The Gnostic Gospel

Gnosticism was a thorn in the side of the early church. In fact, the Gnostics were one of the first cultic groups that formed and took on a force of its own in the ancient church. John dealt with their heresies as did Paul. In Colossians, the apostle took on the Gnostics like a bulldog on a porkchop, writing, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (2:8).

The Gnostics were a hodge-podge of Greek philosophy, mysticism and Christianity. The title comes from the Greek word gnosis which means, “knowledge.” The Gnostics believed that salvation came from the discovery of secret knowledge which would lead to a spiritual awakening. While the Gospel said salvation was faith alone in Christ alone, the Gnostics added “human wisdom” to the equation.

The Popular Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics defined Gnostic beliefs like so, “Gnostics saw the material world as a prison for the god-spirit in each person. This divine spark longs to escape the body and return to the place of origin. A spiritual awakening is needed to recognize that the Gnostic does not belong to this world and salvation comes by knowledge of one’s divine origin.”[1] 

So why am I writing about an ancient cult and their false doctrines? Because the lie of Gnosticism is still prevalent today. In fact, it has infected the church. Especially the idea that we are “little gods.” If you’ve ever listened to celebrity pastors from the word-faith/prosperity camp then you are familiar with the “little gods” teaching. Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland and Kris Valloton of Bethel Church in Redding, CA are a few proponents. In fact, Kris Valloton writes on his blog, “When you’re acting like your heavenly Father, you’re actually being yourself!”[2] Yikes! It’s amazing how closely related that statement is to the teachers of New Age spirituality.      

One of the world’s most popular spiritual guru’s is Deepak Chopra, whose books are NY Times bestsellers and he’s been endorsed by Orpah and Good Morning America. Chopra says:

“I set out many years ago to show that there’s another way to view God . . . Once you drop the storybook image of a patriarch sitting on his throne above the clouds, room is made for a different story. In reality we are divinity in disguise. Every person is a god in embryo which seeks to be fully materialized. We must find out for ourselves that inside us is a little god or goddess that wants to be born so we can express our divinity.”[3]

You can see how the musings of modern philosophers like Chopra sounds deep and profound. There’s nothing that strokes the ego more than hearing you are god, you just don’t know it yet.

Pastor Erwin Lutzer hits the nail on the head. “’I believe in God’ is perhaps one of the most meaningless statements we can make today. The word God has become a canvas on which each is free to paint his own portrait of the divine; like the boy scribbling at his desk, we can draw God according to whatever specifications we please. For some He is ‘psychic energy’; for others He is just a ‘Higher Power.’ To say that ‘I believe in God’ might simply mean that we are seeing ourselves in a full length mirror.”[4]

By the way, haven’t we heard this line before—like from the lying tongue of Satan? When Satan tempted Adam & Eve in Eden he said “God knows that when you eat forbidden tree your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good from evil” (Gen. 3:5). Don’t be fooled! Former Bible Answer Man Walter Martin said it best, “Old error in new dress, is still error nonetheless!”[5]  

This is why we need spiritual discernment in these days of deception. Lord, help us to “take every thought captive under the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) so that we are not kidnapped by the lies of the Enemy. -DM

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[1] Ed Hindson & Ergun Caner, The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2008), 234-235. 

[2] Kris Valloton, “False Humility is Killing Us,” September 4, 2018 <https://www.krisvallotton.com/false-humility-is-killing-us>

[3] Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, (San Rafael, CA: Amber Allen, 1994), 98.

[4] Erwin Lutzer, 10 Lies About God (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2009), 2.

[5] Walter Martin, Screwtape Writes Again (Santa Ana, Calif.; Vision House Publishers, 1975), 16.