Read Contenders
THEIR
WORD
SEPTEMBER
1975
INTRODUCTION
Christ’s
mission on earth had been to present the Father’s word to
chosen apostles who were elected to carry on in His stead in the
grace age and a prayer of blessing is given in their behalf in
John 17. Christ permitted the chosen apostles to take His revelation
and present it to the hungry multitudes who would believe on Him
through “THEIR WORD”. Satan slowly through the years,
worked his way into the church fellowship changing “THEIR
WORD” over to his (the devil’s word), and through
the antichrist led the church into the dark ages. Through the
more than 400 year Reformation Period, God, by degrees restored
“THEIR WORD” back among the believers. However, it
was not until the end of the age when God sent the spirit of Elijah
into the earth that all the restored teachings of the Reformation,
which was the framework of the revelation of apostolic faith,
should be taken out of denominational settings and all restored
truth of ‘THEIR WORD” placed correctly and scripturally
into one message and given unto a people at the end of the age.
Thus, we examine the event of “THEIR WORD” which opened
the age as well as closing it out.
PART
1 - GOD’S OBJECTIVE ACCOMPLISHED
PRAYING
FOR APOSTLES
Turn
with me to St. John 17, where is recorded the final prayer Jesus
would ever utter concerning His disciples, as well as including
the things of which He had accomplished throughout his 3½
years of earthly ministry. The prayer in John 17 further incorporates
the things (doctrines) which He taught, the works which had already
been accomplished, as well as the name of the Father which had
been revealed and manifested unto the disciples. All this is seen
right here in this intercessory prayer where He prayed for the
future success of His disciples.
While
in prayer, Christ made one very particular bold outstanding statement
which we desire to look deeper into. Before we do, we note verse
21 shows Christ in prayer for His disciples whom He must leave
behind to carry on in His footsteps, praying they might be ONE
(in spirit, doctrine, objective, purpose, etc.) even as He and
the Father are one! Yet in verse 20, and this is the verse we
desire to discuss, Christ is heard saying - neither pray I for
these alone (meaning His present day disciples) but for them also
(future tense) which shall believe on me (that is on Christ and
no other) through “THEIR WORD.”
“THEIR
WORD” - WHAT WAS IT?
Notice
please, Christ never said believe on me through MY WORD, instead
He said believe on me through “THEIR WORD”. Such a
statement must be examined to mean one of two things - either
“THEIR WORD” is going to be God’s word, or “THEIR
WORD” is going to be their own personal preconceived ideas.
CHRIST’S
STATEMENTS CONCERNING HIS WORD
In
order to receive a more accurate picture of what Christ is literally
declaring by using such a profound expression as this, let us
briefly mention various quotes or various little statements dropped
off here and there by the Saviour throughout His personal earthly
ministry. Since we won’t be using His entire quote or statement
found in different verses, please do not think we will be taking
these quotes out of their contexts, because in each case the entire
verse where the quote or statement appears is absolutely built
around the very fact of what Christ is making reference unto,
and that is THE WORD which He speaks!
In
John 12:48, Jesus says, “The
WORD that I have spoken, the same (Word) shall
judge him in the last day.” In John 14:24 we hear
him say, “the WORD ye hear
is not mine.” Well, if the WORD they were hearing
was not His, then whose was it? Let us continue to read in John
14:24 which finishes that statement... “The
WORD you hear is the Father’s which sent me.”
And again in John 17:8 we see a similar statement concerning the
Father, the great Eternal Spirit who fills all space. Christ,
in prayer, says, “I have
given unto them (disciples) the
WORDS which thou gavest me.” Therefore, whose words
has Christ been speaking all along the way? It is none other than
GOD’S WORD!
Again
Christ says, the WORDS that I speak unto you they are Spirit and
they are life, (John 6:63). Therefore, when you wrap all this
up it verifies one fact, Jesus the Christ is absolutely none other
than an anointed vessel of clay through which the inspiration
of Jehovah God, the great Eternal Spirit, might speak His WORD!
Thus, we must understand Christ’s WORD, spoken to the disciples,
is certainly not ideas which originated from His natural human
side of clay causing Him to verbally or vocally speak what He
did! No, because Christ further declares (John 5:19-20) I speak
nothing in myself but only what the Father (great Eternal Spirit
filling all space) shows me.
STATEMENTS
OF FLESH NOT ETERNAL LIFE
Speaking
nothing in myself but what the Father shows me, certainly has
no intentions of implying Christ could not walk down the road
and be able to carry on a normal earthly conversation with the
disciples concerning something in a material way which they spotted
while walking along the road without the disciples going overboard
feeling every word Christ ever uttered had to be looked upon as
though it was God’s word or word of eternal life! NO, there
were certain things spoken by this man Christ which was conversation
produced from none other than His natural fleshly side of life.
For instance, I believe often Christ may have freely discussed
a horse, house or beautiful flowers or something material with
His disciples. Why shouldn’t Christ, who was totally man
as well as totally God, be permitted to carry on such a natural
earthly conversation without someone going overboard, feeling
simply because He spoke it that every word which flowed from His
lips could not be anything other than words of eternal life! Yet
such conversation, though not words of eternal life, does show
an expression of His human nature.
No
doubt often while in the home of Mary and Martha, Jesus would
make complimentary statements in reference to the fine meal the
two sisters had prepared for Him. Again I ask you, would such
a conversation concerning good food being served have to imply
these WORDS were words of eternal life simply because He spoke
them! Certainly not. Yet beloved, when it came to those very vital
things, or shall we say, vital statements of which He taught those
disciples statements which were of absolute necessity that those
chosen disciples should remember, then it was such verbal statements
as these which were absolutely God’s WORD - these were WORDS
of eternal life!
APOSTLES
RECEIVED WORD
Now
I trust you are able to understand the difference between statements
made by His flesh and statements which were definitely of the
Spirit, statements which were the eternal WORDS of God spoken
for the sole purpose of eternal life, because beloved, not every
statement Christ ever uttered in His life time is to be considered
or looked upon as the WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE. Note that statement
we previously mentioned, recorded in John 17:8, when Christ has
climaxed His earthly ministry we hear Him saying - I have given
them the WORDS WHICH THOU GAVEST ME! Note carefully what else
Jesus said - and they (disciples) have received them! Given unto
them THY WORDS incorporates 3½ years of teaching. Such a
statement incorporates many statements, many parables, many illustrations
or phrases, and once you have placed all that together, it all
forms a very beautiful picture concerning the plan of God which
was instilled into the human minds of those who heard Him.
ETERNAL
LIFE IS
Knowing
His earthly ministry is already completed. Christ the man, the
anointed one prays this prayer recorded in John 17 where verse
3 openly declared what eternal life is! Christ says eternal life
is to know the eternal Father (who is Spirit filling all space)
as the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Here
we see no one knows the Father save the Son and unless the Son
will reveal who the Father is, NOBODY will ever know! It takes
a revelation to know the Father! (I John 2:13) If Eternal Life
is to know the Father and the Son, how does this come about. Study
prayerfully Matthew 11:27.
We
must realize the prayer is in behalf of all He has taught and
accomplished through His earthly ministry and everything He has
implanted in the life of these disciples as we hear Him say in
verse 8 - Father, I have given unto them THY WORDS and they have
received them. Note, the disciples have already (by faith or revelation)
received the Father’s WORDS! In verse 4 of that prayer Christ
declares, I have finished the work thou hast given for me to do.
Note carefully verse 6 where he declares, I have manifested or
revealed thy name unto these men thou hast given me out of this
world.
THREE
OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Thus
we see three outstanding things which were precisely important
which the fleshly man, Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of God
accomplished while here in His earthly ministry. Let us review
them. (1) According to verse 4, He finished the assigned work,
(2) According to verse 6, He manifested or revealed the name of
the Father to His disciples, (3) According to verse 8, He says
He has given the disciples ‘THY WORD”. And note, the
man Christ, who was born of the virgin (Mary) says. . . and they
have accepted all these things!
