The Body of Christ

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William Branham taught that there is a church natural and a church spiritual. Is this correct? What does the Bible teach on this issue?

William Branham's teachings

William Branham, over the course of his ministry (see quotes below), taught the following about the church natural:

1. Israel was the church natural and the New Testament church is the church spiritual
2. The Bible teaches that you can't separate the church natural from the church spiritual
3. Lot in Sodom typed the church natural
4. Cain was a type of the church natural, while Able typed the church spiritual.
5. God won't bless the church spiritual until it pulls away from the church natural
6. Esau was a type of the church natural
7. Judas was a type of the church natural
8. The church natural is a carnal church
9. The church natural is intellectual
10. Billy Graham preached to the church natural as did Oral Roberts
11. The church natural is made up of people that "steal, cheat, lie, smoke, drink, gamble..."
12. The church natural preaches a social gospel
13. Denominational churches are the church natural
14. If you are born again, you are in the church spiritual.
15. The church natural is the lukewarm church
16. The lukewarm church and the five foolish virgins are synonymous.

What does the Bible teach

William Branham admitted that if a person was "born again", they were in the church spiritual.

There is only one Body of Christ

If a person is a Christian, that is they have placed their trust in Jesus Christ, they are in the body of Christ.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.

What do I have to do to get into the Body of Christ?

...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ...For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

...who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel...

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Conclusion

William Branham appears to have confused references to the unbelievers in scripture to his strange view of the "church natural". When you look at his "types", they are clearly unbelievers (Judas, Esau, Cain, etc.)

A person that is following Christ in accordance with the teachings of the New Testament is a Christian and part of the Body of Jesus Christ regardless of whether they attend a message church or not. Can you equate the doctrine that William Branham taught on this issue with the Gospel that Paul preached?

...but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

Quotes by William Branham

And there, when Israel was called out, a type of the Church... Israel always was a type of the Church. That was the church natural, this is the Church spiritual. They was called out. And as soon as they were called out, they passed through the Red Sea, baptized unto Moses. And as soon as they come on the other side, they were baptized then with the Spirit.

Now, I believe that was the Church natural. The Jewish church that was brought out of Egypt to Palestine, was the natural church, God's natural people, who had a natural law. See? But we today, are God's spiritual Church, with a spiritual law written on the tables of our hearts, led in a spiritual form.

So there's no way of separating church natural and Church spiritual. But the Church spiritual is the elected Church, called out and set aside by God alone. And they are the ones that will hear the Word of the Lord.

And they had some believers down there, the church natural, Lot, his people.

One of them desired Life Eternal, and he offered to God by faith a more excellent sacrifice than Cain: a perfect type of the churches today: the church natural, church spiritual. And there's no doubt but what I'm talking to both classes right now, and perhaps by the tape will talk to tens of thousands of them.

But look, the church natural, it's just the church carnal.

Remember, as long as they were associated together, the church natural and the church spiritual, they never did get the blessing. Jacob was never blessed until he separated hisself from Esau. And Abraham was never blessed until he separated himself from Lot.

...the church natural persecuting the church spiritual. Now, we find out then that Judas pretending to be a brother, a brother, and that headed up and finally come to a climax.

That is the ungodly, the church natural--intellectual, and the church spiritual--called out. Now, the word, "church," means "called out." These here, the intellectual, was called out of this. And these were called out of that, which is the Bride, and this is the remnant of the woman's seed.

The days of Sodom, there was a--a great revival went on. A one of the modern Billy Grahams went down into Sodom and preached the Gospel, had a great time, and called out what there was in there. And that was the church natural and carnal. But look what happened to it: went right on in and formed a great nation called Moab.

And we realize that when the days of Abraham, that there was a modern Billy Graham went down into Sodom and preached the Gospel and brought out Lot, the church natural.

But that church spiritual, Abraham, Sarah, there was One Who stayed with them Who showed the sign of the supernatural. When He had His back turned to the tent, He said, "Where is Sarah, thy wife?" How'd He know that he had a wife? He said He was a stranger. Said, "In the tent behind you." And He told him He would visit him, according to the time of life, and Sarah, inside the tent laughed, within her heart, and the Angel said, "Why did she laugh?" That was a sign. Just a little bit before the world was burned.

