ONENESS # 45

One Mediator Bewteen

April 4, 1993

Brian Kocourek

ONENESS pp. 171 <read>

So oneness between God and man will come only by the Holy  Ghost.
Now, we read this here and we pass over it without even  thinking
and we don't even know what he is saying here.

He said, "Oneness between God and man will only come by the  Holy
Ghost."

Now,  what does oneness imply? A coming together, a  joining  together, an agreeing upon the same thing.

Now,  it  is apparent that we are not one with  the  Father,  for
Jesus prayed that we might be one, even as he was one. Now, if we
were always one He wouldn't have prayed that prayer, right?

JOHN 17: 14 - 22 <read>

Now,  we  see that He has given us the same Glory as  the  Father
gave  Him, and He gave it in order for us to become one. So  this
in  itself is evidence that we needed some outside  influence  to
become one with the Father.

ISA 55: 8 <read>

So  if His ways are not our ways then we have no oneness,  right?
In  fact we had a hostile or at minimum an opposing  relationship
with God.

The  scripture says, " Let every man's word be a lie and mine  be
True saith the Lord."

So,  then,  opposing thoughts must bring contrary words.  If  our
thoughts are not his thoughts then when they come forth from  our
lips, they will also be opposing words.

"For out of the heart the mouth speaketh."

So, when there are two parties involved, and they are at opposite
ends of the argument, you need someone to mediate between them to
try  and  resolve the dispute and bring about a  oneness  between
them.

This  person is called a mediator and it is His duty to get  with
both parties and bring about a resolve. He will either bring  the
one  party to agree with the other party or else He will  try  to
bring both parties to the middle in order to bring agreement. The
mediator  is only needed when it seems that there is a  stalemate
and neither party will budge from their opinion. So both  parties
seek  out someone who will understand both positions and  who  is
neutral in their ability to make a decision.

Now,  when one of the parties is God who changes not, you can  be
assured  He will not compromise Himself for no man. So  then  you
know the moving must then be the one who has the opposing view.

Now,  who  could  that be? You and I see. So,  then  the  job  of
mediator is to convince us to move to God's side.

So,  then  we  ask ourselves, who could possibly  be  a  mediator
between  God and man. Who could possibly understand both God  and
man's side of the story.

GAL 3: 20 <read>

Now if a man came forth and said He was totally representing  one
side  of the argument, He could not be considered a mediator.  He
who  be considered more of an enforcer. But what is needed  is  a
mediator. Otherwise it is a forced reconciliation. And  therefore
not out of the goodness of the heart.

1 COR 2: 11 <read>

So we see that the two spirit's or the two natures are completely
unknown  to  each other, right? So then there has to  be  such  a
person  Who  is  both God and Man. In other  words,  he  must  be
genuine man, yet have the Spirit of God in Him that He might know
the things of God.

So we see that Jesus Christ as it says in Hebrews 1:4 was made  a
little  lower than the angels that He might reconcile us back  to
God.

1 TIM 2: 3 - 5 <read>

So,  we see here that there is only one mediator between God  and
man, and that is the man Christ Jesus.

Now, here's the catch. Or shall we say, here is the problem  with
brother Branham's statement.

Now,  he  said,  " The Holy Ghost is the One Who  will  make  the
Oneness between God and man." And He said, "The Holy Ghost is God
Himself."

Now,  this makes it a little difficult so I want  your  undivided
attention for the next few minutes.

Now, first off, we have two statements here that would appear  at
first  glance  appear to be contrary to  each  other,  therefore,
difficult to reconcile.

Is the man Christ Jesus the Mediator, or is God. Now we just read
in the scripture that said, "Now a mediator is not a mediator  of
one, but God is one." That ought to let you know that a  mediator
is not one sided. He is there to bring reconciliation or  oneness
between two parties. In fact it says the mediator is not on  one,
then it says in the same breath, God is one. So then the mediator
is  not  simply  100%  behind or for God, it  must  be  for  both
parties.

