Exalting Man
The exaltation of man is where the Word-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 magical 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.
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-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.
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’.
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."
The Bible does not teach that Jesus was merely a man. Word-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-Faith’s doctrine of man’s divinity so we
can examine it against the clear teaching of scripture.
God’s purpose for man
What is God’s purpose for man? As we will see, the Word-Faith movement answers this
question completely different that Biblical Christianity. In Word-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-Faith teaching
aligns to New-Age and pagan beliefs. Here are some examples:
Excerpts from the New Age book - We The People Are The Messiah
"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-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."
- Kenneth Copeland
Word-Faith doctrine teaches that man was created as God manifest in the flesh. Is there a
difference between Adam and Jesus? According to Word-Faith teaching, the answer is
no. Is there a difference between you and Jesus? According to Word-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-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."
Morris Cerello declares God’s eternal purpose according to Word-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!
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-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-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-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-Faith movement is not the God of the Bible. The purposes of the Word-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-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.
You are a god
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.
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.
We expect this deception to be proclaimed from non-Christian religions like the Ladder
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-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
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
"We are gods. I am a little god. You are anything that He is." - Paul Crouch
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-Faith teachers speak. Now let’s hear God speak.
Man’s Position
Let’s begin by looking at Hebrews 2
6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful
of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with
glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands.
It seems to me that this passage alone should put to rest any claim that man is divine. We
know that angels are not gods and this passage tells us that man has been made lower
than angels. How can we be everything that God is and be lower than the angels?
Hebrews 1 tells us that the angels came to worship Jesus Christ. If Jesus is the object of
the worship of angels and we are lower than the angels, how can Word-Faith doctrine say
that we are little Messiahs or that when you look at us, you are looking at Jesus Christ?
Consider these passages:
Isaiah 43:10: "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."
Isaiah 44:6: "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord
of hosts, ’I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.’"
Isaiah 45:21-22: "Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel
together, Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that
time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and
a Savior; there is none besides Me."
Isaiah 46:9: "Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no
other, I am God and there is none like Me."
God doesn’t leave any doubt - there are no such things as gods. There is only one God
and He has revealed Himself to us through His word. You can’t become a god. The
scriptures state, "before Me there was no god formed, nor will there be after Me". Word-
Faith teaches that you are anything that He is, but in the Bible God said, "there is none
like Me". Word-Faith teaches that you are a Christ, but the Bible clearly states that God is
the only Savior.
You are equal to God
Look at Isaiah 40:
25 " To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the
Holy One.
The Bible tells us that God is not a man and that man is not like God. Who can be God’s
equal is a redundant question. The answer is no one and nothing. Biblical doctrine says
that no one is to be compared to God, but the Word-Faith doctrine teaches a completely
different gospel. Here is how this doctrine compares man to God:
Man was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God’s
presence without any consciousness of inferiority. God has made us as much like
Himself as possible. He made us the same class of being the He is Himself. Man
lived in the realm of God. He lived on terms equal with God. The Believer is
called Christ. That’s who we are; we’re Christ! - Kenneth Hagan
We are Christ? This claim sounds strikingly similar to Jesus’ warning about those who
would come in His name in the end times. Look at Jesus’ warnings:
Luke 21
8 And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My
name, saying, ’I am He,’ and, ’The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after
them.
Matthew 24
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 "For many will come in My name, saying, ’I am the Christ,’ and will deceive
many.
When we see 10,000 people in an auditorium applauding these teachers, it isn’t hard to
see that Jesus’ warning that many will be deceived has indeed come to pass. As we look
and see billions of dollars being poured into these ministries by ’the many’, we can know
that we truly are nearing the end. These teachers justify their beliefs by twisting the
scriptures. Look at this explanation:
"God does not even draw a distinction between man and Himself. You can never
do that in a covenant relationship". - Paul Crouch
I can only ask, ’Why?’ Why can you never draw a distinction in a covenant relationship?
Because Word-Faith teachers say so? That is not a legitimate explanation. A covenant is
simply a pledge or a will. Even if we concede this issue to the Word-Faith teachers
(which the Bible does not allow for), their doctrine is still false. The covenant is not
between God and us; it is between God and Himself with us as the benefactors. Abraham
benefited from God’s covenant, but He was not allowed to participate in the actual
covenant. In Genesis 15, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Abraham and God walked
between the pieces of the sacrifice to seal the covenant. God appeared as both a smoking
pot and a burning torch. Abraham slept while God sealed the covenant between Himself
and Himself.
Now compare this to the cross. Jesus was God in the flesh. The blood was His own and
the covenant was between God and Himself with us as the benefactors. God sealed the
covenant while the world slept. Everyone was completely in the dark until after the
covenant was sealed. Abraham prepared the sacrifice, but God made the covenant. In
Jesus’ time, men prepared the sacrifice but God made the covenant. How does this make
us equal with God? Clearly it doesn’t. It only shows that grace is not by works, but by
faith in what God alone has done for us. We may have the benefit of a relationship
because of the covenant, but the covenant is not dependent on us. Thank God the
covenant is not between us and God. If it were, it would have been broken the first time
man sinned. What good would the covenant be if man’s failure put us back into the same
position mankind was put in at the fall in the Garden? God has already showed that
righteousness dependent on man has failed. Now righteousness depends on Christ who
cannot fail.
