There is an aberrant teaching that is especially popular
in Charismatic circles today based on the notion of power in our words, or
speaking things into existence using Scripture.
What many believers in this teaching do not realize, is that it is
founded on the occult concept of "majick" which is considered by
occultists and New Age followers as the "science and art of causing change
to occur in conformity of will." Occult
practitioners teach that we can utilize natural forces around us to bring about
change. The Christianized version of
this occult teaching merely substitutes God's word (Scripture) to bring about
the desired change. Most teachers of
this erroneous theological doctrine are peddlers of God's word, seeking sheep
to fleece for profit or seeking to appeal to larger groups of sheep. Those who are not peddlers are simply
ignorant of traditional apostolic teaching about the word of God, which is not
founded upon the principle of using it to change our circumstances, but founded
upon the principle of consuming it in such a way that it transforms us.
These teachers prey on the natural human desire to have
power over our circumstances, the desire to express our own will. It is the very foundation of sin itself, the
thing that infected humanity the moment we fell in the Garden of Eden. It is the stump from which rebellion,
selfishness, and pride sprout. Teachers
who encourage sheep to take control of their situation through "the power
of God's word," rather than teaching them to submit to God's word, are
perpetuating the lie of Satan. Satan
appeals to our desire for victory over our circumstances. Jesus instructed us to carry our cross-- the
life of selflessness and faithful endurance, the life of obedience and humility
(Matt 10:38; Matt 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27). Satan and His snake oil salesmen come along
and hiss, "You don't have to live that way! Rise up and take charge of your life, just
speak God's word so your life can be shaped the way you want it to
be!" This teaching would not have been popular in first century Christianity when believers were at the mercy of their circumstances, even those leading to martyrdom. This teaching is only popular in such cultures as ours who idolize the notion of being the commanders of our own destiny.
Satan weaponizes our ignorance
and weaknesses against us, which is why it is critical to have teachers of
God's word in the church who are legitimately educated to teach it. There are many wolves in sheep's clothing who
love to pomp their titles or honorary doctorates or unaccredited degrees. They are those whom St. Jude refers to as
"hidden reefs" (Jude 1:12), because the sheep do not see them for
what they are, and like a hidden reef in the ocean causes a ship to wreck, so
do these teachers cause shipwrecks of believers' faith. St. Jude goes on to describe them as shamelessly
walking among us, feeding only themselves, "clouds without water, blown
along by the wind...wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame;
wandering stars for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever."
(1:12,13).
Why does Jude speak of these
teachers so harshly? Because God is a
jealous God and anyone who harms His precious sheep by leading them astray will
suffer His wrath. These teachers lead
the sheep astray by teaching Scripture out of context, piece-mealing texts together
to promote their own selfish, self-centered, human-centric ideologies.
Eisegesis trumps exegesis and the sheep are none the wiser because it sounds
good and feels good. Besides, who
doesn't want to defeat Satan? Who
doesn't want to walk in power? False teachers will always work the same way Satan works: appealing to base human desires such as greed, control, power, pride etc. They appeal to our flesh rather than our spirit. Jude says
that these sort of teachers reject God's authority over their life and
circumstances, establishing their own authority in God's name, teaching others
to manipulate His word and do the same; giving authority to their own visions
and dreams, polluting their own faith and lives with an erroneous understanding
of God's word and leading others down the same path (Jude 1:8).
Jesus didn't defeat Satan by speaking God's word, Jesus
corrected Satan's lies by speaking God's truth.
Jesus defeated Satan by surrendering His own will to the Father's. Satan was defeated by Christ's victory over the
very thing he caused in humanity: the
desire to express our own will over God's.
