Most Christian-based cults distort Christ by compromising His deity. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was a created being the archangel Michael prior to His human birth. Mormons deny the virgin birth; Jehovah’s Witnesses and Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God, the bodily resurrection
Defective Christology. Cults usually deny the true Deity of Christ, or the true humanity of Jesus. Some, such as Mormons, deny the virgin birth. They say that God the Father had sexual relations with Mary. I John 4:1-3 gives a scriptural litmus test for false teachers.
Among the most common feature of these cults is a defective view of Christ. Defective views of Christ are not new, they go back to the early days of the church. One of the apostle Paul's principal reasons for writing his letter to the Colossian Church was to combat a heretical view of Christ that was being taught there. During the second century the church had to battle against the heresy of Gnosticism, which denied the true humanity of Christ. In the fourth century the church battled against the Arian heresy which denied the true deity of Christ. Most modern day cults follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. For example, the Jehovah's Witnesses are simply a modern version of the Arian cult. Like the Arians of the fourth century, the Jehovah's Witnesses deny that the Son is co-eternal with the Father. Like the Arians, the Jehovah's Witnesses regard the Son as being created by the Father. Christian Science is another cult which has a defective view of Jesus Christ. They do not believe in the existence of matter - to them the material world is an illusion. So according to their teaching Jesus Christ did not have a real body. In this they repeat the same heresy of the Gnostics, who denied the real humanity of Christ. The Mormons also have a very defective view of Christ in that, they regard Jesus Christ the first-born among the spirit children of God. They do not believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Rather they regard Him as the offspring of a mortal mother and an immortal father.
A Defective Christology
"Who is Jesus Christ?" This is the most important question a person can ever ask. Our deepest joys on earth and hope of eternal life rest upon our answer to that question. Because this is so, the primary activity of Satan must surely be to obscure as much as possible the true nature and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan knows that an improper or incomplete understanding of the person and work of Christ makes salvation impossible.
Early heresies such as Cerinthianism denied the humanity of Christ (John 1:14; 1 John 1:1-3; 4:1-3). Arianism denied the deity of Christ (John 1:1, 8:58). Others denied the union of his two natures in one person. Gnosticism taught that there were many spiritual levels and mediators between earth and heaven of which Jesus was merely one (Colossians 1:16, 2:3-23). Most cults today follow in one of these errors. The most insidious cults which insist on extra-biblical revelations and esoteric and mystical experiences of God are simply the children of the Gnostics.
The central doctrine of Christianity is Christology, the doctrine of the nature of the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in space-time history. Any teaching that compromises the humanity or deity of Christ and His uniqueness as the only God-man, destroys the efficacy of the atonement, the work of Christ on the cross, and thereby the basis of the gospel.
Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No once comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6). If Jesus was not fully God and fully human, he had no authority to say so. John 1:14 tells us that Jesus was "full of truth." In John 1:18 we are told that no one has ever seen God, but the unique Son "has made Him known." Anything after the words of Jesus Christ would be anticlimactical, a descent from the mountain top of revelation. Jesus was the only one qualified to reveal to humanity the truth about God. Jesus perfectly fulfilled that mission (John 17:6-8,14).
In the closing days of the earthly ministry of Christ, he took the Apostles aside to prepare them for His departure. The narrative in John 14:7-10 is very instructive in helping us to discern the error many cults make with regard to the sufficiency of Christ's revelation of God. To comfort His disciples Jesus reminds them that through Him, they now knew the Father and had seen Him. But Philip was not satisfied. He begs for one glimpse of the Father (John 14:8) believing this would suffice. He may have felt that they had not quite got as close as Moses who got to see the back of Almighty God. If only he could have a similar experience. But notice that Jesus was clearly distressed by Philip's request.
"Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:9)
Philip's search for something more, a deeper revelation of God than Jesus had given was an insult to Jesus, and received a rebuke. How could a vision of God be more thrilling than to talk with God's Son? In the words of Jesus Christ we have the full revelation of the Father's will. Everything Jesus had learned from the Father, He had made known to them, and through them to us (John 15:15, 16:12-15). To believe that the revelation of Christ in Scripture is insufficient is to hold a defective Christology.
It cannot be overstated that biblical doctrine, that is, what we understand about the way God has revealed Himself in history and supremely in Jesus Christ is of vital importance in perpetuating orthodox Christianity and withstanding heresy.
hope this helps !!!
