The Purpose of Prosperity

In Genesis 12:1-3, God makes an initial promise to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

In the beginning of dealing with His covenant people, God reveals the purpose of blessing and prosperity. His blessing in our lives is so we can have the opportunity to be a blessing to others. That is why the Bible says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). It is a greater blessing to be in a position to be able to give to others than to be in a position of needing to receive from others.

This covenant promise is the foundation for the Biblical concept of blessing and prosperity. Here we see God at work in the lives of His people to counter the effects of the curse. This covenant promise of blessing belongs to each one of us who has received Christ by faith. Galatians 3:29  confirms this: “And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:9 shows the requirement of faith: “So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”

We are blessed and to be a blessing when we are in Christ and in faith. We must believe that the blessing belongs to us. Too many born again Christians exempt themselves from the promise of blessing because of past experience, sin, insecurity, feeling of unworthiness, or what others might think of them. Though the promise of blessing belongs to us, it must be appropriated by faith.

Deuteronomy 8:7-9 reveals another look at God’s promise and purpose of blessing and prosperity for His covenant people:

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land … a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing.

And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

This is, first of all, a promise of grace to create wealth to each of us in covenant with Him. The key to entering into it is our agreement and response of faith. We can declare, “I have the grace to create wealth to fulfill God’s promise to me in Gen. 12, and I will be blessed and be a blessing to others.” We must understand that blessing belongs at our house, and it is unnecessary to chase after it since God has ordained blessing to overtake us (Deut. 28:2).

Secondly, this verse reveals God’s purpose for blessing His covenant people with this grace to create wealth. The purpose of prosperity is for establishing God’s covenant and His Word in the hearts of men. We are called to finance the gospel and any ministries that are bringing people into a covenant relationship with the Living God. We have the privilege of giving generously to those churches or ministries that are reaching the lost, bringing them to Jesus, and establishing people in the faith.

How much of your wealth or abundance is being used for its God-ordained purpose? If we don’t understand the purpose of money, abuse, neglect and failure are the result.

2 Corinthians 9:8-10 has the New Testament definition of prosperity:

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written:

“He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.”

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 

God promises that we will always having all sufficiency in all things (2 Corinthians 9:8). One of the biggest fears we face is not having enough. God says the first priority of prosperity is to meet our needs. God’s grace and heavenly resources never run out. He also says that we will possess an abundance for every good work.

We are not prospering according to the Bible definition of prosperity until our needs are met and we have surplus for the purpose of blessing others and advancing the Kingdom. If we are content just to believe God for our needs being met alone, we are a selfish human beings! It is Scriptural to ask God to provide our needs and for a supply to give from – enough and extra! Whenever we are faced with a need, we can ask God for double–enough and extra–and reinforce the devil’s defeat twice!

In verse 10, God reminds us that He gives seed to sowers. If your desire to prosper is focused on you – your needs and wants only – you are missing the purpose of prosperity. When you develop a heart to give, God will get seed to you. We were created in God’s image and He is a giver!

This blog is from Greg Mohr’s television series titled: Wisdom for Living: Enemies of Prosperity.