The Doctrine of Christ no 4

“How Jesus and God were One”

Brian Kocourek, Pastor

August 7^th, 2011

The fourth area of the doctrine of Christ that I would like to examine this morning is how Jesus and God One.

So we ask the question, How was Jesus and God one? And we find our answer is that God is the Word and His Word is Life, and Jesus manifest God’s Word, God’s God-Life.

From his sermon called PALMERWORM LOCUST CATERPILLAR 59-0823 140 God Almighty, the Father, dwelt in Him. At the day of the baptism, when He received the Holy Ghost on the day when John baptized Him, John said, "I beheld and saw the Spirit of God like a Dove descending from heaven, and a Voice saying, 'This is My beloved Son in Whom I'm pleased to dwell in.” Jesus said that God was with Him, "I and My Father are One. My Father dwells in Me." Not Jesus, and being one with God; but “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself”. 143 And you Oneness brethren, many of you get off the wrong track when you try to think that God is one like your finger is one. He can't be His Own Father. He can't be.

Now, Brother Branham is letting us know that God and Jesus were one in that God was indwelling the Body of His Son. But I also want to show you that this Oneness between God and His Son was more than just God indwelling His Son, the fact is that Jesus and God were one because God is the Word and Jesus manifested that Word in the same sense that God was One with His Own Word.

Jesus said in John 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

And also in John 5:17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what things so ever he does, these likewise does the Son also. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows the son all things that He himself is doing: and He will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whomever the Father wills.

Now, you might say, you read that wrong, it says “so the son quickens whomever he wills.” Yeah, that’s what I read, but you are probably thinking that the he that is being spoken of is the son, but it’s not because Jesus said “the son can do nothing, but whatever the Father does that is what the son does.

And that is how God and Jesus are one. The Father is the Word, and when he is doing in His Word, He shows the son what he is doing, and the son sees God in vision doing (whatever it may be), and he then steps into the vision so to speak (the hat has to be on the chair for him to do it, if you recall how brother Branham told us that all the pieces have to be set up in order for him to step into the vision. You just can’t go do until all the pieces are ready) then he would step into the scene and act out in this dimension what he had seen in that other dimension.

Now, whether the vision is in this dimension of another dimension, I do not know, and frankly I don’t care, it’s not important to know, but what is important is that William Branham vindicated Prophet of God said he could do nothing until God gave him a vision, and he also told us that is how the Son of God also operated.

Now before we go further into this aspect of Oneness with God, let’s drop back to my first argument and that is God was living in Jesus. Jesus explained how he and God were one because he said God was in Him. If you will open your Bibles with me to St. John 10 and we will begin reading at verse 30.

John 10: 30–38 I and my Father are one. (This is where the Oneness or Jesus only stop right here. They read this statement without trying to find out what Jesus meant by that statement. But Jesus does explain himself. He says, my Father dwells in me which makes me one with Him.) I and my Father are one. 31  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32  Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father;

Now, that’s the key right there. Many good works from my father have I shown you. He is not claiming to have done those supernatural things all on his own. He is claiming that His Father and He have a very special arrangement and relationship. He claims that his father does the works, that is what he already told them in 5:19, and 5:30, so he says, “for which of those works do ye stone me?”

In other words, you people have seen the works that only God can do, for no man can do them unless God is with that person, so which of those vindicated works are you questioning? That’s what he is saying to them.

Verse 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Now, the Jew knew that God is spirit, but what they did not know is that God had incarnated His Son. They didn’t believe in incarnation like they still don’t today. And they are no different than the Moslem in that aspect, because both of them are Oneness and both can not comprehend the fact that God inhabited the body of His Son, God was In Christ reconciling the Word unto Himself.

Verse 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36  Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. 39  Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, I and my Father are one, My father dwelleth in me…

Now, honestly you can’t get any plainer than that. He said that the Father was in Him, but it really comes right down to not believing in incarnation. And I think it is strange that both the Jew and Moslem can believe that a man can be inhabited by evil spirits, or the devil himself, but they deny that God inhabited a man called Jesus His son. And to me they give more power to the devil than they give to God when they believe like that.

Let’s examine another Scripture where Jesus spoke of God being in him. Let’s turn to John 14:6-11 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. (now, before we go on, I would like to ask you the question. Why did Jesus say this? Why did he say,) “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also?” (I will tell you why, because he had already told these brothers that he did nothing but what He saw the Father first do, and then he did also. So when he did it was the Father doing first and Jesus just stepping into the vision to bring it into this dimension. So in essence what they saw him doing the Father was in actuality doing Himself. That is why he said when you see me you see the Father. And another thing, He came in the image of the Father, and in the name of the Father, so that body was inhabited by two beings, making him a dual being as brother Branham said, but we will leave that for another study.)

