Essek William Kenyon (E. W. Kenyon) (1867–1948) was a pastor[1] of the New Covenant Baptist Church[2] and founder and president of Bethel Bible Institute[2] in Spencer, Massachusetts.
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Kenyon was born on April 24, 1867, in Hadley, New York. At age 17, he was converted in a Methodist prayer meeting.[3] He became a church member in his early twenties and gave his first sermon at a Methodist Church in Amsterdam, New York. Kenyon had a crisis of faith and left the faith for 2 1/2 years prior returning to the Lord in 1893. [4] Although desiring to be an actor, Kenyon earned a living as a piano and organ salesperson. In an attempt to hone his acting skills, Kenyon attended the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston for one year in 1892 studying acting.
Kenyon first married Evva Spurling. The two were married on May 8, 1893. Shortly afterward, Kenyon attended the services of Clarendon Street Church led by pastor Adoniram Judson (A.J.) Gordon.[2] At this service, Kenyon and his wife rededicated their lives to the Lord.
Later that year, Kenyon joined the Free Will Baptists and became a pastor at a small church in Elmira, New York. In 1898, Kenyon opened Bethel Bible Institute in Spencer, Massachusetts, which remained in operation until 1923. He was its president for twenty-five years. The school later moved to Providence, Rhode Island and became Providence Bible Institute. It later became Barrington College and merged with Gordon College, which was named after one of Kenyon's many mentors, A.J. Gordon.
Evva Kenyon died in 1914. Subsequently, Kenyon married Alice M. Whitney and had a son and a daughter with her. In 1948, E. W. Kenyon died.
Kenyon was one of the first proponents of what is now called the "Word of Faith" movement. A New England Bible teacher, schoolmaster, and prolific writer, Kenyon authored eighteen books that are used still today by many who call themselves Word of Faith. Word of Faith teaching emerged as a reaction to traditional Pentecostalism, which taught the idea of the power of God displayed in the present day by acts of healing, miracles, and so on. These spiritual manifestations were unpredictable and took place as "the Lord willed." In contrast to this, Kenyon taught that supernatural acts could be guaranteed to happen based on a covenant between God and his people.
At the core of Kenyon's teachings was the concept of the Old and New Testaments as blood covenants. A blood covenant is a contract that binds two parties together as one "blood", or family, and pledges them to the mutual interest and prosperity of one another. This kind of covenant would be symbolized by a "covenant cut" and the spilling of blood, for example with circumcision in Genesis 17:10[bible 1]. In Genesis 17[bible 2], a covenant is established by God with Abram and his descendants, the future Israel. God pledges himself to the well being of Israel including protection from violence, sickness, poverty (which meant overall financial prosperity), etc. In return Israel was expected to "fully obey" and pledge itself to the interests and service of God" (Deuteronomy 28:1-2[bible 3]) for example, in blessing the nations in Genesis 12:3[bible 4]. Christians are heirs to this covenant by identification with Abraham's descendants through Christ in Galatians 3:29[bible 5]. From Kenyon's perspective, interpreting the scriptures in this way meant that the supernatural could be guaranteed whenever necessary to fulfill God's "covenant promises" to his people.
Kenneth Hagin was heavily influenced by Kenyon’s writings. Hagin himself, however, has gone on record with the claim that he was teaching his message on faith and healing long before he ever heard of E. W. Kenyon.[5] Hagin has been referred to as the “father” of the modern Word of Faith movement. He elaborated on Kenyon’s theology of covenant confession, preaching a four-part formula for receiving God’s promises: “Say it; do it; receive it; tell it.” Many Bible preachers and teachers have been influenced either directly or indirectly by Kenneth Hagin and his teaching. The most recognized include Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Bill Winston, Joel Osteen, Charles Nieman, and Hobart Freeman.
Below are many of E. W. Kenyon's published works:[1]