|
And throughout history, and today, Satan’s main target is the Church of Jesus Christ, God’s people. So, Jesus warned us copiously in the New Testament to BEWARE of men! Which men are you to beware of? The ones that sit quietly in congregations, meekly going along with all that is taught? Of course not! The ones that are standing in the pulpit, expounding the Word of God and thereby influencing the minds of believers! That’s what Paul was highly concerned about:
Peter was anxious, too:
Two things I want to highlight here: 1) “Secretly”. Heresy is meant to be undetected. Satan doesn’t want it to be found out, so the subtleties that undermine true faith are discreet and secret. 2) “Denying the Lord”. Jesus is our Saviour who died for us that we could have our sins forgiven. There is only One who could die and pay the price for sin. Only God could do that, because all humans have sinned. Only God could pay for humanity’s release. The sacrifice that was paid for us is a DIVINE sacrifice, not merely a human one. More on this later.
Wade Cox teaches that Jesus was not God. His teaching subtly undermines the REAL TRUTH of the Bible. Notice what he says. At http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p068.html under Formation of the Christian Churches of God, he writes this:
Notice his emphasis in “not”. How astonishing! The New Testament was written to expound that very truth that he is denying! He is denying the divinity of Jesus Christ! He is denying His Lordship! I will explain what the NT says on that subject in a moment. First, also notice what Wade Cox uses to ‘support’ his claim that Jesus was NOT God:
It is an astonishing lack of spiritual perception to assert that Jesus was not the One True God! Turn in your Bible to 1 Timothy 6:16 and see just what Paul WAS saying to Timothy. He wrote:
Who is Paul talking about? JESUS! He is the King of Kings and Lord of lords. Read it for yourself in Revelation 19:16 and 17:14. Paul also calls him in 1 Timothy 6:14 “the only Potentate”, the only Sovereign. If He is the only legitimate Sovereign, then He is God. The way Cox is twisting things is to make out that Christ and God the Father are two distinct separate beings – even though Jesus said “I and My Father are One” (Jn 10:30). Thus, Cox deduces wrongly that if they are separate, then the only Potentate must be the Father and not the glorified Jesus. He doesn’t comprehend matters to do with the spiritual nature of God. Paul said in Hebrews 1:2 and Colossians 1:15-18 that Jesus made all things. In John’s gospel you can see that verified. The One who came to earth in the body of Jesus was the One who is called the Logos (Grk), “the Word” of God (Jn 1:1-14). Cox says that Jesus is merely a son, and “NOT the One True God!” He is intimating that Christ was a created being, NOT the immortal One. But Paul said quite categorically that Jesus Christ IS the immortal one! And John said that the One who came to earth in the flesh (Jn 1:14) was God in the beginning (Jn 1:1) and that HE WAS VERY GOD (Jn 1:1). Notice it:
Also:
The only life-giver is God! Paul declared in 1 Timothy 3:16 that “God was manifested in the flesh” – as Jesus, of course. Yet, Wade Cox is subtly denying the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ – “denying the Lord” as Peter forewarned of heretics who are not of God! Cox may be able in his human cleverness to bamboozle you with intellectual meanderings and semantic arguments, but the FOUNDATION of his theological thesis is sand, not rock. And Jesus commands you not to build your spiritual house on the shifting sands of misguided human teachings, but on the immovable rock of the sure Word of God. The problem with preachers and teachers is that whenever they handle the Word of God, they pollute it in some way in exposition. That’s why God adjured Moses not to make an altar of dressed stone (using human tools on it to ‘dress’ or shape it) (see Ex 20:25). Men take the Word of God and dress it and shape it to fit what they want to make out of it. The only one who does not defile the Word of God is the one led by the Spirit in exposition. And that is a calling from God. Let God say who those people are. He is the one who confirms His Word “with signs accompanying” (Mk 16:20).
