THE WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT
WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
By: Victor T. Stephens
"For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears." (Acts 20:29-31)
REFUTING THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF THE DIVINITY OF MAN
Let's examine Genesis 1:26-27.
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. (Gen. 1:26-27)
Alluding to to this passage, Word-Faith teachers contest that Adam and Eve were "little gods." Kenneth Copeland states:
"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)
Now, if God created Adam and Eve as gods, why would Satan promise Eve that she would be like God if she were already a god? (Gen. 3:5)
Factually, God created Adam in His image and likeness. That means Adam was God's paramount creation, a reflective spiritual being finitely imparted with some of His attributes. Image and likeness do not equate to an exact duplicate with the same omnipotent powers as arrogantly suggested by Word-Faith teachers. God states in Exodus 9:14:
"...there is none like me in all the earth." (Exodus 9:14)
In Isaiah 43:10, God says:
"Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me." (Isaiah 43:10)
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]
Let's now take a look at John 10:34.
Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods?" ' (John 10:34)
Word-Faith teachers take great satisfaction in quoting the words of Christ in John 10:34 to submit 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.'" (Eddie Long, "God Is after Himself," Audio CD from ministry)
If we closely examine John 10:34, we will discover that Jesus was not referring to men as gods in the context of divinity. Jesus taught in the Book of Mark that there is only one God (Mark 12:29). In light of John 10:34, Christ was quoting scripture in Psalm 82:6. Jesus was referring to the kings and judges (gods) in Israel. They were symbolically characterized as "gods" because God entrusted His authority to 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).
Unlike the Word-Faith teachers' self-proclamations of being a "little god", 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)
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 disdain that they "tore their clothes," which is a Jewish symbolization of disgust at blasphemy (v 14). To be referred to as ''gods'' was unimaginable for Paul and Barnabus. Paul said that they were ''men of the same nature,'' which means they can never be gods. God is an infinite being, whereas men are products of God's creation.
If Paul lived among us today, he would surely need much clothing if he encountered the Word-Faith camp. In the process of ripping his clothes, he would likely 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)
Let's now delve into 2 Peter 1:4.
".... 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)
Word-Faith teachers have also perverted this text to promote man's divinity. 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 verses four through nine in their entirety, it will disclose that Peter was not subscribing to a "little gods" doctrine but about the moral concepts accompanying salvation (Rom. 8:3-11). When a person believes in Christ through active faith, an inward conversion process begins 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 by adoption (Gal. 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 that ever since the first family, Satan has attempted to breed the lie that men are 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 us victims of the "gods" of this age." (2 Cor. 4:4)
