Hilton oladipupo

Gentle, Calm, God Loving || Christ follower|| Social Media Management|| Data Analyst|| Leader

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

There is a story in history that sounds almost unbelievable.

After World War II officially ended in 1945, there were Japanese soldiers scattered across remote islands and jungles in Asia who refused to surrender. They became known as the “Japanese holdouts.”

These men had been trained with one overriding conviction: Never surrender. Never believe enemy propaganda. Keep fighting until your commanding officer returns.

So when leaflets were dropped from airplanes announcing: “The war is over.” Many of them believed it was a trick.

One of the most famous of these soldiers was a man named Hiroo Onoda.
Onoda was an intelligence officer in the Imperial Japanese Army stationed on Lubang Island in the Philippines in 1944. Before leaving for the island, his superior officer reportedly gave him strict instructions: “You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years. It may take five. But whatever happens, we’ll come back for you.”

Those words became law in his mind.

Then the war ended.
Japan surrendered. The emperor announced the end of the war. Cities rebuilt. Governments changed. An entirely new world emerged.
But deep inside the jungle, Onoda did not believe it.

For years, planes dropped newspapers. Letters from family members were sent. Photographs were shown. Messages were broadcast through loudspeakers.
Still, he refused to believe.

Why?
Because his mindset had been locked into war. His reality had been shaped by conflict for so long that peace sounded suspicious.

While the world moved on, he remained hidden in the jungle. Armed. Alert. Suspicious. Fighting a war that had already ended.
For nearly 29 years.
Think about that.

Twenty nine years after peace had already been declared.
He survived on bananas, coconuts, stolen rice, and cattle from nearby villages. He slept in hiding places, carried his rifle everywhere, and constantly watched for enemies that no longer existed.
Several of the men with him eventually died. One surrendered. Another was killed.
But Onoda continued.

The tragedy was not merely that he was in the jungle. The tragedy was that he was sincerely committed to a finished war.

Finally, in 1974, a young Japanese traveller named Norio Suzuki went searching for him. Suzuki somehow found Onoda deep in the jungle and told him: “The war ended long ago. Japan has changed. Everyone has gone home.”
But Onoda still refused to surrender.

He said he would only obey direct orders from his commanding officer.
So something astonishing happened.
The Japanese government located his former commander, now an elderly man working in a bookstore, flew him to the Philippines, and brought him into the jungle.

There, standing before a weary soldier who had spent almost three decades hiding in fear and combat, the old commander finally gave the order:
“The war is over. You may stand down.”
Only then did Onoda lower his weapon.

Imagine the emotion of that moment.
A man giving up a battle he should never have been fighting for nearly thirty years.
A man waking up to discover that history had already moved on without him.

A man realising he had spent decades surviving under conditions that were no longer necessary.
And honestly, this story is bigger than history.
It is a picture of many people in life.

Many are still fighting wars that already ended. Still hiding from enemies already defeated. Still living in fear after victory has already been declared. Still trapped in survival mode while peace has already been announced.

Some people are emotionally fighting. Some are spiritually fighting. Some are mentally fighting. Some are fighting . Old guilt. Old condemnation. Old battles.
Like Onoda, they have received announcement but Peace sounds too good to be true. Rest feels suspicious. Victory feels illegal.

So they remain in the jungle of fear, religion, condemnation, and endless warfare.

But history teaches us something powerful: A war can end without a person knowing it.

Are you that man?

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

There is no dichotomy between power and sound doctrine.

The apostles never separated what this generation keeps trying to divide.

One of the most interesting reactions from our recent meetings in Kaduna and Lagos was this:

“Sir… we knew you as a sound teacher. We did not expect this level of raw power manifestation.”

And honestly, that response exposed something deeply wrong in modern Christianity.

How did we arrive at a point where people are shocked that a man can teach accurately and still move in raw power?

Why do many assume that doctrinal depth must automatically lead to powerless Christianity?

And why do others think manifestation must exist without theological precision?

The apostles carried both.
Paul did not choose between revelation and manifestation. He embodied both.

The same man who taught justification by faith… union with Christ… grace… righteousness… adoption… inheritance… and the new creation realities…
was the same man through whom God wrought special miracles.

Paul said: “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”

He also said: “I have fully preached the gospel… through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.”

Meaning the full preaching of the gospel was not mere explanation.
It was explanation with manifestation.

Not motivational speaking. Not intellectual performance. Not emotional manipulation.

Raw power.
Real impact.
Authentic manifestation.
The living Christ unveiled.

The apostles continued steadfastly in doctrine… and with great power gave witness to the resurrection.

Doctrine and power. Depth and demonstration. Light and fire.
Together.

The gospel is not mere intellectualism.

The gospel is the power of God.

And there is no need to create a false divide between “Word people” and “Power people” when Scripture clearly reveals that the full expression of apostolic ministry carried both sound doctrine and undeniable manifestation.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Until you understand “the much more”, you will keep measuring redemption with the tape of the fall.

And that is where many miss it.
Yes, blood has been treated as currency in the spiritual economy.

Yes, covenants were made.
Yes, patterns have repeated themselves with frightening precision.

