Attaining Godliness!

Titus 1:1-3 KJV - Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; 

Unveiling God By Christ

We have to be where God is; to be on a par with Him. What the apostles did was not outside the teachings or revelation of the Son of God given to them. Paul was committed to the full package of the wisdom of God which is meant to unveil God. The Son knows the beginning to the end for the head of Christ is God and Christ unveils God from the earthly dimension to the heavenly dimension. He is not a God that can be known or demystified. When God related with Abraham it was based on a covenant and it was not this manner that God is to be known so Christ came to unveil God. The apostles lived much more with Christ as a person and not as the wisdom of God. Jesus is the ladder from the base of the mountain to the top. Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the ladder of Jacob; the sanctuary, tabernacle; the way to the Holiest of all. In the Old Testament, he was laid down. When we walk in, we are climbing and our way to climb is by our day to day practice. Paul was given the wisdom to unveil the way to the top of the mountain.

Receiving Eternal Life By the Faith of Christ

When we see Paul fighting for the Faith, it is because he is an apostle according to the Faith of the Son for there are all kinds of faith but his apostleship is according to the Faith of the Son. God did not promise the world His Life only those who believe His life. Christ, therefore, became the author; he was the first owner who owned the Life and had the right to give to him who comes to him. This is the best thing he can give to anyone who comes to him which is Eternal Life. Anyone the Father loves is given the Life of God. The Word came gradually, not at a time; it was part by part until the Word fully came. Today the Word has come to us but then God took time. 1 John 1:1 KJV - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;  Christ has preached, so we are speaking what he has spoken. Jesus has been fully preached and revealed through preaching by the apostles so what we are doing today is preaching what they preached in the way they preached it. The hope is what we have that heaven owes us and it must not fail. 2 Peter 1:3-8 KJV -This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Godliness: A Prerequisite For Eternal Life

These are things arrayed for us to embrace. Godliness is a major point in our travel to Life. We need patience knowledge, temperance, faith, virtue and the likes but with these, we will reach a place in our journey called Godliness. Christ unveiled further what he taught in the Gospel. The epistle is more detailed than the Gospel for the Gospel is congealed. The Church is the one that God gave full knowledge to grasp the knowledge. The truth that must come to us must be after Godliness for Godliness is attainment in the spirit. Nobody will attain to Eternal Life without Godliness for Eternal Life is not something we attain in heaven but it is a crowning as we walk here on earth. Some things make people drop out in the school or journey to Eternal Life and they found that they do not have the strength to go on. Godliness is a step of the soul in which the soul is mastering the way of Life. There must come a time when the soul must be at rest with what it has learnt in God. We can get used to praying or reading the bible to solve our problem but that does not mean it is in us. Humanity is full of problems and Jesus did not come first of all to solve those problems but to raise men. He did not come because of me as an individual but he came for us and anything he does is for us all, not for me as an individual. Godliness is very vital. 1 Timothy 4:1-7 KJV - 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; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.  For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 

Attaining Godliness Through Patience and Exercise

Paul distinguished fables because fables are carefully concocted thoughts that can be observed, it will be traditional, cultural, and can defile. Not all sanctifications will not help our spiritual migration. We do all that we do to find what will encourage our pursuit, if we don’t know what we are looking for then we will not know when we have found something good or not. Some religions have lots of discipline and training unto a mastery not that they can attain to Eternal Life. Our pursuit determines what the essence of our fasting is. What we are seeking gives us energy and it is what we are living for. Paul was encouraging these people here that the reason Jesus Christ came was to inherit the promise so they should not give yield to fables. When we go through some bodily exercise, we want to achieve a result but the result does not transcend the earth, whatever we master as exercise stays with us. We should lose whatever weight we have acquired which was acquired gradually and therefore we will lose weight gradually and not jump process. Godliness is a state in our souls where our characters change and where it is a lifestyle in our soul. To attain to Godliness takes time and those who are hasty will not attain Godliness. If we do not race towards Godliness we can lose it for it is not yet a character in our soul. Being quiet is not a way to attain Godliness for it is not a posture thing but a thing of the soul. Many things we think are inside us are not yet there, they are still upward; they have not sunk deep down and will be obvious when we are squeezed.

Conclusion

It is important to know that to train us for Godliness we have to be taken through the school of patience. We have a living God and he is not limited. We do things at times not because we love God but for ourselves. Luke 21:19 KJV - In your patience possess ye your souls.  Godliness must become a major exercise we must attain.  We must not give up until they know that we have mastered it not that we score ourselves for mastering but that we are testified of to have mastered it. 1 Timothy 6:3 KJV - If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;  Godliness was a major issue in the hearts of the apostles for Life cannot rest on a soul that has not been approved to have Godliness. God has to prove that Jesus was not a fallen spirit like Diana who fell from Jupiter. He was raised among men and he was in the flesh, seen of angels, accepted as correct before he was a priest to the Gentiles. He was not a concocted thought but a proved life. We learn, pray, read and study not because of the present result but because of what we will become in Christ.   Halleluyah!   Click On This Link To Listen To Godliness; Our Profession, Our Gain – Rev. Busuyi Olabode.