Our
Two Identities
July 2015 Introduction
The understanding of our
two identities while we are here in this flesh is an understanding that frees
us from condemnation and also allows us to be able to fully face the sin that
is in ourselves (that is, in our members, our flesh). One of the things that can
hinder a Christian so much is the inability to properly deal with the sin
that is in his members. Without a
proper understanding of the New Birth (the soul change), a person either
tends to be down and condemned much of the time or he tends to be a
self-deceived, self-justifying, unable-to-say-he-is-wrong type of a person
much of the time. These two ways of
dealing with the sin in oneself can be termed “negative pride” and “positive
pride”. They are both forms of pride
in that they are not accepting Christ as one’s only righteousness. They
are both expressions of a person trying to offer up to God a “Cain’s
offering” of his own righteousness for acceptance (which we know is rejected
by God). Knowing the revelation of
the soul change in you and living according to that revelation is the
equivalent of Christ being all of your righteousness. Praise God that He sent to us the prophet
of Malachi 4 which restored back to us this great understanding. The topic of our two
identities is built solidly upon the understanding of the soul change (the
New Birth). If you have not already
done so, please first read The Soul Change article before proceeding
on to read this article. The New Birth
We know that when we received the New Birth, the old soul (the “old husband” to our spirit realm) was killed and a new Life replaced it. But when the New Birth took place, this initially did nothing to our flesh and spirit realms. It just changed the inner core of our being:
QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_
JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_
64-0823M 945 That's
what makes a man a new person, is because he's born again, reborn. His first
birth brings him a natural man on earth; his second birth brings him a spiritual
man of heaven. See? It changes him, his
soul, not his outward conscience, his outward being, his senses; he
still feels, and smell, taste, and hear; but his inward parts, his desires,
what motivates him, has been changed to God. What our condition was after the New Birth was a new Nature encased within a “cocklebur” shell: QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_ JEFF.IN
COD SUNDAY_ 64-0830E 1149-30 How can I take a cocklebur and make a grain
of wheat out of it? It's impossible for me to do it. The only way it can be is because inside that cocklebur has been
transmitted from a cocklebur wheat--a cocklebur to a germ called "wheat
life." Then you bury that cocklebur, and it'll produce a grain of
wheat (That's right. See?), because
there has been a life of wheat put in the cocklebur. And the life of the cocklebur has been taken out; but the nature of the cocklebur is still sticky (See?),
and it will be until this new life has fully been developed out of the ground
and raised up again. When it comes forth, then it's no more cocklebur, but
wheat--but wheat. But while it's here on earth and the--in the--out of the
earth... And
a cocklebur, it's still sticky, but it's got the nature on the inside of it of wheat. And as long as you're in this life, you're going to be sticky
and have a carnal nature that's going to bother you as long as you live; but the inside of you, you're borned
again. And when you're raised up, you're in the likeness of Christ and
all the sin is gone from you. See? That's--that's the thing. ROMANS 8:10 10 And if Christ [be] in you [if you are born again], the body [the outer man, the flesh] [is] dead
because of sin; but the Spirit [the inner Man, the Soul] [is] life because of righteousness. When one receives the New Birth,
that is the start of that person’s “greatest battle ever fought”. Now there is a new Nature within that must
overcome the outer flesh in order to be expressed. The outer flesh has to die continually so
that the inner Man (Christ) can break through to be expressed (like lava from
the center of the earth): II CORINTHIANS 4:10-12 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying
of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto
death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in
our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in
you. I CORINTHIANS 15:31 31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in
Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. Our “outer man” is like an old coat that will be completely put off in the Rapture: THINGS.THAT.ARE.TO.BE
RIALTO.CA SUNDAY 65-1205 106 This old earthly tabernacle here, you know what it is? This body is like an old coat that you wear, a coat that you once wear. But now, you have one so much better, you don't use it any more. What do you do? You hang it in a closet, for you've got one better. You've got a better coat. It's more up to date than the one you used to wear that's worn out. What? It is that garment. You are the inside of that. Remember, that garment only done what? It bore your image. See? But you don't need it anymore now. You've hung it up. It's a rag. And that's the way this old body is. You... It's bore the image of the heavenly, yet it is not you. You are on the inside of that body. You, the Spirit of God, is on the inside of that body. That's what makes the outside come into subjections, because the inside is pulling it (See?), bringing it in the line with the Word of God: your inside, you, yourself, your being. This body's just an old coat, and someday what will you do with it? For you was--was only in the garment for a while. That is like the earthly garment, this body, your--your real body, your real self is on the inside of this old coat, that you call William Branham, or Susie Jones, or whoever it is. See? Someday it will hang in the earth's hall of memory of you. You'll put it out yonder in the grave, and somebody will put a tombstone up, "Here lies Rev. So-and-so, or John So-and-so, or So-and-so." It'll lie there as a memorial of you. The people just seeing you in this, and what you was, your real you, was on the inside of that. But the old coat itself just born the image of the heavenly. Oh, people, have you made reservations to change coats? Have you made reservations for heaven? Remember, you must have reservations. You can't get in without them. That “old coat” is not the real us, but it is identified
with us while we are in this life.
