The Heresy of Xandré Strydom
Madeleine from Discerning the Worlds’s Facebook group asked about Xandré Strydom of Christ in Me International. I went to investigate.
Xandré Strydom is the Senior Pastor from Christ in Me International and teaches the heresy that Jesus was not born the Son of God, that Jesus only became the Son of God when He was baptized in the Jordan River. He says in his article:
When did Jesus become Son of GOD?
by Christ in Me | Jul 18, 2018
I remember the Christmases of my childhood. We celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ – the birth of God in the form of a baby who would take away the sin of the world. A part of this never made sense to me, because only a part of this statement is true.
Yes, there was a child who was born supernaturally, who was the son of Mary and Joseph, who would one day become the Lamb of GOD and take away the sin of the world. He would be our High priest, the sacrifice for sin. But GOD was not born in the form of a baby.
Then who exactly was born in Bethlehem, you may ask?
We need to understand that GOD is SPIRIT (John 4:24). GOD is not flesh. He cannot be flesh. Therefore, the statement that GOD was born in the form of a baby is not true. Also, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of GOD (1 Cor 15:50). The person who was born in Bethlehem was born of flesh. This is not what our GOD is. HE is neither flesh nor blood. HE is SPIRIT.
This, however, still does not answer the question of who was born in Bethlehem.
The person who was born in Bethlehem was a natural ‘Adam’, one without sin. Even though he was supernaturally created by GOD, he was still a natural ‘Adam’, the son of Mary and Joseph. Jesus was born of a natural mother; GOD created a sinless, natural seed which HE put in the womb of Mary. Jesus was born as a baby just like you and me. The only difference was that Jesus was sinless just like the first Adam. He did not carry the corrupt seed of the fallen Adam. Jesus, the baby, was not the Son of GOD. He was the Son of Mary and Joseph (although Joseph was not the biological father).
But the Bible calls Jesus Christ “the Son of GOD”?
Yes, this is true. But one should rather ask the question: when did Jesus Christ become the Son of GOD if it did not happen at his birth in Bethlehem?
For Jesus to become the Son of GOD he had to be born of GOD, born of the SPIRIT, born from Heaven. This birth did not happen in Bethlehem, but at the Jordan River as Scripture teaches us. Jesus, the natural man, was baptised in the Jordan River where he was born of GOD (born from above/Heaven) and became Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD. Jesus, the natural man, was the son of Mary and Joseph while Jesus Christ, the Spirit man, was the Son of GOD. It was at the Jordan River where he received the SPIRIT of GOD.
Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
This was the first time GOD called Jesus Christ HIS Son, as this is where he became the Son of GOD. Before that, he was the Son of Mary and Joseph. He received the SPIRIT of GOD for the first time at the Jordan River, which means that he did not have the SPIRIT of GOD before.
Acts 10:36-38
The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ–He is Lord of all– that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
This is a beautiful scripture that confirms what was said above. Jesus received the SPIRIT at Galilee where he was baptised in the Jordan River. He did not receive the SPIRIT in Bethlehem. (Please read the article “What is Christ” for a clearer understanding). But in short, the word ‘Christ’ means anointed. Anointed with what? Anointed with the SPIRIT of GOD, as this scripture states.
Acts 2:36
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Jesus was not born Lord and Christ; he was made both Lord and Christ. When? The moment he was born from above at the Jordan River and he received GOD’s SPIRIT was the moment when he was born of GOD and was made Lord and Christ. He was no longer the child of Mary and Joseph, but the Son of GOD.
What about Isaiah 9, you may ask. Before we get to that, let us look at how Paul explains the principle of the natural man and the Spiritual man in 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15:44-49
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body [the baby Jesus who was born of Mary], and there is a spiritual body [Jesus Christ born of GOD]. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust [the baby Jesus who was born of Mary]; the second Man is the Lord from heaven [Jesus Christ born of GOD]. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
[DTW note: note how Xandré adds his own words (highlighted in green) to verses to change it’s meaning to suit his teaching.]
Jesus was a natural man, made (born) of dust. The one who was born from Heaven is the Lord. As stated above, Jesus Christ was made Lord by GOD when he became a second man, a Spiritual man, born from Heaven. The fleshly man Jesus was not Lord. Jesus Christ who was born from Heaven was the Lord, the Son of GOD. Paul continues by saying that we will bear the same image as Jesus Christ did because when we are born again, we are also born of GOD (born from Heaven) and anointed with the SPIRIT of GOD (2 Cor 1:21-22).
