Ewald Frank

1985-04-21 10:00

broadcasted on 2025-01-05

Bible study: Subject: “Do we know him that is true and are we really in him that is true?”

Praise and thanks be to the Lord, for the indescribable grace that has been bestowed on us all.

I listened to the opening word with all my heart. [Gal 1:15]

"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb," and how long did it take until the hour of God actually struck?

Separated, chosen, destined, but quite a long time passed, and suddenly the hour of God was there, and it happened. So it was with you, so it was with me. Suddenly God's hour had come, and we couldn't help but open ourselves to the one who spoke to us, hear his voice, and believe him.

I told you briefly about my journey yesterday.

I am grateful to God every time anew for the greatest of all facts, that he has kept us in his Word, in the truth, until now, and will keep us until the end.

The day will come when even the greatest blessings will not count.

That too will come when the greatest blessings will not count.

People will come and say, "Lord, we have done this and that and many things in your name." And the Lord will say, "I do not know you." [Mt 7:23]

The things that are done in the kingdom of God, and we don't say this out of criticism, but out of a realization that causes pain in our hearts, are almost unbelievable.

I have an article in front of me from Time magazine, dated 22nd of April. It happened at Easter in America, in San Diego, on the west coast, below Los Angeles. A former actress has been an evangelist for years, has been paid $180,000 a year, $40,000 a month as expenses, has 4,000 people coming, Pentecostals. They all listen attentively, cheer and praise the Lord. A choir of hundreds of people sings the song, "Christ is risen" at Easter, just a few days ago. And then she says goodbye and says, "Now I go my way again."

Here she is pictured.

And you would ask the question, "Where is all this going? There are 4,000 people there. First a Miss California, and then she becomes an evangelist. All the people flock together. 15 TV stations.

Who is more stupid than the believers?

Can you tell me that?

Who is more easily seduced?

Who is as naive and believing as those who think they are serving the Lord?

But what is it? People have turned their backs on the Word, run after sensations, a mood is created. The choirs dress uniformly. That makes an impression. And then plenty of dollars are coming in.

And when there is enough, they say, "All right, now I'll go my way again."

What does God think of that?

People live as if there is no judgment, as if they don't have to appear before the Lord one day. Unbelievable, really unbelievable.

We can safely put this article aside.

But especially on the west coast of America, where Brother Branham and his ministry have found particular favor, it is after all the richest region of believers in the whole world. There are millions of believers of the full gospel on earth in no such small area as there on the west coast.

But everyone can do what they want there. Everyone finds listeners. Everyone finds followers.

And then when you look at our Lord, as we are about to read, people didn't want to hear him.

He didn't have anything around him to create an atmosphere. We'll come to that in a moment.

I have already expressed what moved me anew on my last journey – the indescribable grace we have been given to love the Word of God deeply and sincerely. To have respect for his Word and to let it stand as it was written down without interpreting it. And I believe that God wants all his believers to have this respect for his Word and for him.

But every time you have to deal anew with things that are just spread among the people.

I have resolved to leave everything behind. I don't mean the preaching but all the special doctrines and only deal with what God has left to us.

But in order to help people and answer their questions, you have to go to the Holy Scriptures. And I like nothing better than that. I can say it with a sincere heart: The pull to the Word of God, the absolute gratitude for this Holy Scripture is deeply anchored in my soul.

Where would we be?

How could we know the direction?

How could we discern if we didn't have the Word here?

Discernment is not in a vacuum. All things are divided by the Word of God, whether anyone wants to know or acknowledge it or not. There is only one discernment of spirits and that comes here through the Word of God, where all spirits are separated from the Spirit of God.

The Spirit of God is in the Word of God and all other spirits are in all other words.

If you heard teachings, yes perhaps here too they are all known, with a supposed return of the Lord and that Christ is already here and we are only waiting for the transformation, the blood of the mercy seat is in the seven thunders and so on.

When you hear things like this that contradict absolutely all reason, then a new gratitude arises.

As I said, we are not criticizing, we just feel a responsibility for the Word of Truth. Paul had a calling, he could not simply discard it. With his calling he had a responsibility, a responsibility before God for the people of God.

And I think we can say the same in all modesty.

There are a few scriptures that I have noted on my heart. In the third letter of John we read the following from the very beginning. The third epistle of John from verse one.

