Correcting Ock Soo Park’s
Erroneous Teachings by Christ’s Person and Work
Sound
theology of Jesus’ person and work is the touchstone
of exposing heterodox teaching about Christian orthodoxy. In the first paper, a
theological basis has established on the truths about Jesus’ coexisting humanity
and divinity, and his salvific work in human redemption. In this paper, I will first
focus on the important teachings about Jesus’s person and work from the Bible,
creeds, systematic theology texts, and lecture notes. I will then apply the
findings to the heretical views that Ock Soo Park taught through the ministry
of Good News Mission. After analyzing his faulty view of Christ’s work for
salvation, I will show where his erroneous view of Christ’s person is also
affected. Finally, I will propose recommendations on how to correct and help
adherents to leave the group based on my personal encounter and witnesses’
advices.
The Divinity of Jesus
The Bible
is the primary source and the authority for a theological discussion about the
person and work of Christ. It describes Jesus as “the Son of God” and “the Son
of Man” who is fully God and fully human at the same time in his incarnated
body. His self-consciousness
and divine attributes testify him as one with the Father and to know him is to
know the Father (John 10:31, 14:7). He is God in the beginning (John 1:1),
preexisted the creation (8:58), and worked simultaneously with his Father
(14:23). His beloved disciple John regards him as the Creator, “All things were
made through him” (1:3), the Sustainer because his divine fullness brings us
grace (1:16), and the Redeemer “to all who did receive him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (1:12). The
Nicaean Creed affirms the person of Jesus as fully God in the very same
substance of the Father always:
“The Only
Begotten Son of God (John
3:16), born (of the substance) of the Father
before all ages (Colossians
1:15, 1:17). God of God (John 1:1-2), Light of Light (John 1:4, 1:9), true God of true God (1 John 5:20), begotten, not made (John 1:14), consubstantial (of one substance) with the Father (1 John 1:5 & John
8:12).”
The Humanity of Jesus
By the
incarnation, Jesus bridged the chasm between humanity and God. His self-consciousness and human
attributes testify him as “the Son of Man”. The title suggests his humanity who
was the Word became flesh (John 1:14), but also alludes to his coming suffering
as the messianic figure in Dan. 7:13-14. As a fully man, physically he felt
hunger when he fasted (Matt. 4:2); he experienced thirst (John 19:28); he
fatigued (4:6); and psychologically he loved and had compassion (John 11:3,
13:23, Matt. 9:36); he could be distressed (26:37); he had experienced joy
(John 15:11), grieved (Mark 3:5), indignant (10:14); and he had wept (John
11:35); and cognitively he knew the thoughts of his friends (Luke 9:47), his
enemies (6:8), and people around him (John 2:25). Paul affirmed the humanity of
Jesus by describing him as “a descendant of David” (Rom 1:2-3), “in the
likeness of sinful flesh” (8:3), and “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7-8). By the fifth century, the
Definition of Chalcedon was written to explain and rail guard the reality of
the coexistence of Jesus’ divinity and humanity in his incarnated body,
“Lord
Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead
and complete in manhood… recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation;
the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union; but rather
the characteristics of each nature being
preserved and coming together to form one
person and subsistence…”
Jesus' Role in
Human Redemption
Jesus was
sent by God to become a man to redeem and atone for men’s sins, “by the grace
of that one man Jesus Christ abounded
for many” (Rom. 1:2-3, 5:15). By withholding his freedom, knowledge, and power
Jesus was not less than God. He limited his divinity in order to become the
substitutionary atonement for us, “he set aside the privileges of deity and
took on the status of a slave”, tying himself with the circumstance-induced
limitation, “He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless,
obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death” (Phil. 2:7-8).
Jesus is
“the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). His role
was a substitutionary atonement for our sins (Rom. 5:6, 1Pet. 2:24). He is the
lamb the Old Testament was pointing to (Gen. 22:8, Ex. 12:21, Is. 53:7). When
Paul catechized the believers in Corinth he emphasized Jesus’ redemptive work
by his bodily death, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”
(1Cor. 15:3-4). These passages elucidate Jesus as the Savior in achieving
redemption to humanity through his death and resurrection.