Now let us look at Isaiah 9 in comparison with the previous scripture.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Unto us a Child is born [Jesus in Bethlehem, the natural man] – The first man was of the earth, made of dust… (1 Cor 15:47);
Unto us a Son is given [Jesus Christ at the Jordan River in Galilee, the Spiritual man) – the second Man is the Lord from heaven (1 Cor 15:47).
Then Isaiah continues by saying his Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Please understand that it does not say he will be called, but his Name will be called two completely different concepts. A name is used for everything that that name covers, including the thoughts or feelings that are aroused in one’s mind by mentioning, hearing or remembering that name. When you hear the name Hitler, for example, certain thoughts or feelings come to mind. This is because a name represents more than just referring to someone.
Jesus Christ came in the Name of the FATHER.
John 5:43
I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
Jesus will not be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”, but his Name will be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” When he was baptised and born of GOD, he received the Name of GOD, just as each one of us who are born again receives the Name of GOD (Eph 3:14-15). And that Name, the FATHER’s Name, we represent, will be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Wonderful – extraordinary
Counselor – to advise
Mighty God – Godlike one, like his Father.
Everlasting Father – head or founder
Prince of Peace – leader of completeness.
https://www.christinme-international.com/2018/07/when-did-jesus-become-son-of-god/
The heresy of Xandré Strydom and Christ in Me International
Of course this is utter heresy for a number of reasons because Xandré Strydom asserts that:
1) Jesus (The Word) was not with God, and was not God (part of the Godhead) before He was born.
John 1:1 KJV “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
2) Jesus was not The Word who became flesh.
John 1:14 KJV “14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.“
3) Jesus Christ is brought down to our level (except for the fact that Xandré admits Jesus was sinless) and only became God when He was baptized.
4) “Jesus will not be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”, but his Name will be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And so you too can be called these things because “each one of us who are born again receives the Name of GOD”
5) We are elevated to Jesus Christ’s level when we are saved and baptized in H2O/Water.
Which leads us to the crux to Xandré Strydom’s teaching…
6) So when we are baptized we become anointed aka gods (christ) which is the supposed mystery in the bible, that we all have a Divine spark in us that’s been hidden – hence the name of his ministry (Christ in Me….) Look what he says below. He says on his About page
“and to reveal the mystery which has been hidden from all ages and to make known what are the riches of the glory of the mystery which is: Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
https://www.christinme-international.com/about-us/
The above article is nothing but New Age/Occult teaching wrapped up in a thin disguise of Christianity.
See this article where he does NOT BELIEVE in the Godhead of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. https://www.christinme-international.com/2018/05/one-god/
Xandré Strydom’s beliefs are fully inline with pagan traditions
The first century Greco-Roman Pantheon was polytheistic and included many deities who were at one time fully human persons who had become gods. Romans had no problem adding a new god to their Pantheon – provided the worshippers swore allegiance to the Caesar as the supreme deity with the simple confession “Kaísaras Kyrios” (Caesar is lord). Early Christian believers didn’t worship “a human being as GOD” or a human being who became god, but rather the One True God Who took on human nature in the incarnation.
https://midwestoutreach.org/2018/04/12/is-christ-in-me-international-a-cult-a-response/
Dominionism
Xandré Strydom is also a Dominionist who wants the earth filled with people who think they are gods to rule over their dominion.
“Our vision at Christ in Me International is to establish the Kingdom of GOD on the earth, to fill the earth with the Glory of GOD and to equip, edify and raise up mankind in Christ as the image and the likeness of GOD.”
https://www.christinme-international.com/contact-form-final/
Xandré Strydom denies Jesus Christ’s physical resurrection.
As a result of rejecting the deity of the Jesus Christ the Son of God from birth, Xandré Strydom and his church also reject the physical resurrection, a doctrine on which the whole of the gospel hinges. Jesus Himself said He would raise His physical body! Xandré Strydom says above by twisting stricture that “….flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of GOD (1 Cor 15:50)”
The Apostle John tells us that after the resurrection the disciples remembered that He had said this.
John 2:18-22 “18Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21But he spake of the temple of his body. 22When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”
The Apostle Paul says in
1 Corinthians 15:1-7 “1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.”
So if Jesus was not physically resurrected, the believers have “believed in vain” and there is absolutely no hope of salvation.
