The Doctrine of Christ no 69
The Life of Christ no 9
“Subject to the Father in all things”
Brian
Kocourek
This morning we are continuing the study on the doctrine of Christ and
the Life of Christ attributes and the attribute of the son that we wish to discuss
this morning is His ability to subject Himself to the father in all things. Now
this ability to subject Himself is also known as his ability to be in
submission to the Holy Spirit.
Brother Branham said in his sermon, A Total Deliverance
59-0712 P:55 Jesus was completely, totally man. He could cry like a man,
He could eat like a man; He could become like a man. He was completely, totally
man in His physical being. And in His Spirit, He was completely, totally God,
so He made His flesh submissive to the
Spirit that was in Him. You see, He was tempted in all manners like we
are. He was man, not an Angel. He was a man. He had desires and temptations
just like we do. The Bible said He did. He was a man, not an Angel above
temptation. Hebrews 1 said that He
was... Hebrews 1:4 said He was made lower than
the Angels. He was man, completely man, that
God took a complete man to bring total deliverance; and He filled Him with His Spirit; the Holy Ghost was in Him
without measure. And He was tempted like
we were. And He was completely God. He proved it when He raised the dead, when
He stopped nature, the roaring seas and the mighty winds. When He spoke to the
trees, and so forth, they obeyed Him. He was God inside. And He could've been
man, for He was Man, but He totally and
completely delivered Himself as a Man into the hands of God for the service of
God. And He is our example.
Notice
“he delivered himself into
the hands of God for the service of God”. He
said, “so He
made His flesh submissive to the Spirit that was in Him.”
Now, I am not just talking
about Jesus here so you can look back at a historical figure and say that is
nice. I am showing you the son of God so that you can see the pattern and
example for all sons. When you see the pattern Christ Jesus, you then know how
to conduct your own life. I am talking about every son of God that has been
born of God’s Spirit, will show this same attribute of submission to the Spirit
of God that is indwelling you just as Jesus did submitted Himself to God’s
Spirit that indwelt him.
From his sermon, Believing God 52-0224 P:34 brother Branham said, And that soul is the same way until the
soul died and then was born again of God, then that soul can't die. "The soul that sinneth shall die. But he that
believeth on Me has Everlasting Life," then there's an
immortal Life living in that body. Now, that's like a string coming from
heaven, like a core on the inside of a man. Now, that's the part that's godly; It operates this body. But before this body can ever become perfected,
the Spirit will bring it in submission to God to make you... It'll war
all the time, a constant. Paul said. We'll never get more than he. See? Paul
said, "When
I would do good, then evil is near me. See?" And there's a constant war, the flesh against the
Spirit.
Now, in John 5:19 we see this submission of Jesus to His father in everything he did. “Then
answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also
doeth the Son likewise. 20 For the Father
loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew
him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.”
And brother Branham said in
his sermon, To see Jesus 54-0718E P:45 He said, “God dwelt in Him, like the Holy Spirit
dwells in us today. And the Son of God
was submissive to the Father, and a
servant of God today is submissive to the Father. Is that right? And then,
now, if Jesus said Himself He did nothing... Now,
And we see also in John 5: 30 where
Jesus said, “I can of mine own self do
nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine
own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
Notice his motive in seeking
to know God’s will. He did not seek to know God’s will in order to know just
how much he could get away with as many so called Christians do today, but He
sought God’s will to know how to please His Father and to know how to subject
Himself to His Father’s wishes in order to show his Love to His Father.
That is what he said in John 8: 28-29 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man,
(and when is that? When you see him hanging on a cross) 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. 29 And he that sent me is with
me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I
do always those things that please him. And
so going to the cross he was willing to do just to please his Father. And as a
Son he could not help himself, it was his nature to want to please his Father.
From brother Branham’s
sermon, The Spoken word original seed 62-0318M P:107 “Christ
couldn't help being what He was. He was the Son of God.
That's it. See what I mean now? See if
you were intended, you see the Word
of God, you believe It; because why? There's something new. See? Why? Have you ever heard of strain in a family?