Above all
Jesus is the Messiah. The Old and New Testament speak of the Messiah with three
offices: Prophet, Priest, and King. As the Prophet, Jesus reveals the will of
God, teaches righteousness, manifest God’s glory, and preach the good news to
the gentiles, according to Hodge. As the Priest, Jesus offered a perfect
sacrifice of atonement for the sins of all people (Heb. 2:17), replaced old
priesthood as “the mediator of new covenant” (9:15), extended priesthood to all
believers (1Pet. 2:9), interceded for us with empathy (Heb. 4:15), and was divinely
appointed by God (5:10). As the King, Jesus was anointed by God (Heb. 1:8), was
the fulfillment of Micah 5:2 as “ruler over Israel”, and had a new covenant
people. Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King means that we ought to listen, offer
ourselves, and obey him for he knows and holds the future.
Summary: Jesus is
the center of our faith and practice. It is crucial for Christians to hold the
orthodox belief of Jesus’ person and work otherwise we will easily go astray.
The Bible, creeds, and faithful theologians teach us that Jesus is fully God
and fully human, and he became the substitutionary atonement for us. The only
way to salvation is to believe in his death and resurrection. Therefore if
anyone added or subtracted anything from the salvific work of Christ is a
heretic. A faulty interpretation of Christ’s work will also distort one’s view
on Christ’s person. Ock Soo Park’s teaching is an example of heterodox
Christology and Soteriology. The rest of the paper aims to examine the
erroneous doctrine held by Good News Mission and propose practical
recommendations on correcting and helping its adherents.
Ock Soo Park and Good News
Mission
Ock
Soo Park was born in 1944 in Korea. He was born again in 1962 after which he
studied in a mission school run by Dick York and other foreign missionaries[1]. He
composed his thirteen chapters autobiography, and said this about his personal
testimony, “Before I was born again, I failed at everything, but after
receiving the forgiveness of sins and devoting my life to the Gospel, God’s
only provided me with precious opportunities to preach the good news of His
salvation”[2]. Ock
Soo Park founded Good News Mission in 1986 and International Youth Fellowship
in 2001. According
to Good News Mission official website[3],
the group is presently carrying on its mission activities with 178 churches in
South Korea and has dispatched 214 missionaries to 80 countries worldwide. Good
News Corps was the fruit of International Youth Fellowship when the first 14
volunteers were dispatched from Korea to countries across the world. To sum up,
Good News Mission has established 29 Mahanaim Bible Colleges, has dispatched
4,442 short-term missionaries from 2002 until now, and has hosted the Bible
Crusade in New York City twice a year since 2006.
Ock Soo Park’s
Erroneous Teaching
Ock Soo
Park has authored 38 books, including the most popular title, Secret of Forgiveness of Sins and Being Born
Again. In its many of Park’s erroneous teachings can be found. First, he falsely
argued that sin and act of sin are different. He said, “You may have stolen,
lied and committed murder, but those are not sins, they are crimes.”[4]
When he interpreted 1John 1:9, “If we confess our sins…” Park thought people
should not confess the “symptoms of sins” referring our transgressions against
God’s law, but confessing that by nature we are a mass of sin which is our
original sin. He believed confession should never refer to any act of sin, only to one's
sinful nature. Thus, Park convinced Christians not to continuously confess
their sins after repentance. He considered confession of sins meant that they
were still in sin and not saved. He posted the question to the orthodox
believers in a rhetorical way, “There are many people who pray, saying, “God,
forgive my sins.” You are doing well, but let’s think carefully about this.
Folks, when Jesus was crucified, did he wash away your sins, or did He not? If
your sins are washed away, do you have to ask to have them washed away again?”[5]
Park’s
third erroneous teaching was that he believed born-again Christians would no
longer sin. He translated the text of John 8:11 as “...I do not condemn you. You have no sin”[6] instead of
“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” [7]
(ESV) When he approached new believers he would say, “"You say that you
believe Jesus washed away your sins, but when you are asked, “Do you have sin?”
You answer, “Yes I have sin.” That is not believing… You must believe that the
Lord washed our sin perfectly clean. Then your heart can be freed from
sin."[8] Park’s
greatest mistake was to add “no longer sin” and “no more confession” for
salvation in Christ. In other word, his “good news” was Jesus plus— no
confession of sin.
