Word-Faith is a movement or false doctrine that blends eastern mystical and New Age elements with Christian teaching. Two prominent publications are Kenneth Copeland's "Believer's Voice of Victory" and Kenneth Hagin's "The Word of Faith" magazines. There are uncounted books, newsletters, and pamphlets by various authors Hagin, Kenyon, Copeland, Capps, Price, etc.
Word-Faith has no acknowledged leader or headquarters. The teachers of this damnable heresy all have their own churches and followers.
Some Terms used: The God-kind of faith; the force of faith; the Anointing; spirit-man; spiritual death of Christ; born-again Jesus; authority of the believer.
Other Names: Word-of-Faith, Positive Confession, Faith-formula, Health & Wealth Gospel.
Word-Faith History
Born in 1860, E. W. Kenyon is usually recognized as the founding father of the modern Word-Faith Movement. He began as a Methodist, but associated with Baptists. Some of his work even resulted in the founding of a few Primitive Baptist Churches. Late in life, Kenyon changed to Pentecostalism. He then combined elements of the metaphysical cults, such as Christian Science, New Thought theology, and Unity School of Christianity. The doctrines of correct thinking and believing accompanied by positive confession, with the result of calling a sickness a symptom (which is really a denial of reality) are not found in Christian writings until after the New Thought and its offspring had begun to develop. Word-Faith doctrine originated and developed in these cults, and was later absorbed by Christians in their quest to develop a healing ministry. Though he was not the movement's originator, some have also called Kenneth Hagin the "grand-daddy of the faith teachers" (Sherry Andrews, "Kenneth Hagin - Keeping the Faith," Charisma, October 1981, p. 24). In a survey of readers of a major Charismatic magazine, concerning those ministers that influence them the most, Kenneth Hagin was 3rd, ranked only behind TV evangelist Pat Robertson, and the heir apparent to the Word-Faith movement throne, Kenneth Copeland.
Word-Faith Doctrine (definitely not all of key doctrines either!)
GOD . . . Word-Faith teachers claim that God operates by spiritual law and is obliged to obey the faith-filled commands and desires of believers. He not only reveals prosperity teaching supernaturally to the Word-Faith teachers, but personally and verbally confirms their unique interpretations of Scripture (Copeland, Laws of Prosperity, pp. 60-62).
They say the Abrahamic Covenant is the basis for commanding God to do His part in the covenant. Robert Tilton says, "we make our own promises to do our part, then we can tell God, on the authority of His word, what we would like Him to do. That's right, you can actually tell God what you would like His part in the Covenant to be" (God's Miracle Plan for Man, p. 36). What absolute STUPIDITY!
Kenneth Copeland says, "as a believer, you have a right to make commands in the name of Jesus. Each time you stand on the Word, you are commanding God to a certain extent, because it is His Word" (Our Covenant with God, p. 32). Copeland goes so far as to say that "God was the lesser party and Abraham was the greater" in the covenant between them (Copeland, Legal and Vital Aspects of Redemption, 1985, Audio Tape #01-0403).
The Word-Faith teachers also make God into a big man. Copeland says, "God is...a being that stands somewhere around 6'-2," 6'-3," that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred pounds, little better, and has a hand span of nine inches across" (Spirit, Soul, and Body, 1985, Tape #01-0601). RIDICULOUS!
Morris Cerillo, in an alleged out-of-body experience, describes God: "Suddenly, in front of this tremendous multitude of people, the glory of God appeared. The form that I saw was about the height of a man 6 feet tall, maybe taller, and twice as broad as a human body, with no distinguishing features such as eyes, nose, or mouth" (The Miracle Book, pp. x-xi). May God have mercy on these fools!
MAN . . . Word-Faith teachers say that not only is God a big man, but man is a little god. Kenneth Hagin has asserted, "man...was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God's presence without any consciousness of inferiority.... He made us the same class of being that He is Himself.... He lived on terms equal with God.... The believer is called Christ, that's who we are; we're Christ" (Zoe: The God Kind of Life, pp. 35-36, 41). What happened to HUMILITY?
"God's reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself...He was not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God even" (Copeland, Following the Faith of Abraham, 1989, Tape #01-3001). He also proclaims, "You don't have a God in you ‹ you are one!" (Copeland, The Force of Love, 1987, Tape #02-0028). This sounds like the Mormons!
Morris Cerillo says "the whole purpose of God was to reproduce Himself. ...you're not looking at Morris Cerillo, you're looking at God, you're looking at Jesus" (The End Time Manifestation of the Sons of God, Audio Tape 1, Sides 1 &;2). What will he say when he stands before the Great White Throne?
CHRIST . . . The deity of Christ Jesus, our Saviour and Lord is compromised. Kenneth Copeland, in relating what Christ supposedly told him, says, "don't be disturbed when people accuse you of thinking you are God...the more you get to be like Me, the more they are going to think that way of you. They crucified Me for claiming that I was God. But I didn't claim I was God. I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was with Me" (Copeland, "Take Time to Pray," Believer's Voice of Victory, #15, 2 February 1987, p. 9). "Jesus was on the earth just a man, not the son of God" (Frederick K.C. Price, Tape #RP 19, May 1993). And Kenneth Hagin says, "You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was" (The Word of Faith, December 1980, p. 14).
