Word-Faith Movement, page 5

PAT ROBERTSON
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"We speak to money, and it comes. We speak to storms, and they cease. We speak to crops
and they flourish." (PFO Quarterly, July-September 2002, Page 22)

"God spoke through a word of prophecy in May 1968, and said, 'I have chosen you to usher in
the coming of My Son.'" (Satellite Network Seminar, Word of Faith Outreach Center, December 9,
1984)

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MYLES MUNROE
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"That's why angels need our permission to function. It says they are here to do our bidding. They can't even act without our permission, you see. But, here's the bigger statement: Even God Himself is illegal on earth. Why? Because, He is a spirit and the law He set up by His own mouth was that only spirits with bodies can function on earth legally." / "Let me define prayer for you in this show. Prayer is man giving God permission or license for heavenly interference." / "God could do nothing on earth; nothing has God ever done on earth without a human giving Him access." / "What is faith? Faith is believing in what you said, that God told you. In other words, the fight is to keep believing after you said something." / "It bothered me, I'm sure it bothered you (Benny Hinn) for years as a pastor. If God is so mighty, powerful, awesome, omnipotent, omniscient, why couldn't this mighty God who made 500 million planets and galaxies stop a skinny little woman from picking the fruit and destroying His whole program? I mean, God aren't you powerful? You could intervene; you can destroy the works of the devil; prevent the woman and save humanity. But He couldn't! Not that He didn't, He couldn't!
("This Is Your Day" with Benny Hinn, July 12, 2004).

"Heaven depends on earth for interference. If He (God) could just find two people like you (Benny Hinn) and I to agree. We agree for God to do this thing. Then God says, 'Thank you very much for permission!' Then He (God) can come." / "Our prayer is a strange experience. We normally ask God to do things; God is telling us to command Him permission to do for us."/ "He (God) could not name those animals because He (God) is illegal." / "O'Lord, heal this man. God says, 'No! No! No! Talk to the sickness, I am already healing the guy. What I need is permission to get the healing on earth.'" / "When a human gets healed and becomes well again, God Himself is able to stay here legally longer." / "Interfering in earth by God is totally up to us. Heaven is waiting on earth to get things done."
("This Is Your Day" with Benny Hinn, July 13, 2004)

THE FORCE OF FAITH
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Let's examine Hebrews 11.1. It states:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)

Using this verse, the Word-Faith teachers' commonly held view is that faith is a force; an invisible substance that can be tapped into to acquire anything we desire -- health, wealth, success, etc. It is proposed that spoken words are the "spiritual containers" that activates the force of faith either positively or negatively. Positive words of faith incites God to act on your behalf; and negative words incites the Devil to cause havoc in your life. Whatever is confessed with the mouth, one can create in their own reality.

Spiritual laws supposedly execute the force of faith autonomously of God's sovereignty. Even God, they say, had to use the force of faith to create the heavens, the earth and mankind. Kenneth Copeland, regarded as today's chief Word-Faith representative, claims that "God cannot do anything for you apart or separate from faith" on the grounds that "faith is God's source of power....God used words when He created the heaven and the earth....Each time God spoke, He released His faith--the creative power to bring His words to pass.
(Kenneth Copeland, "Freedom From Fear", Pages 11-12; "The Power Of The Tongue", Page 4)

Copeland's clone and "spiritual son", Creflo A. Dollar, echoes these same distortions: "Now, God used faith substance to make everything that He made...in every one of those words they were filled with faith substance, because words are nothing but containers....Every time God speaks, He can't help but to speak words that are filled with faith...God's guts are called faith stuff....Everything in Him is faith. What's in His heart is faith. If you were to cut God open, you're see nothing but faith. Every time He opens His mouth, He automatically fills those words with His faith material.
(Creflo Dollar, "Changing Your World", September 20, 1998)

So, what's wrong with these teachings? Firstly and noticeably, the Word-Faith Movement's unbiblical theology is branded with the fingerprints of the New Thought cultic teachings of Phineas P. Quimby, Mary Baker Eddy, and E.W. Kenyon. Secondly, faith is not a force that is carried by spiritual containers (spoken words). Thirdly, there are no scriptures in the Bible that indicate or suggest that "God's guts are called faith stuff". In Hebrews 11:1, "substance" is from the Greek Word "hypostasis" and is more accurately defined as "an assured impression, a mental realizing" extended from man to God
("The Analytical Greek Lexicon", Page 419). Other translations are rendered:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (NASB)

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (NIV)

THE DIVINITY OF MAN
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Word-Faith theology states that man was created as little gods. Three passages of Scripture that are used to support this belief include the following:

Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
(Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV)

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, You are gods" '? (John 10:34 NKJV)

....by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
(2 Peter 1:4 NKJV)

Kenneth Hagin in Word of Faith Magazine states, "You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was. Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth" (December 1980, p. 14).

The notion that mankind are gods is the same lie that lead to Lucifer's downfall (Isaiah 14:14); and his lying tactics are the same. As recorded in Genesis 3:5, this is the exact lie that Satan used to initiate the fall of Adam and Eve. Since then, in every age of human history, Satan has used his ministers to promote the myth of the divinity of man.

