Christ is the Mystery no 172
The Law of Adoption
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to
the good pleasure of his will,
Notice that before the
very foundations of the world when God was predestinating his children to the
adoption of children, he was at the time also predestinating His first born son
Jesus, to become the lamb slain before the foundations of the world. That's Revelation 13:8. So why was that
do you suppose?
Brother Branham taught
us, that the adoption of sons, the law of adoption was that when the first born son came of age,
and was found to be always about his fathers business, he was then taken up
before witnesses and the Father turned half of His Kingdom, over to that first
born son, and that made the son co equal with his father in all things.
Abraham and his seed after him 61-0423 P:53
Well, now if this son is a good son, then one day we have
what we call in the Scripture in the Old Testament, a placing of a son. Or it's
called sometimes, "the law of adoption." Now, this same son that
was born into the family, His name's no good on the check. We call it like
that. His name's no good out there yet. He's never had the law of
adoption done to him yet. But when it comes to the time for the law of
adoption, the father takes his son out into a public place, and sets him up
on a place, and dresses him in a certain robe, and performs what's knowed as
the placing of a son, or the law of adoption. And now, when this son is
adopted into his own family, from then on, this son is given power. He's
gifted, then his name's just as good as father's is on
the check, because he's the boss. He's over the straw bosses. God gives him
things that none of straw bosses knowed nothing about, because he's a son.
That's right.
Desperation 63-0901E P:57
Pentecost, there's where you failed. You thought because you
were borned of the Spirit, borned of the Spirit of God, the birthright,
that settled it. But it only starts it. You remember in the
message of "Hear Ye Him," how that the child, after it was born in
the family, become a son. It had rights to the birthright, but it had to be
proven, child-trained. And then, if it did not prove out to be an obedient
child to the father's will, then it must be... Well, it did not become heir. It
heired nothing, yet it was a son. But
he heired nothing, if he wasn't interested in the
father's work. And so, when the Holy Ghost fell upon the Pentecostal
people and begin to restore back the gifts and things that was in the church,
they thought because they were born in the Spirit, that settled it. But you see, there's a placing of a son. And after this son
proved to be a real son, then he was taken in a public place, and then was set
up, and changed robes, and set up there, and then there was a placing of the
son that he had heir of everything the father had.
Hear ye Him 58-0209A P:23
a child was born into that kingdom, he was a son as soon as
he was born. He would be heir of all the father had if his character
was right, but first his character had to be proved. Now, you ministers
know where I'm going to; it's the placing of a son. Now, but if his character
didn't show up right; he didn't inherit anything; he was just a son. So then,
the father, in order to get this great son of his who he loved... He had
business to be doing, so he got a tutor, trainer, over his children. And he
sought through the places till he found the best man he could find, because his
son's education, and the future of his son, depended on what kind of a training that child got. And that's the way it is today in
the Kingdom of God, that when we're born in the Kingdom of God, God
sought out the best Tutor that He could find for the Church, and that was the
Holy Spirit.
Galatians
4:1 Now I say, That the
heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing
from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is
under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
But notice when we were being predestined to the
adoption of sons, Jesus who according to the Apostle Paul in Romans
Because according to the law of adoption when the first born son
reached the place of maturity and had been proven to be always about his
fathers business, he was taken up and adopted and he received half of the
Father's estate or kingdom. But the rest of the children did not receive their
inheritance until the father died. But we have a problem here because we have a
Father who is the only Immortal King, which means he can not die. So when Jesus
was adopted on
Just think of that. His
death was necessary for us to receive inheritance from our Father who could
never die. And so the fifty percent that was given to the first born son,
making him co equal with the father was now made available to the rest of the
children. Had Jesus not gone to
The Bible says. No greater love is there than a man lay down his life for the
brethren. When he could have had fifty percent of the Kingdom for himself,
he chose to share it with the rest of his brothers and sisters. Why? Because Eternal Life is living for
others.