According
to Dr. Israel Drazin a Jewish Scholar, Ock Soo Park advocated that the devil was
the sole reason for human’s sin. On December 26, 2006, Ock Soo Park made an
advertisement on an entire page of the New
York Times stating, “Ham was led by Satan” (referring to Ham the son of
Noah). Drazin quoted from Park’s writing, “You must come to know that the
thoughts that arise in you are not your own, but are thoughts inserted by
Satan. If you simply follow the thoughts that arise in you, you can only be
cursed.”[9] Drazin
disagreed with Park’s idea because he knew that mistaken notion would lead to
foolish and unproductive acts. Park’s heretical teachings about sin,
confession, and sanctification diminished the salvific work of Christ. Thus, it
distorted the correct view of Christ’s person as merely a redeemer but not a
sustainer and sanctifier.
Orthodox Doctrine of Jesus
Salvific Work vs. the Heretical Views
In response
to Park’s confusion of sin and act of sin, the Bible does not distinguish them
in term of Jesus’ work of salvation over sin. Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin (ἁμαρτίαν, singular) of the world” (John 1:29). His salvific
work was a substitutionary atonement for us while we were still sinners (Rom.
5:8), “so that we might die to sins (ἁμαρτίαις, plural) and live for
righteousness” (1Pet. 2:24). In both cases, the words of sins refer to the realm
and our transgressions that Jesus has crucified for us. Christians must confess sins, our
acts of iniquity, not merely the sinful nature that Park suggested. The context
of 1John 1:9-10 unfolds it clearly, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness...”
In
term of redemption from our sinful nature, “we have been sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb. 10:10) It is true
that our sins have been forgiven once we put faith in Christ because of the work
he has done on the cross. In term of our spiritual growth, we know that we
still sin and the Bible teaches, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another (James
5:16). Christian life is a continuous journey, “if we walk (περιπατῶμεν,
present active subjunctive) in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses (καθαρίζει, present
active indicative) us from all sin.” (1John 1:7) In a judicial sense, we have a
righteous standing before God. Our cleansing is past because Jesus crucified once
and for all. In a filial sense, we have not made prefect in our life before
God. Our covering by Jesus’ blood needs to continue. Therefore, confession of
sin is necessary. It is a deadly sin by not confessing because otherwise we
would then make God a liar.
Summary: Jesus’ salvific work is
eschatological, Already-But-Not-Yet, “we are saved, being saved, and will be
saved”. Sin is still real in the present, and until Jesus returned we have to
practice confession. Applying this to the person of Christ, as the Prophet he
tells the people of God to repent and remember the Lord’s covenant; as the
Priest he covers us with his blood and continue to intercede for us by the
right side of the Father; and as the King he demands our loyalty and will
return to deliver us from this evil world. This is how the orthodox Christology
and Soteriology correct the erroneous teaching of Ock Soo Park.
Recommendations on Correcting
and Helping Adherents from Good New Mission
Ock Soo
Park’s erroneous teaching was a result of combining Justification and
Sanctification[10].
Therefore, we have to understand what the Scripture teaches us about Justification,
which is our standing before God. First, Jesus died for our sin and only
because of that we are “justified by his
grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).
Second, we then become justified, righteous in God's sight, and become his
children by faith (Rom. 5:1). Third, nothing can “separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:39). These are the foundations of
our righteous standing before God.
Jesus’
salvific work has not stopped there to let our life unchanged. He continues to
work in our lives to sanctify us. This ongoing state is called, Sanctification.
First, as Christian we feel the tension of sin because we still have our sinful
nature (Rom. 7:19). However, we must be responsible to discipline our sinful
nature and nurture our new nature so that we have victory over the flesh (Rom.
13:14). Finally, sin actually can affect our fellowship with God, and effectiveness
in service, unless it is promptly confessed (1John 1:9). Christians should not
stop with the righteous standing but to work out the salvation in the continual
sanctified state.