The International New Thought Alliance, an organization that also adopted the teachings of Phineas Quimby, states in their constitution and bylaws: "To teach the Infinitude of the Supreme One; the Divinity of man and his infinite possibilities through the creative power of constructive thinking and obedience to the voice of the indwelling Presence, which is our source of Inspiration, Power, Health, and Prosperity." (Source: "A History of the New Thought Movement", By: Horatio W. Dresser, 1919)

Let's reminisce the notorious Jim Jones, who led nearly one thousand men, women, and children to their brutal deaths. This infamous, misguided cult leader stated to his followers: "It is written that ye are gods. I'm a god and you're a god. And I'm a god, and I'm gonna stay a god until you recognize that you're a god. And when you recognize that you're a god, I shall go back into principle and will not appear as a personality. But until I see all of you knowing who you are, I'm gonna be very much what I am -- God, almighty God." (Jim Jones, quoted in James Reston, Jr., and Noah Adams, "Father Cares: The Last of Jonestown", program on National Public Radio [April 23, 1981])

A shareholder of Jim Jones' blasphemous viewpoint, Creflo Dollar affirms, "And if God produces man and everything produces after its own kind...if horses get together they produce what? If dogs get together they produce what? If cats get together they produce what? But if the Godhead gets together and says, 'Let us make man' then what are they producing? They are producing gods....You are gods because you came from God and you are gods, you are not just human... "
(Creflo Dollar, "Made After His Kind", September 15, 2002)

Dollar's local sidekick, Eddie Long professes, I know who I am! And, and, see when you know who you are, wherever you go, as a god, as a King -- you have an entourage. (Eddie Long, "You Are Mighty" Audio-Tape)
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Let's now consider the scriptures in their proper context and expose the errors in the Word-Faith teachers' doctrine of the divinity of man.

Using Genesis 1:26-27, the Word-Faith teachers contest that Adam and Eve were created as "little gods". Kenneth Copeland states that, "Adam in the Garden of Eden, was God manifested in the flesh" (Kenneth Copeland, "Following The Faith of Abraham I", Tape #01-3001). Copeland continues, "The man (Adam) -- created in the image of God, like Him in every way..." (Kenneth Copeland, "Fullness: God's Plan For His Family", BVOV Magazine, July/August 2004, Page 34) If this was the case, why then would Satan tantalize Eve with the statement, "you will be like God....," if she was already ranked as a god?

Adam was made in the image and likeness of God; which means he was God's paramount creation -- a reflective spiritual being who was finitely imparted with some of His attributes such as freedom of choice, sovereignty, wisdom, love, and moral values. "Image and likeness" does not mean an exact duplicate with the same omnipotent powers as arrogantly suggested by the Word-Faith teachers. God specifically states in Exodus 9:14, "...there is none like me in all the earth." In Isaiah 43:10, God says, "Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me." Jeremiah echoes God's supreme nature and power when he says, "Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord (You are great, and Your name is great in might.") [Jer. 10:6,10]
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Word-Faith teachers delight in quoting the words of Christ in John 10:34, to submit as proof that God created men as gods. As Eddie Long asserts, "That's the reason why when you look in the mirror, you ought to say, 'Good morning God.'
(Bishop Eddie Long, "God Is After Himself", Audio CD from ministry)

If we closely examine this passage, we will discover that Jesus was not referring to men as gods in the context of divinity. In addition to the scriptures recently mentioned, Jesus taught in the Book of Mark that there is only one God (Mark 12:29). In light of John 10:34, Christ was simply quoting scripture in Psalm 82:6 which was pertaining to the kings and judges (gods) in Israel. They were symbolically characterized as "gods" because God has entrusted His authority in human officials (Exodus 4:16, Psalm 82:1, Romans 13:1-7). Although authorities rule as "gods", they are mortal men (Psalm 82:7, Jeremiah 10:11). It is interesting how Word-Faith teachers conveniently disregard verse seven.

Unlike the Word-Faith teachers' self-proclamations of being a "little god", the Apostle Paul never made such professions and considered this sort of postulation as blasphemous. The account in Acts 14:11-15 should provide a crushing blow to the Word-Faith's theology of the divinity of man:

Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" And Barnabus they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in the front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabus and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitudes, crying out and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them..." (Acts 14:11-15 NKJV)

From the passage above, it is unmistakable that Paul and Barnabus rejected the claims of the Lycaonians who referred to them as gods. They rebuffed these allegations with such abhorrence that they "tore their clothes"; which is a Jewish symbolization of disgust at blasphemy (v14).

If the great apostle Paul lived among us today, he would surely be in need of much clothing if he encountered the Word-Faith camp. In the process of ripping his clothes, he would say, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness..." (2 Cor. 11:13-15)
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Another text of scripture that is perverted by the Word-Faith teachers to promote the divinity of man involves 2 Peter 1:4. Kenneth Copeland declares, "Now Peter said by exceeding great and precious promises you become partakers of the divine nature. All right, are we gods? We are a class of gods!" (Kenneth Copeland, TBN, February 5, 1986)

If we read the entirety of verse four through verse nine using proper biblical exegesis, it will be disclosed that Peter was not subscribing to a "little gods" doctrine, but rather about the moral concepts that accompany salvation (Romans 8:3-11). When a person accepts Christ through faith, an inner conversion process is commenced that delivers a believer's sinful nature from a morally corrupt world system to one that mirrors the moral attributes of God. Although Christians are "sons of God", they are not children by divine nature; but rather by adoption (Galatians 4:5-8). Jesus is the only person, the unique Son of God, who shares God's nature; and is co-equal with God.

With that said, it is worth repeating again that ever since the first family, Satan has attempted to breed the lie that man was created as gods. Let's not tailgate the same error made by Adam and Eve -- becoming prey to Satan's lie of the generations that men are gods. Surrendering to this falsehood will make you a victim of the "gods" of this age (2 Cor. 4:4).
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