Yes, Scripture says, “by one man’s offence death reigned.”

Death reigned. It was not casual. It was structured.
It had sequencing.
It had automation.
It had continuity beyond the original actors.

Five hundred years after a covenant was cut, its effects could still be running.

Debentures signed by ancestors could still be “executing.”
Patterns could appear intelligent, organised, relentless.

That is the backdrop.

But here is the thunder:
The free gift is not like the offence.
Not equal.
Not opposite.
Not a counterweight.
Much more.

If one offence could engineer such devastation,
if one man’s trespass could introduce a system so automated that death reigned,
then what do you imagine the obedience of the Son of God accomplished?

Romans does not whisper it. It shouts it.
Much more the grace of God.
Much more the gift by grace.
Much more those who receive will reign in life.

You see, the problem in many spiritual warfare conversations is not that people acknowledge the efficacy of the offence.

The problem is that they do not acknowledge the super-efficacy of redemption.
They speak of automation on the side of darkness.

But redemption is not manual.

They speak of sequencing on the side of curses.
But redemption is not reactionary.
They speak of stubborn patterns.
But redemption is not fragile.

Redemption is not God trying to fix a leak.
It is not a patch.
It is not a negotiation.
It is a total system override.

When the blood of Jesus was shed, it was not introduced as an alternative ritual in the same class as previous blood. It was introduced as a category disruption.

The offence produced death.
The free gift produces reigning in life.
The offence brought condemnation.
The free gift brings justification.
The offence established a reign.
The free gift establishes a greater reign.

Notice the language. Reign. Governance. Authority.

The new covenant is not denial of the offence.

It is the declaration that the offence has been outclassed.
When we teach new creation realities, we are not naive about patterns.

We are not ignorant of what has operated.
We are not dismissing history.
We are saying something far louder:
The free gift is not like the offence.
The offence was written in Adam.
The free gift is written, sealed, and alive in Christ.

The offence introduced a destructive automation.
Redemption introduced a superior life system.

The offence gave us a solid backdrop to showcase the splendour of grace.
If death could be this organised, how organised is life?

If curses could be this consistent, how consistent is justification?
If darkness could engineer such precision, how much more has heaven engineered redemption?

The new covenant is not the opposite of ancestral patterns.
It is not simply curse versus blessing.
It is a higher order of existence.

A new reign.
A new man.
A new system.

Much more.

Until you settle that the free gift is much more, you will continue to fear the offence as though grace is a junior partner.

But once you see it, once it burns in you, you realise:
The offence may have been destructive.

But redemption is infinitely more constructive.
And that is the much more truth.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

One of the most sobering realities in ministry is this: not all opposition is moral, and not all distance is personal.

Sometimes, what you are experiencing is doctrinal persecution within ministerial relationships.
And if you do not learn the right lessons, you will either become bitter or unstable.

Over time, I have learnt that when persecution comes because of doctrinal conviction, especially from respected leaders and friends, there are lessons you must embrace.

Lesson One: Not Every Misunderstanding Must Be Corrected
In ministry, you will be misunderstood. Sometimes sincerely. Sometimes carelessly. Sometimes strategically.

But constant self defence is not maturity. It is insecurity.
If you have examined your heart, searched the Scriptures again, and found no compromise, you do not need to chase every narrative.
Silence, when your conscience is clear, is not weakness. It is discipline.

Lesson Two: Not Every Label Must Be Removed
In ministerial circles, labels travel faster than context.
You may be called extreme.

Rigid.
Too doctrinal.
Uncompromising.

Before you react, ask yourself one question: Is my position rooted in Scripture?

If it is pride, repent.
If it is imbalance, refine.
If it is error, correct it.

But if it is biblical conviction, then understand that labels are sometimes the price of clarity.

Our Lord said in John 15:20, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” He was rejected not for immorality but for what He taught and who He claimed to be.

Truth can create discomfort, even among the devout.

Lesson Three: Not Every Blocked Relationship Must Be Restored
This is perhaps the hardest lesson.
You may be blocked. Distanced. Quietly sidelined.
And the instinct is to repair immediately.

But relationships in ministry must be built on shared conviction, not forced preservation. If maintaining access requires diluting doctrine, then the relationship has already shifted from fellowship to negotiation.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” He did not frame persecution as evidence of failure. He framed it as a consequence of godliness.

And in the pastoral letters, godliness is always tied to doctrine.

That is why Paul instructed Timothy to take heed to himself and to the doctrine. Not to his reputation. Not to his acceptance. Not to his network.

Doctrine.

Lesson Four: Guard Your Heart, Not Just Your Position
Doctrinal persecution can harden you if you are not careful.
Do not become arrogant.
Do not become dismissive of counsel.

Do not assume you are always right.
Remain teachable. Remain humble. Remain accountable.
But do not become unstable.
Ministerial relationships must be governed by truth and love. When truth is compromised for the sake of comfort, the relationship loses integrity.

Lesson Five: Rest When Your Conscience Is Clear
This is the anchor.
If your conscience is clear before God and your doctrine is sound according to Scripture, you can rest.

Rest does not mean indifference. It means peace. It means you have done the work of examination. It means you are not reacting out of ego.

