John 1:18 The Only Begotten Son

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by Will Kinney

JOHN 1:18

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” John 1:18

The Codex Vaticanus has μονογενὴς θεός (only begotten God) here in John 1:18 instead of the usual μονογενὴς υἱός (only begotten Son)

“No man hath seen God at any time; THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

John 1:18 presents us with a classical case of confusion caused by the modern Bible correctors. The phrase in question is “the only begotten Son.” There are two variants here: one with the Greek text and the other with the translation.

The Greek of the Traditional Text reads, “o monogenes huios” (the only begotten Son). The Greek of the Alexandrian Text reads, “o monogenes theos” (the only begotten God). Additionally, the Greek word “monogenes” is no longer looked upon by some as meaning “only begotten” but is now considered better translated as “unique” or “one and only.” However there is much disagreement among today’s “scholars” as to which text to adopt and how to translate it.

Notice the total confusion that exists in the multitude of modern bible versions today.

“The only begotten Son”- King James Bible, Wycliffe 1395, Tyndale 1525, Coverdale 1535, Bishops’ Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1599, Daniel Mace New Testament 1729, Wesley’s N.T. 1755, the Revised Version 1881, American Standard Version 1901, Webster’s 1833 translation, Darby 1890, Young’s, Douay 1950, Spanish Reina Valera 1909, 1960, 1995, Italian Diodati 1602, Rivudeta 1927, Luther’s German Bible 1545, German Schlachter 1951, French Martin 1744, Louis Segond 1910, Ostervald 1996, the NKJV 1982, Third Millenium Bible, and KJV 21.

Even the Revised Version 1881 and American Standard Version1901, which introduced thousands of radical changes in the New Testament based on the Alexandrian texts, did not follow Sinaiticus/Vaticanus here but stuck with the Traditional Text. It wasn’t till the NASB appeared on the scene that the false reading of “the only begotten God” was introduced.

“The only begotten God” NASB
“God the only Son” NIV 1973
“God the One and Only” NIV 1984 with a footnote “or only begotten”
“but the one and only Son, who is himself God” TNIV 2001 with footnote “some manuscripts – but the only Son”.

The 1973 and 1977 NIV’s read, “No MAN has ever seen God, but God the only [Son], who is at the Father’s side, has made him known”. The 1978 and 1984 NIV editions now read, “No ONE has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” Thus, the NIV has been revised and changed ” no man” to “no one”, altered “only” to “One and Only” and omitted [Son]. Then the TNIV further changes “One and Only” to “one and only” and again adds “Son”.

These next three are all related to one another as each is a revision of the last one in line, yet they all three differ from each other. See how consistent modern scholars are.

“the only Son” RSV 1952. The liberal RSV was the first major English version to translate monogenes as “only” rather than the traditional and more accurate “only begotten”, but yet it retained the word Son rather than God.
“God the only Son” NRSV 1989
“the only God” English Standard Version 2001
“the one and only Son” Hebrew Names Version,
“God’s only Son” New English Bible 1970
“the only conceived Son” World English Bible
The Message 2002 – ” No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.” A “one of a kind God expression”???

Several of these modern version don’t follow any Greek text at all but combine divergent readings from different texts, such as the NIV 1973, TNIV, the NRSV, and the New English Bible.

The King James Bible is the correct reading both as to text and meaning. The Alexandrian texts which read “the only begotten GOD, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” teach that there are TWO GODS and one of them is inferior to the other. Read it any way you wish, but the undeniable fact is you end up with TWO GODS. There is the God whom nobody has seen and then there is the only begotten God who has explained the unseen God. The only other version I know of that reads this way, besides the NASB, is the Jehovah Witness New World Translation, which says: “the only begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.”

One of the newest in the long line of bible revisions, the English Standard Version, reads: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” This is totally absurd. It teaches not only that there are two Gods, the one nobody has ever seen, and the one who has made the unseen God known; but one of them is God and the other is the ONLY God.

Jesus Christ is by nature very God of very God. John 1 says “the Word was God”. Notice it does not say the Word was THE God. God is triune yet one. If it had said “the Word was THE God” it would be a theological error. All that God is in the three Persons is not limited to the Word, but the Word (Jesus Christ) is by very nature God.

