False Teachings – Exalting Man (Part 1)
The exaltation of man is where the Word of Faith movement sharply deviates from the Bible and historic Christianity. The great lie of Satan has always been, ‘You will be like God’ (Genesis 3:5). In the beginning, Satan’s sin was pride. In Isaiah 14:14 the Bible says that he declared the he would be like the Most High God and then he uses the same false claim on any man who will head him. After his fall, this same echo of pride has been used to tempt man throughout the ages. Pagan religions appeal to people on the level of pride. Margo Adler, a well known witch, stated this well:
The reason people are so attracted to magick and
pagan religions is because they want to be god. The fundamental thing of pagan
religions is that ultimately they say that you are within yourself the god or
goddess.
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Isaiah 43:10 tells us:
"You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. "
Is there any other god other than the LORD? No. Will there ever be another god other than the God who has revealed Himself in scripture? No. The Bible is a very exclusionary book. God declared His word in such a way that it is impossible to accept pagan religions without rejecting scripture. Either this verse in Isaiah is a lie, or the pagans are following a lie. Both cannot be true. The claim that man is god is probably the most consistent error that Word of Faith doctrine teaches. Across the board, almost all prominent Faith teachers echo the same message. Some, like Benny Hinn, began by warning people not to believe this doctrine. However, now Hinn teaches it with great fervor. Early on, Hinn once taught the following:
One of the most dangerous things in the body of
Christ today is this teaching going around that teaches men that they are God.
When you say that you are God, you are putting your place right where Lucifer
was standing. When someone tells you that you are God, that's just another
serpent coming to say, 'taste it'. When you hear the teaching that you are God,
remember what I am telling you, it's the serpent coming into your garden saying,
'has God said...? If you eat this, you'll be just like Him.' The devil hasn't
changed his game.
<Listen on Real Audio>
Obviously, Hinn was influenced in this area by orthodox Christianity. Historic and Biblical Christianity soon gave way to sensationalism and pagan influenced doctrines. Hinn went from warning against this doctrine to defending it. Hinn stated:
He laid aside his divine form so that I could one
day be clothed on high with the divine form. People have a problem with Ken
Copeland and Kenneth Hagan's teaching, but it is absolute and divine truth.
Hagan and Copeland say, 'You are God'.
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It cannot be overlooked that Hinn plainly stated that this teaching is absolute divine truth. Scripture does not teach that we are or will be divine. However, this does not prevent Hinn from now teaching the very thing He once declared to be of the devil:
God came from heaven and became a man. He made men
into little gods. Went back to heaven as a man. He faces the Father as a man.
You say, 'Am I little god?'. You're a son of God aren't you? You're a child of
God aren't you? What else are you? You say, 'I AM'. You are identifying yourself
with Him. Are you a part of Him? Are you His offspring? You can't be human."
<Listen on Real Audio>
The Bible does not teach that Jesus was merely a man. Word of Faith doctrine teaches that Jesus is only a man and man is a god. As we will examine a little later, this completely contradicts scripture. Let’s break down the Word of Faith’s doctrine of man’s divinity so we can examine it against the clear teaching of scripture.
What is God’s purpose for man? As we will see, the Word of Faith movement answers this question completely different that Biblical Christianity. In Word of Faith doctrine, mankind was created divine and on equal terms with God. We only need to recognize our god-potential and believe that we are gods. It's amazing how closely the Word of Faith teaching aligns to New-Age and pagan beliefs. Here are some examples:
"DID I DIE FOR YOUR SINS? Of course I did not die for your sins . . . that would place you below me."
"The word "Christ' refers to your Divinity. This is the sacred substance of which you are made."
"Resurrect yourselves. You are Christ. CONSCIOUSLY BE CHRIST NOW!"
The clear intent is that you are not below Christ, you are Christ. Word of Faith teachers say:
"God's reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself. I mean a reproduction of Himself. In the garden of Eden, He did that. He was not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God. Adam was as much like God as you can get. Just like Jesus was God manifested in the flesh, Adam was God manifested in the flesh."
