Tallen
19th July 2009, 08:40 PM
The Prosperity Message of Kenneth Copeland: Examined
By: Ted A. Clore
Part II
Synonyms and Truth
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17 KJV)
Mr. Copeland says that we should remember that the scriptures say, “Thy word is truth.” I agree, we should remember that the Lord’s word is truth. Not Mr. Copeland’s traditions, theological presuppositions and teachings that are imposed into the scriptures. Not his learned teachings from his mentors and teachers. Not the philosophies that he attempts to read into that word, but the word is truth. Copeland tells us:
“Let me mention here that we are putting the Word of God first and foremost throughout this study, not what we think it says, but what it actually says!”
But in fact, he is doing just the opposite. And if we do put the word of God first, it tells us something very different than his foundational assumption. That is, that faith is a result of hearing the gospel message, not a result of man’s actions which he claims creates faith. He is doing just what he said we shouldn’t do and that is that he is telling us what he thinks the scripture should say according to his theology, not what it actually says. He is bound by his traditions and philosophies, and can’t see beyond them. Mr. Copeland’s foundational verse, at this point, would read, “Faith is created by believing and acting upon the word of God”. But the word of God says, “Faith comes by hearing”, and the Apostle has taught us that the hearing was from the already received and believed gospel of peace. Because the Roman believer had heard the gospel message, he had faith that was already in his mouth and heart.
Mr. Copeland then continues his reasoning’s, because the scriptures say that the “word is truth”, we can then substitute the word “truth” with “word”. The two words become interchangeable and synonymous based upon this verse, according to him. Now because he is building on a faulty beginning premise, he has no objection to continue that same building plan. And instead of letting the scripture tell him what to believe (as he claimed he was), he now wants to redefine the scripture to make it say what he believes. He is now, in a blatant manner, reading his belief into the word, without a single justification of doing so other than stating John 17:17 declares, "Thy word is truth".
This seems to be a declaration of freedom, for Mr. Copeland’s assumptions and presuppositions. So from this point he can substitute word and truth as synonyms. But in fact, the scripture is making a declaration of the integrity and nature of the word of God, not telling us that word and truth are synonymous ideas that can be switch.
Let me take a moment and look at the Greek grammar of this verse, before we go further with it.
αγιασον αυτους εν τη αληθεια ο λογος ο σος αληθεια εστιν (Joh 17:17 GNT-WH)
Literally this says: The logos the thine truth are.
It is translated in the King James Version as follows:
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17 KJV)
To translate into modern English we could say: your word is truth or the word is your truth. And in that we read that the verse says this: Make them holy through your truth (Father); your word is your truth.
Here is a declaration of the integrity and quality of the word of God. It is “truth”, because it is the Father’s word. His word is truth, which is based upon and founded in the character of God, something that is impeccable and infallible, because the Father’s character is impeccable and infallible. Consider this in context.
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (Joh 17:14-19 KJV)
Consider this statement in light of the testimony of the Apostle Mark:
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mar 16:15 KJV)
The commission of Christ is to preach the word of God, which is the gospel message. That is that He is the reconciliation and the expiation of the believer’s sin and trespasses with his God. And Christ’s commission is to preach that He is the reconciliation and expiation of man to God. And that message is to be taken to every creature and every corner of the earth. What sanctifies and makes man one with Christ, like Christ is with His Father. None other than this message of the gospel of peace, which is a demonstration of the power of God and the source of all of the Spiritual blessings provided to the believer.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Rom 1:16 KJV)
“Thy word is truth”, Jesus is talking about the integrity of the Father and His relationship with His disciples. Jesus has given His disciples God’s word, the gospel message of peace and reconciliation, and is preparing Himself for the sacrificial atonement that He will soon be undertaking to finish that work of reconciliation. The atonement that will ensure and forever establish the message that His disciples will be preaching to the world. It is the very same gospel message that the Apostle Paul was talking about in Romans 10 when he said faith comes from the gospel of peace and those who carry the message of glad tidings and good things. This is a sanctifying truth. A truth that makes the believer holy, a truth that is united with the character of the Father and his desire. This is a truth that comes from God to the believer and causes him to act accordingly; it will produce Spiritual fruit in the faithful. There is absolutely nothing different in this message that Jesus said was truth, and the one that Apostle’s said was the source of our faith. It is in fact the word of God, the message of reconciliation and peace between man and God. The Apostle Peter says:
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1Pe 1:25 KJV)
“Thy word is truth”, is this a declaration that “truth” and “faith” are synonymous? And a declaration that we can go into the scripture and swap these terms to get a “clearer meaning” what God means? No Mr. Copeland, we cannot use your poor principle of word swapping to make the word of God “clearer”. God had said what He meant and doesn’t need a philosophical word trick to make what He said more clear. What you are doing is not “putting the Word of God first and foremost throughout this study”, instead it is the agenda of your theology and the means necessary to support it that have been put foremost. Please tell us by what device we can use the word “is” in this verse to redefine meanings of words without so much as an explanation of such tactics. You are creating ways to read into the scripture to show what your theology teaches.
