“Christ Consciousness” was one of those sermons preached (still is) in my former hyper charismatic church. We were then all excited then by this “new revelation” from “the Man of God”… But years later, I wondered, is Christ Consciousness biblical? And — lo and behold! As I have been studying in-depth about the infiltration of the New Age in churches, it was there: Christ Consciousness IS a New Age teaching. In fact, it is by far the most prevalent idea of Jesus taught in the New Age movement, and it is increasingly found in so-called Christian teachings.
So, let’s look (1) at the general teaching of Christ Consciousness from the New Age perspective – and how the ‘Christ’ in Christ Consciousness has nothing to do with the Christ of the Bible, but is simply Eastern mysticism repackaged. Then, (2) we will see in what ways it permeates churches and how it can present itself as/in Christian teachings.
1. What is Christ Consciousness ?
Christ is a “state”
The Bible tells us that Christ is the Messiah, the title given to Jesus. “Christ” is Greek for the Anointed One; in Hebrew, the Messiah.
In contrast, New Age tells us that Christ is a “state”. Thus, Christ Consciousness means a “state of awareness, of awakening”. “Christ” is defined as being an inward state of consciousness and a state of divine awareness that can be accessed by every individual.
Specifically, “Christ Consciousness” is a state of consciousness or enlightenment, where the person realises that they are indwelt (at one with, unified, infused) with the so-called divine, impersonal essence, or force of Life itself.
Christ is also to be said “the embodiment of the energy we call the Christ Consciousness”, the energy of the Cosmic Christ.
Becoming “a Christ”
According to this belief, mankind is inherently divine by virtue of the fact that all things in the universe are God (see Pantheism). We are therefore all expressions of the transcendent God, whether we are conscious of it or not.
So, to tap into our true identity (of being divine) and discover our true self, we are taught to shift our consciousness from logical and cognitive thinking to pure “awareness”. The aim is that when we take our focus away from the thought processes in our mind, we can be in touch with the pure impersonal consciousness (divinity) that transcends our personal minds and also all things of creation.
This belief sees potential for Christhood in everyone (or God-hood), as Jesus of Nazareth did. We can all achieve a state of Christ consciousness through self-knowledge, divine contemplation, walking in the teachings of Jesus, and Eastern practices of meditation and mindfulness. Ultimately, to reach this Christ Consciousness is the highest achievement you can make about your own spiritual development.
In this doctrine, “Christ” is not someone outside of us (as is the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible), He is something that we ultimately become through awakening to our true nature.
It is believed that every individual is a Christ, or Christ, and can become as Jesus was. Many can achieve such consciousness and be “Christed”, not just Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus, a man who “became Christ”
This brings us to the Jesus of the Christ Consciousness. The New Age/occult version of Jesus Christ is a whole topic on its own so I’ll try and make it simple, in the light of “Christ Consciousness”.
As just said, while “Christ” is said to be a divine state of consciousness, Jesus is just a person who became Christ, or “Christed”. According to New Agers, Jesus is a good moral teacher to follow, a spiritual master, or also the perfect model of spiritual enlightenment. Nothing here is said about Jesus being God.
It is claimed that Jesus did what many other spiritual teachers have done before Him (Buddha, Krishna…): he supposedly brought salvation to the world in the form of enlightenment. He came to save people from a state of self-ignorance and suffering caused by this ignorance. He offers a release from suffering and a path to spiritual freedom, joy and closeness to God. However, nothing is said about salvation from sin and death.
Popular New Age teacher Eckhart Tolle writes :
“Christ is your God essence of the Self, as it is sometimes called in the East… Christ refers to your indwelling divinity regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not… Thus, the man Jesus became Christ, a vehicle for pure consciousness.” (The Power of Now, p. 68).
So, the New Age movement claims that Jesus was enlightened and earned the title “Christ” by perfectly channelling the divine consciousness. (This is clear from New Age illustration showing “Jesus” surrounded by some type of mystical light, in a mediation poser, or with the opening of the third eye…).
The Second Coming of Christ
There are lots of interpretation in the New Age about The Second Coming and I won’t develop too deep in here.