Then  we  found in 1 TIM 2:5 that is said, "there  is  one  God,"
which  is  what it said in Gal 3:20 but then it goes  on  to  say
there is one mediator also. And the mediator is not supposed  to
be  partial or he is not an effective mediator. And it  tells  us
that this mediator is a man, called Christ Jesus.

So in order to have effective mediatorship we must have a man who
is  both God and man, He is God or as we read in 1 COR 2 that  He
must at least have the Spirit of God and yet according to GAl and
1 Timothy, He must be a man.

And  of course we know who that was, and we are  blessed  forever
because   of  His  mediatorialship.  But  that  isn't  what   I'm
addressing here. We have a problem. we just can't read over these
sermons  without  taking it all to the scripture and so  here  we
have a paradox.

Who is the mediator. That is the question. Well, you say,  that's
easy.  Christ Jesus the man. That's what the scripture says.  Ok!
That's  what  the scripture says, alright. Then what  about  this
quote we just read. Brother Branham said, The holy Ghost which  s
God  Himself  is  the mediator to bring  the  long  sought  after
oneness between God and man.

Now, who is right. If you say the scripture, then you turn down a
vindicated  Prophet. If you say the Vindicated Prophet, then  you
turn  down the Scripture which is also vindicated. And  remember,
as we read in Revelations last Sunday, O to add one word you  get
the  plagues  and are foolish virgin. But to take away  one  word
your  name is taken from the book of Life. So here you  sit  this
mourning in a quandary. Your damned if you do and your damned  if
you don't.

To further complicate things, ROMANS 14: 15 says, "whatsoever  is
not of faith is sin."

So no matter what you chose unless it comes by revelation, it  is
sin. And the wages of sin are death.

This  reminds me of the predicament of Saul's armorbearer.  In  1
SAMUEL  31  we  see Saul wounded real bad  and  he  commands  his
armourbearer  to  take his sword and slay him with it.  Now  this
puts  the man on the spot because if he obeys the king he  breaks
the  command of God that says "ouch not mine anointed and  do  my
prophets  no harm." So if He obeys the king he himself dies,  and
if  he  disobeys the command of the king he will just  as  surely
die.  So what did he do? He let the King fall upon his own  sword
and  then  he also fell upon it. That settled the  case,  but  it
didn't help him out of the jam. He just gave up.

Now,  this Word of God is a two edged sword. And we sit  here  at
the mercy of God this morning just as that man sat. One Word  off
is satan's kingdom, so what is our answer?

Most  people will now revert to oneness doctrine to  explain  it.
They  will simply say that the man Jesus was God. He's  not  God,
and they are wrong.

He's either God the son or He's the Son of God. They are not  the
same thing.

JOHN 20: 17 <read>

EPH 1: 3, 17 <read>

PSALM 1: 10 <read>

1 COR 15: 27 <read>

E-74 GODHEAD.EXPLAINED -- BEAUMONT.TX -- 61-0119.1A

"Now,  not long ago--and maybe the same man may listen to  this
tape  some day--that this taken place. It was Brother  Schism  of
the  Oneness.  Now, you... Many of you people listening  to  this
would  say,  "Brother Branham is a Oneness." I am  not.  I  think
you're both wrong, both oneness and trinity. Not to be different,
but it's always the middle of the road.

Like  Isaiah said, Isaiah 35 said, "There shall be a  highway."
And  you Nazarene brothers, and so forth, you say."The grand  old
highway  of  holiness."  I beg your pardon. it  doesn't  say  the
highway  of  holiness.  It says, "There shall be  a  highway  and
("and"  is a conjunction) and a way, and it shall be  called  the
way of holiness." Not the highway of holiness. The way is in  the
middle  of the read. Each side is where the off-falls  is  found.
That's where you Oneness brethren went to on one side,  Trinitar
ian  went  on the other side, but the true message  lays  in  the
center of the road."