That “old coat” is what we have to overcome. The overcoming is the new Soul working Its
way out from within (like lava from the center of the earth), breaking up the
outer man, dying continually to self, being totally honest about the evil
that is within our “old coat” so that “the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
mortal flesh” (Romans 4:11). PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13 12 … work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling. 13 For
it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure. This process of dying to self, of “putting off the corruption”, of confessing our sins, goes far beyond the understanding of doctrine. The actual living out of the process of dying to self is a part of the Life of Christ that cannot be impersonated. Any person can be strong in himself and argue back at people, stand up for his own thoughts, get offended, blow up about something, etc., but only the elect can truly humble themselves before God and man. That is one of the aspects of the Life of Christ that cannot be impersonated: HUMBLE.THYSELF_
JEFF.IN SUNDAY 63-0714E 77 You know, people are--want
power, and really they don't know what power is. See? They--they don't really
know what--what--what goes with it. The--the way up is down always. If you
want power, see how humble you can get. Just get away from all your worldly
thinking, and humble yourself before God, and then you've got more power than
the man that runs all over the building and makes a big lot of noise (See?);
because you have been able to conquer
yourself and commit yourself to Christ (You see?) to humble yourself
before Him. That's really power. You show me a church that's humble, real humble, not a--a arrogant
church, just a sweet, humble church, I'll show you a church that has the
favor and power of God in it. That's right. That's the thing it takes,
humility, humbling ourselves before God, and letting God just work through
us. Don't have to make a lot of noise.
You... 79 Sometimes, as the farmer
said, he went out to the field with his wagon, and every time it hit a bump,
it just rattled and went on. But when he come back, he hit the same bump and
didn't make no noise at all, because it was loaded with good things. So I think that's just about right (See?), that we get filled up with the good things of God, that the fruit of the Spirit might be known through us. As he referred so much to I Corinthians 13 there, and how, that, "Though I give my body to be burnt, and have all these things, and have not charity; it's nothing, profits me nothing." You see? We want to do that. Let us look at an example of the Life of Christ as it expressed Itself in Brother Branham’s life: QA.ON.THE.SEALS_
JEFF.IN SUNDAY_ 63-0324M 483-1 What
is the Name of God? What is the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? The
Bible said Jesus was His Name. Then the fellow here trying to debate it once
here in the Tabernacle, said, "Brother Branham has wiggled out of all of
them; he won't this one." Said, "here it shows three different
persons exactly, perfectly." Said, "Matthew, 3rd chapter, here was
John standing, preaching. Here come the Son walking up to be baptized. He
went into the water, and was baptized by John, went back up out of the water,
and 'Lo,' he said, 'the heavens was opened unto Him,' and he said, 'down from
heaven came the Holy Ghost like a dove descending, and a voice from heaven,
saying, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom...'" Three distinct
persons right at one time." Oh, my. 483-2 You
know, It just goes to show that people without the baptism, and not called to
the office of--of a--a minister has no business to be in the pulpit. That's
right. I--I--I
could take that person, now, by the help of God and tie them in such a knot
it'd make their head swim. Look, I don't care what... (Now, I don't mean... Now, that don't sound right. Forgive
me. I didn't mean that, Lord; I didn't now... I--I felt Him check me on
that. See? So I didn't mean to say it that way. I'm--I'm sorry.)