PART
2 - IMPORTANCE OF THEIR WORD
LEAVING
MINISTRY TO MEN
Closing
His earthly ministry with prayer we note something most important.
We see from this final, great intercessory prayer, especially
in behalf of those 11 disciples, (Judas Iscariot weeded out) that
the man Christ, who is soon to be removed from the scene through
His death at Calvary, is fully aware this great ministry He has
begun must be continued on and furthermore He is aware the responsibility
to carry on this ministry must rest upon the shoulders of other
men, not merely ONE MAN, but MANY men, 11 men who have already
received all the teachings Christ had spoken up to this hour!
Therefore, we note the man Christ is in intercessory prayer for
those original eleven chosen disciples (seeing Judas had already
gone to betray Him). John 13:30-31. He concentrates on the eleven
ordained ones to carry on in His stead. But wait, we note in verse
20 the chosen disciples are not the only ones Christ includes
in His prayer for He now says, neither pray I for these alone
(eleven chosen apostles), but for them also (future tense) who
shall believe on me through “THEIR WORD”! Notice,
the people will not believe on the disciples, but will be believing
on Christ through the WORD SPOKEN BY the apostles.
WERE
APOSTLES REPETITIONISTS
Now
I ask you, will these men, in order to be accepted (by others)
have to become repetitious copycats of every word Jesus spoke,
or will they be free to minister as they see fit, using their
own verbal expressions to present Christ to the world - let us
find out if these men were repetitionists. We live in an hour
when many people, because they are so carnal minded and do not
understand what the prophet to the age meant when he said certain
things such as, “Say it like I do, etc.”, feel that
you and I are supposed to be mere repetitionists of verbal words
of the prophet here at the endtime. How carnal can people be!
I want you to know these apostles certainly were not, yet they
too had to say it (the revelation of truth) exactly as Christ
did, but they were allowed to express the revelation in their
own words. I am going to show you these original men for whom
Jesus prayed that people in the future would believe on Him through
“THEIR WORD” were never mere verbal copycats, and
furthermore, Christ never intended that one of His disciples in
any age ever be a verbal copycat! Instead those original apostles
were anointed vessels of God who had the revelation in their bosom
of what Christ said, and furthermore, it behooves us today as
believers to also have within us that same kind of revelatory
picture or revelation of the spirit that burned within them, because
if we do have the same kind of true picture or revelation of this
true message of Christ in our souls, you may rest assured God
gives you the liberty to express that truth in whatever way your
human ability is capable of expressing it!
LIBERTY
TO EXPRESS
One
thing I know, if you have also received the same spiritual thought
I have received in my spiritual mind, you are at liberty with
God’s blessings to express that truth in whatever capacity
or way the Holy Ghost would lead you to express it unto others!
I, too, am at liberty to express it the same way I desire, yet
remember in the final analysis (the end) I want you to know the
revelatory thought of that truth of the gospel is going to come
out exactly the same way irregardless who speaks it under the
anointing of the Holy Ghost. The vehicle of words used to get
the revelational thought across will of course not be the same,
yet the revelating thought expressed WILL BE THE SAME!
FEW
VERBAL QUOTES
I’ll
have you to know, after the birth of the church, there are very
few places in the scripture you will ever find where Peter, James,
John, Paul or any others of the fivefold ministry (especially
the apostles) ever quoted or expressed the words of Jesus verbally,
word for word, like certain people expect others to do today!
Yet all this time who were these apostles preaching - JESUS CHRIST,
OF COURSE! Christ prayed that others might believe on Him through
their words as they expressed the truth to others in their own
personal vocabulary.
GOD
IS A REVELATORY SPIRIT
Paul,
who never saw or heard Christ speak in the flesh knew Him only
by the Spirit, certified to the Galatian Church, brethren (Galatians
1:11-12) the gospel I preach unto you, I learned it not of man,
but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. And remember that revelation
was not delivered to Paul by any man (namely any apostle). How
could Paul boast such a thing as this? God had to do it in this
fashion in order to prove to Paul he was a revelatory Spirit.
Peter,
on the other hand, was a man who did have the privilege of walking
with Christ and hear verbally every thing He taught. Peter saw
all things Christ did, though contrary to what many may think,
Peter did know exactly how to baptize those 3000 converts on the
day of Pentecost. He understood perfectly the revelation or Great
Commission recorded in Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:45-48, Mark 16:14-18,
John 20:19-23, when he told those 3000 to be baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and they would
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. No, Peter wasn’t confused,
he knew exactly what to tell those 3000 who had been pricked in
their heart, because note, he had the verbal words of Christ in
his spiritual mind to inspire and guide him in what to say! I
want everyone to realize Peter was at liberty to use his own human
vocabulary and human ability to express to the 3000 what Christ
had said during His earthly ministry. Because note, in John 17:8,
Christ openly declared He had given the apostles God’s WORD
and the apostles had accepted it! However, the above statement
did not include the Apostle Paul, seeing at that time he was not
of the number, therefore, with Paul the revelation came quite
differently. Nevertheless, it was still the Spirit of Christ after
having knocked Paul down on the Damascus Road some 160 miles from
Jerusalem, which sent Paul into the Arabian Desert (Galatians
1:17) and when the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Ghost, finished
with him down there, Paul came out of that desert with the correct
revelatory picture drawn in his bosom exactly like the other disciples
who walked with Christ, had drawn in their bosom. Please note,
Paul, who declared he received his revelated gospel from no man
but through the revelation of the spirit of Christ, was also baptizing
converts just like the Apostle Peter was! Furthermore, I remind
you, Paul who was taught by no man, taught also the baptism of
the Holy Ghost exactly like Peter did!
NOT
AUTHOR OF REPETITION
From
what we learn or what we can see in these two separate ministries,
let us know God who is Spirit certainly is not the author of repetition!
Therefore, I want you to know God intends to draw the correct
picture of His divine plan of salvation in every mortal human
soul, and if we all get the picture correctly in our minds then
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost who planted the picture
in us, God gives us liberty to express what we see in our own
verbal expression of words! And as we stated, the revelatory thought
of that truth will have to come out the same, although the working
which carried the thought naturally is not the same.
DID
PRAYER INCLUDE YOU?
When
Christ, in prayer, made this profound statement, “neither
am I praying for these (eleven apostles) alone, but for them also
who will later believe on me through “THEIR WORD,”
that included me and that included you, provided you, by revelation,
have allowed the words of the apostles to be planted in your life!
Throughout the first church age, especially during that first
generation after Pentecost, things were known to have gone very
smoothly. Allowed to speak in their own words, those men for whom
Christ prayed were busy carrying the true message, not on paper,
but by a living revelation in their bosom. They were men definitely
filled with the Holy Ghost, filled with that same Spirit which
Christ was and in which He also ministered and spoke. Therefore,
it was this one Spirit God who is the very inspirational factor
of it all. Thus if God, who is Spirit, is allowed to freely enter
into minds of men and inspire those minds by His spirit, when
something does come out of men’s lips it is going to be
something which is consistent and you can rely on the fact when
that man says one thing today, six months later that revelatory
statement is still going to remain the same because GOD IS CONSISTENT!