Aletheia (truth) and logos (word) are not synonyms, but are two completely and distinct ideas. If we apply Mr. Copeland’s hermeneutic of finding the word “is” and then swapping the word definitions, what kind of mischief could we create? What manner of evil could come from such a practice that can be imposed upon the scripture? Mr. Copeland’s desire of putting the “Word of God first and foremost” is in reality at this time taking a backseat to a poor use of the scriptures, and worse hermeneutical practices that lead a person into all kinds of trouble if it is applied consistently.
This practice doesn’t make the word clearer; it distorts it according to the purpose of the one that is using this technique. One can remain true to his Eclectic Theology; pick what word to redefine by finding it connected by the word “is”, and then reading the new word into its place. This is clarifying, not the word of God, but the theology that is being read into the scripture.
Consider the following examples.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1Jo 4:8 KJV)
Can we now use “love” and “God” as synonyms that we can insert into various passages to “get a clearer meaning” of those passages? Let’s see:
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Mat 24:12 KJV)
We should now read this as the God of many shall was cold. Or consider:
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1Ti 6:10 KJV)
We should now read this as the God of money is the root of all evil.
Does this make these passages clearer? No it distorts them into new meanings that can be very misleading to those that use such a practice. I think that you can realize very quickly that doing this form of theology would lead a person into trouble very quickly, and is in fact mishandling the word of God for personal reasons, trying to make it say something that it doesn’t say.
I think God is capable of putting the right words into the right places making it an infallible statement that relates His meaning as He intended
Here in the second paragraph of the first chapter of his book, Mr. Copeland is already asserting his philosophies and teachings, and reading them into the scriptures in a blatant and ugly manner. He says:
“For a clearer meaning substitute the Word for truth as follows: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth [the Word] that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth [the Word]. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth [the Word]” (3 John 2-4).” (Emphasis mine except for the assertion of “the Word” after “truth” is Copeland’s)
No Mr. Copeland, that is not a clearer meaning; it is a clear redefining of God’s word, a blatant distortion, and an attempt to read your theology into the Bible. You are trying to make your theology define the word of God in an attempt to make it say what you want it to say. Although the “word is truth”, they are not synonymous, and God did not intend for His word to be used in such an attempt to create a false teaching. God’s word is always “truth” and never would He lie to us in it, but not all truth is the word of God and truth can stand outside of God’s word. God’s word and truth are not synonymous, but certainly they can partially be defined by those words.
Is what he doing a “clearer meaning” of scripture, or is it reading into the scriptures for his own purpose? Be honest with yourself at this point. Is he letting the scripture tell him what to believe, or is he now redefining words and reading those words into the scripture with his own agenda? I will submit that he is now redefining words and reading his belief into the scriptures in a blatant and forceful manner. In fact, he is now assaulting the word that he said he would let tell us what to believe. He is changing the meaning of God’s words into something to meet his theological agenda and Eclectic Theology. He is trying to show his belief as infallible, and not the word of God as truth as he had claimed. When he says, “for a clearer meaning” what he is really saying is “for his meaning”, which he is forcing into the text. He assumes, because of the traditions and teachings of the men he follows, that he can now, at will, change the infallible word of God, into something he wishes it would say, based on nothing more than a misreading of scripture and asserting his poor hermeneutical practices and beliefs.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17 KJV)
God’s word is truth, not Mr. Copeland’s wishful words. His word is to change the scriptures to force his theology into it and use the word of God for his own selfish purpose.
