The Prosperity Gospel: Where Faith in God Joins Hope in Health & the Love of Money
ARTICLE • What is the “Prosperity Gospel,” how did it rise to prominence within modern Christianity, why does it captivate millions of believers around the world, and how does a Christ-centered, biblically rooted vision for the Christian life offer something truer and richer than worldly wealth or success?
Read time: 9 min
Few movements within modern Christianity have generated such fascination—and controversy—as the Prosperity Gospel. Often labeled the Word of Faith movement, this stream recasts faith as a spiritual technology of sorts, a tool for conjuring up health, wealth, and success. Words become instruments of power; thoughts are seeded with expectation; giving is portrayed as a catalyst for divine reward. In this theology, faith isn’t trust in God’s promises for—above all else—spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3) but an active tool to secure the outcomes one most desires. The truly faithful, we’re told, will experience material and physical prosperity as God’s signature of approval. At its heart, the Prosperity Gospel insists that spiritual laws—activated by the right confession or offering—oblige God to bless in visible, tangible ways. For some, that’s electrifying; for others, deeply troubling. No other theology has blurred the line between spiritual devotion and material ambition quite so provocatively.
Historical Development
Kenyon’s Synthesis: Words with Power
The Prosperity Gospel did not erupt overnight. Its roots sank into the fertile soil of late nineteenth-century optimism. E.W. Kenyon (1867–1948) emerged as a pivotal figure, absorbing the language of faith-cures and positive confession from his era’s metaphysical culture. He preached that the tongue itself can unlock spiritual and material blessings, urging believers to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” (Heb 10:23)—hope being redefined as an earnest expectation of earthly prosperity.
Hagin’s Refinement: Confession as Spiritual Lever
Kenyon’s ideas found eager disciples, most notably Kenneth Hagin (1917–2003). By the mid-twentieth century, Hagin was shaping the Word of Faith movement’s distinct identity. In Hagin’s hands, confession became a spiritual lever—faith-filled words could “move mountains,” distorting Jesus’ assurance: “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart . . . but believes . . . it will be done for him” (Mark 11:23).
Televangelism and the Promise of Gain
Momentum surged in the television age. Oral Roberts’ charismatic and innovative style carried the movement’s message into millions of homes, coupling faith with the promise of financial return. Roberts’ “seed-faith” teaching drew directly from Jesus’ words: “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down…running over” (Luke 6:38). Kenneth Copeland, deeply influenced by Hagin, globalized the message, preaching that prosperity was the natural outgrowth of “walking by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7).
Mainstream Adaptations and International Expansion
As the twentieth century waned, new voices emerged: Benny Hinn’s healing crusades, Joyce Meyer’s practical empowerment, Creflo Dollar’s confident financial formulas, and Joel Osteen’s relentless optimism. Osteen’s sermons, for instance, brim with encouragement, often sidestepping the blunt promises of wealth but never discarding the underlying belief: “God wants to bless you and give you the desires of your heart” (e.g., Ps 37:4).
Widespread Appeal and Global Scrutiny
Today, the Prosperity Gospel echoes from many American megachurches. Its message offers hope, especially in third-world countries marked by hardship. This “gospel” lithely hijacks Scripture’s grand promises, such as Paul’s final words to the Philippians: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). Yet with its promise of tangible and formulaic outcomes comes justified scrutiny. Criticisms about the biblical fidelity of prosperity gospel interpretations of the Bible and the reality of extreme suffering being experienced even by prosperity leaders (for example, Oral Roberts lost his daughter in a plane crash and his son to suicide) reveal the trajedy of reshaping Christianity into a vehicle for self-fulfillment.
A Theological Critique
Examining the Prosperity Gospel through the lens of Scripture is like staring into a distorted mirror. At the center, the definition of faith has shifted. The writer of Hebrews praises those who “through faith . . . suffered mocking and flogging” and the loss of their property for the sake of Jesus (Heb 11:33–36). Faith, in Scripture, clings instead to God’s promises not only in the “good” times but also when blessings are absent and suffering is abundant. Prosperity teaching, by contrast, transforms faith into a transactional tool for extracting gifts from God.
Misusing Scripture
The Prosperity Gospel is infamous for selective proof-texting. As for Philippians 4:19—“my God will supply every need of yours”—it is torn from its context, in which Paul claims to have learned contentment in even times of lack: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content . . .. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:11, 13). The oft-cited 3 John 2–4 is a standard greeting, not a blank check. In context, the passage concerns John’s rejoicing over not the Christians’ material success but over their walking in the truth about Jesus Christ:
“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth (3 John 2–4).
Suffering Redefined: Not a Detour but a Calling
The biblical storyline doesn’t shy from adversity. Jesus warns, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul writes, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed” at the future resurrection (Rom 8:18). Peter also exhorts believers, “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial . . . as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet 4:12). Prosperity teaching sidesteps this theology of the cross, leaving little room for God's will in the sanctifying role of hardship. As Peter claims, “It is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Pet 3:17).
God wills any suffering God’s people endure. For as Paul likewise assures the Philippians, “It has been granted [i.e., given, allotted by God] to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Phil 1:29). For this reason, Paul writes, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame” (Rom 5:3–5).
