In He Did It All For You, Kenneth Copeland
argues that, since we are the righteousness of God, we have also been granted
rights, authority, and power. However, ultimately, it is in heaven that we
become free from anything that defiles. For now, even the best of us are miles
away from the fulfillment of His promises. Therefore, Scripture informs us that
we have not arrived:
·
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children
now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears
we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Therefore, Paul lamented:
·
Romans 7:24–25 Wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus
Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with
my flesh I serve the law of sin.
·
Galatians 5:17 For the desires of the
flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things
you want to do.
Jesus taught that blessedness was not a matter of having
power and authority but their opposite:
·
Matthew 5:3–5 “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for
they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the
earth.”
While Copeland is correct that we are the righteousness of
God, God hasn’t completed His work in our lives. It is like other things in the
Christian life. We are saved once we truly believe, but salvation is also a
process (Philippians 2:12-13) and culminates in heaven:
·
Matthew 10:22 "and you will be hated
by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be
saved."
·
Matthew 24:13–14 "But the one who
endures to the end WILL be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be
proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then
the end will come.
Nevertheless, when we are saved, it is a done-deal, even
though the details must be and will be worked out.
The same principle also pertains to our adoption and
redemption. While we are adopted and redeemed when saved, this process must yet
be completed:
·
Romans 8:23–25 And not only the creation,
but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait
eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For
in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes
for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with
patience.
However, Copeland teaches that we have these heavenly
realities right now! We just have to understand what is rightfully ours and
claim it:
·
As a believer, you are a citizen of the kingdom
of God and have a right to everything in the kingdom…You have a right to everything
God has. (56)
·
You have a right to expect your Heavenly
Father to answer. (59)
Can we claim our rights, or do we receive all good things
from Him as gifts (James 1:17)? It seems that our God is never in the position
that He owes us anything. Instead, we are to regard ourselves as undeserving
servants:
·
Luke 17:10 “So you also, when you have
done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only
done what was our duty.’”
There is only one thing that we deserve from God—death:
·
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have no rights before God. Instead, everything is granted
to us through His love and mercy and not as an entitlement. It is this
awareness that produces gratefulness and adoration for our Lord (Romans 11:35).
Copeland claims that we have power over our lives:
·
We have more power over our lives as the
righteousness of God in Jesus Christ than Satan had over us while we were in
sin. (63)
Our lives are characterized by weakness and complete
dependence upon our Lord (Psalm 62), while Copeland claims that our lives
should reflect power:
·
When you do [Awake to your righteousness]
it will stop the sin in your life.
As long as Satan can convince you that you don’t have any right to
things of God, he can keep you under his thumb and sin will control your
life. But when you awake to
righteousness, you will realize that Satan is a defeated foe and the struggle
is over. (66)
However, Scripture assures us that sin and brokenness will
continue:
·
James 3:2 For we all stumble in many
ways.
·
1 John 1:10 If we say we have not sinned,
we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
·
2 Corinthians 4:8–10 We are afflicted in
every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted,
but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body
the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our
bodies.
Instead, I fear that what will make us vulnerable to Satan
is the inevitable discouragement we experience when we find that we continue to
struggle daily against sin, tribulation, and weakness. Instead, our answer is
Jesus, not our rights or powers:
·
John 16:33 “I have said these things to
you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But
take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Our hope is that Jesus has overcome the world. However,
Copeland believes that we should be characterized by “healing…strength…and prosperity.”:
·
We have thought sickness instead of healing…weakness
instead of strength…trouble instead of victory…poverty
instead of prosperity…sin instead of righteousness. We have attended to these other things,
almost completely ignoring the power of the Word of God to deliver us from the
flesh. (67)
However, God refused to heal Paul of his messenger of Satan,
the thorn in his flesh. Instead, He explained that His strength is made perfect
in weakness rather than in strength:
·
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may rest upon me.
Why then are our lives not characterized by “strength” and “victory?”
According to Copeland, our problem is “sin consciousness” not God’s will, which
requires us to suffer as Jesus had (Hebrews 12:5-11):
·
Sin consciousness produces defeat and a false
sense of humility. It attempts to be
humble by debasing itself and pushing itself back. The Lord did not say, “Debase yourself.” (56)
However, many times, our Lord instructed us to humble (“debase”)
ourselves:
·
Matthew 23:12 Whoever exalts himself will
be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:11; 18:14)
Copeland is correct regarding past sins which we have
confessed and turned from:
·
But the Word of God says the blood of Jesus purged
our sins—they no longer exist. So we
should take the Name of Jesus and drive out this sin consciousness. (57)
However, we are instructed to examine ourselves to see if we
are in sin, lest we be judged by God:
·
1 Corinthians 11:29–32 For anyone who
eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on
himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if
we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by
the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Consequently, we not only need to judge ourselves, but we
also need to confess our sins that we’d be forgiven and cleansed (1 John 1:9).
Besides, the Spirit convicts us of sin. Are we to tell Him, “I reject sin
consciousness?”
If we rid ourselves of this consciousness, will we then have
power over Satan? Our problem is not that we have consciousness of sin, but
that we deny our sin enabling Satan to gladly convict us having lost God’s
protection because of our arrogance:
·
The only reason we have been such easy targets
for Satan is because we have not known our rights and privileges in
Christ. Therefore, he could easily usurp
authority over us. (71)
·
When you lean on your righteousness in Jesus
Christ, you’ll know what belongs to you and you’ll not lie down under sickness
or any other attack of Satan. (71)
Instead, when we have refused to repent of our sins, we
become easy targets for Satan. Jesus had warned us that if we refuse to repent,
we will suffer (Luke 13:1-5), the very opposite counsel offered by Copeland.
Can we take authority over Satan? Copeland insists that we
can and also over our bodies. Nevertheless, we all die. This alone should cause
us to question what authority we have:
·
After you have prayed to God and taken authority
over Satan, you should take authority over your physical body. Speak to it in the Name of Jesus and command
it to conform to the Word of God that says it is healed by the stripes of
Jesus. I have done this and had my body
shape up immediately. (59)
However, Paul confessed that he lacked such authority:
·
2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are
sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency
is from God (John 15:4-5).
Both Peter (2 Peter 2:11) and Jude (9) deny that we have
such authority within ourselves.
Copeland mixes sound teachings with what is highly unsound,
causing his book to sound like another gospel. Instead, what a consolation to
know that we belong to Him, and our weaknesses and failings actually become our
strengths in the hands of the One who is working everything together for good for
those who love Him.
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