Joseph Prince preaches the counterfeit Jesus, as Jesus operating under the Old Covenant law is unthinkable – By Rev George Ong (Dated 22 May 2023)
Joseph Prince, who uses social media extensively to preach his heresies, is a serial double-talker – Double-Talk No 4
1. Though Joseph Prince is on Sabbatical,
he uploaded a pre-recorded sermon (filmed in Israel) at the worship service
on 21 May 2023, yesterday.
2. Unbelievably, Joseph Prince is again caught by me double-talking. For Double-Talk No 4, please see Part B.
3. Have you been disturbed by a seemingly contradictory passage in
Matthew 10:5-6
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
For a biblical understanding of it, please refer to Part C.
4. Note that there is another article based on the same sermon yesterday on 21 May 2023,
which will be featured either at the end of this week or early next week.
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In a weekly Sunday sermon aired on YouTube yesterday, on 21 May 2023, Joseph Prince said;
Please click here to view the 50-second video:
“I believe that during that time, even when the Lord was operating, it was still under;
it was like a transition between the Old into the New; the gospels.
Some people say the gospels began with Matthew chapter 1;
it doesn’t.
He has not yet died.
He’s not raised from the dead.
His blood has not been shared.
So, how can there be the New Covenant been inaugurated?
So, in a way, you can say that Jesus was still operating, based on the law.
He came in to bring in the kingdom.
But the kingdom was rejected.
So, He said the law was until John.
So, there is this period of time;
for example, He will say,
‘Go not to the way of Gentiles.’
That’s strange.
Does He want the gospel to be preached everywhere?
But He told His disciples,
‘Don’t go in the way of Gentiles,’
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
A. Jesus was operating under the New Covenant of grace, and not the Old Covenant of law, as Joseph Prince falsely teaches.
1. There is no clear and concrete text that Joseph Prince used to support his doctrine that the New Covenant only begins after the cross.
Joseph Prince said;
“So, in a way, you can say that Jesus was still operating, based on the law.”
Joseph Prince said that Christ in the gospels
was preaching the law,
as the cross is the demarcating point
between the Old and the New Covenants (in his other sermons & writings).
I have thoroughly searched through his four books, and though there are texts that he used,
I could not find any clear and concrete text
that could support his fundamental teaching
that the cross is the demarcating point
between the Old and the New Covenants.
How can such a fundamental teaching of his be without a clear and concrete text to undergird it?
On my part, I will provide a clear and concrete text to support my view – Luke 16:16.
2. Jesus Himself said the point of transition from the Old Covenant to the New is in Luke 16:16.
Luke 16:16 NASB
16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.”
Luke 16:16 TLB
16 “Until John the Baptist began to preach, the laws of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But John introduced the Good News that the Kingdom of God would come soon. And now eager multitudes are pressing in.”
Christ revealed the specific time
about when the Old Covenant of the law was concluded
and when the New Covenant of grace was initiated.
When did the time of the Old Covenant law end
and the age of New Covenant grace begin?
Was it after the cross when the Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost as Joseph Prince declares?
The point at which the Old Covenant law ends
and the age of New Covenant grace begins
is certainly not a point to argue about,
because Jesus has settled the question beyond doubt.
Jesus Himself said in Luke 16:16,
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John…”
According to Christ, the Old Covenant proclamation of the law
ends with John the Baptist’s ministry.
From the point of John the Baptist,
who came to pave the way for Jesus’ three years of ministry in the gospels,
a new age – the New Covenant grace was begun.
The Bible says in John 1:17,
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Did the Apostle John say grace came through Jesus after the cross?
No!
But John said grace had already come in the human person of Christ (also divine)
in the gospel (Gospel of John 1:17) before the cross.
And out of that fullness of grace
that was recorded in John 1:14 NASB,
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth,
Christ has already started preaching the New Covenant of grace,
not after the cross but before the cross, in the gospels.
As a result of the fullness of grace in Christ in John 1:16,
the people have received grace upon grace,
“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” (Jn 1:16 NASB),
not after the cross but before the cross, in the gospels.
Everything that came before John the Baptist’s ministry
is the Old Covenant of the law
(with, perhaps, the exception of Genesis and the first part of Exodus).
And everything from John the Baptist onwards
is the New Covenant gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of grace
that was already being preached during Jesus’ three years of earthly ministry.
