Hey Bill Johnson & Bethel Church, God Put Himself in a Box Called “Bible” - Anthony Wood

Found here.

We were more than disappointed with the author's presentation, since he was supposed to demonstrate that God put Himself in a box, and refute the idea that "don't put God in a box" was wrong or heretical. He does neither.

He opens his article with "people who are deeply confused and frightened," as if there is some existential threat coming from Bethel church, something he doesn't give reason for or even document.

By the way, we are not offering a defense of Bethel or Pastor Johnson. We shall simply examine the author's statements.
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I receive emails from people around the world who are deeply confused and frightened by the teaching and supposed “miracle” ministry of Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, and Jesus Culture in Redding California. Many of these emails are from well meaning friends and family who have a loved one “immersed” in Bethel culture who won’t respond to their basic appeals for biblical clarity. Interestingly, time and again these lost sheep (How does the author know the salvation status of these people?)

influenced by Bethel provide the same response to inquisitors. “We don’t put God in a box.” (Again, we are not intending to defend Bethel, but it's worth noting that a committed Christian following Jesus with single-minded determination would seem odd or scary, even without the Bethel connection.)

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“Don’t put God in a box.”

This common tagline from Bethel “Don’t put God in a box” or, “God likes to draw outside the lines” appears often in Bill Johnson’s books. Why do they say it? What does it mean? Is it biblical? (Or perhaps the author might ask, "what does Bethel mean by the statement?" He never does seek to discover this, preferring to ascribe a nefarious purpose.)

For background, virtually every Scripture Johnson uses in his seminal work [When Heaven Invades Earth, Destiny Image, 2003] is taken out of context [In a former post I’ve documented errors of Bethel which we’ll set aside here]. (In the supplied link, the author quotes no Scriptures. He simply examines the statements of one of the Bethel pastors and tries to refute what is said.)

In the first chapter of WHIE, Johnson presumes: What really happened outside the garden of Eden (Gen. 1:28), Satan is empowered through an invented term “agreement” (Rom. 6:16), (Since the author is loathe to actually quote Scripture, we shall so so. Ro. 6:16: 

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

So when "you offer yourselves," doesn't that suggest some sort of participation, i.e., agreement with the transaction?)

Jesus supposedly came to recapture man’s dominion (Lk. 19:10), the Father really wanted Satan defeated by man (no text), the word “evil” actually means “sick and poor” (Matt. 6:13), (We would suggest that it certainly it seems that being sick and poor are not good things.)

the key of David is held by believers not Christ (Rev. 3:7), miracle power is what got buried in Christ’s parable of the talents (Matt. 25), (It certainly seems possible that all that Christ gifted us must be used and not buried, including whatever power is imputed to us via the Holy Spirit.)

all should be seeking a special baptism of the Holy Spirit (something the Gospel authors and Paul connected to conversion), (In Ac. 19:2 Paul "...asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.'” This certainly suggests that the Holy Spirit is not always a part of the conversion process.

In addition, Ac. 8:16-17 suggests that believing and being baptized does not ensure receiving the Holy Spirit: "...because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

Also, believing and receiving of the Holy Spirit doesn't mean the person has been baptized. Ac. 10:47" “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” Clearly the salvation/Holy Spirit/baptism transaction is a bit more nuanced than the author suggests.

Finally, we need to note that the Holy Spirit can be quenched, and that there is a remedy. Ep. 5:18: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

Even Jesus Himself suggested that we can have more of the Holy Spirit. Lk. 11:13: "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”)

and “all we ask or think” really references signs and wonders. (Eph 3:20) (Again, it seems that "all" includes a lot more than we could ask or think...)

Space won’t allow we exegetically analyze the entire book, but the point should be clear: Johnson fundamentally manipulates large portions of the Bible toward his own end. ("Manipulate" is a pejorative term. Bright theological minds throughout the history of the Church have had different insights about various Scriptures and doctrines, without necessarily leaving the realm of orthodoxy. 

The author later mentions that he doesn't consider people like this to be brothers. Hmm.)

However, the most egregious and deceptive example of this is the dichotomy Johnson attempts to create between the Bible and the Holy Spirit, as if they operate with two separate missions. Repeatedly Johnson pits the Holy Spirit against the Bible by writing that Scripture is insufficient to discern the voice of God:

“Jesus did not say, ‘My sheep will know my book.’ It is His voice that we are to know. Why the distinction? Because anyone can know the Bible as a book – the devil himself knows and quotes the Scriptures. But only those whose lives are dependent on the person of the Holy Spirit will consistently recognize His voice. This is not to say that the Bible has little or no importance. Quite the opposite is true. The Bible is the Word of God, and scripture will always confirm His voice. That voice gives impact to what is in print…” (Hmm. We think it is pretty orthodox to suggest that the Holy Spirit is a necessary element to understand the truths of the Bible. That is certainly not pitting the Holy Spirit against the Bible.)