JEHOVAH JIREH 56-0429 53 "That's the reason people couldn't understand Him. Sometime it was Christ speaking... or was the Son speaking. Other times it was the Father speaking. He was a dual Person. He was one Man, the Son. God was in, which was tabernacling in Him. But what did He do? Did He go around saying, "I'm the Healer." Very contrary, He said, "I'm not the Healer." He said, "It isn't Me that doth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me.” And in Saint John the 19th chapter when He was questioned for pasting a whole bunch of crippled, lame, withered, halt, blind people, healed one man laying on a pallet, the Father showed Him to go there and heal. Walked away and left the rest of them laying there, they questioned Him. A man packing his bed on the sabbath. Listen to what He said. Saint John 5:19: "Verily, verily, I say unto you: The Son can do nothing in Himself, but what he sees the Father doing, that doth the Son likewise.” Is that what He said? "I do nothing till the Father shows Me a vision first what to do.”

Now, this next verse we read here is another one of the Jesus only favorites, but as I mentioned before they read only verse 8 and 9 and do not go to verse 10 and 11. So let’s read verse 8-9. John 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it will satisfy us. 9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Now, as mentioned earlier, the oneness or Jesus only stop here but again if we are honest we will read on to find out how they are one. How that when you see Jesus you see the father. Because to just say when you see me you see the Father doesn’t tell you anything about how. So in order to see what Jesus says to explain how when you see Him you see also the father, let’s read the next 2 verse.

John 14:10 “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

Again Jesus is hitting them with vindication when he speaks of believing him for the works sake, because he just explained he is not the one who does the works, but it is his Father who is dwelling in him that does the works, and he even claims that the words that he speaks are not his either.

Jesus and God were one by reason of the Father abiding in Him, directing Him by His Word.

Conference 60-1125 73 When He said, "It's not Me that doeth the works. It's My Father. He dwelleth in Me. Me and My Father are One. I and My Father are One. My Father dwelleth in Me." And He did the same works that He did when He dwelt in that Body standing there before Abraham.

As I was with Moses 51-0503 15 “When Jesus of Nazareth... I believe that the Father was in Him, that all the great things that was the Father's was given unto His Son, all the great blessings and gifts; for He was just expressed image of the Father. And in Him dwelled all the richness of God dwelling in Him here, looking up. And He said, "I and My Father are One. My Father dwelleth in Me.” Just what Jehovah was, Jesus was. He was the expressed image of Him. He was God shaped out here, and all the powers of God formed into, and put in a human body. He said, "It's not Me that doeth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me; He doeth the works.”

Now, how was it that God in-dwelt his Son? Well, the scripture tells us it was a mystery how that God was in Christ.

I TIMOTHY 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of Godliness (God-like-ness): God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

The scripture does not say, God was manifested flesh. That is not what it says, and yet why is it that so many believe that. It says that God was manifested IN the flesh. So we need to find out how God was manifested IN the flesh, or whose Flesh was it that God manifested IN? They just do not understand that simple word IN, and yet it is so crucial to our understanding of the Godhead.

The Apostle Paul said in II CORINTHIANS 5:19 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. Notice the accuracy of the Scriptures, God was IN Christ, not God was Christ. But God was IN, that is the key in this verse.

Brother Branham said from his sermons, HIDDEN LIFE 55-1006A When God was here on earth, He occupied a three room House, the Soul, Body, and Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Now, if we are honest we will read it for what he said, and not misinterpret what he is saying here. He said God occupied three things here, God occupied the Body of Jesus and God occupied the Soul of Jesus and God occupied the Spirit of Jesus. All three parts of the one man Jesus. Some brothers try to say that God was the soul of Jesus but here Brother Branham said God occupied the soul of Jesus and he said Jesus was a complete man here because he had his own body, soul and spirit, and God came into that. Now, God occupying the soul and God being the soul are not the same thing. I do not know why people try to make things so difficult. As brother Vayle said years ago, “when language looses it’s meaning it’s all over.” So why can’t people believe all the Word just as it is written in the Bible and said on those tapes?

Listen if you do not believe what brother Branham said here about the three room house of body, soul and spirit of Jesus then you do not believe a lot of other things that Brother Branham taught us, because he said that God did not enter into Jesus until His baptism at the River Jordan, and God left Him in Gethsemane. And frankly I can not believe the lack of belief I have heard from the mouths of the ministers who claim to believe the Message.

One minister said to me that a certain brother tried to tell them that Jesus was a dual being and quoted brother Branham. And the brother said, brother Branham only said that a couple times, so it’s not to be believed as doctrine. I told him, not a couple times brother, he said it at least four times directly and many other times indirectly, but that’s not the point. Jesus said, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have said. ALL, A. double L. man shall not live by brad alone but by EVERY E.V.E.R.Y every Word, and that means if he said it only once and did not come back to make a correction then you had better believe that one time. Hi-yi-yi, I can’t believe they can call themselves ministers of this Message and then not believe what the prophet said, or make some statement like, “well, he only said it twice so we don’t need to pay any attention to it.

