The prosperity gospel promises health, wealth, and spiritual power through faith. But does it reflect biblical Christianity, or distort the gospel and wound those who trust it?

Roger Smalling

Preface

Jason drove away from the Bible school in despair. He had invested his life, money, and faith in the teachings of the school.

He had watched a fellow student die the week before from dysentery, an easily curable disease. The unfortunate student, motivated by the teachings of the Word of Faith school, had not resorted to medical treatment.

Jason still believed in God. He simply did not want to pray to him. In Jason’s mind, he was not abandoning God, for God had abandoned him. His Bible lay closed in a corner of the car as he headed home to attend a state university. He had decided on a career that did not include gospel ministry.

I met Jason at the university. He was a fellow student in an educational psychology course. We got acquainted through a mutual interest in Mexican food.

During lunch one day, I asked Jason if he was a Christian. He replied yes, though he had not read the Bible in three years nor attended church and had no plans for doing so. He then related the above story.

Jason did not know I had just finished writing the manuscript for this book. I gave him a copy, and it changed his life.

Today Jason is a public school teacher and a member of a sound evangelical church. God had not abandoned him. He realizes now the true God had delivered him from the false one, the one taught at the Word of Faith school.

The last time I saw Jason, he told me a really funny joke and was laughing. I had not seen him laugh much before.

If you are looking for ammunition against the Charismatic movement, put this book down. It is not for you. Likewise, if you are looking to support the view that spiritual gifts and miracles no longer exist.

I am not a cessationist, one who believes gifts and miracles of the Spirit ceased after the Apostolic age. The New Testament spiritual gifts exist today, though not necessarily for the same purposes nor in the same way as sometimes taught in Charismatic circles.

This is vital to clarify, because a common defense by the prosperity teachers against critics is that we are “against the Holy Spirit” or “against spiritual gifts.” I am against none of these. I am against false gods, false Christs, and false prophets.

The Charismatic movement initially had commendable aspects. Asking God for fresh empowering of the Holy Spirit and earnestly desiring spiritual gifts to edify the church is laudable. Scripture commands it.

The movement tended to be a well-deserved rebuke to older and colder denominations. It was a fresh reminder of my own duty as a minister to pray for the sick…with occasional dramatic results.

A great reverence for the Word of God also characterized much of the movement. While some Charismatics mistakenly thought of the Bible as a magic wand to get what they want, some traditional denominations did not seem to think about the Bible at all.

Fresh enthusiasm in worship is another praiseworthy by-product of the Charismatic movement. Personally, I was getting tired of “climbing Jacob’s ladder.” Many fine worship songs in traditional churches today were born out of the movement.

What I do NOT appreciate is the manner in which large sectors of the Charismatic movement have been hijacked by a bizarre Gnostic cult, known variously as the Prosperity Movement, Word of Faith, or Faith Movement.

I appreciate even less the psychological and spiritual damage done to many former adherents of the movement who have crashed into the wall of reality. Perhaps these are the lucky ones. Thousands of others are still unaware they may be worshiping a false god and a false Christ through revelations of false prophets.

This book is not intended as ammunition but as a tool of mercy. I want it to help those whose faith has been injured by the Faith Movement and deliver those still involved before they also crash into the hard wall of reality.

About the Author

Dr. Roger Smalling and his wife, Dianne, are missionaries to Latin America with the Presbyterian Church in America, a theologically conservative branch of the Reformed movement. He is director of “Visión R.E.A.L.” (Reformación En América Latina), dedicated to training Latin American Christians in principles of biblical leadership and sound theology.

He is the author of a popular book in Spanish, Si, Jesús, on the subject of God’s grace. He is also a professor with Miami International Seminary, which shares his vision for a Latin American reformation.

The Smallings teach extensively throughout Latin America by Zoom.

Study guides, essays, and courses written by the Smallings are available on their website in both Spanish and English at: www.Smallings.com

 

Chapter 1: The ‘God’ in the Mirror

Pagan religions have a typical way of reconciling God and man. They split the difference by reducing God to be more like a human and exalting man to the status of a god. Mythology, whether ancient or modern, invariably diminishes God to less than what he is and exalts man to more than what he is.

To the Greeks and Romans, Zeus was king of the gods. He was similar to a very big man, powerful, but neither infinite nor omniscient. He could be fooled. These gods displayed all the foibles of human nature… jealousy, greed, and fighting amongst themselves.

In typical pagan mythology, some gods were previously humans, ultimately deified by gaining the favor of a god or by drinking the divine elixir, ambrosia. Some humans were exalted after death to become stellar constellations.