You are not called to control every perception.
You are called to guard the deposit entrusted to you.

Doctrinal persecution within ministerial relationships is painful.

But it can also refine you. It teaches you emotional discipline. It clarifies your convictions. It reveals whether you value truth more than approval.
Learn these lessons early.

Guard your heart.
Guard the doctrine.

And when your conscience is clear, rest.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

This is critical for ministers.

Because how you handle Scripture will determine whether you build conviction or confusion, fire or fog, doctrine or drama.

Let me say this clearly.
You are not a co-author of revelation.
You are a steward of it.

If you miss that, you will slowly begin to preach your lived reality into the text instead of allowing the text to interpret your lived reality.

HOW A MINISTER MUST HANDLE SCRIPTURE
Begin with Ontological Clarity
Before you open the Bible, settle what it is.
Scripture is not a conversation starter.
It is divine disclosure.
It is not a communal construction of spiritual ideas.

It is God speaking.

“All Scripture is God breathed” is not devotional language. It is ontological positioning. The text precedes you. It carries meaning before you encounter it. It does not wait for your creativity to complete it.

If you approach Scripture as material for co-construction, you will end up building sermons that are emotionally resonant but doctrinally unstable.

You are not called to construct meaning.
You are called to transmit it faithfully.
Refuse Interpretive Democracy
Modern culture teaches that meaning emerges in dialogue between text and reader.

Scripture does not function like that.

In Luke 24, the Emmaus disciples had experience. They had trauma. They had disappointment. Yet Christ did not validate their interpretive framework. He corrected it by expounding the Scriptures.
Their lived reality was not the authority.

The written Word was.

As a minister, never allow congregational experience, cultural pressure, or social narratives to become interpretive governors over Scripture.

The Word interprets experience.

Experience does not reinterpret the Word.
Practise Holy Reflexivity, Not Autonomous Reflexivity

Scripture is not anti reflexive. It is anti autonomous reflexivity.

Hebrews says the Word discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. James calls it a mirror. That means the text reads you.

The reflexive movement is this:
Not “What does this text mean to me?”
But “What does this text expose in me?”
When you prepare to preach, allow the Word to confront you first. Let it dismantle your assumptions. Let it burn in you before it burns through you.

A minister who is not read by the Word will soon begin to edit it.

Submit to Christological Centrality
Jesus said the Scriptures testify of Him. That is not interpretive creativity. That is revelatory anchor.

Handle Scripture with Christ at the centre.
If your sermon makes heroes out of human figures but does not reveal Christ, you have drifted into narrative performance rather than revelation.
You are not called to produce inspirational reflections.

You are called to unveil Christ.
Distinguish Illumination from Innovation
Meaning is not produced in the moment of preaching. It is unveiled by the Spirit.

Psalm 119 says, “Open my eyes.”
That is epistemology.
The Spirit does not collaborate with your assumptions to create new doctrine. He illumines what is written.

Innovation in delivery is welcome.
Innovation in doctrine is dangerous.

A minister must learn to labour in illumination, not invention.
Protect Doctrinal Boundaries
Paul did not negotiate the gospel in Galatians. He did not say, “Let us integrate your experience with the message.” He said if anyone preaches another gospel, let him be accursed.
That is strong language.
Why?
Because revelation is not elastic.

As a minister, you must love people deeply while refusing to bend doctrine to accommodate cultural expectations.

Compassion does not override truth.
Truth governs compassion.

Let Scripture Reconstruct Reality

Many ministers unconsciously preach from their wounds, ambitions, frustrations, or cultural anxieties.

Do not preach your biography into the Bible.
Let the Bible reconstruct your biography.

Romans 12 speaks of the renewing of the mind. That is transformation by revealed truth, not negotiation with it.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

A minister must not suspend his spiritual growth waiting for a distant figure to become his father.

Some young ministers delay their development because they believe their progress depends on finding a particular spiritual father somewhere in the future.

But the wisdom of Scripture shows a different pattern.

God often uses available shepherds before introducing seasonal fathers.
In the early stages of a minister’s life, many voices contribute to formation. Teachers instruct. Pastors guide. Elders counsel. Leaders correct. Through this network of relationships a minister grows in maturity.

Over time certain relationships deepen and carry greater formative authority.
This is how fatherhood often emerges.

It is not a sudden declaration.
It is the fruit of consistent spiritual relationship.

A young minister must therefore focus on three foundational commitments.

Remain grounded deeply in Scripture.
Stay planted in a healthy spiritual environment where life is visible and accountable.
Serve faithfully wherever God has placed him.

When these three things are present, relationships naturally develop. Trust grows. Leaders observe the life of the minister. Over time certain voices gain the right to speak deeply into his life.
That is how fatherhood matures.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

One of the most misunderstood realities in ministry today is the subject of fatherhood and sonship.

Many ministers speak about it. Many claim it. Many pursue it. Yet very few understand its true nature according to Scripture.

Spiritual fatherhood is not a slogan. It is not a badge. It is not something created by admiration from a distance. It is a living, relational, formative structure through which God raises ministers.