IS.THIS.SIGN.OF.THE.END.SIR - JEFF - V-2 N-11 - 62-1230.2E

"Notice,  the Book written. When this angel finishes all  these
loose-end ministries that through the battle they fought  Luther,
fought in Wesley, fought in the Pentecostals, fought... but there
is coming one, says the Bible, that in the days of his  sounding,
all  these mysteries... The Oneness run off on Jesus'  Name.  The
Trinity  went off on Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, just like  they
did  at the Nicaea Council. Same thing. They both was wrong.  But
now,  in the middle of the road, in the Scriptures lays  out  the
truth. You see where we are at? The Angel of the Lord."

E-96 SHOW.US.THE.FATHER -- CHICAGO.IL -- 53-0907.1A

"Now,  my parents and my both... before me were  Catholic,  but
brother,  you  see there's not much Catholic left in  me  as  the
triune  beings.  That's  right. Yes, sir. They  believed  in  the
Eternal Sonship or there's three actual individual being: God the
Father, an old man with long white beard; God, the Son, a  middle
age  man;  and the Holy Ghost was a mascot boy like.  There's  no
such  things. There's only one God. And I differ and  agree  with
the  organization of Pentecost that calls the Oneness  like  your
finger is one. That's wrong. Absolutely, it's wrong

" God... Jesus couldn't have been His Own Father, and if God  is
a  Man, then Jesus was born sexual desire, and not virgin  birth.
That  settles  the whole thing. You see? If He is one  like  your
finger's one, then what? Then He was His Own daddy. How could  He
have been? That's wrong. He had a Father, Jesus did."

Now, Brother Branham said oneness was wrong and so was  trinity.
So  there goes your argument. Now this is where some people  will
cop out and say, I'll stick with the scriptures. And when you say
that  you are in escense saying, therefore I will turn  down  the
Prophet. Your finished right there.

You've just called God's prophet a liar and thus you have  called
God  a liar and an incompetent discerner to not be able  to  know
what  His  Prophet would do. Not only that but your  choice  just
rejected  Election  and predestination because you  believe  that
God's anointed messenger didn't live true to His message.

"Go directly to jail do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars."

So  where does that put you? You end up as souls in prison as  we
read Wednesday night.

ISA 28: 8 - 13 AMPLIFIED REVISED

"For  all pulpits are full of filthy vomit, spiritual  food  from
another  day,  so that there is no place clean. To whom  will  He
teach  knowledge?  And  to whom will He make  to  understand  the
Message, the shout?

"Those who are babies, just weaned from the milk of the Word and
taken from the nurturing breast's of the church? Is that what  we
are in His thinking? It must seem to be so for It is His prophets
repeating  over and over, "precept must be upon Precept,  precept
upon  precept;  church  order upon order, Word  order  upon  Word
order, here a little and there a little. Indeed, He will speak to
this people, but not as you think, for with a foreign tongue  and
strange  grammar shall He speak to this people, to whom He  said,
This  is  my resting place, where My presence shall  remain,  the
place I have come to rest, yet they will not listen.

Therefore the Word of the Lord will be to them merely  monotonous
repeating  of  stories  and  doctrinal  precepts,  precept   upon
precept, and rules upon rules, and church order full of does  and
don'ts,  a little here and a little there until they  shall  fall
backward,  and  be  broken,  snared and  become  souls  that  are
imprisoned."

So then, you say, ok! I'll side with brother Branham. So you  can
just rip out 1 TIM 2:5 and GAL 3: 20 out of your bible. Go  ahead
and  do it. One word off and your bible is now  satan's  kingdom.
Add  to and you get the plagues. Take away and your name  is  re
moved from the book of Life.

Your  damned if you do and damned if you don't. You  know,  satan
likes to our God's see to the test. In fact he loves it hoping we
will  fail. But God also loves to do it because He knows  we  are
ordained not to fall.

The scripture tells us we will not be tested above that which  we
are able to stand.

In fact in 1 PETER 1:7 tells us we are tested with the purpose of
approval. So what are we worried about. In the hour of our  test
ing  we have been assured that he will give us what we have  need
of.

