Therefore Now No Condemnation
Spiritual Building-Stone No. 83

We read in Romans 8:1-2 :
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

The word of prophecy, which we possess by grace, and whereunto we do well that we take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place (II Peter 1:19), revealed to us this above Scripture - in which lays rapturing faith.

We want to look at the following words of prophecy which were spoken through God's Word Prophet for our day:

Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ, that walk not after the things of this world, the flesh, but after the things of the Spirit; that pay no attention to what the world's got to say, who walk not after the flesh, the things that they see. Everything you see with your eyes is earthly.

But it's the things you see in your spirit, through the Word, the Word is God's looking glass that reflects what He is and what you are. Hallelujah! Oh, my! It tells you... This is the only book in the world that tells you where you come from, who you are, and where you're going. Show me any page of literature anywhere... with all the science or anything else, every good book that's been written, none of it can tell you that. This is God's looking glass that shows what He is and what you are. Then in be-tween there's a blood-line that shows what you can be if you want to make the choice. There you are, "By One Spirit."

Now in I Corinthians 12, we read about: How do we get into that Body of Christ? "By shaking hands?" No sir! "By joining the church?" No sir! "By being baptized backward, forward? In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? The Name of Jesus Christ? The name of Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley, Morning Star? Any-thing that you want? That has nothing to do with it, just a answer of a good conscience towards God. And yet we fuss, and stew, and argue, and split, and make differences. That's right. But all those are dead works! We're going to perfection.

That's things that I done. A minister baptized you. Whether he baptized you face forward, backward, or three times, four times, or one time, or how he did it, that has nothing to do with it. You're just baptized into the fellowship of that church anyhow, proving to that church, "you believe the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ." Laying on of hands to heal the sick, that's wonderful. But it's all natural, and that body will die again just as certain as you're living. It'll die again. Now let's lay aside all those things and go on to perfection.

How do we get to perfection? That's what we want to know. Christ is perfected, "God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace upon Him, with His stripes we were healed." That's the Body we want to get to. That's the Body. Why? If you're in that Body, you'll never see judgment, you'll never taste of death. You're free from all of death, judgment, sin and everything else, when you're in that Body.

"How do you get into It, preacher? By joining this tabernacle?" You're lost yet. Couldn't join it anyhow, we don't have any book. "How do we get into It? By joining some church?" No, sir! "How do you get into It?" You're borned in It.

I Corinthians 12:13, "For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

By the Holy Spirit Baptism, we are baptized into that Body of Christ Jesus and are free from sin. God don't see you no more, He only sees Christ. And when you're in that Body, God can't judge that Body. He's already judged It. He took our judgment and invited us in. And by faith, through grace, we walk and accept our pardoning. And the Holy Spirit brings us into this fellowship with Him. And we walk no more after the things of the world, but we walk in the Spirit. Quickened, the Word came to us. He died in my stead. I'm made alive. Here I am, who was once dead in sin and trespasses, been made alive, All my desires is to serve Him. All my love is to Him. All my walks want to be in His Name. Or wherever I go, whatever I do, I glorify Him. If I'm a-hunting, if I'm a-fishing, if I'm playing ball, whatever I'm doing, I must be "Christ in me" in such a life that'll make man long to be that way; not tattling, backbiting, and fussing about your churches. You get it? "By One Spirit we are baptized into that Body, 'and when I see the Blood (the life of Christ) I will pass over you' (Exodus 12:13)."

Further Brother Branham said about Romans 8:1:
There is therefore now no condemnation... No worldly condemnation, they can't accuse you of nothing. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, that walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

There you are. That's how to judge your Christianity. That's how to know you've entered into that Rest, the world don't bother you no more. Certainly! You see it, walk away from it. You got something better to think of. There you are, "No condemna-tion!" That's how we get into the Body. And you're secured forever. The Bible said so!

When this body receives the Spirit of God, the Immortal Life inside of you, it throws this body in subjection to God. Hallelujah!

