Origins of the Word of Faith Movement
Historically, Kenneth Hagin is often said to be the “father” of the word of faith movement (WF). However the foundations for the WF were laid well before his time by Phineas Parkhurst Quimby in the mid 1800’s. Quimby was a spiritual philosopher, mesmerist, magnetist and healer who taught that true human self-hood is divine, your thoughts and words can heal and that the spirit is the true ultimate reality. The metaphysical teaching of Quimby were said to have influenced pastor E.W. Kenyon who fused the spiritual teachings of Quimby with Christianity. E.W. Kenyon was then a major influence on Kenneth Hagin who really popularized the Word of Faith movement. Of course no heresy is a new heresy, but if we go through the recent historical timeline, it becomes obviously clear that the WF movement does not have its roots in Orthodox Christian theology.
What is the Word of Faith Movement?
The word of faith movement is a bizarre mixture of Christianity and mysticism. The central focus of the WF movement is obviously faith. But not a biblical faith, that leads to repentance and sanctification by the grace of Jesus Christ. The WF movement teaches that faith is a force that the believers can exercise to be healthy and wealthy and get what they want. God is said to have created the universe by His own faith, and God created man divine and has allowed him to exercise the same faith-force.
Faith-Force
Bad theology always leads to bad practice. The WF movement teaching on faith turns the gospel of grace into a gospel of works. Because all sickness and poverty is a faith issue, any Christian who is sick or poor is simply lacking faith. WF teacher Fred Price said, “How can you glorify God in your body, when it doesn’t function right?….What makes you think the Holy Ghost wants to live inside of a body where He can’t see out through the windows, and He can’t hear out the ears?”[1] This type of teaching implies that a sick person is less of a Christian than a healthy Christian and ultimately leads to a gospel of works. Are you sick? Believe more. Are you poor? Believe more. Are you depressed? Believe more. Whatever your problem is, it is your fault, because you have not believed ENOUGH!
I’m a God, You’re a God, We’re all GOD!
This false teaching doesn’t end with a false understanding of faith, it goes so far as to exalt man to the status of GODHOOD. Kenneth Copeland, one of the most popular WF teachers has gone on record and said,
- “You don’t have a god in you, you are one.” [2]
- “Pray to yourself, because I’m in your self and you’re in Myself. We are one Spirit, saith the Lord.” [3]
- “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!'” [4]
Like any other heresy, the WF movement seeks to exalt man rather than God. Just like the Devil in Genesis 3, the WF movement wants you to get your eyes off of God and His word and onto yourself. Eve gets a lot of heat for being deceived in Genesis 3, however, let’s put ourselves in her shoes for a minute.
Here we are, in the Garden of Eden with God. We walk with God, we talk with God, we see God in all His goodness, and I’m sure we can’t help but think, “Wow, God is so awesome, I’m so happy to know Him.” In Eves sight, God is the greatest, there is no one so great as God. Now here comes the serpent who says, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”(Genesis 3:1) Eve responds quite accurately and says, “’We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Genesis 3:2-3) So far so good. Eve corrects the Devil and tells him the truth. Then the serpent says this, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5) BE LIKE GOD! Wow, could you imagine what is going through Eves mind, “I can actually be like God!”
Anybody who has spent any time walking with God would say they would want to be like God. I am not dismissing Eve’s disobedience, she ultimately believed the serpents word over God’s word. But remember Adam and Eve had never been lied too. At this point in their lives, they didn’t know dishonesty even existed.
I say this to illustrate my point, false teaching is extremely deceptive, and the WF teaching that we are little gods, comes right out of the same spirit of Genesis 3. When you hear teachers say, “When Jesus says, “I AM”, I smile and say, “I AM too,” remember Genesis 3. Remember the hissing of the serpent. Satanic religion wants to do one thing, think more of yourself, and less of God. Being made in God’s image is not the same as saying you are god. God boldly declare in Isaiah 45:5, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God”. False teaching always exalts man over God. And this is precisely what is at the heart of the WF movement.
Conclusion:
Again what we are seeing in the WF movement is a perversion of the Gospel. The good news is not that Jesus came to show you how to use faith so you could be healthy and wealthy. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to die and resurrect to save us from the wrath of God, that we have rightly earned through our depraved rebellion. Now by the grace of God, through the gift of faith we can repent of our sins, believe the Gospel, be born again and receive eternal life. The brokenness between God and man is now reconciled through Christ, and we can enjoy fellowship once again with our Creator. Bad theology always leads to bad practice, and bad practice can have deadly consequences. Look unto Christ, believe HIM, and let God be true, though every man was a liar!
[1] Fred Price, “Is God Glorified Through Sickness?” tape # FP605
[2] Kenneth Copeland, “The Force Of Love” tape # 02-0028
[3] Kenneth Copeland, “Believer’s Voice of Victory”, Feb. 1987,p.9
[4] Kenneth Copeland, “Believer’s Voice of Victory” broadcast on TBN, recorded 7/9/87
