The Bible tells us who Jesus really is. But over the years, many people have taught wrong things about Him. Some say He is not God. Some say He only looked like a man. Others mix up how God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to each other. We are going to be looking at ten of those wrong teachings in simple words. For each one, you will see what the teaching says, an easy example, and who believes it today. The goal is to help you know the real Jesus from the Bible.
Two Bible Verses to Keep in Mind:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” — John 1:1
“Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” — 1 John 4:2
List of False Doctrines
- Arianism
- Docetism
- Nestorianism
- Eutychianism (Monophysitism)
- Adoptionism
- Apollinarianism
- Socinianism
- Kenoticism
- Psilanthropism
- Monarchianism (including Modalism and Dynamic Monarchianism)
1. Arianism
What it teaches: Jesus Christ is a created being, not fully God. He was the first and greatest creation of God the Father, but He is not eternal and not of the same substance as the Father.
Arians believe Jesus is like a super-angel or the highest creature God ever made. He is less than God the Father. They might say, “There was a time when Jesus did not exist.”
Who teaches this today: Jehovah’s Witnesses. They believe Jesus is Michael the archangel and a created being, not Almighty God.
2. Docetism
What it teaches: Jesus only appeared to be human. He did not actually have a real physical body. His humanity was an illusion.
Docetists thought physical matter is evil, so God could not become truly human. Jesus only looked like He had skin and bones, but it was a kind of spiritual disguise. He did not really eat, bleed, or die.
Who teaches this today: Some forms of Gnostic Christianity and certain New Age groups that deny the physical reality of Jesus. Many people today unknowingly hold this view when they say Jesus was just a spirit or an angel who took on a ghost-like appearance.
3. Nestorianism
What it teaches: Jesus was two separate persons, one human and one divine, living in the same body. The divine person was the Son of God, and the human person was the man Jesus. They were joined together but not truly one.
Nestorians would say God did not really become a baby. Instead, God lived inside a human being named Jesus, like someone moving into a house. Mary gave birth only to the human person, not to God.
Who teaches this today: Some traditionalist groups in the Assyrian Church of the East and certain evangelical circles that overemphasize the distinction between Jesus’s human and divine natures to the point of separation.
4. Eutychianism (Monophysitism)
What it teaches: Jesus had only one nature, not two. His human nature was absorbed into His divine nature like a drop of honey dissolving into the ocean.
Eutychians say that after Jesus became flesh, He was no longer truly human like us. His humanity was swallowed up by His divinity. So when Jesus walked on earth, His body was not really a normal human body; it was more like God wearing a human costume.
Who teaches this today: Some fringe groups within Oriental Orthodox traditions and certain hyper-charismatic teachings that deny Jesus experienced genuine human limitations like hunger, tiredness, or ignorance.
5. Adoptionism
What it teaches: Jesus was born as an ordinary human being. God later “adopted” Him as His Son, usually at His baptism, because of His exceptional righteousness.
Adoptionists believe Jesus was a good man whom God chose to become His Son. He was not God from eternity. At His baptism, God poured out special power on Him and declared Him His Son. Before that, He was just Joseph and Mary’s child like any other.
Who teaches this today: Some Unitarian churches, Christadelphians, and certain liberal Protestant theologians who want to honor Jesus as a model human but deny His eternal divinity.
6. Apollinarianism
What it teaches: Jesus had a human body and a human soul, but His mind or spirit was replaced by the divine Logos (the Word). He was not fully human in terms of having a human rational mind.
Apollinarians taught that Jesus was like a human shell filled with God on the inside. He had human emotions and physical needs, but His thinking, choosing, and willing came directly from God, not from a human mind. This means Jesus never truly learned, reasoned, or made decisions as a real human being.
Who teaches this today: Some modern teachings that emphasize Jesus’s divine nature so heavily that they deny He had a genuine human psychology. Certain charismatic groups that claim Jesus operated only out of divine knowledge and never grew in wisdom like other humans.
7. Socinianism
What it teaches: Jesus is not God by nature. He was a man who became divine in some sense after His resurrection, but He did not exist before His birth. His death was not a substitutionary payment for sin but merely an example of obedience.
Socinians say Jesus was a great teacher and prophet. He died to show us how to trust God, not to pay for anyone’s sins. God did not need a blood sacrifice to forgive people. Jesus rose from the dead and was given a high position, but He is not the eternal God.
Who teaches this today: Unitarian Universalists, many liberal Christian denominations, and groups like the Poland-based Polish Brethren historically. Today, many who call themselves Christian but deny the Trinity and the atonement hold Socinian views.
8. Kenoticism
What it teaches: When Jesus became human, He emptied Himself of some or all of His divine attributes, such as omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. He literally gave up being fully God for a time.
Kenoticists believe that Jesus set aside His divine powers when He came to earth. He did not know everything. He could not be everywhere. He was not all-powerful. He became just a man with no divine abilities, only guided by the Holy Spirit. So during His earthly life, He was not truly God in the same way He had been before.
Who teaches this today: Some liberal Lutheran and Anglican theologians, certain evangelical pastors who struggle with how Jesus could grow in knowledge (Luke 2:52), and proponents of “open theism” who believe God Himself limits His own knowledge.
9. Psilanthropism
What it teaches: Jesus was a mere human being. He was not divine at all. He was born naturally to Joseph and Mary, and He became the Messiah only because God chose Him for a special mission.
Psilanthropism is a fancy word for “mere human teaching.” It says Jesus was just a man, a very good man, a prophet, and a teacher, but only a man. He had no pre-existence. He performed miracles by God’s power working through Him, not by His own divine nature. He was not God and never claimed to be God.
Who teaches this today: Islam (which honors Jesus as a prophet but denies His divinity), many secular historians who study Jesus as only a historical figure, Unitarians, and some Jewish believers in Jesus as a teacher but not as God.
10. Monarchianism (Modalism and Dynamic Monarchianism)
What it teaches: There is only one Person in the Godhead, not three. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are different “modes” or “roles” of the same Person, not distinct persons.
Modalists believe God acts like a father sometimes, like a son other times, and like a spirit at other times. But only one Person is wearing different masks. So on the cross, God the Father was not sending His Son, God was simply acting in “Son mode.” This confuses the Father and Son as the same being in different costumes.
Who teaches this today: Oneness Pentecostals, United Pentecostal Church International, and some independent charismatic groups. They baptize only “in Jesus’ name” and reject the traditional Trinity.
Why These Doctrines Matter
Each of these teachings distorts who Jesus truly is. Some make Him less than fully God. Some make Him less than fully human. Some divide Him into two persons. Some blend His natures. Some deny He existed before Bethlehem. Some strip Him of His divine powers.
The historic Christian faith has held that Jesus is one Person, fully God and fully man, two natures united without confusion, change, division, or separation.
He is eternal yet born in time.
He is all-knowing and has grown in wisdom.
He is the Creator yet suffered and died.
He is Lord of all yet was tempted like us.
When any of these truths is denied, the gospel itself begins to crack. If Jesus is not truly God, He cannot save. If He is not truly man, He cannot represent us. If His natures are mixed or divided, He cannot be the one Mediator between God and humanity.
The false doctrines continue today, often dressed in new language but carrying the same old errors. Recognizing them helps believers hold fast to the true Christ of Scripture.
