Christ is the Mystery no 183
Your Character is your Life Expressed
Brian Kocourek, pastor
This evening we will review the main thoughts from our
sermons 47 through 51 from our series on Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed.
The first sermon we will review is from Christ is the mystery no 47 Christ
expressed in the Individual.
Here we looked at several paragraphs from 123 through
128 where brother Branham explained this so perfectly. So let's just read what
he said.
123 So it's Christ expressing Himself in
the individual, whether he's intellectual, or whether
he don't know his
124 The new birth is Christ, is a
revelation. God has revealed to you this great mystery, and that's
the new birth. Now, what are you going to do when you get all that group
together, where the revelation is perfectly in harmony, and God expressing it
through His Word by the same actions, the same things that He did, making the
Word manifest? Oh, if the Church only knew its position. It will one day.
Then, the rapture will go when it knows what it is. Now, notice. You say,
"Brother Branham, but that ain't..." Oh, yes, it is, too. It is the
Truth.
Now, I know we are getting into John 14:12 and I know what my critics say, but let
me read to you what brother Vayle himself said on this very thought here that
brother Branham is expounding on.
Now, I want you to hear carefully how brother Vayle goes into John
So in
reading from a sermon Br. Vayle preached
entitled Adoptions No 2. preached in
Now in the first message on this subject
which was last night we showed from the prophets teaching that there
would be a word identified Bride who would be able to manifest the very life of
Christ at the end time, quoting brother Branham "there'll be a
power come into the church and now is coming in that the holy spirit will so
anoint the people [plural] so that
they'll [plural] speak the Word and it, the Word, will
create itself like that or identical to what was spoken."
You see, when God said. "let their be light", suddenly something didn't say, I
think I will have a little fun, "let it be - dark". No, - Light. See?
Therefore the Word which will be in the
bride will be a literal manifestation into creation of that same Word by
the Spirit that lies in the Word, there will be literal creation. Now, that's what the prophet said, do you
agree with that he said it. Alright,
fine we believe it.
Now, notice the language of the prophet. He
said now, N.O.W. at this moment it is coming into the church. That means
only one thing, the potential is already in the bride of this hour and it, the
potential will produce the manifestation in her of creation by Spoken Word.
God is going to refill the bride with the spirit.
Then see what happens, Brother Branham said
we've got a ministry coming that just excites exactly like the
life of Christ. Now that's what he told us and that's what we believe.
Now, brother Vayle used a word here that most people
do not know what he meant. He said there is coming a
ministry in the Bride that will excite exactly the life of Christ. Now, this
word excite means: "to not only cause an enthusiasm concerning the life
of Christ but to also cause an increase of activity surrounding this enthusiasm concerning the Life of Christ."
Then brother Vayle goes on to say: "I was preaching one time in Chicago a couple a years ago or three when Doctor
Hoyer who in my estimation is the greatest authority in the Hebrew and Greek
living today because he can speak it with the exact emphasis, the exact facial
expressions and the exact demonstration by the hand. He is a very brilliant
scholar. At the end of the service he said, "brother Vayle, I trust you will not
think me to be a fanatic, but I would like to say something", and he
sounded so apologetic I wondered what in
the world he was going to say.
He said, "Please, please , please do
not take this bad, he said", I said
what it is br. Hoyer, he said, "Br. Vayle from a study of the Word of God
I believe the Bride will have the creative Word within her before she goes
in that rapture". I said, "brother
that's exactly what a vindicated prophet said by "thus saith the Lord".
Here is a brilliant theologian who knows
exactly the hour of the day, if you heard him and you could meet him and talk
with him, you would know that this is a giant intellect anointed by the Holy
Ghost who has studied the Word of God until that's all he knows and all
he's lived. You mention a scripture and he will quote you the Hebrew or the
Greek and then he'll raise his eyebrows, his face will change, and an
expression will come upon him and there he will literally begin to preach
in that language and tell you every thing that it means. And he said, "brother Vayle I know that it is coming". So we see according to the Word of God
given to us by a vindicated prophet that the creative Word will
be in the very bride at the end time. Now this great capstone
ministry of the bride it's called "the
manifestation of the sons of God" or "the adoption or
placing of the sons", and to me, and I emphasize to me, it is also the
manifestation of what brother Branham called the third pull in the bride.