I believe that the Holy Spirit could reveal to that person some secret; that
sounds better. See? Just like tuning an instrument, when you do something wrong, you can
tell it as a Christian. You said something wrong; He didn't like that. See, that was putting me in there. See? I
ain't in the picture at all. I'm just--don't even want to be myself or
nothing; it's Him. Let Him do the work. He does the sounding; the trumpet's a
mute. The voice behind it, one that gives it the sound. In the above quote, Brother Branham’s flesh expressed. But what is beautiful to see is the Life of Christ that expressed afterwards: “Forgive me … I'm sorry”. This example shows one of the aspects of the Life of Christ that cannot be impersonated – humbling oneself before God and man and admitting you were wrong. Being able to cry “I AM WRONG” is the zeal that God is calling for in this day. As the Scripture for this Laodicean age says: REVELATION 3:19 19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. And what is the definition of this zeal that we are to have in this day?: 355-4 LAODICEAN.CHURCH.AGE
- CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.9 But God is calling for another
zeal. It is the zeal to cry "I AM
WRONG". Now who is going to say that he is wrong? What is it
that all these denominations are based upon?--the claim to originality, and
that of God,--the claim that they are right. Now they ALL cannot be right. In
fact NOT ONE of them is right. They are whited sepulchres, full of dead men's
bones. [note: the capitalization is Brother
Branham’s] There may be plenty of zeal today to spread the Message, to evangelize, to preach, to teach, etc., all good things, but the specific zeal that God is calling for in this day is the zeal to cry “I AM WRONG”. This ability to admit “I am wrong” is a part of the Life that cannot be impersonated. It is a part of the ripening process that the Bride is going through in this day before the Rapture: MODERN.EVENTS.MADE.CLEAR.BY.PROPHECY_SBD.CA 65-1206 37 We're at the end of denominations;
the wheat's taking shape. But what's the matter with the wheat now, you
can't... It must lay in the Presence
of the Son to ripen before the combine picks it up. Let us look at another example of the Life of Christ as it expressed in Brother Branham’s ministry: STANDING.IN.THE.GAP
JEFF.IN SUNDAY 63-0623M 53 Now, now, to us, to get close
now to what I want to say. Could we stand... (Now, I'm preaching to myself in
this.) Could we stand and see a human being that's blind, physically blind,
and know that he's walking over a cliff... Could we in our--our sta--state of
mind, that we're in this morning, could we stand and see a blind man walk
over a cliff, blind, and not try to warn him? It would be... There would be so cruel. We would be so
indifferent in our heart. Could you imagine, a person getting so indifferent
that he could almost laugh and see a blind man (that cannot see and can't
help hisself) deliberately walk over a cliff? That would be a--a bad thing...
do nothing about it... 54 Well, to my
brethren, world over, I want to make this confession. I--I humbly say it,
that that's just about what I was doing or fixing to do. Brother Branham was being totally honest with himself and with others. He did not try to water down how bad his sin was. He confessed it. He forsook it. He could do this because he knew that that was not the real him that did that sin – it was the sin that was in his flesh. This then shows a principle: to truly have accepted Calvary, that it paid for all of our sin and that we have no righteousness of our own, involves really understanding the soul change. Brother Branham knew his Soul, the real him, was the very righteousness of God Himself. Therefore he could “put off his corruption” (his flesh) by being totally honest about it before God, with himself, and with others. Let us look at more of his confession: STANDING.IN.THE.GAP_ JEFF.IN
63-0623M 160 And I wanted to bring this to you so that
you would see, and show you that the mistakes that a man can make, yet being
sincere. Moses lost the feeling of his people
because they wouldn't listen to him. And, Brother Roy, you see your dream?
