Authority is in the Spirit
For a man to own his sin—not pass the blame on to others, and agree with God about his sin—is supernatural.
Religious people have tremendous power to shut men out of the kingdom of heaven: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13, KJV).
By religious observance and holy disciplines, men can damn multitudes by keeping them from Christ and faith: For show, they pray. They go everywhere to find a convert and make them a child of hell. They are blind guides. They tithe and promote living by the Law but are themselves guilty of breaking the Law. They are full of murder and have little love, mercy, and faith. They clean the outside of their lives. They are beautiful to behold, appearing holy, but they are dead. They ignore the corruption that lies inside their hearts. They are simply whited sepulchers (See Matthew 23).
Their weapons of manipulation are accusations, gossip, slander, malicious violence, and the wisdom of this world. In God's name, they destroy people; mishandling Scripture, they are convinced they are doing God’s will. Their minds are twisted as they are the ministers of the letter, killing multitudes with their pious reasonings (See 2 Corinthians 3).
The Enemy and the Church
Satan seeks an entrance into the Church; he must. He will be exposed in the generation if he does not divide the Church. His way into the Church is by religion. He can appear as light (Christ-like). He will also send his missionaries, powerful people who can resist the truth. For our preservation, we must realize that true godliness is not in forms and traditions. The kingdom of God is not revealed by a person's disciplines, forms of religious piety, and the appearance of holiness. The kingdom of God is in power. The kingdom of God is revealed in those who have the power of God inside of them.
Paul revealed that the end-times church would not be filled with the Spirit; the Church would not edify and it would not be peaceful. The end-times Church would have a form of godliness, but it would deny the power of God (2 Timothy 3).
Denying the power of God is the denial of the Holy Spirit by whom the kingdom of God is manifested on earth. Absent of the Holy Spirit's power the Church will be filled with debate, slander, and gossip. It will be filled with narcissistic people who do not keep their word, people who love pleasure more than they love God, and unthankful people. They will resist the truth and defile many.
A Form of Godliness
The form of godliness is the devil’s exploitation. The Church in the last days will not lack religion; it will lack power. It will not lack holiness; it will lack God! It will appear godly but will not have God’s power. Take away the Spirit of grace and you have taken away the kingdom. What are you left with if you have not the Spirit of Christ? You are left with forms, traditions, and disciplines. Without the Spirit, the church is left with forms of godliness but no real comfort, power, or authority. The Church is left to the brains of men and their empty speeches of God—words without power and men without God!
The absurdity is evident when men think they can challenge a demon-infested humanity without God’s power. Without the Holy Spirit, no one can deliver the gospel as intended; grace will not be seen! Without grace, men lack the power to be different; all they can do is practice religion, pretending to holiness. They will mimic religious orders and appear godly, but within they are filled with dead corruption.
Without the Holy Ghost baptism, men lack a king's authority. Without the Holy Spirit, one is only armed with intellect and the arm of flesh; he is no king! He is subservient to this world and its demands, bowing to its culture and speech. However, a man full of the Spirit of God reigns. He will never bow to demi-gods.
Power in the Holy Spirit
Without the Holy Spirit, there is no guide, no teacher, no understanding of truth, no comforter, no life, no conviction, no power, no peace, no worship, no witness of Jesus, no mind of Christ, no communion with God, no spiritual life, no sonship, no light, no freedom, no hope.
Some think God left them here to run everything with the Bible as their instruction manual. This is a delusion. The carnage of innumerable souls is the testimony of unspiritual religious people with a Bible. God also left the Holy Spirit here to run things through broken and humble believers. The Holy Spirit is the teacher, and without him we cannot know the thoughts of God. We will simply be modern Pharisees killing the life of Jesus wherever he is manifested.
Lee Shipp is founding pastor of First New Testament Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has ministered for more than thirty years and is also president of A Call to the Heart.