A one... A son will kind of impersonate
his father, or the mother, or the grandfather, or the grandmother. That's strain in the family. You've
heard of it, haven't you? Well, that's
the same thing from predestination. You
were supposed to be here in the right way at the beginning, but being that you
come the way you did, you're subject to the fall. But being that you're predestinated you hear the Word and It brings you
right back where you were predestinated. Amen. Never saw that before.
Brings you right... And what makes you believe the Word of God and turn down
these other things? Is because you were... There's something in you. Way back
yonder you was supposed... you... what... You are made to live here forever.
And again in Jehovah Jireh 56-0429 P:21 Brother Branham tells
us that this subjection to the Father is an attribute of a son that is the right
kind of son. He said, “That's the first commandment with promise.
"Honor your father and mother,
which may lengthen the days on the earth that the Lord giveth thee." So, little Isaac being in subjection to his father and mother because he
was a type of Christ as He was in subject to the Father perfectly. And
how he minded his father and mother.
Therefore, if we are to look at what attribute that
most exemplifies being conformed to the image of the first born son, it would
have to be this attribute of being obedient to our Father and seeking to honor
him. Now, contrary to what some people might think, to honor is a gesture of
showing respect. Wishing to send your mother or father to the ash heap is not
respecting them even if they wish it upon themselves. But to honor them is to
give them the respect they are due as your parent, the one who gave you life in
this world.
If you father asks you to get him some alcohol so he
can get drunk and you do it, you are not showing him the proper respect. Now,
you might obey him if he asks you to do it, but that won’t show you respect
him, it shows you disrespect him. By not doing what he asks in this case you
are showing him respect. When I had just become an adult, my own father asked
me to go down and buy him some cigarettes and I refused because I did not wish
to see my father kill himself prematurely. I believe that in disobedience to my
father in that case, I was honoring my father. Because the word honor means “to highly respect”. It means “the dignity accorded to the position”.
And placing your parent into the ash heap is not something that is dignified.
In dignity you give a proper burial. We do not burn sacred things, we bury
them, that is the Christian way. If you have old tapes of the prophet that no
longer work, or a worn out Bible, you bury them, you don’t just toss them into
the garbage can along with other refuse that means nothing to you any longer. You
respect your Bible, you respect the Voice of God, then give them a proper
burial. You love your parents, then you bury them respectfully.
When the Scripture tells us to honour our Father and
Mother, the Greek word “timao”
means “to fix a
great Value upon them”, “to revere them” and “to value them”. And that is what Jesus did with his Father, he
held God’s Word in Great value, even greater than His own Life. And so we see
Jesus honor God by his obedience to God’s Word. John 10:18 This commandment received I of my Father
John
12:49For
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.
And in honoring His
Father he was showing His love to His Father. John 14:31.“But that the world
may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so
I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Now in getting back to our thought on subjection to our Father or
Submission to His Spirit within us, we find the Scripture speaks of Jesus as
being subject to his Father God.
I
Corinthians 15:28 the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things
under him, that God may be all in all.
Now, what does this mean,
that that God may be all
in all. That means that he may be
the preeminent one in all, or in you all.
Brother Branham said from
his sermon, Who is this Melchisedec 65-0221E P:33 “But look, when this body receives the Spirit of God, the Immortal Life inside of you, it
throws this body in subjection to God. Hallelujah." He that's born of God doth not commit sin;
he cannot sin."
Romans 8:1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus; they walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit." There you are. See, that throws your body subject. You
don't have to say, "Oh, if I could just quit drinking, if I could
just..." Just get in Christ; it's
all gone. See, see? Because your
body is subject to the Spirit, it's no more subject to the things of the
world; they're dead. They are dead; your sins are buried in baptism; and you
are a new creation in Christ. And your
body becoming subject to the Spirit, try to live a right kind of life...
