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p.2 When The Way is not the way Interpretations of the Way As it states in I Thessalonians 5:21: Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” We will now look further into the doctrines being taught by the Way’s founder that has influenced others. Wierwille's doctrine was a Unitarian view of God, (like Lamsa who spoke exclusively at Unitarian and Religious Science churches). They correctly believe that there is only one God, but wrongly conclude that God is only one Person. They believe that only the Father is God, denying the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. According to The Way, the Father created all things including Jesus. These is basic anti-Christian teachings that is found in all the cults. The "Holy Spirit" is considered an impersonal inanimate force much like the Jehovah Witnesses. Unitarianism has always viewed Jesus as only a human being, believing there is only one Person in the Godhead, with different manifestations similar to William Branham's Oneness. There are many spiritual connections to the Latter Rain teachings in ‘the Way.’ Like William Branham Wierwille taught that abortion is not murder for a fetus does not have "breath life" and therefore does not have its "living soul" until it takes its first breath when born.” (Receiving the Holy Spirit Today June 1, 1983) Which means that you are not aborting a child. The child in the womb has no spirit until its birth, that is when he becomes alive according to his teaching. Similarly, Branham also believed the Lord makes us dead in the womb. “…The baby hasn’t received life till it’s born.” (Seven Church Ages, pp. 275-286.)“That little body, now, it's not alive yet, see, the only thing it is is just flesh and muscles.” (65-0221E, Who Is This Melchisedec) Wierwille’s take on Scripture is reinserting his view; that ‘this did not mean that’ and would rearrange meanings to his own predilection. Who is Jesus? V.P. Wierwille explains: The Father created all things, including Jesus, as well as the impersonal force called “holy spirit ”, and God is one person, the Father. The person of the Holy Spirit is not a part of the Godhead, according to Wierwille, but simply a type of non personal power that proceeds from the Father. He also taught that Jesus was simply a perfect sinless man who did not pre-exist. He is not the first person to misunderstand the nature of Jesus as fully man and fully God \undiminished deity and full humanity in one Person. The Bible directly addresses this teaching, but he did not receive the knowledge to grasp the obvious. He then wrote a book entitled ‘Jesus is Not God,’denying the deity of Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Bible clearly affirms as God who came from heaven to be human flesh to die for our sins. In Heb.1:10 The Father speaking of the Son, “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are the works of your hands... and they shall be changed: but thou art the same” This is a quote of Psalm 102:25 that is speaking of God. The "name" Yahweh is attributed to the Son in Heb. 1:10, and the Father addresses the Son as eternal, as the Creator of all things, both heaven and earth. Staying the same is only found in God's nature (Mal.3:6) “I the Lord do not change.” Isa. 42:5 “Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, …”Isa. 45:12 “ I have made the earth, and created man on it. I-- My hands-- stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded.” ( the same that is said in Heb.1:10) Col 1:16-17 speaking of the Son “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” This scripture illustrates two things. First Jesus was there before all creation just as it states in John 1:2-3“He was in the beginning with God All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”Secondly, Jesus was not a foreknowledge in the Father as Wierwille taught, for he participated with him in creation. How do we know this? God said so in His Word. Of course, those who have gone through Wierwille’s course cannot do any better in understanding the deity passages, for their minds have been darkened. The true light of the Word cannot break through unless they are delivered from the spirit of error he taught them by. Wierwille adamantly stated that, “ the deity of Christ was a late invention of apostate Christianity and was never taught during the first three centuries of church history” (Jesus is Not God, p.12). As shown previously, history is filled from the Church writers, pastors and apologists to their culture that Jesus IS God. Therefore his teaching proves it does not come from God, for God does not deny who the Son is, nor does the Son deny who the Father is. Neither one challenges the Word of truth inspired by the Holy Spirit written to us by the Holy men God chose. Wierville stated, “through the years, the more and more I carefully researched God's Word for knowledge, the less and less I found to substantiate a trinity.” This statement should be expected from his learning by a Spirit that is an impersonal force, which he called the Holy Spirit. “Why didn’t Jesus come with the spirit upon him when he was born? Because then he could not have redeemed you and me. He had to be born just as we are—a natural man, naturally dead in trespasses and sins, without hope.” ( The Way Magazine April, 1976, p. 11; Wierwille, The New, Dynamic Church (New Knoxville, OH: ACP, 1972), p. 60. He completely misses the point of God incarnating, to become a man to rescue us from our sins. The spirit did not come upon him because He was in him, that is what made him Emmanuel. Wierwille's overall theological picture of the messiah denied his incarnation, which according to the Bible made him not just an unbeliever, but of the antichrist spirit (1 Jn.2:22-24). John who wrote on the deity of Christ more than any other writer tells us how to identify an antichrist spirit. 