What the ESV teaches is a confusion of the nature of the Trinity. Jesus Christ is not “THE ONLY GOD” who makes known the God no one has seen. Jesus Christ is God by nature, but He is not the Father nor the Holy Ghost.

We now have two more late$t and greate$t ver$ion$ coming on the scene. The ISV or International Standard Version and the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

The ISV reads: ” No one has ever seen God. The UNIQUE God, (Other mss. read Son) who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.” Again, we have two Gods. One nobody has ever seen and then the “unique” God! Does this mean the God no one has seen is just an ordinary, run-of-the- mill, garden variety god, while the other one is totally unique?

But wait, the newest of them all is the 2003 Holman Christian Standard Bible, and it says: “No one has ever seen God. The only Son– the One who is at the Father’s side– He has revealed Him.” Hey, this one went back to the reading of “Son” instead of “God”. What gives here? Well, it’s the fickle, shifting sands of modern scholarship.

Those versions that teach that Jesus Christ is the “only Son” or “the one and only Son” are also incorrect in that angels are also called sons of God and so are Adam and all of God’s other children. In either case, the corrupt and confusing readings found in many modern bible versions diminish the glory of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity is turned on its head.

The Nicene Creed (344 AD) states:

“We believe in one God the Father Almighty, . . . And in His Only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ, who before all ages was begotten from the Father, God from God, Light from Light, by whom all things were made, in heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible . . .” (as cited from Athanasius: De Synodis, II:26).

The Old Latin manuscripts of John 1:18, which translation preceded anything we have in the remaining Greek copies, read: “deum nemo uidit umquam. unigenitus filius. qui est in sinu patris. ipse narrauit.” The word “unigenitus” means, “only begotten, only; of the same parentage.” (Dr. John C. Traupman, Latin Dictionary, 323).

In 202 AD, Irenaeus wrote,

“For ‘no man,’ he says, ‘hath seen God at any time,’ unless ‘the only-begotten Son of God, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared [Him].’ For He, the Son who is in His bosom, declares to all the Father who is invisible.”(Against Heresies, 3:11:6)

In 324 AD, Alexander of Alexandria wrote:

“Moreover, that the Son of God was not produced out of what did not exist, and that there never was a time when He did not exist, is taught expressly by John the Evangelist, who writes this of Him: ‘The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father.’ The divine teacher, because he intended to show that the Father and the Son are two and inseparable from each other, does in fact specify that He is in the bosom of the Father.” (W.A. Jurgens, The Faith Of The Early Fathers, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, p. 300)

Ambrose (397 AD) writes,

“For this reason also the evangelist says, ‘No one has at any time seen God, except the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has revealed him.’ ‘The bosom of the Father,’ then, is to be understood in a spiritual sense, as a kind of innermost dwelling of the Father’s love and of His nature, in which the Son always dwells. Even so, the Father’s womb is the spiritual womb of an inner sanctuary, from which the Son has proceeded just as from a generative womb.”(The Patrarches, 11:51).

Finally, Augustine (430 AD) wrote:

“For Himself hath said: No man hath seen God at any time, but the Only-Begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Therefore we know the Father by Him, being they to whom He hath declared Him.”(Homilies On The Gospel According To St. John, XLVII:3)

The point is that most of the early Theologians in the Church not only recognized that monogenes means “only begotten,” and defined it as such, but that the popular reading was “only begotten Son.”

“In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.” Westminster Confession, Chapter III.

In spite of some Greek lexicons, like Thayer’s, which insist the meaning of monogenes is “unique” or “one of a kind”, there are many others like Kittel’s, Liddel and Scott and Vine’s that tell us the Greek word monogenes emphatically means “only begotten” and not “one and only”. It is significant that Thayer did not believe that Jesus Christ was God.

In Kittel’s massive work Volume 4 page 741 the writer says: “In John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9 monogenes denotes more than the uniqueness or incomparability of Jesus. In all these verses He is expressly called the Son. (notice he does not accept the false reading of ‘God’ in 1:18, and he states this on the previous page). In John monogenes denotes the origin of Jesus as the only begotten.”

Even the modern Greek language dictionary, which has nothing to do with the Bible, says that monogenes means “only begotten”, and not unique. The Greek word for “unique” or “one and only” is a very different and specific word – monodikos – not monogenes.

