10^th Anniversary Guest Article

by

Sammie Lukins

Within The Church at large today, you will struggle to hear the message of The Cross preached & taught consistently. Here & there, every now & again, The Cross will receive an honourable mention while its centrality to The Gospel is largely ignored. Paul says, ‘And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.’ (1^st Corinthians 2:1-2). It gives me great pleasure to publish this article. Read it. Re-read it. Read it again.

 

“Born in California, USA, to a British family, I enjoy all the benefits of dual-citizenship. Residing in the UK, I work as a registered nurse. My hope as both a nurse and a Born-Again Christian, is to serve in Africa in medical missions. While home in the UK, I am part of ReBorne Community Church in Dorset, England and serve in the work of Good News for Everyone.”.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34 NIV). ‘What is to bear the cross of Christ?’ must enquire the Christian. To follow Jesus means sharing in His death and resurrection. In fact, He says that we must bear a cross if we claim to believe in Him.

John Wesley wrote, “Learn to hang naked upon the cross of Christ” (Welsey, 2011, p.117). His thought bore my own into a view of holiness that I had never before beheld.  Wesley challenges the reader to deny good works and to expose themselves spiritually before God, stripped of all self-righteous glory and all attempts to redeem themselves. He bears witness to the Gospel of God, that to be a ‘Christian’ we must come with our small Christ-cross; our daily intentions subject to self-denial and the ministry of God.

Cursed, defiled, humiliated, agonised, mutilated, abandoned. Christ was all these things as He bore the suffering of God’s wrath and was physically exposed upon Calvary Cross; spiritually alive and yet spiritually veiled in human flesh. Likewise, Christians must hang upon their own cross; perhaps physically whole but always spiritually exposed; all evil and wrongdoing of the soul bare before the judgement of God, so that the Almighty can look down and behold it crucified in humility and borne by the saving Christ.

What does it mean to bear the cross of Christ? It is to be completely delivered from the power of sin. In 1st Corinthians 10:13, the Bible promises, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” If the soul is bare before God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then unlawfulness holds no interest for the Christian. Even if momentarily allured to sin, there is strength and the capability to say ‘no’ to what is wrong, even if it costs us pride, status or popularity. The weight of worldly glory is small in comparison to bearing the glory of God. Being honoured by God for doing right should overthrow all temptations to perform wrong.

What does it mean to bear the cross of Christ? It is to be fully committed to wearing the Image of God – His Holiness. The cross represents the fight to be sinless; the burden of always seeking good in the face of temptation and adversity; the symbol of pain that life is sacrifice. The Bible reads, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation… He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8). Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice in obedience to His Father, willing to suffer as God commanded. He bore the purpose of God. And as followers of God, we also bear His great commands – and one is to bear our cross.

Whether it be an addiction, a family problem, a great responsibility or a career, we all bear something to which we give our energy, dedication and ambitions. The bearing of the Cross must be no less. And yet, it must be greater, “else you are still on the sand; and after saving others, you will lose your own soul.” (Wesley, 2011, 117). Because without faith and dedication to the eternal, what passes away is all we will have to grasp and to vanish with.

All Christians, regardless of denomination; regardless of culture, are called to the high mind of God. Peter, in the Bible, explained, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.”  (1^st Peter 1:15,16). What is Holiness? The Image of God – the Holy Estate from which Adam fell. And to there we are restored through the cross of Christ by the mercy of God.

This is our burden: to carry the inward mark of God through outward sacrifice. Christians must scorn social Gospel and learn to suffer; hang exposed for every evil thought to be brought dead at the feet of God. They must be stripped of pride and self-worthiness. Because without Jesus, our thoughts and words are nothing. Jesus died in our place the cursed death.  His cross is our salvation. His teaching is our pathway. And the truth of how we must live, set-apart unto the Holy Living of God, is our quest; it is our daily ‘curse’; it is our agony.

Yet in this deep darkness of responsibility and seriousness, there is a hope in the Christian’s cross. It is found in 1^st Corinthians 1:18: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (NKJV) Every Christian who takes up his cross and follows Christ follows Him to eternal resurrection. By our daily pledge to living the way of God, we are slowly dying to own wants to live again in the restored state of Adam. Carrying our cross is not saving ourselves; it is surrendering ourselves to God in the Spirit as Christ did. And in the power of His Cross, we are being saved.