And now, I cannot go with a ministry like that, until I feel different in my
heart about it, no matter if God did tell me. But that is what change that,
Brother Roy, that's coming. Something's got to change me, because I, in my
heart, if I go out there feeling the way I do now... I still feel that they
ought to have heared that message, they ought to done... And I don't have the
feeling for the people that I should have. And till I can get that feeling,
there's no need in me going because I'd be a hypocrite. 162 And all these years I've tried to serve Him
with a true heart, and I won't go out there being a hypocrite. I got to feel
that, that it isn't "Ricky" and "Ricketta," and it isn't
this bunch. It's God's children that's in bondage, and I must go to them. And
until I can feel that way, I'll just have to loaf around, preach some
conventions and things, but wait. The above quote is showing how Brother Branham can be totally honest about his sin. Why? Because he truly had accepted Calvary – he knew that he (the real him, his new Soul) was the very righteousness of God in Christ (it was a part of God – God’s Eve). He knew that his outer flesh was not the real him, so he could be honest about it. By being honest about it he was able to change: I CORINTHIANS 15:51 51 Behold,
I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, Romans 7The following Scripture shows clearly the Apostle Paul talking about his two identities: ROMANS 7:14-25 14 For we know that the law is
spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I
do I
allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I
hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I
would not, I
consent unto the law that [it is] good. 17 Now then it is no more I that
do it, but sin
that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me
(that is, in
my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present
with me;
but [how] to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I
would I
do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that
do it, but sin
that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I
would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after
the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of
sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I
am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. One of his identities was the real him, his Soul (color coded in red), and the other of his identities was his flesh (i.e., his body and spirit realms, color coded in blue). (Note that in this Scripture, when Paul refers to “the law of my mind”, the mind in this context is not talking about the human mind, but the Mind of Christ, which is the Soul: WORLD.AGAIN.FALLING.APART_
SHP.LA V-17 N-4 WEDNESDAY_
63-1127 194 If the mind of Christ is in us, then we'll recognize that Word to
be the Truth, and It lives right through us. You can't help it; It's Christ. Take the life out of a watermelon vine and put it in a pumpkin vine, it'll bear watermelons. You can't keep it from it, 'cause the life in it is.) Paul makes it very clear that there is nothing good in the flesh: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good
thing” (Romans
7:18). Therefore we can be totally
honest with the sin that is in us. We
can do this because we know that that is not the real us. Our Soul is the real us. The outer flesh is just the “old coat” that
we will fully put off in the Rapture. The
following Scripture shows the terrible condition of professing Christians in
this Laodicean age: REVELATION 3:17 17
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing; and knowest not
that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Brother Branham emphasized that one of the worst parts of the above mentioned condition is that the people do not know that they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. But notice the Apostle Paul’s confession of the sin in himself: ROMANS 7:14-25 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body
of this death? Paul knew that he (his flesh) was wretched. He was not blind to his sin. He was honest about it. He confessed it. Paul was an overcomer. The Bride is an overcomer. White Dog / Black Dog AnalogyBrother Branham tells the story of what an Indian chief had said in talking about his “greatest battle ever fought”: QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_
JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_
64-0830E 1151-36
Somebody told me he had one, one time was converted, received the Holy
Ghost, and he said to him, "How you getting along?" He said, "Pretty good and pretty bad." He said, "Well, how do you mean pretty bad and pretty
good?" He said, "Well, since me receive the Holy Ghost," he said,
"there's been two dogs in me, and one of them a black dog and one of
them a white dog." And said, "They argue all the time." Said,
"They growl and fight at one another." And said, "The white
dog wants me do good; the black dog wants me do bad." Said, "Well, Chief, which one of them wins the fight?" Said, "That depends on which one Chief feeds the most." So I think that's a good answer here. See? There just depends on the warring of the body that's in you; it depends on which one you cater to, which nature you cater to, the carnal nature after the things of the world, or the spiritual nature after the things of God. That does it. In the above analogy, the White Dog is the inner Man, the
Soul, and the black dog is the outer man, the flesh. Which one is preeminent in our lives is the
one we feed the most: CHRIST.IS.THE.MYSTERY_
JEFF.IN SUNDAY_ 63-0728 56-1 And
the church becomes the Word when it lets the Word go through them. The Placement of TermsThere are many terms that are used in the Message and the Bible. We can now properly place these terms because of the clear understanding that has been restored back to us by the ministry of Malachi 4. The following diagram shows just some of the common terms and their placement regarding the soul and spirit/flesh realms:
A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
LUKE 6:43-45 43 For
a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit. 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. A tree bears a certain kind of fruit based on what it is – there is no work up – it just bears its fruit automatically, depending on what kind of a tree it is. Now, to describe the fruit that a certain kind of a tree bears is not stating a law of what that tree has to produce; it is just describing what kind of fruit that that kind of a tree will automatically bear. This is analogous to God’s Word. God’s Word is not stating a bunch of laws that a person has to do, it is just describing the kind of fruit that the Nature of Christ just naturally bears.
