Prosperity

When we examine financial prosperity by looking at the example of the first church Israel, some interesting observations emerge. 1) The majority of Israel received their prosperity in the Promised Land. 2) Only three of the twelve (twenty-five percent) tribes received their inheritance in the wilderness. "And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh" (Deuteronomy 29:7-8). Until Jesus returns, we are also in the wilderness awaiting our inheritance in the Promised Land (New Jerusalem). Of course for the advancement of God's kingdom, there may be a small percentage of Christians that receive a physical inheritance now. The decision, however, is solely up to God. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:3-5). "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:18). Moreover, "The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them" (1 Samuel 2:7-8).

What then would it avail us to be ranged under the government of a heavenly King, if its benefits were not realised beyond the present earthly life? We must, therefore, know that the happiness which is promised to us in Christ does not consist in external advantages—such as leading a joyful and tranquil life, abounding in wealth, being secure against all injury, and having an affluence of delights, such as the flesh is wont to long for—but properly belongs to the heavenly life. As in the world the prosperous and desirable condition of a people consists partly in the abundance of temporal good and domestic peace, and partly in the strong protection which gives security against external violence; so Christ also enriches his people with all things necessary to the eternal salvation of their souls and fortifies them with courage to stand unassailable by all the attacks of spiritual foes.¹³⁶

Therefore, popular theology's attempt to manipulate God to pour out a blessing is nothing more than covetousness (see "The Principality of Covetousness") thinly veiled as a "new thing" from God. They continually shout "It's opportunity for prosperity," yet, as a whole, their prosperity has not increased significantly. As Eric Walsh of On A Mission Ministries puts it "they do not want conversion, they want currency"; God is simply an "ATM in the sky" to them. God is most definitely not an automated teller machine; he is not a bank from which we can draw out money when we want to. While he is indeed the source of material riches among other things, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts" (Haggai 2:8), he reserves these temporal "blessings" for those who truly, by faith, diligently seek him (Luke 18:28-30; Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 11:6). True prosperity is having God himself. We will address this in more detail shortly. Thus, the only "new thing" in recent times is the Word of God come in the flesh: Jesus Christ—"the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). The next new thing will be the return of Jesus and the end of the world, as we know it. "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5); therefore, "we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13). "When God gives a vision by His Spirit through His word of what He wants, and your mind and soul thrill to it, if you do not walk in the light of that vision, you will sink into servitude to a point of view which Our Lord never had." Furthermore, Oswald Chamber states:

Disobedience in mind to the heavenly vision will make you a slave to points of view that are alien to Jesus Christ. Do not look at someone else and say—Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why cannot I? You have to walk in the light of the vision that has been given to you and not compare yourself with others or judge them, that is between them and God. When you find that a point of view in which you have been delighting clashes with the heavenly vision and you debate, certain things will begin to develop in you—a sense of property and a sense of personal right, things of which Jesus Christ made nothing. He was always against these things as being the root of everything alien to Himself. "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth" [(Luke 12:15)]. If we do not recognize this, it is because we are ignoring the undercurrent of Our Lord's teaching.¹³⁷

We have much more to say on prosperity; however, a review of scriptures is necessary first. "Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:23-25; see also Psalm 49:6-9). "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour" (Proverbs 3:13-16). Examine the following scriptures on riches and wealth:

Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. (Proverbs 23:4-5)

Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. (Proverbs 30:7-9)

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also ... No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34)

And the cares of THIS WORLD, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24)

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:15-21)

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:13-15)

Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. (1 Corinthians 10:24)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

The set of scriptures above dealing with material prosperity is staggering and there are many more. We will address three passages, which will help us to better understand this particular topic. The word "prosper" appears in some form or fashion in the New Testament only three times. Once in Romans referring to Paul's Journey (Romans 1:10); it appears another time in 1 Corinthians dealing with collecting money for the church on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2); the last time it appears is in 3 John 1:2. The passage in 3 John is the one most frequently mentioned by preachers that want us to believe that God wants us to have money just as much as he wants us to have himself. These preachers want us to believe that the passages above speak to us today in the same way. In other words, God is going to give us a land flowing in milk and honey as he did THE PEOPLE of Israel. Notice we said THE PEOPLE and not an individual Jew. There was more than one person who had sufficiency in Israel because God blessed the WHOLE NATION to have enough. The sum of the Old Testament scriptures above is that God provides and prospers his people through having all they need. Those that prospered in the Old Testament did so after much trial and tribulation; look at Abraham, the children of Israel, David, Job, etc.

