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Pastor Abel Damina, founder of Power City International, recently ignited controversy by declaring that God is not a Christian. He made this assertion during the first service on Sunday, July 7th, prompting discussions on the nature of faith and salvation.
Pastor Damina emphasised that Christianity is not a prerequisite for entering heaven. He explained that the term “Christian” was first used by non-believers in Antioch, challenging the assumption that being a Christian is essential for salvation.
“Many of you think God is a Christian. God is not a Christian. When you finish laughing, I repeat, God is not a Christian,” he stated. “You know many of you think if you are not a Christian, you won’t go to heaven. Lie.”
He continued by questioning the origins of Christianity, noting that many people went to heaven before its inception.
“Christianity started in Antioch in the book of Acts. So God is not a Christian. That should humble you a bit and you should start adjusting your theology. Christianity started in Acts, in Antioch, and it is unbelievers who gave the name. Unbelievers gave you a name that you are carrying as a condition for going to heaven. It is unbelievers.”
Pastor Damina highlighted that non-believers who observed the followers of Paul eventually coined the term “Christian” due to the transformation they witnessed in these individuals.
“Before this, followers were known as believers or disciples. “They were called believers, they were called almajiri (disciples). They were Paul’s almajiris, they were disciples of Paul.”
In response to Pastor Damina’s assertion, Reverend Cornelius O.S. Fawenu, a former senior special adviser to a former Kwara state governor and pastor at Oasis of Wisdom Bible Church, criticized the trend of preaching for fame.
He noted that controversial statements often fail to edify believers or lead sinners to repentance.
“This trend sees individuals using word manipulation to influence people’s minds rather than converting souls to righteousness. Such efforts are described in Job 38:2 as ‘darkening counsel by words without knowledge.'”
Reverend Fawenu clarified that God does not need to be a Christian, as people are called to be Christ-like to become godly.
He pointed out that the believers in Antioch exemplified this by living out Jesus’ teachings, as stated in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Their exemplary lives led them to be called Christians.
The term “Christian” was first used in Antioch, but this was not the birth of the Christian faith.
The Jerusalem Church predated the Antioch Church, both consisting of people united by a common faith in Jesus Christ. Jude 1:3 urges believers to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” while Titus 1:4 refers to “the common faith.”
Ultimately, what defines Christians, whether before or after the Antioch designation, is the common salvation through Christ’s atoning death and the shared faith in his life and teachings. This commonality binds all believers together, past and present.
It is also important to clarify that the Antioch believers were not merely disciples of Paul. They were the body of Christ in Antioch, of which Paul was a member.
Paul was commissioned in the Antioch Church by those who were his seniors in faith, as noted in Acts 13:1-2: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen…”
Additionally, the idea that patriarchs of faith were not Christians misunderstands the encompassing nature of Christ’s work. The “finished work of Christ” is both retrospective and prospective.
Jesus mentioned Abraham in John 8:56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad.” Abraham knew Jesus not through physical interaction but by revelation, underscoring the timeless nature of Christ’s influence.
