In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. [2 Corinthians 4:4]
By Joshua Typos
Rule Number 1 in Spiritual Warfare: Know thy enemy:
Are You in Spiritual Warfare or Spiritual Welfare? God has called you to a war. Today I want to contrast these two similar-sounding words and contrast the true life of a believer (Spiritual Warfare) with the fraudulent global scourge of Spiritual Welfare in the form of the false Prosperity Gospel of the WOF movement.
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. [2 Timothy 2:3-4]
The enemy and adversary of your soul is using our fleshly desires and enticements of the world in WOF movements by falsely representing God’s provision and promises to enrich themselves. But worse, they present another Jesus and another Gospel. In Genesis chapter 3, God declared war on the Serpent, his seed (antichrist), and his fallen angels. This is Spiritual Warfare, not a well-fare line to claim material abundance. You’re getting played!
A few documented examples that convey the idea:
Joel Osteen:1 “When you say of the Lord you are healthy, you are whole, you are free, you are blessed, you are prosperous—when you say it, God has promised He will do it.” The same passage says, “Nothing happens unless we speak.” (Known as Positive Confession, or Genie in a Bottle?)
Kenneth Copeland:2 “He won healing, He won deliverance, He won financial prosperity, mental prosperity, physical prosperity, family prosperity.” (Jesus had nothing, sent his disciples out with no money) [Matthew 8:18-23, Luke 10:2-9]
Understanding Spiritual Welfare in the Word of Faith Movement
Spiritual Welfare in the Word of Faith movement is also associated with “Prosperity Gospel, Name it and Claim it” and teaches that God desires His followers to experience both spiritual and material prosperity. “The World” and its enticements, allure, and lust of the flesh are the devil’s toolbox here.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. [1 John 2:15-17]
Occult influences from the New Thought movement have significantly shaped Word of Faith teachings, particularly through the emphasis on positive affirmations and the belief that thoughts can manifest reality. This connection is evident in the prosperity gospel, which promotes the idea that faith and correct thinking can lead to health and wealth, aligning closely with New Thought principles.
New Age and New Thought Similarities & Differences
Excerpt from Servant of Grace (Testimony of Doreen Virtue):3 As someone who spent 33 years as a New Thought church member and 26 years as a New Age teacher before God saved me, I’ve observed that there’s an overlap between New Thought and New Age beliefs. After all, they both have the same author (the devil).
Just like the Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), so all deception is devil-breathed. That’s why New Thought, New Age, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), and Word of Faith all sound similar. They’re from the same counterfeiting, lying, scheming, deceitful devil!
Similarities between New Thought & New Age:
- New Thought and New Age both utilize visualization and affirmations to try to “manifest” or “attract” desires.
- Both also downplay the Bible’s authority.
- They both deny Jesus’ divinity and describe Him as a human teacher or role model.
- The New Thought Religious Science Science of Mind 1926 first edition church manual by Ernest Holmes endorsed mediumship and spirit communication, just as New Age does. Subsequent printings of Science of Mind removed the mediumship recommendation chapter. The other New Thought denominations either denounce mediumship/necromancy (Christian Science) or ignore the topic (Unity).
Differences between New Thought & New Age:
- In my 33 years in New Thought, I never once saw the use of tarot or other divination tools.
- New Age tends to appropriate from other cultures, while this isn’t common in New Thought. Although I do remember sitting through a Religious Science church service when Buddha’s “birthday” (known as Vesak or Wesak) was celebrated. New Agers incorporate: Hindu worship practices such as yoga and chakra balancing and belief in reincarnation; utilize Native American Shamanic methods such as smudging with sage, dream catchers, power animals, sweat lodges, and drumming circles; and believe in Roman Catholic saints and archangels, and goddesses and deities from various cultures.
These are the same principles that Norman Vincent Peale taught President Trump and probably why he handpicked WOF prophetess Paula White as a segue to normalizing New Age philosophies in the Church.
Spiritual Warfare involves the believer’s struggle against three primary adversaries, spiritual fronts, if you will: The World, The Flesh, and the Devil. Each represents different aspects of temptation and opposition that Christians face, with the World symbolizing materialism and worldly desires; the god of this World is Satan.4
The Word of Faith5 movement contains serious errors in core Christian doctrine, including teachings that distort the nature of Christ and the atonement. Its origins trace to occult influences from the New Thought metaphysical movement, which emphasizes that human thoughts can shape reality and blends biblical elements with unbiblical ideas.
Overview of the Word of Faith Movement
The Word of Faith movement is a charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes the power of spoken words and positive confessions to achieve health, wealth, and success. However, it is Another Jesus and offers Another Gospel for its grievous doctrinal errors and its connections to occult origins. I know this is a serious charge, but trusting a false gospel has eternal consequences. Read carefully, I pray.
“For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” [ 2 Corinthians 11:4]
Key Errors in Doctrine of Word of Faith’s Gospel
Distortion of Core Christian Beliefs
The movement presents several significant deviations from Biblical Christianity:
- Nature of Christ: Some teachings suggest that Jesus experienced “spiritual death” and needed to be reborn, which contradicts traditional Christian views on the atonement.
- Mechanistic View of Faith: Faith is treated as a force that can be manipulated to achieve desired outcomes, reducing prayer to a formula for personal gain rather than a relational trust in God.
- Human Authority: Proponents often teach that believers can command God, undermining God’s divine sovereignty. That’s really messed up!
Unbiblical Elements in Spiritual Welfare (WOF)
Critics argue that the movement introduces pagan and occult ideas into Christianity, such as:
- Positive Confession: The belief that words can create reality, echoing New Thought metaphysics, which posits that human thoughts shape existence. Just like God in creation, little gods are false.
- Spiritual Laws: The idea that objective spiritual laws govern faith, allowing anyone, even non-Christians, to achieve results through these principles. Reducing God to a formula for success. Totally New Age.
Occult Origins of the Word of Faith Movement
Influence of New Thought Metaphysics (New Age Lies) Origins
The Word of Faith movement’s roots trace back to the New Thought movement, which emerged in the 19th century. Key aspects include:
- Phineas Quimby: Often regarded as the father of New Thought, he taught that sickness and suffering stem from incorrect thinking, a concept that heavily influenced Essek William Kenyon, a foundational figure in the Word of Faith movement.
- Kenyon’s Teachings: Kenyon reframed metaphysical ideas as biblical truths6, promoting the notion that believers are “little gods” with the power to shape their realities.
- https://amos37.com/joel-osteens-new-age-origins/ ↩︎
- https://www.allchristianquotes.org/quotes/Kenneth_Copeland/1380/ ↩︎
- https://servantsofgrace.org/beware-of-new-age-and-new-thought-practitioners/ ↩︎
- https://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-4.htm ↩︎
- https://cdn.bookey.app/files/pdf/book/en/a-different-gospel.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.thefathersheart.online/post/the-word-of-faith-movement-origins-key-figures-and-its-departure-from-biblical-christianity ↩︎