The translators of the King James Version were not unaware that monogenes can also be translated as “only” for they did so in Luke 7:12; 8:42; and 9:38, all of which refer to an only child and thus they were the only begotten, not an unique child.

Some who criticize the KJB tell us that the word means “unique” and they refer to Hebrews 11:17 where we are told: “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.” They point out that Isaac was not the only son of Abraham at the time, but that Ishmael had already been born of Abraham’s union with Hagar. However a look at the text itself in Genesis 22:2,12 and 16 shows that God referred to Isaac as “thine ONLY son Isaac”. Ishmael is not even taken into consideration by God since he was not the promised seed with whom God made the covenant of grace. As far as God was concerned, there was only one “only begotten son” of Abraham, and he is the spiritual type of the only begotten Son of God who became the lamb that was sacrificed for the sins of God’s people.

The King James Bible is correct as always, and the divergent and contradictory readings in most modern versions are wrong.

NICENE CREED 325 A.D. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, THE ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD, BEGOTTEN OF HIS FATHER BEFORE ALL WORLD, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made;

CHALCEDON CREED 451 A.D. Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER BEFORE THE AGES.

ATHANASIA CREED 500 A.D. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, NOT MADE NOR CREATED BUT BEGOTTEN. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and the Son, not made nor created nor begotten but proceeding. And in this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, but the whole three Persons are coeternal together and coequal.

The right faith therefore is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man. He is God of the substance of the Father, BEGTOTTEN BEFORE THE WORLDS, and He is man of the substance of His mother born in the world; perfect God, perfect man subsisting of a reasoning soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood.

The BELGIC CONFESSION 1561 We believe that Jesus Christ, according to his divine nature, is the only Son of God– ETERNALLY BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE NOR CREATED, for then he would be a creature. He is one in essence with the Father; coeternal; the exact image of the person of the Father.

The 39 ARTICLES OF RELIGION 1571 Article II The Son, which is the Word of the Father, BEGOTTEN FROM EVERLASTING OF THE FATHER, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father.

WESTMINSTER CONFESSION 1646 In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: the Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; THE SON IS ETERNALLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

LONDON BAPTIST CONFESSION 1689 In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; THE SON IS ETERNALLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son.

For another great article written by Scott Jones dealing with the modern mistranslation of monogenes, please go to this site.

http://www.lamblion.net/Articles/ScottJones/monogenes.htm

And for Scott’s article showing the assault on the Only Begotten Son of God in John 1:18 please go to this site.

http://www.lamblion.net/Articles/ScottJones/begotten_son.htm

Here is a very well done article on John 1:18 and the heretical reading of the NASB, NIV versions done by a man who is not even a KJB onlyist. Tim Warner has written an excellent refutation of the NASB, NIV reading. See it here: http://studytoanswer.net/bibleversions/john1n18.html

Excellent long article on John 1:18 by Jesse Boyd here http://www.biblebelieversbaptist.org/monogenes.htm

And here is another scholarly article by Michael Marlowe showing how the Greek word monogenes means “only begotten” and not “unique”.http://www.bible-researcher.com/only-begotten.html 1

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Gospel Action in Mexico Part 37

UPDATE – DELIVERED FOOD TODAY; – I purchased numerous food items for Clara and her boys today. Traversing difficult terrain to deliver the goods God supplied through your faithful giving left me with a sidewall puncture. A sidewall puncture cannot be patched and replacement was quoted at $274. Settled for a used tire. In this challenge came opportunity.

God used the punctured tire for me to meet a wayward man. Jose has spent time in the USA and has family there. His wife is presently in Colorado; he expressed strain on his family. Jose received God’s Word preached to him and the JESUS tract and said “You know what?, my wife is also a Christian.” Wow. So, his beloved wife is praying for him to be saved and God answered her prayer in part by connecting me with him. This opportunity is because of your support for this ministry. Can we please pray for Jose and his family?

I am continuing to learn to assert Romans 8:28-29 into everything.

— 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Can anyone relate?

Mark is encouraging me in helping more people, one person/family at a time. Your prayers and giving are more than important, it is essential.

I found out Clara was in need again and was moved upon by the LORD to get her and her 3 sons some food. Her whole monthly money needed to sustain her, and her boys is about $350. The house she rents is $120 per month. I will leave it there.