1 John 4:2-3 “ By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.” It means God became flesh, which the Gnostics (the first enemies of the church) denied. Wierwille becomes exactly who the Bible warned of, as he brought to the church a different Jesus. 2 John 7-10 “For many deceivers have gone out into the worldwho do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”V.9 “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son .” Notice, it is not one or the other, the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. The incarnation denied “If Jesus Christ is God and not the Son of God, we have not yet been redeemed. ... Our very redemption, the crucial point on which all of Christianity rests, is dependent on Jesus Christ’s being a man and not God. Our passover, which was Jesus Christ tortured, crucified, dead and buried, had to be a sheep from the flock. God would hardly qualify as one of our brethren, yet His Son could.” ( Jesus Christ Is Not God, pp. 6-7) Again, he failed to understand to be “the son of God” meant he is God. Yet Jesus was fully human, and the actual Biblical focus speaks on this as it does his deity. Wierwille did not understand that God took a human nature through Mary so he could be the pure sacrificial lamb. He argued that if Christ is God, then He could not represent or die for men. It’s actually the exact opposite, if he was not God his sacrifice could not be as pervasive for forgiveness in the past, nor the future. The whole point of Jesus being called God's Son in Judaism is to emphasize his deity, making Wierwille’s arguments irrelevant. He taught the term “Son of God” only refers to one who was a special human being. His position is second only to God.” (Jesus Christ Is Not God, p. 58) He belittled the term “Son of God” as only meaning one who was a special human being, nothing more. This word for Son used for Jesus is the Greek word huios explaining his position/nature. It is not teknon used for sons, the adoption for humanity. Jesus is called the “only begotten Son,” meaning, He is the unique one of a kind, no other is like Him, He alone has the nature and position. Which refutes a generic use of the phrase son of God. A few examples: For this reason a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him !” (Mark 9:7 Lk.9:35) Matthew 26:63: the high priest demanded Jesus tell us whether he is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said it is as you say. Verse 65: Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, he spoke blasphemy because Jesus Christ said he was the Son of God. John 18:36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world”as he spoke of heaven being his as it is the Fathers before he went to the cross and was exalted. He is called the Lord from heaven in 1 Cor.15:47. “ The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.” Adam was from earth, Jesus is not, he is from heaven just as he said numerous times “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.(John 6:51-- 6:32,33,38,41,) When He returns He comes as Lord of Lords and King of Kings (Rev.17:14). Deut.10:17 tells us that Yahweh is the LORD OF LORDS. Only if Christ the Son Yahweh and the Father is Yahweh do we have any consistency in Scripture. Jesus is the creator? Heb.3:2-6: We find Christ is faithful to Him who appointed Him as “Moses also was faithful in all his house.” That he is counted to have more glory than Moses, for “H e who built the house has more honor than the house.” “For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.” All things are built by God, that is why he (Jesus) is called the creator because all things made are attributed to him, but not just him but the Father (also the Holy Spirit). How many Scriptures say concisely and clearly the opposite of Wierwille’s teaching of Jesus being just a man? Numerous. The Ways spiritual foundation is built upon the great denial of Christ. Jesus is a sinless man brought into existence by God but he is no more than a man. Emphatically denying he is God in the flesh (as the Bible teaches.) The Way rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and instead adheres to the ancient Arian heresy by which the emperor Constantine was baptized in, he too denied who Jesus is. Wierwille developed himself into an elitist teacher who focused on the denial of the trinity to gather his disciples, just like so many other teachers before him, JW’s, Christadelphians, Iglesia ni Cristo etc. Wierwille presented himself alone knowing the truth. That all of Christianity’s teachers are ignorant. It was easy to convince by tickling