In an age where messages travel globally, books are widely distributed, and sermons are accessed with a click, many believers encounter powerful voices that ignite conviction in their hearts. Through teaching, doctrine, and spiritual insight, their hearts burn within them. Their understanding of Scripture deepens. Their hunger for God increases.
But the burning of the heart through teaching is not the same thing as fatherhood.

Scripture shows clearly that fatherhood is relational, not merely inspirational.

A minister can be deeply blessed by a teaching voice without being fathered by that voice. The fact that someone’s teachings shape your thinking does not automatically make that person your father in the faith.
In the apostolic pattern, fatherhood required proximity, interaction, and responsibility.

The apostle said to his son in the faith:
You have fully known my doctrine.
You have known my manner of life.
You have known my purpose.
You have known my faith, longsuffering, charity, and patience.

This statement reveals the true architecture of spiritual fatherhood. A son does not merely know what the father teaches. He knows how the father lives.

Doctrine is visible. Character is observable. Correction is possible. Blind spots are addressed.
This kind of knowing cannot happen through distant admiration. It requires relationship.

A spiritual father must know the son.
He must see his life.
He must observe his growth.
He must identify his weaknesses.
He must have the right to correct him.
He must be able to circumcise areas of immaturity.

He must be able to speak into the places the son himself cannot see.
Without this relational access, what exists is influence, not fatherhood.

Many ministers today sincerely love the teachings of certain voices. They listen to them faithfully. They read their writings. They follow their messages closely. Their hearts resonate with the doctrine they hear.
This is a good thing. It is how God ignites conviction in the hearts of men.

But inspiration alone does not create fatherhood.
A son must not only hear the voice of a father. The father must also know the son and take responsibility for his formation.

This is the difference between learning and being fathered.
One can learn from afar.
But one cannot be formed from afar.
Formation requires relationship.
Scripture shows that spiritual fathers are often discovered in the context of service, labour, and shared spiritual life.

The young minister who later became a trusted apostolic companion did not discover his father through distant admiration. He encountered him in the course of ministry. Through service and faithfulness his life became visible. His character became known. His sincerity became evident.

Over time recognition emerged.
The father recognised the son.
The son recognised the father.
This recognition produced a relationship of trust, correction, and formation.

That is the biblical pattern.

In contrast, many today are searching for fatherhood in the wrong way. They are looking for a title, a famous voice, or a distant ministry to attach themselves to. They are trying to declare fatherhood without the relational structure that sustains it.

But spiritual fatherhood cannot be forced. It must grow organically.
It grows through proximity.
It grows through accountability.
It grows through shared spiritual labour.
It grows through time.
It is discovered more often in the process of serving faithfully than in the process of searching aggressively.
Another important truth must also be understood.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Question
Sir, We sometimes see ministers who demonstrate power over demons yet their doctrine appears questionable, conduct troubling, or their message far removed from Christ.
Can demons leave people and yet the minister himself misaligned?

Answer
The first thing many ministers must understand is that authority over the earth was given to man long before the new birth was introduced.
Genesis 1:26 establishes it clearly.
Man was created as God's vice regent on the earth. That authority did not originate with the new birth. It originated with creation.

The new birth restores relationship with God.
But dominion over the earth was already placed in the hands of man.

This explains why certain people in Scripture were able to deal with demonic forces even though they were not yet participants in the New Covenant reality.

Let us examine the evidence.
First, the man the disciples encountered casting out devils.
In Mark 9:38 the disciples said:
Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us.
Notice something remarkable.
The man was not part of the apostolic circle.
He was not following Jesus in the structured sense of discipleship.
He was not inside the ministry team.
Yet demons were leaving.
Jesus did not say it was impossible.

Second, the sons of Sceva.
Acts 19 tells us about seven Jewish men described as itinerant exorcists. These were not apostles. They were not born again believers. They were traveling Jewish practitioners of exorcism.
The text is explicit.
They had been casting out devils.
The problem was not that they attempted it.
The problem was that one particular attempt backfired.
That means before that incident there had been some measurable level of success in what they were doing. Otherwise they would not have developed the practice in the first place.

Third, the workers of iniquity Jesus mentioned.
In Matthew 7:22 many will say:
Lord, Lord, have we not cast out devils in thy name?
Notice the language carefully.
the Lord did not deny that devils were cast out.
He did not say it never happened.
Instead He said:
I never knew you.
Which means the activity was real.
But the relationship with God was absent.
This is one of the most sobering statements in the entire New Testament.
And yet deliverance happened.

Fourth, the disciples themselves.
Before the cross, before the resurrection, before the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were already casting out devils.
Luke 10 records that they returned with joy saying:
Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Yet none of them were born again at that moment.
The new birth had not yet been inaugurated because Christ had not yet died and risen.
Yet demons were already subject.

This leads us to a conclusion many ministers must confront honestly.
Casting out devils is not the first proof of redemption.

And this is why the Lord corrected the disciples immediately.
He said:
Do not rejoice that the spirits are subject unto you. Rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
In other words, heaven's registry matters more than hell's reaction.
Many ministries have reversed this priority.

They celebrate demonic reactions but neglect eternal registration.
They celebrate manifestations but ignore transformation.

