THE HALL OF HERESIES: ADOPTIONISM
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐
For many modern scholars, Monarchianism (from monarchia, meaning “one rule”) refers to certain beliefs from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD that emphasized that there is only one ruling God, even in light of the Trinity. One heresy that came out of this view is called Dynamic Monarchianism, which claimed that God’s power (Greek: dynamis) was merely given to Jesus—making Him divine only because of that power. This belief was influenced by earlier heresies like Docetism and Ebionism and became known as Adoptionism.
Several historical figures promoted this heresy. According to Theodotus of Byzantium, Christ only received His divinity (in other words, God’s dynamis) when He was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. Theodotus was condemned by the church around 190 AD. Later, the Adoptionism heresy became more well-known through Paul of Samosata, who served as bishop of Antioch from around 260–272 AD. He developed a more detailed version of the doctrine and used familiar Christian terms like “Logos” and “Son,” but redefined them to make the heresy sound more appealing. Around 268 AD, several Synods in Antioch condemned Paul of Samosata. According to church historian Eusebius (d. 339 AD), Paul’s teachings denied that Christ was truly God and Lord, suggesting instead that Christ came “from below” rather than “from above.” The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) officially rejected this teaching, affirming instead that Jesus is “begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.”
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐
The basic teaching of Adoptionism claims that Christ was merely human, but because of His extraordinary closeness to God, He was “adopted” as divine. God supposedly adopted Christ either at His baptism, His resurrection, or because He foresaw Christ’s goodness from birth. According to Paul of Samosata, Jesus developed such a close relationship with God that He eventually became part of God's ousia (essence or being). From being just an ordinary man, He supposedly became divine. Paul also taught that the original Trinity consisted of the Father, the Spirit, and the Logos. This Logos, which he saw as an impersonal force like Wisdom, supposedly united with Christ and made Him the Son of God. Because God’s dynamis simply rested on Christ and Christ was merely infused with God's ousia, Paul denied that Christ was a distinct divine Person from the Father.
This heresy rejects the idea that Christ was always fully divine. Yet Scripture is clear that even before Mary conceived Him, Jesus was already called the Son of God (Luke 1:32, 35). He was called "Immanuel," meaning “God with us” (Matt. 1:23), and was named "Jesus," meaning “Yahweh saves,” because He would save His people (v. 21). These titles already affirm His divinity before He was born or baptized. Scripture also shows that Christ was God before He came to earth (John 1:1–2, 4; 8:58; Gal. 4:4, etc.). He didn’t just become divine later in life—He was already God. He didn’t simply enter into God’s essence (ousia); rather, the fullness of God dwells in Him (Col. 2:9). The descent of the Holy Spirit at His baptism in the form of a dove was not adoption—it was confirmation of who He truly is: the beloved Son of the Father (Matt. 3:17; Luke 3:22).
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐
Adoptionism hasn’t completely disappeared. Some cults and modern movements have revived similar ideas but presented them in new forms. Liberal Theology, for example, often emphasizes that Christ was merely a moral teacher or enlightened reformer. According to this view, Jesus "achieved" divinity by being good, and therefore, we can too. This denies Christ’s full divinity and implies that anyone can reach the same divine status by good works. Progressive Christianity often shares a similar view, seeing Jesus primarily as a role model or enlightened teacher rather than the eternal Son of God.
The belief system of the Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) also reflects this idea through the doctrine of Eternal Progression. They teach that humans can become divine (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:107), since Jesus was “just like us” (D&C 130:1). While Christians are indeed adopted as children of God (John 1:12) and are called to imitate Christ (1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 2:5, etc.), Jesus is the only begotten Son (John 3:16). His sonship is different from our adoption! The LDS belief that humans can eventually become gods not only diminishes Christ’s full divinity but also echoes Satan’s ancient lie: “You will be like God” (Gen. 3:5).
Some Word of Faith and Charismatic movements also lean toward similar errors. They often claim that Christ’s miraculous power came only from the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and therefore, believers who are also anointed can do the same miracles. By overemphasizing Jesus’ humanity and anointing, they downplay His divinity and mislead people into thinking they too can become “little gods.”
______
The false idea that Christ was not always God, but only became divine, appeals to people—both in ancient times and today—because it gives the illusion that we can become divine ourselves. This reflects the same desire Adam and Eve had: to be like God. But the truth is not that a man became God. Rather, God became man. And because He became like us, we can come to Him with confidence—not just because He is compassionate, but because He understands what we go through (see Heb. 4:15). ๐๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด.
๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐:
Davie, M. (Gen. Ed). (2016).“Adoptionism.” ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐บ: ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ค. Intervarsity Press.
Ferguson, E. (2005). “Problems Facing the Old Catholic Fathers”. ๐๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ: ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ-๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. Zondervan
Shutt, D. D. (2022, June). “๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด: ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ.” Truth & Tidings. Retrieved from https://truthandtidings.com/.../ancient-errors-modern.../
Comments
Post a Comment