We do not perform this inexplicable responsibility alone. In the glorious Psalms, we find the following verse: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” (Psalm 28:7). There is no greater summary to the bearing up of the work of God. The Lord strengthens us with the Holy Spirit to resist temptation; shields us from the lure of our past wrongs. And if our hearts remain steadfast in Him, dedicated to carrying our own daily cross, then He will surely help us to follow in His footsteps. Christians have Christ’s encouragement. The Psalmist found it - and so may the rest of us. 

What does it mean to bear Christ’s cross? It is proclamation of faith in Christ’s future return to receive the souls entrusted to Him. And how should He find such souls? Only crucified next to Him, humbly, offering back to Him what He rescued so graciously. The Psalmist knew this, writing, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”  (Psalm 91:1; NKJV). In the Almighty’s arms, Christians dwell securely. There, they may rest, enjoying their endless service to Christ.

 

Reference:

Wesley, John (2011). Classic Insights: RENEW MY HEART. Ohio: Barbour Publishing.

 

 

 

the Name Of

J e s u s:

It’s for Life,

Not Just for Christmas

 

an examination of this precious subject & a biblical refutation of the false claims of

E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin

-8-

Anyone who has a prayer life of any substance, will know the sweetness of The Name of Jesus. I’m not talking about how long we pray for, or what we pray about. I mean the deep satisfaction of fellowship with the lover of our souls, our all in all & our beloved Lord & Saviour. We say His Name because it encapsulates everything He has done & everything He is. Jesus. Sweet Jesus. Wonderful Jesus. Because of these things, any falsehoods perpetrated against Him & His Name are infuriating. Peter says, ‘Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.’ (1^st Peter 2:6-8). My only desire is that The Name of Jesus is once again precious to The Church, because His Name is as much Him as He Himself.

There is one chief end to any & all heresy; that end is subversion. In these articles we have identified one of many trends, designed to denigrate The Lord Jesus Christ. E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin have managed to infect the Charismatic movement & Neo-Pentecostalism with significant Christological errors.

Please feel free to correct me, if I’m wrong. Please feel free to enlighten me, if there is something I have missed.

Both Kenyon & Hagin claim that The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, which was a place of defeat. Descended into hell & suffered there at the hands of demons. He was born again in this ‘prison house of suffering’, like a common sinner & raised from the dead. Then He was given The Name that had been eternally secret. That Name is now the property of The Church & the key to power & prayer.

They say The Name guarantees answers to prayer in our favour & whatever we demand will be ours. These are the bare bones of their teaching. Again, if you have a copy of The Name of Jesus by Kenneth E. Hagin & or E. W. Kenyon's volume on the same subject, burn them. They make excellent kindling. Take your Bible & examine the claims these men made, in the light of The Scriptures. So, with one last swing of the bat, let’s look.

Hagin states: ‘If you study the Scriptures carefully, you will find that nowhere does Jesus mention faith or belief when He talks about using the Name of Jesus, except in the future tense.’. I’m confused Ken.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

 

How can Kenneth Hagin reach that conclusion, with no biblical proof whatsoever? To the contrary Ken, if you had studied The Scriptures carefully, you would have seen that there is abundant evidence for a completely opposite determination. If what Hagin states is true, how then did the disciples, the seventy & the unknown, unnamed exorcist use The Name of Jesus? With no faith in Christ Himself? The problem is that Kenyon & Hagin’s beliefs about faith are skewed.

The disciples et al could not have healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out devils or cleansed lepers, unless they had believed in The Lord Jesus Christ. On that basis, they confidently used His Name. You cannot separate The Lord Jesus from His Name, but when viewed through the Gnostic lens of the Charismatic movement & Neo-Pentecostalism, His Name becomes a thing, a charm, a talisman or magic wand.

If invoking The Name of The Lord requires no faith in Christ, why did the seven sons of Sceva have the snot beaten out of them by one man? Riddle me that! (Acts 19:13-17). Faith in His Name is faith in Him, whether it was when He was here on the Earth, or now, when He is at His Father’s right hand.

¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:11-13).  

²³ Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did (John 2:23).

¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).

³¹ But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 30:31).

We could go on & on, but you can look at this in your own time. The meat in the sandwich is the fact that the modern teaching on The Name of Jesus attempts to place you at the centre of the narrative, replacing Jesus Christ as both subject & object. When it becomes about you, what you have, what you can do & who you are, there will be trouble ahead.

Hagin continues: ‘Kenyon writes, "the right to use His Name is a conferred blessing to the Church: it is a Right that belongs to every child of God. "Then he gives our four-fold right to use the Name. 1.We are born into the family of God and the Name belongs to the family. 2.We are baptized into the Name, and being baptized into the Name, we are baptized into Christ Himself. 3.It was conferred upon us by Jesus Who gave us the Power of Attorney. 4.We are commissioned as Ambassadors to go and herald this Name among the nations. "I cannot see," Kenyon observes, "where we need to have any special faith to use the Name of Jesus, because it is legally ours.’. Well hallelujah. He finally got something right! But don’t click your heels just yet. Let’s go back to The Scriptures.

¹⁶ And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all (Acts 3:16).

¹² But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women (Acts 8:12).

⁴³ To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43). 

Some will argue the toss about what I’m about to say & I am more than willing to take objections, another time. However, Kenyon is only correct in one of his assertions. That assertion, is the ambassadorial role of The Church. The main reason that I point this out is the fact that it is the one item on his list that is solely about The Lord Jesus Christ. All of this big talk about legal rights & special privileges is pure prattle. Nobody wants to be a bondservant!

It is not about you. It is not about me. It is not about anybody else, but Jesus Christ & Him crucified. Where is the seeking of His will? Where is the representation of His character? Where is the reverence of His Person? It is nowhere to be seen in this false teaching. Instead, Christ is demeaned, demoted & dispensed with. You don’t need Him when you simply have His Name & apparently, we don’t need to have any special faith in order to wield it. You can wave it like a charm & receive whatever you want. Or so they say. It is heresy & blasphemy. Where does a heretic get his heresy? From another heretic. Let me give you a prime example of where it leads. This is why my blood boils with incandescing rage. The Lord Jesus Christ cannot be separated from His Name! Listen to this.

“The Spirit of God spoke to me and He said, ‘A born again man defeated Satan, the first born of many brethren defeated Him, He said you are the very image and the very copy of that one.’“ I said, goodness, gracious sakes alive. I began to see what had gone on in there and I said, well now you don’t mean, you couldn’t dare mean that I could have done the same thing? God said, “Oh yeah, if you’d known that, had the knowledge of the Word of God that he did, you could have done the same thing because you’re a reborn man too.” This is not what The Scriptures teach! Whichever god spoke to him, is a liar & Copeland is a blithering idiot, at best, for believing it as well as teaching it!

Kenneth Copeland (emphasis added).

 

Wow! That means that dear old Ken could have borne the sins of the world. Endured the defeat of the cross. Suffered in hell at the hands of devils, been born again, then beaten satan before rising from the dead. He would then have received the name above every name. At the name of Kenneth, every knee would bow. He would have ascended bodily into heaven & finally taken his place at the right hand of God. Do you see how utterly ridiculous those claims are? He sails dangerously close to Mark 13:6.

What a shame that he has to tolerate the indignity of living in luxury, flying privately & having more money than anyone could reasonably spend on themselves.

The entire premise, drive & ambition of this teaching is to somehow show God as our obligated servant. He cannot say no to us, when we use The Name of His Son. However, how can we forget the words of The Lord Jesus Christ Himself? ‘Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ (Matthew 7:22-23).

With no faith required in order to use The Name of Jesus, because it belongs to The Church legally, how can The Lord reasonably dismiss those who have prophesied, cast out devils & worked miracles in His Name. I’ll tell you how He can do this. Because He never knew them. Based on the teaching of E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin, many will argue ‘..we have power of attorney & the legal right to use The Name because it belongs to us, legally & we demand our place in The Kingdom..’. They will probably quote John 16.

