Is this teaching biblical?
Kenneth Copeland's teaching that believers are literal gods is a direct contradiction of Scripture. God declares in Isaiah 43:10 that no god was formed before or after Him. This 'little gods' doctrine originates from the same lie the serpent told Eve in Genesis 3:5 — 'you will be like God' — and is condemned throughout the Bible as the sin of pride.
What did Kenneth Copeland say?
"You don't have a god in you. You are one."
Speaker: Kenneth Copeland
Source: The Force of Love (Tape #02-0028), 1987
What does Scripture actually teach?
Isaiah 43:10
"You are My witnesses," says the Lord, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me."
— NKJV
God explicitly declares that no other god exists, was ever formed, or ever will be. If believers were 'gods,' this statement would be false. The claim of human deity is a direct assault on God's unique nature.
Ezekiel 28:2
"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas," Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god.'"
— NKJV
God condemns the prince of Tyre for the exact same claim Copeland makes — declaring oneself to be a god. God's response is devastating: 'You are a man, and not a god.' This is precisely what must be said to anyone who teaches the 'little gods' doctrine.
Genesis 3:5
"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
— NKJV
The promise 'you will be like God' was the original lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Copeland's teaching that 'you are a god' is a repackaging of this ancient deception — the same temptation that caused the Fall of mankind.