time event, but happens over and over again. Thus Jesus the first fruit was the first repeat of the Father to us, and as we catch the vision, and are conformed to the image of the Son, that’s Romans 8, then we also will do nothing unless the father show us first, and what we teach are the commandments from the Father, given to us through the first echo of  His Son, and thus as we echo them to others, they are repeated again and again and again, showing the word is Living and abiding in us.

 

Just like your heart pumping shows you are alive, so to your echoing the Word of God again and again shows you have been made alive in Christ. And notice as in the natural the heart pumping the blood (which the life is in the blood), and thus the pumping of the heart is the evidence that you are alive in the natural, so too in the spiritual, whereas the heart represents our understanding, then thus as the understanding echoes the Word of God again and again, it is an evident token that you have been made alive in Christ, and the life that was in the Father and given to His Son is hath quickened you and you are alive showing that he and His Life is the same yesterday, today and forever..

 

That is why Paul could say in Galatians Chapter  2  and Verse 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. In other words, Paul is saying, Since I was crucified with Christ, I am living by His Faith, His Revelation, and thus as a result the Life by which He lived, I too am living. And thus we wee the Life which was in the Father being passed along to His Son and then on to Sons.

 

And so we see that whosoever is of such a nature as to be able to echo the Son of God will also echo the Father who is Life.

 

Let’s look at this word “hath” again in reference to the effect it has upon those who possess the ability to echo verses those who can not.

 

Matthew Chapter  13  Verse 12 For whosoever hath, (whosoever echoes, or is of such a nature as to be able to echo) to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: (and why is that? Because the very nature of an echo is to have more and more and more of the same)but whosoever hath not, (whosoever is not of such a nature as to be able to echo) from him shall be taken away even that he hath (is able to repeat).

 

Now, the term Hath Life is used 23 times in the new testament, but in my examining each usage of the tern “hath Life” I found that the word hath was not always translated from the Greek Word echo. And to my amazement, the only times it was not taken from the word echo is when it referred to something God did. And why is that? Because God does not echo? His Spoken Word is the Original, it is not an echo. But each time that Word reflects from one to the next, it is echoing. Therefore, the source of Life does not echo, but we echo what He said.

 

Notice in 1 John Chapter  3  Verse 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. That word hath is echo. So we see that no murderer can echo life.

 

But as we examine 1 John Chapter  5  Verse 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. But here we do not see the word echo used. The Word hath there is an interpolation and is not in the original Greek. Simply put, Not God hath given, but God gave to us eternal Life.

 

We have already seen the usage in this verse. 1 John Chapter  5  Verse 12 He that hath(echoes) the Son hath (echoes) life; and he that hath (echoes) not the Son of God hath (echoes) not life.

 

Acts Chapter  11  Verse 18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.  Now, the Greek word that the word hath was translated from was not echo but didomi which means to give, thus then God gave to the Gentiles, but no where here does it say that God echoes.

 

John Chapter  15  Verse 13 Greater love hath (echoes)no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

John Chapter  3  Verse 36 He that believeth on the Son hath (echoes) everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

 

John Chapter  5  Verse 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath (echoes) everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

 

John Chapter  5  Verse 26 For as the Father hath (echoes) life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

 

John Chapter  6  Verse 47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath (echoes) everlasting life.

 

John Chapter  6  Verse 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath (echoes) eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

 

Revelation Chapter  2  Verse 7 He that hath an ear, (echoes, he that is of such a nature as to be able to hear and thus echo) let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 

John Chapter  20  Verse 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have (echo) life through his name.

 

John Chapter  5  Verse 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.