The Word of God, the Logos, is responsible for some amazing numeric intricacy in the Bible. He is also called the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Rev 22:13). All Greek (and Hebrew) letters had numeric values, so words in the Greek Bible convey numeric values which God uses to illustrate significant points. These numeric values are called gematria. It is fitting that the gematria of Logos (373) is the same whether we read it from beginning to end, or from end to beginning. Jesus is the First and the Last. He knows the end from the beginning (Is 46:10). He rightly declares "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me" (v 9). Our God is the centre of the universe. He is the One who is the centrality of the Gospel – as Christ, our Messiah. These facts verify the divinity of Jesus. This is also depicted in one way by the number 37. This is a symbol of Himself. The gematria of the words used in the Greek to describe our Saviour, all reduce to the numbers eight and 37:
Much more about the amazing numeric design in Scripture is explained in God's Great Genius. Jesus is the Centrality of God’s Word.
If Jesus were a created son, as Cox insults Him, and not the very divine imprint of the Father in a human form, then He would not be the central figure of the Bible, nor would He be your Saviour, for only God can save you. No created being can save you. Only the life of the DIVINE Son of God is worth more than all human lives collectively, because He gave life to them all. That’s why only His life could atone for their sins – your sins and mine. The Bible reveals that Jesus was a divine Being, who came from God (John 1), although He was born like any other normal human being and lived a normal human life in most other respects. He lived a sinless life, and died a death by crucifixion for us. Because Jesus was very God, His life was worth more than the sum total of all human lives together. Thus His death paid the price of all sin. Through His sinless life and death, God is able to rectify the mistakes and consequential penalties of all human existence from the beginning. Because of His immense love for humanity demonstrated in His willing sacrifice, we can now approach God, and receive eternal life from Him. Our redemption, reconciliation and salvation has been achieved through what Christ has done. Thus Christ is the centre, the focus of Christianity. Is anyone other than God meant to be the Centre? Of course not. So, if Jesus were a created son and not eternally existing as God, Christianity would be an idolatrous religion, worshipping another instead of the One and Only True God whom we are commanded to worship, and no other (Ex 20:3). Thus, on several counts, you can see that Cox’s theology is in error. It is dire heresy to deny the divinity of our Messiah!
Wade Cox proudly infers that his sect, which he calls the Christian Churches of God, is the true Church. He believes that he is the only one promoting the Truth, and by inference only those who accept what HE says can receive salvation. We have seen this satanic exclusivism in so many other so-called Churches of God which emulate the rotten example of the Worldwide Church of God from which they came. They may have come out physically, but they haven’t come out spiritually (Rev 18:4). It’s based on PRIDE! — Satan’s foundational evil trait. So, where is the true Church? We answer that question in our book God’s Church: Whose Authority? Those who accept Jesus’ shed blood for the remission of their sins and who determine to live “in Him” – a sinless life, as much as they are able by His indwelling Spirit – are given salvation. They receive eternal life with Christ in glory in a spiritual dimension, if they hold fast to this desire to the end of their lives. They determine to abide with Him in a spiritual plane, even in this physical existence. They commune with Him and are led by His Spirit in their lives (Rom 8:14). Those are the ones who constitute the true Church. It is not a human ‘church’ organisation, but a spiritual organism comprised of those who no longer desire evil, who want – in their hearts – only good. They want to be like God and live like God. These converted individuals exist in many different church organisations. Their common bond is their acceptance of the atoning blood of Jesus and their submission to the Holy Spirit of God. Their bond is not some artificial, humanly-devised creed; not a set of beliefs or teachings that churches call 'doctrine'. It is their internal heart surrender to God. Jesus comes into them, because of that change in motivation. The deceiver, Satan, has cleverly camouflaged where the true Church really is, by confusing people over doctrine. True Christians can have widely differing doctrinal understandings, but their common point of reference will be submission to Jesus Christ. Real Christians have a personal relationship with Him, and permit the Holy Spirit to flow in their lives, developing a mind that desires holiness. Holiness is another word for sinlessness. True Christians desire to be holy, like God – without sin. That internal desire is what fuels their lives. That is why only God can see who are really His and who