1) "I and My Father, we are One" [John 10:30]
Christian teaching: Jesus was declaring his unity with Father in their will, power and purpose despite being two different persons but having one and same essence. [John 10:22-39; John 17:20-23; Philippians 2:6]
Distorted teaching: Jesus was also one such a man who recognized his inner divinity and received enlightenment.
Bible study tips: "Never read just a verse. The context determines verse, not the other way around!"
2) "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" [John 14:6]
Christian teaching: Jesus was straightforward in showing that He is the ultimate way, truth and life. He is the way to Father, embodiment of ultimate truth and is life. [John 14:1-11; Acts 4:12; John 1:14, 17; John 11:25; John 15]
Distorted teaching: Jesus, as other gurus, came to show us path, truth and life by living an example life.
Bible study tips: "Scripture interprets scripture!"
3) "The church is body of Christ" [1 Corinthians 12:27]
Christian teaching: Christ is Head who leads us. It is a way of speaking in metaphor. [Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18; Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 4:11-16]
Distorted teaching: Christ is consciousness.
Bible study tips: "Progressive revelation of the Bible and a Big picture of the Bible."
4) "The kingdom is within you" [Luke 17:21]
Christian teaching: Jesus brought God's kingdom on earth. He was literally talking about himself. He was spreading this kingdom by message of repentance from sin and turning back to God. [Luke 17:20-37; Matthew 3:2; Mark 1:15; Romans 14:17; Matthew 6:33]
Distorted teaching: the divinity is within us. We must know our inner divine essence.
Bible study tips: "God is sovereign ruler; Kingdom theology"
5) As the serpent was lifted, so does Son of Man should be. [John 3:14]
Christian teaching: Jesus was talking about how his death and then the position he shall receive would be. He used the old testament event as a typology for himself knowing exactly who his audience were. [Numbers 21:4-9; John 12:32-33; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; John 8:28]
Distorted teaching: We have passive serpent within us which needs to be raised until we reach onto enlightenment. Then we shall achieve Christ consciousness. This literally is a promotion of Kundalini jagriti.
Bible study tips: "New Testament unfolds Old testament; typology in old testament points to Christ in New testament."
6) There is power in our tongue. [Proverbs 18:21]
Christian teaching: This is about our daily conduct and behavior with peoples around us. As light and salt, we are ought to represent Jesus by loving our neighborhood the way we love ourselves. Tongue is one of the vital aspect which is associated with speaking and communication. It is all about controlling ourselves in our ways of communicating. [James 3:1-12; Proverbs 12:18; Matthew 12:36-37; Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 22:39]
Distorted teaching: our words have awesome powers that we can speak spells and do mighty works. We can speak even the things into existence. Our positive confessions can do a lot great works.
Bible study tips: "Proverbs are just generation guidelines for wise living and not necessarily universal applications."
7) Jesus is the Light and so we are supposed to be the lights. [John 8:12]
Christian teaching: This literally means living as children of light. light is often associated with God's purity, holiness and glory. And we are to represent Jesus and bear his light so that we can shine and peoples could see the truth. [Matthew 5:14-16; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 1:4-9; 1 John 1:5-7; Psalm 27:1]
Distorted teaching: We have inner divinity that we have to know and reach by achieving enlightenment. We can be divine.
Bible study tips: "Biblical symbolism and its connection within Old and New Testament."
Caution:
1) The Bible nowhere teaches that humanity are divine. To be made in God's image is to represent and resemble God on earth. The Satan once did horrible attempt of making oneself God, and we know what he got. Let us be grateful that God didn't leave us and responded in the same way but granted us his grace! [Genesis 1:26-27 (image of God as representation); Isaiah 14:12-15 (Satan's fall for wanting to be God); Romans 3:23 ("all have sinned and fall short"); Ephesians 2:8-9 (grace, not self-attainment).]
2) The Bible clearly shows God and creation are different. Any attempt to elevating the creation to his position or reducing him to a created position both are blasphemous attempt! don't dare to say: All is God; God is All. instead say: All is God's; God is all's. [Isaiah 44:6 ("I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God"); Romans 1:25 (worshiping created things); Psalm 100:3 ("It is he who made us, and we are his").]
3) Jesus and Christ are obviously two different things but not different persons. Jesus is a personal name while Christ is his title which means anointed one. Nowhere the Bible says Christ is a consciousness. [Matthew 16:16 (Peter: "You are the Messiah [Christ]"); John 1:41; Colossians 2:9 ("For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form")]
4) God of the Bible is Triune. God the Son took human flesh. It is blasphemy to say Jesus knew his inner divinity. There was no moment in world's history when Jesus ever cease to be God or attained divinity. He has always been God. He didn't come to make us Gods but the human God genuinely desired to have. [John 1:1-3 ("In the beginning was the Word... the Word was God"); Hebrews 13:8 ("Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"); Micah 5:2 (eternal origins)]
5) The Bible doesn't talk anything about hidden chakras, reaching divine consciousness. One thing the scripture talks about is our glorification that would happen when Jesus returns. We become more like Jesus through the power and help of Holy Spirit and not through any mediums. [Romans 8:29-30 (conformed to image of Son); 2 Corinthians 3:18 (transformed by Spirit); Galatians 5:22-23 (fruit of Spirit); Philippians 1:6 (God completes the work).]
6) the Kingdom of God is here and yet to come. Yes, his kingdom is already here but it is still spreading and growing. The fullness shall come in future when God fixes everything and begins new heaven and new earth. [Revelation 21:1-5 (new heaven/earth); Matthew 24:14 (gospel preached, then end); Colossians 1:13 (transferred into kingdom)]
7) The church is here as a visible manifest of God's kingdom, rule and children. The church is here to continue the mission of redemption. It is the body of Christ, bride of Christ and sheep of Christ. These are metaphors making up bigger points! [Revelation 19:7-8 (bride); John 10:11-16 (sheep/good shepherd); Acts 1:8 (witnesses for redemption); Ephesians 5:25-27 (Christ's body/bride sanctified)]
Be safe from these New Age distorted teachings! They are hijacking Jesus and reframing his teachings!
A useful resource on it:
You Tube channel 'Melissa Dougherty'
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