There’s an ongoing pattern with those who teach that Christians must receive a spiritual (second) baptism. Reinhard Bonnke is recognized as an NAR Apostle in the New Apostolic Reformation cult and C. Peter Wagner would categorize him as an ‘hyphenated apostle’: apostolic/evangelist. In this article we look at who Reinhard Bonnke confesses Christ to be.
You can read Bonnke’s article, linked below, stressing the importance of a second baptism, known as the ‘baptism in the spirit’.
If you understand what NARpostle Bonnke is emphasizing, you will soon realize he’s not pushing a Pentecostal teaching – rather it’s a teaching found in the New Order of the Latter Rain (NOLR) cult that elevates the spirit and faith of man to a form of divinity that warps the biblical teachings of anthropology, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, the gospel, the church and the end times.
A FALSE BAPTISM LEADS TO A FALSE CONFESSION OF CHRIST.
Just like other NAR Apostles, Prophets and leaders, Bonnke too teaches a false spiritual baptism that leads to a confession in a false Christ. We covered the fact that even demons who beheld Jesus did not see Him as a man but as God in human flesh and that these demons confessed the true Christ – unlike men like Bonnke. [Read more here.]
Time and again, when this false baptism is emphasized – those like Bonnke reduce Christ to a man who forfeited his divinity so we can imitate Christ (as a man) who walked under the influence of the Holy Spirit so we can not just be like Jesus – we can be greater than Jesus. We supposedly become greater because the NAR twist John 14:12 to suggest that Jesus is saying we can be greater than Him in His works:
“Truly, truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12 .
It’s important to note that if Bonnke is confessing a false Christ, Bonnke is preaching a false gospel that cannot save him. It’s also worth noting that Michael Brown is a very good friend of Bonnke and clearly does not care about the spiritual state of his friend who confess a false Christ and a false gospel.
JESUS CHRIST WAS THE SON OF GOD?
What happens with the kenosis heresy is that although they give lip service to Jesus being both God and man, they still push aside Jesus’ divinity and make him simply a man.
In the 2002 quote below, notice the ‘word games’ Bonnke plays with Christ:
“Jesus was the first of multitudes, the first Holy Spirit baptized man on earth.”
See the kenosis heresy in that statement? Notice the word ‘was’. This is how false teachers creep in and mislead people – they play semantics. This is because he later stated,
“Jesus was the Son of God, but he stood where we all stand as human beings.”
This is not true. Jesus is and has always been the Son of God. We cannot parallel the life of Jesus Christ the God-Man. This is not a translation slip-up. This is the exact confusion kenotic heretics create when they elevate this spiritual baptism and the kenotic Christ. Because they teach that ‘Jesus set aside his divinity’, they end up elevating his humanity and suggest that Jesus ceased to be God, with Bonnke demonstrating a good example of this heretical kenosis view of Jesus.
To demonstrate that this is not a translation error, last year Bonnke published a book titled, ‘Holy Spirit – Are We Flammable Or Fireproof?’. He not only rehashed these teachings from back in 2002, he reworked what he taught back then. This is what Bonnke says now of who Christ was regarding His ”spiritual baptism’:
“When He chose the role of a human, He accepted humanity’s need for the Holy Spirit. He identified Himseld with us, and said, “Thus it is fitting for US to fulfill [sic] all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus was the Son of God, but He stood where we all stand as human beings.
This is still a kenotic Jesus. To make matters worse, back in 2002, Bonnke stated:
“By his example, he showed that the baptism in the Spirit is not to be confused with regeneration or any other spiritual event. He received a separate and unique experience of the Spirit for his ministry. That is how it should be for us all.“
In 2017, he writes:
“His example showed that the baptism in the Spirit is not to be confused with regeneration or any other spiritual event. He received a separate and unique experience of the Holy Spirit for his ministry. That is how it should be for us all, as we follow His example.“
When people embrace this false baptism, it sets them up to embrace the false sonship heresy which leads them down a road of spiritual sanctification: ‘As He Is, So Are We’.
We are to be His disciples, picking up our crosses and following Him but He is not kenotic, nor our prototype nor the ‘patterned son” where we can now tap into the supernatural realm to bring the miraculous to further the kingdom of God in the earth. This is reducing Jesus Christ to a shaman/gnostic which is blasphemous and heretical.
A QUICK EXAMINATION OF THE ORIGINS OF HIS THEOLOGY.
