MASTERPIECE No. 19
Being A Part of God no. 3
God in the role of Son
Sunday morning, August 21,
2005
Rev. Brian Kocourek
This morning I would like to continue with our Study
from Br. Branham’s sermon called THE MASTERPIECE 64-0705 and this will be number three in our mini
series entitled, “A Part of God”.
Last week we spoke on the
Spirit of Adoption and showed that the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the
knowledge of God (Ephesians 1:17-18) could not come until the church had come
tot he condition of Faith and Love. Faith being the Revelation of Jesus Christ,
and Love being an outward expression of that revelation.
Paul told us that God would
come down with the Spirit of Wisdom, and Revelation of Himself in order to make
known to the church those things that we have need of in order for us to
receive our inheritance.
Notice verse
18. EPHESIANS 1:18 That the eyes
of your understanding may be enlightened; and that you may know what is the
hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance is in the
saints, You see, The Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of the Father is the spirit of adoption, and Its to get us ready for
the adoption.
Paul told us
the adoption is actually the redemption of the body as we see in Romans 8: 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.
Bu he also
called it a spirit in Romans 8:15 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.
So we see that
this spirit of adoption is the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of the Father. And we know this spirit of adoption is God’s own Spirit in us to
bring us from mortal to immortal. And that is why in EPHESIANS 1:19 He speaks of the spirit of adoption and
inheritance and then says, And what is the
exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the
working of his mighty power, 20 Which he
wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own
right hand in the heavenly places,
So we can see
by Ephesians 1 that Paul was looking for the Spirit of adoption to come into
the church to make known to the church the manifold wisdom of God, in that the
very mind of God would then come into the church getting it ready for the
change of the body which is the redemption of the body which is the adoption.
And notice when it all began when you were in God as an attribute before the
worlds were even framed into manifestation.
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: Ephesians 1: 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,
Now, that brings
us up to where I would like to continue with today. Looking back before the
very foundations of the world when we were in God as a thought, and the process
whereby God would bring His thoughts into a visible manifestation.
Brother Branham
said in, THE FUTURE HOME 64-0802 49-1 You are part of the earth, your body. Your
soul is part of God, a attribute of God, displayed here on earth in a body.
The body's to be redeemed. Now the soul's redeemed, because it was in sin. So God
come down by process of justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy
Ghost, and redeemed your soul. And you, being part of the earth, it's
redeemed by it. You're in the process now, it's growing on.
Now, we know that if our
soul came from God, then it is a part of God, and that is the germ of Life
which is His Word also came forth from God, then it is a part of God also, and
was sent to us to inseminate our soul, or to infuse our soul with God Life.
That is the quickening process we examined last week. Then since we are already sons of God, it is
essential that we have a certain identifiable characteristics and attributes
that are within us, laying dormant in our soul, but are quickened and made
alive when we are inseminated by God’s Word of Life.
That is why John could say
in I JOHN 1:1 ¶ That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and
our hands have handled, of the Word of
life; (Now, notice here that John calls it the word of Life for
so it is. Jesus told us in John 6:63 the words which I speak are spirit and
they are life. So the word is Life, but then as life must come forth into
manifestation. And John tells us in verse two exactly that.)
2
For the life was manifested, and we
have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested
unto us; Notice
the life that was manifested is said to be the Life that was with the Father.
So we are talking about the Father’s life coming forth into a form and
manifesting to us that life. Now the word John chose to use was the Greek word
Phaneroo which means to manifest in ones true character by coming into
realization or to make known by teaching.
So we see that God used the body of His Son to express Himself to us not only
through that vessel, but through the teaching that the vessel taught. For Jesus
said Himself said in JOHN 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of
man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as
my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
So you see the Phaneroo was
not just the body expressing itself to us, but the teaching of God through the
vessel of His only begotten son. Therefore you can not have phaneroo without
teaching. You can not have a manifesting in ones true character without the
character teaching what those attributes are.
A son can not express His
Father by just being born. He expresses His Father by the actions and words
which he speaks. And as we see here that Jesus said God taught him what to do
and say.
And that is why the apostle
John could say, 3
That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship
is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
So notice that our
fellowship with the Father and Son comes via the declaration that we hear. Then
without the spoken word we would never have the manifesting in its true
character and without that we would never know who we are either.
The
Life was
manifested, and we have seen and we know because of what we
see. Life itself is not visible. It is Spirit. Yet the very essence and
nature of Life is that it has many qualities and characteristics, which brother
Branham called attributes, and these attributes by their very nature are to
become expressed. A rose without it’s beauty and fragrance would not be a rose.