"He that's born of God doth not commit sin; he cannot sin" (I John 5:18). "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; they walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). There you are! See, that throws your body subject. You don't have to say, "Oh, if I could just quit drinking, if I could just..." Just get in Christ; it's all gone! See, see? Because your body is subject to the Spirit, it's no more subject to the things of the world; they're dead. They are dead; your sins are bur-ied in baptism; and you are a new creation in Christ. And your body becoming subject to the Spirit, try to live a right kind of life...
Like you women claiming you got Holy Ghost and going out here and wearing shorts and things, how could you do it? How could the Spirit of God in you ever let you do such a thing as that? It just can't be so. Certainly it can't be! He's not a filthy spirit; He's a holy Spirit.

And then when you become subject to that Spirit, it throws your whole being sub-ject to that Spirit. And that Spirit is nothing in the world but this Seed Word made manifest, or quickened (Hallelujah!), made alive. And when the Bible said, "Don't do this," that body quickly turns to it; there's no question. And what is it? It's the earnest of the resurrection. This body will be raised up again, because it's already started. It was once subject to sin, and mire, and corruption, but now it's got the earnest; it's turned heavenly. Now, that's the earnest that you're going in the rapture. It's the ear-nest.

I'm happy today to be one of them, being identified with the Word, which is Christ. Identified with Him! Being baptized into Him, we become identified, identified in His likeness, identified with His Word, which is Him. If I am in Christ, I am His Word; for He is the Word, and what He is I am. Amen! Do you get It?

Now, now when a man is borned (natural spoken), he's borned with a spirit in him of this world. That's the reason he has to be borned again. For this spirit come from the conception by father and mother, which was the sexual conception, and absolutely could not live forever. So he's got to be borned again. And before he could do that, God had to come down and make a way for him to be borned again; because he had no way to redeem himself, he was without hope. He didn't... without hope, without God, without Christ, in the world, lost and gone. There's nothing he could do to save himself. No matter if he was a high priest, if he was a bishop, if he was a pope, whatever he was, he's just as guilty as the next man.

So, it had to take One that was not guilty, to do it. And the only One that wasn't guilty was God Himself. And God had to come down and become man (and He came in the form of Christ) to anchor the stinger of death, to take the sting of death out, to redeem us, that we... not by our works or by our goodness (we have none), but by His grace, to be saved. Then we receive of His Life into this mortal body, and now we are sons and daughters of God, and have Eternal Life within us. We are sons and daughters of God.
And no man, no matter how wicked or how good, when he leaves this earth, he's not dead. He's somewhere else. But the ungodly has a life that will perish, after he's punished in hell for his deeds, he... but yet that life has to cease. There's only one type of Eternal life.

Now, we've been through that. If a man can be a sinner and be punished forever... He can't be punished forever 'less he's got Eternal Life. If he's got Eternal Life, he's saved. See? So there's only one type of Eternal Life, and that's the Zoe, "the Life of God." And the redeemed sinner can't perish.
But the wicked are in a place of waiting in torment for their judgment (to be judged according to the deeds done in the body) at the last day. Now, but we... Some man's sins go before them, some follow after them (I Tim. 5:24).

Now if we confess our sins, He's just to forgive us (I John 1:9), therefore we will never have to stand the judgment of God. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. That are IN Christ (Rom. 8:1). That's passed from death unto Life. See, we have no condemnation, for we walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. See? "He that heareth My Words, believeth on Him that sent Me, has Eternal Life" (St.John 5:24).
And if I've been accepted in Christ, and Christ took my judgment, and I accepted His propitiation for my sins, how can God judge me? He's done judged me, when He judged Christ. Then I'm free from judgment. "Then when I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13).

Now we are sitting together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now we realize that Jesus, the body of Jesus, was caught up from the resurrection. Now we know that the Bible speaks of three heavens. We know it first heaven, second heaven, and third heaven I believe it was Paul that was caught away into the third heaven and seen things that wasn't expedient for him to speak of them (II Cor. 12:2-4). Now the first heaven is called, in the Scripture, like the clouds; in other words, down below, here on the earthly seal. Then the second heavens is considered the solar system. And the third heavens goes beyond that. Now when that Atmosphere from up in above the clouds becomes down into the Church, that's a Heavenly place.

There is just no condemnation any more for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the spiritual man has a spiritual soul that can never die. And the carnal man has a religious atmosphere around him like Cain (and wants to worship and so forth) but is carnal; not an unbeliever, but a carnal believer; and it was the kind was rejected.