Please, find even one instance in Scripture where an individual with no faith in The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, successfully used His Name. I’ll wait….

Be careful brethren, because when I look at the way in which this teaching has advanced within The Church at large, all I see is something more akin to conjuring, than consecration & closer to witchcraft than watchfulness. There are those who boldly decree & declare in The Name of Jesus, not recognising that without relationship, obedience or indeed holiness, they are working iniquity. I didn’t say it. The Lord Jesus did. I dare you to argue with Him. I’ll wait…

Scripture is peppered with examples of the correct attitude towards The Name of The Lord. None of these examples involve the believer orchestrating whatever they want. The Name of Jesus is attached to whatever He wants. At least it ought to be. It is His will that is to be done on earth, as it is in heaven, not ours!

¹⁷ And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified (Acts 19:17).

¹⁷ And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him (Colossians 3:17).

²⁰ Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20).

¹¹ Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: ¹² That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (1^st Thessalonians 1:11-12). 

We could go on & on. In these meetings we have endeavoured to highlight the supreme error perpetrated against The Lord Jesus Christ & His Name? E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin both set the doctrinal bar very low in their assertions & significant parts of The Church followed them.

They conclude: ‘I am more convinced today than I was yesterday, that in these last days, there is going to arise a company of believers who will see and know their authority, their rights and privileges in Christ. They will know that the Name of Jesus belongs to them. They will take up that Name and start using it as unconsciously as they take their car keys and unlock the car door, then put them in the ignition and start the car. There is coming the knowledge of what was revealed in  the Word of God, But which we failed to see because we tried to comprehend it with human reasoning.’.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

 

Well, you can believe that if you want to. However if we study The Scriptures carefully, as Kenneth Hagin helpfully advised, we will see something else.

¹ But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. ³ And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not (2^nd Peter 2:1-3).

The Name of Jesus has been reduced to a thing instead of being revered as The Name of The Eternal Son. In His Name, in His stead, in His representative place, The Church is commissioned to use it to conduct His business & carry out His will. Blessed be His holy Name.

 

 

 

 

 

copyright © by david Samuel Parkins mmxxvi all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

 

the Name Of

J e s u s:

It’s for Life,

Not Just for Christmas

 

an examination of this precious subject & a biblical refutation of the false claims of

E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin

-7-

It is inevitable that there would be a certain degree of pushback regarding the nature of my comments on the subject at hand. I don’t mind that at all. I know that ‘As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.’ (Proverbs 26:2). Those who have come against this work in defence of the heresy highlighted here, have fallen into a trap. Having adopted one error, they are systematically prone to accept others. Paul says, ‘But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will’. (2^nd Timothy 2:23-26). This has gone beyond what is right & what is wrong. It is a matter of truth. Despite the claims that the teachings of Kenyon & Hagin are revelation knowledge as opposed to sense knowledge, a plain reading of the text of Scripture shows that they are hugely mistaken & exceptionally dishonest in their exegesis. They rightly characterise, but wrongly attribute. They rightly recognize, but wrongly assert. They rightly pinpoint, but wrongly interpret. This has gone beyond what is right & what is wrong. It is a matter of truth. If you still feel the need to email me, go ahead. Alternatively, you can read your Bible, instead.

Several dissenters have attempted to prove that The Lord Jesus did receive His Name after His death, burial, descent into hell, torture, new birth, resurrection & ascension. This is their stated belief, not mine. Of course, their go to text is Revelation 19:12. Let’s look at that in its context.

¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. ¹² His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. ¹³ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:11-16).

In reality, this verse is not saying what some argue it is saying, but we will circle back to this point. The assertion made here is that Kenyon et al are correct when they state, ‘The inference is that there was a Name known in heaven, unknown elsewhere, and this Name was kept to be conferred upon someone who should merit it.’. Well, I hate to break it to you, but the fact of the matter is that E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin are both wrong. Dead wrong. Nice try, but no jelly & ice cream. The Name is not unknown. It is known to The Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. Paul says, ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Romans 10:13) Peter says, ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12). The Name of Jesus has been ‘..given among men..’, not hidden from them. These heretics confuse & are confused by their own narrative.

