EXPLORING THE WONDERS OF GODLINESS

BY DAVID O. OYEDEPO

For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come (1 Timothy 4:8).

According to the scriptures, you can only become what you believe (John 1:12). It is important to know that whatever God says is established in heaven to be manifested on the earth. If He says ‘Be ye holy for I am holy’. That means he has made available the provisions for our empowerment to live a holy life. So believe you can become holy because holiness is attainable by faith.

Godliness is a value adding virtue. It impacts positively on every area of our lives. Everything that works in the Kingdom has godliness at its root (Acts 20:23). It takes sanctification to access our inheritance. By the act of resurrection, sin has no more dominion over us. We, therefore, have the legal right to stand against sin (Romans 6:14; Colossians 2:15).

It is also important we recognize that sin is a mystery and its ultimate goal is to distract us from God’s way, so we miss the best of life (2 Thessalonians 2: 7). However, godliness is a greater mystery. It written:

And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness… (1 Timothy 3:16).

For instance, when Aaron dropped the rod in the presence of Pharaoh, it turned to a serpent. Pharaoh’s magicians also dropped their rods and they became serpents. However, Aaron’s serpent swallowed up the magicians’ serpents (Exodus 7:9-12). By inference, the greater mystery of godliness will always swallow up the mystery of iniquity.

So we need an understanding of the mystery of godliness to dominate the forces responsible for sin and unrighteousness.

Let’s examine a very important nature of sin

Sin is demonic: Behind every deadly habit are demonic forces (1 Chronicles 21:1). Satan was behind the scene. That was not David; he would rather die than despite God and His Word. Satan provoked David to break God’s law by numbering Israel. (1 Chronicles 21:1; See also 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11; 1 Timothy 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7).

In Luke 22:3, satan was behind the betrayal process. He masterminded the act and after the deal, Judas eyes were open. He couldn’t see until the deed was done.

The demonic spirits of sin include the following:

Seducing spirit: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

It is also called the spirit of whoredom and it is behind all forms of sexual immoralities. To seduce means to lure, detract or make people miss their way in the order to bring them down. Its aim is to disqualify us from our quality walk with God.

The spirit of whoredom pressurized Samson through Delilah till he met his waterloo. It worked on David and he took Uriah’s wife and killed him. Also, Joseph was seduced by Potiphar’s wife. He suffered momentarily, but ended up in the king’s palace (Hosea 5:1-4; Judges 16:4-9; 2 Samuel 11:1-6; Revelation 2:20).

The spirit of filthiness: It is also called unclean spirit.

And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forty by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits (Mark 6:7)

According to scriptures, satan clothed Joshua, the high priest, with a filthy garment and stood at his right hand to resist him. (Zechariah 3:1-5; Matthew 10:1; Mark 5:1-5). Therefore, every filthy garment forced on our lives is destroyed!

The spirit of covetousness: Nothing is enough for the covetous. They continuously desire more till they lose their lives. For instance, satan was responsible for Judas’ covetousness, until he became the son of perdition and was destroyed (Luke 22:3-6).

Furthermore, Achan and his household were destroyed because of the spirit of covetousness at work in his life. The spirit also ended the destiny of Gehazi. He went after Naaman for riches, until he lost everything and ended up a leper (John 12:6; Joshua 7:20-21; 2 Kings 5:20-24).

The spirit of pride: That was the spirit that dethroned satan. Hence, he is the brain behind pride and he engages it to disconnect us from God. According to Scriptures, God resists the proud but gives more grace to the humble.

This spirit destroyed King Herod and turned King Nebuchadnezzar to an animal. It can make anyone lose their place with God because until our humility is proved, we cannot qualify for His lifting. (Acts 12:21-23; Daniel 4:30-33). Therefore, the spirit of pride is destroyed in our lives today!

The spirit of the world: This is the spirit behind the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life and we can only overcome it by the Spirit of God (1 John 2:15-17; 1 Corinthians 2:12).
The spirit of addiction/bondage: There are certain habits and addictions that have held us captive, but we can overcome because whatever is born of God overcome the world.