But the Lord made it clear.
The greatest miracle is not that demons leave.
The greatest miracle is that a name is written in heaven.
This is why doctrinal accuracy and ethical integrity cannot be replaced by deliverance activity.

A man may command demons and still not know God.
A ministry may host spectacular deliverance meetings and still lack the substance of the gospel.
The true centre of Christianity is not the expulsion of demons.

It is the revelation of Christ and the transformation of the human spirit through the new birth.
Demons leaving people is not the ultimate victory.
Christ living in people is.

And that is the difference between spiritual activity and spiritual life.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Approaching Epistle to the Ephesians as the doctrinal guardrail of the early church is profoundly consistent with Paul’s instruction in First Epistle to Timothy 1:3, where he commanded Timothy to remain in Ephesus and charge certain men to teach no other doctrine.

This reveals something striking: Ephesus was not merely a location; it was a doctrinal command centre.

The Ephesian church became the theological backbone of apostolic Christianity, and the Acts of the Apostles 19 narrative shows the spiritual intensity of that region.

When Paul established the church there, extraordinary miracles occurred, occult systems collapsed, and doctrinal clarity displaced mystical speculation.

When we read Ephesians through the lens of “Remain in Ephesus”, we are not merely reading encouragement; we are reading Paul’s most concentrated doctrinal architecture.

The anchor text becomes:
Ephesians 1:3
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
This verse functions as the doctrinal atmosphere of Ephesus.

It establishes that the believer operates from heavenly realities, not earthly anxieties.
Below are five critical doctrinal elements in Ephesians chapter 1 that explain why Ephesus became the doctrinal guardrail of the early church.
REMAIN IN EPHESUS

First Doctrinal Guardrails from Ephesians Chapter 1 is
The Doctrine of Heavenly Location

Christianity Begins with Location, Not Struggle
Ephesians 1:3
Paul begins not with ethics, instruction, or correction.
He begins with location.

Believers are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.
This is revolutionary.
Paul is establishing a cosmic doctrinal framework before any practical instruction.

The Ephesian dimension teaches that the Christian life is not lived toward heaven but from heaven.

This doctrine protects the church from three doctrinal errors:
• earth bound Christianity
• ritual based spirituality
• mystical speculation

Paul grounds doctrine in union with Christ in heavenly realms.
This is why Ephesus becomes the doctrinal headquarters.

Every doctrine must begin with position in Christ.
Without this starting point, theology drifts into:
• fear driven religion
• warfare obsession
• human performance

The Ephesian guardrail insists:
The believer operates from blessing, not toward blessing.

Dele Osunmakinde PhD

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

See you in class on Sunday!

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Dear minister,

There is a dangerous mistake that many ministers make when they discover a truth that burns strongly in their spirit. Because the revelation is powerful, because it comes with clarity and conviction, they begin to treat that truth as if it stands alone. They preach it as though it exists independent of the rest of Scripture. And before long, what began as a divine emphasis becomes a doctrinal imbalance.

When God calls a man to emphasise a particular truth, it does not mean He has called him to isolate that truth from the rest of the counsel of God. It means he has been entrusted with a lens, not a replacement for the whole body of truth.

A man may be called to emphasise faith.
Another may be called to emphasise grace.
Another may labour in prayer.
Another may teach righteousness.
Another may emphasise the gifts of the Spirit.

But none of these truths were designed to stand alone.

They are co-efficient truths, operating together within the architecture of the gospel.
The moment any minister situates his emphasis outside the whole counsel of God, he will begin to preach a version of that truth that is foreign to Scripture. The emphasis becomes exaggerated. The balance collapses. The message becomes extreme. And what started as revelation slowly drifts into distortion.

The Scriptures themselves show us the proper pattern.
Look at the apostle Paul.
In Acts 26:18, when the Lord appeared to him and commissioned him, the assignment was clear:
“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

Paul’s mandate centred on two powerful realities:
• the forgiveness of sins
• the inheritance of the saints

Yet to faithfully preach those two things, Paul could not remain narrow. He had to explore the full breadth of the gospel. To explain forgiveness, he had to teach grace. To explain inheritance, he had to teach righteousness. To explain sanctification, he had to teach faith. To explain life in Christ, he had to teach love, prayer, spiritual gifts, the Spirit, justification, union with Christ, and the body of Christ.

The list was endless.
Paul understood the gospel from many angles.
He called it the word of faith (Romans 10:8).
He called it the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24).

He spoke of the righteousness of God revealed by faith (Romans 1:17).
He laboured extensively on love in 1 Corinthians 13.
He taught on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12–14.
He instructed believers on prayer in many of his epistles.

Why?

Because no single truth carries the gospel alone.
Every doctrine must live inside the ecosystem of the whole counsel of God.

This is why, when Paul gathered the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:27, he made a remarkable statement:
“I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God.”
Not a portion.
Not a favourite emphasis.
Not a personal revelation in isolation.
The whole counsel of God.

Even in his apostolic assignment Paul held multiple burdens simultaneously. He was called the apostle to the Gentiles, and he openly said he magnified that office (Romans 11:13). Yet at the same time he carried a deep burden for the salvation of Israel and longed for the Jews to be saved (Romans 9–10).