Up until 1963 brother Branham talked much
of this manifestation, but after 62 and 3 he spoke of the pull of the various
pulls, and he said "there would be a third pull in the bride which
would come into manifestation". Now, we have no details concerning it,
but remember it will be the creative word within that bride. Now let us
just think of the potential or the prime cause of this great
manifestation. It is already in the bride but its
is evidently subdued, Now, It's in there but subdued. See ...
... But, letting that power lie dormant,
see, does not annul that the power is there. So it is that the lack of the
manifestation does not annul the power, the power is there but the
manifestation is not here because it is not yet time for it.
Now this is what you must understand. See, The bride is not without the prime
cause or the cause to bring about the effect, it is just that God is not
ready to produce the effect. See now, it is not time to show it forth.
Notice our text the 15th verse, "For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear; but you have (already)received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, our, Father".
We already have the spirit of adoption,
the first age, the second age, the third age, the fourth age, the fifth age and
the sixth age. Every member in the body of Christ has already whether they've
gone to the dust or not they have already received the potential but not the
manifestation.
Now, notice verse 19-23.
"For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the unveiling of the sons of God. 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
creation shall also itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption
into liberty of the glory. The
liberty of the glory 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 already have the firstfruits of the Spirit, which will make us like unto Christ even to the very
members in which we it says, we are groaning, even we groan within ourselves, we are waiting for the
adoption,
Even though you got the very spirit of it,
tell you what, "haven't I got it all, don't I possess it all", my
brother and sisters you and I may possess every thing from God in potential but
into manifestation we do not yet possess it.
See, I'm so sorry for those who believe,
and have said, listen
I'll take this whole bible, and this whole bible is mine, you are
wrong. Only the part of the word what's in here is yours if it is yours for
your day.
Brother Branham put is so beautifully,
Moses could not come preaching Noah's message, he couldn't do it and Christ
could not come preaching Moses Message. The Law was until John but see now we
look forward to Grace and truth by Jesus Christ.
Now, listen to what brother Vayle says next. Because
what he says next is anathema to many who claim to follow his ministry today.
But where were they back in the 70's when he taught his stuff. So listen to
what he says next...
"And the Word
for this day is the revelation of the manifestation of the sons of God.
Now, if we are not aware of the hour in which we live then we can not say we
got the holy ghost because he is given to teach us
those things which have been given us of God. O how blind the church is today
that calls itself filled with the holy Ghost. ...
Then Br. Vayle goers on to talk about
Billy Graham's statement where he said "if the Holy Ghost were gone today,
90 % of the activities would still go on in the churches".
then we pick up again with this thought as brother Vayle
continues to explain, "Now, we are waiting
for the adoption. And this tells us when it will take place. It takes
place in resurrection season. Now what is the resurrection season? It takes
place over here in the 11th chapter of the book of Romans. Paul says here in the 15th verse. "For if the casting away of them be
the reconciling of the world, what shall the
receiving of them be, but life from the dead?16 For if the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also
holy: and if the root be
holy, so are the branches."
Now notice, what Paul is telling us is this, The root is Christ and the branches are the church, and if
the root (Christ) is Holy, then the branch will have to be the same thing. And
that is exactly John 14:12, where the
literal Life that was in Christ will have to be in us and what it did in Him it
must do in us or it is not the same Spirit. The life in the root is the same
life in the branches. That is what Paul is telling us, and so If God did in
William Branham what he did in Christ Jesus, then if Jesus was the first fruit,
and William Branham was the first-fruit in the harvest season, then as the
farmer knows, when the wheat is tested to see how much moisture it has in it,
he knows by the sample, the first-fruit sample, that the rest of the field is
also ready.