By: Ted A. Clore
Part II
Synonyms and Truth
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17 KJV)
Mr. Copeland says that we should remember that the scriptures say, “Thy word is truth.” I agree, we should remember that the Lord’s word is truth. Not Mr. Copeland’s traditions, theological presuppositions and teachings that are imposed into the scriptures. Not his learned teachings from his mentors and teachers. Not the philosophies that he attempts to read into that word, but the word is truth. Copeland tells us:
“Let me mention here that we are putting the Word of God first and foremost throughout this study, not what we think it says, but what it actually says!”
But in fact, he is doing just the opposite. And if we do put the word of God first, it tells us something very different than his foundational assumption. That is, that faith is a result of hearing the gospel message, not a result of man’s actions which he claims creates faith. He is doing just what he said we shouldn’t do and that is that he is telling us what he thinks the scripture should say according to his theology, not what it actually says. He is bound by his traditions and philosophies, and can’t see beyond them. Mr. Copeland’s foundational verse, at this point, would read, “Faith is created by believing and acting upon the word of God”. But the word of God says, “Faith comes by hearing”, and the Apostle has taught us that the hearing was from the already received and believed gospel of peace. Because the Roman believer had heard the gospel message, he had faith that was already in his mouth and heart.
Mr. Copeland then continues his reasoning’s, because the scriptures say that the “word is truth”, we can then substitute the word “truth” with “word”. The two words become interchangeable and synonymous based upon this verse, according to him. Now because he is building on a faulty beginning premise, he has no objection to continue that same building plan. And instead of letting the scripture tell him what to believe (as he claimed he was), he now wants to redefine the scripture to make it say what he believes. He is now, in a blatant manner, reading his belief into the word, without a single justification of doing so other than stating John 17:17 declares, "Thy word is truth".
This seems to be a declaration of freedom, for Mr. Copeland’s assumptions and presuppositions. So from this point he can substitute word and truth as synonyms. But in fact, the scripture is making a declaration of the integrity and nature of the word of God, not telling us that word and truth are synonymous ideas that can be switch.
Let me take a moment and look at the Greek grammar of this verse, before we go further with it.
αγιασον αυτους εν τη αληθεια ο λογος ο σος αληθεια εστιν (Joh 17:17 GNT-WH)
Literally this says: The logos the thine truth are.
It is translated in the King James Version as follows:
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17 KJV)
To translate into modern English we could say: your word is truth or the word is your truth. And in that we read that the verse says this: Make them holy through your truth (Father); your word is your truth.
Here is a declaration of the integrity and quality of the word of God. It is “truth”, because it is the Father’s word. His word is truth, which is based upon and founded in the character of God, something that is impeccable and infallible, because the Father’s character is impeccable and infallible. Consider this in context.
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (Joh 17:14-19 KJV)
Consider this statement in light of the testimony of the Apostle Mark:
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mar 16:15 KJV)
The commission of Christ is to preach the word of God, which is the gospel message. That is that He is the reconciliation and the expiation of the believer’s sin and trespasses with his God. And Christ’s commission is to preach that He is the reconciliation and expiation of man to God. And that message is to be taken to every creature and every corner of the earth. What sanctifies and makes man one with Christ, like Christ is with His Father. None other than this message of the gospel of peace, which is a demonstration of the power of God and the source of all of the Spiritual blessings provided to the believer.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Rom 1:16 KJV)
“Thy word is truth”, Jesus is talking about the integrity of the Father and His relationship with His disciples. Jesus has given His disciples God’s word, the gospel message of peace and reconciliation, and is preparing Himself for the sacrificial atonement that He will soon be undertaking to finish that work of reconciliation. The atonement that will ensure and forever establish the message that His disciples will be preaching to the world. It is the very same gospel message that the Apostle Paul was talking about in Romans 10 when he said faith comes from the gospel of peace and those who carry the message of glad tidings and good things. This is a sanctifying truth. A truth that makes the believer holy, a truth that is united with the character of the Father and his desire. This is a truth that comes from God to the believer and causes him to act accordingly; it will produce Spiritual fruit in the faithful. There is absolutely nothing different in this message that Jesus said was truth, and the one that Apostle’s said was the source of our faith. It is in fact the word of God, the message of reconciliation and peace between man and God. The Apostle Peter says:
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1Pe 1:25 KJV)
“Thy word is truth”, is this a declaration that “truth” and “faith” are synonymous? And a declaration that we can go into the scripture and swap these terms to get a “clearer meaning” what God means? No Mr. Copeland, we cannot use your poor principle of word swapping to make the word of God “clearer”. God had said what He meant and doesn’t need a philosophical word trick to make what He said more clear. What you are doing is not “putting the Word of God first and foremost throughout this study”, instead it is the agenda of your theology and the means necessary to support it that have been put foremost. Please tell us by what device we can use the word “is” in this verse to redefine meanings of words without so much as an explanation of such tactics. You are creating ways to read into the scripture to show what your theology teaches.