are not. (But in specific instances, according to His purposes, God may reveal some who are false, to a prophet, to protect His sheep. True prophets are given such discernment.) Many members of churches adhere to the same doctrines and understandings that they have learned in their particular church. Even if those doctrines were 100% correct – which they are not, because there is error in every group – those individuals would not all constitute the true Church. There are always those whose hearts are not really 'sold' on God. There are many 'hangers-on' – people who go to church purely for selfish interests. They may be 'Christians' for personal reasons, social reasons, even religious reasons. But their motivation is essentially self-orientated. They get something from their participation. That is not true conversion. They are not His own; they are the 'tares'. It is those who give as a result of their knowledge of Christ who are His. Those who have come to this depth of spiritual conversion have, as the word suggests, truly changed the motivation in their lives. They are no longer self-centred, they are God-centred. That necessary change has taken place in their 'hearts'. Only God can truly discern a person's heart, and those to whom He may give such discernment. I often wonder how many Christians there are who think they are headed through that narrow gate that leads to eternal life, when in actual fact they are headed in the opposite direction! Jesus Christ is that narrow gate (Matthew 7:13; Jn 10:7; 14:6). How many have based their hopes on the shaky foundations and the shifting sands of man's teachings, thinking they have based them on the Rock? (Matt 7:24.) The majority! Satan is a master deceiver! True and false Christians can exist in countless Christian organisations, with a corresponding wide variation in doctrinal 'creed'. Just because a person finds some value in Christianity, 'accepts Christ', and joins a church, does not make them a child of God. Their acceptance can be skin-deep. They may outwardly appear to have accepted this new life, but such change and confession can be purely cosmetic – even when they think it is not. Emotions can be very deceptive, as can the human intellect. God looks on the heart, not on the 'head'. God's own are those who are spiritually attuned to Him. They know Him personally. They 'walk' with Him. This is a spiritual walk. They seek Him and seek to live His way of love. The unseen forces of evil – the devil and demons – have sown confusion amongst Christian groups by causing the adoption of many errors. The 'weeds' (or darnel) in God's field look so similar to the wheat that they have infected the Church with wrong teaching. In fact, Christianity is so varied and confusing to the uninitiated that many on the 'outside' conclude Christianity is nothing but bedlam created by men with different ideas. Much of it is, but it did not start out that way. That confusion is a result of satanic infiltration into the Church. Denominations have tended also to use their own teachings as a wall to 'protect' or hem in their own members. Just like the Berlin wall was ostensibly a 'protective' measure, so the doctrinal walls by which members of churches are contained, actually separate and divide, rather than unite Christians. The only real unifying factor is the Spirit of God, received by a focus that is fixed upon Jesus Christ, our God and Lord. Denominational teaching can also have a limiting effect. If it becomes dogma it can cause Christians to stay within the confines of the organisation which they are used to, discouraging and limiting further growth in grace and knowledge. This can result in spiritual stagnation and even decadence. The largest and most prominent ecclesiastical organisations are often the most decadent. In them, God's principles and practices have, to a great extent, become supplanted by the teachings of men, couched in Christian-sounding tones. God calls it Babylon (Revelation 17:5; 14:8; 16:19; 18:2); confusion! And that is what it is. Yet within all that confusion, God's people exist and Christ calls His own out of that man-dominated system of religion to follow Him in spirit (Rev 18:4; Gal 5:25; Jn 4:24). It is not God who has created all the divergent views of what the Bible means on various points. It is a result of Satan deceiving the minds of all (Rev 12:9). Everyone has been deceived to varying degree. That is part of what we must all come out from. This is a lifelong process and requires submission to the lead of the Holy Spirit, not to men in ecclesiastical robes. Many of those men are of Satan, not of God. Jesus warned Christians at the beginning to beware of men (Matthew 10:17). There are many false ‘prophets’ deceiving many people (Matt 24:11). Jesus was most concerned that true Christians should not be deceived (v 4). But many have been! The biggest deceptions are the most subtle. Christians will often look to the leaders of their group or church, rather than to Jesus, who is their true spiritual Leader. Jesus tells us not to look up to any man as being spiritually superior. But Wade Cox sets himself up as THE mentor to whom you should listen, so he is effectively a ‘pope’.
