VICTORIOUS LIVING

The spiritual has precedence over the natural or material. This is the order in which things have been made, the spiritual first and then the natural.

Jesus came so that we may again be made alive to God and be able to operate in the spirit successfully, by His authority and power (John 10:10). Descending from Adam, we inherited the sin nature, which alienates our spirits from God once we grow to be able to discern between good and evil, hence the need for Him to restore and give us access to God again so we can have the opportunity to learn and exercise dominion from our spirits like Adam did before the fall. You must take cognizance of the fact that you are a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23), you have a soul and reside in a body.

God is a Spirit (John 4:24) and in making us after His likeness (Genesis 1:26a), He made us spirit beings. He deals with us through our spirit, not our mind or body. The mind and body enable us to function here on earth, relating to the intellectual and material world. God’s dealings with us are however through our spirit.

Our mind takes what it is fed, either the things of God through our spirit or the things of this world through our five senses. For the unbeliever who has an unregenerate spirit, the mind is condemned to not only receiving the things of the world (of which Satan is God – 2 Corinthians 4:4a) through his/her senses, but also things borne out of selfishness towards man and God from their spirits which are devoid of the life of God. For him/her, it is double jeopardy until such a time that they heed God’s call to salvation and get born again. For this reason, the bible admonishes believers (those that have been made alive in their spirits) to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5: 16a, 25). If we do not walk in the spirit, our spirits do not feed or compel our minds but our flesh does and we end up doing things as though we do not have the life of God in us, living in defeat and sin.

We walk in the spirit when we mind the things of the spirit, filling our minds and compelling it with the things of the spirit (Romans 8:5). To feed our minds with the things of the spirit, we must first know these things. The things of the spirit are the things of God which the Holy Spirit reveals to our spirits.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

We must understand that living our lives victoriously as Christians depends on us developing our spirits. The mind cannot lay hold on or take in the things of God because they do not make sense to it or ‘add up’. The believer’s spirit however can, because it has been re-created after God, it has been given the life of God by God’s spirit (Ephesians 4:24). 1 Corinthians 2:14 says But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. The natural man is the man devoid of God’s Spirit, and thus attempts to grasp the things of God with his mind (through his senses) but he can’t. We will not fare better as believers if we remain sense ruled and try to grasp the things of God with our minds. We must be spirit ruled, our minds were not born again, our spirits were. The mind cannot reason out or understand the things of God, it can only be made to accept it as compelled to by our spirits. This is what is called renewing of the mind (Romans 12:1). Whatever is revealed to the believer’s spirit is the only thing that the believer can renew his/her mind with, hence the believer must seek the revelation of the things of God to his spirit so the mind can be renewed with such revealed truth.

What the Holy Spirit reveals to you personally as a believer is what you will renew your mind with. Though it is the same truth, it must be revealed to each person for it to be useful to them personally. The Christian walk is a personal walk with God in which each person walks the walk with God. The collective (Church) provides all the support and means for each believer to walk with God successfully by learning from Him and growing spiritually. Without the collective, the individual is undone. We must all of necessity learn from others but the revelation others have in their spirit cannot lead to your own spiritual growth. They give you the message but you must sit down with God personally and let Him reveal Himself to you in it by His Spirit. Every believer has to study God’s word, meditate and pray for us to grow spiritually.

GOD DEALS WITH OUR SPIRITS

You will notice that in Romans 8:16 it says The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. He does not bear witness with our mind/reasoning or sight, smell, touch/taste/feeling or physical hearing. God deals with our spirits because God is a Spirit. It had earlier said in the fourteenth verse that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. This leading is from our spirits, not from our mind or senses, for the Holy Spirit bears witness from within our spirits. This witness that he bears with our spirits is a revelation of one thing about God, that when we get born again we become the sons of God (John 1:12). There is no physical proof for this, no natural proof, no sense knowledge, scientific or psychological proof. The proof is the witness of the Holy Spirit to our spirits. That is why it is by faith, we believe in our spirits (hearts) and we act accordingly. As seeing is to the physical eyes so is ‘knowing’ or revelation to the spirit. It does not take time however for what happened in our spirits to be seen on the outside though, most especially when we develop our spirit and grow. This development and growth comes by learning, knowing the things of God and doing them.

WHAT ARE THE THINGS OF GOD?