This goes to show that in Christ’s ministry,
and the ministries of His disciples in the gospels onward
is the New Covenant of grace.
I would like to remind you that
Joseph Prince is not the authority
to determine which is the dividing line between the Old and New Covenants.
Christ must be the authority.
Joseph Prince said that the dividing line is the cross of Christ.
Yes, there is no doubt that Christ had to die for the sins of the world.
But did Christ say that was the point
that demarcates between the Old Covenant law
and the New Covenant grace?
No.
Christ has something more specific in mind
– He said the point of demarcation between Old Covenant law
and New Covenant grace
was from John the Baptist
and the beginning of His three years of ministry in the gospels onward.
The glorious truth is that the promises of the New Covenant of grace
have already been declared, preached and implemented
by Christ and His disciples
in the gospels before the cross.
Even before Christ makes the New Covenant formally with His disciples at the Lord’s Supper,
the day before His crucifixion, and even before the shedding of Christ’s blood at the cross,
Christ has already inaugurated and implemented the blessings of the New Covenant of grace in the gospels.
People were already saved through their faith in Christ
in the gospels before the cross, in the New Covenant way,
the same way people are saved today.
There is plenty of evidence everywhere
that people were already being ushered into the New Covenant of grace
during the three years of Jesus’ ministry in the gospels
before the death of Christ at the cross of Calvary.
Just from Luke 16:16 NASB alone,
we are already seeing people flooding into the kingdom of God,
“since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.”
Luke 16:16 TLB
16 “Until John the Baptist began to preach, the laws of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But John introduced the Good News that the Kingdom of God would come soon. And now eager multitudes are pressing in.”
John the Baptist indeed marks the transition from the Old Covenant of law to the New Covenant of grace.
Because of that, everyone is pressing in, wanting to get into this New Covenant kingdom of grace (Lk 16:16).
They were so excited about the New Covenant message that they just plunged right into it.
They run headlong into the kingdom with great eagerness.
Matthew 11:12-13 says the same thing:
Matthew 11:12 TLB
12 “And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, ardent multitudes have been crowding toward the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Matthew 11:13 NIV
13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.”
Matthew 11:13 says the same thing as Luke 16:16
that the Old Covenant law came to an end at John the Baptist’s ministry,
“For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.”
In Matthew 11:12-13, as in Luke 16:16,
Christ again discloses that since the days of John the Baptist, the same phenomenon has been happening
that because the gospel of the New Covenant kingdom is being preached,
people are now entering the kingdom by faith in Christ.
In other words, people were already experiencing the kingdom life of the New Covenant
before the Cross and Pentecost.
They were experiencing
the forgiveness of sins, healing, deliverance from evil spirits,
and other New Covenant blessings.
The New Covenant of grace that Jesus started in the gospels
has continued in the apostolic preaching of the gospel
after Pentecost and even to this present day.
Though Joseph Prince may rightly argue that the death of Christ or the cross of Christ was necessary to effect the New Covenant,
this does not negate the fact that the New Covenant teachings and blessings of Christ that were given before the cross
are still binding on New Covenant believers.
This is because the terms, conditions and promises of the New Covenant
were already inaugurated and implemented in the gospels
well before the cross during the three years of Christ’s ministry.
3. Christ’s ministry in the gospels is based on New Covenant faith, not Old Covenant law.
The Apostle Paul states that
“The Law is not based on faith…” (Gal 3:12 NIV).
Since the law is not based on faith,
the strong emphasis on faith
in the teaching and ministry of Christ
in the gospels before the cross
reveals that
He is not operating under the Old Covenant law
but under the New Covenant grace.
Christ’s emphasis on faith is filled throughout the gospels.
The gospels record Christ saying,
“Faith”
plenty of times, and
“Your faith has healed you,”
or similar wordings, eight times.
Each reference to Christ healing by faith or saving by faith
is a contradiction to Joseph Prince’s teaching
that Christ was operating under the Old Covenant law
or preaching the Old Covenant law
during His three years of ministry before the cross.
There are well over 100 references
to ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ in the gospels.
If Christ was teaching the law or operating under the law,
then there should not be so many references to faith in the gospels.
This is an unmistakable contradiction to Joseph Prince’s teaching
that Christ was operating under the Old Covenant law,
and that the Old Covenant law
was preached by Him in the gospels.
In fact, it amounts to more than 100 contradictions.