I wrote to Wade Cox and sent him some MM literature, but he didn’t reply. That was beneath his high and elevated station. Instead he got his secretary to reply, and avoided answering pivotal questions. Midnight Ministries is not a church. We are a home-based ministry. God called me to write literature to set the record straight defining biblical truth. It is part of the Last Restoration. Doubtless, Cox would claim that for himself, as so many cult leaders do. They set themselves up as superior to others, claiming they are the ones you are to follow, just as Paul warned in Acts 20:30. But, unless God has given His divine commendation (2 Cor 10:18) to what is written, the worth of their writings is negligible. I don’t claim divine commendation in vain. It is there if you care to see the revelations God gave to others about Midnight Ministries. (In What God Said About MM; Revelations From God About MM; and MORE THAN A PROPHET.) The verification of our ministry is not only that. It is also the raising of the dead. Wade Cox hasn’t raised the dead. Elijah raised the dead, and you know that an ‘Elijah’ was promised for the end time, restoring what has been lost.
The Christian Churches of God do not display spiritual gifts. Supernatural spiritual gifts are 99% absent because of the teaching which denies them. Spiritual gifts such as tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophesying, discerning of spirits, casting out demons, working miracles, works of the Spirit, etc., are not evidenced there. There may be the occasional healing, but that is purely because God is gracious, and He looks in mercy upon any child of His who is needy, desperate, and who expresses faith in Him. “It’s according to your faith”, Jesus said, and it’s true. But, if the teaching does not encourage the acceptance and practice of spiritual gifts such as tongues and prophesying, these manifestations will not occur because of the lack of faith for them. Faith is built upon acceptance of the Word of God (Rom 10:17), and if the Word is not taught properly, you won’t believe in the value of spiritual gifts, so you won’t receive. You have to believe (Mk 16:17). I sent Wade Cox the booklet An Introduction To The Spiritual Gifts. He avoided comment. I asked him if he accepted the thesis which I have expounded in Understanding The Mind of God: A Message To Worldwiders, which is on the web. It explains how God’s people are not confined to one church organisation. He avoided comment. This is not a man who is honest and open. He hides behind a wall of secrecy to avoid being exposed. Jesus said you will know them by their fruits (Matt 7:20). Peter mentioned one of those fruits as being ready always to give an answer in meekness and fear about spiritual motivation (1 Pet 3:15). But Cox hides his. He didn’t want to communicate with me. Darkness does not welcome Light! He does not accept spiritual gifts. He won’t admit his lacks in that regard. Just like the WCG hierarchy before him, and the various other Churches of God, who also do not accept spiritual gifts, all these groups are lacking the Spirit. There is little evidence of the Spirit. In our meetings each week we have tongues, interpretations of tongues, some prophesying, and the moving of the Spirit. God has spoken to us in dreams, in visions, and via angels. Each week we receive several dreams from God. Several times Jesus has manifested Himself to people in our meetings. But none of these things happen in the arrogant Churches of God who have shut Jesus outside their door because men have taken control, and denied the moving and inspiration of the Spirit of God! You should know your Bible well enough to know of this warning against false ministers:
And you should also know what God adjures you to do to those who deny His Spirit:
Wade Cox doesn’t teach about supernatural spiritual gifts. He doesn’t have that knowledge or experience. You cannot expound about something you have no experience in. And why doesn’t he have any experience in receiving supernatural spiritual gifts and teaching you how you can receive such things? False ministers deny the Spirit in their lives. I explained at the outset just one fundamental denial of Jesus. That alone is enough to alert you, if you are honest and objective, to a deceiver – from whom you should turn away. I wonder how many will? Many are not honest. Members whom he has gathered to himself often tend to be content with what they hear, and are not discerning enough about Truth and spiritual matters. So, they dismiss such warnings. Some take the cynical approach of “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.” And so they dismiss the true prophet whom God uses to alert them to their dangerous position. But when the Spirit is denied, false ministers can lead you to perdition. Malcolm B Heap, December 2009 (revised November 2010)
Further
Reading: |