Docetism | How a Heresy Becomes Mainstream Doctrine
Before Gender Dysphoria was Godly Dysphoria
Hey Kids,
We’ve been doing New Testament study this year and something interesting caught my attention. The last few epistles I’ve noticed that despite from being authored by different Apostles - they open similarly to Paul’s epistles in that they always make a distinction between the Father and the Son.
This week we are studying John’s epistles (likely the last authored writings of the NT) and its interesting to see what he and the church were struggling with at the time.
Combatting apostasy was a common theme throughout the NT. As the first century ended, false teachers had created a schism, or division, among the Saints in the region (see 1 John 2:18–19, 22, 26; 4:1) One of these gaining popularity was referred to as Docetism. Our institute handbook breaks it down pretty well:
Docetism was part of a larger movement known as Gnosticism. A core teaching in many forms of Gnosticism was that the spirit was wholly good and that matter, including the physical body, was wholly evil. Followers of Gnosticism believed that salvation was not achieved by being freed from sin but rather by freeing the spirit from matter, meaning the physical body. They also believed that salvation was achieved through special knowledge (gnosis) rather than through faith in Jesus Christ.
Followers of Docetism overemphasized Jesus’s spiritual nature to the point that they rejected the idea that He came to earth in actual bodily form. They believed that God was invisible, immortal, all-knowing, and immaterial, and they considered the physical world and the physical body to be base and evil. Therefore, they believed that since Jesus was the divine Son of God, He could not have experienced the limitations of being human. In their view, Jesus Christ was not literally born in the flesh, and He did not inhabit a tangible body, bleed, suffer, die, or rise with a physical resurrected body—He only seemed to do these things. Docetism comes from the Greek dokeo, meaning “to seem” or “to appear.”
Your mom said it sounds like Christ was gaslighting everyone. She’s got a point - Christ was like an astral projection — a societal construct based on a useful myth. Atheism is apostasy after the pupal stage - In this case it occurred while an Apostle was still living and only one generation after Christ’s departure - food for thought.
This “gnostic” philosophy of Docetism was declared a “heresy” but what’s interesting to me is that many elements of the heresy still remain - just no longer attributed to the Christ. Hundreds of years later councils would convene to decide once and for all what it meant to be a “christian” and it was the Eternal Father who would have these same Docetic beliefs & characteristics applied to Him.
After noticing this pattern in Peter, James, John, and Jude I started working my back. Here is the first couple verses of every NT book going back to Romans.
What pattern do you notice?
This revelation was from God the Father, given to Jesus Christ.
John says the commandment is from the Father. John knew the Father.
One of the most powerful testimonies of our relationship and destiny with the Father.
It could be considered condescending to call people little children…but in this context it’s a supreme compliment.
John opens his Epistle with His testimony that we can have fellowship with who? With the Father. V5, V6, and V7 are referring not to Christ - but the Father. John knew the Father.
Knowledge of God the Father. Peter knew the Father.
Knowledge of God the Father. Peter is testifying that about the foreknowledge of the Father to give us the blood of His Son. Those that were elect were they that understood this. We will come back to this later in Galatians.
James — the half brother of Christ - declaring that he is a servant of God (the Father) and our Lord Jesus Christ. James first instructions are to approach God (the Father) for wisdom. This is a man who originally did not accept Christ as the Messiah. We can only assume he tested this pattern himself before recommending it to others.
This man knows the Father.
Not just every book but many chapters within the books follow this pattern consistently. Why?
The Ephesians got more advanced level instruction from Paul regarding the doctrine of the Gospel - no surprise that it opens with V3-V6 which are referring to the Father. Read it carefully. Paul knew the Father.
I hear Gal 1:8 all the time when churches disagree on doctrine. Those quoting never take the position that maybe they are the Galatians have received the other gospel. It’s worth going back a few verses for context.
In Galatians verse 6 - Who is Paul is referring to? How soon ye are removed from HIM that called you into the grace of Christ? Who called you into Christ’s grace? THE.FATHER. How do you remove yourself from the Father? One sure way is to adopt the heretical beliefs of Docetism. I’ll save you from scrolling back up.
They believe that God (the Father) is invisible, immortal, all-knowing, and immaterial, and they considered the physical world and the physical body to be base and evil. He could not have experienced the limitations of being human. (Juicy!)
Under the modern council definition of “The Trinity” The Father has been far removed…and to Paul’s point…they were removed from HIM unto another gospel very soon. Does the Trinity help people get closer to the Father in the way that these Apostles and prophets did? Not so much. Shall we continue?
Paul goes heavy on the Father here in V3 & V4. How could he have missed another perfect opportunity to teach Timothy the modern Gnostic interpretation of the Trinity rather than try to teach people that it is the Father that comforts us when we are in trouble.
Romans is a trip. Whose gospel does V1 say it is?
Who promised it before through holy prophets and scripture in V2?
V3 tells us that the answer is, surprise, the Father.
V7-8 put the focus back on the Father through Jesus Christ and then V9 says God the Father is his witness. Paul knows the Father.
These men knew the Father. They wanted us to know Him. Christ makes it clear in John 17 that his singular desire is for us to know the Father as He does.
Any forces resistant to God would go full fake news to claim the opposite to be true. How would they accomplish this? How could they remove the masses from HIM to another gospel - one that keeps people from knowing the Father and shrouds him in mystery. How could they cause mass confusion and apostasy. How could they make it doctrinally/spiritually woke enough that a person of faith could be cancelled for even questioning it.
Simple
Give God identity dysphoria
Call they/them the Trinity
People who are politically red pilled don’t know they are still spiritually blue pilled.
Love,
Dad