Now, the law of adoption begins with our new birth,
and lasts until we get our body change. So once you have received the Holy
Ghost then you are put to the test to see what character will produce itself in you. And once we received our glorified bodies,
our new cloak so to speak, our trials and testing will be over. So our entire
pilgrimage here on this earth is to do one thing, to receive the Spirit of adoption and produce in us the
character of the first born son.
Paul said we are to put
on Christ. And when Jacob wanted the blessing of the first born, he put on Esau
in every way. He put hair on his arms to feel like Esau, he dressed in Esau's
clothing to smell like Esau. He did the works of Esau in making the pottage for
his Father, and He came in Esau's name. And so we too must put on the firstborn
son to receive the blessing of the first born from our Father.
And so the study of the Law of adoption is a very beautiful one,
but there is also the trail of adoption
that we must understand as well because every son that cometh to God must first
be tried and tested. And in this trail of
adoption we must all come through the testing as we see so many
throughout the Scriptures go through.
Joseph was an obedient
son who was always about his fathers business, and therefore he was positionally placed in the family and given a role in the
family before any of his older brothers. He was the first responsible son, so
he was placed in the family and given a role by hi father to do. His Father
gave him a coat of many colors, and he was placed. The other brothers became
jealous because the Father did this for him, and they persecuted him as a result.
But God blessed him and showed him in dreams what his role would one day grow
into. And when he spoke of the dreams, the brothers hated him even more. And
that is the way with all sons. God shows you what he wants for you to do, but
since he is only showing you, the brothers do not accept it because they never
heard from God what you are supposed to do, right?
Well, according to the law of adoption that is the Fathers
business, and it is not the business of the brothers to place each other. So when the Father placed Joseph it caused a jealousy among his
brethren, and so with every son comes those same trials. But notice that
Joseph when he came through all his trials, during them they produced a
character in him that he could see God's plan made manifest in his life. And
when the brothers came to him, he resented them not, but forgave them.
And I have learned one
thing through these studies, and that is although those brothers hated Joseph,
although they wanted him dead. yet they will be in the
New Jerusalem. And although the apostles
did not cooperate with Paul, and all men forsook him, yet the twelve Apostles will
all be there in the new Jerusalem.
So as we study tonight
this wonderful thing God is doing for his children, in giving them the Spirit of Adoption, in answer to the law of adoption, I would like to show the
nature, and the character that we are to learn in how to deal with those trials
thrown our way along this trail to adoption.
Now,
in order to see this let's read from the book of Romans
chapter 8. In studying Romans 8
we must understand that when Paul speaks of flesh, he is not speaking of skin,
or of the body, but he is speaking self. It is all too easy to read the word
flesh, and think or others, but when we use the word self, it speaks to the
individual personally.
In Romans 1 the Apostle Paul tells us he is
addressing "all who are called to be saints".
So let's begin to read
from Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, (that means self, who walk not after self)
but after the Spirit.
Adoption or placing 60-0522E P:34 So there's no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, that walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. And if you do anything wrong, it isn't willfully. You don't
sin willfully. A man that sins willfully, goes
out and willfully sins, never come into that Body yet. But a man
that's once in there, he's dead, and his life is hid in God through Christ,
sealed by the Holy Ghost, and the devil can't even find him; he's so far back
in there. He would have to come out of there before the devil can ever get in, for
you are dead.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Now, what Paul is talking about here is that we are
first taught in Genesis
Spoken word original seed 62-0318M P:180 "Then the works will be manifested in
Him are the same, for it is the same Seed Word of God. God's Son
was His example Seed. And what His Life was when the Spirit poured upon
Him after His baptism and the Holy Ghost come upon Him, the very Life that
He produced will, that same watering Spirit of the Holy Ghost will bring
forth the same kind of a Life, doing the same thing that He did;
if it's the same Seed. Son of God Seed will bring forth a Son of
God Seed."
Now, that is John 14:12, whoever believes in me, the works that I do you
shall do also.