In 1 Corinthians 2:14, apostle Paul talked about the things of God, which he started out with earlier in the chapter. He clarified that they were not man’s wisdom (not a product of the mind’s thoughts or reasoning or common sense – verses 1,4,5), nor the wisdom of Satan or demons (anything referred to as wisdom of spiritual nature like magic, esoteric teachings, uncommon sense, hidden knowledge etc) but the testimony of God. The testimony of God is what God has to say, which he also referred to as the wisdom of God that he (and the other apostles and prophets of God in the bible) spoke in a mystery. What did they speak? They spoke the word of God.

In the seventh verse, apostle Paul said they spoke the wisdom (word) of God in a mystery, mystery indeed to the human mind but not a mystery to the human spirit when revealed by the Holy Spirit (verse 10). He concluded in the twelfth and thirteenth verses that Now we (believers) have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God Which things also we (apostle Paul, the other apostles and prophet in the bible) speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

The things of God are the word of God as presented in the bible. The Holy Spirit reveals them to us through our spirit (not our mind) and by this revelation we know and understand them. When we feed this revelation knowledge to our minds and act on them, it brings spiritual growth and the exercise of dominion in life as God intends. This is the key to overcoming all what Satan may bring against the believer in life.

Take notice though that knowing the things of God is beyond mental assent to the bible as though it is a story book, history book, science or art book or anything else written by men. Otherwise, what you will know will not be beyond what the bible calls letter of the word which does not produce life (spiritual development/growth). 2 Corinthians 3:6 says for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. It is the revelation that the Holy Spirit gives you that contains the life giving/ life transforming power of God that makes the difference. This is what the psalmist saw in the Old Testament when he prophesied that The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple (Psalm 119:130). Who is the simple? The simple is that man or woman that will humble himself/herself before God, respect God enough to take His word as revealed by His Spirit. It is this revealed word of God that is the wisdom of God. And it is amazing to know that there is nothing that has to do with man in this life that the bible does not have covered and yes, I mean everything! For the believer therefore, this is where the buck stops, this is where the solution and the answer lay.

Are you a believer? Are you tired of living in defeat and running helter skelter without the guarantee of a lasting victory? Do you want to walk in the fullness of the benefits of your redemption? Then develop your spirit, grow up spiritually, this is the key to exercising the dominion that is yours in Christ.

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all (1 Timothy 4:15).


Pastor Gboye Omolayo is the Resident Pastor of Church@Allen, Allen TX, USA. He is a prolific writer and preacher who believes the efficacy of the word of God and the potency of the works of the Holy Spirit are still available to the Church today, as were at the Church’s infancy. He is the publisher of this blog.

WOMEN ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN MINISTRY (extended read)

The present discrimination in the Church against the ministries of womenfolk is largely premised upon the words of the apostle Paul in his epistles to the church at Corinth and to Timothy while in the Church at Ephesus. The words of apostle Peter in his epistle are additionally credited for this ‘ban’ on the ministry of womenfolk.

Much has been said about what the apostles meant in these passages of scripture and what they did not mean. What intrigues me however is the manner in which people drift away (deliberately or unconsciously) from the fact that the texts under reference are part of the entire word of God which we all know was written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. 

If we approach the subject of women in ministry holistically from the point of view of what God has said and demonstrated in His word through the Holy Spirit, rather than ‘what the apostle Paul or apostle Peter said’ in these texts, maybe, just maybe the author of God’s word (the Holy Spirit) would be able to enlighten us on the very mind of God concerning this issue.

WILL GOD USE A WOMAN?

This is a direct question which not quite a few would answer in the affirmative but would give a qualified answer. However, our yes must be yes and our no remain no. Without qualification, we know from God’s word that the answer is yes. God has used women, is still using and will continue to use women till Jesus comes back for His Church and this can in no way contradict what the apostles Paul or Peter said anywhere.

In considering this issue of women in ministry, let’s take the cue from key text on the ministry gifts in the New Testament, the very place where it began to be explained in detail. In Ephesians 4:11, it says when He ascended on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. It thereafter went on to list these ministry gifts in the eleventh verse.

Firstly, we must understand that these gifts (the callings with the accompanying divine enablement to prosecute them) are referred to as gifts because they are not worked for or earned. 

