There have been many criticisms of the Word of Faith movement, because of various abuses of what has become known as the “name it, claim it” theology, particularly the prosperity part of that teaching.
Let me give a brief history. An author named D.R. McConnell, in his book
A Different Gospel, documented the historical link between word of faith theology and New Thought metaphysics. He documented irrefutable evidence that Kenneth Hagin plagiarized E.W. Kenyon (see
link for details). In
A Different Gospel, McConnel quotes earlier works of Kenyon in one column, and right beside it in another column he quotes works of Hagin, and they are
identical, and there are a lot of them.
Meanwhile, Hagin is considered the father of the Word of Faith Movement, and others like Kenneth Copeland consider Hagin their spiritual father. We know of their heresies (eg.,
little gods and
rhema word) and abuses, especially the
prosperity part of their teaching, which I have written about in the links provided here and at the end of this article.
But at its core, there is actual truth to this word of faith teaching, which is based solidly upon the Word of God. It's important that we don't throw out the baby with the bath water. So let’s look and see what the Scripture says.
Profess your Faith
First of all, the apostle Paul taught in Rom 10:6-13 that we must profess our faith.
But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom 10:6-13)
Paul taught that this is the way to be saved and attain the righteousness that is by faith. But it is also the way to be healed, to operate in miracles, and to receive anything from God. In fact, it's the way to live life. You have to speak forth what you believe in your heart, in accordance with God's will, and it will surely happen. Don’t expect another to come do it. You are the one who must speak it.
The Word is in Your Mouth
In that same passage, Paul taught that the Word is near you, in your heart and in your mouth. He said, "That is the word of faith we are proclaiming" (Ro 10:8). So clearly the expression "word of faith" and the definition of it are found right there in the Word of God; therefore, it is biblical.
You need to activate God’s Word by quoting Scripture. Simply claim by faith those Bible verses out loud that pertain to your situation. And in some cases you can claim the Bible reference to those verses, as long as you know and believe the truths contained in those verses.
This is not magic, and God is not your trained seal that has to jump through all your hoops whenever you tell Him to; but if what you are claiming is His will, and you wait upon Him in faithful expectation without doubting, you will receive. That's biblical.
Speak from Faith
According to God's Word, you need to speak from faith. So you need to confess with your mouth what you believe in your heart. Paul wrote:
"It is written: 'I believed; therefore I have spoken.' Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak..." (2Co 4:13)
If you believe, then you should speak whatever you believe in your heart. In his epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle was quoting from Psalm 116:10, when he wrote: "I believed, therefore I have spoken." The KJV, NASB, NIV are essentially all the same, and all correctly quote the psalmist.
---- 2 Corinthians 4:13 ----
| KJV | NAS77 | NIV |
| 13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; | 13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe, therefore also we speak; | 13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, |
Now I want to show you what Psalm 116:10 says. I am not a
King-James-Only person, but in this case, the King James was the only version that correctly translated Psalm 116:10, as quoted in all three version of 2 Corinthians 4:13. The KJV is the only one that translated Psalm 116:10 the same way as the Septuagint (LXX), which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, as I have shown in the table below.
---- Psalm 116:10 ----
| LXX | KJV | NAS77 | NIV |
| 10 I believed, wherefore I have spoken: but I was greatly afflicted. | 10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: | 10 I believed when I said, "I am greatly afflicted." | 10 I trusted in the LORD when I said, "I am greatly afflicted"; |
It's interesting that the KJV correctly follows the Septuagint (LXX), since the KJV is based on the Masoretic text, and not the LXX. The LXX was based on earlier Hebrew manuscripts older than the Masoretic text. So score one point for the KJV for getting this one right. But amazingly, the NAS77 and NIV still both correctly translated Paul's quote of this passage in 2 Corinthians 4:13.
I would like to illustrate this point by sharing with you the
testimony of a man named Steve Boyls, who was taken to heaven by an angel, while he was laying in an induced coma in the hospital. In heaven, he saw his father, who enjoyed working with wood during his earthly life, and was also doing wood carvings in heaven. When Steve asked his father what he does if he makes a mistake while carving wood, his father told him that in heaven, mistakes are corrected by words. They just speak to the mistake and command it to correct itself, and it does so. That is how we should also operate on earth using our faith in Jesus' name.