His emphasis never became his limitation.
And Paul himself gives us the secret of how ministers must handle revelation.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

The whole counsel...

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Remain in Ephesus...
Watch the full video on Dele Osunmakinde on youtube

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

One of the most pressing questions in the mind of many...I was asked again last week

“Sir, can a Christian be bewitched?”—referring to Paul’s sharp rebuke in Galatians 3:1.

Before answering, I told them this:
You cannot isolate Galatians 3:1 and build a mystical doctrine on it.
You must read it in the context of the whole epistle.

The book of Galatians is not a fragmented letter—it is a full, robust defence of the gospel of grace against the infiltration of legalism and false doctrine.

Then I read the verse out loud:
“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” — Galatians 3:1 (KJV)

Let’s be clear:

The bewitching here is NOT altars, NOT ancestral cycles, NOT village spirits, NOT covens, and NOT demonic sieges.

Paul is not talking about a shrine in your village—he’s talking about your theology!
This is not a mystical attack—it is a doctrinal drift.
The bewitching is in NOT OBEYING THE TRUTH.
It is in abandoning the gospel of grace for the works of the law.

It is in turning away from Christ crucified to embrace human effort.
Paul says the gospel—the cross—was publicly and powerfully preached. It was evident, clear, and vivid.
But the Galatians walked away.

That is the real bewitchment.

Not demonic candles.
Not ancestral thrones.
But rejecting the revelation of Christ.

Every time you disobey the truth of the gospel, you step under a spell—not a shrine spell, but a spell of self-righteousness and religious performance.

That is why Paul shouts, “O FOOLISH GALATIANS!”
You don’t need a demon to fall—just a false teacher with a nice voice.

This is warfare in your theology.

Not a night battle, but a belief battle.
The worst spell you can fall under is a gospel that has no cross.

BUT WAIT—THERE'S MORE.
We must also be balanced. Because Scripture does not stop there.
Witchcraft is not only theological—it is also behavioural.

Paul lists witchcraft (Greek: pharmakeia) as one of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:20.
That means there is a practical, flesh-based witchcraft—manifested in control, manipulation, domination, intimidation, and emotional coercion.

You don’t need a spell book to operate in witchcraft.

You just need to start using fear, guilt, or false submission to control others.
When spiritual leaders manipulate followers, when spouses control each other with fear, when people hijack your choices by emotional bondage—that is witchcraft in operation.

It's not mystical—but it is fleshly and destructive.
AND YES—IN SOME CONTEXTS, THERE IS PRACTICAL WITCHCRAFT.

Let’s not be naïve.

In some cultural and spiritual environments, actual witchcraft—through spells, incantations, rituals, sacrifices, and altars—is real.
It exists, and Scripture doesn’t ignore it.
But we must not elevate it above Christ.
We must not make it the centrepiece of our gospel.

We must not reduce every issue to a shrine or a generational curse.
Jesus is greater.
The blood speaks louder.
The cross is final.
No Christian should live in fear of witchcraft.
So here is the full picture:

Theological witchcraft—rejecting the truth of the cross.
Behavioural witchcraft—manipulation, control, and soulish influence.
Practical witchcraft—real but defeated, never greater than the finished work of Christ.

So, can a Christian be bewitched?
Yes—but not in the way many think.

You are bewitched when:

You replace the cross with effort.
You abandon grace for law.
You manipulate people instead of walking in love.
You fear darkness more than you trust light.
You allow the works of the flesh to dominate your relationships.

The greatest spell is not cast in darkness—it is cast when truth is abandoned.
The person who asked me replied: “Thank you sir, I now understand.”

And I said: “God bless you!”

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Let us open this matter properly and shut the door on confusion once and for all.

“There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.” — Proverbs 30:11

“There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.” — Proverbs 30:12

This is not just a proverb.
This is not poetry.
This is a prophetic framing of a mindset.
A generation that:
dishonours where it came from
speaks down on its lineage
and then assumes a position of spiritual superiority
…all while being deceived about its true condition.

There is a generation today that has built an entire theology around ancestral blame.

A generation that wakes up every morning convinced that:
something is wrong with their lineage
something is wrong with their blood
something is wrong with their background
And then crowns themselves as the deliverer of the family line.

Listen carefully.
That is not humility.
That is pride—dressed in spiritual language.
Because what is the underlying claim?

“I am the one standing between my cursed lineage and freedom.”

“I am the one breaking what generations could not break.”

“I am the one fixing what Christ supposedly left unfinished.”

That is not brokenness.
That is the pride of life.

And Proverbs exposes it: You think you are dealing with deep spiritual realities, yet you are not washed from the error of your thinking.

Let us be brutally honest.

If your lineage was as cursed, polluted, and irredeemable as you have been taught…
You should not be here.

You should not have:
survived
believed
received Christ
become a new creation
Your very existence is already proof that the narrative is flawed.

Now let us come to the truth of the Gospel.
The new birth is not a repair job.

It is not a negotiation with your past.
It is not a cleansing of your ancestry.
It is a complete replacement of identity.