They are not hereditary like part of the kingship and priesthood in the Old Testament, they are not given to some because God is happier with them more than others. 

The gift has nothing to do with the person or background of the called viz-a-viz where they are from, what they are naturally gifted to do etc. 

The gift is a supernatural endowment (or ability, if you will) and given by God according to His predestination and purpose without any human or circumstantial consideration. 

It is only God that decides and calls in His sovereignty, just like only He decides the day and time of Christ’s coming. This is how sacrosanct the call to ministry is. 

The gift is given by God Who calls through Christ, no call, no gift (supernatural ability). And very importantly, the gift is given because of or for the benefit of the Church not the individual who is called. 

Without the Church, the gift would not be necessary or be given.

WHO DID/DOES JESUS GIVE THE GIFTS TO, MEN OR WOMEN?

Now, we know from the Greek language with which the New Testament was originally written that the same Greek word translated ‘wife’ is also translated ‘woman’. The English word into which it is translated is therefore based on the context within which it was used and it is usually easy and clear. The same goes for the Greek word translated to both ‘man’ and ‘husband’.

In this text that talks about Jesus giving ministry gifts in Ephesians 4:11 however, the Greek word translated ‘men’ is not the word used in reference to ‘men’ or ‘husbands’. It is the one used when reference is being made to ‘mankind’ or ‘human beings’, referring to both men and women. This thus forecloses any ambiguity on whether Jesus calls men only or/and women to the ministry.

In calling and giving the gifts, gender is not a restricting factor. This agrees with what we see in the bible (both Old and New Testaments) concerning those who God used in doing His work. 

Without doubt though, there has been a preponderance of God using men in the bible and in the history of the Church, but God’s gifts and callings have never been and will never be gender restrictive. 

The ministry gifts that Jesus gave and is still giving are to both men and women.

Despite the fact that for whatever reasons many have tried to re-arrange what Christ instituted, His institution has not failed to play out as He planned it (to the extent allowed by the Church), with a few female folks who knew better than to disobey God, bracing obedience against all odds and dogma to stand and operate in the offices of their calls. And what a blessing these women have been to the Church! 

How great would it have been if church folks would further embrace these doings of the Lord and support these ministries, how much of a blessing would these gifts be to the body of Christ as a whole! Rather than embrace and encourage what Christ gave, we had somewhat managed to stigmatize and drag down these Christ given gifts and to whose loss? To the loss of the entire body of Christ of course and to the satisfaction of the kingdom of darkness.

I was at a discussion once and someone said most women who were called to the ministry and obeyed the call had not always ended up well. 

I could only wonder within myself why they would largely end up well when the entire efforts of menfolk and even some women in Church from the get go has been to pull down these wonderful gifts Christ blessed His body with! 

If folks devoted that much time and effort to pulling down menfolk in ministry too, the same would be happening or probably worse, because without the pulling down there are still many men that did not end well also.

What am I saying here? Christ is the Head of His Church, He administers the Church as He desires in line with God’s pre-determinate counsel. Christ calls into Ministry and He calls who He wills, male and female alike. If Christ has not called, then you cannot stand in any of these offices to minister, whether you are a man or a woman. The earlier we embrace this, the better it is so that we benefit from the fullness of His plans to build His Church.

ONLY GOD THROUGH CHRIST CALLS TO THE MINISTRY

Of great importance is the knowledge of the fact that God is the one that calls to His work. It is not an appointment made by man or any institution, it is a call that is placed upon the called before he/she comes out from his/her mother’s womb (like in the case of Jeremiah –Jeremiah 1:5).

Take Elisha as another example, he had been called by God Who at the fullness of time instructed Elijah to commission him to continue the work Elijah was quitting. (1 Kings 19:15-16). Two other people were to be commissioned by Elijah and the instruction was given in the same breath. It was a function of pre-destination. 

We see the same thing confirmed in the life of the apostle Paul also when Ananias was asked to go and pray for him to receive his sight and be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 

A key part of the message given to Ananias was that Paul was a ‘chosen vessel by God’ (Acts 9:15). His salvation opened up the possibility of Him fulfilling the call but the call had been there all along. He could not have fulfilled the call without first being born again and this holds true then and still does now.