Christ in Me International is a cult as per this definition:
A cult of Christianity is a group of people who claim to be Christian, yet embrace a particular doctrinal system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies (either explicitly or implicitly) one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian faith as taught in the 66 books of the Bible.
Unmasking Modern Cults, Alan Gomes, Zondervan, 1995, p7
Xandré Strydom and Christ in Me International where investigated by Carte Blanche in 2018.
Netwerk24 have the following article with the headline: Stigter van kerk se hy is Christus / Founder of church says he is Christ: https://www.netwerk24.com/Nuus/Algemeen/stigter-van-kerk-se-hy-is-christus-20160522
I’m beginning to wonder how much of his false doctrine Xandré Strydom has taken from the Mormon church.
“Mormons believe that all men and women ever to be born, including Jesus Christ, lived with God as His spirit children before this life. God wanted each of us to come to earth to gain experience, learn, and grow to become more like Him. But God also knew that His children would all sin, die, and fall short of His glory. We would need a Savior to overcome our sins and imperfections and reconcile us with God. Mormons believe that Jesus Christ was chosen to be this Savior long ago during our premortal life with God. “
https://uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/what-mormons-believe-about-jesus-christ?
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE – IS IT POSSIBLE TO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST AND REJECT THE GODHEAD?
It makes me sick.
I know the feeling Tom.
It makes me sick, angry and altogether very sad. :unhappy:
There is a false teacher under ever rock. Xandré Strydom has a small horde of teachers at Christ in Me International. I wonder if they take turns in being ‘christ’ for the day to accommodate each other? :wonder: :dazed:
This individual certainly ‘studies’ a different Bible than do I. I am not a learned theologian but I will try to refute his claims with just two incidents described in the Scriptures.
Are these too simple to understand that one needs many twisted Scriptures passages to prove a false doctrine?
False teacher under EVERY rock…. to be sure!!
While I’m totally unfamiliar with this guy (before reading this)…. all I could think of was UH-OH when I read about that “divine spark” business!! Hence…. MAX LUCADO…. pastor & best selling author… who, perhaps some 20-25 years ago seemed sound…. BUT!! Beware!! He now uses the verbiage, “DIVINE SPARK” business!!!!!! He often quotes mystics in his books —
I have one of his books sitting right here in front of me, on page 106 of “Trade Your Cares for Calm” {nice, SOOTHING-sounding book, right?!} Max writes: you have something of God within you, something noble and holy, something the world needs — …” HOW DOES HE KNOW HE’S TALKING ONLY TO CHRISTIANS in his books?
Or is it maybe because he believes & now teaches Panentheism…?? Meaning they think God is IN ALL… similar to what unitarians teach, I believe. Max Lucado has never recanted any of such sayings in his books BTW!! Now days, he’s all about “social justice”… even bowing down & apologizing for being white!
Again, early on he seemed SO conservative…. so trustworthy! But to be honest, I think in these last moments of the last days, we have a rough time finding any PERSON who writes ahem, “Christian” books who gets it right! All the more reason to stick to the Bible alone!
BTW, out of curiosity I peeked at a couple more pages in the same book I named…. Max used the SAME EXACT “mantra” on page 111!! I’ve got to say, pretty easy to believe it’s elsewhere throughout the book, too. That’s all they are BTW: MANTRAS! False gospel mantras! Seem easier to instill in uninformed & uneducated believers that way!!
Hi RJ :hi:
Hope you are doing well :hug:
Totally correct, this ‘divine spark’, ‘treasure’, ‘gift’, ‘mystery’, ‘self’, ‘inner man’, ‘inner woman’, inner person’, ‘life force’, ‘vital force’, ‘breath’ or ‘pneuma’, ‘fire’, ‘power’, ‘energy’, ‘and believe it or not the word ‘vitality’ are all words used to describe this force we are supposed to be born with that connects us to the universe (Lucifer).
Honestly, Xandre and his groupies, are out for one thing. Its not really about the word. He is growing a human farm, these people are working, mostly for free, or giving their homes, cars, businesses, jobs etc to fill his insatiable hunger for money and power. He and his upper groupies, for example drives a big Fortuner while others lose everything and have to move in with other groupies just to survive…
The worst is you cant help them… But you can expose them and try to prevent other from falling into their grip.
I saw this article today and had to research Xandre as I had not heard of him before (even though I’ve lived in Johannesburg all my life). Very sad.
https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/pretoria-couple-asks-court-to-intervene-as-sons-donate-millions-to-gods-kingdom-20240901