Seems to me that the book of Revelations tells us to leave off one word you will not only miss the Rapture, but your name will be stricken from the Book of Life. And these are the men leading churches who are desiring to make a rapture? “Hi-yi-yi”, … Is that Spanish. “Hi-Yi-Yi”. I think I heard a little Spanish speaking mouse say that in a cartoon when I was a little kid. “Hi-yi-yi”, and come to think of it, I hope I’m not speaking in tongues without an interpreter. Well, I’ll have to interpret it for you then. “Hi-yi-yi means “I just can’t believe what I just heard or seen?” At least that is what it means in this instance. I’ll have to ask br. Mario if he knows.

Any way, let me read you four quotes from brother Branham on Jesus being a dual being.

From his sermon, Balm of Gilead 61-0218 P:80 Brother Branham said, “You know, Jesus right at the end of His ministry, His disciples couldn't understand Him. No one understood Him. How many know that they couldn't understand Him? Sure. Why? They thought He had a dual personality. No. Sometime it was Jesus talking, sometime it was the Father in Him talking.”

Let us see God 59-1129 P:58 “And she said, "Oh, he was a prophet; he was a good man." I said, "He was more than... God was in Him. He was a man, but He was a dual Person. One, He was a man; the Spirit in Him was God." I said, "God was in Christ."

Sirs we would see Jesus 57-1211 P:21 “Now, Jesus was born for one purpose, that was for God to manifest Himself through that body. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He was a body that was made physical, that men and women could see what He thought, and His expressions to the people in His gratefulness. And His attitude towards all mankind, He expressed it through Christ. Christ seemed to be a dual personality. He would speak sometimes and they'd scratch their heads; and they didn't understand Him. He'd speak one thing one time, look like, and something else another time. What it was, was Jesus speaking, and then Christ speaking. Jesus was the man. Christ was the God that was in Him. "Not Me that doeth the works: My Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the work.” See?”

Jehovah Jireh 56-0429 P:53 That's the reason people couldn't understand Him. Sometime it was Christ speaking... or was the Son speaking. Other times it was the Father speaking. He was a dual Person. He was one Man, the Son. God was in, which was tabernacling in Him.

Now, we had just read several Scripture where the Apostle Paul was saying that God entered into Christ, and we already read from William Branham a quote where he said that God entered into the three room house of His Son, the Body, soul and spirit of Jesus.

So where was God then if not in the child Jesus when he was born? From his sermon A Paradox 64-0206B P:104 Brother Branham said, And this little Boy, twelve-year-old Child, no wisdom at all, why, but just a twelve-year-old Boy... The Father didn't dwell in Him at that time, because He come on the day when He baptized Him; he saw the Spirit of God coming down (See?), and went in Him.

Notice Brother Branham tells us that the Father did not yet indwell Jesus at this time. He tells us that God entered the Son at the river Jordan when he was baptized.

In the Message, ELISHA THE PROPHET 56-1002.2E 21, brother Branham said, "And Jesus, the baptism He had was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which was in Him, that come on Him at the river Jordan after He was baptized in water. John bare record; he seen the Spirit of God like a dove coming upon Him. And notice. Then when he went up, he sent back the same robe that he was wrapped in: the Holy Ghost upon the Church.

And in the message, MANIFESTED SONS OF GOD 60-0518 88 He said, "In the Garden of Gethsemane, the anointing left Him, you know, He had to die as a sinner. He died a sinner, you know that; not His sins, but mine and yours.

Also from, THE RISING OF THE SUN 65-0418 He said, " When God looked down upon the body... (The Spirit left Him in the Garden of Gethsemane; He had to die a man.) Remember friends, He didn't have to do that. That was God. God anointed that flesh, which was human flesh, and He didn't have... If He'd went up there as God, He'd have never died that kind of death; can't kill God.

TESTIMONY WILLIAM BRANHAM 60-0210 40 Brethren and sisters, we're men and women, got to die, but the Spirit of God that's among us, is the same God that met Moses in the wilderness, was in Jesus Christ on earth, because the life of It proves It's the same Spirit. It's doing the same thing. It's a promise of Christ. Oh, how... There's just no place to stop.

Now, we have seen what Paul said, and what William Branham said and what Jesus himself said concerning how that God and He were One because God was in him. So now let’s see what God said about that because after all, if you hear a testimony from one person isn’t it nice to also hear that same testimony from the other one involved? Didn’t Jesus tells us that in the testimony of two we should establish Truth?

John 8:17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 18  I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. So let’s hear the testimony of the other, of God Himself to see what he had to say about indwelling Jesus.

