For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

When someone says the term Word of Faith, one might immediately think of the power of your words, speaking things into existence, and prosperity in health and in personal finances. What may not be at the forefront of thought regarding this movement is the teaching of Jesus having to suffer in hell for our sins and being born-again after suffering spiritual death. Even though I was in this movement for many years, this particular teaching was neither discussed nor taught. Instead, our authority as believers and the power of our words was a fundamental belief. It does not mean that these other teachings in the Word of Faith are not highly problematic, but when there is a change in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the atonement for our sins, then there is a great concern for another gospel being presented.

The teaching of Jesus suffering in hell is not a new teaching. In fact, it has been around for many years, and it has been perpetuated by numerous teachers in the Word of Faith and even those in what is termed New Apostolic Reformation. In my opinion, these movements find themselves intertwined in the beliefs held to where they cannot be teased apart. Such individuals as Kenneth Hagin, Joyce, Meyer, and Kenneth Copeland have taught and written about Jesus suffering in hell for our sins and then being the first reborn man of many. However, this teaching originated not with Copeland or Hagin, but with E.W. Kenyon.

Kenyon was a radio evangelist who was influenced by New Thought, which was affiliated with the metaphysical movement (mind science). He also had affiliations with those in the Pentecostal church. In his book, The Word-Faith Controversy, Robert Bowman notes several characteristics shared by Kenyon and Word of Faith teachers, such as Copeland and Hagin. Included among those beliefs was “Jesus dying both spiritually and physically, taking on Satan’s nature and suffering in hell to redeem us, and then was born-again.” I found it interesting that Kenyon wrote a book called What Happened from the Cross to the Throne in 1946, and Kenneth Copeland has a two-part article on his ministry site bearing the same title. Both the book and the articles share the same teaching concerning Jesus being born-again in hell and the atonement of sin not being sufficient on the cross.

Both men state that Jesus had to die spiritually as well as physically, and that if His physical death had been sufficient, then anyone could have done it. Jesus had to go to hell for Adam’s High Treason in the garden and to suffer torment by demons in hell. Kenyon wrote in his book,

“SATAN had conquered Jesus on the Cross. Jesus was left alone. God turned His back on Him. Satan triumphantly bore His Spirit to the Dark Regions of Hades. All the sufferings and torments that Hell could produce were heaped upon Jesus. When He had suffered Hell’s agonies for three days and three nights, the Supreme Court of the Universe cried, “Enough.” He had paid the penalty and met the claims of justice. Satan saw Him Justified. God made Him alive in Spirit right there in the presence of the cohorts
of Hades. Jesus was made a New Creation.”

E.W. Kenyon-What Happened from the Cross to the Throne

When reading Copeland’s articles, the picture is painted that God had His last chance to save humanity when Jesus died on the cross. At one point, he even tells the reader, “Don’t get the idea that Jesus was incapable of failure, because if He had been, it would have been illegal.” When Jesus stated, “It is finished”, Copeland and Kenyon teach that this was in response to the Abrahamic covenant. Many of us would strongly disagree with all of the above and more that has been said publicly and in print regarding this belief.

One of the passages those holding to these beliefs like to state in defense of it is 2 Corinthians 5:21. They believe that Jesus took on Satan’s nature and died spiritually rather than acknowledging the imputation of our sin upon Christ and His imputation of righteousness upon us as believers. To say that Jesus took upon Himself the nature of Satan is to deny His deity and His holiness. Jesus is God, and God is not in need of being regenerated. It is we who are in need of salvation and regeneration. Any other view, it would seem, creates a god of our own understanding, and it presents another Christ.

What is equally disturbing is the presentation of another gospel. What Christ did on the cross was sufficient. To say otherwise is not the gospel of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 states, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Paul preached Christ and Him crucified, not Christ and Him spiritually dead, suffering in hell and born-again.

My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, triumphed over the enemy at the cross. He crushed the head of the serpent at Calvary. Colossians 2:13-15 gloriously reminds us of our hope in Christ, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” If we were meant to explicitly know what happened from the cross to the throne, God would have made sure to include it in Scripture. What we do know is that Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. He lives, and He reigns. He did not take on Satan’s nature. He is victorious, and any presentation diminishing the finished work of Christ on the cross is a Jesus foreign to the Word of God.

Listen to this episode discussing the teaching of the born-again Jesus of the Word of Faith: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: The Born-Again Jesus of the Word of Faith on Apple Podcasts