It is amazing how much further our contributions go in Mexico, how much more it’s multiplied. A little bit of money and ministry here goes a long way to bless and expand Christ’s kingdom! …and to give hope to the hopeless.

We continue to pray for a few more saints to assert themselves into this opportunity. God is able, amen! All I can do is let these things be known. I am blessed by your support as I am encouraged by the fruitfulness of Mission Mexico both in the reach of the spiritual needs and the physical needs of God’s children. You are responding to Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 6:19-21

—19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Clara’s Cry Video was featured recently. Click here.

Please lift a prayer in Jesus’ name for the fruitfulness and supply of our LORD’s work here with Mission Mexico. God be praised. Multitudes being reached daily with Jesus Christ’s bless-ed Gospel – spoken to them and given in print in the JESUS tract in Spanish.

BELOVED ANTONIO came by again tonight to get something to eat. I warmly received and welcomed him. Had him sit down and rest with fresh water to drink while his delicious meal was cooking. When he left I broke down while hugging him and letting him know you are lifting him in prayer and that God loves him. I played the Spanish Bible audio of Scripture to him while I was cooking so the Word would be planted in his heart…. WHO wants to cry out with me to our LORD for this young man? WHO wants to seek God for a complete change in his precious life? Salvation and good employment/work, etc. Let it not be that he could ever say that “No man cared for my soul.” – “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul” (Psalms 142:4). Jesus is coming saints. Let us pour out His love to the hurting. Jesus Christ died for this beloved young man! Mission Mexico is rolling! “WE are labourers TOGETHER with God” (1 Corinthians 3:9). This is what it’s all about dear saints. Jump in. God will bless.

“The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” Psalms 145:14

Mission Mexico!

Beloved brother in Christ, Cesar, spent the last 14 days with his beloved mother before she passed. Mark and I went to visit Cesar the day after his mother passed. Mark and I agreed that Cesar was ministering to us. We went to comfort him and he ministered to us! Whew! You are invited to lift our beloved brother Cesar in prayer.

Oh and Cesar took about 50-60 JESUS tracts to distribute.

The plans are to be spending more time fellowshipping with Cesar again soon.

Months ago, I handed Cesar a JESUS tract and we begin to talk and he shared that he is a born again disciple of Jesus. Yesterday, with tears in his eyes, Cesar shared his testimony of Jesus’ salvation of his life 24 years ago. This is a beloved brother in our LORD Jesus for certain. Unpretentious.

As is so often the case, we gave this man a JESUS tract and spoke the Word to him. A few moments later here he is hungrily reading about His Maker and King, and Savior Jesus.

Saints we are supporting a missionary in the Philippines and am thanking the LORD for your prayers and supply to our LORD’s Gospel work …..

Anyone wish to pause and lift this man to our LORD in prayer? When ministered to, Victor asked questions. He is searching. God is able.

Thank you for praying for the beautiful people of this country. More Mission Mexico coverage here.

Remember brother Justin (from Australia) whom God miraculously saved here in Mexico? He is very grateful that you are lifting him in prayer. Praying for Christ’s saints is an essential (Colossians 4:12). Today Justin sent this:

“I was reading the book of John and the woman at the well last night, contemplating how some plant seeds to be harvested by others (John 4). Just being grateful to serve the Lord without needing to see results. Bless you. You certainty planted some seeds with me. I’ll check out Titus! Thank you brother. I am working out my salvation with fear and trembling, for sure, and I wouldn’t be doing it so much harder now without your support.” Justin B.

UPDATE ON BROTHER JUSTIN B.

Thank you for lifting in prayer our brother Justin B. (Australian) here in Mexico. He was saved just a few months ago here. Here’s the latest from our brother. Please pray the Word for him. John 15; Colossians 4:12.

“I am good, brother. I am back in the slipstream of the Word. Felt like I had to experience the desert of doubt to come out with more clarity. Though, ultimately, trust in God is not necessarily clear. Getting confident in God with that “cloud of unknowing.”

“Daily brother. It’s my clarion call/prayer now. Diminish me but increase my faith. Purify my heart, Lord, so I may glorify Your name. Thank you for showing me the way and keeping faith in me, brother.” Justin B.