The Apostle Paul referred to this reduction-exaltation process in Romans 1:22-23:

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools (23) and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Christian revelation, in contrast, brings man and God together in a relationship while leaving both intact. The meeting point between God and man in Christianity is a mutual righteousness, that of Christ, credited to the believer’s account through faith in Jesus (Romans 3&4). No change in quality of existence or essence of being takes place in either God or man.

In the gospel, God remains the sovereign, infinite, all-powerful being the Scriptures portray him to be. Man remains a dependent created being.

In the early days of the Word of Faith movement, some bizarre concepts were propagated about God having a form. One of them is the belief that God has a spiritual body shaped like a human. 

Kenneth Copeland describes God as

“A being that stands somewhere around 6’2”, 6’3” that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred pounds or a little better, has a hand span of 9 inches across…” [i]

Copeland exceeds the ancient Greeks in bringing man and God together. Referring to the creation of man, Copeland adds,

God and Adam looked exactly alike. [ii]

Even Zeus was not exactly like a man.

Does God have a body?

Sometimes children, or new converts, have a humanistic view of God. They may picture him as an enormous grandfather sitting on a heavenly throne. While such mental imagery is inaccurate, it is not dangerous as long as a Christian eventually grows out of it.

In theology, the notion that God has a body is called “anthropomorphism,” from two Greek words: “anthropos” (man) and “morphos” (form). Varieties of anthropomorphism range from the Mormon idea of a physical body to the more benign view that God has a spiritual body shaped like a human.

Word of Faith teachers lean toward some form of anthropomorphism, though they differ among themselves as to what degree. Hinn, for example, does not endorse Copeland’s views, although his own thinking is strongly anthropomorphic.

.”..Do you know that the Holy Spirit has a soul and a body separate from that of Jesus and the Father? …God the Father is a separate individual from the Son and the Holy Ghost, who is a triune being who walks in a spirit body and he has hair…has eyes…has a mouth…has hands…” [iii]

Though Hinn’s concept of a Trinity with spirit-bodies falls short of biblical orthodoxy, at least he does not endorse Copeland’s extreme anthropomorphism.

Anthropomorphism is dangerous in that it leads to a denial of the three central attributes of God: Almighty (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient) and infinite (omnipresent.) Scholars call these three qualities, “incommunicable attributes,” because we finite creatures do not share them in common with God.

Whatever the nature of a body, whether physical or spiritual, it cannot possess any of these three qualities. A body, by definition, is limited. If God has a body, he cannot be infinite; if not infinite, then not omnipresent, etc.

If God has a body, even a very large spiritual one, then compared with infinity, he must be infinitely small also. I have never met an anthropomorphist willing to say God is infinitely small. Instead, the contradiction is ignored.

Although, over the years, this teaching has faded slightly, and most WOF preachers don’t preach it from the pulpit anymore, this movement seems to have found new ways to add to its errors:

The «little gods» theory

While reducing God to a big human is a theological disaster, equally serious is exalting man to a little god. [iv]

Earl Paulk says,

“Adam and Eve were placed in the world as the seed and expression of God. Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods. … Until we comprehend that we are little gods, we cannot manifest the kingdom of God.” [v]

So, in Word of Faith thinking, being created in the image of God implies being a duplicate of God.

Nigerian Prosperity preacher Pastor Chris Oyakhilome echoes Paulk with,

“When God created Man, He created him in His image and after His likeness. That’s why we look like Him; we have two hands the same way He has two hands. We have two legs, one head, one mouth, one nose, two ears, and two eyes just like Him.” [vi]

Do these teachers also confuse the difference between a mirror and a man? When I shave in the morning, am I looking in the mirror at flesh and shaving cream? Not really. I’m looking at polished glass. It reflects what I am but does not bleed when I cut my cheek.

The notion of equality with God did not originate with Copeland or Paulk. Their mentor, Kenneth Hagin, taught,

“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 that 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!” [vii]

Here, Hagin makes no effort to define God. It’s unnecessary. If Adam stood in God’s presence on equal terms, with no sense of inferiority, then this alone reveals Hagin’s concept of God’s essence and Being.

The Bible, of course, teaches nothing of the kind. In Genesis we see God walking in the garden and communing with Adam. Is this sufficient to suggest Adam and God were equals? Hardly! If Adam were an equal, why did he try to hide from God when he sinned? He could have created his own universe and escaped.

Back to the garden

Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden and see where the truth lies.

Genesis never deifies Adam. How can we have something restored that never existed in the first place? If Adam had deity by any definition, why would Satan bother to offer to make Adam and Eve “as gods”? Eve would have replied, “No thanks, we already have some.”