But just because you do not sample the entire harvest,
doesn't mean that what is in the sample is not in the rest of the field. And as
brother Branham explained about the new ministry which he tied with the third
pull, he said "now we see it manifested in a
small way, but when that squeeze comes on we will see it in the bride in a
greater way."
Look away to Jesus 63-1229E pp. 20 "then when that time comes, and the press comes to a
place to where you're pressed out, then watch (what I am fixing to tell you in
a few minutes) watch the third pull then. It'll be absolutely to the total
lost, but it will be for the Bride and the church.
And
notice how brother Branham identifies the Third pull with the greater works in
John
132
Now, will this be the mystery that would open up, that would bring Christ, bring
a power to the church? See, we've already... We believe in repentance,
being baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. We believe in receiving the Holy
Ghost. We have signs, wonders, miracles, speaking in tongues, and the things
that the early church had. And, frankly, there's been more done right here
than is wrote in the Book of Acts, in this one little group of people, this
little bitty ministry of ours here. What about the world over? See? More
than is wrote in the Book of Acts... Same kind: the raising of the dead.
Remember, there's only about three people raised from the dead by Jesus Christ,
and we have on record, doctor's record, five.
"Works that I do,
more than this shall you do."
133 I know that King James says "greater," but you couldn't do nothing
greater, more of it. He was in one Person then; He's in the whole church
now. See? "More than this shall you do, for I go unto My Father."
If this is the third pull, then there's a great ministry lying ahead.
I don't know. I can't say. I don't know. Watch. Third pull. Let's stop on that a minute.
Now, notice in getting back to what brother Vayle was
saying, he adds, "So, layer by layer, in seven
church ages the church is coming up to the capstone itself until it fits so
perfect in the last age, the seventh is literally identified with Christ
Himself. Now as
bride, accompanied, Paul saw this as many members. Ephesians the fourth chapter. "But
speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things which is
the head even Christ". We are coming up into
the very Word itself, then brothers and sisters can't you see if we are
coming up into the very Word itself, then creation must lie in the
bride.
Then brother Vayle quotes the Scripture in Ephesian's 4 "But speaking the
truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is
the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body
fitly joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part, it makes increase of the body unto
the edifying of itself in love."
the he continues saying, ... "The
whole body is coming up. Every single one of the first six church ages had
the potential of adoption to the spirit of adoption, but only the seventh church age has the
potential plus the manifestation." ...
"The church itself did not have the
holy spirit which would bring them into the manifestation because the
age was not yet. As God was bringing that word up, line by line, building his church
up, all the way to the top, The life was moving on. The
church building up."
"Now, here is what I am trying to show
you. This is a mortal church we are talking about, then
this makes me understand that the manifestation of the sons of God will come
before the resurrection. We are not dealing with a church that has gone on,
but a church that is coming up. This is the same age as brother Branham said "the
age of adoption is the age of restoration."
"As Paul said, "we shall not all sleep
but we shall all be changed". That Word
did not apply to the first six ages, but to the seventh only. And not to all in the seventh age, but to only those
at the end of the age."
"The last days true church will
be a super church a super raise they will be so much like him they will be in
his very image, they will be the very manifestation of the living God."
Then brother Vayle quotes from The Spoken Word is the original Seed, "Then from a little group of the true Seed of the Word, God
will present Christ a beloved Bride, a Virgin, a Virgin of His Word. And
through them and by them will be fulfilled all that has been promised for His
Word in the Virgin, who knows no manmade creeds or dogmas. The Word of promise
in Himself like it was in Mary, God Himself made manifest... He will act
Himself by His own Word of promise so to fulfill all that has been written of
Him. As He did when He came from the virgin womb (type of the spirit womb
now), so will the Virgin now, accepting His Word: "Be it unto me as Thou has said,"
though it was said by an Angel while it yet was the written Word (Isaiah 9:6). They will
love Him (love His--), and will have His potentials, for He is their
Head, and they are His subjects, subject to His Head. Headship of Christ
was His."