And notice how he tells us
the Spirit of God in us will actually make us subject to that same Spirit. From
his sermon, Unfailing realities of God 60-0626 P:28 “Now, the Holy Spirit will not misbehave
itself in one person, and behave itself in another. It'll make each person come into Its character (See?), because it's
a Spirit that leads you. It makes you subject
to Its nature. You don't bring It subject to your nature; It makes you subject to Its nature. And
the Holy Spirit makes you live and
love to do it. Oh, how you love to give up the things of the
world, when the Holy Spirit comes in. How it cleanses you and washes you, and
puts a desire in you to--to--to follow Him, and a thirst, and a hunger for more
of it, just bathing yourself. He brings realities.
Notice that brother Branham
says The Holy Spirit in us will subject us to His nature. It will make you
subject to Him, and to His will. And that is what the Apostle Paul said in
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
And
who is God, but th4e Holy Spirit. And He is the Word, therefore His Spirit, his
life in you will make you subject to His Word. And if his word says forsake not the
gathering of the saints, even more so as you see the day approach,
then you can hardly wait for those church doors to open.
In fact brother Branham said
in his sermon, Christ is the mystery 63-0728 P:45 And now, you've got tapes on that. You've
got tapes on what we believe. You got tapes on discipline in the church: how we
behave ourself in the
As brother Branham said in
his sermon, Who is this Melchisedec 65-0221E P:34 “Like you women claiming you got Holy Ghost
and going out here and wearing shorts and things, how could you do it? How could the Spirit of God in you ever let
you do such a thing as that? It just can't be so. Certainly it can't be.
He's not a filthy spirit; He's a holy
Spirit. And then when you become
subject to that Spirit, it throws your whole being subject to that Spirit. And that Spirit is nothing in the world but
this Seed Word made manifest, or quickened (Hallelujah.), made alive. And
when the Bible said, "Don't do this," that body quickly turns to it; there's no question. And what is
it? It's the earnest of the resurrection.
This body will be raised up again, because
it's already started. It was once subject to sin, and mire, and corruption,
but now it's got the earnest; it's turned heavenly. Now, that's the earnest that you're going in the rapture. It's the earnest.”
So notice that this
willingness in you to submit yourself to the Word of God he says is your
earnest that you are going in the Rapture.
Now, you might say, wait a
minute preacher, I thought the earnest of our being in the rapture was the baptism
of the Holy spirit and the evidence of that is believing the Word for the hour
which you live?
Well, brother and sister you
have to balance that with the fact that brother Branham also said, FAITHFUL ABRAHAM 59-0415E 21 “I believe it was Abraham Lincoln said one
time, "You can fool some of the people part of the time, but
not all the people all the time." And your emotions
prove, and your action proves what
you are and what you believe. 22 In the Bible James justified Abraham by
what he did. Paul justified him by faith. But Paul was talking about what God
seen. And James was talking about what man seen. But the way you act proves what you believe. If you say you believe God, then you act like it. Put it into a motion.
Get up and get at it. That's awful rough, isn't it? But it's the truth. Your actions prove what you are. As my
wife used to say, "Actions speak
louder than words." You could jump up-and-down
and shout all night, and then grumble at one of God's promises; it proves what
you believe.
Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by his
own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather
they grapes. 45 A good man out of the good treasure
of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil
treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance
of the heart his mouth speaketh. 46 And why call ye me, Lord,
Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and
heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built
an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the
flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake
it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth
not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth;
against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the
ruin of that house was great.
Brother Branham said in his
sermon, God's provided place of worship 65-0425
P:59 “Now, we find out, the old
fellow being a prophet, he cursed that thing and everything, stayed perfectly
in the will of God. When all the rest of
the preachers weakened off, he stayed right there with It. And one day he
got so tired, that God sent a chariot down from heaven, and horses of fire, and
took him up, he was so full of that
Quickening Power. Just think, with the Word of God in his heart, he become
so full of that Quickening Power that quickened him." If the Spirit of
God, He..." I believe we find in Romans 8:11,
it is. "If
the Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead be in you, it will also quicken
your mortal bodies."