Do we recall how Jesus told Peter: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).

Here’s the post where the account of Jesus saving Justin is contained.

Jesus Saved Justin [podcast]

This is beloved David (pictured above) who received extensive ministry of God’s love and Word. Please lift up David, Daniel, and Justin. Colossians 4:12.

Omar was invited to have you pray for him. He readily agreed and is glad to know you are lifting him to our LORD in prayer. Jesus told us He desires to save Omar (1 Timothy 2:4).

“My Dear Brother, I will continue to lift Clara and those precious children in prayer; for I know firsthand the hardship of raising 3 little ones alone in this selfish world. I am thankful to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY for sending strangers into my life during my time of despair and brokenness. Thank you brother for being a good steward with the gifts that the people of God send into the Lord’s Ministry. May the Lord God bless and keep you all the days of your life.” Jacquie

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“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

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“Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11

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YOU are either going to clearly prove you love God by perpetually flooding your heart and mind with the Word, prayer, and praises of our LORD Jesus Christ…. or you absolutely will fall away (Luke 8:13; 1 Timothy 4:1-2, etc.).

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.” Psalms 27:4

“When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” Psalms 27:8

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

Notice that those not seeking the LORD today, are forsaking Him.

“if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

YOUR PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please forgive my sins afresh. I have had other gods before You and so have committed the sin of idolatry and spiritual adultery. Please wash me afresh with Your blood dear LORD Jesus. Create in me a clean heart, an heart of flesh and remove the stony places. Please help me to sense Your leading and impressions. You are my Great Shepherd and I am Your sheep. Fill me with Your Holy Ghost dear LORD and please use me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Instead of fostering a deeper love for CHRIST in their hearers, local churches have diverted that loyalty, the faith of their hearers to themselves (1 Corinthians 29-2:5). This is “the spirit of antichrist” at work (1 John 2:18; 4:1-3). Anti in “antichrist” means “in place of” and the vast majority of local churches seek to replace Christ with themselves – to intercept the heart affections of their audience from loving Jesus Christ supremely – to rob Him of His glory for their own self-serving agenda! Beware! This was Paul’s warning of Colossians 1-2. Christ alone is the Supreme Creator, Sustainer, Reconciler, Redeemer, and Savior! Pour prayerfully over Colossians 1 and 2 this week beloved of God.

“…do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10

You cannot and won’t please everyone and such should not be your goal. Please God beloved and in NON-essentials, make your own decisions – void of the undue, unwarranted interference of others! (Read Romans 14.) Some people are operating in witchcraft and don’t realize it. They haven’t repented and learned how to mind their own business. And, so many live under the witchcraft of pleasing family and friends and the whims of others. If that’s you, you are not yet free but you can be. Seek the LORD in special prayer. Repent afresh and ask God to strip off every trace of witchcraft and control over your life. Ask Him to establish your life in His love and truth and all fear shall be vanquished from your life! See 1 John 4:16-18.

Note: Anything that is not specifically named as a sin in the Bible, is a NON-essential and that means that God gives YOU the liberty to conduct yourself as you see fit. Read and get to know Romans 14. | Learning to Mind Our Own Business

Those who insidiously seek to position themselves, to maneuver things to manipulate you, are fully arrogant and that’s why they believe THEY know better than God and you concerning your life, your decisions, your ministry, your direction, etc.. Beware. These are the very enemies of Christ. Like snakes in the grass, people like this are insidiously operating in witchcraft and as sure for hell as if they were already there (Galatians 5:19-21). Beware.

Untold scores of men, all of which had a calling from God, have allowed wicked manipulators to derail, destroy, and waste their lives. Beware.

Beware of those with an agenda….. an agenda that is not God’s agenda/will. With Jesus our LORD, the true disciple declares to God – “NOT my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22:42). All of the unsaved are under the control of Satan, the enemy of all souls.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” Ephesians 2:1-2

Most if not all of us have realized that there are lots of manipulators around us who vie for the control of our lives, who attempt to push their agenda, their personal will on us. Solidifying our identity in Christ, becoming increasingly rooted and grounded in Him, is essential to be kept from such witchcraft. The aim, the stated will of God, is to root and ground every one of His saints ever more deeply into Christ. Pour prayerfully, meticulously over Colossians 1 and 2 beloved, and ask the LORD to root your heart and life deeper into Christ in whom alone you are “complete.” Ask the Father that your constitution, your innermost identity would be Christ and Christ alone! (Read Galatians 2:20; 6:14; 1 Corinthians 2:2, etc.)

