BABA ADEBOYE TURNS 1 JOHN 3:2 INTO A PROOFTEXT FOR TELEPORTATION (PART I)

“When Experience Becomes Theology”

By Akin Ojumu

Followers and admirers of Baba Enoch Adeboye, David Oyedepo, and ministers of their theological persuasion often become deeply offended whenever people like me—nonentities with no ecclesiastical clout, no sprawling denominations, and no battalions of adoring followers—dare to question the biblical soundness of their beloved Daddies and Mummies in the Lord.

To their devotees, these men are not merely pastors. They are oracles. They occupy a special spiritual caste. They are the fourth person of the Trinity who, supposedly, enjoy privileged access to God unavailable to the hoi polloi, i.e., the ordinary Christians. 

Their pronouncements are treated as divine decrees. Their dreams become revelations. Their visions become doctrine. Their encounters become theology. Their celestial excursions become evidence of spiritual rank.

After decades of this conditioning, many of their followers can scarcely distinguish between: “The Bible says…” and “Daddy said…”

Daddy had a dream. Daddy saw an angel. Daddy visited heaven. Daddy had tea with God. Daddy heard something in the spirit. Daddy disappeared somewhere and reappeared somewhere else.

Before long, Christianity has acquired its own spiritual aristocracy—complete with royal families, dynasties, heirs apparent, and hereditary anointings.

But there is one stubborn obstacle standing in the way of this entire religious arrangement:

The Bible.

The measure of a Christian teacher is not how many supernatural stories he can tell. It is not the size of his congregation, the number of countries containing branches of his denomination, or the volume of applause that greets his entrance into an auditorium.

The question is much simpler: How does he handle the Word of God?

Jesus said:

John 14:23

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my Word…”

John likewise writes:

1 John 2:4–6

“Whoever says ‘I know Him’ but does not keep His commandments is a liar…”

And Paul commands Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved… rightly handling the word of truth.”

That expression—rightly handling the Word of Truth—is not an optional extra for Christian ministers. It is foundational. It is fundamental. And it is imperative.

Indeed, one of the explicit qualifications for an Overseer or Pastor is that he must possess sufficient understanding of biblical truth to teach sound doctrine and refute error.

Titus 1:9

“He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

Likewise, he must be:

1 Timothy 3:2

“…able to teach.”

This is where the theological problem becomes unavoidable. 

A preacher may fill stadiums. He may command enormous cultural influence. He may have millions of followers. He may preside over an international religious organization. But if he repeatedly tears Bible passages away from their contexts and makes them say things they plainly do not say, ecclesiastical celebrity cannot rescue him from the charge of being a Bible twister and a distorter of Scripture.

And this brings us to Baba Enoch Adeboye, the CEO of the RCCG religious conglomerate.

WHEN EXPERIENCE BECOMES THEOLOGY.

Theology is not the art of collecting spectacular spiritual experiences. Theology is the disciplined study of God through His revealed Word. Sound doctrine grows from sound theology, and sound theology requires sound interpretation.

Once a preacher begins treating dreams, visions, angelic visitations, mystical encounters, supernatural impressions, and celestial tourism as sources of theological knowledge, Scripture inevitably gets demoted. 

The Bible ceases to govern experience. Experience begins governing the Bible. Verses are then recruited as props to authenticate whatever spectacular story the preacher wishes to tell.

Christianity, however, is not an esoteric mystery religion. Christians do not mature by accumulating supernatural anecdotes.

Faith comes through the Word of Christ. Believers grow in the knowledge of God through His revealed truth. And as they behold Christ, the Holy Spirit increasingly conforms them to His image.

2 Corinthians 3:18

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

That is Christian transformation.

Not teleportation. Not astral travel. Not learning how to bypass airport immigration.

Yet somehow Baba Adeboye managed to take 1 John 3:2 and turn it into precisely that.

BEHOLD, THE TELEPORTATION GOSPEL.

Adeboye says:

“No matter how great you are spiritually, the Bible said in 1 John 3:2… ‘It doesn’t even yet appear what we are going to be like, but one thing we know… when he shall appear, we shall be like him.’”

So far, we have Scripture. Then comes the theological somersault. 

He refers to a choir song saying of Jesus: “He doesn’t need a key to enter a room.”

And from there he concludes:

“And he said you are going to be like him. You know what that means? You won’t need a car to travel. You won’t need an aeroplane to travel. You will just say, ‘I want to go to London,’ and you will be in London.”

Then immigration authorities apparently become irrelevant:

“Whether you believe it or not, a time is coming when you won't need visa… They will be waiting for you at the border, and you are already in.”

Marvelous.

One moment John is writing about the believer's future glorification at the appearing of Christ. The next moment we are bypassing British Airways and Heathrow immigration.

One moment the apostle is speaking about seeing Christ as He is. The next moment Christians are apparently acquiring supernatural international transportation.

No ticket. No passport. No visa. No airport.

Just announce: “London!”

And—whoosh!—you are standing beside Big Ben.

This is what happens when biblical interpretation is untethered from context.  A Bible verse becomes theological Play-Doh or plasticine. You can mold it into absolutely anything. 

But there is one rather important question left unanswered:

What does 1 John 3:2 actually mean?

That is where the entire teleportation theory collapses. And we’ll take it from here in Part II.