You say, "Is the Holy Ghost a Seal?" Ephesians 4:30 said, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you're sealed until the day of your redemption." That's the genuine, true Easter Seal. Shows that sin has been paid for, for you, and God has ac-cepted you, and you're sealed into Christ by the Holy Ghost. Sin is finished. The Eternal Seal has been finished.

Now we are resurrected today. Why can we have such a time over the things of God? Because we are resurrected. "Those who He foreknew, He called; those who He called, He justified; those who He justified, He has glorified" (Rom. 8:30). Then we are now resurrected. We are resurrected from the inside out, not from the outside in. Oh! Do you notice, not sealed out, this way, but sealed in. Oh, my, if the church could just see it! See, we're not sealed out, we're sealed in. Them days, when sin was abomination before God, and there was no appropriation to take it away, we were sealed away from it. Now when that ripped in two (the body of Christ), and that seal was broke by a sin-offering being made from us, now we're baptized inside (I Cor. 12:13), and sealed inside. We are resurrected. We are now resurrected, already resurrected. How do you know? The Bible said so! Amen. We are now resurrected. We are now raised with Him in spiritual resurrection.

What does the word quickened mean? Quickened means "resurrection." That's right. We're already resurrected, right now, sitting together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6), enjoying the Easter Seal. Amen. That's God's true Easter Seal. How are we? By one Spirit baptized into the Body, and Sealed Eternally. We are now raised, spiritually. What did we raise from? From a life of sin, we were once sinners and loved the things of the world.

Now, there's many people say that they have been raised, but their life proves dif-ferent. Your life proves what you are. "By their fruits you shall know them," Jesus said (Mat. 7:20). That's the reason we never could go upon making a man speak in tongues and say he's got the Holy Ghost. We don't believe that. There's no Scripture for that. No, sir. Men speak with tongues and go on out and live like the world. And women speak in tongues and bob off their hair, wear make-up. Huh! You couldn't say that was the Holy Ghost. Surely not, certainly not, certainly not. A man smoke cigars, and go out here and live with the next man's wife, run around, carry on, say that's the Holy Ghost? No, no, "By their fruits you shall know them. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruits, neither does a good tree bring forth corrupt fruits."

We are sealed by the Holy Ghost, God's true Easter Seal (Eph. 1,13-14). We are sealed into the Body of Christ, Eternally Sealed (Eph. 4:30). Not a seal for a space of time; but for Eternity. And now that person that's received that, is raised from the dead, from a life of sin. What is it? His Spirit has been raised, his ambitions are raised, his life has been raised, he is a new creature (II Cor. 5:17). And he comes together with fellow citizens, like we are this morning, to pray for one another, and to help one another, to encourage one another, and to set and gather in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, sealed by the Holy Ghost. "For ye are dead, and your life is hid in Christ, through God, sealed by the Holy Ghost," Scripture said (Col. 3:1-3). That's the Scripture. Now you see we're sealed by the Easter Seal. The Easter Seal of resurrection, which confirmed that His life and what He had said was true. Now we find out it's a complete work, it's a finished product. God's resurrection is a finished product. The Holy Ghost is God's Seal of a finished product.

Now we come to Christ. First thing we do, we get justified by believing on Him. When we do that, then we realize that we've done wrong, we ask God to sanctify us, that's cleanse us from our life of sin. Martin Luther, justification, his message. Then come Wesley, with sanctification. And then when it's all complete, and His Church is completed, what's the next thing? A finished work. A finished work is the Seal, that the Church has been completed.

And there's always been an ark in God's economy. There was a ark in the days of Noah for the saving of his people. There was an ark in the days of the law, the ark of testimony in the days of the law. They followed the ark, and there is a third dispensation now, like Noah's time, Lot's time, and now this time. There's a ark now, and that ark is not a denomination, neither is it a good works that you do; it's by one Spirit (I Cor. 12:13). We are all baptized into one body in the domain of that Kingdom, one Spiritual baptism. No matter how good, how bad, whatever, you're in that Kingdom by Holy Ghost baptism. See? That's the only way you'll overcome. It's all that is under the shed Blood is overcomers (Rev. 12:11), 'cause you cannot overcome yourself, it's He that overcome for you. You're resting...
"How do I know then, Brother Branham, that I'm in there?" Watch what kind of a life you're living. Just look around. See if it's just lived out of you automatically. Or do you have to strain and pull, then you're doing it. But don't try to do it.