You see, when human beings decided to follow their own will instead of
God's, they no longer bore the image of God, and in our rebellion we essentially
became image bearers of Satan's rebellion instead. Human beings were created to be image bearers,
that is the fabric of our ontology-- the very nature of our being. Genesis 1:26 says that God created humanity
"in His image and likeness," which means our fundamental purpose is
to look and act like God. Satan took the
truth of our purpose and twisted it into a subtle lie. Satan perverted our purpose which is to
reflect what God is like, into a desire to be God, encouraging us to use our
will for our own purposes and desires, making us traitors against the One Who
made us--just like Satan. Because Christ died both
to His own will and physically--atoning for sin with His own physical death-- humanity was
set free from both the bondage to sin and the shackles of death. Jesus died to His own right to Himself,
handing over a human life to God in utter and total surrender (Jesus is fully human and fully divine), and thus
shattering human bondage to Satan's lie.
The power in God's word is the power of the Holy Spirit
to transform a sinner into a saint. Jesus
said, "The Spirit gives life...the
words I have spoken to you are spirit and life" which means that the
power in God's word is His Spirit, and therefore any effect of His word in a
person's life can only and ever be when it is used according to His will, not
ours. So what is God's will? His will is for us to be sanctified and holy and
live a holy life (1 Thess 4:3,7,8); for us to not be conformed to the pattern
of this world and to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God's will rather
than our own will, allowing Him to transform us by renewing the way we think
(Rom 12:1,2); to be filled with His Spirit, giving thanks to Him and living as
children of the light in goodness, righteousness and truth, seeking what is
pleasing to the Lord (Eph 5:8-20); to live according to the will of God and to
do right even through suffering, trusting Christ in the midst of our
circumstances (1 Pet 4:1,2,19); and last but not least, God's will is for us to
"rejoice always, pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ
Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16,17).
God's word says that we are to give thanks in all circumstances, even
the ones we may want to change. God's
word is like a hammer that smashes strongholds around our hearts and like a
fire that burns away error and lies, purifying our understanding (Jer 23:29). God's
word is like a sword that penetrates into our soul, cutting away all that is
dead and sinful and selfish, exposing the true motives of our heart (Heb 4:12). God's word is to be revered and submitted to,
not manipulated for our personal desire.
God is sovereign over our lives and circumstances and instead of desiring
to use His word in some vain attempt to transform our situation, we should
first seek Him in humility as Lord, asking what He may be trying to teach us
through it.
Beloved, know who you are following. Do your due diligence, be Berean and find out
where your teachers were educated or who they trained under. Not all trustworthy teachers necessarily need
to be college-educated, but all trustworthy teachers necessarily need to be
vetted as having been trained by someone above reproach, and should reflect the
fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22,23) and the character of Christ (Matt 1:3-11),
and above all, be well-equipped in God's word and able to rightly divide it (2
Tim 2:15 & 3:16,17). Jesus said we
will know who are truly His faithful disciples because they will exhibit His love
as described at 1 Cor 13: patient, kind,
does not envy, is not boastful or proud, does not dishonor others, not
self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight
in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Someone who truly loves Jesus is someone who seeks the truth no matter
what the cost and rejoices when it is shared with them. Someone truly devoted to Christ does not delight
in evil and defend questionable teachers.
Someone truly surrendered to Christ allows His truth to take them
wherever it leads, rather than kicking against it because it doesn't feel good
or sound good. Beloved, there are many
looking for God in teachers and books, but there is only one Teacher and one
Book you truly need.
See to it that no one takes you captive through
philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the
spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ. (Col 2:8)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. (Heb 13:8,9)
...until we all reach the unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of
Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and
carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in
their deceitful scheming. (Eph 4:12-14)
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just
as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies that even deny the Master Who bought them, bringing swift
destruction on themselves. Many will follow in their depravity, and because of
them the way of truth will be blasphemed. In their greed, these false teachers
will exploit you with deceptive words. (2 Pet 2:1-3)
"Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let
him who has My word speak it truthfully...Is not My word like fire,"
declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that smashes rock? Therefore
behold," declares the Lord, "I am against the prophets who steal from
each other words they attribute to Me. Yes," declares the Lord, "I am
against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, 'The Lord declares
it', indeed," declares the Lord, "I am against those who prophesy
false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies.
It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all
to these people," declares the Lord. (Jer 23:28-32)