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (Hebrews 6:13-15)

Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (James 5:10-11)

Some, however, would have us to believe that 3 John makes a case for God doing us the same way today, giving us land, money, and constant instantaneous healings, but God shows us otherwise. Let us see what scripture says: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 1:2). Let us start from the beginning. John says something very telling about the rest of the scripture, "I WISH." If we tell someone we wish something on them, what are we saying? We are saying we hope something will happen to them. It is like me saying, "I wish that you will be able to pass your test." You may not be able to pass your test based on your study. So from the beginning, we understand that this scripture cannot be taken to mean that it is God's will that we prosper in an earthly sense. Nevertheless, let us say that one believes God is saying he wants us to prosper. Even so, we must still look at the rest of the scripture "even as thy soul prospereth": God's ideal is for us to be prosperous in our souls more than anything else. "They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity" (Ezekiel 7:19). Most often we have people who have money but their souls are a wreck. How could they get money? It is because God wants us to prosper in a different way through his Son. We see this when we study Philippians Chapter 4:

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need ... But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:11-12, 19)

Many in Christ, both prosperity oriented or not, use this passage. They use it to say that God is going to take care of his people. We do not argue that God will not take of his people but we want to emphasize something that this passage emphasizes that we seem to miss. God promises us to supply our need by his "riches in GLORY" by Christ Jesus. The important part of this passage is not that God has riches (simply meaning a lot of something) but what God has in abundance. God has an abundant supply of glory to share with us. He gives us some of the glory he possesses so that we may abound in the earth. He shares his glory with us: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe" (Ephesians 1:17-19). His glory will profit us way more than money: "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward" supersedes the power of money, and God "giveth us richly all things to enjoy." Money does not increase godliness: money, rather the love of money, opens us up to fall into the snare of the devil.

Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses ... Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:5-12, 17-19)

There is almost nothing to say regarding this passage. We would like to highlight some verses. First, Paul tells us from the start that gain is not godliness; it is the other way around. Another point he makes is that if we want to be rich, we fall into a snare. He also tells us that loving money is wrong. Well if loving money is wrong, it must not really hold any value. The last point we make is that Paul tells us to lay hold on eternal life. We cannot serve two masters. We cannot attempt to lay hold on "the good life" and eternal life at the same time. We must choose as this passage indicates. Our focus is eternal life with God not long life in a mansion with many cars. "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). God has something else for us.

The notion of prosperity preached by popular theology is very troubling to God. Prosperity or "Total Life Prosperity" is another form of misdirection. It is another way of exalting something else besides Jesus Christ. Jesus never told us that if we lift prosperity up that all men would be drawn unto him. Rather, he told us is that if he would be lifted up, all men would be drawn unto him. "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:31-33). "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). We have confused the message of God to give us a thing, a concept, or even a state of being, instead of a person. It is Christ that we are supposed to accept; we are supposed to be found IN HIM; we are supposed to put him on like a garment. Yet, we seek something else besides God's best, which is himself. Do we not agree with David who said, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1)? Or, do we agree with Paul who wrote:

