What's the Deal With Prosperity Gospel?

Does God want you healthy and wealthy all the time? That's the core promise of the prosperity gospel, and it's partly right and partly wrong. God does want good for His people. But no formula forces His hand, and His plans run on His timing and His purposes, not yours. Here's how to tell a God-given dream from a wish dressed up as faith.

What is the prosperity gospel?

The prosperity gospel is a teaching that God always wants believers healthy and wealthy. It is usually presented as a formula: if you do these steps, God will do this for you. It grew popular in the United States from the late 1800s through the 1900s. It was shaped in part by a movement called New Thought and the power of positive thinking.

It came up on Beyond Sunday because of one line in a weekend message at Calvary about God-given dreams. Calvary's senior pastor said, almost in passing, "I'm not talking about prosperity gospel." Beyond Sunday host Pastor Sean Sloan stopped on that line. It matters when you start talking about dreams.

What does the prosperity gospel get right and wrong?

The prosperity gospel gets some truths right and then twists them, which makes it persuasive. Scripture does say God wants good things for His people. And what you think about matters: Paul tells believers to think about whatever is true, noble, right, and pure (Philippians 4:8).

But truth with a twist becomes an untruth. That is why a witness swears to tell "the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." The twist in the prosperity gospel is control. It promises that if you follow the right steps, God has to perform.

Pastor Sean put it this way: "God likes to mess with our formulas." The minute you think you've found a structure that forces God to act on your behalf, you have a problem. Scripture is blunt about prayers aimed at your own appetites.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James 4:3

Real prayer starts with God. As you delight in Him and get a right view of who He is, He puts His desires in you. Then you begin to ask for what He wants.

How do you know if a dream is from God?

You can tell by looking at its source and its purpose. A dream from God comes from time with Him, fits His will, and blesses others through you. The source matters: if it comes from you, it's your desire. If it comes from God, it carries His purpose.

God promises to speak to His people this way.

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

Joel 2:28

The weekend message drew the line clearly: you will never have a dream bigger than God's power, but you can have a dream outside God's will. Take Joseph, for example. His dream was never only about him. God sent him ahead to preserve a whole people, and that people gave us the Scriptures and, through them, our own faith. A God-given dream is about blessing others through you, and its full impact may not be seen until eternity.

Did God prosper Jesus?

God did not prosper Jesus in the way the prosperity gospel expects. Jesus had no wealth. His body was beaten and crucified. Today He is seated at the right hand of the Father. God kept His promise, but not in this life and not in material terms.

In the garden, Jesus prayed, "not my will, but yours be done." If Jesus submitted His will to the Father, you will need to as well. The apostles followed Him into suffering too. And Jesus never hid that from His followers.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

Scripture tells you what God wants for you. What it doesn't always tell you is His timing.

What does Jeremiah 29:11 really mean?

Jeremiah 29:11 means God's plans for His people are good, even when the fulfillment is decades away. It may be the most misused verse in conversations about prosperity.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

The verse is true, but it's often pulled out of context. Read verse 10, and you'll see the promise comes after seventy years of exile in Babylon. Many who first heard it would die before they saw it fulfilled.

Back up to verse 4. There God tells the exiles to build houses, plant gardens, and raise families. They are to seek the peace and prosperity of the city where they've been carried. He also warns them not to listen to prophets telling them what they want to hear. God's plans are good, and His timing is perfect, even when it isn't your timing.

Common questions

What is the prosperity gospel?

The prosperity gospel teaches that God always wants believers healthy and wealthy, often as a formula: do these things and God will reward you. It mixes real biblical truths with a twist that puts you in control instead of God.

Does God want me to prosper?

Scripture shows that God wants good for His people, but His timing and purposes are His own. Jesus and the apostles suffered, and Jesus said His followers would have trouble in this world.

What is the context of Jeremiah 29:11?

God spoke it to Israelites in exile in Babylon. The promise would be fulfilled after seventy years, and in the meantime He told them to settle in, seek the city's peace, and ignore false prophets.

How do I know if a dream is from God?

Look at its source and its purpose. A dream from God fits His will and is about blessing others through you, not only about you.