"Notice,
what harmony. Jesus never did anything until seen of the Father or the Father showed
Him first: (Harmony between God and Christ. See? John 5:19) So will the Bride, and He
shows Her His Word of Life (He shows Her), and she
receives It. She never doubts it. Nothing can harm Her, not even death; for if the Seed be planted, the water
will raise it up again. Amen. (Now, I got a great big "Hallelujah.") Here
is the secret: the Word is in the Bride and the mind of Christ to
know what He wants done with the Word, and She
does it in His Name. She has THUS SAITH THE LORD. Then
it is germitized; so the Holy Spirit waters it until
it is grown and serves its purpose. They do only His will. (Amen.
I'll believe that.) No one can persuade them different. They
have THUS SAITH THE LORD, or they keep still. Then they will
do the works of God. For it is Himself in them,
continuing His Word to fulfill as He did complete in His day. All things
when He was here, He did not complete all when He was here, for it was not time
yet."
Then brother Vayle says, Now,
how many can swallow that one? and not choke on it?
And then he continues to read from the
Spoken word is the original Seed.
176 "Now, let us stand like Joshua and Caleb. (Now,
let us stand like Joshua and Caleb as we see the promised
land coming in sight.) It's nearing the time to be given.
"Joshua" in Hebrew means "Saviour" and represents the
promised end time leader to take the church over. Caleb represents the true
believer who stayed with Joshua. God started Israel as a virgin, with His
Word, but they wanted something different. So did the last day church."
177 "Notice how God did not move
Now, in getting
back to Christ is the Mystery brother Branham continues in pp 125 "Did you notice? Paul
never knew Jesus physically. Paul never knew Him. The only way that Paul
knew Him was by a revelation, by vision. Is that right? Paul only
knew Jesus by the revelation, just like Peter did. Peter had seen
Him in flesh, but he didn't know Him by flesh, 'cause Jesus said so. "Flesh and blood didn't reveal it to you.
Even My own Life didn't reveal it to you, but My Father which is in heaven has
revealed the thing to you," that He is the Word of God. "And upon this rock I'll build My Church." Peter didn't know Him by flesh.
And that is what Paul told us in 2 Corinthians
Therefore if we know Christ not
after the flesh, then it
has to be by the Spirit.
What Paul also said in 1 Corinthians
So we do not know Christ after the
flesh, but by Spiritual Discernment, or revelation is how we must know Him just
like Paul, and just like Peter, whom Jesus said, "Blessed are thou Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father which is in
heaven, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it."
Now, back to Christ is the Mystery pp 126 "Men walked and handled Him and
everything else. Paul had something greater than any of the apostles did. See?
They said, "Well, I've got more of a revelation than you, Paul,
because, you know, I walked with Him. I went fishing with Him one day. I heard
Him talk. He set in a boat with me, and after He told me, 'Let's go over here and fish in this place,
and we'll get more fish.' And we did it. (See?) See, we seen Him do things." But Paul saw Him after He was dead,
buried, rose again, and expressed Himself in the Pillar of Fire that led the
children of
127 And here He is today in the same
manner by the same Pillar of Fire expressing Himself and vindicating Himself
the same, revealing the mystery of God that's been hid since the
foundation of the world. See it? Paul only knew Him by revelation. Peter
knew Him by revelation. He walked with Him, talked with Him. Therefore, you
can set this Word... Now, I've just said that He was the Word. Now, a scholar
can sit down and read that Word till he can just tie your mind up in any way
(See?), if he wants to do it; 'cause he's smart, brilliant. Get a Catholic
priest, or not so much as that as a real good trained theologian in the Bible,
brother--a Baptist, or a Presbyterian or something; he'll make you think that
you don't know nothing. See? When it comes to talk...
