How many times have you heard a minister say “We are to claim the promises of Scripture!” It is a popular teaching and trend in the Church today. Congregations are being told to “take hold of", "claim”, “declare”, “stand on”, and “speak” the “promises of God” over/in their lives. The basis of this belief is in a thought process that says “Every promise in the Book is mine!” But, in reality, we need to examine this popular teaching to discover the truth of Scripture regarding this issue.
First, notice that in ALMOST EVERY INSTANCE the ministries espousing this VERY POPULAR teaching always focus on specific “positive” Scriptures…yet Scriptures taken out of context!
If Scripture TRULY taught that EVERY promise contained in the Bible is a promise made to EVERY believer…then NO promise, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD, could be overlooked.
Follow me as we examine just a few examples here:
1. In Genesis 17, God would speak to Abram. It was then that God would make a promise to him: (vs. 4) ”…my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.”
This promise was specifically made between God and Abram (Abraham). ONLY Abram would be denoted as ”a father of many nations.” This is not a promise that can be claimed by ANY OTHER believer.
2. 3 John 1:1-2 is often quoted as a “promise of God”: (NLT, including verses 3-4 for proper clarification) “This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.” Here is the same passage in the KJV: “The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
This is a letter penned by John to a specific person: Gaius. Not only is this introductory greeting ONLY for Gaius…but this passage is NOT a promise at all! It was common practice in ancient (Biblical) times to make reference (or ask) about the recipients physical health…and, here, John does so in a way that gives insight into Gaius and his spiritual walk. It is NOT a promise to believers in any form or fashion! It is, instead, a heart-felt statement from one friend to another. John is simply saying something that we might say when we write to a dear friend…something like this: “Dear Mary, I hope things are going well with you. I hear that you are doing GREAT spiritually, and I pray that you do just as well in other areas of life.” These introductory verses to 3 John were NEVER intended to be instituting DOCTRINE for the believer! It is one man’s GREETING to another, showing not only the bond of caring between the two, but also showing PLAINLY the Godly life and spiritual walk of the man named GAIUS.
3. In Acts 9, we have the story of Saul (who would become the Apostle Paul) and his conversion. During this passage, we find this command of God (as given to Ananias): “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
This is a statement that is specifically for Saul (Paul). This is an example that is plain…and most would NEVER try to take this Scripture out of context, supposing that it was a statement for EVERY believer. The main reason no one would try to take this Scripture and make it UNIVERSAL is due to this one fact: this passage makes reference to SUFFERING. Again, it is extremely evident that, in cases of “claiming promises” of Scripture…the only “promises” that “believers” want to “claim” are those that “promise” GOOD THINGS.
These are just 3 simple examples…but there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, throughout Scripture.
What is my reason for dealing with this issue in this way? What is the significance and importance of addressing this issue?
It is IMPERATIVE and ESSENTIAL that the Church realizes the necessity of PROPER EXEGESIS OF SCRIPTURE. “Rightly dividing” the Word of God includes more than a SUPERFICIAL quoting of Scripture…which, in the case of false doctrine, always involves taking the passages of Scripture which are quoted out of context. The CONTEXT in which a passage of Scripture appears is EXTREMELY important! ANYTHING could be proven by Scripture if passages are taken out of context! ANYTHING!
It is NOT ENOUGH that Scripture is quoted!
Remember: Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness! Yet…THAT SCRIPTURE WAS OUT OF CONTEXT AND THE PASSAGES WERE PERVERTED BY SATAN!
There are vast resources available today which allow a thorough examination of Scripture. Yet, we find that many teachers today BUTCHER the truth of God’s Word under the guise of “revelation”. Look at these words:
1. “God had no avenue of lasting faith or moving in the earth. He had to have covenant with somebody. ... He had to be invited in, in other words, or He couldn’t come. God is on the outside looking in. In order to have any say so in the earth, He’s going to have to be in agreement with a man here.”
2. "Jehovah means Half Male/ Half Female and that God is as much female as he is male." .... "Adam was originally half male and half female."