Defective Christology. Cults usually deny the true Deity of Christ, or the true humanity of Jesus. Some, such as Mormons, deny the virgin birth. They say that God the Father had sexual relations with Mary. I John 4:1-3 gives a scriptural litmus test for false teachers.
Among the most common feature of these cults is a defective view of Christ. Defective views of Christ are not new, they go back to the early days of the church. One of the apostle Paul's principal reasons for writing his letter to the Colossian Church was to combat a heretical view of Christ that was being taught there. During the second century the church had to battle against the heresy of Gnosticism, which denied the true humanity of Christ. In the fourth century the church battled against the Arian heresy which denied the true deity of Christ. Most modern day cults follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. For example, the Jehovah's Witnesses are simply a modern version of the Arian cult. Like the Arians of the fourth century, the Jehovah's Witnesses deny that the Son is co-eternal with the Father. Like the Arians, the Jehovah's Witnesses regard the Son as being created by the Father. Christian Science is another cult which has a defective view of Jesus Christ. They do not believe in the existence of matter - to them the material world is an illusion. So according to their teaching Jesus Christ did not have a real body. In this they repeat the same heresy of the Gnostics, who denied the real humanity of Christ. The Mormons also have a very defective view of Christ in that, they regard Jesus Christ the first-born among the spirit children of God. They do not believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Rather they regard Him as the offspring of a mortal mother and an immortal father.
A Defective Christology
"Who is Jesus Christ?" This is the most important question a person can ever ask. Our deepest joys on earth and hope of eternal life rest upon our answer to that question. Because this is so, the primary activity of Satan must surely be to obscure as much as possible the true nature and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan knows that an improper or incomplete understanding of the person and work of Christ makes salvation impossible.
Early heresies such as Cerinthianism denied the humanity of Christ (John 1:14; 1 John 1:1-3; 4:1-3). Arianism denied the deity of Christ (John 1:1, 8:58). Others denied the union of his two natures in one person. Gnosticism taught that there were many spiritual levels and mediators between earth and heaven of which Jesus was merely one (Colossians 1:16, 2:3-23). Most cults today follow in one of these errors. The most insidious cults which insist on extra-biblical revelations and esoteric and mystical experiences of God are simply the children of the Gnostics.
The central doctrine of Christianity is Christology, the doctrine of the nature of the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in space-time history. Any teaching that compromises the humanity or deity of Christ and His uniqueness as the only God-man, destroys the efficacy of the atonement, the work of Christ on the cross, and thereby the basis of the gospel.
Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No once comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6). If Jesus was not fully God and fully human, he had no authority to say so. John 1:14 tells us that Jesus was "full of truth." In John 1:18 we are told that no one has ever seen God, but the unique Son "has made Him known." Anything after the words of Jesus Christ would be anticlimactical, a descent from the mountain top of revelation. Jesus was the only one qualified to reveal to humanity the truth about God. Jesus perfectly fulfilled that mission (John 17:6-8,14).
In the closing days of the earthly ministry of Christ, he took the Apostles aside to prepare them for His departure. The narrative in John 14:7-10 is very instructive in helping us to discern the error many cults make with regard to the sufficiency of Christ's revelation of God. To comfort His disciples Jesus reminds them that through Him, they now knew the Father and had seen Him. But Philip was not satisfied. He begs for one glimpse of the Father (John 14:8) believing this would suffice. He may have felt that they had not quite got as close as Moses who got to see the back of Almighty God. If only he could have a similar experience. But notice that Jesus was clearly distressed by Philip's request.
"Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:9)
Philip's search for something more, a deeper revelation of God than Jesus had given was an insult to Jesus, and received a rebuke. How could a vision of God be more thrilling than to talk with God's Son? In the words of Jesus Christ we have the full revelation of the Father's will. Everything Jesus had learned from the Father, He had made known to them, and through them to us (John 15:15, 16:12-15). To believe that the revelation of Christ in Scripture is insufficient is to hold a defective Christology.
It cannot be overstated that biblical doctrine, that is, what we understand about the way God has revealed Himself in history and supremely in Jesus Christ is of vital importance in perpetuating orthodox Christianity and withstanding heresy.
hope this helps !!!