Bonnke, like the NOLR, is a practicing restorationist. It is clear that Bonnke adheres to their ideological driven notions how we must restore the ‘true church’ like in Acts. In the quote below, we not only see Bonnke espouse NOLR restorationism, he is promoting the false baptism that unlocks these ‘converts’ to preach and practice the false power gospel (NAR Apostle John Wimber revamped this theology and called it ‘Power Evangelism’).
Rather than preach the Christian gospel, promote the Christian faith, preach the true Christ and the true Holy Spirit who expects us to be water baptised, Bonnke is pushing a dangerous agenda that is working against Christ and His church.
In a chapter titled ‘Being Included’, Bonnke writes:
“A NEW CHAPTER OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES IS BEING written. Today, the baptism in the Spirit inspires hundreds of millions of new believers in power-evangelism. Be included!”
Source: Reinhard Bonnke, Being Included, Holy Spirit – Are We Flammable Or Fireproof?, (Orlando, Florida: Christ for all Nations: 30 Aug, 2017).
You do not want to be included in this false baptism and false move of God. As we are about to read from Bonnke himself – this a demonic movement that confesses a false Christ and raises up power-hungry people. Stay away from it and warn your Christian friends and family to watch, mark and avoid at all cost.
QUOTE 1.
THE HOLY SPIRIT TRANSLATES JESUS’ LIFE INTO OUR experience. When He chose the role of a human, He accepted humanity’s need for the Holy Spirit. He identified Himseld with us, and said, “Thus it is fitting for US to fulfill [sic] all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus was the Son of God, but He stood where we all stand as human beings. This meant that the day came when he moved into a new experience, endowed with the Spirit. It was not conversion or new birth. The Son of God never had that need. His example showed that the baptism in the Spirit is not to be confused with regeneration or any other spiritual event. He received a separate and unique experience of the Holy Spirit for his ministry. That is how it should be for us all, as we follow His example.
Source: Reinhard Bonnke, Holy Spirit – Are We Flammable Or Fireproof?, (Orlando, Florida: Christ for all Nations: 30 Aug, 2017).
QUOTE 2.
THE GREAT PATTERN FOR CHRISTIANS IS JESUS, AND HE WAS baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the same event. The fourth Gospel, John, gives more detail. John the Baptist, the fore-runner of Jesus, declared, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained on Him” (John 1:32). Jesus Himself explained, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel . . . ” (Luke 4:18). Peter, in Acts 10:38, said, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.” John the Baptist said a thrilling thing. “He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon Whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit'” (John 1:33).
Christ had a human experience from God to show what the perfect human experience should be. He was the first of multitudes. He was the first Holy Spirit-baptized man on earth. John 3:34 (NIV) says, “God gives the Spirit without limit.” John 1:16 declares, “Of His fullness have we all received . . .” That is the wonderful truth-what He received was for us. He was filled for us, and out of His infinite fullness we are filled.
Source: Reinhard Bonnke, Holy Spirit – Are We Flammable Or Fireproof?, (Orlando, Florida: Christ for all Nations: 30 Aug, 2017).
QUOTE 3.
Christ had a human experience from God to show what the perfect human experience should be.
[See source at end of article]: Reinhard Bonnke, BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (III), Christ For All Nations, http://www.cfan.org:80/offices/canada/biblestudies/march02/pg2.htm, Published March 20002. (Accessed March 10 2003.) [Archived]
QUOTE 4.
Jesus was the first of multitudes, the first Holy Spirit baptized man on earth. John 3:34 says “God gives the Spirit without limit” and John 1:16 declares “from the fullness of his grace we have all received”. That is the wonderful truth – what he received was for us. He was filled for us so that we, in turn could be filled out of his infinite fullness.
Source: Reinhard Bonnke, BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (III), Christ For All Nations, http://www.cfan.org:80/offices/canada/biblestudies/march02/pg2.htm, Published March 20002. (Accessed March 10 2003.) [Archived]
QUOTE 5.
Jesus was the Son of God, but he stood where we all stand as human beings. This meant that the day came when he was anointed with the Spirit. It was not conversion, or new birth. The Son of God never needed that. By his example, he showed that the baptism in the Spirit is not to be confused with regeneration or any other spiritual event. He received a separate and unique experience of the Spirit for his ministry. That is how it should be for us all.