If I told a cat that it had to go wallow in the mire to be “right with God”, that command to a cat would be a burdensome negative law, something that it would have to force itself to do. Why? Because that is not its nature. However, you would not even need to tell a pig to go wallow in the mire – that kind of a life to it would be automatic. The pig would have “no thoughts coming” in living that kind of a life. Why? Because that is what its nature is. But the
paradox of the Christian life is that after one is born again, he has a new
Nature within (which is the real him, his new desire, his new Soul) which
will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit, but there is also an old flesh
nature encased around that new
Nature, and it too can bring forth its fruit.
Therefore there can be two types of fruit that can come forth out of
our being. Obviously it is God’s will
that we “starve the black dog” (our flesh) and “feed the White Dog” (our
Soul) so that the Soul will be preeminent.
But this paradox is a part of the Christian life. The understanding of the soul change gives
us the understanding to properly deal with it. An Orange Tree AnalogyWe will now
use an analogy along the lines of the fruit tree metaphor that our Lord Jesus
used. Let us type
out the life that is in our new Soul as the life of an orange tree, and the
nature of the flesh as that of a bramble bush. When the
Life expresses from our Soul, it would bring forth oranges:
However, when
something has its origin in the flesh and spirit realms (i.e., “the flesh”),
it would bring forth brambles:
A person
out of the flesh may even try to work up something in order to try to express
what he in his mind has judged to be what the Life of Christ would
produce. This type of a worked up
expression is a “Cain’s offering” of fruit.
In our metaphor, this could look something like the following:
The
impersonated fruit may even look very close to the real thing: MATTHEW 24:24 24 For there shall
arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if [it were]
possible, they shall deceive the very elect. but if its
origin is not from the Soul, it is a dead Cain’s offering work which will be rejected
both by God and His Body. The born again Christian
has these two identities (the Soul and the flesh) within himself, and the
process of the Rapture is the dying of the “outer man” so that the Life of
Christ within can “push out” and be expressed. This process involves being totally honest
about the sin that is within oneself (that is, in one’s members, one’s
flesh). A person can have this total
honesty because he knows that the outer man, the flesh, is not the real
him. It is only the “old coat” that he
is going to completely put off in the Rapture and is in the process of
putting off now. We can be totally honest
about the sin that is within ourselves because of the understanding of our
two identities which was restored back
to us by the prophet of Malachi 4. That is why we do not judge one another – at any point in time any one of us could be expressing fruit from the flesh. But Faith has works also – at some point those fruits from the Soul will also express, for “greater is he that is in you (the Soul), than he (the flesh) that is in the world” (I John 4:4). Practical Application With Scriptures and
Quotes
So with this understanding
of our two identities, let us now give some practical applications of this understanding
with some Scriptures and quotes. In
the past, these types of Scriptures and quotes could tend to make one doubt
about himself (if one was truly being honest with himself). But now we can be totally honest with
ourselves because of this restored understanding of what the New Birth really
is. Let us look at the
following quote: LAMB.AND.THE.DOVE_
OAKLAND.CA MONDAY_ 57-0325 E-10
And now, I'm sure that in this we have found lots of impersonations.
And an impersonation, friend... A
person that would impersonate something is the most miserable person that I
would know of. Isn't it much better just to be yourself? As
Congressman Upshaw used to say, "Don't try to be nothing that you
hain't." Well, that's pretty good. Don't try to be nothing that you are
not. Just be yourself. And then, if you want to be a Christian, just ask Christ.
He will take your old nature out, put a new nature in; then you
don't have to impersonate anything; it's just your normal life that you're
living. And as long as you got malice, envy,
strife, all these things of the world, then you know Christ isn't in there.