So therefore every Life has attributes that are visibly and materially
displayed to our senses in order that we might better understand what
the nature of the Life is. That is why brother Branham spoke a message
called "God is identified by His characteristics." In it, he
began by showing the difference between two birds that are both yellow but each
has a different flying pattern. And the pattern distinguishes the difference
between the two birds to the careful observer.
Now,
I do not believe brother Branham was using this illustration to just give us a
lesson on birds. He was showing us by nature how certain attributes will
stand out from others and even when you have two beings who seems to be the
same, yet their will be certain attributes that will differentiate between
them. And so, by this very law of expression, God had to materialize in
order to express Himself. You can not remain hidden and be expressive at the
same time. You can not become or fulfill yourself and remain invisible either.
Then, in order to express oneself, you must show or make visible your
nature through expression. The invisible and intrinsic qualities becoming
openly displayed. A coming out. A bringing forth into manifestation.
In
COLOSSIANS 1: 15 - 19 we
read, "Who is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that
are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be]
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the
preeminence. For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fullness
dwell; "
What
we have here is God bringing forth a Son and through this Son God performing
all His creative acts. Yet this Son was not God, but the Son of God. He was not
the Father, but He came forth in the image of the Father. You can not see
life. But Life will manifest its nature and characteristics. The manifestation
that you see is not the Life, it is only the expression or fulfillment of that
life. My body is not who I am, but My Life that is within my body is
identified through my body. Cut off my arms, you have not destroyed my life. I
still am who I am. Cut off my legs and my arms and I still exist. My Life is
still within me. So my body is not Life, but is an expression of that Life. And
we find that this scripture tells us that the Son of God is the very image of
the Father in whom all the Godhead dwells. Paul says here, "For It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness
dwell.
And the apostle John said
in I JOHN 3:2 Beloved, now are we
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear (phaneroo, it has not
yet manifested) what
we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear (phaneroo, when
he shall manifest in his true character), we shall be like him; for (the reason that ) we shall see him as
he is.
So our seeing Him as He
truly is allows us to become what we truly are. So you see, when God was in His
Son he was acting out the role of the son
and the son seeing what the father was showing us then reflected the
Father to us.
Now, let me say that slower
and in other words so you might understand what I just said.
Jesus did not manifest
Himself to the world. Jesus manifested to us the Father. The things he did, the
words He spoke, the doctrine that he taught, and even His own will were not
shown to us. He showed to us the things God showed to Him, and he told us the
Things God taught Him to say, and the doctrine he preached was not His own but
the Father’s and the will he showed to us was not His own will but the Fathers
will. Therefore the Son of God did not come to manifest Himself to the world
but He came to manifest the Father to the world.
Jesus Himself said in JOHN 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. So
we see that no man can see an invisible God, so God then entered into the body
of His son to manifest Himself to man. And thus by words, and actions God was
seen through the vessel of His Son Jesus.
And yet through all of what
he did and said, in manifesting the will of His Father He showed us how to be
obedient sons.
BELIEVE
FROM THE HEART 57-0623 E-46
Jesus was a witness of God. He become so full of God, till him and God
was One. God dwelt in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, the very
expression. A man's work declares
his character. Christ was God's work. And Christ declared God's character,
His feeling for the sick, His longing for saving of souls, till even He gave
His own life. God's work... God's character was declared in Christ.
HEBREWS
2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a
little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory (Now, remember this glory
was translated from the word doxa which means the opinion, assessment and judgment,
in other words the very mind of God. So he was crowned with the very mind of
God. Now, when we are crowned with anything it is essential that we are dealing
with the head, for you do not crown the foot, or the arms or the neck, but the
head is what is crowned. And not only was he crowned with the very mind of His
Father but Paul adds ) and honor; (and this word honor was translated
from the Greek word “time” which means a valuing by which the price is fixed;
hence the price itself: or received for a person or thing bought or sold. In
other words by receiving the very mind of God it places you as equal with the
price that was paid to get you there. I do not pay $1 for something I feel is
only worth ten cents. I pay a dollar for what is worth a dollar. And God paid
the price of His only begotten son because the life of His other sons was of
equal or greater value to Him. And that is why ) that he (the Son of God) by the grace of God
should taste death for every man. 10
¶ For it became him, for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory,(and
remember glory is doxa is the very mind of God) to make the captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings. 11 For both he that
sanctifieth (That is the Son of God) and they who are sanctified (That is
us, his brethren) are all of one (and
remember that the word OF is an acronym meaning out from. So he is saying the
same one who sanctified you by the washing of regeneration by His blood, and
you who were sanctified by His blood are all one because we all came out from
the same one. And that is why Paul continues) for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare
thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto
thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the
children which God hath given me.