Christ preached a ‘grace through faith’ gospel message before the cross,
the same message that His disciples preached after the cross and Pentecost,
and the same message that we have today.
Therein lies the strong evidence
that Christ’s gospel message in the four gospels
are about receiving grace through faith,
and have much more in common
with the other New Testament letters of Paul,
and other scripture writers,
which preach the same message of grace
than with the Law of Moses.
4. Each time Christ forgives sins, He forgives on the basis of faith, and this certainly shows that the New Covenant grace is being demonstrated and implemented in the gospels.
In the gospels, people have already been forgiven of their sins by grace through faith
before the Cross and before Pentecost.
If Christ were under the law or promoting the law, He would not do this.
If Christ were under the law or promoting the law,
He would tell these people to receive forgiveness
by offering sacrifices according to the ceremonial laws.
But He didn’t.
Believers were already receiving the New Covenant blessing of being cleansed of sin
even before the cross.
Christ declared to His disciples:
“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (Jn 15:3 NIV).
The disciples were already forgiven and spiritually clean
before the Lord’s Supper, the Cross and Pentecost.
Grace in the gospels was obvious again in Luke 5:20:
Luke 5:20 NIV
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
The man received the New Covenant blessings by being healed, and his sins were forgiven as well.
The Old Covenant law required certain sacrifices to be offered for the covering of sins,
but Christ forgives sins under the New Covenant through faith before the cross.
5. Christ has already forgiven sins in advance of the work of the cross.
Has the blood of Christ been shed yet on the cross?
No.
Going by Joseph Prince’s argument,
Christ cannot forgive sins in the gospels
because He has not yet shed His blood on the cross
as the New Covenant has not started yet.
But Christ did forgive sins
before the cross.
What is happening is that the Father
is granting forgiveness
on the basis of the cross,
but also before the Cross,
not just after the cross.
This means the New Covenant, which is supposed to have ‘officially’ started after the cross,
had already been inaugurated and implemented
in the three years of Jesus’ ministry in the gospels before the cross.
Christ forgave this woman for her many sins
and said that it was her faith that had saved her (Lk 7:50):
Luke 7:47-50 NIV
47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Paul says that believers are saved by grace through faith:
Ephesians 2:8 NIV
8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
The grace through faith New Covenant gospel that Paul preached in Ephesians 2:8-9 after the cross
is the same grace through faith New Covenant gospel
that Jesus preached during the three years of His ministry
in the four gospels before the cross.
People like this woman in Luke 7:47-50
were saved by faith in Jesus Christ in the New Covenant way
before the cross, before the resurrection, and before Pentecost.
They were saved in the same New Covenant way
that people are being saved today.
This woman was justified by faith and forgiven through her faith in Jesus Christ
in the same way as was taught by Paul in Romans 5:1:
Romans 5:1 NIV
1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
6. Jesus Christ in the gospels (not only after the cross) was full of grace, and from His fullness of grace, many, in the gospels before the cross, receive grace upon grace.
The Apostle John wrote:
John 1:14 NIV
14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
According to John 1:14,
it is the pre-resurrection Christ
and the pre-cross Christ in the gospels
who is ‘full of grace.’
Out of the fullness of grace in His whole being in the flesh,
Christ preached the grace message to many in the gospels
before the cross and before His death.
It would be absurd for Joseph Prince
to suggest that Christ, who is full of grace,
was operating under the law
and preaching the law in the gospels
during His three years of earthly ministry.
How can Jesus, who is full of grace,
be preaching law to others?
As John reminds us
– speaking of the earthly ministry of Jesus in the gospels:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).
But there’s more:
“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (Jn 1:16).
Jesus is the very embodiment of the grace of God,
the person through whom God’s grace is expressed,
and even during His earthly ministry in the gospels,
those who heard Him and believed in Him received
“grace upon grace.”
Then John writes this,
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn 1:17).
Indeed, grace came through Jesus Christ
when He was on earth,
which is before the cross, not after the cross.
How can Joseph Prince tell us that
Jesus’ earthly followers in the gospels
received law upon law from Jesus,
when the truth is, many have received
“grace upon grace” from Him (Jn 1:16)?
How can Joseph Prince claim that the words Jesus spoke
which were filled with grace upon grace in the gospels
are not part of the New Covenant message of grace
but they are part of the Old Covenant of law?
This is unthinkable!
