Token no 29
The Witness of our spirit
October 21, 2015
Brian Kocourek, pastor
This evening I would like
to go back to paragraph 56 and cover something I think we might have missed
earlier in our study of the Token.
56 But in this case, the Judge Himself has
becomes our Attorney. God became
64 You'd have listened to the message of
the hour, if you did. Certainly. They'd had a lot of messages, but this was the
Message of the hour. See? I believe the Message of the hour. Yeah. The blood
was applied at the evening time. They might have said, "I'm a Jew."
People say today, "I'm a Christian.
I can show you my long membership. I want you to tell me where I ever stole
anything, was ever in a law court. Show me where I ever committed adultery,
I've ever done all these things (or something like that). Show me one
place." That don't mean a thing now.
No, no. See? No matter how much trouble he was, the covenant is without effect. It's non-effective. You say,
"Well, I'm a Bible student." I don't care what you are. Without that
covenant, the wrath of God's upon you.
That's right. It's caught up with you. Yeah, your sins will find you out.
This evening I would
like to speak on this Witness of the Spirit that brother Branham is talking
about here. In order to better understand this let's turn in our Bibles to 1 John 5:10
He that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath
made him a liar; because he believeth not the record (witness) that God gave of his
Son.
This verse of scripture has two parts to it. Number
one it speaks of "The Witness"
which is the Holy Spirit, and then it speaks of the Record that God Gave us
concerning His Son.
We will focus our thoughts tonight on this first part
alone, "He
that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself."
Now, again we see that this word "hath"
was translated from the Greek word "echo" so this verse should read "He that believeth on
the Son of God echoes the Witness in himself".
Now, we know there is a difference between just being
a witness and "THE Witness". For The Witness is the Holy Ghost Himself.
In 1 John 5:6 we read, And it is the Spirit that beareth witness,
because the Spirit is truth.
Now, we usually think of a witness as a person,
another human being. But John tells us in 1 John 5:9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is
greater: And what greater
witness could there be than the witness of the Spirit of God to us and through
us.
Now, to understand what John is telling us here when
he says, "He
that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself",
Let's turn to the book of Romans for our answer.
In Romans 8:16 The Apostle Paul says, "The Spirit Itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God,"
Now, if we are not careful we will read this verse
completely the opposite of what its telling us. And many Christians have wrestled
this verse of Scripture to their own destruction, because they have read it
exactly the opposite of what its telling them, and thus they have placed the
emphasis on what they feel and what they witness within themselves instead of
what God is witnessing of our spirit.
Many will mistake their own inner voice or their own
imagination to be this witness of the Spirit of God to them. Although they
might be enthusiastic, or as brother Branham would say, "although they
might be sincere, yet they are proven by God's Word to be sincerely wrong".
Therefore when we read this Scripture, we should
understand that it does not speak of our spirit bearing witness to anything,
much less to the Spirit of God. But Rather It says, The
Spirit (which we know is speaking of God's
Spirit for there is only one THE
SPIRIT, and that is The Holy Spirit of
God.
Notice the apostle Paul says, "The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God",
and if The Spirit Itself then it is not
speaking of another spirit but the one and Only Spirit of God.
The Apostle Paul was not saying God's spirit plus my
spirit, and he certainly is not talking about mine or your spirit bearing
record with anything. But he is telling us plainly that it is God's Spirit all by Itself which is bearing witness with your spirit.
Therefore we are not looking here at anything that we
are do. Nor are we looking here at anything we perceive. Nor are we even
looking at what we feel in our own spirit. Because our spirit has nothing to do
with this verse of scripture in the sense that this verse is not talking about
our spirit witnessing anything, but rather it speaks of God's spirit that is
witnessing what is going on in our spirit.
It speaks of what God Himself in His Spirit is bearing
witness to.
That is why the apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:3
For if a man
think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives only himself.
So it is not what you think that counts anything to God, but rather it is what
He thinks that really matters.