Then if these are children
that God gave then they are God’s children and thus Jesus, the Son of God’s brethren. And notice further that this manifestation of
the Father was declared through the son.
SHOW
US THE FATHER IT'LL SATISFY 56-0422 E-36 Now, it's many times it's been said that no man can see God at
anytime, the Bible said so. But the only begotten of the Father has declared
Him. Philip, here was very inquisitive; he wanted to see the Father. Says here
He said, "I've been so long with you, Philip, and you don't know Me?"
Said, "When you see Me you see My Father." In other words, you see
the Father express Himself through the Son. Him and the Father were one in the
sense that His Father was dwelling in Him, not Him doing the works; He was a
Son, Himself, the immortal, virgin born, Son of God. And then in Him was dwelling
the God the Father, expressing Himself to the world, His attitude towards the
people. See? Well, that's how Christ and God were one. God was in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself. Now, He said, "When you see Me, you see
the Father, and why do you say, 'Show us the Father?'
QA
HEBREWS PART 2 57-1002 281-Q-63
63. Please explain the Trinity. How can the Son set at the right hand of the
Father, interceding to the Father, if they are not two persons?
Well, beloved friend, that's a... That's a revelation. If Jesus said, "I and My Father are One," then
how can they be two? See? Now, they're not two. A woman once said to me,
and I was explaining that, said, "You and your wife are two, yet you're
one." I said, "But God and the Son is different from that.
See?" I said, You see me?" "Yes." "Do you see my
wife?" "No." I said, "Then Father and Son's different;
Jesus said, 'When you see Me, you've seen the Father.'" See? The Father and the Son... The Father was Almighty
Jehovah God dwelling in a Tabernacle called Jesus Christ, which was the
anointed Son of God. Jesus was a Man; God is a Spirit. And no man has seen
God at any time, but the only begotten of the Father has declared Him. He
was... He... His Personality, His Being, His Deity, whatever He was, He was
God. He was nothing less or nothing more than God. Yet, He was a man. He was
a man, a house that God dwelt in. That's right. He was God's dwelling
place.
6
SHALOM -- V-13 N-5 -- 64-0112 But,
really, frankly, we have never seen each other. Did you know that? We have
never seen one another. You hear something speaking out of a body here that
impersonates whatever it's on the inside. So then when we talk to each other,
we're--we're really not talking to the body. It's the spirit inside, but the
body is the thing that identifies the spirit that's on the inside. And therefore, when we speak to each other, we are... quickly can
understand right away whether we are Christians or not, because there's a
fellowship in the spirit that we talk from. You see, that it vibrates to one
another that whether we are Christians or not. Therefore we have never seen
each other. 7 Jesus. "No Man has seen God at any time, but the only
begotten of the Father has declared Him." See? In other words, God was
identified. The--the Person of God was identified in the Body, the Lord
Jesus Christ, so He was the expressed image of God. Or, God expressing Himself
through an image, see, through an image,
Therefore we must always remember to focus not on the vessel God
uses, but on the God of the vessel. That is why in the wilderness the rock was
called Christ. Now the rock was not Jesus but was Christ, it was anointed. Who
anointed it? God anointed it. That is what the word Christ means. Anointed. And
the Word Christ means anointed, anointer and anointing. So we must know what
the context is that we are looking at. Therefore when God was in the Pillar of
Fire He was God the Father to us. But when God entered into His Son he played
out the role of an obedient Son and so Jesus, the Son of God followed the
leading of God as a Son. and thus God played out the role of God the Son to the
Son of God, and that same Spirit, the Holy Spirit that was in Jesus Christ
came back on the church after it left Him, for the purpose of producing in the
church the same results that it did in the Son of God. And that means obedient
sons.
Notice in the following quotes what Brother Branham has to say
about the roles that God played out. Father in the pillar of fire, God the Son
in His Son, and the Holy Spirit in the church. But its the same God all the
time.
Spoken word original seed 62-0318E P:13 God the Father was a God
that lived in the Pillar of Fire. He was trying to draw
Way back the 62-1123 P:61 God, the great Pillar of Fire that followed the children of
Invisible union of the bride 65-1125 P:33 And so was God manifested
in the beginning. And finally He would appeared as Jehovah, God the Father. Then
He appeared as God the Son in Jesus Christ. Now, He's appeared as
God the Holy Ghost, the same God all the time, three manifestations of the
same God.
Why 61-0413 P:85 God became flesh and dwelled among us in order to try the
toxin on Himself. Any real good doctor will try it on himself before he gives
it to his patient. That's right. And God, that's the reason He had to become
flesh. Jehovah was a Spirit, God the Father is a Spirit, God the Son
is a Man Who the Spirit of God dwelt in. We all know that. So then when...