So, what this means is that the words of Jesus and His New Covenant teachings
that were spoken in the gospels before the cross,
are most certainly for us,
just as they were for His disciples when He ministered with them.
In summary,
the New Covenant of the gospel of grace
did not start from the cross of Christ
that Joseph Prince has deceived many with.
What Jesus said and taught in the gospels
are not under the Old Covenant law
as Joseph Prince has falsely taught.
Though the death of Christ was required
to fully and finally effect the New Covenant,
the terms, conditions, and promises of the New Covenant
were already inaugurated and implemented in the gospels
well before the cross during the three years of Christ’s ministry.
As a result, many were saved by faith
in the gospels before the cross
in the same way
that many are being saved by faith in the world today.
Many had their sins forgiven
in the gospels before the blood of Christ was shed on the cross
in the same way that many today have their sins forgiven
because they have been cleansed by the shed blood of Christ.
Hence, what Christ said and taught in the gospels before the cross
are not related to the Old Covenant law, as Joseph Prince has falsely alleged,
but they contain the message of the gospel of the kingdom,
the message of New Covenant grace,
that are absolutely relevant and binding on New Covenant believers today.
B. Joseph Prince, who uses social media extensively to preach his heresies, is a serial double-talker – Double-Talk No 4
In a sermon, Joseph Prince said;
Please click here to view the 30-second video:
“I’m telling you ever since Jesus was manifested,
grace, the true grace, the reality of grace came forth.
Let me show you this verse.
It says in John chapter 1 (V16)
‘And of His fullness
we have all received, and grace for grace.’
Just let you know that this ‘His’ here is our Lord Jesus.
Of His fullness, of His fullness, out of His fullness, His fullness,
we have received. And grace for grace.”
“Now watch this, the next verse says,
‘For the law was given through Moses
but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’
Now I always say this (John 1:17)
is one of my favourite verses in the Bible.”
In many of Joseph Prince’s sermons and books (not just in the above video),
he has passionately championed John 1:17 in the Gospel of John
as unfolding the glorious truth
that Jesus came to reveal the New Covenant of grace
to New Covenant believers.
That’s why he said on video that John 1:17 is one of his favourite verses in the Bible.
Yet, in his latest sermon, which was shown at the worship service on 21 May 2023, yesterday,
he said that Jesus in the gospels was operating based on the Old Covenant law for the Jews.
Please click here to view the 5-second video;
“So, in a way, you can say that Jesus was still operating, based on the law.”
Do you know what that means?
That means the teachings of Christ and the words of Jesus,
and whatever is written in the gospels,
including John 1:16-17, which is before the cross,
are under the Old Covenant of law
and are not applicable to or binding on New Covenant believers.
One moment, Joseph Prince teaches that John 1:16-17 in the Gospel of John
is the revelation of grace upon grace by Jesus
to New Covenant believers,
and the next moment,
he said that Jesus in the gospels, (including John 1:16-17),
was operating under the Old Covenant of law,
and hence what He preaches (including John 1:16-17),
is not relevant to New Covenant believers,
but only applicable to Jews.
If this is not double-talking and self-contradiction of the highest order, I don’t know what is!
If you have followed the many articles that I have written on my website,
you would have noticed that Joseph Prince is not only an incidental double-talker in this instance,
but he is also a frequent and recalcitrant serial double-talker.
So how can anyone in his right mind consider and esteem a serial double-talker, Joseph Prince,
to be a true teacher of God’s word?
For Double Talk No 1,
Joseph Prince double-talks about his doctrines & makes Jesus a liar in the Sermon on the Mount
Please click on the link below to view:
For Double Talk No 2,
Joseph Prince’s shameless double-talk about whether Jesus’ disciples were saved before the cross
Please click on the link below to view:
For Double Talk No 3,
Joseph Prince, the double-talker strikes again, this time, regarding the Sermon on the Mount – By Rev George Ong
Please click on the link below to view:
C. While Jesus’ focus was on winning the Jews, He had not forgotten the Gentiles: Matthew 10:5-6.
Next, Joseph Prince said;
Please click here to view the 25-second video:
“So, there is this period of time;
for example, He (Jesus) will say
‘Go not to the way of Gentiles.’
That’s strange.
Does He (Jesus) want the gospel to be preached everywhere?
But He (Jesus) told His disciples,
‘Don’t go in the way of Gentiles,’
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Joseph Prince uses the above to support his argument that
Jesus was only sent to preach the Old Covenant law of the kingdom to the Jews,
and not the New Covenant gospel of grace to the Gentiles.