In I John 1:7 we read "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ONLY ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, (and that means to say
the same thing he says about them and not cover them up with our own
justifications for them) he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make
him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Now, those people who read Romans 8:16 wrong, "The Spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God,"
read it as thus, "Our spirit beareth witness with His Spirit,"...
The problem is that many people in reading this wrong
try to convince themselves that it is their own spirit that is bearing witness
with God's spirit and thus that makes them something. And they will not accept
the sovereign position of God that he does not need them.
By taking the assumption that it is their own witness
in their own spirit and their own choosing, they null and void the witness of The Spirit
and the choice that is reserved for God to make, and Him alone.
That is why in the Token brother Branham said in pp 65 What is sin? Unbelief. You've disbelieved the message. You've disbelieved the Word. You've disbelieved the witness of the Token
Itself, when It's identified
Itself in the midst of us. And have you disbelieved that? No matter how
much you disbelieve It, It's got to be applied. You might say, "I believe it; I believe it. I believe It's
the Truth. I accept It as the Truth." Then that is all good, but yet, It's got to be applied.
And how have they disbelieved it? Because they have
considered their own choice greater than God's choice. And their own
understanding greater than the very Witness of the Holy Ghost himself.
Listen, what good is your choice if it is not God's choice,
and what good is it that you witness in your own spirit that you are what God
has not made you to be. Do you think that just because you feel it that, that
makes it right? Hogwash.
I remember a man came to me one time and wanted me to
marry him to this woman he was seeing. He told me earlier that it was ok with
God for him to divorce his wife and marry this other woman who had been married
several times herself already, because he felt it. He said, the Spirit of God
welled up in him when he kissed her and therefore it must be ok to marry her.
That man didn't know the difference between the spirit
of lust and the Spirit of God. And The problem with reading this Scripture with
a wrong understanding is that so many "so called believers" have read the Bible with their own
understanding, for such a long time that its produced only fanaticism instead
of a heartfelt dying out to self. Amongst the fanatical fringe there are those
who are always witnessing in their spirit, this, that, or the other. But this
Scripture doesn't speak of what we are witnessing in our spirit, It speaks of
what God is witnessing in us, by the way we live and walk in the Light.
The Bible is very plain and says, "THE SPIRIT also beareth Witness with our spirit".
And how could The Spirit of God ever bear
witness to just any spirit which is not born again in His own image. For to
bear witness speaks of identification. And how could God identify
Himself with any life outside His own.
Thus when the Spirit of God bears witness to your
spirit it is not your human spirit He's bearing witness to, but rather His own Spirit
that has come into you and made you a new creation in Christ Jesus. because
until that happens you are none of His. That is what the Bible teaches in Romans 8:9 Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.
We use the term in our daily conversations and say
things like, "I can bear witness with that". And what we really mean is
that "we identify with that".
Therefore, we must ask ourselves, what is this "witness of the
Spirit"?
The real question should be, what is the testimony of
God's Spirit; and, how does He, God, "bear witness with
our spirit that we are the children of God?"
Let's turn to the Book of John and see what the Word
of God tells us concerning this Witness that God has concerning His Son. For
here is the pattern that we must follow.
In John 5:30 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. 31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is
not true. 32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the
witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 33: Ye sent unto John, and he bare
witness unto the truth. 34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these
things I say, that ye might be saved. 35 He was a burning and a shining light:
and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have greater
witness than [that] of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to
finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent
me".
Notice that Jesus is telling us that the witness of
man, no matter who it is, is still not good enough. The witness must come from
The Spirit, or The Father Himself. 37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne
witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye
believe not. 39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me,
that ye might have life.
Secondly. How is this joint testimony of God's Spirit
and our own, clearly and solidly distinguished from the presumption of a
natural mind, and from the delusion of the devil? We can't even consider what
is the witness of our own spirit. That is where man has gone wrong so many
times in the past. The Bible is clear on that. It says, "There is a way which
seemeth right unto man, but the way is the way of death".
God also said in , Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. Also in 1 John 2:5: "Hereby we know, that we do know him, if we keep
his commandments." "Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected: Hereby know we that we are in him; that we are indeed the children
of God.