Just how, just like putting a little baby's arm in a sleeve-hole, he's just up, down, over, and everything else. See? He can't do it. "Put on your coat Honey." He can't do it. His little arm's up, down, and around. It takes your steady hand. And oh, how glad I am that I can just yield my hand to Father, say, "Lord Jesus, I can't get in there. You help me; put the coat on. I quit trying." Just let Him do it.
See, if the little baby keeps trying, "Oh, I can do it; I can do it." And he's just eve-rywhere; He can't do it. Neither can you; neither can I. But if we just hold still and let Him do it, just yield to Him, "Here, Lord, here I am. Just let me be nothing. I yield; You put my hand in the right place." That's the victory; that's overcoming.
The thing you have to overcome is yourself, your ideas, your things, and surrender yourself to Him. He overcome for you. He knows the way; we don't.

As long as you're in Christ, you are in the Bible; you're in Him, in the Bible. See? As long as you are in Christ, then you are in the fullness of the Bible. You are in your full position when you're in Christ.

The believers of this age has to believe this, what He promised today. Just the same as they had to come into the ark to be saved, go out of Egypt to be saved, they have to come into Christ to be saved now, into the Word Message that He's the same yesterday, today and forever.
How do you get into it? By Baptism. Baptism of what, water? By the Holy Ghost. One Spirit we're all baptized into this one Body.

And His promised Word, you won't have to interpret It, He will interpret It through you, what you are doing, what He promised to do. The Church that follows Him will be so much like Him until the people will know. Look at Peter and John when they was questioned about healing a man at the gate called Beautiful. They said they perceived, those priests did, that they were both ignorant and unlearned man, but they take notice that they had been with Jesus. Because what? They were doing the things that He did.
He must be about the Father's business. And today it must be the same.

That's why the rapture is different and will only be for the Royal Seed of Abra-ham. It cannot come by the natural, carnal seed of the church. It'll have to be the Royal Seed of the Word of God through Abraham, the Royal Seed. That's why the rapture has to be first, 'cause remember, "we which are alive and remain shall not hinder, prevent those which are asleep. For the trumpet of God shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise first. We which are alive and remain shall be caught up with them together and meet the Lord in the air" (I Thess. 4,15-17). Notice, and again it's written, "And the rest of the dead live not for a thousand years" (Rev. 20:5).

There is no judgment to the Royal, Spiritual, predestinated Seed of Abraham, for they are predestinated to Eternal Life. They have accepted God's provided Sacrifice, and that Sacrifice which is Christ, the Word. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). And once again St. John 5:24, "He that heareth My Word (the word there is 'understandeth.' Any drunkard anything else can hear it, can walk away)... But he that heareth My Word--understands My Word--and believeth on Him that sent Me hath Everlasting Life and shall not come into the judgment, but has passed from death unto Life." Yes, sir!

Now, and then at that time after the rapture... See, the Gentile Bride is in Heaven, and the sleeping virgin, the Gentile virgin, is not to be saved during that time; she's already been saved, but has been rejected in the Bride. And she only goes through the tribulation period for the time of purification, because she has rejected Christ, the Word, for her purification. Then she has to suffer for her deeds, but the Bride who has become the Word, a complete atonement was made of Christ, 'cause He is the Word. That body was rended, and when that body was rended, the Bride was in that body, because It's all the Word! Amen! You see it?

When Jesus suffered in that body, He suffered... Cause a man and a woman are one person. Eve was taken out of Adam, and the Church... What happened? God opened up the side of Adam and took out of there a helpmate, the bride. And God opened up the side of Jesus at Calvary and took out the Bride. See? And when Jesus died at Calvary... Remember, the Bride was not taken from the body until the body was dead. He had already died, and they was going to break His legs. And the prophet said, "There'll not be one bone broken." So they done drawed back the hammer to break a leg, and a man went up with a spear and pushed it through His heart; and water and blood came forth (John 19:31-37; Psalms 34:20); He was already dead. She was already redeemed in the body by His death, so there's no more suffering tribulation period for the Bride. See? She goes in. But the Gentile church that just believe on Him and take the denominational creeds and so forth...