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

Instead of attempting to attain unto the resurrection of the dead, the prosperity mindset causes one to seek the maintenance of our dead lives. Life before Christ is not life; rather, it is death unrealized. "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death" (Romans 7:5). All the things that defined that false life led to death. Financial prosperity is one of the key tenets of that life; therefore, to focus on financial prosperity in Christ entangles a Christian again with the corruption of the world and the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15). "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). Instead of our symbol being the Lord lifted up, our symbol is our own selves being lifted up; however, this comes with a problem. When we lift ourselves up we are not guaranteed life again. Only with Jesus comes the resurrection of the dead, so it is impossible for us to be the examples in and of ourselves that we want to be. How does this look? When we seek the prosperity of this world over God himself, we seek to exalt our lives above the life of God. As we explained earlier when examining 1 Timothy chapter 6, God is clear that loving money is evil: it leads to our destruction. For example, believing a message that makes our focus material wealth disrupts the power of God's message of self-sacrifice. All of a sudden, we start seeking to have more money, better health, better friends and all of the like: "total life prosperity." The problem with seeking money is that God never told us to do it. In fact, as was explained earlier in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is clear that we are not to seek out the very things we believe are necessary for our sustenance. Rather, we are to seek him. Jesus further expounded on this in the book of John:

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed ... And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst ... And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:26-27, 35, 40)

The Lord rewards those who diligently seek him for himself, not for personal, carnal gain (1 Kings 3:5-14); after all the Lord commands, "when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do" (Luke 17:10). Many seek health over the life of God as a means to prove our mettle above the rest of people. Health in Christ, however, has more to do with the state of our spiritual hearts than our physical hearts. "And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness" (Luke 11:39). We convince ourselves that if we are Christians we are to never be sick. Moreover, if someone is sick, something must be wrong with him or her. Indeed, living in accordance with God's Word does deliver us from sickness and disease that originates from sin; however, God may still use sickness to chastise us or to keep us humble as he did with Paul (see "A Living Sacrifice" and "Healing Sickness & Disease").

The last problem we mention here is that seeking this prosperity above God will lead to us loving people more than God. This happens by placing a high premium on individual relationships that simply have nothing to do with God's desired relationships for us. Therefore, we may believe that if we are Christians that no one is going to hate us. We may even believe that we will become popular; everyone will like us if we are Christians. We will even think that our families are automatically supposed to be like we want them to be. This, however, is far from what Jesus taught; he even stated:

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)

If Jesus came to divide houses, and even says that if we are willing to place a family member above him we are not worthy of him, what are we doing holding on to this belief? In fact, he tells us something not often noticed in the previous verses: that if we seek to save our own lives (this happens by asking for money, fame, or something else) we will lose it all. If, however, we lose everything for him, we will gain our lives. Our life can only be found in him: "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). In the Academy Award nominated family film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, young Charlie is reproved by his Grandpa George for trying to trade something rare, the last golden ticket that would give him access to the chocolate factory, for something common like money:

There's plenty of money out there. They print more and more every day. But that ticket? There are only five of them in the whole world, and that's all there's ever going to be! Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?¹³⁸

There is only one Jesus, only one way to salvation, only one way to life eternal! Jesus is God's golden ticket that gives us access to himself and life everlasting. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). Only a dummy would give up Jesus for something as common as money. Are you a dummy? Hopefully, your answer is no. Pay heed to God's warning to those in Christ that have put being rich in this world above righteousness: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (Revelation 3:15-19). Examine yourself: have you been unselfish with the money you do have or have you selfishly hoarded it for your use? Remember this, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon [the money and riches of this world], who will commit to your trust the true riches" (Luke 16:10-11)? John Calvin closes with the following:

The Psalmist says, "But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious of the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." At length, after a statement of the case, he concludes, "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me: until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end," (Ps. 73: 2, 3, 16, 17.) Therefore, even from this confession of David, let us learn that the holy fathers under the Old Testament were not ignorant that in this world God seldom or never gives his servants the fulfilment of what is promised them, and therefore has directed their minds to his sanctuary, where the blessings not exhibited in the present shadowy life are treasured up for them. This sanctuary was the final judgement of God, which, as they could not at all discern it by the eye, they were contented to apprehend by faith. Inspired with this confidence, they doubted not that whatever might happen in the world, a time would at length arrive when the divine promises would be fulfilled. This is attested by such expressions as these: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" (Psalm 17: 15.)¹³⁹

DRAFT V2010-08-13T12:18:24 PM