Lesson 19: Understanding Prosperity Theology

James watched a church service on television. The church was taking an offering for a special project. A preacher at the church prayed for a blessing for everyone who gave money for the project. The preacher promised that the givers would receive back from God one hundred times as much as they gave. James wondered if he should make an online donation for the project.

► Read Matthew 6:25-34 aloud together. Each student should write a paragraph that summarizes this scripture passage. What does this passage teach about the way God provides for our needs? Each student should write a list of statements. As a group, discuss what you have written.

God blesses his creation (Genesis 1:22, 28). God created the first people and put them in a perfect environment to provide everything they needed (Genesis 2:8-9). Before the first humans sinned, work was pleasant, and there was no physical suffering or aging or death (Genesis 3:17-19). God’s design of life for humanity at creation shows us that he wants to provide everything we need.

When Jesus was on earth, he demonstrated the love of God. By healing diseases and feeding hungry people, he showed that God cares about our physical needs. At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus showed God’s compassion when he wept for the grieving family (John 11:35) then raised Lazarus from the dead.

The Apostle John wrote that he wanted believers to prosper and be healthy (3 John 1:2).

In the passage you read at the beginning of this lesson, Jesus said that just as God provides for the sparrows and makes flowers beautiful he will provide for his children (Matthew 6:25-34). He said that the children of God should not worry about their needs. A believer should make the kingdom of God a higher priority than even personal needs.

► A student should read 1 Timothy 6:6-10 for the group.

God wants his children to be content rather than seeking to be rich. This passage warns us not to love money, because the love of money causes every kind of evil. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should be content if our basic needs are met. He said that those who try to be rich fall into temptations and wrong desires. A person who loves money will find much sorrow.

Suffering is the result of sin, though an individual's suffering is not justly measured out to him as a result of his own sin. Suffering is not fairly distributed in this life. We suffer, not only because of our own sin, but because of the sins of others.

God created a perfect world and never intended that sickness, aging, and death should exist. He will ultimately restore a perfect world. The atonement of Christ provided for the eventual, complete restoration of all creation.

Not all of the benefits of the atonement are received completely right now. God has an order of priorities that he follows. Since suffering is the result of sin, sin must be dealt with first. If God were to suddenly take away all suffering, people would not see the harmfulness of sin. Suffering shows the evil of sin and the need for repentance.

By creating people as free creatures, God shows his priorities. God hates sin, but he considers it important for people to freely make choices. God wants people to do right because they choose to, not because they are forced to. God wants to save people in cooperation with their choice, so he appeals to their wills while allowing suffering to show the results of sin. As people see God’s goodness in a suffering world, they see that they should repent of sin and obey God.

God is dealing with the sin problem first, and that takes time because he has given people free will. The sin of the world cannot be removed in a moment because people must individually decide. Those who repent will eventually enter God's new world, where there will be no suffering. Those who are unwilling to leave their sin will never be delivered from suffering.

God's power is not limited, but he has an order of priorities. To save people as willing, penitent believers, he must deal with sin first rather than with suffering. Sometimes God heals, but total healing for all people is not guaranteed in the present. That is why we continue to age and deteriorate physically. We must wait in faith until the ultimate redemption of the body (Romans 8:23).

► What are some ways that God provides for the needs of people?

Sometimes God provides in an unusual, miraculous way. For example, he dropped special food from the sky for the people of Israel (Exodus 16:14-15). Jesus miraculously multiplied bread and fish for crowds on two occasions (Mark 6:34-44, Mark 8:1-9). However, God has established usual ways to bring blessings to people.

1. God blesses work. Work was part of the perfect life God designed for the first people (Genesis 2:15). Scripture says that we profit from work (Proverbs 14:23). A person should work to have resources to share with others (Ephesians 4:28). The Bible often criticizes the lazy person (Proverbs 6:9, Proverbs 10:26, Proverbs 20:4). The church should not support a person who is not willing to work (2 Thessalonians 3:10). A person who is able to work should not expect God to provide his needs without work.

2. God blesses business. The biblical description of a virtuous woman includes the detail that she does business for profit (Proverbs 31:16, 24). God is pleased by honest business but hates dishonesty (Proverbs 11:1). God is not pleased by business that is unfair to people who are in difficult situations (Proverbs 22:16, Amos 8:4-8).