These are just two teachings and quotes from Kenneth Copeland. Both of these teachings have NO BASIS in truth. Yet, Copeland uses Scripture in efforts to support his teachings. Not only are these teachings preposterous, they can EASILY be proven false by a PROPER study and evaluation of Scripture. Regarding the word “Jehovah”…Copeland’s teaching is RIDICULOUS and ABSURD to the extreme…with NO support from Scripture nor ANY reputable study materials. Whether Hebrew or Greek…no PROPER study and exegesis of Scripture could EVER result in such a teaching!
Scripture MUST be taken in CONTEXT…and it MUST be absent of human manipulation!
If EVERY “promise” of Scripture is for the believer (that is NOT saying we cannot LEARN from EVERY passage of Scripture…let me make that clear!), then believers also have to begin to “take hold of", “claim”, “declare”, “stand on”, and “speak” even the NEGATIVE “promises”. Even IF believers insist on believing that EVERY “promise” is for them…then that would include ALL…EVERY…”promise”: EVEN THE BAD ONES!
The cause of ALL of this Scriptural misrepresentation is a view of Scripture that makes it ONLY applicable and important when...or if...it speaks some positive, feel-good message to us. In totality, the Bible reveals to us OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST: GOD! That IS ALWAYS good…no question! But ULTIMATE good does not equal IMMEDIATE GOOD! It was NOT a positive message in the ears of the 12 Disciples who were closest to Jesus when the Lord said “You shall be hated” or “You shall be persecuted”…even telling them that they would be hunted down for their confession of Christ…and they might even be put to death! The ULTIMATE GOOD was the fact that they knew and served Jesus and, thus, they would spend eternity with Him! But…the truth of what Jesus spoke was not an IMMEDIATE GOOD in regards to their humanity. Being persecuted, hated, hunted, tortured and martyred held no thoughts of BLESSING and EARTHLY PLEASURE!
We all desire to hear GOOD THINGS. Yet, with maturity, we realize that TRUTH is more important!
If you went to the doctor and, during that visit, the doctor discovered you have some deadly disease…would you want the doctor to lie to you? What if there were avenues of medicine that could possibly save your life…and the doctor decided NOT to tell you that you have the disease?
If doctors took the same position as many modern ministers and ministries, then doctors would not reveal the TRUTH to the patients. Instead, doctors would ONLY tell the patients GOOD THINGS. And…in doing so…the doctors would actually be keeping their patients from being able to do anything about the disease which afflicts them, simply allowing the patients to believe a lie…helping to facilitate the death of the patients! (Just a note: many “faith” teachers say a person should never “speak” that they are sick: they call that a “negative confession”. Isn’t it odd that the Bible actually teaches this: if there are any sick among the body of believers, then let them come to the elders of the church, having hands laid on them, with the elders praying for them. In other words, a person must ADMIT their sickness…TELLING the elders they are sick…to allow the elders to agree together in prayer FOR the person who IS SICK! The Bible does NOT teach the false teachings espoused by many “faith” teachers. We must also note that, barring Jesus returning for believers in what we call the Rapture, EVERY person will die of something: our earthly bodies will NOT live forever. We all will die of something if the Lord tarries.)
I believe…no, I KNOW…God desires for the Church (specifically MINISTERS) to return to the Word of God, “rightly dividing” the Scriptures. It is not just by coincidence that the MAJOR focus of the last several Books of the Bible focus HEAVILY on the issues of FALSE DOCTRINE and PROPER INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE.
God KNEW that this day would come…and it is here: a day when “men will not endure sound doctrine”!
I pray that the men…and/or women…of God who fill the pulpits of the churches throughout our nation and around the world (with a special prayer for those within the denomination of which I am a part…the Church of God, headquartered in Cleveland, TN) will denounce the SUPERFICIAL exegesis of Scripture which is so prevalent in today’s churches. I pray that ALL preaching and speaking done under the banner of “ministry” will be done with the purpose of REVEALING TRUTH…with no thought of speaking only what the listeners want to hear (which is the distinguishing characteristic of FALSE DOCTRINE and FALSE TEACHERS).
I also pray that the Church…the Body of Christ…will seek God, repenting of the “itching ears” that have helped guide the Church down the path of error.