The Worth of Christ: Treasuring the Giver Above the Gift
The heart of Christianity beats with Paul’s confession: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil 3:8). Prosperity teaching often exalts the gift over the Giver, subtly diminishing Christ’s worth. Biblical prosperity is relational, not transactional: “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). In the same chapter in which Paul warns against “the love of money” (1 Tim 6:10), he states that any material blessings we receive are intended by God to be used for the good of others and deepened dependence upon him (1 Tim 6:17).
God’s Sovereignty in Our Plenty and Lack
Perhaps most alarming, Prosperity theology portrays God as bound by spiritual laws, obligated to bless when formulas are followed. Yet James declares that earthly success is ultimately within God’s sovereign purposes for our lives.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (Jam 4:13–17).
Although diligent work may result in wealth (Prov 10:4), one must remember that the enemies of God often prosper, even as they await eternal judgement (Ps 73:3–11; 16–20). The material prosperity people experience is never ipse facto proof of God’s favor; nor is the material good that God’s people enjoy earned in a meritorious sort of way from God. God’s good gifts are gifts (Jam 1:17).
What is Lost: Our Faith and the Glory of Christ in Want and Plenty
Here lies the true scandal of the true gospel: not that God might enrich us if we believe hard enough (and love him in hopes of material success) but that he provides our highest good in Christ, sometimes in abundance, often in scarcity. Paul’s vision of prosperity was kingdom-defined, being “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:10). The Prosperity Gospel promises the world; the gospel of Jesus Christ offers God himself.
Moreover, many Christians drawn to the Prosperity Gospel eventually experience painful disillusionment when hardship, illness, or loss disrupts their expectations of blessing. Promised health, wealth, and success, they are left bewildered and often shamed when suffering persists, wondering if their faith was deficient or if God has failed them. This false “gospel’s” formula leaves little space for the biblical reality that suffering is both inevitable and divinely purposed for believers according to God’s wise, good, eternal plans.
A Better (and Biblical) Vision for the Christian Life
1. Christ Our Treasure
Christian living begins and ends with Jesus at the center. Believers are called to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [i.e., what we truly need] will be added” (Matt 6:31–33). Faith is not a tool for self-enrichment but a deep, abiding trust in Christ himself, regardless of what this life brings us. This stands in sharp contrast to the self-centered, pleasure-hungry spirit Paul warns of in 2 Timothy 3:1–5—“lovers of self, lovers of money . . ., lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, . . . having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” True Christianity treasures Christ above all and refuses to settle for religion twisted by self-interest and material ambition.
2. Faith Rooted in God’s Promises
Genuine faith stands on God’s revealed Word, not on misdirected—though sincere—“manifesting” or out-of-context biblical “promises.” The Christian learns to say, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42), even if God’s will involves a cross for us as it did for Jesus. With uncanny relevance to the prosperity movement today, Paul issued a lengthy warning descriptive of many “Christian ministries” today in 1 Timothy 6:3–11.
3. Contentment and Gratitude in Suffering and Surplus
Paul’s hard-won contentment offers an alternative to relentless striving: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil 4:11). Joy and thanksgiving well up not from surplus but from an awareness of the daily mercies of God. Gratitude safeguards our hearts in both plenty (from boasting) and want (despair), as we fix our eyes on our future inheritance in the New Creation.
“An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:4–7).
4. Stewardship and Generosity
Money and possessions are entrusted, not guaranteed. Believers are stewards, called to “give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). Generosity to those in need (and not to fund a guru’s next private jet!) should flow from gratitude, not from the expectation of material return.
5. Rejoicing in God More than Circumstances
This biblical vision of the Christian life leads believers away from transactional faith toward a gospel-rooted, Christ-centered existence. Here, God’s glory—not personal, earthly gain—shapes every ambition, every sacrifice, every joy and every sorrow. May our lives more closely reflect the values and delights of God himself:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD’” (Jer 9:23–24). ❖
Quote this Article
Footnote: Timothy J. Harris, “The Prosperity Gospel: Where Faith Meets the Hope of Health & the Love of Money,” Practical Theologian, July 1, 2025, https://www.practicaltheologian.com/blog/article-z9dtw-69b3c-4w9fg.
Bibliography: Harris, Timothy J. “The Prosperity Gospel: Where Faith Meets the Hope of Health & the Love of Money.” Practical Theologian, July 1, 2025. https://www.practicaltheologian.com/blog/article-z9dtw-69b3c-4w9fg.
References
Anderson, Allan. “The Gospel of Prosperity in Africa: Its Appeal and Response.” Religion Compass 8, no. 6 (2014): 237–249.
Bowler, Kate. Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Horton, Michael. Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2008.
MacArthur, John. Charismatic Chaos. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
McConnell, D. R. A Different Gospel: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988.
Piper, John. “Why I Abominate the Prosperity Gospel.” Ask Pastor John. December 6, 2013. https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-i-abominate-the-prosperity-gospel--2.
Roberts, Oral. Seed-Faith 2000: How to Make Your Faith Work for You!. Tulsa: Oral Roberts Ministries, 2000.