3. God blesses property. The prophet Micah said that God’s blessing on a nation included safe personal property (Micah 4:4). Many times God promised to bless land and farm animals that belonged to his children (Deuteronomy 28:4). It is good for a person to develop property so that it makes a profit.

4. God blesses the church family. God plans for the church to take care of its people like members of a family. Believers should help those who are in the family of faith (Galatians 6:10, 1 Timothy 5:3). The church is one of the ways that God meets the needs of believers.

5. God blesses sacrificial giving. The Apostle Paul promised a church that God would provide their needs because they had given sacrificially so that he could minister to others (Philippians 4:14-19). Jesus said that a widow’s small offering counted as a great one because she gave sacrificially (Mark 12:43-44). Each person in the church should contribute to the ministry of the church and look for ways to help others in the spiritual family.

6. God blesses routine giving. The Old Testament system of tithes and offerings shows us that a believer should regularly give 10% of his income and additional offerings. God promised financial blessing to the people who gave tithe (Malachi 3:10).

7. God blesses support for pastors. God intended for pastors to be supported by their ministries (1 Corinthians 9:14). Believers should give to support their pastors (Galatians 6:6). A pastor should be willing to work when necessary (Acts 20:34). A pastor should be motivated by love and not by money (1 Peter 5:2). Many teachers of false doctrine are motivated by a desire for money (Titus 1:11, 2 Peter 2:3). It is wrong to buy or sell God’s blessings for money (Acts 8:20).

The Bible warns us of preachers who have a false message that is attractive to people (2 Timothy 4:1-4). False prosperity teachers share several common characteristics:

1. They attract unbelievers by appealing to worldly goals instead of calling for repentance.

2. They do not give a realistic Christian view of human suffering.

3. They have a proud attitude that is disrespectful to other churches, older Christians, and even God.

4. They make pro­mises that God does not make, leading to disappointment and loss of faith.

Sometimes false prosperity teachers gain attention with unusual doctrines and talented preaching. They claim to demonstrate miracles and revelations that other churches do not have. They want to be honored as religious celebrities.

They emphasize new revelation, and many of their doctrines are not found in the Bible. They claim to learn these new doctrines from conversations with God.

They are most known for their teachings about faith, emphasizing that every person can have health and wealth if he learns how to use faith. They promise that every person can be healed. They say it is God’s plan for every Christian to be rich.

[1]They claim that many miracles happen in their ministry, but there is not good evidence that many miracles are real. They claim to provide directions so that every believer can be rich, but only the leaders get rich—from the donations of their followers.

The crowds of people following these teachers are not wealthy, nor are they experiencing total health. Instead, they are hopeful people, led by unproven success stories.

Many new churches with false prosperity teaching have started in countries around the world. Some of them imitate American teachers on television. Some use books and videos from false prosperity preachers in America. Some false prosperity teachers start churches in other countries and take the offerings for themselves instead of using the money to bless the local congregations.

False prosperity teachers have developed false theology to support their ideas.

False prosperity teachers say that faith is the impersonal power and substance of the universe. They believe that faith is a power people can use just as God uses it.

False prosperity teachers think man can use faith without depending on God and without trying to know God’s will. In contrast, Jesus said for us to pray for the Father’s will to be done (Matthew 6:10). The Bible tells us that faith leads us to trust God and seek the reward that he gives (Hebrews 11:6).

False prosperity teachers say that God does not own the earth or rule over it. They teach that God gave authority over the earth to man, and man gave it to Satan. They say that God cannot do anything in the earth unless people give him permission. In contrast, the Bible says that the earth and everything in it belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). The Bible says that God is the Judge of the whole earth and takes action in the earth (1 Samuel 2:10).

Their doctrines about faith are based on doctrines of God that are different from historical Christianity. For example, they teach that God the Father is a physical man. They believe that people are physical copies of God. They believe that because people are copies of God, they should be able to do what God does.

The Bible says that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and not a man (Numbers 23:19). Jesus is the unique Son of God who accomplished our salvation (John 3:16). But the false prosperity teachers say that God is a man like us and that Jesus is no different from us.