Yes, there is a promise in the Bible that we can become gods. But notice who made the promise. SATAN! And he is still making the same vain promise today. But the Lord God says,

Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. Is. 43:10

I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. Is. 45:5

In Word of Faith mythology, Adam lost his privileges and status as a god. Man recuperates them through conversion to Christ. Benny Hinn explains,

“Christians are little messiahs. Christians are little gods.” [viii]

In case we assume Hinn is speaking figuratively, notice these quotes:

“Are you a child of God? Then you’re divine! Are you a child of God? Then you’re not human!” [ix]

“I am a little messiah walking on earth… You are a little god on earth running around. [x] Christians are little messiahs. Christians are little gods.” [xi]

It seems these teachers are not saying every human being is a god. Only Christians are gods. Copeland adds,

“Every Christian is a god. … You do not have a God in you; you are one.” [xii]

Before Copeland, his mentor Kenneth Hagin taught,

“You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was…the believer is as much the incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.” [xiii]

Copeland parrots this error.

“Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God.” [xiv]

Both Hagin and Copeland disregard the importance of the term “only begotten” in John 3:16. This word sets apart the sonship of Jesus as distinct from our own.

Not only do these teachers confuse “image” with “duplicate,” but they also confound union with Christ and identity as Christ.

We are adopted children (Romans 8). Jesus was never adopted because he was in the family (the Trinity) from all eternity. It borders on blasphemy to apply the word “incarnation” to a mere human.

Paul Crouch and the TBN Network

The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is the biggest religious television network in history. Founder Paul Crouch is close friends with Hagin, Copeland, Hinn, and other Word of Faith teachers. Crouch exclaims,

“Christians are little gods.” [xv]

“God draws no distinction between himself and us. God opens up the union of the very godhead (Trinity) and brings us into it.” [xvi]

Declaring no distinction between God and us is pretty radical. If Crouch is referring to the God of the Bible, he should say Christians are omnipresent, omniscient, almighty, and perfect. Either that, or he is referring to some other god.

In the Bible, our union with Christ is through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. “Union” does not mean “deify.”

We would think Crouch and friends would hesitate to make such claims on public television. He must have known he would draw criticism. His reaction?

“Do you know what else is settled then tonight? This hue and cry and controversy that has been spawned by the Devil to try to bring dissension within the body of Christ that we are gods. I am a little god. I have his name. I am one with him. I’m in covenant relation. I am a little god. Critics be gone!” [xvii]

Crouch thinks the Devil is behind the criticism he and his friends have drawn for calling themselves gods. The critics should be silenced. In Crouch’s mind, he is proclaiming self-evident truth.

His complaint did not silence the critics. Five years later, Crouch blasts them again with:

“I think they’re damned and on their way to hell and I do not think there’s any redemption for them…the heresy hunters that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some Christian’s eye and pluck that little mote out of their eye when they’ve got the whole forest in their own lives and in their own eyes. I say to hell with you! …Oh hallelujah. Get out of God’s way, quit blocking God’s bridges or God’s gonna shoot you if I do not!” [xviii]

Apparently it is a “little mote” to redefine the Christian God. Those who disagree are damned with no hope of redemption. Crouch thinks they deserve that God should annihilate them.

Defending his Word of Faith friends, Crouch continues,

“… if you want to criticize Ken Copeland for his preaching on faith, or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I do not even want to talk to you or hear you. I do not want to see your ugly face! Get out of my face in Jesus’ name.” [xix]

It is understandable we may say things we regret in a fit of frustration.  We all offend in many ways. To date, there have been no expressions of regret from Crouch or his friends, nor a whisper of retraction of these teachings.

In paganism, a progression takes place. First, a human is like a god. Then he is part god. Then he is a god. In the final stage, he thinks he is God himself.

Word of Faith teachers stop short of this last stage. None of them have ever suggested they are God himself. They come close to it, however, by claiming a union with Christ so intimate that the demarcation between themselves and Christ is blurred.

By union with Christ, they mean a mixing of divine essences, not just a personal relationship. Benny Hinn declares,

“When I stand in Christ – I am one with him; united to him; one spirit with him. I am not, hear me, I AM NOT PART OF HIM, I AM HIM! THE WORD HAS BECOME FLESH IN ME! …When my hand touches someone, it’s the hand of Jesus touching somebody.” [xx]

“I [Jesus] loved you enough to become one of you! And I love you enough to make you one of me!” [xxi]

We would hope Hinn is speaking figuratively, but it does not sound like it. He confuses relationship with Christ with a mixture of divine essence.

Are you ready for some real revelation knowledge…you are God. [xxii]

It is possible Hinn meant to say, “You are A god.” Hopefully he was not at this moment digressing toward the final stage of paganism.

What does God himself think of this?