PETER
NOT REPETITIONIST
Watch
Peter for a few moments and see if he is a man who is a mere repetitionist
of the verbal words Jesus spoke. The church was born on the day
of Pentecost and we are fully aware from scripture (John 17:20)
the born again believers are going to fall in the hands of somebody
who is required by Almighty God to be responsible for what they
do as well as how they, the church, have heard it. Thus the day
of Pentecost began when 120 Jews being filled with the Holy Ghost
came staggering under the Power of God into the streets of Jerusalem,
streets filled with devout Jews of every nation around the Mediterranean
Sea. Sure, it was God manifesting His power through these 120
disciples in such fashion, yet when the question was asked, men
and brethren, what must we (3000) do? How utterly foolish it would
have been for a man in that hour to have stood there, looking
dumbfounded at this crowd of hungry seekers, not aware of knowing
what to do or say! Because I remind you, not one of these men
had in their possession a single book they could quote from! Think
of it, Peter did not even have an Old Testament scroll in his
hand. The words he was speaking were pouring out of his soul under
the anointing of the Spirit. Though Peter nor any of the early
disciples had a book to turn to find out what those 3000 were
to do, they were far better off than many who claim to be followers
of this last day message! No, I am not against books, they definitely
have their place, yet for the cause of Almighty God, isn’t
it about time we got a revelation inside our bosom to guide us
also! Remember, the man who wrote the Bible, especially the New
Testament, before anything could be written in letter form it
had to first be written in the hearts of those disciples! Had
it not first been inspired in their minds it would never have
been brought into the printed form in the first place.
EXPRESSING
REVELATORY PICTURE
Something
has been asked this big fisherman standing in the streets of Jerusalem,
“Men and brethren, what must we do?” Does Peter know
what to say? Does he know what to do? What about those other ten
original, faithful, true disciples standing there, do they know
what to do or say? (When we say eleven we are not referring to
Matthias who was voted in.) Recall, Peter has earlier been chosen,
(Matthew 16:15-20) to be the spokesman who was given the keys
to unlock the kingdom or unlock the dispensation of grace referred
to as the kingdom of heaven. The great multitude of the 3000 had
heard and seen the power of God demonstrated in their behalf.
A miracle of languages had been performed and it was there 3000
who had benefitted from it. God had spoken to each of these in
their own home languages, not in the Hebrew tongue which all Jews
know, but in the languages of the countries wherein they were
born. God, speaking to each of them in their own home language
wherein they were born, had created a question in their minds,
therefore they questioned those chosen disciples, men and brethren,
what must we do? The responsibility of telling this crowd what
they must do is now going to rest upon one of those very men for
whom Christ had earlier prayed in John 17 when He said, I pray
not only for these, but for all those who will believe on me (at
Pentecost and elsewhere) through “THEIR WORD.” Now
we are about to see the importance of how they are permitted to
minister in ‘THEIR WORD” because 3000 will soon be
added to the church through “THEIR WORD”.
VERBAL
QUOTING WITHOUT REVELATION
Remember
we are trying to determine from scripture whether or not these
men were mere repetitionists and verbal quoters of what Jesus
said or do they use their own words to express what Jesus spoke
as the scripture said they would. I am not saying these things
to be different, but ONLY TO BE LOGICAL. If all we are trying
to do here at the end of the grace age is become a bunch of legalist,
(mere statement quoters without revelation of what it is all about)
then all I can say is, the ones with the sharpest minds are going
to make it! Personally, I do not have that sharp a mind. This
thing has to form a picture inside of me because I simply do not
have the ability to remember all those quotes, word for word as
some people expect you to do in this hour.
Let’s
dramatize this Jerusalem scene as it might have appeared were
it today. A question has just been raised and now Peter and the
other brethren must tell the 3000 what to do. Here stands Peter
looking at the other disciples, afraid to speak fearing he might
not place his words just right; fearing his words may not be exactly
as Jesus’ verbal words were, saying to the brethren, now
what was it He told us to say? And they answer him back, Peter
now be sure you speak what you are about to say exactly as He
said it or we just can’t accept you as being in the message.
Are you gouging someone Bro. Jackson? No, not unless you are that
somebody who wants to live in such a manner as that, in relation
of truth! I find it very strange, a big percentage of people in
this message today, while they were in denominationalism you could
poke any old thing down their throat and they would be as loyal
to that thing as they could be. You could poke chicken suppers,
rummage sales, teach them the moon was made of green cheese; you
could poke all that foolishness down their throats, they cared
little, they were most loyal to it. Yet when God, here in this
endtime, came to get us out of all this scattered mess and present
us with a truth that would get us somewhere, mainly back in fellowship
with Him, most of the people wind up being a bunch of legalist
rather than a group of realists!
ANSWER
WAS REVELATION
No,
you better believe Peter did not look at the other eleven and
wonder what he was supposed to say or whether he had to quote
verbally from the words of Jesus off page such and such to make
the other disciples accept him as being in the message. NO, Peter
did not even quote the great commission word for word as was declared
by Jesus the night following His resurrection. But Praise God,
Peter knew the sum of what that commission was, for he knew there
was only one man to preach and that man’s name was Jesus
Christ, because as Peter later said, (Acts 4:12) “Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
REVELATION
OF COMMISSION
Peter
knew by revelation Jesus Christ was none other than the Mighty
God manifested or robed in flesh, II Corinthians 5:19, reconciling
the world unto Himself. He, along with all the other disciples,
had received the revelation of the Father’s name, as John
17:6-12 says, he had accepted it! And knowing this gospel of repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in the name of Jesus
Christ unto all the world, beginning at Jerusalem, Luke 24:45-48,
may I ask you, where is Peter standing when this question, What
must we do, is asked him and the other disciples? Peter is standing
in the very streets of the city of Jerusalem where it was prophesied
this gospel would begin to be proclaimed. Peter had all these
statements which had been made by Christ over the last 3½
years in the back of his spiritual mind. Remembering all these
saying and statements of Christ which he had heard, all this placed
or compiled together had formed in Peter’s bosom a beautiful
picture, and although his answer to those 3000 isn’t verbally
word for word what Christ had spoken, when that question was put
to him, Peter, without hesitation under the Holy Ghost anointing
answered, repent everyone of you and be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.
GOSPEL
STORY CENTERED AROUND CHRIST
I
want you to know the whole sum of the matter is this, the gospel
story is built around none other person than Jesus the Christ
who not only declared I am the Way, but also said I am the Truth
and Life as well. Beloved, no other living creature could have
ever made such a statement as that, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND
LIFE. Peter, Paul, James nor any of the other apostles could ever
declare anything like that. They could never say I am that! No,
not even the prophet, William Branham, could say I am the way,
the truth and the life, although there are many, I am sorry to
say, who absolutely try to make him say he is the I AM! That little
man I saw and heard only declared Jesus was the I AM. Who else
but Jesus could possibly say I am the way, the truth and life.
No wonder salvation is totally around this one individual (around
his death, burial and resurrection). No one else ever said I am
the way. Paul the apostle was once heard to say, in the way which
men call heresy serve I the Lord.
No,
you never heard any Old Testament prophet or New Testament apostle
every say I am the light. Who is the light? Jesus is! I John 1:7
says, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another. Note, it is only then, the apostle continues
by saying, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all
(inbred) sin. Moreover, in order to cleansed from all (inbred)
sin, somebody must somewhere begin to walk in the light of that
somebody who is supposed to be the light of the world. All Old
Testament prophets, prior to the I AM, pointed to Him. Moses,
Isaiah, Daniel, who were all Old Testament prophets, spoke of
Him as they pointed Israel toward Him, while the Apostle Peter
and Apostle Paul (who called Jesus the and high priest of our
profession) pointed all back to Him. The prophet messenger to
the Laodicean Church Age also pointed men back to Him. Why? Because
Christ is the Light!
REVELATION
BURNS IN PETER’S BOSOM
Peter,
on the day of Pentecost, said, repent everyone of you and be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ. No, he certainly did not have to
look around and shudder wondering whether or not he had worded
it correctly and spoken it verbally word for word, as Christ stated
it. The revelation of every statement Christ ever spoke was revelated
and burning afresh in Peter’s bosom. Peter did not have
to feel uneasy about his answer, wondering are they going to criticize
me over it or disfellowship me because of the way I worded it.