Aletheia (truth) and logos (word) are not synonyms, but are two completely and distinct ideas. If we apply Mr. Copeland’s hermeneutic of finding the word “is” and then swapping the word definitions, what kind of mischief could we create? What manner of evil could come from such a practice that can be imposed upon the scripture? Mr. Copeland’s desire of putting the “Word of God first and foremost” is in reality at this time taking a backseat to a poor use of the scriptures, and worse hermeneutical practices that lead a person into all kinds of trouble if it is applied consistently.
This practice doesn’t make the word clearer; it distorts it according to the purpose of the one that is using this technique. One can remain true to his Eclectic Theology; pick what word to redefine by finding it connected by the word “is”, and then reading the new word into its place. This is clarifying, not the word of God, but the theology that is being read into the scripture.
Consider the following examples.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1Jo 4:8 KJV)
Can we now use “love” and “God” as synonyms that we can insert into various passages to “get a clearer meaning” of those passages? Let’s see:
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Mat 24:12 KJV)
We should now read this as the God of many shall was cold. Or consider:
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1Ti 6:10 KJV)
We should now read this as the God of money is the root of all evil.
Does this make these passages clearer? No it distorts them into new meanings that can be very misleading to those that use such a practice. I think that you can realize very quickly that doing this form of theology would lead a person into trouble very quickly, and is in fact mishandling the word of God for personal reasons, trying to make it say something that it doesn’t say.
I think God is capable of putting the right words into the right places making it an infallible statement that relates His meaning as He intended
Here in the second paragraph of the first chapter of his book, Mr. Copeland is already asserting his philosophies and teachings, and reading them into the scriptures in a blatant and ugly manner. He says:
“For a clearer meaning substitute the Word for truth as follows: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth [the Word] that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth [the Word]. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth [the Word]” (3 John 2-4).” (Emphasis mine except for the assertion of “the Word” after “truth” is Copeland’s)
No Mr. Copeland, that is not a clearer meaning; it is a clear redefining of God’s word, a blatant distortion, and an attempt to read your theology into the Bible. You are trying to make your theology define the word of God in an attempt to make it say what you want it to say. Although the “word is truth”, they are not synonymous, and God did not intend for His word to be used in such an attempt to create a false teaching. God’s word is always “truth” and never would He lie to us in it, but not all truth is the word of God and truth can stand outside of God’s word. God’s word and truth are not synonymous, but certainly they can partially be defined by those words.
Is what he doing a “clearer meaning” of scripture, or is it reading into the scriptures for his own purpose? Be honest with yourself at this point. Is he letting the scripture tell him what to believe, or is he now redefining words and reading those words into the scripture with his own agenda? I will submit that he is now redefining words and reading his belief into the scriptures in a blatant and forceful manner. In fact, he is now assaulting the word that he said he would let tell us what to believe. He is changing the meaning of God’s words into something to meet his theological agenda and Eclectic Theology. He is trying to show his belief as infallible, and not the word of God as truth as he had claimed. When he says, “for a clearer meaning” what he is really saying is “for his meaning”, which he is forcing into the text. He assumes, because of the traditions and teachings of the men he follows, that he can now, at will, change the infallible word of God, into something he wishes it would say, based on nothing more than a misreading of scripture and asserting his poor hermeneutical practices and beliefs.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17 KJV)
God’s word is truth, not Mr. Copeland’s wishful words. His word is to change the scriptures to force his theology into it and use the word of God for his own selfish purpose.