If you are about to read what follows, buckle up. This is the first in a series dealing with false teachers/leaders and heretical theology being taught in the “evangelical” Christian church. And if you think we are only noting certain individuals that make up a particular group such as “prosperity” or “health and wealth” teachers, think again.
We will be shedding light on aberrant theology and lifestyles of those who do not fit into these categories just mentioned. Some who read this will be shocked at what is said, but what we note is not hearsay or second-hand information. Everything we write can be verified if people are willing to put the time in to do so.
Today we begin with one of the most well-known prosperity preachers in the world, Kenneth Copeland (KC). He will also be one of the featured false teachers that we will be looking at when we do one of our winter seminars here at Oakridge Community Church on false teachers/leaders in the church.
So, let’s get started. We will have two blogs exposing the heresy of Kenneth Copeland. This in no way will be a complete expose of what Copeland teaches. It would take pages of material to show all the areas in which he is unbiblical. We begin by noting a couple of bragging points that Copeland throws out regarding his teaching on prosperity and healing.
He tells of a man who had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. This man, thinking that God would heal him if he gave an offering as “seed money,” handed over to Copeland a Rolls Royce Bentley with a Breitling watch installed in the car. The Breitling watch alone was worth $230,000, thus adding to the cost of the car itself. Just for information, Copeland owns thirty-six of these expensive time pieces.
Copeland also claimed that he would give away Breitling watches as “seed gifts” and of course, God would bless him for doing so. Well, despite this man giving Copeland these gifts in hope of being healed, he passed away. KC shared this story at a convention he was hosting and speaking at.
This raised the ire of many within evangelical Christianity because this has been Copeland’s modus operandi for years. He teaches that to gain wealth or health you must plant seed money, such as giving to his organization, so that God can bless you.
These types of preachers rip Scripture out of context. In Matthew 6 Jesus said that God promises to meet our “needs.” We are also told to be content with what we have in Philippians 4.
We can pray for God to give us our daily bread, but the idea that healing and wealth come because you “give” to a ministry and God will bless you for that is downright heresy. Yes, God does allow some people to have wealth, but it is to be used for his kingdom work. But this is not a sign of having faith or belief or of sowing “seed money.”
Before continuing, let me note something. Kenneth Copeland has a pacemaker for his heart. Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, another false teacher, wears glasses. While these individuals tell others to trust God for healing and to unleash our faith to see the Lord work, they themselves obviously do not have what they expect others to show when it comes to personal healing. And no amount of verbal gymnastics can counter that.
Beyond this, though, Copeland is wayward on other doctrines. Consider the following,
1) His description of God – Copeland states that God is, “very much like you and me … A being that stands around six foot two inches or six foot three inches, that weighs around a couple of hundred pounds, and has a [hand] span nine inches across.”
This is a misreading of Isa. 40:12. The Bible at times uses anthropomorphic language to describe God in terms that we understand. But John 4:24 is clear – God is a Spirit. This quote by KC is not regarding Jesus, but God the Father. Speaking of Jesus, note the following point.
2) KC says regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, “He hadn’t come to earth as God, He’d come as man. He’d set aside His divine power.” Copeland also has claimed that Jesus never stated that He was God while on earth. Well, he has this wrong. In John 5:16-18 we read that because of something Jesus said the Jews sought to kill Him because He claimed to be God.
In John 8:50-58, Christ declared Himself to be the “I AM,” a reference to God noted in Exodus 3. The Jews went crazy when the Lord made this claim. And in John 10:30 Jesus said that He and His Father are “one.” Some argue that this means they were “one” in purpose regarding the work of Christ on earth. No, He was claiming equality with God in substance, and once again the Jews wanted Him dead.
In addition, Copeland claims it took centuries of people, such as the prophets, making positive confessions of faith, that finally allowed Jesus to come to earth.
As far as Jesus laying aside His Deity when He came to earth, KC misunderstands or ignores Philippians 2:5-7 and John 17. Jesus did not lay aside His Deity. He did not have to hang on to it when He came to earth because He came as the God-Man (John 1:1-2,14).
Christ was 100% God and 100% human, but His Deity never waned, nor did He toss it off to the side. John 17 is clear. Christ set aside His glory, not His Divine nature. Copeland is not alone in this heretical teaching, but it is a point he stresses.
3) Jesus died spiritually and was reborn in hell. When it comes to explaining what Jesus did, Copeland says, “It wasn’t a physical death on the cross that paid the price for sin … anybody can do that.” Wrong. But note the following from this false teacher.
Jesus “put Himself into the hands of Satan when he went to that cross, and took that same nature that Adam did [when he sinned].” Copeland is making a reference to the nature of Satan, as God pronounced that “Adam would die spiritually—that he would take on the nature of Satan which is spiritual death.”
KC goes on to say, “the day that Jesus was crucified, God’s life, that eternal energy that was His from birth, moved out of Him and He accepted the very nature of death itself.”
Copeland claims that the Son of God said, “It was a sign of Satan that was hanging on the cross … I accepted, in my own spirit, spiritual death …” Jesus, according to KC, “had to give up His righteousness” and “accepted the sin nature of Satan.”
This is a total misrepresentation of the work of Christ on the cross. In John 19:30 we read, from the lips of Jesus Himself, “It is finished,” speaking of His dying to offer us forgiveness. And the Gospel, the Good News regarding Jesus, is that Christ died, was buried, and rose again.
And the idea that Jesus went to hell, is a misunderstanding of both Ephesians 4:7-10 and 1 Peter 3:18-22. Though there are those in Evangelical Christianity who hold this view, it is nothing like that of this wolf in sheep’s clothing.
In Copeland’s theology, Jesus had to be “re-born” spiritually in hell. No Bible student who believes Jesus went to the place of the dead believes this. We do not have time to discuss these two passages, but Copeland’s take is undeniably off the rails.
4) The Sovereignty of God. Here is one for you from KC, “God is on the outside looking in. In order to have any say so in the earth, he’s gonna have to be in agreement with a man here.” (Kenneth Copeland, “God’s Covenant With Man II). Though he first stated this way back in the 1980’s he still teaches this.
Copeland’s theology is man-centered. He claims our faith makes things happen. He totally overlooks the Biblical teaching on the fact that God is in control of all things and though He uses people to carry out His plan, He is not beholden to anyone walking this dusty planet.
KC hamstrings God by acting as if the Lord is simply on the outside looking in when it comes to His work on earth. This guy is dangerous and in the next blog we will continue our look at this notorious false teacher.
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