KINGDOMPerspective

“Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy also has this eye-opening passage: ‘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’ (1Timothy 6:17-19). This is true prosperity theology and, the truth is, it is more widely taught than the campaigners against it would like to believe. And its influence is more purifying than corrupting.”

The point has been made that financial and material prosperity is an integral part of the blessing that God spoke into the lives of his first son, Adam and his helpmate, Eve. It has been seen from scripture that God provided for them to live in splendour. He did not intend for them to merely get by! Otherwise, why put the gold and other precious stones in Havillah?

We also saw that even when God decided it was time to begin again with Noah and his family and the Flood wiped out mankind, He restored the Blessing in exactly the same words – be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth etc. The only difference being that he then instituted, as it were, a kind of methodology when He declared: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). This has great significance for mankind, but we won’t go into that today. It should suffice to say that, by that statement God introduced the seed principle as God’s method of blessing His children; the only one for a season! (For more on this, you’ll have to await my forthcoming book).

As we also saw, together, God said what he meant, meant what He said and caused what He said to manifest in the lives of His children thus firmly establishing the seed principle. From Abraham through Isaac and Jacob to all their descendants, financial and material prosperity was part of the bargain.

Did this change in New Testament times? No, not in the least. The Lord Jesus taught so much about the uses of money that it was clear that its availability was a given! And we shall come back to that later. But we chose to address the often touted poor socio-economic status of the Lord Jesus himself. As we pointed out Jesus’ so-called poverty was mitigated by access. All his needs were met every second of time and every inch of the way throughout His earthly ministry. We also noted that the Bible also described his relative poverty as an act of grace, meant to ensure that we live in prosperity. That of course is in addition to the fact that the Lord Himself said ALL that the father Has are His.

Flowing from all of these is one truth; it is God’s will for His children to live life abundantly here on earth as a prelude to the abundance of heaven. As someone graphically put it, we are expected to experience the days of heaven on earth. Therefore any theology that minimises this truth does injustice, even violence, to the gospel. And that exactly was the situation until the advent of those ministers who have been branded prosperity preachers. That was the era of the church rat; when godliness tended to be measured by the holes in your shoes and the patches on your trousers. Those were the days when poverty was the badge of holiness.

Now what is this prosperity theology that is being resisted in some circles?

As I mentioned earlier, God not only wants His children blessed, He established the seed principle as an avenue for them to tap into the blessing that he has for them. That is the full import of Genesis 8:22. That is simple enough for anyone who has ever been near even a backyard garden to understand. It is the principle by which God intended for everything to multiply, including the “seed of the woman.”

It is this principle that forms the core of the prosperity message. And it’s the application of this principle in a non-agricultural setting that would seem to have become contentious, particularly as it applies to the church. But need it be? The Bible teaches: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (Luke 6:38). This, while applicable to giving to the poor certainly also applies to the Church and its workers. So strong is the injunction to give to the House of God that the Bible described failure to give into the Church as robbery a kind of robbery. Although, it’s been said that the robbery here is robbing God of opportunities to bless, the promise attached to giving are quite clear as this passage from the book of Malachi indicate: “Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:9-12).
So, sowing into the work of God, into the life of His servants and into the lives of those in need though tithes and offering, is the main teaching of the church in the prosperity area. Your work, be it in the church or in some secular professional pursuit is in this sense a seed. That is the message you are likely to hear at the church next door and it is the truth as contained in the Bible.
Of course, there are other principles, one of which is wealth by the supernatural or the inheritance principle, but they are not widely taught. The inheritance principle is deep. And it is for those who have caught the revelation and are able to tap into their inheritance in God by Christ Jesus. It takes a coming of age to draw from this source. This is the perfect will of God for His children. Unfortunately, most of us are still in the process of coming of age. That is matter for another time. It suffices here just to say that if God indeed owns the cattle on a thousand hills, own the gold and the silver, as the Bible says in Psalm 50:10 and Haggai 2:8 respectively, why should his children shun this part of the heirloom? But as I said earlier this isn’t even being widely taught yet. But it will, and then the world would see the extent to which God had always wanted to bless his children!
In fact, I personally sense that the new resurgence of anti-prosperity theology is an agenda of the enemy. Money is required, tonnes and tonnes of it, to evangelise the world; to counter the rise of the doctrine of demons in many parts of the world. It is wealth in the hands of God’s children that can be used for this purpose, not those available to non-believers. That’s why God wants us rich, very rich. So, we must be careful not to allow a return to the church rat era through wrong though well-meaning teachings.

But is prosperity teaching therefore danger-free? Can it be abused? Of course, it can and it definitely is being abused in certain circles. And the Bible certainly does warn against this – copiously too!

The required balance can be gleaned from a number biblical passages. The book of Deuteronomy for instance quoted God as warning in these words: “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. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 8:18-20). That’s validation for wealth and its source. It points to the danger of mishandling it, as well.

Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy also has this eye-opening passage: “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 (1Timothy 6:17-19).

This is true prosperity theology and the truth is, it is more widely taught than the campaigners against it would like to believe. And its influence is more purifying than corrupting. (Concluded)

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