With that, I pray for my OWN revelation of the truth by God’s Word, allowing it to correct, instruct, reprove and perfect me in Christ Jesus.
God bless!
Ron
First, notice that in ALMOST EVERY INSTANCE the ministries espousing this VERY POPULAR teaching always focus on specific “positive” Scriptures…yet Scriptures taken out of context!
If Scripture TRULY taught that EVERY promise contained in the Bible is a promise made to EVERY believer…then NO promise, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD, could be overlooked.
Follow me as we examine just a few examples here:
1. In Genesis 17, God would speak to Abram. It was then that God would make a promise to him: (vs. 4) ”…my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.”
This promise was specifically made between God and Abram (Abraham). ONLY Abram would be denoted as ”a father of many nations.” This is not a promise that can be claimed by ANY OTHER believer.
2. 3 John 1:1-2 is often quoted as a “promise of God”: (NLT, including verses 3-4 for proper clarification) “This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.” Here is the same passage in the KJV: “The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
This is a letter penned by John to a specific person: Gaius. Not only is this introductory greeting ONLY for Gaius…but this passage is NOT a promise at all! It was common practice in ancient (Biblical) times to make reference (or ask) about the recipients physical health…and, here, John does so in a way that gives insight into Gaius and his spiritual walk. It is NOT a promise to believers in any form or fashion! It is, instead, a heart-felt statement from one friend to another. John is simply saying something that we might say when we write to a dear friend…something like this: “Dear Mary, I hope things are going well with you. I hear that you are doing GREAT spiritually, and I pray that you do just as well in other areas of life.” These introductory verses to 3 John were NEVER intended to be instituting DOCTRINE for the believer! It is one man’s GREETING to another, showing not only the bond of caring between the two, but also showing PLAINLY the Godly life and spiritual walk of the man named GAIUS.
3. In Acts 9, we have the story of Saul (who would become the Apostle Paul) and his conversion. During this passage, we find this command of God (as given to Ananias): “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
This is a statement that is specifically for Saul (Paul). This is an example that is plain…and most would NEVER try to take this Scripture out of context, supposing that it was a statement for EVERY believer. The main reason no one would try to take this Scripture and make it UNIVERSAL is due to this one fact: this passage makes reference to SUFFERING. Again, it is extremely evident that, in cases of “claiming promises” of Scripture…the only “promises” that “believers” want to “claim” are those that “promise” GOOD THINGS.
These are just 3 simple examples…but there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, throughout Scripture.
What is my reason for dealing with this issue in this way? What is the significance and importance of addressing this issue?
It is IMPERATIVE and ESSENTIAL that the Church realizes the necessity of PROPER EXEGESIS OF SCRIPTURE. “Rightly dividing” the Word of God includes more than a SUPERFICIAL quoting of Scripture…which, in the case of false doctrine, always involves taking the passages of Scripture which are quoted out of context. The CONTEXT in which a passage of Scripture appears is EXTREMELY important! ANYTHING could be proven by Scripture if passages are taken out of context! ANYTHING!
It is NOT ENOUGH that Scripture is quoted!
Remember: Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness! Yet…THAT SCRIPTURE WAS OUT OF CONTEXT AND THE PASSAGES WERE PERVERTED BY SATAN!
There are vast resources available today which allow a thorough examination of Scripture. Yet, we find that many teachers today BUTCHER the truth of God’s Word under the guise of “revelation”. Look at these words:
1. “God had no avenue of lasting faith or moving in the earth. He had to have covenant with somebody. ... He had to be invited in, in other words, or He couldn’t come. God is on the outside looking in. In order to have any say so in the earth, He’s going to have to be in agreement with a man here.”
2. "Jehovah means Half Male/ Half Female and that God is as much female as he is male." .... "Adam was originally half male and half female."
These are just two teachings and quotes from Kenneth Copeland. Both of these teachings have NO BASIS in truth. Yet, Copeland uses Scripture in efforts to support his teachings. Not only are these teachings preposterous, they can EASILY be proven false by a PROPER study and evaluation of Scripture. Regarding the word “Jehovah”…Copeland’s teaching is RIDICULOUS and ABSURD to the extreme…with NO support from Scripture nor ANY reputable study materials. Whether Hebrew or Greek…no PROPER study and exegesis of Scripture could EVER result in such a teaching!