Therefore the only way we know that our spirit is
bearing witness with His Spirit is that we keep His Word. That is what the
obedient Son is all about. Not obedient out of fear of retribution, but
obedient because we have the same thoughts about it as God does because we have
the mind of Christ.
Again we see in 1 John 2:29, "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that
every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."
Again we see in 1 John 3:19 "Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and
shall assure our hearts before him;" for if our hearts condemn us, God is
greater than our hearts.
Now, that ought to tell you right there that it's not
what your heart condemns or does not condemn, nor is it what your heart bears
witness to or doesn't bear witness to, but simply put, it is what God bears
witness to that really matters in the final Showdown.
Therefore, it's not what you bear witness to in your
heart, because we are told in Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it?
Therefore God doesn't leave it up to your heart to do
or not to do, to know or not to know, or to bear witness or not to bear
witness, but He knows the heart, that is for sure.
The apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 But as we were
allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as
pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
And David said in Psalms 7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish
the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
It doesn't come down to what you do either, for there
are those: who think they do, and they may even think they are doing the Lord's
will, and yet in the final analysis they are not even given credit for what
they have done, as Jesus told us that they will say, "Have not we done this in your name and that in
your name, and he will say, depart from me ye that work iniquity, for I never
knew you."
Therefore, it all comes down to this. God must bear witness with your spirit that you are a son of
God, and that places the preeminence back in Him where it must
stay.
And yet how does it appear that these people can see
themselves doing these works for God when God Himself does not even acknowledge
their works?
Well, if they do and God does not think they are
doing, then It would appear that they are not really doing for God, Because God
gives them no credit whatsoever.
Then the question still remains, How does it appear,
that they do love God and that they love their neighbor, and that they keep his
commandments and yet are not given credit for it?
But the real question is rather how does it appear to God who
knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart what they are doing?
Rather than how it might have appeared to themselves. For to themselves they
thought they were identifying with the Spirit of God when God did not identify
with them at all.
He said, "depart from me, ye that work iniquity, for I have never known
you." And iniquity is to know to do right and you won't do it.
So God who tries the hearts, knows our motives and objectives better than we
know them ourselves.
Now, we must ask ourselves, what is this witness or this
testimony of the spirit? The real question should be, what is the testimony of God's Spirit; and,
how does He "bear witness with our spirit that we are the
children of God?"
Secondly. we should ask ourselves, How is this
testimony of God's Spirit and then the testimony of our own spirit, clearly distinguished
from the presumption of a natural mind, or from the delusion of the devil?
Therefore in examining this Scripture that speaks of
"God's
Spirit bearing witness with our spirit" we must be careful not
to think in terms of our own spirit as the one bearing witness because the
Apostle Paul is so far from speaking of the testimony of our own spirit, that
it may be questioned whether he speaks of it at all.
The Apostle had just said, in the preceding verse,
"Ye have received the Spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father;" and immediately he adds,
"The same Spirit beareth witness to our spirit,
that we are the children of God." Thus "He", the Spirit of God
witnesses this at the same time that he enables us to cry Abba,
Father.
And as I have already said, the testimony of your own
spirit, although a good thing, because it keeps you in check, yet it is still a
very deceiving thing.
Therefore, it is the Witness of God's Own
Spirit Himself, with our spirit and for our spirit, that is what
counts in the final estimate.
Let's face it, if we believe in the sovereignty of
God, then our bearing witness to Him adds nothing to Him, nor takes away from
what He is. Them what really matters in the end is that He bears witness with
us, for if he does not bear witness with us, we are lost and will remain lost.
The acts of obedience in doctrine, and in our speech
and actions, and our submitting our own will to God's will is our outward show
that we have identified with our role as a son, but these however, do not prove
you to a son. However, when you are proven to be a son by the
witness of God's Spirit, then your actions and reactions to
God's will, will help your own understanding of the role that God has set
before you to play out as a son.