Had the others accepted Peter’s revelation of what Jesus
verbally said in their presence? One thing is sure, he had quoted
nothing verbally. In the background could be heard the other eleven
disciples declaring, that’s right Peter, pour it on! Here
much is going to depend on “THEIR WORD”, as to how
these 3000 and others will be affected in days to come. We must
bear in mind what they heard and accepted from the mouth of the
apostles, though it wasn’t word for word what Christ had
spoken, caused 3000 souls to be placed in the body of Christ that
day! 3000 souls standing in the streets like so many today not
knowing what to do, begging for an answer, what must I do! Peter
quickly responded, repent everyone of you and be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promise is unto you
and to your children and to all those (gentiles) who are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
EXACT
REVELATION OF COMMISSION
No
where did Christ every say this in those exact words. Nevertheless,
that is the exact revelation of all the statements Christ ever
made concerning New Testament salvation! Here for the first time
in the history of the church do we see a man giving such advice
as this, saying to repent and be baptized everyone of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for something, for the remission of sins.
In
relation to the great commission spoken by Christ in Matthew 28:19,
the Trinitarian is often heard to say, I will take what Christ
said. You may be shocked to know Peter also took what Christ said,
although he did not take the verbal statement word for word as
Jesus said it. And here is the beauty of it, Peter took the revelation
of what Jesus said because all those various statements spoken
by Christ had formed a beautiful revelation of truth and was burning
brightly in Peter’s bosom. Peter also knew as Jesus had
informed him earlier, that Christ was going to build His church
upon nothing other than the rock of revelation. (Matthew 16:18)
Therefore Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, took
the revelation of the Holy Spirit, took the revelation of Matthew
28:19 upon which Christ declared He would build His church, while
this carnal bunch of religionist today who want to argue has nothing
either than a verbal expression to embrace! Sure, no one can deny
they do not have a verbal quote, yet the pitiful part is they
have no revelation to go with their verbal quote! You don’t
find the other eleven standing there fuming and fussing with Peter
saying, Peter, we can’t accept it because you did not say
it right, you did not quote it verbally the way He spoke it! I
would like to say to those people who always want to argue over
the verbal expression saying they will take what Jesus said over
what Peter said, especially the people who believe in a Pentecostal
experience, it is a strange thing to me, you will accept Acts
2:39, but refuse to accept the first part of Acts 2:38. How silly
can people be! You refuse to accept what Peter said in verse 38
about water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, yet you will
turn around and accept what Peter said in verse 39 concerning
the Holy Ghost! Why do they accept verse 39 and reject his statement
in verse 38? It is because they believe in the Holy Ghost but
not in water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins!
GAGING
ON GNAT
How
ignorant to scripture can people be! That is just like straining
at a gnat and swallowing a camel.
Recall
that statement Jesus made referring to the hypocrites of that
hour, saying to them, you strain at a gnat and swallow a camel,
referring to how they treat the truth of His word. Did you ever
see a toad frog sitting around at dusk, leaping up and grabbing
hold of large hard shell bugs? That is sort of the picture Christ
is speaking about, straining or gagging on a gnat, but swallowing
a big camel. A toad will almost turn wrong side out just to swallow
an old hard shell bug, something that is far too large to swallow.
He will swallow it down and swell up. Ever hear that phrase, swell
up bigger than a toad? Actually that is where this statement stems
from. Isn’t that exactly how many of these religious church
people are? Give them a little simple Bible truth of the gospel
which should be easy to swallow and they will cough and gag and
almost turn wrong side out over it. However, let something come
along that is just as carnal as can be even if it is as large
as the broad side of a barn, those individuals, like the old toad,
will open their mouth wide enough to somehow swallow that thing
down, when actually that thing should be far more difficult to
swallow than a little simple truth would be.
WHY
DISCIPLES SUPPORTED PETER’S POSITION
Therefore,
when Peter stated what he did, may I say the support and loyalty
from those other men toward Peter’s unheard of statement
stemmed over the fact that within these men also lay that same
true revelatory picture produced off the statements of what Jesus
had taught. Therefore, they knew Peter was correct in his statement,
though it was by no means a verbal quote of what Jesus had said.
No, these men in the first age were not mere repetitionists of
quotes, they were the recorders of revelation! These disciples
of the truth had the true revelatory thought flowing through their
very being, and as that revelatory thought burned on the oil of
the Holy Ghost furnishing light unto their spiritual minds concerning
the revelation of Christ, wherever these disciples went and questions
were asked them concerning the revelation of Christ in this message,
there were words which must absolutely be THEIR own WORDS which
would flow from their lips, words which could never be looked
upon as a mere verbal repetitious quote of Christ! See, it is
the flow of the Holy Ghost through their own human personality
which allows them to use their own human personality, which allows
them to use their own vocabulary to express in their own words
as their ability allows the revelation of this message. Moreover,
under the Holy Spirit anointing a clear picture is painted in
the minds of others whereby the listener could actually know what
kind of revelation lay inside that person presenting them the
truth.
NOT
A FLOW OF VERBAL REPETITION
Speaking
of the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, Jesus said, out of your belly
or innermost being shall flow rivers of living waters. Note, Christ
did not say, out of your belly shall flow nothing but a constant
continual stream of repetition of statements, out of your belly
shall flow rivers of living water! There is quite a difference!
Nevertheless, we must always bear in mind, there is definitely
a place for a quote, yet I tell you where most of your quotes
begin, after the person has entered into an argument! Certain
people always become so concerned about a quote and it all winds
up on the basis of a technicality in an argument! I have never
heard much revelation come forth out of an argument, have you?
There are some people you couldn’t convince they were wrong
until you were gray headed.
SPIRIT
MUST DRAW
Christ
declared no man comes unto me except the Father draw him, John
6:44. Therefore, only provided the Holy Ghost is drawing or working
with that person will he ever at some time listen to truth. On
the other hand, if the Holy Ghost (the Father) is not drawing
or working with that heart you could do your utmost to draw a
picture of the thing in his mind, but it will mean absolutely
nothing to him. Why? Because that person has no revelatory factor
working within him! However, if God is working on that individual’s
mind to draw him a picture and clarify his understanding, then
you may rest assured after while a picture will begin to break
through, a light will begin to lighten up the darkened understanding
of the individual’s mind.
ALREADY
IN BOSOM
The
church was born on the day of Pentecost because this is the day
Christ fulfilled His promise in John 14:17-18, when He declared
the Spirit of Christ, which was with them should one day be in
them. And may I say that every doctrine which was ever taught
to that predestinated, ordained Holy Ghost filled, revelated church
through His anointed fivefold ministry, get this, every one of
those doctrines were already revelated and simply laying there
in the bosom of those Holy Ghost filled disciples! That beloved,
is why after Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Ghost into the
life of the church they did not have to go around studying books
in order to receive doctrines such as predestination, eternal
security, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost or water baptism
in Jesus Name or any of these other great truths! No, these doctrines
were already in them, they already knew it because these teachings
were laying present in their bosom. All they required was the
watering of the Holy Ghost and the seed would sprout! God watched
those truths through His anointed fivefold ministry, men who were
allowed to express the truth in their own vocabulary. But sad
to say, we live in an hour when many endtime people do not believe
you should declare this message in your own vocabulary as you
are inspired and led strictly by the Holy Ghost to do! On no,
they are so carnal they believe because the prophet (who knew
how people would twist the revelation) said, say it like I do,
they think he meant the verbal word, therefore, you should spend
all your time (even if you are in the fivefold ministry) doing
nothing but quoting mere verbal quotes or making identical word
for word statements of what the prophet messenger to the age said
in his own verbal wording! We believe in a fivefold ministry,
they say, provided that ministry will say only verbal words just
like the prophet did. THEY DON’T BELIEVE IN A NEW TESTAMENT
FIVEFOLD MINISTRY! It has been done in the history of the church.
Show me one place in scripture where men ever found such a confinement.
The Apostle Peter using his own words or thoughts, many years
after the church had begun, expressed in his epistles the doctrine
of election before the foundation of the world by the grace of
God, saying that we were already fore-ordained, predestinated,
chosen and elected in Christ before the beginning of all things.
