Genie of Hypergrace & A Cruciform Faith – By Dr Chris Kang (Dated 15 July 2021)
Rev George Ong’s Comments:
Dr Chris Kang, an Ex New Creation Church attendee is a scholar in Christian Theology and Asian philosophies and has a Ph.D. in Studies in Religion (2003). He is a prolific writer and wrote 2 short and thought-provoking articles on hypergrace. Though Dr Chris Kang’s conversion was triggered by Joseph Prince’s ministry, he left New Creation Church subsequently when he realised that the hypergrace gospel is a false gospel that destroys. If you have missed reading his testimony about how he came out of New Creation Church, please read it here (click).
Genie of Hypergrace – By Dr Chris Kang
I find a perverse eerie similitude between the God of hypergrace and the genie of Aladdin’s magic lamp. In the case of Aladdin’s lamp, people covet the lamp because of the genie inside it. They covet the genie not for himself but for the three wishes he offers to anyone who rubs the lamp and lets him loose.
Now does this not remind you of the “Jesus” of hypergrace? Is he not the genie who is expected to grant breakthroughs and blessings of health, wealth, BMWs, bungalows, multimillion dollar commercial real estate, soulmates, babies, business success, high sales figures, career promotions, youthfulness, reverse ageing, and the carnal list goes on?
Just as no one genuinely loves the genie, it would not be a surprise if hypergrace devotees do not genuinely love Jesus, whatever they might name and claim.
What do you think happens when the genie does not deliver the goods as craved and wished for? Dejection, complaint, bitterness, loss of faith, and wallowing in self-pity and hedonism to drown one’s sorrows. This same blasphemous loss of faith happens when God in His sovereignty does not answer to our biddings and cravings.
Hypergrace overpromises and underdelivers. Why? Because in my view, it is a scam and not the gospel.
In the final analysis, the “Jesus” of hypergrace is instrumental – a genie for desire gratification, whose blessings can be possessed by one through an exercise of faith: perversely defined as the hand that takes (and takes and takes more). Perhaps I should say the hand that rubs, rubs, and rubs the lamp of hypergrace pseudo-gospel to spew forth magical wish fulfilment by the genie trapped therein. Exploited and used, the God of hypergrace has become nothing more than a genie. It is time to stop this nonsense.
A Cruciform Faith – By Dr Chris Kang
Under biblical grace, it is perfectly legitimate for one to pray for healing, provision, and deliverance from suffering. That is not an issue. Our God is good and He hears our cry. Christ is our redemption and salvation into new life.
What is problematic is the false presumption that we will always be healthy, wealthy, and free from suffering because Jesus has paid the price for all that – He who was healthy became sick for us so we will always be healthy now; He who was financially rich became poor for us so we will always be rich now (“rich” here biblically speaks of divine privileges, not finances as hypergrace would have it); and He who was impassible became suffering for us so we will not need to suffer now. That is the false presumption of over-realized eschatology: for in my view, there is no biblical evidence that Jesus did all that on the cross, in the fleshly terms that our ravenous consumerist mindset would have it. Quite the contrary, the cross was about sin and its judgement resulting in future restoration that was inaugurated but would not be fully manifested until He comes again.
Conversely, we do not seek in prayer for sickness, poverty, and suffering either. That is masochism, not biblical faith. Biblical faith moves us to seek God in all earnestness. And paraphrasing a godly pastor whose sermon I heard recently: we do not seek suffering; we seek God. And when we seek God, suffering seeks us. How true! As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we encounter trials and tribulations as part and parcel of our walk of faith. We bear our own cross, in participation with the cross that Jesus carried. The world, our sin, others’ sin, and the devil can come against us, even as they came against Jesus with all their might. We are not exempt. And the more we bear the light of Christ in proclaiming His gospel – the true one, not the fake hype – the more will we face the persecution of this fallen world. Christian history is packed with many godly examples. But in the midst of suffering, God is with us. Nothing can ever pluck us – we who are truly saved – out of His nail-pierced hands that bled for us.
A cross-shaped life is not just for the few and chosen, it is for all who follow Christ. The word “Christian” means one who is like Christ. The crux is this: do we really follow Him or do we demand He follow us? Biblical grace saves and empowers us to follow Jesus. Hypergrace hooks and seduces us to make Jesus a genie for our desirous attachments. Vigilant we must be, lest we destroy ourselves forever.