In the line of this post, the Second Coming of Christ here is said to be the arrival of “Christ consciousness” in each individual as they awaken to their identity as God. It isn’t the literal, historical, and physical coming of Jesus that will take place in the future (like the Bible tells us), but an inner experience, and unveiling of man’s own self-divinity by embracing God-consciousness. It is a collective shift in human consciousness that has been happening before, and since Jesus was born.
This is quite the opposite to the the literal and apocalyptic event described in Matthew 24:30-31! All the verses that speak about the Second Coming in the Bible do specifically say that Jesus Himself is returning as a person, never as a state of consciousness!
Jesus said that nobody, not even He Himself, knows when the Second Coming will happen (Mark 13:32, Matt 24:36). Yet, New Age proponents claim is it already happening, and has been for the last two thousand years. If the definition of the Second Coming involves defining a specific timing when it is happening, then it cannot be the Second Coming of the Bible, as per God’s Word.
The Origins of Christ Consciousness
Eastern Mysticism repackaged
Saving ourselves and reaching so-called divinity through our own enlightenment is not a new concept. It is the very same man-centered philosophy that lies behind most religions, and is specially found in Eastern mystical religions, including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. You only have to look at those to notice the ressemblance with Christ Consciousness:
- Jainism : the belief that a life of self-denial was the way to achieve “enlightenment”
- Buddhism : the ultimate goal in life is to achieve “enlightenment”, with the Nirvana being the highest state of being, a state of pure being
- Hinduism : A belief that views mankind as divine. The spiritual goal is to bring people into a realised state of self-divinity – to become one with Brahman, thus ceasing to exist in its illusory form of “individual self.”
All in all, the basic principle of mysticism is that man can, within himself, transcend physical existence and experience his own goodness as being “one” with the universe, being a god, or existing on whatever higher plane he chooses to believe in.
Promoted by modern New Age Gurus
“Christ Consciousness” is simply a rebranding, a repackaged “christianized” version of the same false Eastern spirituality.
It has gained territory in the West by the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, an extremely influential indian guru known as the greatest emissary to the West of India’s ancient wisdom. One of his writings is The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You – a book with an Eastern twist on the ministry of Jesus.
In more recent years, the concept of Christ Consciousness has been made popular by proponent New Age teachers such as Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra (amongst others) -who have been on the Oprah Winfrey show, gaining worldwide audience. In 2008, Deepak Chopra published Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment in 2008, a story of Jesus in his wanderings until he eventually achieves a oneness with God.
Other mystical writings conveying Christ Consciousness have also gained considerable ground, such as Les Lettres du Christ (2001), “dictated to an 80-year-old English lady, nicknamed the “Recorder”, the anonymous author.
The purpose of Christ Consciousness
As I stated in my previous article, the New Age has an individual agenda as well as a global agenda. This inherently applies to Christ Consciousness too.
From what we gathered already, the individual aim of Christ Consciousness is a state of awakening to one’s own divinity. On the universal level, its purpose is to create a better world of peace and unity, when mankind will finally reach an elevated state of consciousness. There’s an ecumenical agenda to this, as all religions and spiritualities are brought under one “universal god” through a global awakening. We’ll therefore hear about a “Universal Christ” or a “Cosmic Christ“.
The mission statement on the website of the The Global Center for Christ Consciousness illustrate this perfectly : “We are dedicated to Awakening the Inner Christ, and to creating a world of Love, Peace, Joy and Abundance.”
2. How Christ Consciousness infiltrates Christian teachings
We’ve now debunked what Christ Consciousness is from a purely New Age perspective and what “Christ” represents.
Unfortunately, this New Age Christology is being introduced in churches and adapted for the “Christian” audience. Christ Consciousness is a deceptive gospel that’ll promote your elevation and self-awareness into God-hood.
Adapted “Christian” teachings will diminish or bypass the very core work of Jesus Christ on the cross: the crucifixion and all that this entails (depravity of mankind, sin, death, redemption, forgiveness).
Christ Consciousness is very much embedded into the false doctrine of the Manifestation of the Sons of God, the little gods doctrine or the Kingdom in you doctrine.