Show me where Christ ever worded it in that fashion, yet that
is his revelation. Paul presented the same revelation of Christ
through his own words in Romans 8. If you will note as you read
and study an epistle, whether it is Peter, Matthew, John, Paul
or any of the other apostles, you may be amazed to discover these
men did practically no verbal quoting of Christ’s identical
words. Therefore, I ask you, why would men be confined by the
Holy Spirit in the endtime to use only verbal quotes of the messenger
to the age who restored us back to the original revelatory teaching
of the apostles, men, I remind you, who were given freedom by
the Holy Ghost to teach the message using their own words, John
17:20, to get this same message across where others might believe
on Christ! It is only the ignorance and spiritual blindness of
man who make that confinement upon others, NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Ministers today have the same God given liberty to present the
truth in their own vocabulary, provided they have a true picture
in their soul as did the ministers in the early church to present
the same truth you and I are supposed to be presenting today.
“THEIR
WORD” CARRIED HIS REVELATION OF THOUGHT
With
that thought now ever present in our minds that Christ said they
would use THEIR (own) WORDS, John 17:20, in order to cause others
to believe on Him and he asked the eternal Spirit to bless his
request, we must always remember if this prayer request in John
17:20 is going to be answered concerning the blessing on ‘THEIR
WORD”, though spoken differently from his own verbal
statement, must nevertheless carry the same thought he is, or
shall we say must carry, the same revelation of thought he was
projecting. In other words, by revelation, His thought would so
richly indwell the apostles as they spoke using their own words
that “THEIR WORDS” would be carrying His thought!
How, you ask, could such a thing be possible? Very simple. It
is because the same Holy Ghost who Christ was is also in the apostles
and inspires it all. The Holy Ghost is going to anoint those yielded
lips of each apostle and cause those men, though they are using
their own words, to carry or transfer the correct revelatory thought
of Christ to the hearer, causing the hearer to receive a correct
picture of grace and plant the revelation of Christ in their own
bosom. Because they, too, by the Holy Ghost, hearing the anointed
words of the apostles, would also catch the same revelatory thought
which had first been expressed in the mind of Christ, thus “THEIR
WORD” was used to transfer His thought or revelation over
to the heart of others.
SPIRIT
REVEALS ERROR
If
an individual has the Holy Ghost in his life and he is preaching
truth to others under the inspiration, the individual listening
will soon be receiving what that preacher’s thought is,
provided they also have the Holy Spirit. Now remember, in order
to receive His inspired thought, it is imperative you have the
Holy Spirit in your life, otherwise you will never receive the
inspired truth coming forth in the inspired message. Remember
also if you have the Holy Spirit and someone is trying to teach
you false doctrine or false teaching, it won’t be long before
you will know that person is off track. Why? Because the Holy
Spirit in your life who is your teacher, leading you into all
truth, does not intend for you to be led into error (only truth).
That is exactly the way it was in the early church. It is the
Holy Spirit who shows the individual error from truth (I John
2:26-27, also I John 4:6).
Here
is another beautiful thing about the anointing of the Holy Spirit
in the hearer’s life as well as the speaker’s life.
If you are listening to preaching under the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, and you are familiar with scripture, many times you can
walk right alongside the speaker in his thought and if the inspiration
and anointing is truly heavy and you are very much wrapped up
in the spirit of the speaker’s thought, oftentimes you can
see exactly where he is taking that thought. That is the joy and
glory in the Word of God. Because of the Holy Spirit in your life
you are able to know what he is speaking about. On the other hand,
how boring it is to hear some learned theologian with his monstrous
phrases, reading through the Bible, merely quoting verse by verse
without any Holy Ghost inspiration whatsoever. Sure, it is the
letter of word but remember Paul, the apostle, taught the letter
(alone) killeth, it is the spirit that quickens or give life to
the word in your soul, fanning it into a burning revelation to
furnish light whereby you may see where you are going spiritually.
SPIRIT
RECALLS TO MEMORY
That
is why I remarked earlier I am just like those original disciples,
I have a poor memory, I am afraid if I had to depend on my memory
I just could not make it. But I am so glad the Holy Spirit will
call to our memory all the things we have need to remember, therefore,
we do not have to rely on our human memory. Recall Christ in John
14:26, declaring to the bereaved disciples who knew He was going
away, informed them when the Comforter, the Holy Ghost whom the
Father would send in Jesus’ name, had come he would teach
the disciples all things and bring all things to their remembrance
whatsoever He had said unto them. Yes, I am so glad God is spirit
who can enter our lives, teaching us and bringing back to our
memory all things we have need of.
Even
if you can’t write your name, much less read a book, provided
you are born again and have the spirit of God in your life, you
would be able to hear a man of God preaching under the inspiration,
and provided that message is simple and down to earth and the
minister is using plain, simple Holy Ghost language, you too could
understand the message. May I say, this thing is so easy and so
simple provided you have a revelated mind that the Bible itself
declares, a fool need not err therein!
HOLY
GHOST INSPIRED EVERYTHING
Thus
studying throughout the book of Acts which presents approximately
the first 45 years of the early church from its original beginning,
you will note none of those men were mere repetitionists! None
of those men were seen carrying books around to quote from, giving
reference to a quote on pages so and so. NO, but praise God they
did carry around something in their bosom and that something they
treasured and guarded! It was the revelation of Christ in their
soul! Let anyone come along in that hour of the early church with
a contrary revelation and see how quick it was before that person
was found out and exposed.
HOW
GENTILES KNEW CHRIST
We
come quickly over to the Apostle Paul who wasn’t one of
the original disciples, to determine whether or not Paul was a
mere repetitionist of statements. Paul, we know, was especially
chosen for we recall the prophecy given over him by Ananias n
Acts 9:15, 22:14, 26:16-18, how he would be a light unto the gentiles
and a means of salvation unto the ends of the earth. Though Paul
(the man) himself was never to be preached, it was the revelation
of Christ he preached which was embedded into the hearts of men
and women that wherever they dwelt they could live the reality
of Jesus Christ through their own life. For the Apostle Paul declared,
though we (referring to the Jewish nation) have known Christ after
the flesh, henceforth (now addressing gentile Christians) know
we Him any longer after the flesh. No gentile never had the privilege
of knowing Christ after the flesh. Their knowledge of Him came
strictly by the Spirit of Christ. Thus, the gentiles knew Christ
only by revelation of the spirit, that revelation was delivered
mainly through the anointed teaching of the Apostle Paul. Thus
we see Paul himself was by no means a repetitionist of mere statements,
because you must remember when Paul entered the ministry there
was not one New Testament epistle by Peter, Matthew, John nor
any of the others which had been written that hour. Paul, you
recall, wrote possibly 13 epistles of the New Testament himself,
but may I say, because that early church was so yielded to the
Holy Spirit and what he taught through this fivefold ministry,
as the revelation of Christ blazed in their bosom they were all
able to live better, preach straighter with more understanding
of the true message, walk straighter and be more yielded to the
spirit of God without a single Bible school, without access to
any books or even tape recorders than the greater percentage of
the people in this last day message ever dreamed of being able
to do.
HEADING
FOR DEVIL’S JUNKYARD
No,
I am not gouging when I say that I am simply staring the truth
squarely in the face. It does not scare me in the least to say
this because I see where people are headed, they are headed straight
into the devil’s junkyard. Because with the spiritual attitude
many hold to in this hour and knowing what kind of statements
are already imbedded in the minds, they are not one bit better
off than those in Roman Catholicism! As a matter of fact with
the spiritual attitude many of them possess shows they are worse
off than those in Roman Catholicism, and if God should tarry His
coming another few years, that attitude will even worsen! They
are simply void of revelation, yet no one can deny they certainly
do not have a spirit leading them on deeper into apostasy and
further away from the true revelation of the word, because they
do. Yet as long as that early church stayed yielded to the spirit
of God no heresy could enter in. Improper and erroneous revelations
were quickly discerned out and cast aside.