The Bible said, "If you love the world, or the things of the world, the
love of God's not even in you." See, 'cause the Life of God isn't in
you. The Life is in there, it just produces itself; it just lives its way
out. If we are honest with
ourselves, we would have to say that, in our flesh, we are guilty of the green part of the above quote. But we can be totally honest with ourselves
about it because of the understanding of the soul change; we understand its
proper placing as pictured below:
The fact of the matter is that our flesh will always love the world and
the things of the world, and will never
have God in it: ROMANS 7:18 18 For I know that in me (that
is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no
good thing: But praise God, by the
revelation of the soul change, we can say, “I am wrong” (that is, my flesh is
wrong). We will put this flesh off
completely at the time of the Rapture.
But we are in the process of the Rapture now and are in the process of
putting this flesh off now by confessing it, by not identifying with it. This flesh will always have malice, envy,
strife, etc., in it. But now we can be
totally honest about it. We can
confess it to God (and to others) because we do not identify with it. The flesh is not the real us. This honesty and confession, the zeal to
cry “I am wrong”, is the process of the Rapture, of the putting off of the
flesh. This process of the Rapture is
the reality of truly accepting Calvary.
Jesus Christ is our only righteousness: 293-3 PHILADELPHIAN.CHURCH.AGE -
CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.8 And
it is not even Christ AND works. It is Christ alone. This age
began the years of Arminianism that does not believe in Christ as the
REALITY. It does not sing of "Nothing but the Blood," for it sings
of "Nothing but the blood AND my own conduct". Now I believe in
good conduct. If you are saved you will do righteously. We have already gone
over that. But let me tell you now, salvation is NOT Jesus PLUS. It is Jesus
ALONE. SALVATION IS OF THE LORD. From start to finish it is all GOD. Let His
life be in me. Let it be His blood that cleanses me. Let it be His Spirit
that fills me. Let it be His Word in my heart and mouth. Let it be His
stripes that heal me. Let it be Jesus, and Jesus Alone. Not by works of
righteousness which I have done. No sir. Christ is my life. Amen. This ties in with truly loving one another. My brother in Christ is free to confess his
sin to me, because he knows that I do not identify him with his sin. I believe in who my brother really is (his
perfect Soul) just as I believe in who I really am (my perfect Soul which I
only have by God’s grace and election).
This then produces true love for one another: GOD'S.ONLY.PROVIDED.PLACE.OF.WORSHIP_ SHP.LA
SUNDAY_ 65-1128M [Brother Branham had just been talking about his beyond the
Curtain of Time experience] 40 I believe the church is begin to hear the
message, and beginning to understand. But, friends, listen, we've got to lay
in the Presence of the Son; we've got to be ripened. Our--our faith isn't
ripe. Intellectually we're hearing the message that God has give us, and
seeing the signs that He showed us, and proving it by the Bible as that; but,
oh, how the church needs to lay in His Presence till it tenders up, you know,
and gets sweet in the Spirit so that it can bathe down. Sometimes in speaking
the message, you get harsh, have to break it in like that, because you've got
to clinch a nail to make it hold. But when the church once gets it, the
Elected is called out and separated then in the Presence of God, I know it'll
be something like the people was there when it takes its rapture. And what was the condition
of the people there in the Sixth Dimension?
Perfect Love: REJECTED.KING_ JEFF.IN
V-2 N-23 SUNDAY_ 60-0515M 21-4 And I heard a voice then that spoke to me
that was in the room, said, "This
is what you preached was the Holy Ghost. This is perfect love. And
nothing can enter here without it." I am more determined than ever in my
life that it takes perfect love to enter there. There was no jealousy. There
was no tiredness. There was no death. Sickness could never in there.