What does it mean, you are gods?
Before we move on, I would like to take the time to address a couple of pet verses that
Word-Faith teachers use to persuade people that the Bible supports their ’you are god’
theory. The first passage is Exodus 7:
1 So the LORD said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and
Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
I won’t spend much time on this passage because the intent is quite obvious. The KJV
words it, "I have made thee a god to Pharaoh". Pharaoh was the highest god in ancient
Egypt’s pagan religious world. They had gods for everything. Some gods had higher
powers than others. The Egyptians believed that it was necessary to appease all the gods
so that their wives could be fertile, their crops would yield harvest, the rains would come
in season, and so on. The plagues God sent were specifically targeted against the gods of
Egypt. Pharaoh went down to greet the Nile floods and honor this god. God sent Moses to
meet him and to turn the water to blood. This was a direct assault against this false god.
One of their gods was a frog, so God sent a plague of millions of frogs. Because Pharaoh
thought he was a god, Moses was like a rivaling god against Pharaoh. To yield to Moses
was to admit before his people that Pharaoh wasn’t the strongest god. God said in Exodus
9:14 that the plagues against Pharaoh’s gods were meant to show that there was none like
God. It was not to show that Moses was a god. Moses was not a god. However, to the
pagan worshipping Pharaoh he was a god. It was only in Pharaoh’s eyes that Moses was
considered divine.
Now look at Psalm 82:
1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All
the foundations of the earth are unstable.
6 I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.
7 But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes."
This passage requires a little more thought, but it is still quite clear. In the context of this
passage it is clear that the ’gods’ are not called so because they are divine, but because
they are set up to be judges. God established His leadership to judge and do justice
among the people. This has nothing to do with divinity. We know this because God
follows up by saying, "You are gods and children of the Most High, but you shall die like
men". Look at the entire context of this passage. God is judging the judges He has
ordained because they became arrogant and unjust. In stead of using the power God had
given for to defend the helpless and needy, they used it for greed and gain. They afflicted
the needy and gave favor to the wicked. Jesus used this same passage against the
Pharisees. They thought they were above the people. The passage declares that these
’gods’ are wicked, without understanding, walking in darkness, have an unstable
foundation, and they will die like all men do. This doesn’t sound much like the claims of
divinity the Word-Faith and other religions proclaim it to be.
There is one last reference to gods I would like to bring to light. Look at Isaiah 41
20 That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the
hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 " Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring forth your strong reasons," says
the King of Jacob.
22 "Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the
former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter
end of them; Or declare to us things to come.
23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are
gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an
abomination.
In this passage, God is challenging those who call themselves gods. God challenges them,
if they are gods, present your case. Show us what will happen in the future. Show us the
past. Declare what is to come. What are the purposes of God? They should know since
they are gods. God challenges them to show their power since they think they are gods.
Then God follows up by saying, "you are nothing; your work is nothing; and he who
chooses you is an abomination". That is a very divisive statement. God declares that
anyone who chooses these who claim to be gods is an abomination to Himself, the only
true God.
There are only two ways that we can be so-called gods. When we stand in the place of
authority that God has ordained us to be, we are gods in the sense that we represent Him.
We are nothing, but in His will and by His authority, we are instruments for His
purposes. The other way we are gods is found in the beginning of scripture. In Genesis
3:22, God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil". We
are like God in the sense that we know right from wrong. Satan promised Eve that she
would be like God. It was a half-truth. She was like God only in that she could identify
good and evil. Sin has plagued man every since. If someone claims that we are a god in
any other context is a false statement and a false god. Satan’s lie is still the same - you
will be like God. Man’s pride believes the lie because he does not want God, rather he
wants to be god.
In Conclusion:
Look at Romans 1
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like
corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to
dishonor their bodies among themselves,
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Just because someone claims to be wise does not make them wise. Wisdom based on the
world will fail. As we saw earlier, Jesus warned that just because someone comes in His
name does not mean that He sent them. Preachers claiming Jesus’ name are deceivers and
anti-Christs if they are contradicting His word. When someone reshapes God into the
image of corruptible man, the Bible says that they have become fools. If the Bible calls
them fools, how can we allow them to be teachers of foolish doctrine within the church?
If Word-Faith doctrine says that God is like man (Romans 1:23), the Bible says that they
have already rejected the truth and are not worshipping God, but are worshipping the
creation of God - which is idolatry. If God has said that He has given them up, we should
not be afraid to expose them. Their teaching only reveals who is seeking God and who
loves the lie.
It is the responsibility of every believer to uphold the truth so that each person can make
a clear choice. If someone is deceived, it should be a knowing choice to reject the
scriptures. We can’t make people want God, but we can uphold His truth so that people
can see what choice they are making.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
