<TITLE>31. Par -</TITLE>L-47-3 Here you are, seven church ages, seven steps, God building His church is like one person into an individual--into Himself. The glory, the power of God coming down through this, welding this together. Therefore, the Pentecostal people has let out the Lutheran, let out the Wesleyans and things--doesn't know what they're talking about. You see, they lived in this part of the temple. That's the way some people can come up that high and then drop off. But there's a genuine part of that keeps making that building. Come on, "I will restore," saith the Lord.
You remember the--the "Bride Tree." You remember the sermon on "The Bride Tree." They eat it down, but He pruned it. It got denominational branches; He pruned them off. They raise up another church: denominational branches; He pruned it off. But the heart of that tree kept growing. In the evening time it shall be Light. See, that's when comes Christ, the Holy Spirit. Jesus comes down and sets Himself at the Head of the church then, and He will resurrect this church being His own body. In there's the body, and the way God is expecting us as a individual to grow--the way He's brought His church in to grow. Every church age, it becomes one big church.

L-48-1 See, these fellows wasn't required, what these fellows was. This wasn't required what this was. See, but He brought His church up the same way. He brought His--His church up the same way he's bringing His people up. Then Peter here says first (seven things) faith, virtue (See, coming up), knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly love, and 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.

L-48-2 When a man possesses these kind of things, then the Holy Ghost comes upon him. No matter, you might speak with tongues; you might impersonate any gift that God's got. You might do that, but until these virtues here go into you, you're still off the real true foundation of faith. But when these virtues grow in, as you added that to that, then you are a living monument. You are a living, moving idol.
But you know, the heathens: they prostrate themselves before an idol (imaginary god); and in an imaginary way they believe that that imaginary god speaks back to them. That's heathenism.
That's Romanism. They bow before all kinds of saints and everything else. They have St. Cecilia, house god, and so many different things like that; they bow to that and actually believe that in a imaginary way. What a--what a type it is of the true living God.

L-48-5 But when we, not in a imaginary way, but prostrate ourselves before a living God, a living virtue, a living knowledge, a living patience, a living godliness, a living power, coming by the living God makes a living man a living image, the statue of God, what's He doing? The same things that Jesus did, walking the same way He walked, doing the same things He did; because it's not an imaginary thing. There's a reality that proves it.
See what I mean? See how these virtues, these building materials typed in with the church messengers, with the church ages?
Now, one of these days we're going to take each one of these words and study them out and show that it proves this. It all goes together. Sure. See? Oh, my, how wonderful that is (See?) to see what it--what it does.


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