If the Spirit that raised up
Jesus from the dead, if, if It be in you, It'll also quicken your mortal
bodies: quicken it. What
does the word "quicken" mean? The Greek word means, "to be brought to life after death." Hallelujah. There's the gate of
worship, worshipping in the Spirit and in Truth, mechanics and dynamics together. You see what I mean? If the Spirit that raised up Jesus from the
dead dwells in you, It will quicken, make alive, your mortal bodies, because It's already Life. And when It comes into your body, It brings
your whole body subject to It. Subject to what? The Word of God, if it's in
you.”
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be
subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1 Peter 2:18 Servants,
be subject to your masters
with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be
ready to every good work,
Ephesians 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own
husbands in every thing.
I would like to make an
exclusion here, everything as unto Christ, because he says as the church is
subject unto Christ then let the wife be subject unto her husbands in all
things as in Christ. So if he asks you to do that which is against God’s Word,
you don’t have to do it. Just Like I did not have to buy cigarettes for my
father, and you don’t have to buy alcohol for a father who drinks.
From Questions and answers COD 64-0830E P:113 429. we read, “Brother Branham, the Bible tells us that a
wife should obey her husband. I am a
Christian and my husband is a sinner. He persecutes me in every way that he
can, and for me not to go to church, and read my Bible, and denies the Word. What
should I do? What should you do?
Now, listen, you're supposed to obey your husband; that's the Word. Now, if he tells you and refuses you to read the
Bible, go to church, or something like that, you don't have to obey that,
because, "He that won't forsake his father,
mother, husband, wife, or whatever it is and follow Me, is not worthy of Mine.” That right?”
Therefore it is all about
being submissive to the Holy Spirit through God’s Word.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher
powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of
God.
Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God: for it (the carnal mind) is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be.
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; Notice it compels us, it
restrains us, it moves us, it motivates us, and John tells us if we truly love God we will obey His Word. 1 John 5:3 For this is
the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
Now, for the next few
minutes I am going to read you some quotes from br. Branham concerning this
attribute of being submissive in your spirit when you have received the Spirit
of God in you.
From his sermon The Easter seal 65-0410 P:61 And when
the Spirit of God comes upon you, and you truly are one of God's attributes
that He spoken of... Now, if you're not, you'll wonder and frustrate, and run here, and there, and everything
else, and never come to the knowledge of the Truth. But if you are one of
those, the old things pass away right quick (You see?), and you become new, and
the plan of salvation is finished. You're
ready to obey every Word that God ever spoke of you (See?) for you to do. You're submissive to His Word.
The Unpardonable
sin 54-1024 P:51 "The spirit of the prophets is subject to the
prophet." When the pastor sees
something wrong, he say, "Look sister, or brother, that's wrong." You're submissive. That's right.
You're submissive. "The
spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophet." You're submissive, say, "God, forgive me. I didn't mean
to get out of order. I'm ready to, go to the church and move on, then you're
going to see a church moving for the glory of God. "The spirit of the prophets is subject to the
prophet." Everything's in
order, the church set in order.
Moses commission 50-0110
P:31 But what I'm trying to say,
that it doesn't take education to know God; it takes a submissive heart to know God.
It wasn't so from the beginning
62-0630B P:72 Forgive
our many weaknesses, Lord. We don't intend to do anything wrong, Lord, but
through flesh we do make mistakes daily. So
in order to stay alive in Christ, we have to die to our own thoughts. So
keep us dead to ourselves and alive in Him. Let our bodies be so, and our soul so submissive to Him that people will see the reflection of Christ
as we go, or come, or whatever we do.
Presuming 62-0117
P:94 Your whole members of your body submissive to His Spirit, and
you're moving in the Holy Ghost, and not
listening to the sound of the world. Your eyes are on heavenly things. That's
when you've really, if God's a-vindicating the thing.
We would see Jesus 62-0712
P:85 The church ought to be so submissive to the Word of God, that it veils its own face. It has no
head. The nature of a woman is to submit
to a man. And that's what the church ought to be doing, submitting to Christ, to His Word, to His doctrine, to His principles.
She takes no thought for Herself.