What false Christian teachers teach
Quotes from popular [false] Christian teachers and pastors
- “One of the main aims of my ministry is to give people all over the world ‘Christ Consciousness’. What most preachers preach is ‘sin consciousness’ and not Christ consciousness.”
- “Jesus” is limited, particular, and earthbound, while “Christ” is unlimited, universal, and cosmic.
- “The Christ Mystery is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process throughout time—as constant as the light that fills the universe”
- “Jesus must have been conscious of something that others didn’t know, he must have had a consciousness that other didn’t have, the consciousness of supernatural ability, that you can never be disadvantaged
- “when you carry that Consciousness every day, you find yourself living the supernatural life that we are called to live you become indestructible, there’s an awareness that makes you a victor”
- “it’s in you! The answer is in you”, “Christ within”, “the God within”
- “the kingdom is within you”, “God’s kingdom is within”
- “this message will unveils to you, the real YOU! Find out how to locate and bring out all of God in you and be that person he made you to be”
- “awakened by the Christ anointing”
- “when that anointing comes into your life…”
- “Jesus received the anointing in an experience to accomplish what the Father desired”
- “the expansion of consciousness”
- “the atonement means ‘at-one-ment’ with the divine”
- “the corporate anointing”
- “this is the Manifestation of the sons of God : heaven will hold back the second coming of Jesus Christ until we all, as sons and daughters of God, come into maturity, into the stature of the fullness of Christ”
- “the true meaning of Christmas is that Christ is born in the heart of man”
- “have the consciousness of the God-life”
- “The Universal Christ”, “everything is Christ”
(Note that in those kind of teachings, there’s always an insistence – I’d like to say an obsession – with the anointing).
Bible verses used and twisted
To back up those statements, false teachers will heavily quote and twist certain Bible verses such as:
- “…Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1.27)
- “…till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4.13)
- “…travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” (Gal 4:19)
- “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. (Rom 8:19)
- “you may be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4)
- “You have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4)
- “I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High”. (Psa 82:6)
- “behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21)
These verses are quoted OUT OF CONTEXT. And as one said: if you take the “text” out of “context”, you get a “con” ! And that’s exactly what it is.
This teaching is a pretext to take your eyes away from the true Christ. It brings all attention to YOU, the POWER IN YOU, and look WITHIN YOU to reach for this special “consciousness” which will activate a special anointing, or supernatural power, to help you live from a higher plane and be a success.
These doctrines ultimately lead to an experiential and mystical Christianity, in which your faith is built not on God’s Word, but on seeking a spiritual encounter and sensations (“feeling Jesus”, visions…) and experiencing the supernatural (signs and miracles).
The alleged reason for this? They say it’s for the glory of God… But that’s a deception. Let’s look now at what the Bible says.
Is Christ Consciousness biblical? No, it isn’t.
First of all, the title of “Christ” given to Jesus means He is God’s Anointed One, the One who fulfills the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, the Chosen Saviour who came to rescue sinners (1 Tim 1:15), and the King of kings who is coming back again (Zech 14:9). This has nothing to do with a “state”.
Secondly, Jesus was not a mere man channelling divine consciousness, or who reached a special spiritual height, as taught by Christ consciousness believers. He was and is the Son of God, God incarnate; the Word of God made flesh. Jesus did not go through a process of realising his own divine consciousness, and did not receive “the Christ Anointing” to function on a higher spiritual plane. He did not need a special endowment to become who He was, because He is the I AM.
The Lord told us beforehand
Jesus, the I AM, told us these types of false doctrines will come. Men will pretent to be Christ, or know where Christ is. In terms of the Christ Consciousness doctrine, the belief is that we can be Christ, and that Christ is to be found within us.
Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. […] Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24. 4-5, 24-25
See, I have told you beforehand.
Human beings are not divine
The core belief of the “Christ Consciousness” rests on the fact that it believes man is intrinsically divine. And since the Bible explicitly states that man is not divine, but a sinner, we can be sure that Jesus Christ did not come to earth to teach us this very concept of “Christ consciousness”.
