Psalm 35:27 *Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant*
the prosperity of his servant* *SOME MISUNDERSTOOD SCRIPTURES* (A)
Before going into today's teaching, it will be good to restate some truths shared previously. First, God is in the business of blessing his children. He did it in times past, he is still doing it and will continue till the end of time.
Secondly, the gospel according to scriptures is simply a message centred on what God did through Christ to solve the problem of sin and its consequences- spiritual and eternal death. We saw this in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
So, whenever we mention the word 'Gospel', it is what it is and nothing should be added to it. Hence, there is nothing like prosperity gospel. If there is, Paul or any of the apostles would have mentioned it but as it was stated earlier, anywhere gospel is mentioned in scriptures, the focus is always on the salvation of mankind.
Those that claimed to have a ministry of preaching "prosperity gospel" (denoting an extreme view and emphasis on material things) often use certain scriptures to back their gospel.
A proper exegesis of those scriptures shows the weakness of their argument and how the word of God can be perverted to suit human wishes and prejudices.
Luke 4:18 (NLT) says, *“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News( gospel) to the poor...*"( empasis mine)
The scripture above has been used to say that the first assignment of Jesus was to the poor so as to make them rich. Without extensive exegetical exercise, this interpretation doesn't make sense logically. Why did I say so?
1#. There were rich people in the days of Jesus. If he came to make the poor rich, then what was his assignment to the rich? Will a saviour come from heaven just for some and not everyone? If so, then, his salvific assignment will be for a class of people ( the poor only). That couldn't be.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NLT) says, *"This is good and pleases God our Savior, [4] who wants EVERYONE TO BE SAVED (Rich&poor) and to understand the truth*".
From the scriptures above, the ministry of Christ is for everyone not for the physically poor as some are peddling. It is for all. In fact, he preached to the rich in his day,e.g.Zaccheaus.
2#. If all he came to do was to make the poor rich, why was his major emphasis on "The Kingdom of God instead of wealth and riches"? Haven't you thought about it? The emphasis of Christ message was centred on the kingdom not the things of this earth. Then, there must be more to his assignment to the poor.
The question begging for answer in Luke 4:18(a) is: Who are the poor in that text? Is it those without money, houses, cars and material things? That couldn't have been the meaning because poverty in that context can only be spiritual not physical.
The poor (in spirit) refers to all fallen mankind who realizes their need for salvation because of their helplessness. Sin made man helpless. Man without Jesus is spiritually poor though he may be physically rich.
That expression resurfaces several times in the bible. In Matthew 5:3, Jesus says, *“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven*”. This beatitude clarifies that the “poor” who are particularly blessed in God’s kingdom are those who recognize their spiritual poverty.
Psalm 34:6 says, *“This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles*”. We know David was not physically poor. The “poor man” here refers to someone spiritually needy. He humbly calls out to God, knowing that God is the only one who can save him.
What was it Jesus said he came to do to the poor? To preach the Good news- that is the message of salvation. In essence, man without Jesus is poor and what he needs is the good news- the message of salvation.
There is no need twisting scriptures, this is God's word. Our allegiance must be to the truth it teaches not because we want to use it as a means to an end.