The Beginning
In order to put things in perspective, we must start with the beginning. And when I say beginning, I mean THE beginning. Please consider the following verses, for they are critical:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
It should be obvious, according to the above verses, that not only did God create the universe, but that the Word which He spoke was none other than Jesus Christ. The doctrine that Jesus is the “express image” of God the Father, even God Himself (Hebrews 1:3), is at the core of orthodox Christianity.
Jesus was not just a good man or prophet, and neither were the words of God at creation just words spoken in faith.
Did you get that last part? That’s the part I want to address.
Faith in Words
There is a teaching still being taught that essentially says: “If you have faith in your words, as God had faith when He spoke the worlds into being, you can also create a miracle, your own reality. You can be like God, if you have the faith of God.”
Excuse me? God had faith? Really? If so, in what?
Well, if you’re like Kenneth Copeland, you’ll believe God had faith in His own words when He “spoke to the Spirit” on the day He created man…
“[We] can see that man’s body was formed from dust, but he became a living spirit when God spoke to Himself and breathed life into his physical body. … In short, we must always remember that unlike any other creature, man was both formed from dust and created with words of faith.” (Source)
Or then there’s this:
“God used words when He created the heaven and the earth….Each time God spoke, He released His faith — the creative power to bring His words to pass.”
Kenneth Copeland, The Power of the Tongue (Fort Worth: KCP Publications, 1980), 4.
First, stop and think about this! Do you realize that God is the Giver and Author of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2), not One who puts His faith in something or someone? There is something fundamentally wrong with the idea that Omnipotence would have any reason to have faith, for the very definition of faith requires a sense of dependence on a power outside yourself.
When God speaks, things happen; not because of His faith, but because He’s God!
Secondly, ask yourself: “If God had faith in His Word, then would that make Him the first Christian?” How silly does that sound? But in reality, if we are to believe that God had faith in His words, which brought about creation, then would it not stand to reason, – if John 1:1 is correct – that God the Father put His faith in Jesus? Was not Jesus the Word by which all things were created?
Crazy, right?
Then, there is the worst part…
Words of the Serpent
Do you remember how Satan tempted eve in the garden of Eden? Remember how he tried to convince her that by eating the fruit, she could “be as gods?” How similar, then, is the promise, “If you have faith in your words, as God had faith in His words, you can create like God did?”
If you think I’m making this stuff up, my friends, consider the following statements by one of the foremost teachers of this false doctrine (and you can find more on YouTube):
“You have the same creative faith and ability on the inside of you that God used when he created the heavens and the earth.”
Kenneth Copeland, ‘Inner Image of the Covenant,’ side 2.
“On the cross, Jesus won the right for believers to be born again back into the god-class. Adam was created, not subordinate to God, but as a god; he lost it, and in Christ we are taken back to the god-class.” ~ Kenneth Copeland (AZQuotes.com)
“I say this with all respect so that it don’t upset you too bad, but I say it anyway. When I read in the Bible where he [Jesus] says, ‘I Am,’ I just smile and say, ‘Yes, I Am, too!'” ~ Kenneth Copeland (AZQuotes.com)
It may anger some of you, my readers, but please don’t be offended. Do as Paul told Timothy, “take heed unto thyself, and to [thy] doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Please understand, to claim one has the power to create, as God created, is heresy! Faith in our words, outside of faith in God, especially in order to bring about our will, as opposed to, or in spite of God’s will, is nothing less than witchcraft.
Even more, it is the doctrine of Eden reborn: “you shall be as gods.”