And brother Branham
taught us in his message, Who is this 59-1004M
P:48 No man
can call Jesus the Christ, only by the Holy Spirit. You say, "I
believe It because the Word said so." That's
true. But the Word says that no man can say Jesus is Christ, until you
have received the Holy Ghost. No man can call Jesus the Christ, only by
the Holy Ghost.
And to go one step
further, the Bible and the only man God vindicated in this hour, taught us that
no man can understand the things of God unless you have been born of the Spirit
of God.
1 Corinthians
Key to
the door 62-1007 P:68 Now, when He went away, He said, "It's
expedient for Me that I go away. For, if I go not away, the Holy Ghost will not
come." See? Then when He comes, He will reprove the world of sin, and
teach righteousness, and show you things to come; that's visions. "He'll
take the things that I've taught to you, and reveal them to you." The very
Words that He's come... No man can understand the Word outside the baptism
of the Holy Ghost. And when a man says he's got the baptism of the Holy
Ghost, and disputes the Word being right, there's something wrong.
So unless you have the Spirit of God in you, how can
you know the things of God. How can you even
understand this Message? You can't.
Notice the Apostle Paul continues in verse 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things
that are freely given to us of God.
That we might know, In other words you have to have the Spirit of God in
you in order to know or understand the things of God. And there is no way
around that. That is Scripture, and that is what a vindicated prophet taught
us.
Now, the Apostle John taught us in 1 John
So we see that you must
be born again in order to understand this Message, and what the Word of God
manifested in this day is all about.
Now, back to Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it
was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law (and this
word righteousness comes from the old English words "right wise-ness", which is having a correct understanding) That the right-wiseness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
And notice he said fulfilled In
us who walk not after self, (who are not self centered)
but (who walk) after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after self do mind the things of self; but they
that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Now, doesn't that make sense? If you are focused on
self you will mind the things of self, but if you are focused on the Spirit of
Christ living in you, then you will pay attention to the leading of the Holy
Spirit in you.
6 For to
be carnally minded is death; (to be self centered is death) but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because
the carnal mind (the mind that is focused on self) is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be.
How can a self absorbed person be pleasing to God, you
can't do it, and the very nature of being focused on self denies you being
focused on Him.
8 So then they that are into self cannot
please God. 9 But ye are not into self but in the Spirit, if so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Now, we know brother
Branham said eternal life is living for others.
And if you are living for others how can you be living for self?
If you are focused on Christ and Living for the brethren, the Children of God,
how can you then be focused on self? You can't.
Brother Branham gave
us the example of what a Christian in this day and age is to live like, and he
denied self, evening denying his own family to help the children of God that
were in greater need.
10 And if Christ be
in you, the body is dead because of sin;
but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness.
Is not this also what Paul told us in Colossians 3:3 where he said, "For ye are dead, and your
life is hid with Christ in God."
And if you
are dead then you must bury the old you.
Paul said in Romans 6:4 Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.
No where in the world would any government allow its
people who are not dead to be buried alive. Then why do we find among Christian
churches today, where they knowingly will bury a person in baptism who has not shown themselves to be dead to self.
Just a thought for you
to think about the next time you see a sinner go down dry and come up a wet
sinner.
But The Apostle Paul tells us in
verse 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken (made alive) your
mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. And that is
not your body that is in the grave. A mortal body is one which is able to die,
not one that has already died. That's a cadaver. A mortal body is this body you
live in, and the Spirit of Christ living in this body will make it alive to the
things of God. No longer just going through the motions of
religious obligation, but a heart on fire for the things of God.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the self, to live after self. 13 For
if ye live after self, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Position in Christ 60-0522M P:83 For ye haven't received the spirit of
bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of a... [Congregation
says "adoption"--Ed.]Now, after you're adopted, all right, after
you're adopted, you're placed; then you understand, after the ceremony's said and you've been put into the Body correctly.
You're a son, sure, a daughter; when you're borned again you're... That's your
birth. But now you're positionally placed.
