God’s Only Provided Place of Worship # 81

Brian Kocourek, September 30, 1995

Predetermined Likeness

We've been studying from pp. 250 of God's Only Provided Place of Worship where brother Branham said, "your life is hid in God through Christ, and sealed by the Holy Ghost. Sunday morning, we moved onto PP. 251 where brother Branham continued this thought by saying, "Then a new creation, not to a denomination but to the Word. You're a creation of the Word. Because the foundation stone was laid in you before the foundation of the world, predestinated to be sons and daughters of God."

We took our emphasis where brother Branham said, . "You're a creation of the Word. Because the foundation stone was laid in you before the foundation of the world, predestinated to be sons and daughters of God." And we focused on 3 points that brother Branham was telling us.

#1) He says, You are a New Creation, a Creation of The Word.

#2) Because the Foundation stone was laid in you before the foundation of the world.

#3) Through the intermediary agency of predestination, you are also Sons and Daughters of God.

We examined Point #1) " You are a New Creation, a Creation of the Word.

Webster's Dictionary says, a creation is "a being created", and the word create means 1> to cause to come into existence; to bring into being.... and another definition is this 4 > to be the first to play a particular role in a play.

The definition we focused on is the first one we read from Webster's Dictionary. " to cause to come into existence; to bring into being..." Now, notice what brother Branham is telling us here. He first says, we are a New creation, and then he defines it much tighter by saying a Creation of the Word. So if we look at creation to mean, "a causing to come into existence", or better yet, " a being brought into being" we can then see that He is telling us something about the Word which is causing something to happen in us that we could not see before. Something new and wonderful. A New Creation. A New beginning. Something coming into existence that has it's source in the Word of God.

We took this new beginning to the scripture. Ephesians 2: 1 " And you hath He quickened (made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins;" A new existence. A being brought into existence by the Word. Paul uses the Word "Quickened", which means to be made alive. So we are dealing with Life. This is what the entire Message of God is dealing with, Life. He is the Author of Life and He quickens us to Life, Eternal Life, His Life. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. " Whosoever believes in Me shall never die." So we see here that when we are speaking of Him, we are speaking of Life. He is speaking about a beginning.. A New Beginning. A New Life, A New Creation.

[John 1: 1 & 4] "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God," ... " In Him was Life and the Life was the Light of Man. " God is the Author of Life. And His Word is only His way of expressing that Life. And When His Word became flesh, that flesh spoke and said, " I am The resurrection and the Life!" Now Resurrection is a bringing back to Life and so we see the One Who is Life can also bring back Life. And in order to bring back Life, the Life had to have once existed and somehow left. [Ephesians 2: 1] When Paul said, "And you hath He quickened," this word "Quickened" is a Greek word which means " To give Life to, to cause to become" This sounds just like the word create which also means "to cause to become". Webster says the word "Quicken means to revive or to animate. And if something is revived, it had life at one time, lost it and now has come back to Life again. So when brother Branham says, " we are a new creation , a creation of the Word," And we know a creation is something that is becoming, or coming into existence, then we know that we are dealing with Life.

So in point number one, we see the effect of the word upon us. It actually takes a vessel which had Life at one time and brings back Life into that Vessel. Now then the question is, "When did we have Life at one time?" And our answer is in point #2. He said, You are a New Creation, a Creation of The Word #2) Because the Foundation stone was laid in you before the foundation of the world. So we see here then that there had to be something in us before the foundations of the world that was in us but lay dormant for ages until this hour.

[Ephesians 1: 3 - 4] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and without blame before Him, .." Now, you will notice we were actually chosen, or selected out for placement, in Him before the world was even framed.

