Ten Reasons NOT To Reject Word-of-Faith Teachings

A Response to the tract written by Tricia Tillin Titled “Ten Reasons To Reject Word-of-Faith Teachings”

 

Reason 6: It Proclaims The Restoration of Man’s Delegated Authority

 

Tillin correctly states that the Faith Teachers teach that our redemption was a restoration of our lost dominion. The Word-Faith recognizes that the Scriptures teach, “For if through the transgression of the one, death reigned as king through the one, much more shall those who receive the overflowing grace and gift of righteousness reign as kings in life through One, through Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17; Montgomery New Testament). Satan had the authority of death and ruled man through the fear of it before Christ destroyed him (Heb. 2:14; Rev. 1:18).

 

The Bible describes Satan as “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), the prince, or, ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and that the whole world is under his control (1 John 5:18, 19). The Bible teaches that Satan usurped this position:

 

 

The Devil next led Him up and caused Him to see at a glance all the kingdoms of the world. And the Devil said to Him, "To you will I give all this authority and this splendour; for it has been handed over to me, and on whomsoever I will I bestow it. (Luke 4:5, 6; Weymouth)

 

 

Sin opens the door for Satan and gives him a foothold in our lives (Eph. 4:22-27; Gen. 4:7; 1 John 3:12). Through sin and rebellion against God, man handed over the authority of the kingdoms of the earth to the devil. When Satan tempted Jesus with this claim, the Lord never disputed it, thus demonstrating the fact that it was a genuine temptation. The Lord could have easily detected this to be a lie were it so.

 

The Scripture teaches that man was God's under ruler. He was made in God's image and likeness and given reign over God's creation. Speaking of man, Psalms 8 says:

 

 

Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:5, 6; Revised Version)

 

 

Man was made a little less or a little lower than God and given authority over ALL of God’s works. God’s states this very fact in Genesis 1:26-28. By making this decision, God, to some degree, sovereignly placed limitations on Himself. The Arminian theologian, Jack Cottrell sums up this position well:

 

 

We can say, then, that God reigns over the earth, but in a sense he reigns over it through man. When God delegated authority to man and commissioned him to rule, he was to a limited degree placing the future of the earth in the hands of man. And by giving him free will, God thus determined that man’s rule would be genuine and not a sham.[1]

 

 

So man was given authority over all of God’s works. Man in his rebellion placed himself under Satan’s authority (Col. 1:13, 14; Eph. 2:1-5). Naturally, whatever once was under man’s authority is now under Satan’s since man allowed the devil to become his ruler. Many years before the Faith Movement, Andrew Murray wrote the following:

 

 

When he had brought about the fall of man and thus transferred the world to himself and became its prince, he had real authority over all that was in it. Man had been destined to be king of this world, for God said, “Have dominion….” When Satan conquered the king he took his entire kingdom under his own authority – and this authority was recognized by God. God, in His holy will, had ordained that if man listened to Satan, he must suffer the consequences and become subject to his tyranny. God never in this matter used His power or exercised force but always took the way of law and right, and so Satan retained his authority until it was taken from him in a lawful manner.[2]

 

 

Murray further wrote, “Believers, our Lord Jesus by His blood has made us not only priests but kings unto God, that we may draw near to God not only in priestly purity and ministry but that also in kingly power we may rule for God”[3] (Italics are his).

 

The Bible speaks of Christ as the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45) who has triumphed over the devil on our behalf (Gen. 3:15; Acts 26:18; 2 Cor. 2:14; Col. 1:12-14; 2:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8; Rev. 12:9-11) and restored authority to the body of Christ through His redemptive work (Luke 10:17-20; Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Eph. 2:6; 4:27; 6:10-18; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-10; 1 John 5:18). He told us that we are capable of exercising the same dominion that He had on while He was on earth (Matt. 21:18-22; John 14:12-14). The Scriptures teach this aspect of redemption and so do the faith teachers, in spite of the protests of their critics.

 

Therefore, it is true that faith teachers put an emphasis on Christ’s victory over Satan and His restoration of man’s dominion that was lost due to Adam’s transgression. However, Tillin makes the false accusation that, “Word-of-Faith teachers stress the loss of dominion over the earth, not sin, as the root problem.” This is far from the truth. Hagin writes: “No, the reason men must be saved is because we are all born in sin and must be born again in Christ.”[4] Hagin also taught that Christ’s redemption was to make propitiation for our sins:

 

 

The claims of Justice had to be satisfied in things pertaining to God. It was necessary that Christ as a High Priest make propitiation for the sins of the people. He had to carry His blood into the Holy of Holies and seal the document of redemption with it. (Hagin)[5]

 

 

Christians can disagree with the faith teachers over the issue of man’s authority. Yet, to claim that faith teachers do not recognize sin as the root problem with man is a distortion of what is actually taught as evidenced by Hagin’s statements.

 

Tillin also claims that “The worship given to Jesus by Word-of-Faith believers is more from a sense of gratitude than a recognition of His divinity.” It is true that Word-Faith believes in offering thanksgiving in gratitude for the redemptive work wrought by Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 9:11; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; Rev. 11:17):

 

 

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Col. 1:12-14)

 

 

So there is some truth to the statement made by Tillin that part of Word-Faith worship is to demonstrate appreciation for what Christ did in His redemptive work and for them to do so is quite Scriptural. Unfortunately, the claim that they do not recognize His divinity in their worship adds to the list of the many false accusations made by Tillin throughout her tract.

 

There is no doubt that faith teachers recognize the divinity of Jesus Christ. Hagin wrote concerning Jesus, “He is God manifested in the flesh. He is Truth. He is Deity.”[6] While teaching on Acts 4:24, Hagin wrote, “Notice when they lifted up their voices with one accord, the first thing said was, “Lord, thou art God” (v. 24). They were magnifying Him as God.”[7] It would seem to me that Hagin recognized and taught the acknowledg-ment of Christ’s divinity in worship. Other statements by Hagin demonstrate the fact that worship among Word-Faith is not limited to gratitude for our restored dominion:

 

 

There is a reverence, an awesome sense of the holiness of God which can come upon a congregation. As the body of Christ, we've got to get back to that place of reverence. For when we reverence God and give Him the honor and worship due unto Him, His presence will fill the place where we are gathered. It is His presence which will meet the deepest longings of our hearts and set the captives free.[8]

 

 

It is amazing to me that Tillin could make so many false accusations in just one “reason” for rejecting faith teaching. Yet, she continues this pattern by claiming that the Faith Movement “misses the whole point of redemption: that Jesus HIMSELF is the Life and Salvation of mankind and that we are only saved in union with Him.” Let us cite Hagin once more as proof that such statements have no bearing in FACT:

 

 

In the New birth, we are brought into vital union with Jesus Christ. All that most people think they have in the new birth is forgiveness of sins. They don't know about being in union with God.[9] (Emphasis mine)

 

 

The statement by Hagin above totally contradicts what Tillin claims is “missed” by the faith teachers.