Adoption #3.

William Branham.

Read the full account in...
Position in Christ.

And now the purpose of these lessons is to anchor those that have already come across the land. The purpose of this study in this book of Ephesians is to positionally place the church where it absolutely stands in Christ. It is a type of the Old Testament in the book of Joshua, where Joshua allotted (last Sunday we had it), where Joshua allotted the land to each man; and he done it by inspiration.

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Now, you might do things wrong, and every time you do anything wrong you are going to get paid for it. Yes, sir, you'll reap what you sow! But that has not one thing to do with your salvation. When you are born of the Spirit of God, you've got eternal life and can no more die than God can die. You're a part of God, you're a son of God. I was born a Branham. You might make me some other name. Some other name won't make me one less-I'm still Branham. I was born Branham, always will be Branham. I may be so disfigured some day, drawed with arthritis, or have a wreck and all tore up till I look like an animal, but I'll still be Branham. Why? Branham blood is inside.

That's what you are. And as long as God has made you.... Now remember, I'm not talking to those outside of Christ; I'm talking to those that are in Christ. How do you get in Christ? By one Spirit. Capital S-p-i-r... which means “By one Holy Spirit we are all baptized into one body.” How do we get in? By water baptism? How disagreeable I am with you Baptists and you Church of Christ. Not by water baptism, by no means! I Corinthians 12 said by one Spirit (Holy Spirit) are we brought into that body, and are just as safe as that body's safe. God promised it.

How could God judge Him again, when He went to Calvary? Going up Golgotha, He was beaten, bruised. He could not heal, He could not even speak a word hardly. Because why? He had the sins of the world on Him. Not because that He was a sinner, but He was made sin for me and for you. All the sins of the world from Adam until his coming rest upon his shoulder. And God was not punishing his Son. He was punishing sin. See how horrible it was? He was making a propitiation. He was making a way of escape for all those that God by his foreknowledge knowed would come.

Now then when you're.... By one Spirit we are baptized into that body-one body, which is Christ-and we are safe forever. Now, there is where it seems to strangely strike, especially the Arminian believers, that they all have to do something that to merit theirself, or some meritorial something. How can it be by two things at the same time? It's either by grace or by works, one. It can't be by the same thing ... it's ... by two different things; it's got to be by the one.

I just can't see nothing else but the grace of God. That's my makeup. I always did believe in grace. I'm just grace all over, that's all. It isn't.... Even in my life, when I was a boy, I couldn't see nothing, just grace, grace. They said, “You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.” That's an awful expression. But I don't care whether you scratch mine or not, if yours needs scratching, I'll scratch it anyhow. See? Grace. Yes, sir. Grace works by love. If you need it (regardless if you never done nothing for me, that don't have one thing to do with it), if you need it, I'll do it anyhow. Grace, because that you need it.

I needed saving. There was nothing could save me. There was nothing I could do about myself. I could no more save myself than nothing. But I needed saving, because I believed in a God. And God sent his Son, made in the likeness of sinful flesh, to suffer in my place, and I was saved. By grace alone was I saved. Not one thing could I do, or you do, to save yourself. And those who He foreknew before the foundation of the world....

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Then inside of Him was an attribute of saviour. How could one of those creatures, when there was no sin or no thoughts of sin, how could one of them be lost? It couldn't be. So there had to be something made that could be lost, so that He could be a saviour. Inside of Him was a healer. Do you believe He's a saviour? Do you believe He's a healer? Well, what if there wasn't nothing to save or heal? See, there had to be something made that way. So now, He never made it that way, but He put man on free moral agency: “If you take this you live; if you take that you die.” And every man that comes into the world is still set with the same thing. God, by his foreknowledge, knew who would and who would not.

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Therefore now, God sits.... He's already manifested Himself, He's God. He's already manifested Himself as a saviour. Man was lost and He saved him. He's already manifested Himself as a healer. Don't make any difference what people say He isn't; He is, anyhow, just the same. He's a healer, He's a saviour, He's God, He's eternal. And He has a purpose. And his purpose was in the beginning to make creatures that would love Him and worship Him. And He made creatures, and creatures fell. And then God, by his infinity, looked down through the stream of time and saw every man that would be saved. Every man. He knew it by foreknowledge. Therefore if He, by foreknowledge, knew who would be saved and who would not be saved, He could predestinate. So the word is not such a bad word after all, is it? He could predestinate, because He knew who would and who would not. Therefore, in order to catch those who would, He had to make a propitiation for their sins. (Oh, if we can, we want to get to it, just a few verses below.) He predestinated us to eternal life, knowing that those who would lay aside everything.... And no matter how indifferent it would look towards the children of the world, it wouldn't mean one thing to them, because they were children of God.