Mortality could never make you old, and the--they could not cry. It was just
one joy, "Oh, my precious brother." Let us look at some more examples of how specific Scriptures apply to
our Soul and spirit/flesh realms:
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In
all of the above examples, the Scriptures that tell the state of our flesh
could tend to be condemning to a person that does not have the proper
understanding of the soul change. This
condemnation would tend to throw a person into trying to work himself up to
be “good” so he could feel better about himself. But praise God for the ministry of Malachi
4! Now we can truly “put off the
corruption” because we know that the flesh realm is not the real us. We do not identify with it. The real you (your Soul) is the very
righteousness of God Himself. There is
therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The battle for the born
again believer is now to “feed the White Dog” (the Soul) and to “starve the
black dog” (the flesh) so that the Life of Christ can be manifested in our
mortal flesh: II CORINTHIANS 4:10-12 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying
of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto
death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in
our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in
you. Total Honesty With Ourselves
This understanding of our
two identities (the Soul and the flesh) which comes by understanding what the
New Birth (the soul change) really is enables the Christian to be truly
honest with himself. All great
Christians of past ages have been able to face the utter wickedness of their
“outer man”. When we can be totally
honest with ourselves about ourselves and yet believe in who we really are, that is how we can truly
love others, because we will believe in others in the same way that we
believe in ourselves: ROMANS 13:9 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery,
Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly
comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. These truths about honesty
with ourselves and its tie-in with love for one another is embodied in the
following quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Life Together, Page 118, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer To Whom Confess? To
whom shall we make confession? According
to Jesus’ promise, every Christian brother can hear the confession of
another. But will he understand? May he not be so far above us in his
Christian life that he would only turn away from us with no understanding of
our personal sins? Anybody who lives beneath the Cross and who has
discerned in the Cross of Jesus the utter wickedness of all men and of his
own heart will find there is no sin that can ever be alien to him. Anybody who has once been
horrified by the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus to the Cross
will no longer be horrified by even the rankest sins of a brother. Looking at the Cross of Jesus, he knows the
human heart. He knows how utterly lost
it is in sin and weakness, how it goes astray in the ways of sin, and he also
knows that it is accepted in grace and mercy.
Only the brother under the Cross can hear a confession. It
is not experience of life but experience of the Cross that makes one a
worthy hearer of confessions. Because one can be totally
honest with himself and yet believe in who he really is (his new Soul, the
very Life of Christ), he can also therefore believe in his brother the same
way. This is truly loving our brothers and sisters: DESPERATION_ JEFF.IN
SUNDAY_ 63-0901E 76 Notice what the Bible said here also in
James 16-5:16, said, "If... Confessing our faults (getting right, making
ready for it)... Confess our faults one to another." Having no--no
faults... ask people to pray for you, confessing our faults one to another
and praying one for the other... There you are. With love--love that I got confidence, I
can confess to you my wrong. You can confess to me your wrong; I love you well enough that I will pray for you and you
pray for me; and will stay with it with an effectual, fervent prayer until
it's answered. That's--that's desperation. That's what we should
have all the time. When we know who we are,
then we can believe in who our brothers and sisters are: CHRIST.IS.THE.MYSTERY_ JEFF.IN
V-3 N-7 SUNDAY_ 63-0728 37-4 The new birth is Christ, is a revelation.
God has revealed to you this great mystery, and that's the new birth. Now,
what are you going to do when you get all that group together, where the
revelation is perfectly in harmony, and God expressing it through His Word by
the same actions, the same things that He did, making the Word manifest? Oh, if the Church only knew its position.
It will one day. Then, the rapture will go when
it knows what it is. Conclusion
Praise God for the ministry
of Malachi 4 which restored back to us the true understanding of the
Scriptures. It revealed to us God’s
great Plan of Redemption and our place in It. By the understanding of our
two identities while we are here in this life, we are able to be totally honest with ourselves
regarding the sin that is in our members, and thus fulfill the zeal that we
are to have in this day, the zeal to cry, “I am wrong”. By this honesty we can be in the process of
the Rapture, the putting off of this “outer man”, this “old coat”. This understanding also
produces the ability to truly love one
another. We can see the faults in
our brother and yet we know that that is not the real him. The real him is his new Soul. We can truly believe in who our brother is
(which is truly loving our brother)
because we can truly believe in who we are.
That new Soul in each of us is the real us. One day we will take that
last step of Faith of putting off this “old coat” and step completely out of
this “old coat” and into the body change. May that day come soon. THINGS.THAT.ARE.TO.BE_ RIALTO.CA
SUNDAY_ 65-1205 106 This old earthly tabernacle here, you know
what it is? This body is like an old coat that you wear, a coat that you once
wear. But now, you have one so much better, you don't use it any more. What
do you do? You hang it in a closet, for you've got one better. |