Why? See? Because that he has known Him in the flesh,
the Word. Now, let’s begin reading paragraph.
128 But the only way that you're saved is
by know Him by revelation.
Now, I want to stop right here for a
moment, because he’s talking about revelation and in order to understand what
he is talking about we must know what revelation is, because when you say the
word revealed or revelation, most people will stop at the first definition of
the word and think revelation is something that some how you, in your mind just
know, and that is not what it means at all.
Then we went on to explain the definition of
revelation which means to Manifestation of Divine truth, so we see it is not
intellect, but something that has unfolded to you in a way that you actually
see manifestation of Divine Will or truth.
Notice it is not just
knowing the Divine will or truth as though it comes via a mental
awareness, but it tells us that Revelation is a manifestation of
Divine will or truth.
The Apostle
Paul tells us how he received the revelation of Jesus Christ and it was not by
going to some seminary or from hearing some other preacher, but he says in Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me
the mystery; as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when
ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.
Ands we know that revelation, or that manifestation of
Divine truth was When He appeared or manifested Himself to Paul in the Pillar
of Fire that knocked him from his horse.
And this led us to Christ
is the mystery no 48 expressed Life not
intellectual where we looked at a
visible expression of Divine Will or Truth. For knowledge is one
thing, but how you get that knowledge is what we call revelation. Not the
knowledge itself is revelation, but how you get that knowledge
is what is so important for us to understand.
Some would say the knowledge is the
knowing, but the act of coming to that knowing is what we call revelation,
when something you do not know is made known to you through some form of expression
or manifestation that comes from God. So the process of coming to this
knowledge and then knowing as you are known so to speak. Because there is
something about this knowledge that is not mental, it is experiential.
You know not because you know, but you know because you have experienced
the knowing, or the knowledge that you now possess.
And this
experiential knowing is what is so vital to our birth, because let's
face it we all known people who could talk the Word correctly, and who could even
quote the prophet perfectly, but then as time passes by they somehow go off the
deep end and leave the Message altogether. And we are seeing this on an almost
daily basis today.
Now, why would
Paul warn us in Hebrews 6 if there were not going to be a people
who fit that warning.
Hebrews
6:4 For it is
impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the
good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall
fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the
earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon
it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it
is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto
cursing; whose end is to be burned. 9 But,
beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany
salvation, though we thus speak. 10 For God is
not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of
love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that
ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that
every one of you do shew the same diligence to the
full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye
be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit
the promises.
So it is not the knowing itself
that is revelation, the knowing is just knowing. But the act of
coming to that knowledge, that's a different story. How you got it?
That's the real test. And Jesus said to Peter, "flesh and blood never taught this to you,
but My Father expressed it and you caught the expression and you recognized the
expression, and you acted upon it." "You Heard, you Recognized and you Acted
upon the Word of God".
And brother Branham even preached a sermon by that name.
Because the problem is that when men
turn to the intellectual, they must turn away from the expression of Life, and
the manifestation of Divine truth, and thus they die because they are absorbed
in self.
So we found brother Branham telling
us in pp. 133 Caleb and Joshua, the only two
that stood out and said, "We're able to take it." Said, "Look at the Word of God." Every one of them died in the wilderness. And Jesus said
they were eternally gone. Right. After He'd had showed
His blessings and power in their ages, like Luther and Wesley and so forth...
Did He? Said, "Our
fathers eat manna in the wilderness," And He said, "And they're every one dead." That's eternal separated from God.
Their carcasses perished in the wilderness. See? They're dead. "I'm the
Bread of Life that come from God out of heaven."
They couldn't see it. They just couldn't see it.
134 All right, church has long
forgotten it. They accepted intellectual message--intellectuals,
membership, knowledge instead of the revelation of the truth of the Word.
Now, look here. They say today, "Do you believe that God commissioned us to go into all the world, heal the sick and preach the Gospel and cast
out devils?"
"Oh, oh, yes, I suppose that's right, but..." You see?
