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This message entitled “Discerning the Body of Christ” is part one of a two part series. It was given at a conference in Schuyler, Nebraska in November 2003 by Brother Cecil duCille.

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The Marriage Supper

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: Matthew 22:1-14

The marriage supper of the Lamb is the place in the spirit, where the sons of God receive the seed of Christ within their souls, and the long sought after change begins to occur in their soul nature. This change is variously described in the scripture, and is the “parousia,” or “coming,” in 2nd Peter 1:16,

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming (“parousia,” in Greek) of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of His majesty.”

This word “coming,” as used here in the Greek, means not only the arrival of Jesus Christ, but the coming within His church, and the eventual revelation and manifestation to the world.

Contrary to old beliefs, the marriage supper of the Lamb is not in the skies somewhere in space or on another planet, but RIGHT HERE AND NOW. The word of God proves this.

Matthew 22:11-13, “And when the King came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This, above all others, shows definitely that the wedding FEAST is right here on earth, and that it is not a rapture which shall take us up into the skies for a wedding feast. This we know surely, because there was a man in that feast, according to the word we just read, which should not have been there and who was cast out. THIS IS AN EARTHLY SCENE of those in our midst, who are not covering themselves with the righteousness of God, but just taking the word in their natural minds without absorbing it into their spiritual beings.

The work of the Holy Ghost is to inseminate the bride at the marriage feast with the Christ seed, so that she might bring forth Christ. If the ministry is the husband of the church, then the ministry would come forth from her, which would not be good enough.

In view of this light on Matthew 25, in the parable of the virgins, we can see that the SPIRIT is called the lamp and the SOUL, the vessel. This is confirmed by scripture.

Proverbs 20:27, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”

The word “candle” is to be translated “lamp,” and the word “belly” is to be translated “soul.” Thus, the spirit of man is lit by the Spirit of God, and when it is, it sheds light into the vessel of the soul. God, speaking of Paul in Acts 9:15, says, “He is a chosen vessel unto me.”

Romans 9:21 speaks of “vessel unto honor.” From the Old to the New Testament, man, the soul, is referred to as a vessel. It is God’s revealed will that He desires man’s soul to be like his Spirit. This is the chief reason God desires to inhabit man’s soul with His Holy Spirit. This is clearly expressed in the scripture.

Matthew 6:10, “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

This expression applies not only to the heavenly invisible realms of God, where He dwells in all the magnitude of His unimaginable power, but in every realm which is called heaven. Now, heaven is the dwelling place of Almighty God, and wherever God prepares for His dwelling place is heaven. Thus, if we are the “temple of the living God,” then we must be a heaven. God dwells in our spirits when we are filled with the Holy Ghost, therefore this scripture can be applied to our souls that God is making the soul of man as perfect and as habitable as His Spirit. “Thy will be done IN earth” means within the earth man or the soul man, as it is in the spirit man.

(Excerpt from The Pattern, 2nd Edition, 1995, pg. 122-124)

Thought for today: The marriage supper of the Lamb is the place in the spirit, where the sons of God receive the seed of Christ within their souls, and the long sought after change begins to occur in their soul nature.

Obedience

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: John 14:23

The obedient nature can only be planted within man when he obeys the Spirit of the Lord. John 14:23 shows this plainly. In verse 22, Judas, not Iscariot, asks the Lord a most pertinent and direct question.

“Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world?” Verse 23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

This shows that the coming of the Christ is first within the believer, BUT only the believer who obeys the Holy Ghost.

The further explanations here show that every man who loves God keeps His sayings. The ministries and believers who go about freely expressing their love for God, yet continue to “do their own thing,” are only deceiving themselves that they love God. In short, love is obedience.

(Excerpt from The Pattern, 2nd Edition, 1995, pg. 121)

Thought for today: In short, LOVE is obedience.

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: Luke 1:38

The second and great work of the Holy Ghost is to plant the seed of life into the womb of the church, which is the soul of the believer. It is far more important to God to change the NATURE of the believer, than to endow him with power. No matter how much power the individual has, if he or she is not changed from within, God has not yet brought forth a SON. God wants to multiply, just as we want to multiply. It is within HIS DIVINE nature to bring forth children. This nature of God is expressed in everything He makes. The grass, the flowers, the trees, the birds, the animals, and all things bring forth abundantly.

God’s order of bringing forth is the same everywhere. The scripture declares that everything brings forth after its own kind. Therefore, if we desire corn, we plant corn. If we must bring forth Christ in the earth, then we must plant Christ. What the ministry has been doing for hundreds of years is planting themselves in people and expecting to bring forth Christ.

God’s divine order is revealed in Luke 1:28, 30-33. God first sent the angel Gabriel to Mary with a message.

“Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. Fear not, Mary, for thou has found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great and be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”

This message of the angel was absolutely positive. He skipped 2,000 years in one sentence to bring all the good news concerning Jesus. Not a negative note – nothing was mentioned of the death and suffering. The intention was clear to bring faith in Mary to receive the Holy Ghost and the work He should do within her. Mary cried, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” Luke 1:38. The angel left. His work was done.

The minister of the gospel is the angel; the messenger who carries the word of the Lord to the maiden, the church. The church is not the wife of the minister. The minister is not the husband of the church, he is the husbandman, not planting his own seed, but the seed of the word to invoke faith in the maiden. When the faith is invoked in her, then she receives the Holy Ghost. He it is that plants the seed of the Christ within the soul, which is the womb of the church. The overshadowing of the Holy Ghost is the overshadowing which is necessary to bring forth the change of the human nature to that of the divine nature.

(Excerpt from The Pattern, 2nd Edition, 1995, pg. 119-121)

Thought for today: No matter how much power the individual has, if he or she is not changed from within, God has not yet brought forth a SON.

Error in the Body

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Scripture reading: Matthew 24:23

Before we attain the perfection, which entails changing the human nature to the DIVINE NATURE (2nd Peter 1:4), we must abide in the perfection of the Spirit. At present, we do partake of the divine nature in a limited way, but then we shall in its fullness. No man will rise to the perfect image of God before the death and the resurrection of the FIRSTFRUITS COMPANY, and this event shall jolt all creation. No man is correct in going around saying he is Christ. He cannot be Christ until the firstfruits come forth, and we shall all know about this when it happens, because perfection will come to a body of people and not to an individual. Thus it is the body that will be called Christ, and not the parts. This is the meaning of the scripture in Matthew 24:23, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.”

If Christ was going to come in this fashion, then in obedience to the scripture, we would not believe Him when He comes. This scripture, more than any other, clearly says that Christ will not come and say unto any man, “I am Christ.” Thus, any person who says this is doing so in the spirit of the antichrist. The people of God who are now being taught that because Christ is coming forth in His church in the individual members, that we are Christ, are being “artfully and cunningly” prepared by the devil to accept the antichrist. My instruction to you is that you must repent now and cease from this heresy, if so be that you thought it was all right to worship the Christ in your brother. Worship the head, not the body. The body is not yet perfect. We must only worship God.

(Excerpt from The Pattern, 2nd Edition, 1995, pg. 118-119)

Thought for today: Worship the head, not the body. The body is not yet perfect. We must only worship God.