[1]Kenneth Copeland said about Adam,

Adam was the copy, looked just like [God]. If you stood Adam up beside God, they look exactly alike. If you stood Jesus and Adam side-by-side, they would look and sound exactly alike.[2]

He was not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God even... Adam is as much like God as you could get, just the same as Jesus.[3]

Kenneth Hagin said, “Every man who has been born again is an incarnation, and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.”[4]

Benny Hinn said, "Don't tell me you have Jesus. You are everything he was and everything he is and ever he shall be."[5]

Morris Cerullo said, "And when we stand up here, brother, you're not looking at Morris Cerullo, you're looking at God. You're looking at Jesus."[6]

God says,

…I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

The Bible says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).

But the false prosperity teachers say that God does not have authority in the earth any longer.

Kenneth Copeland said,

He [God] has to have a man that is like that first one [Adam]. It's got to be a man. He's got to be all man. He cannot be a God and come storming in here with attributes and dignities that are not common to man. He can't do that. It's not legal.[7]

He didn't use anything not common to man to get his job done.[8]

Copeland also said, "He [God] can't go back to the dust of the earth and make another man. He don't own the dust of the earth anymore."

Frederick Price said,

[9]Now this is a shocker! But God has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man... Yes! You are in control! So if man has control, who no longer has it? God... When God gave Adam dominion, that meant God no longer had dominion. So God cannot do anything in this earth unless we let him. And the way we let him or give him permission is through prayer.[10]

The theology of the false prosperity teachers contradicts the Bible and the basic beliefs of Christianity established from the beginning.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers to correct a misunderstanding that they had about the Christian life (see 1 Corinthians 4:8-13). Many of them had been poor before becoming Christians. They thought that because they became children of God, with faith and spiritual gifts, they could begin to have wealth and status in the world. Paul told them that even the apostles suffered poverty and had low status in the world. Though they had great faith and spiritual gifts, they sometimes were hungry, homeless, and worked to support themselves. Faith is not a guarantee of wealth.

In another passage, Paul explained that all creation is still suffering the results of the curse on sin (see Romans 8:22-23). All living creatures suffer and struggle to survive. He said that even Christians still suffer physically and are waiting for the time when their bodies will be redeemed. Though we are saved from sin, we do not yet experience the full healing provided in the atonement. We still experience sickness, aging, and death because we are not in heaven yet. Sometimes God heals, but we are not guaranteed that we can live free from all physical problems.

The Apostle James rebuked people who loved the things of the world and prayed for things to satisfy their own desires (James 4:3). The Apostle Paul was sad about Demas who left the ministry because he loved the things of the world (2 Timothy 4:10). Apparently, James and Paul both understood that faith is not a guarantee of wealth.

Hebrews 11 records the lives of many heroes of faith. They accomplished great things because they believed the promises of God and obeyed God. They endured hard times because of their faithfulness to God. Many of them were homeless and lacked food and clothing (Hebrews 11:37-38). They did not suffer these things because they had no faith, but because they had faith. They were willing to lose everything in the world for the sake of their relationship with God.

► What is some biblical evidence that faith does not guarantee wealth?

The biblical gospel is a message of hope to the person who knows that he is guilty of sin and wants forgiveness and peace with God. A relationship with God begins with repentance and submission of our will. The Christian lives in daily obedience, humility, and surrender to God’s will. God invites us to bring all needs to him in prayer, but we must accept his will in every situation. God promises that everything is under his control and that he will work everything for our good (Romans 8:28-29), but he does not promise to take away all suffering immediately (Romans 8:16-18, 1 Peter 1:6).

The Lord’s Prayer is an example of a Christian attitude. This is in contrast to the attitude of the false prosperity teachers who claim power and honor for themselves. In this prayer we find that the priority is the kingdom and glory of God, and everything is to be submitted to his will (see Matthew 6:9-13).

► How should a Christian’s attitude about healing and money be different from the attitude the false prosperity teachers show?

A church in Santo Domingo needed to make their building larger. They prayed for God to provide. They also asked a mission organization to help. The people of the congregation gave their own money sacrificially. They also gave their time and work for the building project. God blessed their commitment and sacrifice, and the building was completed.

► Now read Matthew 6:25-34 again. Each student should write a paragraph explaining the message this passage has for someone who is following a false prosperity teacher. Several students can share what they wrote.

Remember to find an opportunity to present the gospel to someone from this religious group. False prosperity teachers are found in various churches, but their messages are similar. Prepare to share with your classmates about the conversation you have had. Write your 2-page written report and turn it in to your class leader.