PAUL’S
REVELATION SURPASS PROPHETS
Note,
when God called Paul upon the scene, according to his own testimony,
he declared he was not taught the revelation of truth by any man,
but strictly by the spirit of Christ. God imbedded into Paul’s
life every doctrine, every precept, yes, and even revealed every
hidden revelation of Old Testament scriptures prophesied by Old
Testament prophets who, unbeknowings to them, made references
to the grace or church age in their prophecies. Paul declared
all these Old Testament scriptural terms pertaining to the grace
period were revealed to the apostle office in the New Testament,
and get this, things revealed which had never been revealed to
any of the prophets of old! (Ephesians 3:2-9)
In
Ephesians 3, Paul declared God had made all this mystery known
unto him by the spirit, how the gentiles, through the grace age,
would become fellow hears with the Jews in God’s great program.
Paul taught his new revelation to the Ephesian church which, I
remind you, consisted of both Jewish and gentile Christians, several
years after he experienced the greatest three year revival in
his entire ministry when all Asia was so stirred with the truth
of Christ and the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and
3 were founded off the revelatory light which sprang from that
3 year revival at Ephesus. The converted gentiles who only a short
time before were pagans worshiping at a heathen temple, now sat
in beautiful fellowship alongside the Jews, because now they also
embrace a precious revelation of Christ in their bosom. They could
see by revelation what Paul taught when he made mention how God,
through the grace period, had not broken down the middle wall
of partition between them, giving reference to the old law of
commandments which works in and around the flesh. God has broken
that down, Paul says, and taken the twain, both Jews and Gentile,
and made for Himself one new man in Christ! Don’t you ever
forget, had every one of those early Christians, both Jew and
Gentile, of the church not had a personal revelation in his own
bosom as well as had the Holy Ghost to open his understanding,
those poor gentiles would never have known one thing concerning
what Paul was talking about!
THE
REVELATION AT PENTECOST
Isn’t
it strange, Peter, who heard every verbal quote made by Jesus
concerning the truth, never once used any of those verbal quotes
on the day of Pentecost! On the day of Pentecost it was strictly
by the revelation of the Holy Ghost which showed Peter how to
baptize those first 3000 Jewish converts into the grace age, because
Jesus, who was both Lord and Christ, is the revealed redemptive
name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost seen in Matthew 28:19,
and openly expressed in Acts 2:38. Isn’t it also strange
that Paul, who was taught by no man, would baptize exactly the
same way Peter did. (Acts 19:1-5) I remind you, Paul declared
to the Galatian Church, after his conversion he did not go up
to Jerusalem where the apostles were to confer with Peter or any
of the other apostles as to what he should preach or how converts
should be baptized. Instead, it was down in Arabia (Galatians
1:16-18) God taught Paul by the spirit all this message! And seeing
Paul and Peter preaching the same, practicing the same, though
they received it under two entirely different environments, provided
beyond a shadow of doubt it is the Holy Ghost who is the instruments,
as well as the inspirational spirit behind all this.
APOSTLES
REVELATION SAME
Note,
during that great hour as revelation was going forth, the early
church had no need for Bible Schools. All that was needed was
mere yielded vessels who were truly born again by the Holy Ghost.
When God finished with Paul in Arabia, he too had the same revelation
concerning Christ in his bosom as Peter had, and it had come by
the revelation of the spirit unto both men. When Paul came on
the scene baptizing, he too baptized every convert in the name
of Jesus Christ, the Lord as did Peter and the others. Paul’s
converts, as well as Peter’s, had the Holy Ghost. Paul taught
sanctification, Peter did also. Peter had walked with the flesh
men, Jesus Christ, and heard Him verbally speak the message, Paul
was able to walk only after the spirit of the man. Both Peter
and Paul spoke of the day of the Lord as a day of fire. This and
other things show us these men had one teacher and it was the
Holy Ghost doing the teaching. But what was more important, each
man was allowed by the spirit to present the gospel story of salvation
in his own words and was by no means required to use strictly
verbal quotes. Jesus promised after the Holy Ghost had come He
would teach the disciples all things, bringing to their remembrance
whatsoever He had told them in the past. Also showing them things
to come.
We
too should be just as dependent upon this same spirit to get the
job done in this hour as was the early church in that hour, because
the spirit is the leadership and inspiration of the church. Furthermore,
the spirit is the life of every born again disciples. When everything
you have ever clung to dies off, it is He who is the Comforter
of our soul. Remember when those apostles, Paul, Peter, James,
etc., had all been martyred during the first age, had the early
church not had the Holy Ghost to comfort them, no doubt the church
would have failed in its mission and stopped with the deaths of
the apostles. Though the church loved the apostles dearly, because
they had a comforter, they could carry on. When everyone, including
the preacher, has died off remember Christ in spirit form, the
Comforter, hasn’t died but is with you always, even unto
the end of the age. I will be with you even in you, Christ said.
PART
3 - EXCHANGING THEIR WORD FOR SATAN’S
This
one message of thought produced through “THEIR WORD”
was greatly disturbing the devil as he watched it grow by leaps
and bounds. No, Satan did not enjoy watching this in the least
because if Peter said there was one God, Paul also said there
was one God. The doctrines they taught carried the same line of
thought. There was absolutely no division in any of the apostle’s
letters. Things were definitely going too smoothly and Satan did
not enjoy this, therefore, watch how the trouble enters the fellowship
of the church.
ROCK
OF REVELATION
We
know according to Matthew 16:18, Jesus had instructed His apostles
that He would build His church upon the rock of revelation, not
upon Peter nor even upon the Catholic church as some have thought.
No, the rock the church is built upon is strictly the rock of
revelation! The devil has always had certain little tools he uses.
All Satan ever needs to get a foothold in anything is for someone
to desire or crave undue recognition and he has his foothold.
Here is where it all started, Satan impressed someone to feel
they wanted to be recognized in the church. The apostles never
carried such a feeling. Beloved, if God knows you and I and we
both have a kindred spirit, somewhere our trails will cross because
birds of a feather flock together.
SATAN
IN THE EARLY HOUR
It
wasn’t long in the grace age before Satan and his group
had come along saying the believers must be circumcised, Acts
15. In that hour circumcision was the problem. Then it wasn’t
long until someone else wanted to be recognized and they started
the unscriptural teaching the church must keep certain days as
well as observe certain Jewish feast days as did Jews under the
Old Testament. What does this all add up to? It is merely Satan’s
way to add to or trying, shall we say, to perfect the already
perfect revelation of God in Christ. It is impossible for Satan
to perfect anything, he can only pervert the true revelation,
the revelation of Christ is already perfect and needs nothing
other than people to merely believe it as the apostles in their
own words taught it! Note Paul’s words to the Colossian
church where he openly condemns those teachings (Colossians 2:14-17)
such as the church having to observe the Old Testament Sabbath,
new moons day, meats, drink, etc., as was seen under the old covenant,
things which Paul declared had been mere shadows pointing to good
things to come in the grace age.
KINGDOM
IS NOT
Paul
also taught in Romans 14:17, the kingdom of God was not meat or
drink but was peace, joy and righteousness in the Holy Ghost!
It was godly living inspired by the Holy Spirit. When the gospel
of Christ came to an individual, the primary number one objective
was, that individual could not live anything until he was first
born again. Once he was born again that new birth would lead him
into spiritual growth, not into first seeing how much he could
learn! Oh no, but instead how much of himself or his life he could
give or yield to God in order his earthly vessel containing the
spirit of Christ could be separated from the world and set apart
for God’s use.