God came down and made flesh so He could take the toxin. So on the banks of the
Jordan, He taken the injection Himself, the greatest thing that ever happened:
when earth and heaven kissed, when the Lamb and Dove come together. The dove,
the meekest bird of the heavens. God, Jehovah reckoned Himself represented
Himself in the meekest bird of the air, the dove. God, the Son, which was Jesus
Christ represented Himself in the meekest animal.
You see, in John 1:1 it tells us God is the Word. That is
why brother Branham could say,
What shall I do with Jesus 63-1124M P:75 Now, the Holy Spirit is the Word. God is not three. He's the same God in three dispensations,
three offices. God the Father, over the law; God the Son in grace; and God the
Holy Ghost (as you call It) the same God, in the Holy Ghost dispensation. God
the Father was the Word; God the Son was the Word; and God the Holy Ghost is
the Word. See? It's just three offices. After you...?... And the Holy Ghost
seals you; therefore, you're sealed by the Word.105 Now, you say,
"Well, I'm sealed by..." Well, then it identifies itself. See? It
proves. You can't belong to a system, and be sealed with the system and the
Word. See? 'Cause it's contrary, one to the other. You can't do it. All
right.
Court trial 64-0412 P:75 Afterwards He appeared unto the eleven...He did us the same
way this afternoon; He's here. How many believes that Christ and the
Spirit of Christ is the Holy Ghost? Of course it is. There's no three or
four gods. There's only one God. There's three attributes of God: Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, but they're not three gods. That's heathen. See, there's only
one God, and that's attributes. God, the Father, was in the wilderness as a
Pillar of Fire. All right. God, the Son... God, the Father, created a
body which was God, the Son, and lived in the Son. See? God was in
Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. You believe that? If you're a
Christian you believe it.
Abraham's grace covenant 61-0317 P:30 So, when He came
descending from heaven, not another three people left down there talking, but
they saw the Spirit of God like a dove. That's Who the Spirit
was, not the third person talking. Not three Gods, but three offices of the
same God. God the Father, in the Pillar of Fire; God the Son, in human
flesh; God the Holy Ghost in you, the same God. Jesus said, "That
day you'll know that I'm in the Father, the Father in Me, and I in you, and you
in Me." God, trying to get back to fellowship with His creature that
He created in the
Indictment the 63-0707M P:62 They call for a revival everywhere. How you going to have a
revival when the Word Itself can't work through the people? I'd like for
somebody to answer that for me. How can it do, when you deny the very revival
itself? Well did the prophet speak of them, "forms of godliness."
Their own forms back there denied the Word of Life. Their own forms today deny
the thing that can bring them a revival. Their creeds and forms... Yes, sir.
They take the denomination and their creeds instead of the--the Word, and that
crucifies His Word and makes His Word of no effect to the people. When they see
the Word of God so vividly in--It just place Itself, that God made the promise
He would do this, and here He is doing it, and they make fun of It and get away
from It, it's blasphemy. And they try to crucify the Word Itself. Why do they
crucify It? They can't crucify the Word no more than they could crucify God.
They could crucify the body that held God, the Son of God; they could
crucify that, but they can't crucify God. He had to be that time, on
account of being the Sacrifice to bring in many sons that's predestinated to Eternal
Life. They had to do it then, but they can't do it now. They can't do it, for
the Word Itself will live on. But they...
Ashamed of Him 65-0711 P:27 There He is with them Angels, the message, which was the
seven--breaking of them seven seals that revealed serpent's seed and all these
things here. And it shows that it is His very covering; it's His--it's His
supreme authority. He is Supreme, and He's wigged or--or covered. The Bible
said that He changed His countenance, or He changed Himself, en morphe. The
word comes from the Greek word, "en morphe," which means "a
Greek actor that plays many parts"; today he is one thing, in the next act
he's something else. He was God the Father in one act; God the Son in
another act; and He's God the Holy Ghost in this act. See? There He is; His
Word is still Supreme. We're living in the last days.
So
you see it is the same God all the time, so do not focus on the vessel because
God changes vessels to manifest Himself to man. But in the vessel of His Son, God manifested Himself as he has never
manifested Himself. And Jesus was the pattern and example for all sons to
follow. He learned obedience by the things that he suffered, and all sons
must first be tried and tested. So we are living in that day when the God has
set forth the time appointed for the adoption and remember the son can not be
adopted though he be a son until he first has the mind of his Father.
Let’s
bow our heads in a word of prayer.