Masterpiece 54
God the Son
March 19th, 2006
Pastor, Brian Kocourek
THE
MASTERPIECE 64-0705 78 God, when He looked upon Him, He was so inspired, To see Him the way He
looked and to see the form of Him, He was so
inspired that it would be the perfect Masterpiece of a Redeemer: Jesus the
Redeemer. So God, in order to be smitten Himself, because to pay His own
penalty, God and Christ became One, so God could be smote in the image, He
could be scarred. And that's why Isaiah said, "We did esteem Him smitten
and afflicted of God. Yet He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised
for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His
stripes we were healed."
Now, let’s take a closer look at this scene that
brother Branham is speaking of His Son how that God looked down at His Son and
God was so inspired because of the
actions and speech of His Son in reflecting the thoughts of God His Father. Now,
the word inspire can mean two things here. It can mean first of all “To
affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence”, or it can mean “To
fill with enlivening or exalting emotion”:
Now, I believe the definition that fits with what
Brother Branham is saying here is the second one which speaks of To
fill with enlivening or exalting emotion.
In other words, God was filled with enlivening or
exalting emotion. Yes, the God that we so often look at and think to be an
emotionless God took on emotion and His emotions were lifted by the sight of
His Obedient Son who would rather please his Father than to do any thing else
in the world. So God got emotional. God got choked up, an you all know how some
times you can get so emotional that you can’t hardly speak. Well, that is just
how God felt that day as we will see when we turn to the book of Matthew and chapter 17 to see this scene
unfold.
MATTHEW
17:1 ¶ And after six days Jesus taketh
Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain
apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun,
and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared
unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said
unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here
three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright
cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the
disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus
came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had
lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
Now, this scene was so important to the understanding of the Godhead in
the early church that it was spoken of in three of the four Gospels. And we
also hear the Apostle Peter tell us of this scene as well in 2 peter chapter 1.
II PETER 1:12 ¶ Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you
always in remembrance of these things, though ye know [them], and be
established in the present truth. 13
Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up
by putting [you] in remembrance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off [this]
my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. 15 Moreover I will
endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in
remembrance. 16 ¶ For we have not followed cunningly devised
fables, when we made known unto you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the
Father honor and glory, when there
came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when
we were with him in the holy mount. 19 ¶
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn,
and the day star arise in your hearts: 20
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost.
But I want you to notice that a scene similar to this took place earlier
in the ministry of Jesus Christ. We find in the Book of Matthew where Jesus
came to be baptized in water baptism by John.
Matthew 3:
13¶
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to
Now,
the difference we see between these two scenes is in the first time this scene takes
place we see Jesus coming down to the River Jordan to be baptized in water by
John the Baptizer. I say John the baptizer because he certainly was not a
Baptists, and to call him John the Baptist is a little Like calling Brother
Branham a Baptist.
But we see this
scene unfold with the same words spoken as when later on in His Life Jesus
takes three disciples up to the mountain and again these same words are spoken.
But unlike the first time, God adds words of His own that make this second
scene even more important than the Baptism in the River as important as it was.
For you see, God is the word, and His Word is out Ultimate, but in this second
scene on Mount transfiguration, we see Jesus glorified before man and as Peter
described the event as Jesus being given Honor and Glory.
Now, notice when Jesus was baptized God
said ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am pleased to dwell in. Now, God said
this also at
Now, why do you supposed that God did not say that at
His Baptism? Because if we read at His baptism that immediately after it, God
said, “this is my beloved Son in Whom I am well
pleased,” which means “In
Whom I am pleased to dwell in”
as brother Branham said it should have been worded correctly.
And then straightway we are told that he departed from
there to go into the wilderness to be tried and tested. So you see he had not passed the ultimate
test with God yet, but once that had taken place then God said, “I have now
placed my words in His Mouth, and I am well pleased with what I see in Him,” so
“Hear Ye Him”
Notice that God was at this point so pleased with His
Son Jesus, and with His attitude, and obedience to His commands that He not
only said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, but he added
this time, “hear Ye Him”.
God was so Inspired,
so emotionally lifted that He could not speak and so placed His Words in the
Mouth of His Son at that Time. That is why Jesus said in John 14:
31 But
that the world may know that I love the
Father; as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.
And again in John 14: 21 He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me
shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to
him.
And again we see in John 15: 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye
shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide
in his love.
And also in John 12: 49 For
I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a
commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know
that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as
the Father said unto me, so I speak.
So you see here a
picture that tells us of the great Love Jesus had for His Father and the Great
Love that the Father had for Him, and the relationship of one to the other in
that the Son so honored the Father and so glorified the Father that He would
not speak anything which God did not command Him first to say. So in honoring God His Father by speaking only
what God His Father commanded Him to say, and doing only what God showed Him by
vision to do, and preferring God’s will over His own will, and having no other
doctrine but what God’s gave Him for doctrine, we can see that God in return
honored His Son and Glorified His Son by dwelling in Him, and being pleased to
dwell in His Son.