James
1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall
into divers testings and trials;
3 Knowing this, that the
trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her
perfect work, (let patience have her perfecting work) that ye may be perfect (that means mature
and fully grown into adulthood) and entire, (that means completed, finished off) wanting nothing. 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let
him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the
sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not
that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Now, notice that he is
telling us that when we vacillate back and forth we are not mature, we are mote
like children and far from perfection or maturity. I have learned over the
years to wait on God and he will supply all our needs. Brother Branham said, They that wait gets
the promises. Men who are mature investors also do that as well.
Others who are entering the investment field and have no knowledge base to work
from and no experience in it, when they see something that has potential and
they buy it but then when that investment makes a down turn they quickly jump
ship and bail out, thinking they have to get out while they can to save
whatever they can, and if they would just learn patience and hold on they would
see that to
everything there is a time and season under the heavens as the
Scripture teaches us.
I was listening to a
financial advisor last week who was quite well known in his field and he told a
story of how most people who don’t understand the stock market loose their
shirt because they react too quickly, or too late. He said the stock that he
made his highest gains was one in which he bought at 10 cents and immediately
the next day it dropped to a penny and a half. But he just held onto it and a
few years later sol it at $10 a share. Now, that’s a 10,000 percent gain. So a
$1,000 investment would next $100,000 dollars. But it takes patience to wait.
Jesus Christ the same 55-0806 P:33 “The
blessings of God waits for those who wait for Him and believe in Him. How marvelous. No wonder it's emotional.
No wonder it causes us to feel the way we do. He's glorious.”
Remember from Scripture the man that waited for 38 years
to be healed of his affliction, well brother Branham talks about this in his
sermon, Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and
forever.
Jesus Christ the same 58-0207
P:39 And this man had been laying on a pallet.
He had might've had a prostate trouble. He might have had TB. It was retarded.
He'd had it thirty-eight years. It wasn't going to kill him. And he wasn't
blind. And he wasn't helpless. He said, "When I'm coming to the water,
somebody beats me there. Somebody can run faster than me. And I've been there all these years." He
could walk. He could see. He could talk. He could eat. But it's strange that
the Son of God walked around every one of those people and went to him. Oh, He was so submissive to the Father.
"That I do nothing in Myself." Notice. And as He said to this man,
"Wilt thou be made whole?" He said, "I have no one to help me to
the water." He said, "Take up your bed and go into your house."
Notice the man was willing
to come and sit and wait for the stirring of the waters for 38 years, but after
all that time he finally received the promise.
Look at Abraham for 25 years
he waited patiently, and so what is your few little years compared with that.
Time tested memorials of God 57-0818 P:46 Long years ago before they had the
smelters, they used to take the gold, and how they would know how it was right
or not, with all the sludge was out of it, all of the iron pyrite (that's fools
gold), all the fools out of it, they--beaters beat it, and beat it, and turned
it, and beat it, and turned it until the beater sees his reflection in the
gold. That's the way God does His
church. He gives you trial after trial, test after test, trial after trial,
test after test, until the life of Christ is reflected in your life, until
you become peaceful, sober, meek, gentle, humble, ready, submissive, willing, turn your head from the things of the world
and looking straight to Calvary to the One Who's doing the beating. Many times
you think it's strange because fiery trials, and sickness, and persecutions; it's only done to test you, to get the
dirt out of you, to get the sludge out of you, to get the slowness out of you,
to wake you up to the place where men can see the reflection of Christ in you:
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Then Jesus came 57-0407E P:8 God
wants you to have a humble submissive heart.
Curtain of time 55-0302 P:27 You've
got to forget all you ever know, and let yourself be submissive to the Spirit
of God, then God can going to teach you.
Cruelty of sin 53-0403 P:18 Now, if
we were perfect in submission to the Holy Spirit, God would lead us by the Holy
Spirit, just like Adam led the animals of that day.
Sirs we would see Jesus 64-0304 P:62 Now,
if He can get me in His submissive will, if He can get you in His will, then working between us (See?) that's
where the power of God comes.
Let’s bow our heads in
prayer… … let’s sing that song, Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my
Saviour am happy and blest; watching and waiting, looking above, filled with
his spirit, washed in his blood. This is my story this is my song, praising my
savior, all the day long, This is my story this is my song, praising my savior,
all the day long,