In the sermon, “The Stature of a Perfect Man” we learn the importance of growing in the eight Christian attributes; 1: faith; 2: virtue; 3: knowledge; 4: temperance; 5: patience; 6: godliness; 7: brotherly kindness; 8: love. Growing in these Christian fruits that we progress into the stature of the perfect man, wherein we become the tabernacle of God. Let’s review that verse:
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to kn;;owledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” 2 Peter 1:5-7
This verse reminds me of Galatians 5, where the fruits of the Spirit are spelled out: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. We have a few overlaps between these. Patience and long-suffering are very similar, temperance is the same, and love and charity are the same. Galatians 5 presents them as the fruit of having the Holy Spirit within us. 2 Peter presents them as attributes we are to add, in a certain sequence, ever progressing further in the grace of God. Brother Branham then connects this by adding a list to the verse below.
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Ephesians 4:13
Growing in these Christian attributes will also lead us to grow into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, who is the perfect man, ie-the stature of a perfect man. 2 Peter 1:5-7 is a growth unto perfection. When brother Branham preached this message, he still had the understanding that we are first born again by faith and then after we believe we are filled with the Holy Spirit. You will find many things like this in his sermons from 1960 – 1963. The prophet is attempting to lead the church into a deeper and higher understanding. Christians are continually struggling with just believing the Word and living a decent moral life. They are making their confession, but continuing in smoking, drinking, worldly living and entertainment. So, this is where he starts them out in the message we are discussing:
“141. Now here is what we do. What’s the first thing? Have faith and be born again. That’s laying the foundation. 142 Then, after we lay the foundation, secondly you add to your foundation. “Add to your faith,” Peter said here. Add to your… First you have faith, then you add virtue to your faith.” [1]
It starts with faith then we need to add to it. We cannot just say I believe and that’s the end, but it is just a start. Now, notice towards the end of the sermon, after reviewing the eight attributes of a Christian we find he says this:
“Then Peter here says, first, seven things: faith, virtue, (see, come up), knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly love, add brotherly kindness, and then the love of God. The Holy Ghost, Christ in the person of the Holy Ghost, comes upon you, in the true baptism of the Holy Ghost, and you got all these virtues sealed in you. Then, God lives in a Tabernacle, called the Building, the living Tabernacle of the living God’s dwelling place.
342. When a man possesses these kind of things, then the Holy Ghost comes upon him.”
If we take this quote in an isolated way with our
understanding from the “Church Ages” book that the new birth IS the baptism of
the Holy Ghost we have great confusion. We must have the fruits of the Spirit
before we get the Holy Spirit? We must work ourselves into these virtues of
faith, supernatural power, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness,
brotherly kindness and the love of God without having been born again? It’s
completely impossible because our nature is still of the world. When we are
born again, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then we are new creatures and
the fruits of the Spirit begin to be displayed in our lives and we can then add
these Christian attributes. Brother Branham wants us desperately to see that a
real Christian has the fruits of a Christian in their life, ever growing and
abounding within us.
[1] 62-1014 M , The Stature Of A Perfect Man, Rev. William Marrion Branham[2] 62-1014 M , The Stature Of A Perfect Man, Rev. William Marrion Branham
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