Understanding the importance of Jesus’ Name is paramount, because we who believe, endeavour to conduct His Kingdom’s business & advance His interests. There are, however, others who have shuffled their agendas to the top of the pile, not His. This is mercenary, to say the least, but it is a fact that a different Jesus bears a different name. almighty God recognises one Jesus, Whom He has made Lord & Christ. (Acts 2:36).

Our Jesus, the bonafide Saviour of the world is ‘..the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth..’ (Revelation 1:5). He is ‘..Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending…which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ (Revelation 1:8). The Lord Jesus Christ is ‘..he that liveth, and was dead; and behold…alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.’ (Revelation 1:18). He is ‘..he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.’ (Revelation 3:7). Jesus Christ is ‘..the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.’ (Revelation 3:14). He is ‘..the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David..’ (Revelation 5:5) & ‘..the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.’ (Revelation 22:16). 

When we go through the gospels & New Testament epistles, we will see even more of The Lord’s attributes. Furthermore, when we view Christ in prophecy, in Christophany & in type & shadow, under the Old Covenant, our picture of Him becomes rounder still. But let me tell you what we will not see. We will not see a soft Saviour, Who was powerless. We will not see a prayer broker. We will not see a business proposition. We will not see The Son taking on the nature of satan. We will not see Him suffering & being tortured in hell by the powers of darkness. We will not see Jesus Christ being born again to new life, like a common sinner.

This teaching concerning Jesus’ Name by Kenyon & Hagin respectively, is designed to denigrate The Lord Jesus Christ. Their false doctrine strips Him down & then re-presents Him as the pattern son of heretical Gnosticism.

For them, it was not enough to mention the power, authority & majesty of The Name of Jesus. They went further with every intention of going too far. Jude says, ‘But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.’ (Jude 1:10). Put into the simplest of terms, we will always get ourselves into trouble, when we don’t know what we’re talking about. Furthermore, it follows that we will be in greater difficulty when we lie. Such is the case with E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin. Buckle up.

Hagin states: ‘There is a key to prayer without which we can get nowhere. This key will unlock the doors and windows of heaven and grant our every need. This key is the Name of Jesus. Absolute poppycock. This isn’t found in any Gospel accounts, nor is it in the writings of the Apostoles. but you will find it all over Gnosticism & The New Age.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

He goes on: ‘Jesus is our Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate, and Lord. He stands between us and the Father. No place in the Bible are we told to pray to Jesus. We are always told to pray to the Father in Jesus' Name. Therefore, to be sure our prayers reach the Father, we must come according to the rules laid down in the Word.’. rules laid down in the..? check the manuscript evidence. The word ‘me’ appears in sources older that the Received Text of the KJV. Hold that thought.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

 

In typical word of faith teacher fashion, believers are led by the nose to believe that there is a formula involved. When you’re led by the nose, you cannot smell that things are off. This occurs whether they are teaching faith, prosperity, healing, prayer or any of their other spurious, unbiblical doctrines. There are always certain keys, secrets & steps to follow, which they claim guarantee success. This is not found anywhere in the text.

 Hagin continues: In demanding our rights closely associated with the Scripture we just examined— because the Name of Jesus is involved—yet different in application is another promise Jesus made regarding the use of His Name. JOHN 14:13,14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. Jesus is not talking about prayer here. (He is talking about prayer in John 16, because He said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, he will give it you") Here He said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do . . if ye shall ask any thing in my Name I will do it." He is not talking about praying to the Father to do something. He is talking about using the Name of Jesus against the enemy in our daily life.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

 

Now we’re getting to the crux of the matter. Demanding. Not only can we get whatever we want from The Father by using the key to prayer, we can also tell The Lord Jesus Christ what to do. He is saying that we can demand that Jesus does this, because, according to Hagin, Jesus said He would. That’s some strong heresy right there, but to soften the blow, Hagin sugar coats it by claiming that The Lord was ‘..talking about using the Name of Jesus against the enemy in our daily life.’. The text does not say this. Anywhere. Even if this were true, which it is not, the believer is still demanding that Jesus does something. In reality, The Lord Jesus Christ does not jump through man’s hoops.

