“For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in (into) the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist… Whoever transgresses and does not abide (remain continuously) in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” (2 John 1:7, 9-11)
In 2020 Hillsong in Sydney will be having their annual Mega Church Conference they are calling “Breathe Again” and their guest speaker is Bishop TD Jakes from the Potters House Church in Dallas Texas. This man has caused controversy in the past in relation to whether he believes in the doctrine of the Trinity. It is clear that this man is not Trinitarian in his theology. He was previously aligned with the Oneness Pentecostal denomination and their doctrine which denies the Tri-Unity within the Godhead (the Trinity) and uses the term “manifestations” rather than “persons.”
When we speak of persons or personality we are speaking of those attributes which express themselves in intellect emotions and the action of the will. In the Bible these three distinct marks of personality are attributed to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit individually and corporately. Those who promote this doctrine that denies the three equally divine persons in the Godhead also have to deny the pre-existence of the Lord Jesus before He became flesh and tabernacled among us. (John 1:14) The fact that He tabernacled among us clearly makes Him God!
Now Bishop Jakes has changed or reworded his doctrinal statement regarding God. His old statement read: “three dimensions of one God,Triune in His manifestation, being both, Father, Son and Holy Ghost and that He is Sovereign and Absolute in His authority. We believe in the Father who is God Himself, Creator of the universe.” (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1). Here his denial of the biblical definition of the Trinity is crystal clear. Describing God as “three dimensions” and saying God is “Triune in His manifestations” is decidedly Oneness, not Trinitarian. His statement before this one (1998) read in part: “There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in three Manifestations: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” But as of recently, he changed it again, going back to the 1998 description: “There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in three manifestations: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” You can see this on the current “Belief Statement” on the Potter’s House website: The statement still provides a Unitarian/ Modalistic and distinctly Oneness concept of God- using the term “manifestations” (thus avoiding the use of “Persons”) to describe God. This is consistent with Oneness doctrine, not the doctrine of the Trinity.
To say that God is Triune “in His manifestations” is modalism. A Modalist views God as one Person instead of three Persons and believes that the Father, Son, and Spirit are simply different modes or forms or manifestations of the same divine Person. According to Modalism, God can switch among three different manifestations. For those who still defend Bishop TD Jakes insisting that he holds to the biblical doctrine of the Trinity and not Oneness theology, need to refer to the Potter’s House website and read his own Belief Statement.
There is no clear statement from TD Jakes himself I can find where he clearly defines the Trinity as revealed in the Bible. Just because the term “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible does not mean that it is not there. It most certainly is and is revealed from Genesis to Revelation. Denying the Trinity denies the biblical revelation of the Triune nature of God and the eternal deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so the question remains, why would Hillsong have this man speaking at their conference?
This year 2019 Hillsong had Joseph Prince as the key speaker who himself publically stated on Television during an interview some time ago that he belongs to the faith prosperity movement and clearly defines his association and agreement with Kenneth Copeland and the late Kenneth. E. Hagin. The Jesus died spiritually heresy was taught by Kenneth Hagin and adopted by Kenneth Copeland, and this erroneous unbiblical doctrine is spreading through many Pentecostal/Charismatic circles today whose pastors go along with this and other heretical teachings by these hyper faith proponents. A major doctrinal error always opens the door to other doctrinal errors.
Now the Oneness doctrine is heretical. It is not new as it appeared in early Church History. It was called Sabellianism in the Eastern Church or Patripassianism in the Western church and was the belief that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three different modes, manifestations or aspects of God, as opposed to a Trinitarian view of three distinct persons within the Godhead. In their doctrinal statement Hillsong states their belief as a Church in the Trinity. Once again the doctrine of the Trinity affirms that within the Godhead there are three equally divine persons who are one in their divine attributes and as persons (having the marks of personality) interact with each other and this is an eternal relationship.
The main Hebrew word for God in the Old Testament is the word “Elohim” (This word is plural) and appears 2,570 times in the Old Testament. It defines three equally divine persons who are One God. The Hebrew word in the Bible “Echud” means “One” or “Oneness.” These words combined clearly reveal “a Oneness of plurality.” It is not speaking about ‘three gods.’ The same word “Echud” is used in Genesis when God says of Adam and Eve; “the two shall become one flesh.” Adam and Eve were one yet there were two persons within the oneness. Added to this man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God as Tripartite human beings having a spirit a soul and a body. There is another word used for God in Hebrew which is the word “Eloah” which points to God being “the One and Only God in existence.” but this word does not negate or conflict with the main Biblical word “Elohim” being a description of “the Triune nature of the One God.”
Having said these things, for Hillsong to have TD Jakes on their platform, who has not specifically clarified his position on the Trinity, goes against what the apostle John writes concerning those who do not abide in the doctrine of the Messiah; As the beloved apostle writes; “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in (into) the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist… Whoever transgresses and does not abide (remain continuously) in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” (2 John 1:7, 9-11)
The meaning of the Greek text “to come in” or “into the flesh” is the word “Erchomal” and it is a verb, “a doing word”, or “a word that denotes an action.” Of persons, it means, “to come from one place to another and is used of persons arriving from another place.” The Lord Jesus makes it clear in the gospels that He came down from heaven from the Father and that He had always had fellowship with His Father from all of eternity. (John 6:38) (John 17:5)
To deny the pre-existence of the distinct person of the Lord Jesus as God and equal with God and with the Holy Spirit all eternally existing, as it would seem TD Jakes does in his current doctrinal statement on the Potters House website using the term “manifestations”, is also a denial of the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son which is the spirit of antichrist. (1 John 2:22-23) Why would Hillsong have this man on their platform as their main speaker? Did they bother to look into or to affirm what he actually believes and teaches concerning the Triune nature of God who is revealed as “Elohim”? This is a very serious matter doctrinally and opens the door for other doctrinal error. Most probably “the horse has bolted” in that Hillsong have already invited this man to the platform and to “save face” and preserve their advertising and popularity they cannot ask him not to come.
Where is the spiritual discernment of the Hillsong leadership in having a non-Trinitarian speaker at their conference? How do they get around what John writes in his second letter (2 John 1:9-11)? This is not a personal attack on anyone but a fair question to ask in light of what God’s Word teaches concerning the doctrine of the Trinity and the eternal pre-existence and deity of the Lord Jesus the Messiah.
After all we are to be Bereans are we not? As we read of the Bereans; “for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.” (Acts 17:11b) In this age of the apostasy may the blessed Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, lead us into all truth and preserve us from doctrinal error and more so the spirit of antichrist which denies the Father and the Son’s eternal relationship within the Godhead! (John 15: 26) (1 John 2:20-23) In the upcoming “Breathe Again” Mega Church Conference in 2020 the question remains for Hillsong to answer; “Will it be the Spirit of Truth or the spirit of Error?”
Sources: https://arcapologetics.org/objections/t-d-jakes-modalistic-heresy/
https://christiandefense.org/general/update-t-d-jakes-changes-his-doctrinal-statement/
https://arcapologetics.org/objections/t-d-jakes-modalistic-heresy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hd58OQ_xS4
http://thepottershouse.org/explore/belief-statement/
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