Do not miss what Johnson has just done as this sets the stage for removing the “box” on God: “The voice gives impact…” Manipulatively, Johnson has separated God’s voice from God’s Word. (Well, no. He is connecting the Scripture [the written down voice of God] with the Holy Spirit [the agent of enlightening those Scriptures.])

This is done to give authority to personal revelation outside of, and over the written Scriptures; (No, it's to give the Holy Spirit a place at the table.)

a demonic plot that dates back some 1800 years. Johnson continues, “to follow Him we must be willing to follow off the map – to go beyond what we know.” (pg. 76)… and “signs (the Bible) have a purpose… they are not an end in themselves… they point to a greater reality… the sign is real… but it points to a reality greater than itself… We’ve gone as far as we can with our present understanding of Scripture. It’s time to let signs have their place.” (pg. 129)

Here Johnson positions the Bible as a “sign” to the real voice of the Holy Spirit. Is that okay? Clearly, Jesus did not think it was okay, for even while on earth He taught His disciples through the Scriptures, “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Lk. 24:27). (Our first Scripture quote. Wow.

Jesus' statement is unrelated to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Jesus is speaking of Himself being validated by the whole of Scripture.)

Paul also didn’t believe that it was okay, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17). (What would be that "word of Christ?" is it the N.T., which did not exist at that time? No, the word of Christ is the enlivening presence of the Holy Spirit in the inner man.

Paul mentions the Spirit of Christ. Ro. 8:9 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.")

In fact, orthodox theological and historical Christianity (Appeal To History, not the Bible.)

has always taught the Holy Spirit chose to speak in the form of an objective and immutable canon; which drives men by conscience and conviction back to those Scriptures for faith and practice. (Which seems to be a different way of saying what Bill Johnson said...)

The Scriptures are the Holy Spirit’s voice! In John 17:17 Jesus Himself said, “Thy Word is truth.” In the Greek, Jesus used the noun-based form of the word truth meaning God’s word is the truth, not exhaustive, but what God has chosen to reveal. It is the barometer by which all other realities can set their course! (The author does not document his claim, which seems to be that the only voice of the Holy Spirit is Scripture. It's an especially curious claim, given that Jesus is speaking before the writing of the very Gospel He's being quoted in, let alone the balance of the N.T.) 

Two thousand years worth of saints have held this to be true. (Appeal To History.

Unfortunately for the author there is not a unified, singular voice regarding this:

Justin Martyr (100-165): “For the prophetical gifts remain with us even to the present time. Now it is possible to see among us women and men who possess gifts of the Spirit of God.”

Irenaeus (125-200): “In like manner we do also hear many brethren in the church who possess prophetic gifts and through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages. ... Yes, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years.”

Tertullian (150-240): “For seeing that we too acknowledge the spiritual charismata, or gifts, we too have merited the attainment of the prophetic gift ... and heaven knows how many distinguished men, to say nothing of the common people, have been cured either of devils or of their sicknesses.”

Novation (210-280): “This is he [the Holy Spirit] who places prophets in the church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works ... and arranges whatever gifts there are of the charismata; and thus making the Lord’s church everywhere, and in all, perfected and completed."

Origen (185-284): “Some give evidence of their having received through this faith a marvelous power by the cures which they perform, invoking no other name over those who need their help than that of the God of all things, along with Jesus and a mention of his history.”

Augustine (354-430): In his work The City of God, Augustine tells of healings and miracles that he has observed firsthand and then says, “I am so pressed by the promise of finishing this work that I cannot record all the miracles I know.”)

One little verse, Romans 13:13, convicted and converted the immoral St. Augustine, who set the foundations of Christian orthodoxy for millennia to come. (Augustine was born in 354. The church had doctrines for 300 years. We would rightly ask if Augustine had any kind of influence on doctrine that may have not been held by the first century church.)

For the miserable monk, Martin Luther, it was Romans 1:17. Luther wrote, “Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that ‘the just shall live by his faith.’ Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.” (Here I Stand, p. 49) For the American revivalist, Jonathan Edwards, (Edwards was born in 1703. Whatever influence he had on theology came very late to the game.)

it was 1 Timothy 1:17. Edwards writes, “The first instance, that I remember, of that sort of inward, sweet delight in God and divine things, that I have lived much in since, was on reading these words, ‘Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ As I read the words, there came into my soul . . . a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense quite different from anything I ever experienced before. Never any words of Scripture seemed to me as these words did.” (Works, vol. 1, p. xii) (Though interesting and a source of rejoicing for us, none of these instances establish the author's assertion. And none of them come to bear on the biblical case the author is supposed to make.)

Scripture as God’s actual word was taught by Peter in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” In verse 19 Peter says that a prophetic word has been made “more sure” to him by (or than) his time with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. He continues in verses 20–21 to undergird the authority of this prophetic word by saying it is part of Scripture, “No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” Peter is not saying that only prophetic parts of Scripture are inspired by God, He is saying we know the prophetic word is inspired, precisely because it is a “prophecy of Scripture.” (Let's quote the passage. 2Pe. 1:16-21:

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter appeals to his eyewitness experience as proof that the messianic prophecies made about Jesus are real. The basis of his assurance was what what he saw validated the OT prophecies. This is the prophetic word Peter is describing. 