SPIRITUAL
MISFITS
Paul
wrote to the Romans beseeching them not to be conformed to the
world but be transformed by the renewing of their minds. (Romans
12:1-2) Beloved, in Christ you have a new mind. If any man is
in Christ he is also a new creature, he is a new man! He has put
off the old deeds and put on new ones. Old things have passed
away, behold all things have become new. (II Corinthians 5:17)
Once the life of Christ has begun to be expressed in the believer,
only then do they begin to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
But remember, when our knowledge has exceeded our right living,
we will not only become a stumbling block to others, we also become
spiritual misfits.
WHO
IS PRESENTED?
I
have seen people come into this endtime bride message which was
presented to restore us back unto the revelation of “THEIR
WORD”, and once they gained a little knowledge you would
think they knew exactly how to convert the world. Yet bear in
mind, as our main thought and objective in this study is “THEIR
WORD”, you must remember, without the thought contained
in THEIR WORD you won’t convert anybody to the one true
God. I want you to know for many years in that early church “THEIR
WORD” remained to be none other than God’s word. Whenever
their mouths opened, “THEIR WORD” was spoken and someone
saw Jesus Christ. Who does the world see today when we present
the message?
PERSONALITY
CLASH
Once
a group of Corinthian disciples who had heard the word through
various apostles got them selves all divided and confused over
a personality clash, one saying, I am Paul, in other words, I
hear only what Paul says. Another says, I am of Cephas, meaning
Cephas is my preacher, I hear only what he says. Another says
he is of Apollos, one of the latecomers, but nevertheless one
who had influence in Corinth according to Acts 18, while still
others declared they were of Christ. Paul was deeply grieved upon
hearing this because he knew that kind of fellowship could never
grow into fruitful, Christian living. No, he never unchristianized
these Corinthian disciples, yet he did scold them for their inconsistency
and lack of growth to grow beyond such carnal things.
Who
is Paul, Who is Cephas, Who is Apollos, Paul asked this church?
They are only men by whom you have heard “THEIR WORD”
concerning Christ and having heard through “THEIR WORD”
you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what is wrong with
you people! Get your eyes off men and onto Christ where they belong!
That is why Paul made the certain reference concerning baptism
that he did (I Corinthians 1:14-17) to those gentile Corinthian
Christians who were guilty of living in that kind of environment
and argument. Is Christ divided? Were you baptized in the name
of Paul? (I Corinthians 1:12-14) No, you were baptized in Jesus’
name, not the name of Paul! Paul continues by saying in verses
14-16, besides Crispus and Galus and the household of Stephanas,
I thank God I did not baptize any of you else any should say I
baptized in mine own name. Why would anyone have accused Paul
of baptizing in his own name (Paul) if these people had all been
baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost? In Matthew
28:19, there is not one name even mentioned!
NOT
DESTROYING REVELATION
Isn’t
it a shame today because Paul spoke what he did (verse 17) we
have a carnal bunch of people who enjoy using that scripture to
say, see, it is not important whether you get baptized or not!
Beloved, that statement is strictly unrelated to Paul revelation
concerning the gospel of Christ! Here he is only scolding and
trying to correct a carnal situation of a personality clash in
the church. No, he is by no means trying to annul his own revelation.
Wherever Paul preached his revelation, anyone who ever dared ask
him what must I do, always wound up getting wet! That example
is clearly seen with the Philippian jailor and his family because
these, like others, usually got wet in water baptism in a matter
of hours after having received the message into their life. Recall
when the Philippian jailor thinking everyone had escaped from
his jail and knowing he could never serve the sentence of every
man who was under his charge, (as their law stated must be done)
looked down the corridor and saw the doors wide open to each cell,
started to commit suicide when Paul screamed out, do yourself
no harm for we are all here. (Acts 16:25-34) Trembling, he fell
before Paul’s feet asking what must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou and all thy house shall be saved.
CONVERTS
GOT WET
Taking
them home, the jailor tended their wounds, and can’t you
see his little family having the pure plan of salvation explained
to them. With their stomachs now filled with a fine supper, Paul
takes the jailor and entire household and baptizes them in Christian
baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul was definitely concerned
that all his converts would get baptized once they repented and
received the truth into their lives. If that be true, and it is,
why would Paul speak in such fashion concerning baptism to this
Corinthian church. Paul was not trying to tear down his revelation
but he did want to tear to shreds than old carnal idea that simply
because one certain apostle or disciple had baptized them there
was virtue in the name of that particular man. The virtue lays
only in the name of Jesus the Christ and also in the individual’s
obedience toward the act of baptism as their faith is placed in
God through the revelation of truth.
DESIRING
RECOGNITION
As
that first age of apostles began to die off, men desiring to be
recognized began to rise up and naturally because the devil did
not want the church to remain under the revelation of the one
God, seeing the rest of the gentile world already worshiped a
plurality of gods, he wanted to make the Christian church do the
same. Therefore, these men who desired undue recognition, Satan
would raise them up and give them a false revelation. Some man
would take the oneness of God, the true revelation of God, and
push it a little way off the center of the road, resulting in
confusion in the church, pushing that revelation farther and farther
off the road of truth until it finally went into the ditch. We
note by the year 235 A.D., the Roman Emperor calls all the bishops
together and they vote in what they consider a revelation of the
trinity.
SOMEBODY
ELSE’S WORD ENTERS PICTURE
Now
we begin to see where somebody else’s WORD other than the
apostles word which had held the church on true course, now enters
strongly into the picture taking the church completely off course
and eventually into a thousand years of dark ages. See beloved,
what you believe does depend on someone else’s word, doesn’t
it? But to stay in fellowship with God also depends upon what
we are willing to listen to. After the idea of a trinity or plurality
of gods (325 A.D.) It wasn’t long until somebody comes up
with the idea of CONFIRMATION. From here on, it is a continual
getting away from ‘”THEIR WORD”, which had held
the church on true course for centuries! Later they remove the
correct water baptism according to the apostles and installs sprinkling
in its place. From sprinkling came INFANT BAPTISM. Remember now,
none of this is “THEIR WORD”, meaning the apostle’s
word about whom Jesus prayed in John 17:20. Nor are these people
included in Christ’s prayer because they haven’t believed
on Him through “THEIR WORD”.
CHANGING
STILL MORE
Later
someone said let’s change some more. We will do away with
the Lord’s Supper and make a MASS of it and sell it to the
people. For hundreds of years Satan continued to take away from
“THEIR WORD”, John 17:20, until we reach the 6th
and 7th century, a time for the thousand years dark
age period of the church when people would live strictly, not
off the apostles word, oh no, but the word of some carnal men.
What they had to eat was truly a long way from being the word
of God. Now it was strictly the word of the devil!
PART
4 - THEIR WORD RESTORED BACK AMONG BELIEVERS
Such
action continued on until around 1500 when God took hold of a
man’s heart named Martin Luther, and quickened him to the
revelation of “THEIR WORD” (apostles) that the just
did not live by what the pope or church said, but the just are
to live by faith (REVELATION). (Romans 1:17) God is now slowly
leading the church after 1500 back to “THEIR WORD”
(the apostles) because note, the thought of inspiration that Luther
received from the spirit God lined up with “THEIR WORD”
(Romans 1:17), the apostles word. A few short years later a movement
of people moved out on that revelation, the just shall live by
faith. They were at least free from that thought which held them
bound for so long - faith strictly in the church along with a
lot of other nonsense! Over the next 200 years as the church continued
moving down through time, men who became reformation leaders,
who were used by God to pull the church away from the devil’s
word back to “THEIR WORD” (John 17:20), restored such
biblical teachings taught by the apostles as ETERNAL SECURITY,
PREDESTINATION AND SANCTIFICATION!
“THEIR
WORD” BECOMES SCATTERED
Slowly,
step by step, God through a period called the hour of Reformation
has been leading and restoring the truth of “THEIR WORD”
back midst humanity. True, all of these great truths are seen
being restored, however, all of them are not able to benefit the
church as a whole because all of these great restored truths of
“THEIR WORD” were remaining separate and apart from
the other restored truth, seeing they are found or embraced by
various groups of people. People were denominating around these
individual restored truths as rapidly as they were being restored
back to the church.