The prayer of the saints and the laying on of hands by the Church many years later was to commit Paul to another phase of that call (which he started to fulfill the moment he was filled with the Holy Spirit) that God had placed upon His life while He was in his mother’s womb. That is why it says there that separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them (Acts 13:2). 

Apostle Paul had been preaching and teaching before this time with God’s power confirming His word which he preached/taught, so it couldn’t be that it was at this time that he was called. 

It was not the presbytery or the church that called them, God had called them before this time, He just confirmed it to the Church on that day and asked the church to give them the right hand of fellowship in that regard, as they moved into another phase of that call. 

This is the fact behind what is today called ordination, dedication to ministry etc. Whether or not we still follow God in the process is a different question entirely but suffice to say that if God has not called, the gift is not there and the work cannot be done because then, God is not the one doing it. It would not matter who laid hands or what brand of oil was poured, who poured the oil or who prayed or where.

God caused His anointing (not Elijah’s anointing, because Elijah had nothing to do with it) to come on Elisha because He (God) had called Elisha. God told Elijah specifically to anoint Elisha to take his place, the same way He told Moses to lay hands on Joshua.

If God had told Elijah to anoint someone other than Elisha, and Elijah went ahead and not only gave his mantle but all his clothes to Elisha, it would have amounted to nothing. Folks, God calls and God anoints and it is not subject to man’s discretion. 

When Samuel was sent to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be king, had he called the whole assembly and bathed some other son of Jesse in 100 barrels of oil, the hand of God (anointing) would not have rested on that person to lead God’s people even if the people loved that person and cooperated with him. 

God’s anointing comes upon who He calls, it has been like this since the Old Testament through the New and will continue to be till Christ returns.

CLARIFICATION

Now, we must understand the difference between what happened regarding Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13) and what happened when deacons were appointed in Acts 6. 

The deacons were chosen by the saints as directed by the apostles and the key criteria were faithfulness, dedication and commitment to God’s work in the Church. 

They were to coordinate the work of serving tables (overseeing the servicing of people’s physical and organizational needs as well as administrative needs in the Church). 

It took men that were dedicated to be chosen to do the work of serving tables in the Church, underscoring how important ANY work is in the body of Christ. 

Even those that served tables and organized had to be committed, dedicated, serious Christians. This was done so the apostles could give themselves continually to the call, the five-fold ministry, prayers and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). 

Men may chose based on certain criteria those who serve in administering physical and organizational needs in the Church as circumstances dictate but God chooses and calls into the five-fold ministry. 

Though some that are called start from these services (like Stephen and Phillip), the two are not to be mixed up. 

As expected of those chosen by men as necessary for this purpose, much more anyone called to the ministry by God must be committed, dedicated, and serious to succeed. These are the fundamentals of stewardship, faithfulness is non-negotiable.

WHAT APOSTLES PAUL AND PETER SAID

In 1 Corinthians 14:34, it says Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 

It would have been easy to run away with this and say women are not permitted to speak in Churches but for the fact that in 1 Corinthians the eleventh chapter, the apostle Paul already wrote about women praying and prophesying in Church. This fact cannot be discounted by all the rhetoric of ‘speak’ does not mean ‘teach’, ‘pray’ and/or ‘prophesy’ are not the same as ‘speak’ which does not mean ‘teach’ and so forth. 

Also, we know that obedience and subjection of woman to man have to do exclusively with husbands and their own wives, not men and other people’s wives or any other woman, after all, how many ‘heads’ can a woman have? 

Is it not clear when apostle Paul said the head of the woman is the man, that he was referring to the husband and the wife? Even at this, has it ever occurred to us that every person will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give account? A wife will not give account through her husband on that day and she will be judged based on what Christ told her to do not what the husband told her. 

The husband’s 'headship' is first domestically in marriage and secondly spiritually, to the extent that he is in line with the word of God, else what will be the fate of the woman with an unsaved husband? Would she follow the husband that refuses to be saved to hell because He is her ‘head’? Would a matured believer backslide to accommodate the immaturity of the husband who may be a baby Christian simply because the husband is her head? 

The wife is to submit to her husband domestically and spiritually to the extent that it does not contravene God’s word, and this includes but is not limited to not disrespecting the husband in Church, pubic or at home. 

Meanwhile, regarding the five-fold ministry, the person more spiritually mature is not the first consideration but whether or not God has called in the first instance. 