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Kenneth Copeland
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Word of Faith doctrine teaches that man was created as God manifest in the flesh. Is there a difference between Adam and Jesus? According to Word of Faith teaching, the answer is no. Is there a difference between you and Jesus? According to Word of Faith teaching, the answer is also no. Make a note of the key points in the above quote, when we examine scripture, the differences will be obvious. The points presented as ‘truth’ are: the purpose of man is to be a reproduction of God Himself; Adam (or mankind) is a replication of God; man is not subordinate to God; Adam was God in the flesh; Adam was identical to God. This is echoed throughout the Word of Faith movement. Here is Herbert W. Armstrong:
As God repeatedly reveals, his purpose is to reproduce himself into what may well become billions of God persons. Why did the Creator God put man on the earth? For God's ultimate supreme purpose of reproducing himself, of recreating himself.
Note the key points presented here: God has revealed His purpose for man; man’s purpose is to be a God-person; we are a recreation of God. John Avanzini states:
"Eternal purpose of God has been throughout the
ages...that God is duplicating Himself throughout the earth."
<Listen on Real Audio>
Morris Cerello declares God’s eternal purpose according to Word of Faith doctrine:
Did you know that from the beginning of time the
whole purpose of God was to reproduce Himself? Who are you? Come on! Who are
you? Come on, say it, sons of God! All that is at work within us is that
manifestation of all that God is, all God has and when we stand up here, you're
not looking at Morris Cerello, you are looking at God! You're looking at Jesus!
<Listen on Real Audio>
Key points to note: man becoming God was the intention from the beginning; God reproduced Himself by creating man; man is all that God is and all that God has; we are God in the flesh; we are identical to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
‘The Messenger’ is an organization of Elizabeth Clare Prophet, a self-proclaimed New Age mystic and prophetess. She states that her purpose is to be God’s messenger to “transformed lives and awakened souls to their great God-potential”. Elizabeth Clare Prophet boasts of being 'a pioneer of modern spirituality'. The messenger explains:
She has dedicated her life to spreading the teachings of the Ascended Masters and has delivered lectures around the globe on angels, the aura, soul mates, prophecy, spiritual psychology, reincarnation and the mystical paths of the world's religions.
…
The calling to be a Messenger includes gifts of healing, blessing and preaching. "My purpose in life," Mrs. Prophet says "is to help people to become acquainted with their own God Reality."
If you substitute the Holy Spirit with the ‘Ascended Masters’, her doctrine is almost identical to Word of Faith doctrine.
A Biblical response:
My goal here is to allow the Bible to draw the line in the sand. 1 Kings 18 states:
21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.
Perhaps today, all the true prophets of God (those who proclaim the truth of scripture) should call out, ‘If the LORD is God, follow Him, but if mankind is God, follow him; but don’t falter between the two”. If someone wants the divinity of man to be their god, we cannot prevent them. However, we should draw a clear distinction between the true God and the false godhood proclaimed by Word of Faith and pagan religions. Just be honest and choose. If we don’t want to God of the Bible, reject the Bible. Don’t choose paganism and then pretend that the Bible teaches it. These messages are not intended to bash the Word of Faith movement, but rather to show that it is a religion in direct conflict with scripture. If a man or woman wants this religion, they have the right to choose, but they do not have the right to drag the Bible down into a different religion. The god of the Word of Faith movement is not the God of the Bible. The purposes of the Word of Faith god is not the purposes of the God of the Bible. Mankind is not the same; redemption is not the same; our purpose is not the same. Choose who you believe – the Word of God revealed in the Bible, or the word spoken by the self-appointed authority of the Word of Faith movement.
The Bible tells us what the purpose of man is. We are created to have a relationship with God and our purpose is to glorify Him. I struggle with knowing how much information is enough and how much is too much. There are hundreds of passages that show us what our purpose is, but for readability, I will limit this to a few passages. Let’s begin by looking at Romans 15
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.
Man’s purpose is to glorify God – not the other way around. It is not only the righteous who glorify God, but also the wicked. Look at Romans 9
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth."
This passage gives a few insights to help our understanding. First, we are told what the purpose of man is – to show God’s power and declare God’s name. Or in other words, to glorify God. The other insight is that even someone like Pharaoh gives God the glory. In ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh was worshiped as a god and he believed that he was a god. Even though he was at war with God, God used him to magnify God’s own name. We will glorify God. We will either glorify Him with obedience and praise, or we will unwillingly and often unknowingly be used by God for His purposes.