You did not bring your lineage into Christ.
You died—and a new man emerged in Him.

So now, hear this and settle it:
After new birth:
No ancestor defines you
No bloodline controls you
No past governs you
Christ alone defines your origin, your reality, and your outcome.
And this is where many miss it.

Instead of dealing with real-life issues with wisdom, growth, discipline, and faith…
They outsource responsibility to:
“my family line”
“my ancestors”
“patterns from before I was born”
That is not spiritual warfare.
That is spiritualised irresponsibility.

Yes, curses exist.
Scripture is clear.
But for the man in Christ:
Curses are not transgenerational identities.

They are, at most, isolated contradictions to be confronted—not inherited destinies to be explained.

Look at the apostles.
Paul said: “I served God from my forefathers with a pure conscience.”

He did not run from his ancestry.
He did not blame them.
He did not build doctrine around breaking them.
He preached Christ.

Timothy was affirmed through generations:
his grandmother
his mother
No suspicion.
No demonisation.
No “hidden curse narrative.”
Just faith recognised across generations.

But today?

We have reversed the Gospel.
Instead of: Christ finished the work
We now preach: You must finish what your ancestors started wrong
That is not the Gospel.

That is a system that keeps people:
busy
dependent
and never established in identity
Let me say this clearly and loudly:

Holding long-dead people responsible for your present reality after new birth is not spirituality.
It is:
laziness
avoidance of responsibility
and pride disguised as revelation

Christ did not come to manage your lineage.
He ended it.
“He nailed the handwriting of ordinances to the cross.”
Not some of it.
Not part of it.
All of it.

So if there are issues in your life:
Deal with them as issues.
Grow
Learn
renew your mind
walk in faith
apply truth

But do not build an identity around: “something is wrong with where I came from.”
Because the Gospel says:
You are no longer from there.
You are from Christ.
And that settles it.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

It is my birthday and I stand in profound recognition of the intentional workings of God’s grace and mercy in my life, not merely received but consciously utilised and maximally optimised for divine purpose.

This grace is not contained, it is expansive and distributive, continually diffusing through many, multiplying impact and producing a widening stream of transformed lives.

Thank God and rejoice with me, for thanksgiving does not remain personal, it abounds, escalates and overflows to the glory of God.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

The more you grow in the Word, the more your metrics change.
What once impressed you begins to lose its weight.

“Angelic encounters.”
“Visiting heaven.”

You begin to realise these are not the hallmarks of growth.
They are not the proof of maturity.

And those who parade them often exaggerate what they have not accurately understood.

You are not trying to visit heaven.
You are already seated there.

Not visiting.

Seated.

In Christ. Far above all.
So what exactly are we celebrating when maturity is reduced to “I went to heaven” or “I saw an angel”?

So what is the big deal if you “visit” where you are already seated in Christ?
Or if you “see” one out of the innumerable company of angels in Zion?

The believer is not a visitor in the spirit.
The believer is established in Christ.

Angels are not your superiors.
They are ministering spirits.
The more you grow, the less noise you make about these things.

Because maturity is not measured by sightings.
It is revealed in your understanding of Christ.

Christ is the point.

And in Him, you have already arrived.

And if indeed you did, handle it with maturity.

Like Paul, speak of it years later.
“I knew a man…”
Restrain your tongue.
Because many of the things being loudly brandished today are not lawful for a man to utter.

So hear this clearly:
There is nothing wrong with you if you have never “visited heaven” or seen angels.

Being is Christ is the point...

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

John 1:12–13 has already settled it. Completely. Final.

“To as many as received Him, to them gave He the right to become the sons of God…
Who were born, not of blood… but of God.”

Not of blood.
Not of lineage.
Not of ancestry.
Not of some invisible generational pipeline.

NOT. OF. BLOOD.

So what exactly are we still debating?
You cannot claim to be born of God and still be explaining your life by bloodline.

That is a contradiction of identity at the highest level.
The new birth did not improve your bloodline.
It ended it.

You did not carry your lineage into Christ.
You lost it in Him.

Let me be very clear and very loud:
Bloodline as a governing spiritual factor for the believer is dead on arrival.
Because the very scripture that defines your birth in Christ explicitly denies blood as a source.

So when a doctrine rises that tries to reintroduce blood as an explanatory system for your life, it is not deep.
It is a regression.
And it gets worse.
It is not just error.
It is an insult to the blood of Jesus.

Hebrews says:
“How much more shall the blood of Jesus…”

HOW MUCH MORE.

Meaning whatever you think blood can do biologically or ancestrally,
the blood of Jesus has already outperformed, outclassed, and outdone it completely.

So how do we now turn around and say:
“Yes, we have the blood of Jesus… but your bloodline is still speaking.”

What exactly is that?
That is not doctrine.
That is confusion dressed in spirituality.

You are not a product of bloodlines.
You are a product of the blood.
Not many bloods.
Not ancestral streams.

THE blood.

And that blood did not negotiate with your past.
It wiped it out.
And let us correct the warfare narrative while we are here.

The scripture says clearly:
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood…”
So why are you building an entire warfare system around bloodlines?

