Formed to the Word Image
Brian Kocourek
August 11th,
2001
Last Sunday we spoke on the
Life Cycle of the Elect. We took our text from paragraph 78 of WHO IS THIS
MELCHISEDEC. This morning I would like to again take our text from one
thought that lays within this paragraph. Brother Branham read from where the
Apostle Paul spoke on our body change in II
Corinthians 5:1. "If this
earthly body be dissolved (this earthly tabernacle), we have another one."
See, we have bypassed that to come straight from God, the attribute, to be
flesh to be tempted and tested by sin like Adam did. But when testing of His
Word is over, then we are taken up to this body that was prepared for us before
the foundation of the world. It is the Word there that we skipped to come right
around down here to be tempted and tested. If we'd have come through that,
there'd have been no temptation; we'd knowed all things. That's the reason
Jesus knowed all things, 'cause He was Word before He was flesh.
Now, he is not finished with
that thought yet, For he continues by saying, Then
we become the Word. Here we are formed to the Word image to be a partaker of
the Word, feed on the Word, by being predestinated since the beginning. You
see, that little spark of life that you had in you from the beginning when you
started your journey... Many of you can remember it. You joined this church and
joined that church, and try this and that; nothing satisfied. That's right. But
one day you just recognized it. Right.
Notice he was speaking from 2 Corinthians 5:1 about the
theophany, or Word Body which we long for.
In order for us to better understand what brother Branham is
telling us by using the thoughts here of the Apostle Paul, let's go back to the
Scripture where he was quoting from and the entire thought that the Apostle
Paul is laying out here for us.
II CORINTHIANS 5:1 ¶ For we know that if our earthly house of
[this] tabernacle were dissolved, (That's this body we are now in; if this body dissolves, if
our journey in this body ends, if this body dies and rots in the grave,
dissolves) we have
a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (We have another
temple, or body already waiting for us to enter.)
Now, this is quite a statement, but remember, Paul is not
speaking to everyone, but this letter is addressed to a special people for a
special purpose.
II CORINTHIANS 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will
of God, and Timothy [our] brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth,
with all the saints which are in all Achaia: He is speaking to the Elect members which
he calls the church of God, and to all the saints. Therefore he is speaking to
the saints, not the haints..
Verse 2 Grace [be] to you and peace from God our Father, and [from] the
Lord Jesus Christ. (He addresses them concerning the Grace and peace of God
that is from God, and thus given to them) Therefore, we can see by the wording
of his salutation, that a message of comfort and hope is going to be
addressed.
Verse 3 ¶ Blessed [be] God, even
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all
comfort; (Notice
Paul, begins to expand upon what this grace and peace is that he is bringing
with him and which has come from God.)
In verse 4 we
find Paul bear down on what this grace is all about. It is for our comforting,
to help us to understand what our suffering for the Word is all about. He says, Who comforteth us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by
the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
This letter to the saints is a letter of comfort. An
explanation of things to come, that will lift us out of the mire of suffering
and bring Grace and Peace to our souls.
Now, in getting to chapter 5 and verse one he begins to
expound on the body we now reside in, and let's us know there is another, which
we will go to. II CORINTHIANS 5:1 ¶ For we know that if our earthly house of
[this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens. (We
have another temple, or body already waiting for us to enter. And as I said, he
said we have, WE,
which means he is including himself with a certain group of people,
those who are saints of God. Saints, Hagios, those who have been sanctified,
and set aside for service. The word hagios comes from 2 root words, hagnos,
meaning pure, chaste and reverent, he word thalpo which means to cherish and to
foster with tender care.
Therefore, this word speaks of a people who are reverent,
who are pure, who are chaste, and who have an attitude which cherishes this
condition, and one that fosters the atmosphere for this condition to exist. It
not only speaks of a person who conducts their life with Holiness, but of a
people who desire to do so. Who foster the atmosphere which is conducive for a
life of holiness. These are the people Paul is speaking to about a body waiting
in the heavens for them. He is not speaking to the haint. The person who does
not live their life worthy of the Gospel, and therefore not worthy of such a
glorious body.
2 For in this we groan, (Again he uses the word We, letting us know that this is not
for every body, but only for we, a special group of people, those
sanctified ones who are) earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which
is from heaven:
Then Paul makes an astounding statement, 3 If so be that being
clothed we shall not be found naked. (What does Paul mean by that. If a person is clothed, he is
not naked. And yet Paul says, if so be that when we receive our clothing and we
are found naked. This can only mean that the clothing was no clothing at all.
Like the story called the "Kings new clothes" where the King was so
proud that he wanted what no other man had, and because of his pride, he
allowed a con man to convince him that he was going to receive a gown that was
so splendid, and so divine, that only the King had eyes to see it. And so when
the gown arrived, a great deal of pomp and ceremony came along with it. No one
could see the gown because it did not exist except for in the mind of the king.