We were all created in the image of God for the purpose of reflecting His glory. It is because of sin that we fail to reflect God’s glory. Ultimately God will be glorified, however, His purpose is that our lives be the reflection of His glory and His great name. These passages teach us this truth:
Romans 3
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
1 Corinthians 10
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Matthew 5
16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Everything points to the glory of God. If we are in rebellion, God can and will still use us to show His power. If we surrender to Him, we have the honor of fulfilling our intended purpose of being beacons of light that reflect the glory of God to the world. There are so many great passages that I could use here (Ephesians 1:9-12, Luke 4:43, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Revelation 15:4, Micah 6:8 just to name a few).
God’s purpose in creating man is not to recreate Himself in the earth. Not one passage in the Bible remotely implies this false doctrine. God’s purpose for man is to have fellowship with our loving Creator and to reflect His glory and great name.
It all began with one act of pride, “I will be like the Most High”, declared Lucifer. He was once called ‘Lucifer’ which means ‘the bearer of light’. Now the Bible laments his great fall. Now he is called ‘Satan’ which means ‘the adversary’; the ‘devil’ which means ‘slanderer or false accuser’; he is also called the deceiver. His desire was to be like God – not reflect the light and glory of God. He was not light; he was the bearer of light. It is God’s light that made Lucifer shine. It is also God’s light that makes us lights of the world. Since his fall, Satan has echoed the same lie to everyone who will give him an ear. In the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted mankind by saying, “you will be like God”. That same message continues to be echoed throughout the ages. In our modern times the masses continue to be lured into the promise that they will be gods.
Joseph Smith – the so-called prophet of the Mormon Church said: As God is, man shall become.
Shirley McClain proudly declared: I am God. I am God. I am God. I am God. <Listen on Real Audio>
Jim Jones (the infamous murder of the Jonestown massacre)- You are what Jesus was. Jesus said that every human being was a god. It is written that you are gods. I'm a god and you are a god.
Margot Adler
We are as gods and might as well get good at it. - Whole Earth Catalog
Copeland - You don't have a God in you, you are one.
<Listen on Real
Audio>
Benny Hinn – Don’t say you have Jesus. You are everything he was, is and shall be. <Listen on Real Audio>
We expect this deception to be proclaimed from non-Christian religions like the Latter Day Saints, New Age worshippers like Shirley McClain and Margot Adler, and cultists like Jim Jones. This lie has been broadcast by pagan religions since the fall in the Garden. What is new is that so-called prophets of God are now proclaiming from the pulpits of the Christian church the same message – and the church is applauding. How can Kenneth Copeland say that God is not in you, you are god and the church remain supportive of his teaching? The New Age movement is now within the walls of the church and many of God’s own people do not have enough discernment to recognize this danger. Concerning the last days, Jesus asked a redundant question, “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” The Bible repeatedly warns that there will first be a falling away within the church before Christ returns. Today, we are seeing the church fall from faith while congregations cheer. We were foretold that it will happen, however, we don’t have to be a part of it.
The truth of God has been abandoned as sensationalism gains its appeal. People would rather be gods than to worship God. According to scripture, the silent church is just as guilty as those who proclaim that you are god and you are the Messiah. Look at this doctrine the Word of Faith movement proudly teaches:
"When you were born again, the word was made flesh in you. Don't tell me you
have Jesus. You are everything that He was and everything that He is and ever
shall be. The new man...says I am as He is. Don't say I have [Jesus], say 'I AM,
I AM, I AM, I AM'". Benny Hinn
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The New Age Unity Church teaches an almost identical belief:
He [Jesus] became the perfect example of the God potential in each of us. That is what Jesus was, and is, all about: finding unity with God and thereby discovering the Christ power within. That's what you are all about too. That is what our journey of spiritual rediscovery is all about.
The Quest: A Journey of Spiritual Rediscovery by Richard Jafolla.
"Why you say, 'I am a Christian, you are saying I
am a little Messiah walking on the earth. May I say it? You are a little god
running around." - Benny Hinn
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"We are gods. I am a little god. You are anything that He is." – Paul Crouch
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You are everything that He is or will ever be? You are a Messiah? You are a little god? We have heard the Mormons speak; we have heard the openly New Age speak; we have heard the Word of Faith teachers speak. Now let’s hear God speak.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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