Source: Reinhard Bonnke, BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (III), Christ For All Nations, http://www.cfan.org:80/offices/canada/biblestudies/march02/pg2.htm, Published March 20002. (Accessed March 10 2003.) [Archived]
Here is the original article back in 2002 that is worth reading in case you think we are taking Reinhard Bonnke out of context (emphasis his):
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (III)
The importance of teaching
As the baptism in the Holy Spirit has been taught, it has opened up an important new truth about the Spirit. The Spirit used to be thought of as a general disseminated presence, working gently, unseen and unrealised. In the words of an old hymn, “he comes sweet influence to impart, soft as the breath of evening”. I am sure the Holy Spirit is all pervading, and does work his purposes out in life even when we are not aware of it. But that is not how Scripture refers to the Spirit. References are normally to his activity. He comes to believers (not the world) and they are very aware of it. The most striking of these manifestations is the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Some have a strange aversion for the supernatural and for speaking in tongues. Why, I do not know. Why should anybody dislike any gift of God that is clearly encouraged in Scripture? I would not refuse any gift from anybody I love. I would not dream of refusing even a daisy plucked from the lawn by one of my grandchildren, my children or my wife. If we love God how can we despise tongues, his special gift?
Some bear down upon this Pentecostal wonder with all the scholarship they can muster. They inoculate themselves with unbelief. They use a serum of theories against current Pentecost for which there is no Bible warrant. They talk about “rightly dividing the Word of God” when in fact they are butchering it. They leave parts of it as dead as mutton and promises buried in the grave of unbelief. They convince themselves and opt out of what the Apostles received. They include themselves out; I want to be excluded in! But one thing is beyond all controversy – that when the Bible talks about a positive empowering act of the Spirit in the lives of believers it is always in terms of physical signs and evidences. That’s the Bible! Do we want Bible religion or a mild, degutted, brand?
Speaking in tongues
The Baptism in the Spirit with speaking in tongues is the new Reformation. It strengthens all Bible-based evangelical doctrine and gives Christian teaching a new dimension. Speaking in tongues means that spiritual truths take on a physical character.
Bible-based faith has always had two sides. From the beginning of time, the Spirit has always operated in the physical sphere as well as the spiritual. The baptism in the Spirit is simply typical of what the Holy Spirit is. I’ll show you that presently. It’s bound to affect body and soul because the Spirit has always related to the physical and material order every bit as much as to the spiritual. Mark 16:20 says “the Lord confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it”. One of those signs was speaking in tongues.
Let me show you what I mean – starting with the Old Testament. The prophets of old were not baptized in the Spirit, nor did the Spirit “indwell” them; they were moved when the Spirit came upon them. This was something that marked them as prophets. Miracles also sometimes took place. When these supernatural effects were seen, they were put down to the breath of God. Now, in Hebrew the word for “breath” is the same as the word for “spirit” – ruwach. When God touched King Saul everyone could see that that was what had happened to him. They said the breath, or Spirit, of God had come upon him.
The Spirit of the prophets
The baptism in the Spirit endues believers with the Spirit of the prophets. When the prophets experienced God supernaturally they called it the “Spirit of the prophets”. Joel 2:28 promised that that same Spirit of the prophets would be poured out on all flesh, and all kinds of people would prophesy; the Spirit would no longer come upon individuals here and there. Furthermore, the power of the Spirit would not be given for an isolated task but as a permanent gift in Christ to everyone.
That does not mean that everyone baptized in the Spirit of the prophets will perform precisely what Elijah or Isaiah did. 1 Corinthians 12:29 asks appropriately, “Are all prophets?” Nonetheless, the gospel itself has an irreducible prophetic quality. If we take it upon ourselves to share the gospel with others, we need the Spirit of prophecy to convey that message with prophetic authenticity.
Israel believed that God was always present and always at work behind the scenes. The Psalmists asked God to come out of the hiding places of his power, but they knew he was there. When he went into battle with Israel, he did so by his Spirit. When the wind parted the waters of the Red Sea, it was “by the blast of his nostrils” (Exodus 15:8) – in other words, his breath. When prophets prophesied, it was God at work, but God coming as the Spirit of the Lord. Peter used the same terms when he wrote, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16).
On the first day of Pentecost “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind filled the whole house where they were sitting … and tongues of fire came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:2‑3). They all spoke in new tongues, “declaring the wonders of God” (Acts 2:11) Joel’s prophecy was that young and old would prophesy, as Peter pointed out: “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). Reading the rest of his speech, it is clear that he equates new tongues with prophecy. Basically, prophecy is utterance under the power of God.
Source: Reinhard Bonnke, BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (III), Christ For All Nations, http://www.cfan.org/offices/canada/biblestudies/march02/pg1.htm, http://www.cfan.org:80/offices/canada/biblestudies/march02/pg2.htm, Published March 20002. (Accessed March 10 2003.) [Page 1: Archive 1] [Page 2: Archive 2]
Email all comments and questions to c3churchwatch@hotmail.com
Categories: Christ for all Nations, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)