Now, we would agree that the NT could be included here, but Peter was specifically referring to the OT.)

Peter’s assumption is that whatever stands in Scripture is from God, written by men, carried along by the Holy Spirit! (I'm pretty sure Bill Johnson, and most every charismatic, would agree.)

Peter’s teaching is the same as Paul’s found in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The point is that Scripture is the means by which the Holy Spirit speaks and the Holy Spirit is not relative, bifurcated, or schizophrenic in His appeals. A regenerated life surrendered to the Holy Spirit will always point back to Scripture for faith and practice! (Prov 30:5-6) Christian orthodoxy has held this truth for 2,000 years. (Which is what Bill Johnson was quoted above as saying!)

Johnson interfaces with the biblical text from a trichotomous perspective (body, soul, and spirit) urging an experiential experience over doctrinal truth. (Undocumented assertion.)

This trichotomy initiates what theologians often warn against, “forcing an anti-intellectual tendency upon faith… leading to a neglect of sound doctrine… neglecting the role of Bible study.” (Appeal to Authority.)

As can be expected, Johnson’s faulty theological foundations can be found elsewhere in heretical history, specifically in forms of Gnosticism and Syncretism. Much of Johnson’s Dominionism coincides with historic Gnosticism, a heresy debunked by the early church.

Gnosticism is simply the belief that some people retain a secret, higher knowledge, of spiritual matters, and are therefore elite in their spiritual understanding and spiritual power. (Again we look in vain for documentation of this assertion.)

This of course flies in the face of the simple Gospel which specifies that every man can have Christ to the fullest regardless of race, color, and creed, due to the indwelling Spirit and imputed righteousness of Christ. (We wonder where Johnson has negated this.)

Johnson’s entire ministry is built on the expectation that his church experiences special blessings including falling feathers, walking with angels, gold dust, animal growling, raising the dead, and miraculous healings. Listen to an example of Johnson’s Gnostic position as he proposes an “insider” role for his congregation:

Jesus stood before His disciples, before Nicodemus in John chapter 3, and He made this statement, He said, “No one has ascended into heaven except he that descended” (John 3:13). Now, this is before His death, before His Resurrection; so He was describing here a lifestyle of intimacy with the Father where even though He was standing on earth, He had ascended into heavenly realm in His relationship with God. The point being, that is an invitation for every believer… (The quote does not document the author's claims, and in fact specifically states "every believer." This does not square with "secret, higher knowledge.")

The sad outcome of preferential Gnostic teaching is that Johnson’s adherents have pursued means unto this supposed end. One frightening display is called “grave sucking” wherein people lie on the grave of a deceased individual, often charismatic faith healers, to supposedly “access their Spirit power from the dead bones.”This is a form of Syncretism where Biblical belief systems are intertwined with Pagan practices to heighten a supposedly spiritual experience. (We offer no defense of this demonic practice. Is there some quote that Bill Johnson advocated or approved of this?)

Calling up dead spirits “necromancy” is something the Bible blatantly condemns. (Lev. 19:26, 20:6, Deut. 18:10 Gal. 5:19-20, 1 John 4:1) God rejects this practice because it places emphasis on the physical realm instead of on the Word of God. This link to Gnosticism and Syncretism are fundamental heresies.

Further examination of WHIE proves Johnson operates with no theological system. At times, he presses Kingdom Now theology. At times, he leans into historic pragmatism (if it works, it’s true) while at other times he proposes a more postmodern existentialism (if it’s true for me, it’s true). This quasi-deconstructionism could be summed up in the following manner: If there’s something extraordinary, it must be God, and everyone who questions me is wrong. (Documentation?)

This frightening position that “experience proves theology” is subjective and irrational. (the author is now running with his Straw Man.)

Truth and experience are interrelated – in the long run your truth will always impact your experience. As Christians we must always run our experiential circumstances through crystalline teaching and objective truth! Whenever we notice supernatural, phenomenology (study of phenomena) we must demand a method for isolating the experience, clarifying the experience, and thus determining the true nature of that experience or we are in fact making ourselves into little gods. Objective truth provides the guidelines for the experience, not vice versa. Without this guideline, none can determine what is of God, the devil, or self.

Johnson’s fatal flaw is misinterpreting the Bible. (We await the explanation of where Johnson did this.)

This improper position on God’s Word paves the way for his mystical theology, ignoring the simple Gospel, burgeoning into a health and wellness style ministry, and culminating in a dangerously quirky worship practice of falling gold dust, oil, winds, clouds, fragrance, sugar sprinkles, small gems, and falling feathers. Johnson simply refers to this as “God coloring outside the lines.”Sadly, Johnson has missed that God provided the box and the lines of “special revelation” called Scripture, and if it were not for those lines there’d be no way of discerning God clearly. Moreover, the only way we can be certain of worshipping the true God is by staying within the very lines He gave!