And so the conman made a gown for the king, which was absolutely nothing. Just
a figment of the kings mind. And yet the conman had so worked up the king's
emotions that the king had imagined his gown and it's royal beauty, so
beautiful in fact that the common man was not worthy to look upon it, and
therefore it was hidden from his eyes. It's colors were so royal, and so
beautiful that the common man could not see it. It's texture was so warm and
soft that the common man could not feel it. And because everyone in his kingdom
were so afraid to tell him the truth, that there was no gown at all, and that
he had been deceived, the king freely paraded around his kingdom stark naked
and everyone just watched and laughed at his insanity behind his back.
Everyone that is, until he came upon a small child who
turned to his mother and said, "mommy,
why is the king walking around with no clothes on?" And suddenly,
the king understood his condition.
I believe the Apostle Paul is saying the same thing here. He
says, we long for, we desire to be clothed upon by this heavenly Word body
provided that when we receive ours, there is a body there. In other words, there will be a body for all
except those who there will be no body for. Those who are not in that
sanctified and set apart for service, group. I believe Paul is saying, if so be
when the robes of our heavenly bodies are given, we actually have one. He says
if so that when we are clothed we find that our clothing is no clothing at
all.) What a terrible condition that would be.
Then he clarifies this statement in verse 4 For we that are in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not
for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be
swallowed up of life. (Therefore, he is speaking of this heavenly body as being
immortality, and what a sad thing it would be to come to the place of being
clothed upon with immortality and finding none for us)
5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing [is] God, who
also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Paul says here, He that gives us the heavenly body (God),
also gives us an assurance on this side of the resurrection that we will have
one waiting for us, by giving us the down payment which he calls the earnest,
that we will be clothed upon, (by a Word body).
6 Therefore [we are] always confident, knowing that, whilst we are
at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not
by sight:) 8 We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from
the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether
present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
Paul is saying that although we can not see the Word body we
are going to, yet we have an earnest, and because we have such an earnest, we
have confidence that there will be one there for us when it is time to change
over.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he
hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.
Now, the question is in what body will you appear before the
judgment seat? In the robe of this flesh which is temporal? Or will you be
clothed upon by a Word Body which is eternal in the heavens. Because if the
body is eternal, "there is now therefore no
condemnation, no judgment for them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1)
For those who walk after The Spirit, His Spirit, God's
Spirit. And notice it has to do with the walk. There is no condemnation, no
judgment for them that walk after, that follow after The Spirit which is God.
If we walk in the Light as He is already in the Light, we have
fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all
sin, (unbelief). 1John 1:7
11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; And woulodn't you do the
same if you truly had a glimpse of the reality of what is in store for those
who do not make rapture? Would you not try to persuade in whatever manner you
could those who you see are drifting off
towards a life that will have to stand before the judgment seat? Oh, if
you could only avoid that time, because those standing there will not be
clothed upon with a heavenly immortal body, but will be standing there in this
flesh. The same flesh that did the sinning, is the same one that will be
standing there when there is no more
mercy.
The time of mercy is now, under the blood as you walk in the
light. If you wait for over there it will be to late. The mercy seat will have
been turned into a judgment seat then. Don't wait until then it will be too late.
Come now to the throne of Grace while there is time.
Now, Paul continues, in verse 11: but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust
also are made manifest in your consciences.
The
Apostle John said the same thing when he said, "if you say you have no sin (unbelief) you
deceive only yourself" don't try to lay your sin and your guilt on anyone else. You
and you alone are responsible to God whether you believe or not,. He will say,
"woman, why did you wear pants when you know my Word condemns it, and
tells you that a woman who wears clothes pertaining to a man is an abomination,
" and you will say, "well, mrs. So and so wore pants " and do
you think that will get you off the hook? I think not.
"Well, you see your honor, everyone else was looting
that store, so I thought it must be alright?" And off to prison you go.
12 ¶ For we commend not
ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye
may have somewhat to [answer] them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
13 For whether we be beside ourselves, [it is] to God: or whether we be sober,
[it is] for your cause. 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we
thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Look, Paul is telling you the love of Christ will constrain
you. It will cause you to do things that you wouldn't do otherwise.
15 And [that] he died for
all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
him which died for them, and rose again. And that is the key right there. The fact that you sin, and
continue to sin is because you are self centered, and not Christ centered. You
are stuck on having it your own way. You are selfish and self centered and no
one is going to tell you how to live. And that is ok with me, because if you
don't want what Paul is talking about, don't you worry your sweet little soul,
you won't have to have it. If all you want out of life is what this present
world has to offer you, then that is all you are going to get. Then you might as
well just eat, drink and be merry, because I will guarantee one thing, you
won't get what Paul is talking about over there because you have not sown for
it.
And that leads us to what brother Branham said in his
statement about this chapter of 2 Corinthians. He said, "Here we are formed to the Word image to be a partaker of the
Word, feed on the Word,"… He said, Here
we are formed to the Word Image. Think of
that. Something is happening on this side of the resurrection.
Paul tells us there is another body we go to, and brother
Branham is telling us that while we are here we are being formed to that image
over there. And how is it that you are formed to that Word image? well, what is
the Image of? Is it not the Word. Did he not say the Word Image? And who is the
Word? God? And who is the Image of God? His Son.