And He called them. And He sent Jesus, that his blood might be an atonement, blood atonement, to make a propitiation, or an acceptance, or a cleansing. A cleansing process to constantly.... Not just one time at one revival, but ever living, making intercessions, that the Christian is kept clean day and night. There is the blood of Jesus Christ that makes an acceptance on the cross there, in the presence of God, that cleanses us constantly, day and night, from all sin. And we are safely tucked in. Tucked in how? By the Holy Spirit, into the body of the Lord Jesus, and safe. “He that heareth my words and believeth on Him that sent me, has everlasting life and shall never come into the judgment, but has passed from death unto life.” No more judgment! The Christian never goes to the judgment. Christ went for him. My attorney stood in my place. He pleaded my case, that I was ignorant. He told the Father that I wasn't worthy, that I was ignorant. But He loved me and He took my place, and pleaded my case, and today I'm free! Yes, sir. And He shed his blood, to offer there for our sins.

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Then adoption, placing. Now, God's doing this work. And now if I can get this to you, then we'll start right on now the fifth verse. I want to read it: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to his own good pleasure of his will.... It's God's pleasure to do his will-adopting, placing. Now what's He doing? Placing his church. First, He called his church-Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist- calling them. Then what did He do? Sent forth the Holy Spirit and give them the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

I want you Pentecostal people to get this out of your hearts. Pentecost is not a denomination; Pentecost is an experience. It's the Holy Ghost. It's not an organization. You couldn't organize the Holy Ghost. He won't stand for it. Now you've got an organization that you call that, but the Holy Ghost moves right out and lets you sit right where you're at, and just keeps on going, see. Pentecost is not an organization; Pentecost is an experience.

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Now, placing the son. First thing after the son was in, he become a son, but then we find out his behavior is what set him to adoption-whether he behaved right or not. And it's the Pentecostal.... Now just let me show you that Pentecost is not a denomination. How many Baptists in here, that was Baptist, that received the Holy Ghost? Let's see your hands. See? How many Methodists that's in here that received the Holy Ghost? Raise up your hands. How many Nazarenes in here received the Holy Ghost? Raise up your hands. Presbyterians, received the Holy Ghost? see? Lutheran, other denominations that did not belong in the Pentecost at all, just belong to some denomination, received the Holy Ghost? Let's see your hand. See? So then Pentecost is not a denomination; it's an experience.

Now, God took you into the body of Christ. Now what does He do? After you have proved yourself, sanctified yourself with your good behavior, obedience to the Holy Spirit, no matter what the world says....

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You'll continually use that name Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to baptize, when there's not one speck of scripture for it in the Bible. I want an archbishop or somebody else to show me where anybody in the Bible was ever baptized in the name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost. I want somebody to show me anybody that was ever baptized any way besides the name of Jesus. John's wasn't baptized... they were baptized believing that He was coming, but they didn't know who He was. But as soon as they recognized that, they had to come to be rebaptized again in the name of Jesus Christ. I want somebody to.... I've asked the Assemblies of God, the other preachers, the Baptist, Presbyterian, and everything. Oh, they won't talk about it. I want to see the scripture. And then I'm a fanatic, huh? Then I'm crazy, out of my mind, I'm a madman, just because I'm trying to tell you the truth. Now, that's honest, brethren. If a man is sold out for God, you've sold out lock, stock, and barrel. You're set aside. You're a different creature.

Many are called; few are chosen. Just... many people are called. You get a calling in your heart, “Yes, I believe God loves me. I believe He does it.” But, brother, you're going to be as far lost as the rest of them, because they'll come there that day, even saying, “Lord, I've cast out devils in your name. I've done everything else in your name. I've had healing services. I've preached the gospel. I've cast out devils.” And Jesus say, “Get away from here. I don't even know you, hypocrites. It's he that doeth the will of my Father.” Why can't people see it? Now, I know that rubs. And I don't mean it to hurt. I don't mean it to be that way.

Looks to me like we're at the end time, and God is adopting, setting positionally in church, in the body of Christ, his.... Now, there's not going to be too many He put in there. I'm going to tell you that to begin with. Well, you say, “Oh, well, there's going to be such a great number.” But He's had six thousand years to pull them out of, too. Remember, the resurrection comes, and we're caught up with them. Just a few of them, see. You search out your salvation quickly. Look yourself over and see what's gone wrong. See just what's the matter. I know that's hard, but, brother, it's the truth. It's God's truth. Adoption!

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Adoption, placing positionally! Where're they at? Show me where they're at? God calling his children aside by manifestation. They don't have to say one word about it, you see something's happening. Positionally placing his son, getting him into order just exactly with the same things.... He's just as much authority, his word's just as good as an archangel's-better. This son was adopted, put on a high place, set out there, changed his robes, changed his colors. The Father had a ceremony, said, “This is my son. From henceforth he's governor. He's the ruler. He's over all my heritage. All that I got belongs to him.” That's right.

Read the full account in...
Position in Christ.

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

Galatians 4:1-3