Now Peter gave us a
clue to what God did for Jesus up there in the mountain. For when God spoke of
His being pleased with His Son at the River Jordan, God then entered into His
Son, and then the work began to test that duality relationship, and being put
to the test, God was so pleased with the performance that He took His Son up to
the Mountain with three witnesses because the Law said there must be two or
three witnesses to establish anything. And God being the author and finisher of
that Law, knew full well the significance of having two old testament
witnesses, being Moses and Elijah, and three New testament witnesses in Peter,
James and John.
Then God repeated what
He said at the River Jordan when He first entered into His Son in His Fullness,
but this time after the testing He added the words, “hear Ye Him”.
God turning over
stewardship of His Word to His Son, who became the perfect reflector of God’s
Word, speaking only what God taught Him to say. And this gave God great joy,
and as brother Branham said, it inspired God to see the fulfillment of His role
of redeemer being played out now by His Masterpiece, His own Son.
And when God spoke out
and said, I am pleased to indwell My Son, this is the record or witness that
God made before Old and New Testament witnesses. This is the record God made of
His Son. And if you do not believe this
record, then you do not believe God. And if you do not believe God then you are
calling God a liar. This is what we are told in Scripture.
1 John 5:10
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he
that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son.
Therefore, those who
do not believe the report that God Himself gave concerning His own Son, that “God
indwelt His Son” have called God a liar. And therefore those who believe that
God is His own Son, or that Jesus is His own Father are calling God a liar, for
God plainly said, “This is my beloved SON, IN
whom I am well pleased, Hear Ye Him.”
And notice this record
saying, This is My beloved Son IN
Whom I am well pleased or as brother Branham quoted it, “In Whom I am pleased
to dwell in”. That is the record that God gave of His own Son twice for two is
a witness, and He did it twice for a witness and each time he did it for a
witness.
Now, there were at
least 33 times that brother Branham explains this to the people, so we are not
looking at one obscure out of context quote here. We are looking at Thus Saith
the Lord. So let me give you a few examples of how brother Branham translated
that passage of Scripture where God is giving a record of His Son.
Godhead Explained 61-0119A P:56 The
Spirit of God, like a dove, descended and a voice from heaven (which was above
Him) saying, "This is My beloved Son, in
Whom I am pleased to dwell." (Really, the right translation... They
got the verb before the adverb, like all the foreigner is... "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
pleased to dwell in." Or, "Whom I am pleased to dwell."
"In Whom I am pleased to dwell."
) That was God coming into Jesus,
and in Him was the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Godhead Explained 61-0119A P:58 I
mean He changed His cast from God to man and came down, was born of a virgin,
Mary; and the Holy Ghost (which is God, His Father, that overshadowed it) came
down and spread His tent and dwelt with us in the form of a man. That's God the
Son, the same God that was God the Father. "It isn't Me that doeth the
works. It's My Father that dwelleth in
Me; He doeth the works." See? [Someone says, "In me."--Ed.] That's right. The Father that dwells, tabernacles,
lives... "This is My beloved Son,
in Whom I am pleased to dwell in." Matthew 3. See? "In Whom I am
pleased to dwell. I am very please to
dwell in this One." Dwell,
that's to occupy, come in the house and live. "In Him was the fullness of the Godhead bodily," says the
Scripture. That's right, the visible image of the invisible God. Now, there He
is. Now, that's God the Father, God the Son.
Now, before we read any more I want you to understand that this same God,
Who is God the Father, when He came into and indwelt His Son now played out the
role of Son so Jesus could do what ever His Father was showing Him to do. Then
God in Jesus was God the Son because that was the role that God was playing out
in His Son. That is what brother Branham is telling us here.
Court
trial 64-0412 P:75 How many believes that 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.
Spoken
word original seed 62-0318E P:13 Three is the number of perfection: God's
offices: Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 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 Not three Gods, one God, one God, not three
Gods, but one God in three offices, called Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Father
God in a Pillar of Fire, God the Son in
His own Son, God the Holy Ghost in you, the same God all the way
condescending, coming down, making His way to get into human hearts. Yes, sir.
Why
61-0413 P:85 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.
Queen 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.
Abraham's
grace covenant 61-0317 P:30 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 garden of Eden.
From the
beginning it wasn't so 59-1125 P:54 How many know that Jesus
Himself as a Son, did not do one miracle? Jesus said so. "The Son can do
nothing in Himself," John 19:5, the Son, Jesus, the Son of God. "The
Son can do nothing in himself but what He sees (not hears), but sees the Father
doing, that doeth the Son likewise." How many knows the Scripture reads
that? Sure. Then He saw by vision what the Father was doing; then He did just
what the Father had told Him to do by a vision. See that?