You said, "As it was in that day, so will it be in this day." God, You still have Angels. And we realize that Angel was manifested in human flesh, for soon He disappeared in the presence of Abraham, and Abraham called Him, "Elohim." God.

...this remnant was the sleeping virgin that he spurted the water from his mouth to make war with the remnant of the woman's seed. Now, what is a remnant? Now, there you--you have to get these types together now. There is a church which is church natural.

And that's what's the matter with the churches today. You've done got away from that River, got away from them gifts of the Spirit; they got just a church natural. And they get away from the spiritual gifts and the spiritual things, and they cast their fruit. What do they do? They're--they're believers, live with the world, act like the world, steal, cheat, lie, smoke, drink, gamble, have bunco parties in the church to pay the preacher, and everything else, soup suppers, dances. See? They cast their fruit. It's just like the world, and the unbeliever look and say, "There's no difference in that person and me."

The church natural. There is a church natural; that's the one's made up by man. Church spiritual... You know, the Bible says that? Yes, sir. Church natural and church spiritual. And the Bible says, "Cast out the bondswoman and her child (Hagar), for she will not be heir with the freewoman and her child."

Now, let's just take--take today. Now, isn't it strange that the church natural, out in the--the denominational world, they have had a great blasting, two great ministers? Isn't it strange that A-b-e-r-h-a-m and G-r-a-h-a-m never hit before in all the world? Then we got a Brother Oral Roberts, another great man. And remember as G-r... Or these Angels went down into the Sodom; they didn't perform any miracles; only one night they were smitten blind. And the preaching of the Word smites the unbeliever blind. He's blinded by the Word.

There was Lot and his group, which were lukewarm believers, church natural. There was Abraham, the spiritual, called-out, elected, out into the wilderness away from Sodom.

There is two churches in the world, church natural, church spiritual, they're all called "Christians." But the church natural cannot raise. It's doing its raising now in the World Council, council of churches.

But the Christian rises to meet Christ because It's a Bride, to go to meet Him. There is a difference in them. Nature holds these secrets, to us, and we can see them as we watch them. And we see that Christianity speaks the Truth, of death, burial, and resurrection.

Now, Jesus told us just exactly what would take place just at this time. He told us, in Matthew 24, that the Church, true Church, and the other church, would be... Church natural, Church spiritual, "Would be so close together, impersonators, until it would deceive the very Elected, if it was possible." How that it was in the days of Noah, "How they was eating, drinking, marrying, given in marriage," and all this immorality of the world that we see today.

But there is a segregation, the Bride of Christ is segregated from the rest of the churches, and that's exactly right: church natural, and the Church spiritual; church carnal, the Church the Word. It always has been. "Jesus came to His own, His own received Him not; but as many as received Him!"

And then the church natural is just a bunch of people in denominations, that joined. It's no more... I don't even no more call it "church." I don't like to refer to it. I like to refer to it as a "lodge," Methodist lodge, Baptist lodge, Pentecostal lodge.

But the Church is the borned-again that's in Christ Jesus, that's new creatures. And so we still see that, that God keeps His Word.

And now, today, as we see the church natural, in your intellectual gospel, going further and further away from the Word, in social gospel; we find that the women of the world, on the streets, members of such, is carrying themselves in the same atmosphere. You can't tell them. They've lost all sense of common decency, the people have. See? And that's the way the church has. And you can see it going straight to the ecumenical council, just as certain as anything in the world, and right into Rome as hard as it can go, see, 'cause it's prophesied. And there she is. That's her behavior.

That is when even the lukewarm church and the five foolish virgins will appear. He will separate the sheep from the goats. When He comes He will take over the kingdom, for it is His, and with Him will be the thousands times ten thousands, His Bride, who come to minister to Him. Glory! Oh, it is now or never. Repent before it is too late. Wake up from amongst the dead and seek God to be filled with His Spirit or you will miss eternal life. Do it now while there is time.

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