You are fighting what the scripture already told you is not your warfare.

That is not spiritual intelligence.
That is doctrinal misalignment.

Let me land this with force:
If your explanation for your life after Christ still traces back to blood,
then you have not understood your birth.
Because the day you were born again:
You did not become a better version of your ancestry.
You became a new creation in Christ.

A new origin.
A new source.
A new identity.
So enough of this language that sounds deep but empties the gospel of its power.

Enough of this narrative that gives more voice to ancestry than to Christ.

Enough.

The blood of Jesus is not in competition with your bloodline.
It ended it.
Walk in the reality of your birth.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Now it is becoming clearer. Manifesting the gifts of the Spirit is not the same as spiritual maturity.
Gifts are gifts. They are given, not grown. But maturity is formed.

Let us flesh this out properly from the very scriptures you are pointing to, because Paul did not leave this ambiguous.

1. “You came behind in no gift…” Yet they were immature
From 1 Corinthians 1:7
Paul, writing to the Corinthian church, makes a startling statement:
“So that ye come behind in no gift…”
This church was fully loaded with spiritual gifts. Prophecy, tongues, knowledge, manifestations. There was no deficiency in expression.
Yet, this same church becomes Paul’s primary case study of immaturity in the New Testament.

2. “I could not speak unto you as spiritual…”
From 1 Corinthians 3:1
“I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.”

This is the contradiction that exposes a major error in the body today.
How can a people
Not lack any gift
Yet be called carnal
Yet be addressed as babes

Paul is dismantling the assumption that power equals growth.
They had gifts, but they also had
Strife
Division
Envy
Party spirit. “I am of Paul, I am of Apollos…”
So Paul says clearly
You are gifted, but you are not spiritual.
That is heavy.

3. “I do not want you to be ignorant…”
From 1 Corinthians 12:1
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”
Notice this carefully.

Ignorance is possible even in the midst of manifestations.
You can be
Speaking in tongues
Prophesying
Operating in word of knowledge
and still be ignorant of what is actually happening, why it is happening, and how it should be governed.

That is why the same Corinthian church
Misused tongues
Interrupted gatherings
Turned spiritual expression into chaos
So Paul introduces doctrine to regulate power.

4. The Core Apostolic Argument
Paul’s message across these chapters is consistent.
Gifts are not proof of maturity.
They are proof of grace at work.
But maturity is seen in
Doctrine
Love
Order
Discernment
Character formation

That is why in between chapter 12 and chapter 14, Paul inserts 1 Corinthians 13 love.
Because without maturity
Gifts become noise
Power becomes pride
Expression becomes confusion

5. The Final Blow
This is where many miss it.
A man can
Prophesy accurately
Heal the sick
Demonstrate power
and still be
Carnal
Immature
Doctrinally unstable
Because gifts flow from the Spirit, but maturity is formed in the soul through the Word.

6. The Apostolic Balance
Paul is not against gifts. He actually says
“Covet earnestly the best gifts…” — 1 Corinthians 12:31
But he is correcting the metric.
Do not use gifts to measure growth.
Use doctrine and formation.

Final Charge
Stop being impressed by manifestations without formation.
Stop equating activity with maturity.
The Corinthian church had power, but Paul called them babies.
Growth is not what you display.
Growth is what you have become.

[dele osunmakinde @deleosunmakinde]

Even angels are wondering…

Why are you looking for the living among the dead?

This is not just a question.
It is a divine rebuke.

A disruption of every system that keeps the living tied to what is already buried.

It is unsettling, deeply unsettling,
that a man who is alive in Christ is still being interpreted through dead men,
explained by dead systems,
and bound by narratives that ended in the grave.

This association of the living with the dead is not just error,
it is a mislocation of identity.
The angels said three things, and they shook the foundations of religion:

Why are you looking for the living among the dead?

You are searching in the wrong realm.

He is not here, He is risen.
The reference point has changed.

Remember what He told you.

The problem is not power. The problem is memory. Doctrine. Alignment.
And yet today, we have refined a theology
that still looks for answers in graves.
We tell the born again man
that his life is being negotiated by the actions and inactions of dead people.

That his present is controlled by a past that Christ has already buried.
Even angels are wondering.
Because the gospel did not raise you halfway.

It did not relocate you slightly.
It translated you completely.
You are not an improved version of the old.

You are not a repaired lineage.
You are a new creation.
And in Christ, there is no provision
for dead men governing the living,
for dead systems interpreting the new man,
or for dead religion defining a resurrected identity.

A living dog is better than a dead lion.
Why?

Because life, even in its lowest form,
is superior to the highest expression of death.

So what exactly are you doing
consulting what has no life
to explain the one who now carries the very life of God?

This is the contradiction.
This is the crisis.
A man who has passed from death to life
still being taught to fear death,
study death,
trace patterns in death,
and build doctrines around death.

Even angels are wondering.

Because resurrection is not a metaphor.
It is a location.
A state of being.
A final verdict.
So stop looking backward for explanations
when heaven has already moved you forward.
Stop dignifying what Christ has buried.
Stop negotiating with what God has ended.

You are not among the dead.
You are alive.