The first two of the Ten Commandments reveal what the true God thinks about humanizing him:

I am the LORD your God… (3) You shall have no other gods before me. (4) You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath… Ex. 20:1-4

Taken together, these two commandments tell us we have no authority to define God in any other terms than those he has clearly revealed. Doing so is idolatry.

Do we have a right to a personal opinion about God? NO. By the phrase, I am the LORD your God, the Lord reserves the right to define himself. By so doing, he invalidates personal opinions and human definitions. He defines himself clearly through creation, his Word, and through Christ. Any opinion contradicting this revelation is idolatry.[1]

The easiest way to “have another god” before the Lord is with our imagination. It matters little if we make an idol out of wood or stone. If we suppose God is whatever we would like him to be, we are idolaters.

Idolatry is supremely serious, which may be why the commandments against it are first on the list. The worst form of idolatry is to make a god in our own image and then worship it. This is exactly what Word of Faith teachers do.

Conclusions

It looks like the Word of Faith teachers have taken the pagan route in bringing man and God together. Their “god” is not even as big as Zeus.

If we thought these Word of Faith teachers were merely immature in their doctrine of God, we would be less alarmed. This is not the case. For decades they have paraded their teachings openly. Biblical scholars have tried to reason with them. Books have refuted their pagan doctrines. They have ignored every rebuke, refused every correction, disregarded sound scholarship, and cursed those who have tried to help them.

Is there anything worse than worshiping a false god? Possibly. It would be for a person to imagine he is a god himself. Word of Faith teachers do both.

So be careful about sipping from the fountain of their teachings. The drink they offer is not ambrosia. It will not make you a god. It is deadly poison.

From this chapter we learn:

• Word of Faith teachers replicate pagan thinking by redefining the Christian God as less than what the Scriptures reveal him to be and granting divine status to man.
• Word of Faith teachers are therefore prophets of a false god.
• The movement teaches that Christians are little gods, of the same essence as God himself.
• These teachers confuse man as an image of God with man as a duplicate of God.
• The Bible teaches union with Christ through the Spirit. Word of Faith doctrine teaches joining with Christ through a mixing of our supposed divinity with his.
• Word of Faith teachers define their critics as unenlightened and spiritually dead, worthy of divine judgment.
• These teachers inadvertently break the first and second of the Ten Commandments in their teachings about God.

Continue reading  The Prosperity Gospel

The complete book examines Word of Faith teaching on biblical faith, suffering, positive confession, prosperity, healing, the atonement, and how Christians can grow in genuine faith.

Read or download the complete book in PDF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1]         I use the singular here deliberately. These three taken together constitute one united revelation.

[i]         Kenneth Copeland Spirit, Soul and a Body 1985 audio # 01-0601 side 1.

[ii]        Kenneth Copeland ,The Authority of the Believer IV; Tape #01-0304

[iii]      Orlando Christian Centre, October 13 1990. Quote from: www.cephasministry.com

[iv]     In theology, we call this error, apotheosis, the elevation of man to divine status.

Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

[v]      Earl Paulk Satan Unmasked p. 97

[vi]       Oyakhilome, Chris, Seven Things the Holy Spirit Will Do For You, p. 41
Quote from the section “God gives birth to gods!” https://bit.ly/3rJVpnm

[vii]      Kenneth M. Hagin, Zoe: The God-Kind of Life

Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc., 1989), 35-36, 41

[viii]      Benny Hinn, Praise-a-thon (TBN),11/90, “Our position in Christ, tape A031190-1

[ix]       Benny Hinn, TBN, Dec 1, 1990

[x]        Benny Hinn, Praise-a-Thon TBN, Nov. 6 1990

[xi]       Benny Hinn, Praise-a-thon (TBN),11/90, “Our position in Christ, tape A031190-1

[xii]     The Force of Love (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1987,

audiotape #02-0028), side 1

[xiii]     Kenneth Hagin, Word of Faith, Dec. 1980, p.14

[xiv]     Now We Are In Christ Jesus, 1980, p24 Quote on August 27, 2004  borrowed from:

Let us Reason Ministries: http://www.letusreason.org/Wf22.htm//

[xv]     TBN, grabado 7/7/86.

[xvi]    Paul Crouch, Praise-a-thon (TBN), November 1990

[xvii]    Paul Crouch, Praise the Lord program, July 7, 1986

[xviii]   Paul Crouch, Praise-a-thon 4/2/91

[xix]     Ibid.

[xx]     Benny Hinn, Our Position in Christ tape # AO31190-1

[xxi]     TBN, December 1st 1990

[xxii]    Benny Hinn, “Our Position In Christ, tape # AO31190-1