LUKE 12: 11 -12 <read>

PHIL 3: 15 <read>

So  how do we reconcile what brother Branham said with  what  the
holy  Scriptures say? The scripture says one man whereas  brother
Branham said, One God will bring oneness.

We  are still too much like the Baptist's who have been  educated
at  Moody or Wheaton college. They take everything at face  value
and literally, and that is exactly why the pharisees missed  John
the Baptist and thus Jesus Christ.

They were looking for a ministry to come and make the high places
low and the low places high. So they thought the mountains  would
be  leveled and the valleys would be raised, but the high  places
that  were cut down were there intellectual seat  of  authority,
and the common folk were exalted into heavenly places.

The  same spirit exist's today. We get upset if  someone  doesn't
see things just exactly as we see them.

But not every thing is black and white. It would be so easy if it
was. What might be ok for me to do and even in God's perfect will
could be death for you to do. Do you believe that?

The  scripture tells us that every man must bear His own  burden.
Then it turns around and says, bear ye one another's burden.  But
do  we bear every burden of one another. Not so. Some we can  and
others it is impossible to bear.

The  scripture  tells us "do not answer a fool according  to  his
folly and then the next verse tells us to answer a fool according
to  his  folly". So what do we do? Answer some and  don't  answer
others.

I  asked a question earlier, I said, "What might be ok for me  or
even God's perfect will does not mean it is His perfect will  for
you."  If you are permitted by God to do every thing I  do,  then
come  up here and preach. If you're not called by God to  do  it,
then  it's death to do so."

There  was a king one time that got so exalted that he went  into
the temple and offered sacrifice that only the priest was allowed
to do. God struck him with leprosy and he died.

What is good for the goose is not always good for the gander.

DEUT 22: 5 <read>

1 COR 11: 14 - 15 <read>

For  me  to marry LaVonne is ok! In fact I believe  it  is  God's
perfect  will. And the fruits of our marriage bear that out.  She
has been a faithful helpmate in my ministry raising my kids in  a
Godly  manner. So that is God's perfect will for me, but  woe  to
the man who tries to do the same. It would be adultery and  death
for him.

Conjugal  relations are a blessed event in marriage  but  outside
marriage it's fornication and death.

Now,  what  I'm trying to get across is this. "One  Word  off  is
satan's kingdom and certain death." One Word off and you're gone.

God want's his word rightly divided.

72 CHRIST.RV.IN.HS.OWN.WD -- JEFF.IN -- V-4 N-10 -- 65-0822.1M

"  Now,  in  order to study the  Scripture--Paul  told  Timothy,
"Study It, rightly dividing the Word of God which is Truth"--then
there's  three musts in the Scripture. In using God's Word  there
is three things that you must not do. Now, let's study those  for
the next ten minutes: Three things that you must not do. And  all
out  in the land wherever you are across the nation, be  sure  to
put these down in your mind if you haven't got a pencil. You must
not  do these things. We tell you all the time how you  must  do;
now, I'm going to tell you what you must not do. Now, you  must
not  misinterpret  the Word. You say, "Well, I believe  It  means
this."  It means just what it says. It needs no interpreter.  And
you  must not misplace the Word. And you must not  dislocate  the
Word. And  if we would do either of these, it throws  the  whole
Bible  in a confusion and in a chaos. Notice. To  misinterpret
Jesus  in the form of God in a man you would make Him--you  would
make  Him one god out of three. To misinterpret Jesus  Christ  in
being  the  Word, you'd make Him one god out of three.  Or  you'd
make  Him the second person in a godhead. And to do  that,  you'd
mess the whole Scripture up. You'd never get nowhere. So It  must
not be misinterpreted. And if you say that a certain thing, you
put an interpretation on It, and you apply It to another time  or
It's  been  applied to another time, you also make  an  incorrect
interpreting."

GEN 4: 7 <read>

2 TIM 2: 15 <read>