Scripture MUST be taken in CONTEXT…and it MUST be absent of human manipulation!
If EVERY “promise” of Scripture is for the believer (that is NOT saying we cannot LEARN from EVERY passage of Scripture…let me make that clear!), then believers also have to begin to “take hold of", “claim”, “declare”, “stand on”, and “speak” even the NEGATIVE “promises”. Even IF believers insist on believing that EVERY “promise” is for them…then that would include ALL…EVERY…”promise”: EVEN THE BAD ONES!
The cause of ALL of this Scriptural misrepresentation is a view of Scripture that makes it ONLY applicable and important when...or if...it speaks some positive, feel-good message to us. In totality, the Bible reveals to us OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST: GOD! That IS ALWAYS good…no question! But ULTIMATE good does not equal IMMEDIATE GOOD! It was NOT a positive message in the ears of the 12 Disciples who were closest to Jesus when the Lord said “You shall be hated” or “You shall be persecuted”…even telling them that they would be hunted down for their confession of Christ…and they might even be put to death! The ULTIMATE GOOD was the fact that they knew and served Jesus and, thus, they would spend eternity with Him! But…the truth of what Jesus spoke was not an IMMEDIATE GOOD in regards to their humanity. Being persecuted, hated, hunted, tortured and martyred held no thoughts of BLESSING and EARTHLY PLEASURE!
We all desire to hear GOOD THINGS. Yet, with maturity, we realize that TRUTH is more important!
If you went to the doctor and, during that visit, the doctor discovered you have some deadly disease…would you want the doctor to lie to you? What if there were avenues of medicine that could possibly save your life…and the doctor decided NOT to tell you that you have the disease?
If doctors took the same position as many modern ministers and ministries, then doctors would not reveal the TRUTH to the patients. Instead, doctors would ONLY tell the patients GOOD THINGS. And…in doing so…the doctors would actually be keeping their patients from being able to do anything about the disease which afflicts them, simply allowing the patients to believe a lie…helping to facilitate the death of the patients! (Just a note: many “faith” teachers say a person should never “speak” that they are sick: they call that a “negative confession”. Isn’t it odd that the Bible actually teaches this: if there are any sick among the body of believers, then let them come to the elders of the church, having hands laid on them, with the elders praying for them. In other words, a person must ADMIT their sickness…TELLING the elders they are sick…to allow the elders to agree together in prayer FOR the person who IS SICK! The Bible does NOT teach the false teachings espoused by many “faith” teachers. We must also note that, barring Jesus returning for believers in what we call the Rapture, EVERY person will die of something: our earthly bodies will NOT live forever. We all will die of something if the Lord tarries.)
I believe…no, I KNOW…God desires for the Church (specifically MINISTERS) to return to the Word of God, “rightly dividing” the Scriptures. It is not just by coincidence that the MAJOR focus of the last several Books of the Bible focus HEAVILY on the issues of FALSE DOCTRINE and PROPER INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE.
God KNEW that this day would come…and it is here: a day when “men will not endure sound doctrine”!
I pray that the men…and/or women…of God who fill the pulpits of the churches throughout our nation and around the world (with a special prayer for those within the denomination of which I am a part…the Church of God, headquartered in Cleveland, TN) will denounce the SUPERFICIAL exegesis of Scripture which is so prevalent in today’s churches. I pray that ALL preaching and speaking done under the banner of “ministry” will be done with the purpose of REVEALING TRUTH…with no thought of speaking only what the listeners want to hear (which is the distinguishing characteristic of FALSE DOCTRINE and FALSE TEACHERS).
I also pray that the Church…the Body of Christ…will seek God, repenting of the “itching ears” that have helped guide the Church down the path of error.
With that, I pray for my OWN revelation of the truth by God’s Word, allowing it to correct, instruct, reprove and perfect me in Christ Jesus.
God bless!
Ron
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