Books I Regret Reading
When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson
TBN: The gateway to books I regret reading.
Through Trinity Broadcasting Network, I discovered ministers who seemed to have an amazing closeness to God, and many of them were selling books with secrets to their successful relationship with the Lord. As a teenager, I was hungry for the relationship, not religion brand of Christianity that is so often sold to the masses.
I loved the Bible, but I also wanted to find the key to intimacy with God. How could I hear His voice? How could I have dreams and visions and experiences from God? For years, I devoured books from teachers I found on Christian TV. Surely, if they were getting airtime, they were the ones in the know about God.
Fast-forward 15 years and I have a collection of over 100 books stored in a back room at my home. Books I regret reading.
I thought it would be an interesting exercise to examine some of these titles & why I regret reading them. Perhaps I can spare someone else the wasted time.
First up, a hindsight look at When Heaven Invades Earth.
I 100% regret reading this book, because it introduced me to the kenosis theory, a historical heresy about the nature of Christ.
Kenotic Christology seems to come from a grappling with the idea that because human nature and God’s nature are so different, it is impossible that God could be found in the form of a man. Therefore, in order to make the incarnation sensible, teaching arose that Jesus set aside his divine attributes at the time of the incarnation.
Kenosis theory zooms in on Philippians 2 where the “emptying” of Christ is described. The word translated to our English emptied is the Greek word kanoo (where the word kenosis comes from).
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Philippians 2:5–7, ESV
Kenosis theory has several variations, but folks in the Bethel stream tell it like this: When Jesus became a man, he essentially left his divine power at the door. He decided to refrain from using his power to instead live within the constraints of humanity. Therefore, all that He did, He did as a mere mortal.
It should be noted that Johnson and others in this camp, while teaching kenotic Christology, will also affirm that Jesus never stopped being God. There is a clear cognitive dissonance here. They want to affirm historic doctrine and affirm that Jesus is God, but they can’t fully allow Him to be divine while in the flesh because that deflates their vision of revival with signs and wonders done by the hands of believers. (More on that in a minute!)
This kenotic theology also serves to explain why Jesus didn’t start performing miracles until after His baptism, when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove. This event was Jesus’ receiving the Spirit; after Jesus received the Holy Spirit He was able to perform miracles. This is to say that for the first thirty years of His life in the flesh, our Lord was somehow separated from the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus had to receive the Holy Spirit, then God is not One.
This kenotic Christ doctrine tears apart the Trinity. God can now be divided into portions. To imply that the members of the Godhead can be separated is to make Christianity a polytheistic religion instead of a monotheistic one. Or else, it is to say that perhaps Jesus was a man who graduated to godhood after receiving the Holy Spirit and obeying the Father perfectly (a false doctrine believed by some cults).
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4
We see early on that God reveals Himself as One Lord to His people.
At Jesus’ baptism we see the Father speaking, the Spirit alighting, and the Son incarnate, manifesting as 3 unique persons (see Matthew 3).
Jesus confirms the oneness of God in His teachings, as well as His own divine Lordship. Specifically, Jesus goes over both of these things when He is asked by a scribe which of the commandments are the greatest (see Mark 12:28–37).
These are a few places in scripture where we can see the beautiful doctrine known as the Trinity. God is three Persons, but One substance. Co-eternal. Inseparable, yet distinct.
Knowing these things about the nature of God makes the kenotic Christology of Bethel hard to swallow. Additionally, knowing the context of Philippians 2 presents an even more bitter pill.
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:1–11, ESV
One thing I will point out immediately is that this section of scripture is encouraging believers to have the same attitude exhibited by Jesus. The mindset of Christ was that of humility and servanthood, which was clearly seen in the incarnation. Putting on humanity, submitting to the experience of a bodily death, and that death being a greatly humiliating one- these things were the manifestation of his emptying.
If this passage was meant to teach us about Jesus putting aside his divine attributes, we would have to conclude that the believers were being told that they too should put aside their divinity and live as mere mortals. Instead, we see that the believers are being told to be humble servants and to think of the good of others before serving themselves. It’s a passage about attitudes, not ontology (the nature of being).
Even though Johnson and others who teach this have been called on it over and over again, they can’t stop teaching it because kenosis theory undergirds other teachings that they are fanatical about. The following quote illustrates the exact theology I regret learning, from the pages of When Heaven Invades Earth:
“It’s vital to note that He [Jesus] did all His miracles as a man, not as God. If He did them as God, I would still be impressed. But because He did them as a man yielded to God, I am now unsatisfied with my life, being compelled to follow the example He has given us. Jesus is the only model for us to follow.”
Bill Johnson, When Heaven Invades Earth
We can see here that kenosis theory is being used to make everything that Jesus did on earth attainable for you and me. If Jesus was living out His days emptied of divine power, fully dependent on the Holy Spirit to work the attributes of God through Him, then any person who has received the Spirit can also do what Jesus did. This is vitally important to Johnson’s doctrine.
It’s vital because one of Bethel’s core values is the idea of ushering in an era of revival wherein believers have power from heaven available at a moment’s notice. They believe that evangelism without powerful signs, wonders and miracles is ineffective.
The gospel message itself is not the power of God in this ideology.
Instead, the gospel is only complete with a supernatural manifestation. According to Bill Johnson, people with “powerless churches” invented the idea that the gospel presented in the Bible is sufficient so that they could save face.
“The doctrine stating signs and wonders are no longer needed because we have the Bible was created by people who hadn’t seen God’s power and needed an explanation to justify their own powerless churches.”
Bill Johnson, When Heaven Invades Earth
Strangely enough, it would seem that Jesus disagrees.
“Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””
John 20:29, ESV
The Apostle Paul would also disagree.
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
1 Corinthians 1:18–25
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 1:16
In retrospect, I find it insulting.
It is insulting and intellectually dishonest for someone who studies the Bible to say that the message of the gospel without signs and wonders is powerless. The scriptures make it overwhelmingly clear that God chooses to work through the preaching of the gospel to save people. If you can’t see that the greatest sign and wonder that God manifests is in the hearts of men who receive the gospel, you’re truly blind to the message of Christ.
When Heaven Invades Earth would prove to be the first of many regrettable books from the Bethel camp that I would read. I was not taught theology growing up, and unfortunately I fell for the theology of Bethel and the New Apostolic Reformation stream. Looking back, it makes perfect sense.
I grew up being influenced by Word of Faith and Latter Rain teachers; my introduction to Christian books was Kenneth Hagin and my introduction to Christian teachers was Pat Robertson on the 700 Club. I was primed to fall into the theology of the New Apostolic Reformation.
I could go on about how I wish that I was raised with different influences. Instead, I will say that I am grateful.
I am grateful that God has led me out of hyper-Charismatic theology. I’m grateful that He has given me the sense to take these books off of my shelves. I’m grateful that I can restock my shelves with things that affirm historic Christian doctrine and contain sound scriptural teaching.
I’m grateful that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
I look forward to reviewing more books in the future. Thanks for joining me on a look back.
May God bless you in your journey toward truth and purity, in all aspects of your life.
Below are links to more information on Kenosis Theory and overviews of Johnson’s kenotic teachings that you might find useful in your research.
A Brief History of the Kenosis Theory
https://heidelblog.net/2016/08/a-brief-history-of-the-kenosis-theory/
Got Questions: Kenosis
https://www.gotquestions.org/kenosis.html
At What Price Awakening? Examining the Theology & Practices of Bethel
Debunking the False Kenotic Christology of the NAR