The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius whom I love in the truth.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

There are many kinds of joy, even in the Lord. Joy over salvation and healing and blessings. Joy over joy. And Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice." [Phil 4:4]

But here a man of God expresses even more. He expresses joy in things lasting, in things eternal, joy in the truth, in truthfulness, joy in the Word of God, in the truth.

I think that should move us all. He states that the soul of this young man was well. And then he comes to the subject: [3Jo 1:3]

For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee.

That is a strong statement.

We all know that God is truthful, but the fact that truthfulness can be attributed to a person, to a human being, is something very great.

After all, "every man is a liar." That's what the holy scriptures say. [Ps 116:11] And every human being is twisted and corrupt to begin with.

I think that is something very special.

Yes, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, not because of the truthfulness of God, but because of the truthfulness of God that was in this man. The truthfulness of God came into him with the Word of God.

And then it goes on to say:

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.

Should it be any different today with a man of God?

What is our joy when we see that the ministry has not been in vain and the word has not been sown in vain, but that it has found its way into the hearts and has been received and has brought about the truthfulness of God in us and has established a connection to God that will last forever.

If all sorts of things were said about us, I wouldn't care, but if one thing could be said of us, that we have remained in the truthfulness of God, that we have remained in the truth of his Word and walk in it, then that should be our joy and confidence.

In 1 John chapter 5, the word of the one who is true is written and mentioned once again.

1 John 5 verse 20. Perhaps to build a bridge to the truth that is in a person in whom God has taken dwelling. Verse 20.

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.

This is the true God and eternal life.

If we are in him, then we have received his life, his truthfulness, his Word in us as a lasting possession. Then divine substance has entered into us. We have become a part of what God has promised us – but not only that, he has given us.

God has not made empty promises.

When it says here, "And we are in him who is true"," yes, then we are in him. If we are in him, then his truth is in us.

We must accept this as a divine fact and not just think that it is written here. It is written so that we know that this is how it is with us.

Let me read it again.

(20) And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true.

Question number one: Have we recognized the true one through the revelation of the Spirit?

Brother Schmidt read the opening word: "I did not receive the gospel from man. I did not learn it in class, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ."

Here we read that "we may know him who is true."

Have we recognized him, the true one, through divine revelation?

Number one. We say "Amen". Amen.

Now comes number two: "And we are in him that is true." [1Jo 5:20]

And to this we say "Amen" again.

In his Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

This is the true God and eternal life.

We also say "Amen" to this.

In the second epistle of John, second epistle of John, from verse one to four, second epistle of John, one to four.

1 The elder unto the elect lady" or church "and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth, 

2 for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever."

Did we hear that?

2 … Which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever.

God has a true people on earth, a people who have received his Word with truthfulness, after we have recognized that we are in the true one.

And here we are told that this truth "dwells in us, and that it will remain with us forever".

Not just a few years, and then deviate to the left or right, setting a new course. No, when God pardons a person who is truly chosen, it is not to go along with the truth once, and then turn away, but to be permeated by the divine truth, to be sanctified in it, and filled with the truthfulness of God. And this divine truth remains in all true children of God for all eternity.

That's how we read it here, or do you read it differently?

This is how I read it here from the Word of God.

And I have by no means read between the lines, but I have read here what is written. Also here the Apostle John has expressed this. He greets, he thinks of the spiritual children and writes, "Whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth."

Earlier we read that we have recognized the true one and we are in him who is true. If we have known the truth, then we are in the truth, and the truth is in us, and the truth makes us free, and we can serve the Lord, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth.

Be honest. Have we recognized the divine truth? Amen.

Then let us also have an amen to the second part, and also say that it will dwell in us permanently, because he continues, there's no full stop.

It goes on.

"For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us" – continually, not once is, and then is not, and comes and goes.

No, "for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us continually, and shall be with us forever."

Hallelujah. Praise be to the living God.

It may go up and down, but it goes up and down with the truth.

I tell you, the truth of God, which has taken possession of us, has become a divine part of our divine life, and we cannot help it.

We are of the truth, in the truth, for the truth, and we do not confess out of presumption, but we give glory to God by believing His word, that tells us here that "the truth shall be with us forever." when we say yes to it.

Do we all have a "yes" to this?

The truth will dwell in us permanently, and shall be with us forever.

This means that God's truth, which has been entrusted to God's people, and given to them through revelation, will remain with the church.

What have we heard again and again? Everything is based on revelation, and God has revealed Himself to His people in such a marvelous way at this time.

Verse 3.

Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

Both belong together, "in truth and love." Truth is embedded in love, and love is embedded in truth. Both are in harmony.

Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ…

What a marvelous and glorious promise.

Are you glad that God has destined us for this? We can't help it. He did it.

2 Timothy 2, verse 15. As you know, the apostles had to give warnings from time to time. There were instructions, there were many things that had to be said to the church.

2 Timothy 2, verses 15 to 18, here it says:

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This was, is, and will remain to the end in all servants of God, not to shift the Word of God back and forth, as it happens back and forth on the chessboard, but to place it and rightly divide it, so that the cause of God is right and not confused, to rightly divide the Word of truth.

Now when he comes to the two men, Hymeneus and Philetus, he says in verse 18, "Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already."

I have encountered this: "The resurrection has already taken place. We are just waiting for the transformation."

Goodness gracious me!

What does God's Word tell us in 1 Corinthians 15 from verse 51?

What does God's Word tell us in 1 Thessalonians 4 from verse 13?

How grateful we are for the truth of God's Word.

Why did they go astray? Why? Because they did not allow the truth of God to penetrate their souls, but considered it right with their minds, until they heard something else, and then went their own way.

The fact remains, and I would like to emphasize that we are not judging here, but the fact remains, if God's holy truth has come into us through divine revelation, then it remains in us for eternity.

Not for three days, not for five years. Divine truth remains divine truth. If it is in you, it remains in you. You will cherish it. You will carry it. You will be grateful.

Saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.

Many are deprived of their faith, when untruths are proclaimed concerning bible doctrines and events.

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, we read from verse 10, 2 Thessalonians 2, from verse 10, well known to all of us for a long time.

Let me read the second part, "because they received not the love of the truth."

You must make God's love for the divine truth your own. It must have become a personal part of your divine life of faith, to love the truth above all else. You have to make the love for the truth your own.

It is offered to us. It is given to us. We must take it, make it our own, and thank God that it has been given to us.

Then it says, very sad of course, that:

11 for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, 

12 that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

May it go through our marrow and bone today, dividing asunder soul and spirit, penetrating to the very depths of our inner being. How precious it must be to God, and should be to us, when he speaks to us, reveals his Word and his will, and when we are honored to hear his pure and holy Word in his presence.

On top of that, I sometimes ask the question, "Where did brother Branham say that?" And then the beautiful answer always comes, "That was not yet revealed at that time."

Oh, it tears my heart apart. What has God forgotten that we need to remind him of? Who should be his counselor and tell him, "You didn't think of that."

Our God has revealed everything and has forgotten nothing, for thus it is written, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Not in the subsequent interpretations, but in the pure word revealed by God.

In 1 Corinthians 13, verse 6, the well-known word that has not remained hidden from any of us. Here it is written, 1 Corinthians 13, verse 6, about love, "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth."

That is the love of God, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. [Romans 5:5]

Love for God, love for the truth, for his Word, love for one another. Divine love "rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth."

In 2 Timothy 3 we have another word. 2 Timothy 3 is also very important in this context. Verses 7 and 8. Here it speaks about people who always want to learn and learn and learn, but never come to the knowledge of the truth. Let me read it:

(7) Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

"Ever learning," always wanting to hear something new, always a new revelation, a new sensation, always something must come, but I don't see what has come.

Hasn't everything come?

Hasn't God revealed his Word and his will to us?

If it's because of anything, then it's because of us, so that God can bring us to the point that we can move forward, so that all the words of God that we have heard and received can be confirmed by grace.

Ever learning, but then we are also told that such people not only always want to learn, but they also go against the truth. That's how it is written.

So do these also resist the truth.

On the one hand, they think they are proclaiming the truth, and on the other, they are opposing it. It remains the case that God's Word is the truth. [John 17:17]

If we have received it into our hearts through divine revelation, let us hold on to it. It is a precious treasure that has only been given to a few.

And let me draw the comparison: Just as the Word of truth was given to the prophets, and they thereby received divine substance into themselves and were called gods, as the Lord himself says in John 10, what shall it be with us, when we receive the same divine truth into ourselves and are imbued with this truth, then divine truthfulness will enter into us, and there will no longer be any mixture.

Truth will exclude interpretation, and interpretation in turn will exclude truth.

The two things in the Garden of Eden could never be reconciled. God had spoken, Satan had interpreted, and thus the separation was complete. Two different paths, two different things from the beginning.

The Lord wants to help us.