What I’m going to show you
would reveal the half-truth deception,
that Joseph Prince constantly uses to deceive people.
He has shown you only the half-truth of Matthew 10:5-6
which seemed to point to the idea
that Jesus’ mission was just to preach the Old Covenant law to the Jews.
But at the same time,
Joseph Prince has also ‘hidden’ the other half-truths from you,
about the many other passages of scriptures
that indicate this wasn’t the case,
and that the New Covenant gospel of grace to the Gentiles,
was also what Christ had in mind.
What Joseph Prince said can be found in Matthew 10:5-6:
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
When Matthew wrote the above,
he wasn’t stating that Jesus’ mission
was only for the Jews,
and that the Gentiles were excluded from Jesus’ ministry.
This is because Matthew brought in the Gentiles
right at the beginning of this gospel (Matt 2:1-2).
He recorded that the wise men had come all the way from the east
to pay homage to the birth of Jesus, the King of the Jews
and worship Him.
By mentioning the Gentiles right at the beginning of the Book of Matthew,
regarding their worship of Jesus at His birth,
he wants to highlight their importance.
Matthew also recorded the command of Jesus
in the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20)
for the gospel to be preached, and disciples to be made,
not just among the Jews but also among all the Gentile nations.
So, the point is, Jesus wasn’t just sent to the Jews
that Joseph Prince tries to deceive the people,
but Christ’s heart was also towards the Gentiles.
But why did Jesus instruct the disciples
not to go to the Gentiles but only to the lost sheep of Israel?
It is because of the practicality of the shortness of time,
and so, the need to focus on a specific group of people to evangelise
becomes necessary.
And it is obvious and strategic for Jesus to start with the Jews first.
After all, wasn’t this God’s plan (Isaiah chapters 40-55)
to use Israel to share her knowledge of God with all other nations?
Didn’t also the Apostle Paul,
even though he was the Apostle to the Gentiles,
lay down this order and priority of gospel-preaching in Romans 1:16 as being
“first to the Jew, then to the Gentile”?
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Paul must have learned it from his master, Jesus
to evangelise the Jews first and then the Gentiles.
We must also remember that the ministry to the Gentiles in the gospels was not forgotten.
The Roman Centurion of Capernaum and the healing of the Canaanite’s daughter,
are just examples that foreshadowed the mission to the Gentiles
that were carried out by the Apostles
not too long after Jesus’s death.
The Gospel of John also emphasises
that the Gentile interest was foremost in the mind of Jesus (Jn 12:20-32).
A number of Greeks tried to approach Jesus,
only a few days before His death on the cross.
Jesus’ reply to them was:
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Jesus’ reply to the Greeks was to reassure them that He has not overlooked the Gentiles.
Jesus’ point was that after His death and resurrection,
He will draw not just the Jews
but also all people, which include the Gentiles, to Him.
That was exactly what happened after the death of Jesus
when the message of salvation
was presented to the Samaritans,
and evangelism among the Gentiles was launched.
So, Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:5-6,
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
is not because Jesus was only sent to the Jews
to preach the laws of the kingdom
and not to the Gentiles (and the Samaritans)
to preach the New Covenant of grace,
that Joseph Prince tried to insinuate.
Though Jesus’ priority was to reach the Jews first
because of the reasons stated above,
His heart was eventually for the salvation
of both the Jews and the Gentiles (and Samaritans).
In conclusion,
by his teaching that Jesus was operating under the Old Covenant law,
Joseph Prince is effectively ‘wiping out’ all or most of Christ’s teachings in the gospels,
for New Covenant believers.
This is unthinkable!
Only an Antichrist like Joseph Prince would do that,
but a Christ-centred person would always honour all the teachings of Christ,
which are given in the gospels before the cross.
The audacity to ‘wipe out’ all of Christ’s (who is God Himself) teachings and commands
in the gospels before the cross,
is certainly not the work of one who preaches the true Jesus,
but one, such as Joseph Prince, who preaches the counterfeit Jesus.
The true Jesus is one whose teachings in the gospels
are under the New Covenant of grace,
and are applicable to New Covenant believers.
The counterfeit Jesus is that which is promoted by Joseph Prince,
that Christ’s teachings in the gospels are under the Old Covenant of law
and are no longer binding on New Covenant believers.
Rev George Ong