the ears of the ungrounded focusing on the humanity of Christ (which is a portion of truth but not the complete truth) and denying the other deity scriptures. Since those in the Way do not read the Scripture apart from his interpretations, he was able to twist it to his own exclusive meaning. If they were to read outside the way’s literature they would find that Wierwille lied about the Christian church and its history on the deity of Christ and the Trinity. Again his claim, “Trinitarianism then was confirmed at Nicaea in 325 by Church bishops out of political expediency" (Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille, Jesus Christ is Not God, p. 25-26). This is completely and thoroughly disproven from history. We have the manuscripts, and quotes going back long before the councils, and every scripture (minus approx. 11) are used in the early church writers of the 1st and 2nd centuries. Quit attacking the faith delivered to the saints once and for all. Do your homework and become part of the body of Christ as The BIBLE STATES. Holy Spirit In 1951, Wierwille met J.E. Stiles who taught him how to receive the Holy Spirit into manifestation," and speak in tongues. Two years later Wierwille began teaching his "Power for Abundant Living" (P.F.A.L.) class, the instruction series in the Way's doctrine and outreach. It was described as an intense, 12-session, 36-hour, with no note-taking or questions allowed.Some reported in the PFAL course it was promised that right "believing" will keep away sickness, insure prosperity, and even protect soldiers from enemy bullets. (Again liken to the Latter Rain) This is where a person ingests Wierwille’s private interpretations; learning HOW to read and HOW to pray, and HOW they too can receive the Spirit.He stated, "the ONLY visible and audible proof that a man has been born again and filled with the gift from the Holy Spirit is ALWAYS that he speaks in a tongue or tongues." A believer must manifest Holy Spirit by speaking in tongues hadPaul address this error telling us that not all speak in tongues, the only gift common with believers is the Holy Spirit within them who expresses Christ. 1 Cor. 12:30-31 Paul rhetorically asks “Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts.” Acts 19:6 Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied .” Both! 1 Cor. 14:5 “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification. In other words, Paul taught that tongues was the lesser spiritual gift, not the end all like Wierwille and others teach. Only the immature make this into the common denominator for all. Who or what is the Holy Spirit? ‘ The Way’ says the Holy Spirit is not another Person of the Godhead, but a different name for God which is used when God is viewed as the Giver of Holy Spirit (a synonym for God). It is a name of God describing His nature as Spirit, the gift of God given to believers by the Holy Spirit (?) it is "impersonal power from on high." Is that what the Bible teaches? Again, nearly every cult denies the Holy Spirit as a person. The word for Spirit (pnuema) is neuter in the Greek language, Paul uses the word Spirit as a masculine pronoun ‘He’ekeinos, giving Him identity, as did John (Jn. 14:16; 15:26; 16:8, 13, 14). Jesus called him a He, and that this He would be sent from heaven to live in all believers, He would be another comforter (like Jesus) only if Jesus is a non person can one come to this flawed conclusion. A force cannot comfort. For “God is Spirit”(John 4:24) The Holy Spirit has power but not to the exclusion of not being a person. In Ps.139 there are three omni’s mentioned for the Spirit, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, all are attributes belonging only to God’s nature. Wierwille explains the difference between the Giver and His gift: “God can only give that which He is. Since God is Holy Spirit, He must give this as His gift. On Pentecost He gave holy spirit.... God gave what He is -- Holy and Spirit. But according to Wierwille the Holy Spirit has no personality he is a force, so in reality a force gave us a force, confused yet? 1 Cor. 6:19 do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,” John 4:24 God is Spirit” the Holy Spirit indwells all believers who believe in the actual gospel. 2 Cor. 6:16 “you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them” The holy Spirit in the believer makes us his temple individually and corporately in our body and as we gather. The temple was where the priests met God. The Spirit is attributed to being the author of Holy Scripture, which gives him communication skills which is an expression of an intelligent being (2 Tim.3:16). In Isa.59:21 the Spirit gave the men the words to write. The Spirit spoke to Philip, (Acts 8.29) “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Paul states, “Then the Spirit told me ” (Acts 11:12). In Revelation we are told to hear what the Spirit says to the churches 7 different times. In 1 Tim. 4:1: “The Spirit expressly says” to the Church, warning about the last days some will depart from the faith.We will look how this specifically applies as we further examine the teachings of the Way. p.3 The Jesus of the Way and other unusual doctrines |
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