We also find in [Job 38: 4 & 7] Where waste thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding....verse 7 When the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy?" and [John 17: 5] "

Now we must ask ourselves what is this foundation stone? In [Ephesians 2: 20] Paul tells us that we are built upon the foundations of the apostles in which Jesus Christ Himself is the chief Corner stone. Now notice how brother Branham worded point #2) He said, Because the Foundation stone was laid in you before the foundation of the world. And We found here in scripture that Jesus is the Chief Foundation stone. In fact in [1 Corinthians 3: 11] Paul said, " For other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ." So we see that He is not only the Chief foundation stone, but He is the very foundation Itself. And notice how brother Branham said this foundation stone was laid in us before the foundations of the world. And Who is He, but the Word ! So we see that God's very Word was placed in us before He did any thing else, even before He fashioned the world.

[Romans 8: 29 - 30 ] For whom He did foreknow, those who were in His mind before there was ever a spec of star dust, He did predetermine that these very Elect would be made in such a way and possess the attributes to be conformed to the very likeness of His Eldest Son, who also came forth in the very Image of the Farther. And because He loved us even before we exited, He placed in us His own Gene Seed that would cause us to become in His very Image. And so those whom He predestinated, He justified, and those Whom He justified, He has already (past tense) Glorified. So there you have it. So #1) "You are a New Creation, a Creation of The Word." #2) Because the Foundation stone was laid in you before the foundation of the world. Point #3) Through the intermediary agency of predestination, you are also Sons and Daughters of God.

[Romans 8: 29] Weymouth Translation " For those whom He has known before hand He has also predestined to bear the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Eldest in a vast family of brothers;"

Now this evening I want to look at this [predetermined Likeness] that we are predestined to come into. So in order to see how this comes forth, let's look at this great picture again in the Scripture. For we know by various scriptures that we shall be like Him for We shall see Him as He really is.

[ 1 John 3: 2 ]

[ 1 John 4: 17 ]

[ 1 Corinthians 13: 12 ]

Now with this in mind, let's look at what it is that we see, and then what it is that we shall become.

[ Ephesians 1: 3 - 5 ] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us already with all Spiritual blessing in Heavenly places when we were in Christ. According as He hath Chosen us while we were yet in Him before the foundations of the world, that we should be Holy and Blameless before Him (which means while in His Presence). And how did He do this, verse 5 says, In Love He has predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to His own good pleasure of His own will.

So there you have it. This image is to be Holy and without Blame as it stands in His Presence.

Paul again speaks of this condition of Holiness that we shall possess at the Parousia of Christ.

[ 1 Thessalonians 3: 13 ]

[ Acts 17: 27] " For in Him we Live, and Move, and have our being; as certain also of your poets have said, for we are also His Offspring."

And Jesus said, " I have come that you might have Life, and that you might have it more abundantly." Then if He is the same, yesterday, today and forever, if He is here today, won't he have the same purpose in Mind? Now, we shall review what this more abundant life is all about the next time we meet. Let's now just bow our head and our hearts in prayer.

Special note on page 307 of Vines about holiness condition 2 Cor 7: 1 Perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God. Bringing Holiness to it's pre-destined end, whereby we may be found unblameable and in Holiness in the Presence of God even our Father at the Parousia of Christ with all His saints 1 Thes 3: 13 VINES " In each place character is in view, perfect in the case of the Lord Jesus, growing toward perfection in the case of the Christian. Here the exercise of love is declared to be the means God uses to develop likeness to Christ in His Children. The sentence may be phrased thus: - The Lord enable you more and more to spend you lives in the interests of others, in order that He may so establish you in Christian character now, that you may be vindicated from every charge that might possibly be brought against you at the judgment-seat of Christ; 1 John 4: 16 - 17 .. hosiotes involves a right relation to God; it is used in Luke 1: 75 and Eph 4: 24 and is associated with righteousness. Hagiotes is the quality of holiness which is manifested in those who have regard for Grace and Truth

[Man running from the Presence of God] pp. 40 2-17-65 " May all the great mysteries that we're supposed to know at this age, Lord, be unveiled to us and we'll see the plainness of God, so that we'll know how to behave ourselves and act, correcting ourselves and bringing the members of our body into discipline to the Word, that we might know how to live in this present day at the approaching of the Lord Jesus."