Matthew 6:24-33 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (25) "Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (27) Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? (28) "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; (29) and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (31) "Therefore, do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (32) For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
There is much controversy in the church today about the “prosperity gospel”. There are those who promote it to the extreme, and there are those who are against it in its entirety. Each side tends to accuse the other of teaching error. Nevertheless, as with most doctrines in the bible where there are two opposing views taught, invariably the truth of God’s word is found somewhere in the middle. This series examines just what God’s word says on the subject of prosperity, particularly for those under the new covenant, for that is the covenant that we partake of. In this section we are discussing the truth as revealed in the New Testament, that it is God’s will for His children to prosper. There are many areas of our lives that God wants us to prosper in, including our spiritual growth, but in this series we are specifically dealing with the area of finances. To that end, there can be no doubt that in the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus was teaching us how God our Father is well able to take care of all our physical needs in this life. In teaching us the truth about God supplying all our needs, our Lord assures us that God knows our every need, and that He is more than able to supply each one of those needs, for as God takes care of His entire creation, so He is well able to take care of the needs of each one of His children. And so for us to doubt God’s ability to supply our needs is to doubt His ability to take care of His creation, which is foolishness, for we see evidence all around us every day of just how God does take care of His entire creation.
2 Corinthians 9:8 “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.”
In this section we specifically want to discuss the biblical truth that God is well able to make His grace abound toward His saints in order to prosper them. The context of the above passage of scripture deals specifically with the area of finances. In this passage the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tells us that God is able to make all grace abound toward us so that we will always have more than we need, and will therefore always be able to help others who are themselves in need. So with regards the area of finances, just what does the Holy Spirit mean when He says that God is able to make all grace abound toward us?
Genesis 39:1-4 “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. (2) The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (3) And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. (4) So, Joseph found favour in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.”
One of the ways in which God is able to make His grace abound towards us in the area of finances, is in giving us favour with those who are in a position to bless us financially. For example, if we work for an employer, God is able to give us favour with our employer so that we will receive above average increases in our salaries and promotions in our place of work. The above quoted passage of scripture is an example of just how the Lord gives us favour with those for whom we work. Although in this example Joseph was a slave to his master, the principle remains the same with regards to any employer, employee relationship. God gave Joseph favour with Potiphar who was in a position to bless him, and so Potiphar promoted Joseph to become the overseer of his entire estate. Obviously Joseph was diligent as a slave, and so God could use that to give him favour in Potiphar’s eyes, but I don’t want to discuss that aspect in this section, for all I want to establish in this section is that God is able to make all grace abound toward us, and what that concept means.
Exodus 2:15-21 “When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. (16) Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father's flock. (17) Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. (18) When they came to Reuel their father, he said, "How is it that you have come so soon today?" (19) And they said, "An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock." (20) So, he said to his daughters, "And, where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread." (21) Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.”
So what about those who are unemployed and are looking for employment? In these instances, God is able to give us favour with those who are able to employ us so that we will have employment. In the above account in scripture we see Moses unemployed at forty years of age. He had been raised in Pharaoh’s household as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but at the age of forty God had impressed upon Moses that He was going to use him to deliver the children of Israel. Moses missed God’s leading by thinking that God was going to use him in his capacity as a ruler in Egypt to bring about Israel’s deliverance, and so he tried to bring about their deliverance in his own strength. That went horribly wrong for him and he had to flee Egypt as a result. And so at forty years of age Moses ended up in the land of Midian, unemployed. But even though Moses was himself in dire straits, he still gave assistance to those in need where he could. And so in this account Moses helped the daughters of Reuel, the priest of Midian. Moses was not looking for any compensation for that which he did, and he had no idea of the ramifications of his actions. But nevertheless God was able to use his actions to give him favour with Reuel, who then offered Moses both employment and accommodation. Over time, Moses proved to be such a good employee that he eventually married the boss’s daughter.
Michael E.B. Maher
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