In 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 25 and 26 we read, 2 Timothy 2, I hope it's correct, 2 Timothy 2, 25 and 26. Yes, it is here:

25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God, peradventure, will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, 

26 and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Here we have it again.

With what care these men of God brought the word of exhortation.

They were concerned that no one should be put to shame, especially not those who had heard and listened to the Word of truth. But somehow this love for the truth did not quite fill their hearts, the connection did not quite materialize. And then the enemy comes, and as we have read here, "so that they become sober again."

Every unbiblical teaching is associated with intoxication. Check it out if it's right. All people who fall into unbiblical teachings become unsober.

Absolutely, this is a trace that the wind does not blow away, not even in the Sahara. The traces remain visible and they are there. All people who fall into unbiblical teachings become unsober, irrational. You don't know what can happen today or tomorrow. You can expect everything and nothing, and you no longer know where you stand.

People of God remain sober, they remain clear, they thank God for what He has done, and remain anchored in the truth, because the truth is in them, and this anchor reaches behind the veil. [Hebrews 6:19]

Here it says, 

25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth."

26 And that they become sober again" 

That must come first.

First of all, to become completely sober, in order to be able to orientate themselves anew according to the Word of God, and be aligned:

26 "so that they may become sober again, and free themselves from the snare of the devil."

You would not say it so clearly, if it were not written like this. It is a snare of the devil, just as Satan came to Eve then, and put the snare on her, and tightened it, so it is every time.

When the enemy comes and applies the Word of God a little differently, he puts the noose around our necks.

May God grant us grace to recognize it, and then grant us grace to know that it could happen to anyone, and not to look down on others. And I believe this attitude that God gave me was so that I could be of help to others.

And when I say here, I have been able to help thousands of people, because I never stood above them, but below them, and was always able to submit under the Word. And I could say, "Thus it is written…, you have the choice to believe what God's Word says, or to persevere in what you have now accepted."

We are to speak to people with meekness, in the hope that God will give them grace to repent, to acknowledge the truth, to become sober, and free them from the snare of the devil. [2 Timothy 2:25-26]

That is not easy. You get caught in the devil's snare very quickly. That's just a moment, just one weak moment, and you are in.

But then try to come out. That's not a moment. It's not an hour. It can take days, weeks, months, it can take years.

Oh, that God would help us to be alert, to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

And I'll say it again: It will always be according to His Word.

When people come with pious imaginations and say, "The Spirit of God," then the Spirit of God should tell me clearly where the Word of God is, that we are supposed to be talking about. And only then does the conversation continue. No one needs to speak the things of God by imagination. They should speak them as they are written. For it is all written here.

"Who are taken captive by Him at his will" and is in the most pious way. And that's the thing that is so difficult to see through. If it were people who simply said, "Dear God, goodbye. I go my way," that would be something quite different. But when they go into error and the devil's noose is around their neck, then they are at his will. But in the most pious form. Much more pious than those who have not fallen into the devil's snare. And that's the misery. That's the misery. That is why it is so difficult to test and see through the matter.

But what is the test? Do I have some tester in my pocket?

No. Here, this is the test. The holy, infallible Word of God, which is in us and will remain in us for eternity. And just as God has revealed it, so it shall remain, without any further mixing, so that God can have His right fulfilled among His people by grace.

The passage from Daniel 10, I don't really need to open it here. [Dan 10:21] When the Lord God addressed the prophet, He said:

21 "But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth."

We are not interested in anything else, only what is written in the scripture of truth. God is the God of His Word.

We have heard that a thousand times over, and we are grateful that the Word has found its way into us.

I would like to read the passage from John 8. When the Lord spoke to the people at that time, there has always been hardship on earth, not just today, or yesterday, or in our time. There has always been trouble on earth.

John chapter 8, verse 45 and perhaps up to 47. Here it says:

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47 He that is of God heareth God's Words. Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

It was very difficult. They were Jews, they were scholars, they were the people of God, and the pain is all the greater.

If they are heathen, let us say nothing. But if they are believers, then God has a right to them, so that they may hear and receive the word.

(45) And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

You all know what they said to the Saviour shortly afterwards. [Joh 8:48]

48 Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.

Imagine, there is the Lord of glory, bringing the truth, bringing life, bringing salvation, bringing grace, redemption, the word. And the people say, "This is a Samaritan and has a devil."

With what grace did the Lord endure this? He knew who he was.

What people say about you, what they call you, doesn't matter. The important thing is that you know who you are and who you believe in.

