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Those who Deny the Deity of Christ “the only begotten Son” There are those who deny the only begotten son, which always affects the Trinity teaching, affecting the person of Jesus. Kenneth Copeland who is copied by many says " Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God... Jesus is known as the first begotten from the dead. If there is a firstborn, then there has to be a secondborn, a thirdborn, a fourthborn , etc." (Copeland: "Now Are We in Christ Jesus", p.24, Kenneth Copeland Publications, Texas. 1980,) “… he’s no longer called the only begotten son of God .” No, no, he’s called the firstborn son of God, the first begotten of many brethren and we are the fullness of him.” (Kenneth Copeland, guest on Benny Hinn’s January 28, 2004 broadcast This is Your Day telecast.) Larry Huch and Paula White discussing Jesus as the high priest, and that we have a priestly anointing take a hard left turn as Huch actually says what Copeland teaches “Jesus is not the only begotten son of God, he is not, I’m a son of God, White interjects he is the firstfruits (which refers to be first human to be resurrected to eternal life) Huch he is the firstfruit, the firstborn of many. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyLPUnXV2_U) Is Jesus no longer the only begotten son? A term used for him before he was born. They apparently do not understand what the Bible says of the Son of God being unique. They demote him to be like them, adopted sons instead of the Son with the Father. Again this term is in reference to deity, his uniqueness.1 John 4:9 God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” John 3:18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” The term is always used of one person only – Jesus, not us. Much like William Branham said “He was a Man yet He was God; He was a manifested Son of God. That's what we're to be one of these days.” (61-0416, Abraham And His Seed After Him, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL) Kenneth Copeland show his bible knowledge on Jesus as he promises his followers, " Here’s where we’re gonna depart from ordinary church: Now, you see, God is injecting His Word into the earth to produce this Jesus—these faith-filled words that framed the image that’s in Him…He can’t just walk onto the earth and say, "Let it be!" because He doesn’t have the right. He had to sneak it in here around the god of this world that was blockin’ every way that he possibly could. " (Kenneth Copeland, The Image of God in You III (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989), audiotape #01-1403, side 2. Jesus is not a word, something spoken into existence, he IS pre-existed as the Son of God who spoke things to exist and was the communicator to mankind, thus He is called the Word. Kenneth Copeland has other explanations that surely cement him into heresy: "So before Jesus came to the earth, God spoke His Word and then spoke His Word again. How many times did He say the Messiah was coming It was prophesied over hundreds, even thousands, of years. He kept saying, 'He is coming. He is 'coming the circumstances in the earth made it look as if there was no way He could accomplish it; but He just kept saying it .." (the power of the tongue 9-10.) So here God spoke the universe into existence (which the Bible attributes to Jesus Heb.1) but to make him a human it took a long time of confessing by God himself, which means Jesus did not exist. We know this because of what else he has said. Copeland further explains his heretical view, “Jesus existed only as an image in the heart of God, until such time as the prophets of the Old Testament could positively confess Jesus into existence through their constant prophecies ." (Kenneth Copeland, The Power of the Tongue, pp. 8-10) Where did Copeland get this interpretation? From Branham, from Finis Dake. “Sonship with Christ always refers to humanity, not to deity. As God, He had no beginning; was not begotten or He would have had a beginning as God; and was not God's Son. But as a man, He had a beginning, was begotten, and was God's Son. … we have no man-made mystery of the so-called eternal sonship of Jesus Christ." (Dake's Annotated Reference Bible, p. 57, note d) “As man and as God's Son He was not eternal, He did have a beginning, He was begotten, this being the same time Mary had a Son. Therefore, the doctrine of eternal sonship of Jesus Christ is irreconcilable to reason, is unscriptural, and is contradictory to itself.... The word Son supposes time, generation, father, mother, beginning, and conception.... If sonship refers to deity, not to humanity, then this person of the Deity had a beginning in time and not in eternity.” Yes as a man he had a beginning, but being the Son with the FATHER is explaining his deity, He is God as the son, Jesus as the Father is God. Thus all the word faith teachers who are involved in today’s revivalism repeat this heresy "[Jesus was] an anointed man... Walk as Jesus walked, and remember, he did it all as a man who did not pull from any source other than those that are available to ma n ." (John Kilpatrick, When the Heavens Are Brass p.19, 22.) “In other words , the miracles Jesus did was because He was merely a man anointed by the Holy Spiri t, or "an anointed man." (ibid p.19.) Bill Johnson “ While Jesus is eternally God, He emptied Himself of His divinity and became a man...” (Charisma Magazine Feb. 23, 2012) “Jesus set aside His divinity , choosing instead to live as a man completely dependent on God .” (Face to Face with God on p. 108; Heaven Invades Earth p.79) “ Jesus lived His earthly life with human limitations. He laid his divinity aside as He sought to fulfill the assignment given to Him by the Father: to live life as a man without sin. ” (“The Anointing and the Antichrist Spirit.” When Heaven Invades Earth. p.79) In fact this concept was popularized by William Branham who taught Jesus became God on earth “ Jesus immediately anointed with God, He was just a man till that time, but now He becomes the God-man.” (55-0806, Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever, Methodist Campgrounds, Campbellsville, KY) Since Bethel follows Branham it is not a shock to see them repeat what he says.Todd White who trained with Bethel’s teachers repeats their Gnostic view that was always considered error in the church “He didn’t live as God on the earth , Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan when he went down in that river He came back up, it says the heavens were open, for him legally … he obeyed the law and if righteousness is given to you I will open the heavens and cause it to rain. So that day the heaven’s were open only for Jesus and whom Jesus appointed. Whites view is that righteousness was given to him at his baptism, the bible says he is born as the Holy one. There is so much scripture on this that to make such a drastic mistake shows whom White is actually listening to. "Jesus is born of the virgin Mary, he is born as a man he is not born as God, he’s God’s son but he had, he was fully God and fully man, I’m not taking, I’m not taking divinity away from Jesus .” “ They think I’m taking divinity away from Jesus but I’m not I’m just bringing the gospel. Jesus did what he did and he was called the son of man when he was on this earth, Son of god.” “because the holy Spirit was on Jesus’ life. Until the Jordan river there was no miracle. He then speaks of the baptism in the Jordan river “that at 30 years old Jesus would receive everything that his father had. (God’s man) When Jesus was baptized “and came back up God came upon Jesus through the agency of what? the Holy Spirit… so when Jesus healed the sick it was God through Jesus through the agency of the holy Spirit healing the sick. You have to get this!” He’s fully God and fully man but he had to lay divinity aside to do what God sent him here to do.” Once again, White as a typical representative of word faith confusion he is upholding the Gnostic doctrine of anointing at the baptism that gave Jesus power. Denying he is God incarnate and only a man. You cannot speak both, it’s either one or the other. This was Dake’s teaching that he exchanged deity for humanity, therefore he is not God in the flesh as Jesus and the New Testament teach throughout. If you are teaching that Jesus is no longer the only begotten, that he was created, spoken into existence, that he as the Son is only human you have denied who died for us and have a completely different gospel. This is becoming pervasive within the church and is something we all must stand against no matter who is saying it. |
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