The Bible tells us that man is: 1) ontologically distinct from God (he is of a separate nature), 2) is severed relationally from God through sin. (Psalm 9:20, Isaiah 31:3, Ezekiel 28:2,7,9, Acts 12:21-23).
**Most, if not all, deviant doctrines, heresies, cults, and compromised Christian denominations rest on this very issue, where the teaching of sin has been diluted or omitted, where Christology has been compromised ** – this is crucial to understand.
“Christ Consciousness” promotes therefore a false Christology. It will NEVER talks about sin and does not save from sin. It makes you look inward to find the answer within you, hence dwelling more into your sin and deceiving you it is divinity you will find! This is completely omitting the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his atoning sacrifice for our redemption from sin and death and the judgment to come. We must look outward to Him, the Eternal God who sits on His throne, to His work of salvation He freely gave for us, by grace.
We await the glorification
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God”. Rom 8:19
This verse is very well used to propagate doctrines such as Christ Consciousness, embedded in the false doctrine of the Manifestations of the Sons of God and the Kingdom Now or Kingdom Within doctrines.
The idea is for believers (the sons of God) to be awakened to a higher state of Christ Consciousness and walk in the fullness of God. At this level, believers are masters over circumstances of life and walk in the supernatural. They have become saviours, called to bring deliverance to the whole creation. Everything in life is waiting for their manifestation; waiting for the sons of God to liberate them. Believers need this God-consciousness to operate at this level.
This is very close to the global agenda of the New Age, i.e. to make the world a better place.
But the truth is far from that. Christ is our hope of salvation. As believers in our present state (mortal bodies) and in this world of sin and corruption, we (along with the whole creation) groan with pain. Presently, we are waiting for the redemption of our bodies. We have been justified (declared righteous), being sanctified (growing in the Lord) and will be glorified (final removal of sin, resurrected into Eternal life, new body) with Christ at His coming. We are not glorified now, we are waiting.
It is not our job, it is not in our ability to elevate ourselves to a higher level of divinity by any means. Neither can we liberate the creation! This is God’s responsibility, His work. It is by His grace we have been saved (Rom 3:24), not by merit of finding a state of enlightenment.
For a thorough explanation of the “sons of God” in Rom 8:19, see this article on Gotquestions.org, and here for more on Rom 8:30 about justification, sanctification and glorification.
The mind of Christ
Finally, the Bible discusses how we can have the “mind” or the “mindset” of Christ (1 Cor 2:16, Phil 2:5-7). As children of God, we are taught to think like Jesus, walk with Him, reflect His character for the glory of God. We are called to renew our minds (Rom 12:2), serve God, love one another. We are not called to become Him (Christ) but be like Him.
As believers in Christ, we are simply called to know and to love Him; called to get wisdom, to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18).
There is no need to shift of our consciousness from logical thinking to a mystical state of awareness. In fact, it isn’t God’s will to shut our minds and our reasoning abilities. God has given us reasoning abilities and a human conscience when He made us in His image.
Choosing to switch from human consciousness to God-consciousness is not an ability we possess, neither it is even possible. We are human, born in sin, not of divine nature. Consequently, we do not have a seed of divinity in us; we cannot change nature or state by a simple “awareness” or mediation. And having the strongest belief that there is a spark of divinity in us doesn’t make it real one bit.
“Christ Consciousness” is blasphemy
Christ Consciousness is a means of self-deification. It is arrogant and empty.
Biblically speaking, it is a blasphemous teaching to make yourself a god. God is god alone (Isaiah 37:16), and to claim divinity for oneself is considered a capital crime of blasphemy (Lev 24:16). That’s the very reason the Jews wanted to stone Jesus to death, since they didn’t recognise Him as God.
Simply put, the teaching of Christ Consciousness is unequivocally a blasphemous myth, a path to idolatry, a lie to deceive many, even the elect if it were possible.
…nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. (1 Tim 1:4)
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Tim 4:3-4)
Anywhere the word “Christ” is use, let this be the message:
We preach Christ crucified.
(1 Corinthians 1:23)
