Part 1 laid down the overarching framework of prosperity teaching. Part 2 will address Scriptures used to support this unbiblical teaching.¹

God

It is reasoned in Hebrews 11:3 that God “spoke the Word to communicate his faith,”² and in Mark 11:22 that we are to “‘Have the God-kind of faith.’”³ However, both verses refer to the faith people are to have in God, not a faith like God. In Hebrews 11:3, it is “By faith” that we understand God’s creative act of the entire universe. By faith we believe and trust that what we see today is a result of God’s creative Word yesterday. And in Mark 11:22, we are called to have faith in God concerning our prayers, not a faith like God. While having faith in God may be argued to be subjective (Have a God-kind of faith), “Every Greek New Testament grammarian translates theou [God in Gk.] in this verse as an objective genitive [have faith in God].”⁴

Man

Genesis 1:27 is understood to mean that being created in God’s own image is to be created in a “‘god class.’”⁵ While different views of what it means to be created in God’s own image exist, this proposal is entirely unbiblical. The previous verse is instructive to our understanding of 1:27. God stated (Gen. 1:26), “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” When God says, “after our likeness,” He is clarifying that to be made in His image is not an exact copy with the same powers. Likeness declares that men and women are like God, but not exactly like God. Man does not bear all the same attributes that God does, and Scripture demonstrates that these include God’s creative power to speak things into existence.

Jesus Christ

Where did Jesus go when He died? Prosperity teachers conclude from verses such as 1 Peter 3:19 and 1 Peter 4:6 that Jesus descended into hell, was beat on by the devil, suffered in hell to complete the atonement, and then was born-again whereby His divinity was restored to Him. However, this is not the biblical picture. Scripture teaches us that Jesus’ body and soul suffered hell on the cross (Matt. 27:46), whereby His body went to the grave (1 Cor. 15:4), and His soul went to be with the Father (Luke 23:43). 1 Peter 3:19 is a difficult passage but cannot be used to substantiate prosperity teaching. The passage either reflects Jesus’ proclamation through the Holy Spirit in the days of Noah (Wayne Grudem) or the victorious proclamation of the resurrected Christ over evil spirits (Thomas Schreiner). Personally, I think the latter option better. As for 1 Peter 4:6, the Gospel was preached to people when they were alive, so that their spirits may be saved even though their bodies still experience the death of the fall. These passages cannot be used to support a descent into hell. Furthermore, Jesus never lost His divinity, nor is it ever said to be restored, and was not born-again in the same way we are. Moreover, Satan did not have a literal power over death that needed to be taken back by God (Heb. 2:18), but rather he had the power to use the fear of it over people. But now He has lost that power of fear as Christ has conquered death on the cross!

Redemption

Prosperity teaching believes that people can to be restored to their “little god” class, and can exercise the same power of God (2 Peter. 1:3–4), have their prayers confidently answered according to exactly what they ask (John 14:13; Mark 10:29–30), and can sow money and reap personal health and wealth (2 Cor. 9:6; 3 John 2).

Yes, God has enabled us in Christ to become partakers of the divine nature. However, Peter is not speaking of becoming gods ourselves but participating “in the moral qualities of Christ.”⁶ When Jesus declares whatever you ask in prayer, that is not an absolute contextless statement. If you asked Jesus to hurt your ex, will He automatically do it? The answer is no! There are qualifications to prayer that the rest of Scripture spells out. We must pray according to His will and trust Him for His yes or no answers; after all, Paul pleaded three times for his mysterious thorn to be removed (2 Cor. 12:8).

As for sowing money, 2 Cor. 9:6 is about giving to other believers knowing that God will supply all your needs to continually be generous. Believers are encouraged to give knowing God will supply them to do so. The passage is not about becoming rich or arriving at a state of perfect health. When John opens his 3rd letter in verse two with, “Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well (CSB),” he “is expressing his hope that his friend Gaius is doing well in every way, which is not a promise of God or even a doctrine expressing that this is God’s will for every believer….The expression ‘I pray that you are prospering in every way’ is a standard letter-writing greeting not only in antiquity but also in our contemporary world.”⁷

Lastly, the term 100-fold has been used in regard to Mark 10:30. This term should not be taken too literally (should we expect 100 houses?), but understood as Jesus providing for us in this lifetime when we leave things behind for the sake of the gospel.

Thus, prosperity teaching sounds good, but it misses the biblical mark. Let us be careful of shallow readings of Scripture, done apart from Church History, devoid of good biblical theology.

To God be the glory!