To make this post simple, I would recommend to you the reader to read the first seven posts in this series to see what the Word-of-Faith crowd believe, and why they should be labelled as heretics. Once you have read those parts, I want you to understand that Joyce Meyer is part of that crowd, and should along with them, be labelled as a heretic.
Heretics have no place in the church of Jesus Christ, and they have to be pointed out, and the church must be warned against the poison these “teachers” carry. Their teaching is parasitic. It does not bring the life of the gospel. Rather, like a parasite it will live off the host body, devouring it from the inside. Then, one day, just as in the Alien movie with Sigourney Weaver, that parasite will be ready to hatch, and eat its way out of your chest just to start the whole cycle again in some other unsuspecting, undiscerning person.
Heresy cannot be tolerated in the church. The church has battled against all kinds of heresies for centuries, even from within a few decades after the death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, it is important for each and every Christian to know the truth of the gospel.
We should have the same attitude about false gospels and heresies as Paul had:
(6) I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; (7) which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! (9) As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Galatians 1:6-9 NASB)
It is for this reason that we need to shun the teachings of Joyce Meyer.
As the rest of the WOF teachers, Meyer also believes that faith is a force, and that our words carry power along with them, and will create our future realities, “what you say today is what you’ll probably end up having tomorrow.”1
Meyer further believes that one has to believe that Jesus suffered in our place in hell in order to be saved.
“There is no hope of anyone going to heaven unless they believe this truth I am presenting. You cannot go to heaven unless you believe with all your heart that Jesus took your place in hell.”2
The Bible nowhere tells us that Jesus suffered in hell in our place in order to save us. In fact, on the cross, in the moment that He breathed His last breath, Jesus said, “It is finished!” (Jn 19:30) (paid in full). He also said, "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." (Lk 23:46) Once the ransom was paid on the cross, there was no detour to hell to continue His suffering there.
Another of the heresies furthered by Meyer is that Jesus was the “first born-again man.”3 This is one of the favourites among the WOF false teachers. Once again, the Bible testifies against Meyer and her fellow false teachers in this regard. The Bible never says that Jesus was born again. In fact, the Bible never applies this concept to anyone but sinners in need of salvation.
As all other WOF peddlers of their false gospel, Meyer also believes that we are little gods. This is one of their silliest teachings and shows how they twist the Scriptures to their own way of thinking.
“You know, I was listening to a set of tapes by one man and he explained it like this, and I think this kind of gets the point across, he said, ‘Why do people have such a fit about God calling His creation, His man—not His whole creation, but His man—little gods? If He’s God, what’s He going to call them but the god-kind?’ I mean, if you as a human being have a baby, you call it a human kind. If cattle has another cattle, they call it cattle-kind. So, I mean, what’s God supposed to call us? Doesn’t the Bible say we’re created in his image? Now, you understand I am not saying you are God with a capital G.”4
First of all, for humans to have babies—humankind—they need to have sex with one another, a man with a woman. For cattle to have more cattle, they need to mate. The question to ask the WOF heretics is, “Who did God mate with?” The problem with their whole scenario is that God created us from the dust of the ground. Further, when Jesus came, the Father, through the gospel, adopted us as sons into the His household. By nature we were not at all of the nature of God, but He adopted us anyhow.
When it comes to these charlatans, these asps with poison on their tongues, we must NOT “yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with” us. (Gal 2:5) We need to be like the Bereans, receiving “the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Ac 17:11), and to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jd 1:3)
Do not let these false teachers con you. Stand on the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
End Note
- Joyce Meyer, tape series, Interrupting Satan’s Plan: Releasing the Supernatural Power of God through Prayer, San Jose, California, 19 July 2001.
- Joyce Meyer, The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make: A Complete and Thorough Understanding of What It Means to be Born Again, Life in the Word, Fenton, MO, 1991, p37.
- Joyce Meyer, The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make: A Complete and Thorough Understanding of What It Means to be Born Again, Harrison House, Tulsa, OK, 1996, p42.
- Joyce Meyer, Authority and Opposition, audio tape number 1236.) Also see the Youtube video, “Joyce Meyer- Little Gods”