We've not received the spirit of fear...; but we have received the Spirit--we
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Which means, "my God." All
right.)The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit,
that we're--we're children of God: How does it do it? You say,
"Glory to God. Hallelujah. It don't bother me; I'm a child of God,"
and go out and do the things you do? The Spirit of God will do the works of
God. Jesus said, "He that believeth on Me, the
works that I do shall he do also." See, see?
You know brother Branham preached 3 sermons on
Adoption, and 17 sermons called "Hear Ye
Him" which he speaks mainly about the Spirit of Adoption
and then about a dozen more sermons where he dealt specifically about the
Spirit of adoption and placing of sons and he said "Hear ye Him" was his most requested
sermon.
And here in Romans 8
we hear the Apostle Paul tells us that if we are not into self, if we have died
to self, if we have been made anew in Christ, if Christ's Spirit is dwelling in
us, then we have the spirit of Adoption,
and without that spirit of adoption we have no inheritance.
Water of separation 55-0121
P:10 You've got to die to every thought of the flesh so that you can receive the mind of
Christ and walk from henceforth, not of your own, but of His mind: the mind
of Christ in you. That's the only way you can stay alive. That's the only
way I can stay alive. That's all I live by, is by the Holy Spirit.
And then in the next verse Paul tells us 16 The Spirit
itself God's Spirit beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Now, how does God's
Spirit bear witness with your Spirit? By doing in you the same things he did in
Christ Jesus His first born son. His eldest son in a vast
family of brothers.
Who is this 59-1122 P:16
A person come to me recently and said, "Brother
Branham, do you really think it's wrong for a man to smoke cigarettes as a
Christian?" I said, "Why did you ask me? That proves that you're
condemned or you wouldn't have asked the question." If there is a
question in your mind, get away from it. You cannot walk by faith with a
question mark in your mind. If you're a Baptist and got a question mark,
Pentecostal, got a question mark, Presbyterian with a question mark, get that
question mark out of the way. Know Him, then there's no question to it;
you know you've passed from death unto Life, because you know Him. His
Spirit dwells in you; you take His nature; His Word is alive in you; everything
He said is "Amen." You'll not say, "The days of miracles is
past, and no such a thing as Divine healing," with the Spirit of the
living God Who wrote the Bible in you. You can't do it.
He will vindicate Himself. Then when you see such things going on, you'll
not criticize that, you'll glorify God, because the very Spirit that wrote
them and is performing them will bear witness of them. That's the Spirit of
the church of the living God, the living God living in the living church.
And they are dead to sin and trespasses, and have been awakening in His
likeness and moved by His Spirit. Therefore, no matter what denomination
you go to, if you are borned of His Spirit you have His nature in you.
And in his sermon, Testimony of a True Witness brother Branham said
in speaking of the Holy Ghost in you, he said he's, "a witness inside of you, bearing record of the
resurrection of Christ, and to the Word of God."
In other words, God's Spirit in you bears witness with
your spirit that you are children of God, that you are seed of God, that you
are life of His Life, nature of His nature. Every seed after it's kind, because
as Jesus said, Whoever believes in me the things I do shall he do also, and so
you will think like Christ, and speak like Christ, and do the things that
Christ did, and you will live like Christ, because the very nature of Christ is
living in you, and you don't even have to try, it's just so natural to you
because it's not you doing, but as the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to
do of his good pleasure.
Hebrews 13:21 Now the
God of peace, Make you
perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
So it is God who is working in us both to will and to
do.
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,
that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in
us.
Let me just stop here and make a
comment on this word "glory"
that we see so often in Scripture. did you know that
is was translated as the word "glory" from the Greek
word "doxa".
And when we think in English terms of the word glory we think in terms of some
outstanding light, or honor, But did you know this
word Glory was actually translated from a Greek word "doxa"
which means, the opinion, the vales and the judgment of".
So
when we hear Jesus tells us in his prayer to the Father in John
In
other words, he is saying, Father, the opinions, the values and the judgments
you have given me I have given them that they may be one as you and I are one.