RESTORING
GIFTS
Finally
the dawn of the 20th Century breaks and God in His
sovereignty begins to place a deep hunger in people’s heart.
As they hungered and thirsted after righteousness, God began to
give the church a supernatural experience (of gifts). Suddenly
they found themselves here in the 20th Century speaking
in languages, languages which had not been heard of perhaps since
various periods of the dark ages where ofttimes little tribes
of people while in obscurity and under heavy church persecution
found themselves speaking in other languages. However, it was
never in pre-eminence as it would be now in the 20th
Century, for now God would place pre-eminence upon it. Periodically
here and there you also began to hear testimonies of outstanding
miracles of healing. What did it all mean?
FRAMEWORK
DOCTRINE
With
the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ being restored back to
the church along with the knowledge that God was one around 1913,
and the others which had earlier been restored through reformation
leaders over the period of the last 400 years of reformation,
God at last had restored the entire framework of His New Testament
salvation, or shall we say, restored the framework of “THEIR
WORD” back into the earth! Little by little the church is
coming farther and farther away from the devil’s word back
to “THEIR WORD”. However, all these restored truths
which people had individually used to form separate denominations
were still separate and scattered among the religious people.
No one movement seemed to want to embrace them all, although they
were willing to accept perhaps one or two. God had restored a
greater measure of the Holy Ghost beginning at the turn of the
20th Century, and recall, the scripture says the Holy
Ghost is a teaching spirit to guide you into all truth. Watch
what happens.
TESTING
MAN’S DOCTRINE
We
can only touch highlights, but time arrives around 1912-13, shortly
before World War I, and it is time for God’s church to move
on. The Holy Spirit is now ready to test mankind with a new revelation
(new to them). For the Pentecostals have been teaching whoever
speaks in tongues definitely has the Holy Ghost because with them
they thought tongues was the initial evidence of the Holy Ghost!
Everyone who had already spoken in tongues felt (according to
their doctrine) they had the Holy Ghost, BUT DID THEY? Recall
the Holy Ghost, among other things, is also a revelating, teaching
spirit. God is now going to test man’s tongue theory as
He presented them a deep revelation of truth out of “THEIR
WORD”, and when He did many who teach God is one and baptism
in the name of Jesus Christ said that new truth was of the devil.
This
new Pentecostal Holy Ghost teaching was going strong throughout
the earth (1912-13) when suddenly God began to speak to men in
the Pentecostal ranks from the scripture, some by dreams and some
by visions, saying unto those who carried the new revelation of
the Holy Ghost and the gifts of the spirit, will you take my name,
will you be baptized in my name? All this was the sovereign act
of God to restore back to the church a portion of “THEIR
WORD”which of course was HIS WORD! Unbeknowings to religion
in this hour they were still embracing much of what the devil
had emplanted into the church throughout the long dark ages instead
of what God through His apostles had planted. Men began to see
something in the scripture, as they got a revelation that there
was only one true God and there was a true way to be baptized
which had not been observed since around 325 A.D. when the church
strayed from “THEIR WORD” to embrace the devil’s
word. Such a revelation soon divided the trinity tongue speaking
Pentecostal circles as great arguments developed among those who
could speak in tongues. Since all claimed the Holy Ghost there
should not have been an argument only rejoicing as they all entered
into more of “THEIR WORD”. God took this new movement
based around their new revelation of Acts 2:38, and established
them in the truth of revelation of the oneness of God and the
proper way of baptism. Remember, whenever God restored new truth
it always brought great separation from other followers or church
people!
PEOPLE
DIVIDED INTO “ISMS”
What
do we see universal Christiandom has become as we move out into
the 20th Century? Why every one is still imbedded in
every kind of an “ism”; Catholicism, Lutheranism,
Knoxism, Wesleyanism or one of the two schools of Pentecostalism!
See the church is all split and divided into all these “isms”.
How can God take a church unto Himself which is scattered throughout
spiritual Babylon? Face it, that is where you and I were located
before God did something to awaken people in spiritual Babylon
causing a people to look back to “THEIR WORD”. Now
God is going to bring a people together around the word and let
them see if what they had always believed was truth or error.
Believe me, it is going to be some thrashing! God is fully aware
He cannot come for His church as long as she is still embracing
much of the devil’s word or is still in that kind of mess
of ideas and teachings which is completely contrary to “THEIR
WORD”.
You
could not get a Methodist to teach Eternal Security any more than
you could get a Baptist to teach Sanctification, yet both were
important truths of “THEIR (apostles) WORD”. Many
Baptists were just as sanctified as the Methodist, they just did
not understand the teaching of it. And there were many of the
good old Methodist who were just as eternally secure as were the
Baptists in their revelation, they just did not understand the
teaching of it. Many were just as much preordained before the
foundation of the world as were the Knox or Presbyterian followers,
they just did not understand the revelation of it. Thus were many
of these various people in separate groups separated from all
these truths simply because there wasn’t a true light on
those teachings in that hour. God had reserved all the true light
on the various framework doctrines of His salvation which He had
been restoring during the reformation hour to be given at a certain
hour when He would do something special for the endtime people
and we would all come together and be restored back fully ro THEIR
WORD (the apostles’ teaching)!
HUNGRY
FOR TRUTH
I
remember well hearing those Methodist Seminary teachers declaring
Wesley said this and Wesley said that, until I had become so hungry
for something else. One day I heard a Baptist minister on the
radio offering a book on eternal security. After ordering and
reading it I thought, there is still yet more truth than what
I have heard in a long time.
Our
Methodist pastor was called away for a while leaving me in charge
of his charge of four churches. I thought, now is my chance to
teach more truth. Taking Romans 8:29 for a text I taught PREDESTINATION
AND ETERNAL SECURITY. I noticed they were getting nervous, but
I never thought much about it seeing I too was a Methodist and
all this was good sound Bible teaching we needed. I simply could
not understand what was wrong with the people. The church superintendent
came past one day and said, “Raymond, I enjoyed your talk
and admire your bravery, but I don’t think it wise or nice
to talk about something your church does not believe in. If I
were you I would lay these teachings in the background.”
PART
5 - THEIR WORD RESTORED INTO ONE MESSAGE
For
days I walked under condemnation when about that time a brother
came by and told me about Bro. Branham, saying he is a prophet
and began telling me things that happened in Africa. He is going
to have a weekend meeting in Jeffersonville, and I wish you would
come. For days I had worked in he field and couldn’t get
these biblical teachings I had taught off my heart.
Accepting
the brother’s invitation to hear this man of God, whom many
already felt was a prophet, I went to hear him. Eventually a little
man stepped from the prayer room, walked to the Bible stand and
prayed, opened his Bible and took his text from Genesis and he
began to feed my hungry heart. He began to open my understanding
of something based on the scriptures and it wasn’t long
until he was on PREDESTINATION and ETERNAL SECURITY. When he finished
that night I knew the things in my bosom were of God! Why? Because
this little man took the scriptures and made them real. He made
the scriptures come alive in my soul.
CHRIST
IS THE MESSAGE
It
wasn’t long until I realized this man had a message from
God, yet the pathetic part was, many people got confused thinking
the man himself was the message! There is a vast difference between
the two though some, failed to differentiate between the two.
No, he was not the message, Jesus Christ is the message. Christ
has always been the message! But wherever possible the devil has
always sought to belittle Christ in whatever way possible. For
one thousand years the devil sold the world on the idea that Christ
was not the Mighty God robed in flesh, (I Timothy 3:16) was not
the one Israel would look for as the Messiah who would be Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Counselor and the one
called Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6). Satan sold the world on the idea
that Christ was the second person of the Godhead. God is the pendulum
of the whole thing, but the devil wanted to belittle Him, making
Him only to be the second person. And finally if that wasn’t
bad enough he set his earthly mother over Him (Jesus) as His head!
Blessed Mother |