Show us
the Father 53-0907A P:92 God the Father, was made manifest in a
Pillar of Fire that hung on the mountain. Even Moses dread the quake. Is that
right? If any, even a beast come near the mountain had to be thrust through
with a dart. Is that right? Then the
same God was manifested in flesh and dwelt among us in a virgin born body in
order of take away sin. Do you believe that? That was God the Son. You believe that? It's the same God. "My
Father and I are One. My Father dwelleth
in Me. It's not Me that doeth
the works; it's My Father." That was Jesus talking about His Father, the
same God revealed down here in a body of flesh Who hung in a Pillar of Fire.
Show us
the Father it'll satisfy 53-0610 P:70 God's in His universe. God is
in His Word. God is in His Son. Now, let's see if God... When He was here on
earth, you say it was His Son? Yes, sir. When He was here on earth, He said He
was God. He looked like God. He act like God. He healed like God. He died like
God. He rose like God. He was God, God, the Son. When God the Father came down
and dwelt in His Son, Christ Jesus, and They in unity were One, that's what
they was. That was God speaking.
QA
Hebrews part 1 COD 57-0925 P:55 This is the Son. Well then, His father is
God. Is that right? How many believes that His Father's God, raise up your
hand. How many believe that God is the Father of Jesus Christ? All right.
So we see that God in His Son was God acting out the role of Son making
Him God the Son. Not another God, for Behold Oh
Contending for the faith 56-0200 P:
And at the baptismal service when he was baptizing, he saw Jesus coming with a
Light following Him. And He said, "Behold, the Lamb of God that take away
the sin of the world." And Jesus was baptized; the Holy Spirit came from
out of heaven, and a Voice from It, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am pleased to dwell." The
original translation says, "In Whom I am pleased to dwell in." Which God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself.
Does God
change His mind 65-0427 P:54 The
Father had came down and dwelt in Him in the form of a dove coming down from
heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am pleased to dwell in. "That's the reason He said,
"I and My Father are One. My Father
dwelleth in Me. It's not Me that
doeth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me."John bear record,
seeing that Spirit of God, like a dove, descending. A Voice coming from It,
saying, "This is My beloved Son in
Whom I'm pleased to dwell." See, and He dwelt in Him.
Sir we
would see Jesus 62-0724 P:47 Now,
remember. God was in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself. Is that right? All right. "Not Me,"
said Jesus, "doeth the works: but My
Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." Now, if you're
putting Scriptures down, Saint John 5:19,
Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in
Himself, but what He sees the Father doing: that doeth the Son likewise."
Now, remember, not what He hears the Father saying, but what He sees the Father
doing. Therefore, Jesus never did
nothing until God showed Him by a vision what to do first. If He didn't,
the Scripture's wrong. Saint John 5:19 said, "Verily, I say unto you (that
means absolutely), I say unto you, The Son can do nothing in Himself, but what
He sees the Father doing: that doeth the Son likewise; for the Father worketh,
and I worketh hitherto." In other
words, He just acted out in drama what God, the Father, showed Him to do,
because God was in Christ. Now, Matthew 3, it said, "This is My
beloved Son," when He was coming down, a voice speaking from that, God,
that was coming down like a dove. John bare record seeing it. And a voice come
from it, saying, "This is My beloved Son in Whom, in Whom I am
pleased to dwell." And if I was
going to make it so you'd understand it better, that the early translators
in King James... If you get the original Greek, it reads like this: "This is My beloved Son in Whom I'm pleased
to dwell in." But you see, it's the same thing. "In whom I'm
pleased to dwell." See? "I am pleased to dwell in My Son." Then
He became Emmanuel, God with us.
Christ
is the mystery 63-0728 P:167 Why
did John do it? Because He was the Sacrifice (John was a prophet; he knowed),
and the Sacrifice has got to be washed before It's presented. Oh, and he
suffered Him, and he baptized Him. And when he did, lo, the heavens opened. Oh,
my. And that Dove come down upon Him, and a voice said, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I'm pleased
to dwell in." King James puts it "in whom I'm pleased to
dwell," so it just any way you want to turn it around: same thing, dwell
in or... "This is My beloved Son in
Whom I am pleased to dwell" (or to dwell in, either one you want to
put it, same thing). All right. We see then it was revealed to him. Others
standing there didn't hear nothing about it. The Holy Ghost alone reveals it.
And Peter tells us that II PETER 1: 17
For he received from God the Father honor
and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
So we see that Jesus received from God the Father
Glory and honor. Now we know that the glory is translated from the Greek word
doxa which is the opinion, assessment and judgment of God. In other words, the
very mind of God was in Christ. But the word honor was translated from the
Greek word time’ which means value or esteem. So the placement of Jesus was the
fact that God indwelt Him in his fullness. Making Him God the Son, for God is
the Spirit and Jesus was the man, and God the Spirit indwelling the man made
Him God the Son to us.
Let us bow our heads in prayer.