And still like this poor person said: "My husband and son, they still love the things of the world and things like that"... See, they haven't accepted that redeeming, for when you do, it cleanses you automatically. "He that's borned of God does not commit sin" (I John 3:9). There's no desire, nothing in him for the things of the world (He-brews 10:2).

Jesus said, "He that loves the world (Kosmos now), or the things of the world, the love of God's not even in him" (I John 2:15-17). He's not in love with the Groom. See? Therefore, she (the foolish virgin) has to pay that penalty, and not... She's not saved during that time; she's saved now from eternal death; but she will have to go through the tribulation period for the purification. See what I mean?

Further Brother Branham was asked:

Please explain, because you said that there would be just a small number go in the rapture.

That is these on the earth that's going to be changed. Jesus said, "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Mat. 7:13-14).

What about the people that believe in the Lord now and not the way you preach?
They don't have to believe this. They don't have to believe the way I preach it. See? Don't have to believe that. "... for the last day Message. Will they be saved?" Yes, if they believe the Lord. See? And if they disagree and say, "I don't believe He's the Word. I don't believe that this is right. I don't believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost," that shows where they're headed for, the tribulation period. But those who can accept the Word in Its fullness, not me preaching It, because It's the Bible says so. Those who accept that is free, because the Word's already been judged.
Now, could a righteous Judge judge a man twice for anything if the penalty's been paid? If I was in the pawnshop, and you come by and said, "I'm going to redeem him"; and you went in and paid the price for my redemption (and that's my penalty of being in the pawnshop), and you pay my redemption, then how can the pawnbroker claim me again? Unless I sold out again. There you are. When I rejected the Fullness of the Word, then I go right back in the pawnshop again. See, see? Then fight my way out then, if I can. But He redeemed me. All right.

Now... or after time has been fulfilled. All sin is gone--taken away at the Millen-nium, at the great White Throne judgment--a type of the Holy Ghost. After the world is on fire and baptized, its baptism of Holy Fire from Heaven; all sin is gone; all germs is gone; all devils is gone; all temptations is gone; all evil is gone (type now). Then what does God do? He can sit upon the earth (see?), because all sin's gone.

That's the same thing He does when He gives you the Holy Ghost baptism with Fire. He can come and dwell with you, and we can sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, because we are already in Him! Not we will be, we are now, sitting in Christ Jesus! How do we get into it?--by one Holy Ghost baptism. By one Spirit we're all baptized into Christ, which we are now--won't be in Christ, we are! He is the great spiritual King over the Spirit that's in us, because we were in Him at the beginning.

Reference:
"Hebrews Chapter 5+6 Part I", par. 109-118
"Hebrews Chapter 4", par. 209-210
"Who Is This Melchisedek", par. 70-73, pg. 15
"Unveiling Of God", par. 294, pg. 43
"Hebrews, Questions And Answers, Part II", par. 395-401
"The Easter Seal", par. 125-134, pg. 20-22
"Hebrews, Questions And Answers, Part III", par. 598
"How Can I Overcome", par. 68-72
"Questions And Answers", COD pg. 186, par. 194
"God's Chosen Place Of Worship", par. 90-94
"The Seed Is Not Heir With The Shuck", par. 63-65, pg. 11
"Questions And Answers" (1965-0823), COD pg. 953-954
"Future Home", pg. 36

Spiritual Building-Stone No. 83 from the Revealed Word of this hour, com-piled by: Gerd Rodewald Friedenstr. 69, Bieselsberg D-75328 Schömberg
Germany Phone (0) 7235 7613 Fax (0) 7235 3306

There's coming one with a Message that's straight on the Bible, and quick work will circle the earth. The seeds will go in newspapers, reading material, until every predestinated Seed of God has heard It.
[Bro. Branham in "Conduct-Order-Doctrine", pg. 724]