Speak to the Mountain
Jesus taught that you have to actually speak to the mountains.
"'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, "Go, throw yourself into the sea," and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.'" (Mar 11:22-24).
It's important that you do not doubt, but believe in your heart that what you say will happen. When you do so, it will be done for you. This also applies to trees, storms, and virtually any obstacle that stands in the way of you being able to accomplish God's will. See
Speak to the Storm.
Focus on the Other World
You need to focus on the other world, which is the spiritual world, and not on the natural world.
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2Co 4:18)
We live in two worlds simultaneously. There is the visible, natural realm, and also the invisible, spirit realm. We must focus on the real world-- the unseen one, which is eternal, not on the visible one, which is only a temporary shadow of the real world.
The Power of the Tongue
Scripture says that our tongue has great power.
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Pro 18:21)
Indeed the power of life and death is in the tongue. So we have the ability with it to either speak forth life or death, blessing or cursing. That's why we must be careful about saying anything negative. And that applies to what we say over ourselves, as well as others.
We also need to pray specifically and receive specific answers. The reason you do not have is because you do not ask God (Jas 4:2).
Doing Greater Works Than Jesus Did
Jesus promised that as long as we have faith in Him, we will do what He did, and even greater works than these!
"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (Jn 14:12)
How do you think you are going to do the works that Jesus did and even greater works? You are going to do them by faith, in the name of Jesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as He and His apostles did. You are going to speak by faith to the storms of life, including literal storms, and watch them be calmed. You are going to speak by faith to the mountains, and watch them be moved.
Some Words of Caution
I want to give you some words of wisdom as a caution, in order to safeguard you from error as you put this biblical teaching into practice.
First of all, always remember that God is God and you are not. That's rule number one and it cannot be broken.
Secondly, you must be sure your faith is in the Word of God and in the name of Jesus, not in faith. We don't have faith in faith, we have faith in God.
Thirdly, you must be sure that you don't use this power for selfish, evil purposes, but only for godly ones to do His will and further His kingdom. Remember that Jesus resisted satan's temptation to use His power to turn a stone into bread.
Fourthly, you must always submit to God's will and wait for his timing. Timing is key for every miracle, as there is a correct time and procedure for everything. That requires waiting upon the Lord. Sometimes the miracle happens immediately, and other times there is a delay, whether short or long.
Last but not least, be sure you always forgive everyone from your heart, or else you won't see any answers to your prayers. Jesus taught this in the context of using your faith to speak to mountains and command them to move. He said, "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." (Mar 11:25).
Closing Words
As we have just seen, there is a true, biblical word of faith. We have acknowledged and exposed, the plagiarism, abuses, and heresies of Hagin and his followers, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the word of faith is still a true, biblical teaching.
The Word is in you heart and it must also be in your mouth. You must profess your faith, speak from faith, claim the promises of God, quote the Scriptures in order to activate them, use the power of your tongue to release life and not death, speak blessings and not curses, speak by faith in Jesus' name to mountains and troubles, commanding them to be removed, and it will be done, as long as you do not doubt. Now go and put this into practice. Ask the Lord to implement this in your life starting today.
Do You Want to Know Him?If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "
Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
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Len Lacroix is the founder of
Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission.
www.dmiworld.org.
In these days of the Great Deception, when people prefer a reassuring lie rather than the inconvenient truth, this is a collection of articles I have written about the truth found in God's Word, the need for biblical teaching, and sound doctrine. It includes articles that refute false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, the prosperity movement, the eternal security doctrine, Islam, agnosticism, antinomianism, relativism, atheism, humanism, ecumenism, the New Age movement, the Jehovah's Witness, the Mormons, also known as the Latter Day Saints (LDS), as well as the oneness doctrine of Unitarians. This collection of articles also exposes certain other cults and movements based outside the USA. It even exposes the popular, international Hillsong church, as well as certain novels that are popular among Christians.