COLOSSIANS 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,
and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have
redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (And how was it that
Jesus was in the Image of the Father? Notice verse )19 For it pleased [the Father]
that in him should all fulness dwell;
God, formed Himself into that body, and that body CON-formed
Itself to the Image of the ONE who indwelt Him.
HEBREWS 1:1 ¶ God, who
at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he
hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being
the brightness of [his] glory(doxa, Opinion, assessment and judgment), and the express image (charaktr, he was the
character of God.)
of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
NIV Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and
the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful
word.
Amplified Hebrews
1: 3 He is the sole expression of the glory of God, - the Light Being, -
the out raying of the Divine. And He is the perfect imprint and very image of
God's Nature, upholding, and maintaining and guiding and propelling the
universe by His Mighty Word of Power.
PHILIPPIANS 2:6 Who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross.
I would like to read this
from several other translations, so that we might get the full impact of what
is being said.
NIV: Who being in
very nature God; did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped. But made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in the appearance of man, he
humbled himself and became obedient to death, - even death on a cross.
Amplified: Who, although
being essentially one with God and in the form of God (possessing the fullness of the
attributes which make God, God), did not think this equality with God was a
thing to be eagerly grasped or retained: But stripped himself of all privileges
and rightful dignity so as to assume the guise of a servant or slave, in that
He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in
human form He abased and humbles Himself still further and carried His
obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross.
The Weymouth
Translation says, "Although from the very beginning He had
the nature of God, He did not reckon
equality with God a treasure to be
tightly grasped. Nay, He stripped Himself of His Glory, and took on Him
the nature of a bondservant, a man like other men.
Emphatic Diaglott:
Who, though being in God's form, yet did not meditate to usurpation
to be like God, but divested Himself, taking a bondsman's form having been made
in the likeness of men, and being in condition as a man, he humbled himself,
becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
CHOOSING OF A BRIDE 65-0429E 13-4 The real true borned again church must have the character that
was in Christ, because the husband and wife are one. And if Jesus did only
that which pleased God, kept His Word and manifested His Word, His Bride will
have to be of the same kind of character.
And notice Paul tells us in GALATIANS
4:19 that Christ must be formed in us, even as God was formed in His
Son. ¶ My little
children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed (morphed) in you,
ROMANS 8:28 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.
29 ¶ For whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate [to be] conformed (summorphos, fashioned like unto) to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many 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. 31 ¶ What shall we then say to these things? If
God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?
In ROMANS 12:1 we see
that there is a process which God brings us thorugh to bring on this formation
of Christ in us. Because after all, in the beginning was the Word, God Himself.
And the Word, God Himself became flesh in His Son as He indwelt that Son, and
Paul tells us we are to be transformed into the same image and he tells us how
this transformation takes place. ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed
to this world: but be ye transformed (Metamorphoo, changed) by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
TRYING TO DO GOD A SERVICE 65-1127B
335 God stirs His Spirit. He stirs It right into
His Word to make It live. And if you were ordained from the beginning of the
earth to that Word, every Word will come right on top of the Word. Like a human
cell will not have one human cell, and the next the cell of a dog, and the next
the cell of a cat; it'll be human cells. But it's got to have a cell first to
start with. Is that right? say, "Amen." [Congregation says,
"Amen."--Ed.] Well, if it is the Word cell to start with, the other
Word cells are ordained to make it a full body.
ON THE WINGS OF A DOVE 65-1128E
73 Now, what God is showing him here is this:
on these sacrifices is speaking of Christ; that how God took Jesus to the
Calvary and tore Him apart, and received the body up into heaven, and sent the
Spirit down upon us, that the same Spirit was on Him has to be on you to
dovetail with the Body, to be the Bride at the end time. See, see? That's
right. See? Won't be a denomination now, It'll be the Word, what He was. See?
But like that Word has to come to Word, like cell in a human being. You know,
when your body's being built, it isn't one cell of a human, next of a dog, and
next of a pig. Oh, no, no. It's all human cell. That's the way the Body of
Christ is, all the Word of God, not just part of It, some tradition added
to It; no, It's all the Body of Christ.
LEADERSHIP 65-1207 166 And like a baby formed in
its mother's womb, when the baby comes to the mother's womb, by the little
germ, it crawls into the egg. It doesn't form one cell a human, the next a dog,
and the next a cat, and the next a horse. It's all human cells because it's
building off of an original human cell. And when a man has been borned again by
the Word of God, predestinated to Eternal Life, called the Elected, it'll be
Word of God on top of Word, Word on Word. Not a denominational creed and then a
Word, and a creed; and it won't work. You can't have that leaven in It. Only
one Eternal Life, Jesus Christ the Word. "In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelled among us."
2 Corinthians 5:16 ¶ Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the
flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth
know we [him] no more. (why? Because we know him only by the Word.) 17 Therefore if any man [be] in
Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new. 18 And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.