The Apostle Paul said in, 1 Corinthians 14:20 "Brethren, be not
children in understanding; in malice" be ye children; but in understanding
be ye men;"
Every man who applies the scriptures to himself, may
know whether he is a child of God.
Thus, we know, First, "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God;"
And Secondly, you might reason, I am "led by the Spirit of God;" and thus you
conclude, "Therefore
I am a son of God."
But Paul said in Romans 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Now to be specific, our conscience is the testimony of
our own spirit; that God hath given us to be holy in our heart, and holy in our
outward conversation. It is a consciousness of our having received, in and by
the Spirit of adoption, those characteristics mentioned in the word of God, as
belonging to his adopted children.
Thus we are conscious of having a loving heart toward
God, and a loving heart toward all mankind; And we hang with child-like
confidence onto, God our Father's Word, desiring nothing but him, casting all
our care upon him, and embracing every child of God with earnest, tender
affection:
A consciousness that we are inwardly conformed,
by the Spirit of God, to the image of his Son, and that we walk
before him in justice, mercy, and truth, doing the things which are pleasing in
his sight.
But, still in all this we can deceive our selves,
because Jesus said in John 5:30, "If I bear witness of myself my witness is not
true". Therefore, the witness in our own soul although very
good does not really matter. I can claim God as my father all I want, but until he claims me, what good will it
do me?
This is the very argument that Jesus had with the
Pharisees. In John
chapter 8 They began by claiming to be seed of Abraham, and when
Jesus pointed out to them that Abraham had two seeds coming from him, one by
promise and the other by an act of the flesh, then they claimed that God was their father. And Jesus laid out the
grounds for whom you can claim as your father. He said, "you will do the deeds of your father". And this is your witness
in the spirit.
If you are a real Son of God you will do the things
your father God shows you to do. So the witness in your spirit of The Spirit is the condition of your spirit in
response to the things of God.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to
any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 37 I know
that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my Word hath no
place in you. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that
which ye have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said unto him,
Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye
would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath
told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do
the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication;
we have one Father, [even] God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your
Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came
I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? [even]
because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the
lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a
lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And
because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me
of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God
heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 48
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a
Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I
honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory:
there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a
man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him,
Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou
sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou
greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom
makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is
nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your
God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know
him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
But what is that testimony of God's Spirit? How does
he "bear
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God?" It is
hard to find words in any language to explain "the deep things of God."
Indeed, there are none that adequately express what we experience.
But to the best of my ability I can say, the testimony
of the Spirit is an inward expression in my soul that He is actually living my
Life for me. Whereby I can see that the Spirit of God is directly witnessing to
my spirit, that I am a child of God; because I can see he has taken over my
life and I have let him do so.
The testimony of the Spirit of God must come before
the testimony of our own spirit. We must be holy in our mind and heart, and
live a holy life before him, not for self centered reasons but because we wish
to please Him in all we do. And we must love God more than anything else before
we can be holy at all; because our desire to please Him is the root of all
holiness.
And we cannot love God, until we know he loves us.
because the Bible says, "We love him, because he first loved us." And
we cannot know his pardoning love to us, until his Spirit witnesses it within
our own spirit. And since the testimony of his Spirit must precede the love of
God and all holiness, therefore it must precede our inward consciousness
itself, which is the testimony of our own spirit concerning Him.
Therefore when "the Spirit of God beareth witness with our
spirit, it is His living and controlling your own life as only he
can. And of this we cannot but be conscious within ourselves of what he is
doing: And as Paul said, "We know the things that are freely given to us of God."
We know that we love God, and keep his commandments; and "hereby also we know
that we are of God."
This is then is the testimony of our own spirit,
which, so long as we continue to love God and keep his commandments, becomes a
union with the testimony of God's own Spirit, "that we are the children of God."
When as the apostle Paul said, "our conscience
bearing record in the Holy Ghost"
this is what John meant by his words,
1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself:
he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son. 11 And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 And therefore, He that echoes the Son echoes life; and he that echoes not the Son
of God echoes not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on
the name of the son of God; that ye may
know that ye echo eternal
Life,...