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14

If your life is not all about CHRIST, you are in trouble. Stop. Re-turn afresh to the LORD. Declare JESUS CHRIST as the LORD, Savior, Master, First Love of your life in this world! Do it with force! Memorize Galatians 6:14.

Satan is behind every attempt to derail God’s people from walking in His perfect will. Spiritual warfare. In light of the desire to get God’s Word into the hearts of the people, Paul requests prayer to be “delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.”

“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Escaping the Witchcraft, the Manipulation

ANY person participating in the work of Satan is a child of the devil. Satan’s work is “to steal, to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). Any questions? Any activity, operation, or plan to steal the freedom or money or anything from another, is the work of Satan himself. So is to killing or destroying people or property unjustly.

May the LORD continue to increase His discernment in us – in order to see the enemy working through people from afar. Once we’ve allowed them in, they are within striking distance, right? Yes. See Matthew 7:6.

“And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.” Ecclesiastes 7:26

Did you see that? Did you see in Ecclesiastes 7:26 how those who obey God will escape the seduction and the clutches of manipulating people?

A careful reading, study, and meditation upon the words of this verse above, will yield important truths concerning spiritual warfare and overcoming through Christ.

“Witchcraft” is a soul damning sin – which means that any person operating in this sin is outside of Christ and as sure for hell as if they were already there (Galatians 5:19-21). Eternal security/once saved always saved is a lie from hell.

Any person who seeks to usurp authority over another person (his will and decisions, etc.) is operating by his own agenda and not the LORD’s. Such a person is rebellious and self-willed and therefore seeks to exert their witchcraft over the lives, the decisions, the will of others.

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Remember how manipulating Delilah was as she sought to manipulate and derail Samson? Read Judges 16.

There are many examples of manipulation in the Word of God, beginning in the Garden of Eden.

In the Scripture below, notice the interaction with Paul and the false prophet, Elymas. All interference of the Gospel is from Satan. Below is but one example. This man sought to exercise control over Paul and the deputy and how the LORD judged him:

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

Act 13:4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Act 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
Act 13:7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Act 13:10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

THE DEEDS AND DOCTRINE OF THE NICOLAITANS (Part 1)

(Excerpt from the Deceivers and False Prophets Among Us book) “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes (means conquer the laity), which I also hate…So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.” Revelation 2:6, 15 Some years ago, after being found and apprehended by God, and saved by the grace of Jesus, I lived in a city where there was a cartel of eight volatile and controlling pastors. These men organized and operated a control ring where they tracked church attendants and their movements and dealings. This intelligence system was […]

Learning to Mind Our Own Business [video]

Hint: If something is not specifically named as a sin in God’s Word, leave others alone about it. MYOB, right? (Mind Your Own Business) “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.” Romans 14:4 You know you are in need of true repentance when you focus on the faults of others and yet spend no time praying sincerely to God for them. “If we would judge” WHO? Read closely: “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not […]

Witchcraft Among Us [podcast]

Those who have control issues simply have not given the control of their own lives over to the LORD and therefore operate in the witchcraft of controlling others – something that God forbids as they usurp HIS place in the lives of others. True repentance needed and to denounce the sin of self-idolatry, spiritual adultery, and witchcraft. Undue control over others is “witchcraft” which is a soul damning sin (Galatians 5:19-21). God has not called us to control others or even seek to but rather allow them the freedom to grow in His grace as they work out their own […]

Ministers who Operate in Witchcraft [podcast]

Attempting to exercise control over another person is witchcraft and it’s always perpetrated by those who don’t even have their own life in order. Jesus calls them hypocrites and if they don’t repent, they are 100% guaranteed to be in hell (Matthew 7:2-5). “Witchcraft” is a soul damning sin (Galatians 5:19-21). All “sorcerers” are as sure for hell and the lake of fire as if they were already there! A sorcerer is anyone who uses drugs or anything else in order to control another person – to kill them, to manipulate them, etc. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and […]