He persists: ‘The word "ask" also means "demand." "Whatever you demand in My Name, I [Jesus] will do it.". I was teaching this once and a professor of Greek, who was qualified to teach the language in any university, was following along in his Greek Testament. He came to me after the service, saying, "Brother Hagin, I never thought of that until you brought it out, but the Greek literally says, Whatever ye shall demand as your rights and privileges, that shall I do. Strong's concordance brings out this meaning of the Greek word translated ask: "to demand something due.".’. Ok, let’s look.

In an effort to kill as many Charismatic & Neo Pentecostal birds as possible, with one stone, let’s see what Mr. Strong has to say. To be honest, I have never used his concordance for reference. However, because Hagin cited his work, we’ll have to have a butchers.

The Greek word translated ask is aiteō. According to Strong, this word means ‘..to ask, request, petition, or demand.’. Don’t do any Charismatic cartwheels yet though, because There’s a little more. Strong’s commentary reads thus; ‘While aiteō can mean a humble request, in the context of ancient near-eastern family or legal structures, it implies an expectation of something happening based on a covenant or relationship—like a child making a valid request of a father. It is not a passive "begging" but a confident petition made by someone who knows their position.’. Our position is that of servanthood.

This is not a slam dunk. The word demand is one of several definitions available, not the only one. If, as Hagin suggests, the word ask means demand, or to demand something due, we are in deep trouble theologically. Are we being given permission to act like spoilt brats? Have a look at that problem in your own time. Strong is not saying what Hagin claims he’s saying. Noted biblical grammarian & Greek scholar, A. T. Robertson, says the following.

‘The inclusion of the word "me",  as in "If ye shall ask me anything..." is heavily supported by ancient manuscripts...Because the text reads "ask me," this verse explicitly teaches direct prayer to Jesus..Rather than prayer being directed exclusively to God the Father, Jesus invites His followers to pray directly to Him...this is exactly what Stephen does while being stoned in Acts 7:59 "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" and what is practiced in Revelation 22:20 "Come, Lord Jesus".’.

A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in The Greek New Testament  © 1977 (emphasis added).

 

Given the manuscript evidence concerning the presence of the designation ‘me’, i.e. ‘Whatsoever you ask me..’, which is also supported by Strong, it follows that Hagin is teaching believers to demand that Jesus act on their behalf. It cannot be had both ways, Ken. You should have done your homework. Remove the sugar coating & those are the bare bones of the argument. They are dangerous claims.

Where does a nutcase get their heresy? From another nutcase, of course. Kenneth E. Hagin simply lifted the writings of E. W. Kenyon & made them his own, without fact checking him. At best, this is supreme laziness, or at worst, intellectual dishonesty of the highest order. Why would these men deliberately ignore what is in the text & yet willingly embrace what is not? Throughout these teachings we have seen a steady divesting of Christ. The true emphasis is not on us getting what we want. It is on Him & His ability to grant what we ask of Him, in His Name, because of His providence.

Also, the ‘..expectation of something happening based on a covenant or relationship like a child making a valid request of a father.’, has to involve an informed association, otherwise it is arbitrary. It is absolute garbage to claim that any so called ‘..professor of Greek, who was qualified to teach the language in any university..’ signed off on Hagin’s foolishness. Who was this professor? John 14:14 cannot be translated as ‘Whatever ye shall demand as your rights and privileges, that shall I do.’. I have not been able to find a single translation with this rendering. Why? Because there ain’t one!

Of course, Strong is not the only source available to shed light on the subject at hand. W. E. Vine says this. ‘Aiteo more frequently suggests the attitude of a suppliant, the petition of one who is lesser in position than he to whom the petition is made; e.g., in the case of men in asking something from God; a child from a parent; a subject from a king; a beggar from a passerby.’.

W.E. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of  New Testament Words published in 1940 and without copyright.(emphasis added).

 

The last time I checked came across someone in Scripture who demanded their rights & privileges, as something due to them, they ended up in a parable. We must not make this error.

¹¹ And he said, A certain man had two sons: ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living (Luke 15:11-12).

 

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