Notice he said he was writing these thing that they
might know that they are echoing the Life of son of God.
Notice then our conscience bearing us record is to actually
know that we are echoing the very life of the son in us. Because He that not
only works in us every manner of thing that is good, but He also shines upon
his own work, and clearly shows what he has wrought in us, and we see it and
know that it is not us but Him doing it.
As the apostle Paul said the purpose of God giving us
His spirit is , "that we may know the things which are freely given to us of
God:" That he may strengthen the testimony of our conscience in
the Holy Ghost.
Then our conscience bearing record with His Spirit is
our own way of knowing that we know. For the Spirit of God beareth witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God,' then coupled with our bearing witness to
the things of God, brings us to the
place where our "sonship" is no longer a question but a
reality.
And thus the joint testimony of our spirit and the
Spirit of God, our Father is this, that we lay down our own will in favor of His Will.
As Jesus said, "Not my will but Thy will be done." And that
is the testimony of The Spirit with our Spirit. We identify and do the Will of
the Father. That is how our will also identifies with His Will, and
that His Will is preeminent in us over our very own will.
Revelations Chapter 4 PT 2
24 Elders 61-0101 321 Sanctify this
little church this morning, Lord. Sanctify every person in here with Thy
Spirit, and let the Holy Ghost come into their hearts, each one of us. Freshen
up the Spirit in them Who's already opened their hearts through their
self-will, has denied their own will and
has come to know Your will. There you are. It is a letting
go of your own will and receiving the will of the Father. That is the witness of His
Spirit, His Will in your spirit. 52 231 "How is self-will?
Why will you call that self-will, Brother Branham?" Because it puts a man
and woman back again just like Adam and Eve at the garden of Eden, On what? The
two trees? Self-will, this one is death. This one is Life, self-will. Free
moral agency... God placed the first man, Adam and Eve, right here on free
moral agency. He places you the same place. And the only way that you can get
this thing fixed in here is your own self-will. Hallelujah. Your self-will. You have to will to do God's will. You have to get rid of
your own will to let God's will come in, for this is the only channel that
leads to the heart. 53 232 Oh, you can join church, you Baptists
and Presbyterians. And you Methodists and Pilgrim Holiness can come to
sanctification. But you have to will to do God's will, self-will, to let the
Holy Spirit come in here to bring forth: "These
signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name they shall cast out devils.
They shall speak with new tongues. They shall lay their hands on the sick, or
take up deadly things, and so forth. These signs shall follow them
that has let their will become My will, and the works that I do shall they
do also." I hope you don't miss it. There's a will to do God's will. You
see what I mean? 54 308 Now, "the mercy seat..." Now, the mercy
seat's in the heart, seat where the shining forth of His Glory in all of His
children, the Shekinah Glory in the human heart. Here's the human heart. Is
that right? Is that the mercy seat? How do you come through it into that,
through these different systems? Through self-will, self-will, comes into here,
and through there comes out what? Shekinah Glory. What is the Shekinah Glory?
It's God's Presence. And when a man's walking, or a woman, he's reflecting the Shekinah Glory. He don't go into gambling dens,
and carry on, and go out here and deny the Word. No matter what the people
says, he's got his heart set on one
thing: God.
And if he's truly called of God, then Jesus
Christ reflects Himself through him with the Shekinah Glory, doing the same
things He did back there, manifesting the same Gospel, preaching the same Word, same Word being made manifest in the
same measure it was then; just like it was truly at Pentecost it's measured
back again. Oh, my.
And the beautiful part is that the Bible
teaches us that "it is God working in us both to will and to do His good pleasure".
That is our assurance we have
been born again. And that "His Spirit is bearing
witness with our Spirit that we are the sons of God".
1 John 5:10
He that believeth on the Son of God echoes the witness in himself, and The Witness we are echoing is God's Spirit in us,
Christ in you the
hope of
Glory.
Let's bow our heads in prayer....