Matthew 3: 16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 12: 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Matthew 17: 1-5 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 Elias 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.

Mark 1: 9-11 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.10  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Now, brother Branham said the translation we have in English is not accurate because in the foreign dialect the verb is before the adverb as brother Branham explains in his sermon on the Godhead.

From Godhead Explained 61-0119A P:56 he said, “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.

And again from the same sermon, paragraph 58 Godhead Explained 61-0119A P:58 he is quoting Jesus saying, "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.

From his sermon, God's chosen place worship 65-0220 P:37 brother Branham said, My friends, I don't want to hurt feelings, but I'm responsible for a Message, and that Message is "Come out of this mess." And if I asked you to come out, where am I going to take you to? Would I take you to the Branham Tabernacle? It's as much fault as any of the rest of them. But there's one Place I can take you to, where you're safe and protected from death, that's in Jesus Christ, God's Place of worship. That's the Place I'm introducing to you tonight, where God put His Name, where He promised He'd meet every person that come in there; He'd worship with him and feast with him; that's in Christ. Not in no church, no tabernacle, but in Christ, He is God's Tabernacle. He is the place that God came Him into Himself and dwelt in Him: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am pleased to dwell in.” There's where God tabernacled, brought His Name, and placed It upon, Jesus Christ. Therefore, His Name was put in a Man, His Son, Jesus Christ, in which He tabernacled Himself. And in that Tabernacle, where in a type, the old Jerusalem, the old feasts, the old temple was a type, when the smoke come in, the day that the ark went in, of the Covenant, and settled down, and the Voice of God was heard from it. So did the Voice of God be heard coming into the Tabernacle Jesus Christ, which the old natural was a type and a shadow of the new. And when He come into Christ, He said, "This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I'm pleased to dwell in. And I'll choose the place where I'll put My Name, and where I will meet men, and where I will worship at." God chose the place, not in no church denomination, but in Jesus Christ. Yes, sir.

Now, in closing we will examine one more aspect of this Oneness between God and Jesus from Jesus own prayer to His Father in John 17. And how is it that we might be One even as which means in the same manner as Jesus and His Father were One? Jesus said,

John 17:11 ¶ And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, they may be one, as we are. So we must ask ourselves how was Jesus and God One, because that is how we are to be One with God and Jesus in the very same way. Because that is Jesus prayer to God for us, that we might be one as he and the Father are one. Jesus tells us we become One with God through the same Word that He became One With God.

John 17:14 he continues, I have given them thy word;(Gods Word) and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. So we see that we are to receive the Word, the very same Word God gave Jesus and that Word will produce something in us that will bring us into this Oneness With God and His Son.

In John 17:17 We are told that the Word that Jesus has given us will sanctify us. Now sanctification is not a condition of the body, but of the Soul, and David told us how a young man cleanses himself in Psalms 119:9 that we are cleansed by taking heed to the Word of God.

And the Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 5:26 that we are sanctified by the washing of water by the Word.

So we hear Jesus in his prayer to His Father in John 17:17 pray that God His Father will sanctify us through the Word he has given us, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. And that washing of the mind and soul clean by the washing of the Word will bring us to the place where we will be ready to receive the very mind of God in our being.

John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, they also may be one in us: 22 the glory which thou gave me I’ve given them; that they may be one, even as we’re one: Notice the doxa God gave Jesus, Jesus gave us making us one with God.

We are one with God by receiving His Glory. Glory = Greek “doxa” means “The opinion, the values, the judgments of God”. Therefore it is very apparent that we are one by receiving the same Word which bring us into the same Glory or same mind as the Father. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect (mature and finished off) in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

HARVEST TIME PHOENIX AZ 64-1212 87 34 Jesus said, "That they might be one, Father, as You and I are one.” Not for some man to be over something, it never will work; one denomination wants to take over the other, and one man over the other. But that you might be one with God, like Christ and God was one; that's what the prayer is. He was the Word, and Jesus prayed that we might be the Word, reflecting Him. That's His prayer to be answered. See how Satan scruples it up in the carnal mind? But that wasn't Jesus' prayer, at all, that we might all congregate together and all have a certain creed and so forth. Every time they do it, they go further and further from God. He wants us to be one with God, and God is the Word. Each individual in his heart must be that one with God.

Let’s pray, Dear God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, You said “the hidden thins belong unto the Lord our God, but those things revealed belong unto us and our children forever.” Thank you for this great primes, and for the wonderful prayer of your son Jesus and for coming down in this hour to give us your Doxa, Your opinion, your values and your judgments that we might be One with thee even as your Son Jesus was one with you. Help us to live worthy of this great Gospel that we have received at the expense of the blood of Your son Jesus for we ask it in That precious name you gave to him and to your whole family, in Jesus Christ’s name we pray. Amen!!