Notice
brother Branham is nails down their attitude and the fact that they have turned
down the Word of God the way in which God said it, and they have gone to an intellectual
conception of the Message where they can explain away the things that
don’t seem to fit their understanding or their life style they've chosen to
live.
He said "They accepted an intellectual message". Notice, he calls it the Message
yet he says it they have made it an intellectual conception. He says, they accepted Intellectuals, and brother Branham taught us that "an intellectual is one who is trained to bypass the
Scriptures."
From his sermon, Uncertain Sound P:86
[62-0714] 86 They bypass the Word by their dogmas, their creeds today, because they're
afraid to meet the issue. And they bypass it and base the people upon
intellectual education in the stead of the power of the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, and the manifestation of His Being. Amen.
Then he says "they accepted Membership instead of the
Word, and they have accepted knowledge instead of the revelation of the truth
of the Word". So
what have they got? A powerless Gospel that’s what they’ve got.
Hear
Recognize Act On Word P:24 [60-0221] 24 And today man can stand in the pulpit with
such intellectual, and speech-making, and education, until they
can explain the power of the Holy Spirit away from the Bible; they
can explain Divine healing away; they can explain speaking in
tongues and interpretations; they can explain the baptism of the Holy
Ghost to another day.
And so they will twist words of other
preachers and even the prophet himself to get the people to not believe that John
And that brings us to Christ
is the mystery no 51 The Character of Christ
Expressed is John
Brother Branham used the word potentials, he said we
have the potentials now, but we are simply waiting for the right time, which he
said is God's time to use it.
Jesus
said in John
And
again in John
So the works that you do bear witness of
who you are, and who sent you. Therefore, if you have the same Spirit in you
that was in Jesus then you would do the same things he
did. That is only common sense. brother Branham said in his sermon, Mary's belief 61-0121 P:51 So then if it don't do the same work, then it isn't the
same Holy Ghost; but if It does the same work, then It is the Holy
Ghost, the same One. Amen. Do you believe that?
World is falling apart 63-1115 P:14 I Timothy 3:16, "Without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness; for God was manifested in the flesh, seen of Angels, and believed on
in the world, received up into glory." See, see? Now, that was God with us. God
over us, God with us, now God in us. All that God was, He
poured into Christ; all that Christ was, He poured into the Church. "At that day, you'll know that I'm in the
Father, the Father in Me; I in you, and you in Me." So it's been God all along (You
see?), His same works. The Church is ordained to carry on His
work, with the same Spirit. You couldn't carry on the same work
without the same Spirit. That's right. The same Spirit carries on the
work.
Be not afraid 62-0620 P:85 But this is my ministry that He give me a
gift. And that gift is to shake the church to bring it to a
recognition of the coming of Christ, the return of the Spirit of God in
the church. It's on you, the same Spirit. It might not be the same
gift, but the same Spirit. There's different manifestations, but the
same Spirit all the time. The same Holy Ghost you got is the same Holy
Ghost I got, the same Holy Ghost we all got. It's all the children of God.
Didn't
the Apostle Paul tells us that to every man is given a
measure of faith? Same faith. just
a different measure.
Romans 12:3 For
I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
And
did not this same Apostle tell us exactly the same thing William Branham just
told us as we see in 1 Corinthians 12:4 where
Paul says, Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of
administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there
are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
So
don't try to sell me a bag of what you call are your goods, when you say the
since brother Branham had the sign of Messiah, and no one else does, therefore
no one else has the works of Christ. William
Branham said, It's on you, the same Spirit. It might not be the same gift, but the same Spirit.
There's different manifestations, but the same Spirit all the time.
The same Holy Ghost you got is the same Holy Ghost I got, the same Holy Ghost
we all got. It's all the children of God. And Paul said, it's
just different administrations, and gifts and manifestations or works of Christ
that are being done in the body through the same God who is working all in all.
And don't forget he also said, Philippians
Let
us pray