Bill Johnson seems to be confused when he talks about Jesus Christ. In chapter two of When Heaven Invades Earth, he said Jesus could not heal the sick; nor could he raise the dead or deliver those who were tormented from demons. “While He is 100 percent God, He chose to live with the same limitations that man would face once He was redeemed.” And, according to Johnson, Jesus became a model for us when “He” performed miracles as a man in right relationship with God…not as God. And with these words, he, Johnson, disregards (or dismisses?) the doctrine of the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ.
The hypostatic union describes how Jesus Christ is One Person, fully God and fully man. He took on a human nature, yet remained fully God. “The addition of the human nature to the divine nature is Jesus, the God-man, fully God and fully human, two distinct natures in one Person.” This is the technical term for the unique, complex Person with both a divine and human nature, as it is described in the Chalcedonian Definition, quoted below by Kevin DeYoung. He italicized four negative statements in the Definition, describing how the two natures are preserved, but not annulled by the union.
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, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.
Johnson appears to say Jesus himself was redeemed, and in doing so strains the hypostatic union of Christ to the breaking point: “While He is 100 percent God, He chose to live with the same limitations that man would face once He was redeemed.” He violated the Definition’s description of this union as without confusion, change, division or separation. Note how Johnson subtly confuses his understanding of the two natures of Christ with his use of the capital “H” in the following quotation from When Heaven Invades Earth. Capitalizing “he,” “himself” and “his” typically communicates the speaker is referring to a god.
Jesus could not heal the sick. Neither could He deliver the tormented from demons or raise the dead. To believe otherwise is to ignore what He said about Himself, and more importantly, to miss the purpose of His self-imposed restriction to live as a man.
I believe Johnson disregards the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ in order to support his belief that we are to perform greater miracles than Jesus. Online and in print, Johnson has repeatedly said if Jesus performed miracles because He was God, he, Johnson, was impressed. “But if He did them as a man, I am responsible to pursue His lifestyle.”
And here is the crux of why he, Johnson, said this. “Recapturing this simple truth changes everything… and makes possible a full restoration of the ministry of Jesus in His Church.” That is, embedded in the title of his book, bring heaven to earth by doing the things Jesus did–heal the sick, raise the dead, deliver those who are tormented with demons. The “He” who performed miracles was uniquely the God-man, and cannot be a human model for the church to imitate in the way Johnson means.
Monergism gives a clear description of how Bill Johnson’s beliefs differ from orthodox confessional Christianity. His view on the nature of Christ is a version of the kenosis doctrine, “which asserts that Jesus, during His earthly ministry, operated solely as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit and not in His divine capacity.” This teaching implies that when they are empowered by the Holy Spirit, Christians perform the same miracles Jesus did. Spirit-filled and empowered believers are supposedly called to establish God’s dominion on earth by taking over all areas of society. “Johnson frequently emphasizes that the church’s role is to demonstrate God’s power and advance His kingdom in every sphere of life.”
One of the most concerning aspects of Johnson’s theology is teaching that Jesus performed miracles, healed the sick and cast out demons “solely as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit, rather than as God.” Although it is true that Philippians 2:6-7 says Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,” He didn’t stop being God. As it says in Colossians 2:9, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
When Johnson teaches that believers are supposed to exercise the same authority and power that Jesus did, Christians can view themselves as having a divine-like ability to declare and create reality through their words. “This teaching aligns with the “little gods” doctrine, which suggests that Christians, as children of God, share in God’s divine nature in a way that elevates them to a god-like status.” Scripture warns against exalting oneself, or believing that you have a god-like status, because it leads to pride and rebellion against God’s authority (Genesis 3:5; Ezekiel 28:2). “Johnson’s teaching blurs the distinction between Creator and creation, leading people into a false sense of their own power and authority.” See the World Religion and Spirituality Project’s discussion of the New Latter Rain Movement and Joel’s Army.
Returning to DeYoung’s discussion of the Chalcedon Definition, without change means the Logos did not stop being what he always had been. “The incarnation affected no substantial change in the divine Son.” Jesus Christ is without separation, meaning the union of the human and divine is a real, organic union.
This may seem like needless theological wrangling, but Chalcedon’s careful definition is meant to preserve the biblical teaching that (1) the divine nature was united, in the person of the Son, with a human nature (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:11-14) and (2) the two natures are united in only one divine Person (Rom. 1:3-4; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:6-11). As Chalcedon puts it, the characteristics of each nature are preserved—in no way annulled by the union—even as they come together in one person (prospon) and one subsistence (hypostasis).
For more discussion of the Chalcedon Definition, see: “Christology at Chalcedon.” For a further critique of Bill Johnson’s theology and distortion of Scripture, see: “Does Jesus Have a Multiple Personality Disorder?“