The Lord endured it and said, "But you call me names."

He who wanted to bring nothing but the truth.

Now just as the final scripture, 2 Thessalonians 2, which we are all very familiar with. 2 Thessalonians 2, here we read the following, verses 13 and 14:

But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

Do we understand that this morning? That is election indeed. In the soul, not in the head. In the head still means going in all directions. In the soul means a sanctification wrought by the Spirit of God combined with faith in the truth, and God's Word is and remains the truth.

That is what matters.

What did our Lord say in the Gospel of John 17, 17?

Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.

And here we are shown the sanctification wrought by the Spirit, which is accomplished through faith in the truth in those who have been chosen.

This is divine election to be sanctified through and through in the divine truth of the Word. And to this end, may God grant me and all of us grace, strength, obedience, and trust, and whatever we need, so that all these words can be blessedly fulfilled in us. For we too have heard the Word of God in these days, not from just anyone, but from a man according to the pattern of Paul.

Let me say this in closing: When Brother Branham was taken up into glory, that is, when he was in a trance, and he saw paradise and a multitude dressed in white, he heard the divine answer that was given to him. He said, "I have preached the same gospel that Paul preached." And then this answer came from the huge crowd, "We rest on that!" 

And we are resting on it.

You don't want to say it, but Paul said it back then, "Let he who preaches another gospel be accursed."[Gal 1:8]

That's a word we don't like to put in our mouths, but that's the way it is. It is so.

God's Word is true in every point, in every way. There is nothing that God has to take back. Every word is true.

And when the man of God says, "Let he who preaches another gospel be accursed," and what is being preached today, oh God, it's unbelievable.

Once again, I can't stop. It moves me again and again.

Perhaps you are not as touched by these things as I am, and perhaps your responsibility in this respect is not quite as great, but it just moves me.

I would like to be able to say, like Paul did back then, "I have presented a chaste virgin to Christ." [2Kor 11:2]

People of God, who have not been touched by human teachings, but who have been preserved in the Word of God, and who can go out to meet the Bridegroom of the soul.

May Almighty God bless us all, give us grateful hearts, and fill them with His divine love for His Word.

But take it with you today for the rest of your days, as our brother Kupka said, the last verse, Matthew 28, "The Lord will be with us even unto the end of the world."

And may the divine truth that we have been honored to receive into us remain with us to the end, and beyond the end, into eternity.

We take the divine truth from time into eternity. You can rely on that. And there we will thank the Lord.

To Him, the Almighty, be praise and honor.

What should we say?

Thank Him that we have been honored to receive this truth, and to have the love of God for this truth, and that we will keep it and remain with us throughout eternity.

Blessed and praised be the name of the Lord.

Amen.

Let us rise and give thanks to the Lord.

Br. Russ

Heavenly Father, we thank you from the depths of our hearts for your powerful speaking in this morning hour.

We know that your word was not given by man. It was given by your Holy Spirit, and for this we would like to praise you and offer you our thanks and worship.

From the beginning, Lord, you have placed your work within your own, and it remains to the end in your own, Lord, who trust in your word and build on you, Lord, who do not speak on their own initiative, but who listen to what the Spirit says unto the churches, what you commanded your servants, only this they have carried out.

Everything else, Lord, they have counted as dung. [Philippians 3:8]

Lord, the same happens in our day, O God.

We may discard everything else for dung, because it comes from Satan, who has been a twister of the word from the beginning, Lord, and to this day he likes to do it, Lord, to pervert the people of God and make them go mad.

But glory be to your name, that you, Lord, have made the choice for your people, and that you have protected your people, and that you have spread your holy hands over them, O Lord.

Hallelujah. You care for your truth, and you stand for your word, Lord. Worship to your marvelous name, Lord, how powerful are your words this morning.

They are not only written in the book of the Bible, but they pierce our hearts this morning.

Hallelujah. O glory to your marvelous name, it penetrates my heart, it penetrates my body, it penetrates my soul, Lord, because it is your truth.

Hallelujah. How marvelous, how grateful I may be, Lord, and praise your name for these blissful words of wisdom and grace.

Hallelujah. O Lord, my prayer is only that you may revive all our hearts this morning, O God.

May your Holy Spirit take hold of our hearts and take hold of our minds, that we may not be taken hold by the enemy, O Lord, but by you, Lord, the living and true and faithful God.

All honor, all praise, all glory and all worship be to your glorious name of Jesus.

Amen.