Brother Branham said in his message, Harvest Time 641212 87 34 Jesus said, "That they might be one, Father, as You
and I are one." Not for some man to be over something,
it never will work; one denomination wants to take over the other, and one man
over the other. But that you might be one with God, like Christ and God was
one; that's what the prayer is. He was the Word, and Jesus
prayed that we might be the Word, reflecting Him. That's His prayer to be
answered. See how Satan scruples it up in the carnal mind? But that wasn't
Jesus' prayer, at all, that we might all congregate together and all have a
certain creed and so forth. Every time they do it, they go further and further
from God. He wants us to be one with God, and God is the Word. Each
individual in his heart must be that one with God
It wasn't so from the beginning 62-0630B P:13 Now, we take our Lord. When He was here He
did not claim to do miracles. He said it was the Father, God,
that dwelt in Him, and He was... He expressed God through Himself.
God, in otherwise, built Himself a body that He lived in Himself. God came down, was manifested in flesh in Christ. And it was not
Jesus, the body, the Son of God; it was the God of glory in the Son of God,
showing the glory of God (You see?), through Himself: the God of glory
manifesting the glory of God. And in Him... God
dwelt in Him, and He reflected God. Now, that's the
way each of we ministers do. We reflect God, as God is in us. And then
that's the only way that God can move, and people can see God, is through
we, His servants. That's how... People won't read a Bible, but they'll read
you. See? And so you reflect Christ. Your walks, your talks, your
actions all reflect Christ.
Identification 64-0216 P:27
God reflected in a Man called Christ. He was only One that could do this. There was no other character in
heaven could do it. See? It was God. He was the sinless nature. He was the
Word, sinless nature of God. He was the Word expressed, which the Word was the
beginning. And if you are in the Lamb's Book of Life, you was
God's expression from His thought. He seen you, and seen your desire,
before there even was a atom or anything else. And you're
His thought made word and expressed into what you are now. Amen. That's God
in you reflecting Christ. You know what I mean?
Images of Christ 59-0525 P:25 But that's the man that's reflecting Christ
in his life, a man who is humble. A man who will walk with God will act like
Jesus.
Then after the Apostle
Paul speaks of our sonship, the spirit of adoption, and our being joint heirs
with Christ, because we have the same Spirit living in us that raised him from
the dead, then he says, 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature
waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.
And you know, you can't expect the sons of God to manifest son of God
expression any differently than the first born son of God did.
And how did Jesus manifest that He was God's beloved
first born son? Because he always wanted to please the
father. He said, the son can do nothing
but what the Father shows me first. And this same Apostle
Paul said, Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the
things which he suffered;
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity,
not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the
same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself
also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God.
22 For
we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth
in pain together until now. 23 And
not only they, but ourselves also, which have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope:
but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth
he yet hope for? 25 But
if we hope for that we see not, then do we with
patience wait for it. 26 Likewise the
Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know
not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because
he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God. 28 And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose.
Now, here is where I
would like to get to in this sermon this evening. Paul says here in verse 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (the Wuest
translation says, "that he might be the firstborn in a vast family of
brethren.)
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
There's that word
glorified again. We are predestinated to be conformed to the very image of
Christ, and we are to glorified with him.
We see Paul say the same thing again in 2 Thessalonians
Notice, he says when he shall come to be glorified in
his saints. Glorified in, and this word was translated from the Greek word "endoxazo".
en means in, doxa is the opinons, the estimation which is actually the values, and
the judgments of God and the word azo comes from the
root word zoe, which means in the very life of. So we see he
tells us in that day when He (Christ) comes to magnify his opinion, his values,
and his judgments in who believe Paul's testimony. And did not brother Branham
say, I only preached what Paul preached, and the people said,
we are resting on that. And I am too.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?32 He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely
give us all things?33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of
God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.34 Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.35 Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As
it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.37 Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.38 For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,39 Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us bow our heads in prayer