In term of
helping adherents from Good New Mission, precaution is better than remedy. One great
example of rising awareness of the heresy is to publish article on major
newspapers. The Indian Church announced a solemn warning before Ock Soo Park ’s
“Bible Crusade” launching at their city[11]. Nagaland
Baptist Church Council (NBCC), Christian Forum Dimapur and the Korean
Presbyterian Church Council, the Synod of South Atlantic together cautioned
public against the “dangers” of Good News Mission. In addition, NBCC general
secretary, Rev Anjo advised all churches and members against having any
association with the Good News Mission and told them not to participate or attend
the program hosted by the Mission.
Many young
people who came out of the cult wrote their detailed experience on blogs[12] and
two particular college students shared their stories in The New York Times, “Traveling to Teach English; Getting Sermons Instead”[13]. It was an article about the trip
that made the front page of nytimes.com. It described the account of two
students who went home early in the trip from Dallas, Texas during the four
days of “training” in preparation for teaching in Mexico.
Conclusion: In this paper, I have applied the studies of Christ’s
person and work on Ock Soo Park’s erroneous teachings gathered from primary
sources, adherents’ viewpoint, books, news articles, websites, and personal
encounter. Findings show that Park teaches another gospel and Good News Mission
is a heretic group. Christians must be aware and avoid associate with them.
Bibliography
Drazin, Israel. Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind.
Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 2008.
Green, Joel B.,
Jeannine K. Brown, and Nicholas Perrin, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the
Gospels. Downers Grove, Ilinois: IVP Academic, 2013.
Park, Pastor Ock Soo. The
Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again. Seoul, Korea: Good News
Publishing House, 1997.
Primary Internet References
“Pastor Ock Soo Park”. Accessed November 3,
2014, http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/pastor-ock-soo-park/. (Cf.
Autobiography on http://ocksoopark.com/?c=4/19&uid=23)
“Who We Are”. Accessed November 3, 2014,
http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/who-we-are/.
Secondary Internet References
Blog
text2cloud, Accessed November 3, 2014,
http://text2cloud.com/2014/05/the-good-news-cult/
Jim
Dwyer, “Traveling to Teach English; Getting Sermons Instead”, The New York
Times, January 19, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/nyregion/traveling-to-volunteer-but-it-wasnt-what-they-expected.html?_r=3&scp=15&sq=Mexico&st=cse&fb_source=message&
“NBCC
cautions on ‘Good News Mission’”, Nagaland Post, October 25, 2009.
http://www.nagalandpost.com/ShowStory.aspx?npoststoryiden=UzEwMTg1Njg%3D-ITV3kfEFmyQ%3D
“The
International Youth Fellowship”. Accessed November 3, 2014, http://www.truth-that-matters.com/iyf.htm
[1] “The International Youth Fellowship”. Accessed November
3, 2014, http://www.truth-that-matters.com/iyf.htm.
[2] “Pastor Ock Soo Park”. Accessed November 3, 2014,
http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/pastor-ock-soo-park/. (Cf. Autobiography on
http://ocksoopark.com/?c=4/19&uid=23).
[3] “Who We Are”. Accessed November 3, 2014,
http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/who-we-are/.
[4] Ock Soo Park, The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and
Being Born Again (Seoul, Korea: Good News Publishing House, 1997), 30.
[5] Ibid. 124.
[6] Ibid. 121.
[7] John 8:11 “οὐδὲ ἐγώ σε κατακρίνω·
πορεύου, [καὶ] ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε.” (NA27).
[10] “The International Youth Fellowship”, Accessed
November 3, 2014, http://www.truth-that-matters.com/iyf.htm.
[11] “NBCC cautions on ‘Good News
Mission’”, Nagaland Post, October 25,
2009.
http://www.nagalandpost.com/ShowStory.aspx?npoststoryiden=UzEwMTg1Njg%3D-ITV3kfEFmyQ%3D.
[12] Blog, http://text2cloud.com/2014/05/the-good-news-cult/.
[13] Jim Dwyer, “Traveling to Teach English; Getting Sermons Instead”, The New York
Times, January
19, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/nyregion/traveling-to-volunteer-but-it-wasnt-what-they-expected.html?_r=3&scp=15&sq=Mexico&st=cse&fb_source=message&.