For ye have not received the spirit bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15; see also Luke 13:16; 1 John 2:14-17).

What do we do to break the demonic hold of sin?

Engage the Spirit of God: Since demonic forces are responsible for every sinful habit, the war against it must be a war of Spirit against spirits. Romans 8:13 says:

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

To ‘mortify’ means to destroy. Therefore, it takes the Spirit of God to destroy the deeds of the flesh (Isaiah 59:19).

Crave for the baptism of the Spirit of holiness: this is the only cure for the spirit of filthiness. Just as we engage the forces of light to conquer those of darkness, we must also engage the Spirit of holiness to destroy the spirit of filthiness. The Holy Ghost is that Spirit of Holiness.

Although the Holy Ghost is the refiner’s fire and the covenant messenger whose mission is to purify us, we must consciously crave His baptism in order to disarm, dislodge and destroy the spirit of filthiness (Malachi 3:1-5; Romans 1:4).

Engage the mystery of praying in the Holy Ghost: This is why the baptism of the Holy Spirit is crucial to our Christian walk. Praying in the Holy Ghost is one of the mysteries that confer mastery upon our lives against the forces of sin.

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20).

It is a private line between us and God, which enables us to call for help when we are in need. Paul said: …I speak with tongues more than ye all (1 Corinthians 14:1-2; 14-15; 1 Thessalonians 2:10).

Engage the Spirit of Faith: Every spiritual battle is a fight of faith. It is written:

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12).

We must fight the good fight of faith, so we can lay hold on what belongs to us in redemption and eternal life. It’s not just faith, but the Spirit of faith. We may not be ready for the fight but the fight is on. Therefore, we must brace up, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world by faith (1 John 5:4).

Remember, only the violent ever wins the war. In Matthew 11:12, the Bible says:

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and violent take it by force.

We need the Spirit of faith to conquer the spirit on sin. It’s important to ensure that we receive a baptism of the Spirit of faith if we must experience victory (Daniel 3:16-18; Numbers 13:30-33; Ephesians 6:16).

What is unique about the Spirit of Faith?

It responds spontaneously against every attack on our lives whether spiritual or physical: The three Hebrew boys said:

…Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up (Daniel 3:17-18).

The Spirit of faith was the propelling force behind their bold declarations and God delivered them because they trusted in Him. This Spirit is a daring and speaking Spirit. It dares the ‘un-darable,’ speaks the unspeakable and delivers the ‘undeliverable’. As it is written:

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak (2 Corinthians 4:13; see also Matthew 10:19-20).

Let’s examine some benefits of godliness

It launches us into realms of exploits: It takes godliness to grow in revelation and it takes revelation to accomplish exploits. For instance, Job had access to the secrets of God because he feared God and eschewed evil. These secrets made him the greatest businessman in the East.

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant (Psalms 25:14).

Therefore, when we walk in the fear of God, we gain supernatural access to the secrets of God that makes us Kingdom stars (see also Job 1:1-3; 29:4; Proverbs 1:23; Isaiah 60:1-3; Daniel 11:32; Deuteronomy 29:29).

It is the gateway to generational prosperity: Godliness imparts on the lives of our generations. The Bible says:

Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in His commandments.

His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever (Psalm 112:1-3).

Generational prosperity answers to covenant practice fulfilled through godliness. Abraham became a symbol of generational prosperity by godliness and his walk with God is still a blessing to us today (Proverbs 20:7; 28:20).

In conclusion, godliness may be costly, but the end result is priceless. It cost Joseph years in the prison, but he ended in the palace. Job was mocked by his wife and friends but he refused to commit sin and he emerged triumphant. Thus, godliness is the foundation of every ‘giant’ in the Kingdom. The race may be slow, but it is sure to end in victory. Therefore, receive grace to walk in righteousness forever!

Remain ever blessed!

Jesus is Lord!

If you are blessed by this piece, please send your testimonies to residentpastor@winnerschapeltexas.org or call + 1 (281) 857 7562