1 Timothy 2:11-12 says Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 

It would have been easy to run off with this also and say a woman must not teach in Church except that the husband and wife are being referred to here and the issue is the wife not usurping authority over the husband, nothing else. 

Yes Adam was first created and then Eve but have we noticed that Eve was a help meet for Adam and that every other woman in Adam’s lifetime were not ‘a help meet’ for him? If it has to do with Adam and Eve therefore (in context), then it is about a husband and his wife. 

In that domestic arrangement, the husband is the head and this should also be respected in the church as far as that man and that woman are concerned so that there is order in that God ordained institution of marriage. 

The issue of a wife being veiled in Church while praying or prophesying in the Church at Corinth was so that the honor of the wife for her husband be shown, otherwise it would have been for the wife to honor all men in the gathering if indeed every man is the head of all women.

It is noteworthy that the epistle written to Timothy (1 Timothy quoted above) was written to him as the Pastor of the Church at Ephesus, the Church apostle Paul also wrote the Ephesian epistle to, in which he wrote about the ministry gifts (in Chapter 4). 

In the fifth Chapter of this epistle, the apostle Paul admonished that the saints submit themselves one to another (vs 21). He said this so there would be order and unity in the Church. 

Gender notwithstanding, we are to submit to each other in love and we are compelled to do this in the Church not because of the other person but because we fear God. 

It was in this same breath that he wrote for wives to submit to their own husbands. It is the same word ‘submit’ used in both cases and the reason why it was said separately to husbands and wives is because the married couple have a unique relationship and responsibility towards each other which requires that someone have pre-eminence and the other concede. Why? So that there would not be chaos, the same way there will be no chaos in the church only if we submit to one another in the fear of God. 

If two folks disagree in the Church, they can easily stay separate with their opinions without getting in each other’s ways. Even if one fails to submit, the other submitting and stepping down/aside in love will quench the fire of dissent. 

Demand is laid on us all to do this and it is easy when those involved do not live together and compelled to make decisions jointly as in the case of the husband and the wife. This is one of the reasons why in the latter, one must take pre-eminence and the other follow otherwise there is bound to be chaos. This same position was expressed by apostle Peter in his epistle (1 Peter 3).

THE CONCLUSION

God’s calling to the five-fold ministry is not gender based and to believe and promote the possibility of any of the genders being restricted from functioning in any of the offices would be tantamount to quenching the Spirit in that area.

If God has said that His kingdom under the New Testament is not delineated along the lines of gender, race or social status (Galatians 3:26-28), He meant just that. 

This does not take away however from the order which He has put in place regarding a man and his wife as also made clear in His word. 

A woman who is called of God should operate in the office of her call to the extent that she is not usurping authority over her husband. It is an expectation, the same way it is expected that a man called to the ministry should not be irresponsible at home (1 Timothy 3:4). 

As we have seen, Jesus gave these ministry gifts (to men and women) in the Church, how then would apostle Paul by the same Spirit of Christ say women are not to function in these capacities according to the gift Jesus gives them? Or did apostle Paul say so?

Let us settle it in our minds that these two texts in 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 cannot be viewed in isolation from the other things that were inspired by the Holy Spirit in the bible, particularly on the subject, most of which were penned by the apostle Paul himself. 

Besides, what do we then make of Deborah the wife of Lapidoth (the leader, judge and prophetess) and many others like her, called, anointed and used by God in the Old Testament? How about Anna the daughter of Phanuel (the prophetess) that prophesied at The Lord Jesus’ dedication at the temple, Phoebe, Junia (who was notable among the apostles), Phillip’s four daughters and Priscilla, among many others in the New Testament?

Over and above all these, one question we should all attempt to answer in all honesty is this, if you saw ‘the called’ sitting under a tree in your neighborhood with a red baseball cap on and preaching, would you know to listen and receive what God has for you through them? If you would know, then you should really be less concerned about whether they are male or female. There is no male or female anointing.

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all (1 Timothy 4:15).


Pastor Gboye Omolayo is the Resident Pastor of Church@Allen, Allen TX, USA. He is a prolific writer and preacher who believes the efficacy of the word of God and the potency of the works of the Holy Spirit are still available to the Church today, as were at the Church’s infancy. He is the publisher of this blog.