Does God Want All Believers to Be Rich?

Introduction: A Sentence Heard Everywhere — "God Wants You Rich"

Among the most widely repeated phrases in today's prosperity television programmes and popular religious lectures: "God wants you rich. God wants you to prosper. God wants you to live in abundance — because you are His child and He does not want His children to be poor." These words are typically accompanied by verses plucked from their context, an unscriptural definition of the word "prosperity," and an emotional pressure that makes the listener feel that to doubt this promise is to doubt the love of **God** Himself.

But the question that must be asked is not "Do you want to be rich?" — for human desire for provision and comfort is natural, and Scripture itself nowhere condemns the desire for divine provision. The — for that is a natural human desire. The essential question is: **has God actually promised guaranteed material wealth to every believer in this life?** And does the teaching of Kenneth Copeland in *The Laws of Prosperity* — when he declared "You must realise it is God's will for you to prosper" — genuinely represent what the Scripture of **God** promises? Or does the Scripture contain a thorough and fundamental correction of this bold claim?

This article is not the enemy of **God's** varied grace, and it does not call for deliberate poverty. But it presents what the Scripture actually says — not what people wish it said.

What Did the Apostle Paul Say Directly to Those Who Link Godliness with Financial Gain?

If you want to understand the scriptural position on connecting faith with material wealth, read these verses from the First Epistle to Timothy — for they were written precisely as a direct response to this very idea:

Notice carefully: the apostle Paul is speaking of people who suppose that "godliness is gain" — that is, people who use religion as a means of accumulating wealth. And these people teach "otherwise" — and this is the apostolic verdict. But the apostle does not stop there; he immediately provides his scriptural definition of true prosperity:

"Great gain" — but it is a gain specifically defined: godliness with contentment. Not godliness with a bank account. Not godliness with a private jet. Godliness with contentment — and contentment in the Greek (αὐτάρκεια) means a self-sufficiency that does not depend on external circumstances. This scriptural definition of prosperity is the exact inversion of what the prosperity gospel teaches.

Then the apostle Paul completes the argument with penetrating logic:

Food and raiment — this is the measure of "contentment" in the Word of **God**. Not a private jet, not a mansion, not a million. Prosperity teachers make material abundance a guaranteed divine right — and the apostle Paul makes food and clothing the measure of contentment. The chasm between the two teachings is an eternal chasm with no bridge over it.

"The Love of Money Is the Root of All Evil" — The Warning the Prosperity Gospel Silences

The apostle Paul does not merely define true gain — he also issues an explicit warning about what happens when priorities are inverted:

This text is the hammer on the anvil of the prosperity gospel. Note carefully: the apostle does not say "money in itself is evil" — for money is not evil. But he says "they that will be rich" — those whose determined will is to become wealthy — fall into temptation and a snare. And the prosperity gospel teaches every listener precisely to "will to be rich" — indeed it makes this very willing an act of **"faith"** and "claiming the divine promises."

And he adds: "the love of money is the root of all evil" — not the evils themselves, but the root of these evils. And when faith is tied to the acquisition of money, the whole system becomes a system built on this corrupted root. And "they have erred from the faith" — these are not words in a vacuum. They describe a result the apostle had actually observed on the ground: genuine faith is lost when money becomes the goal.

The Apostle Paul Who Learned Contentment from Prison

The apostle Paul's teaching on wealth and poverty cannot be read in isolation from his personal biography. He did not write from a luxurious home or from a media platform — but wrote these immortal words from inside the Roman prison in Rome:

But the verse that stands without parallel in the matter of the prosperity gospel is an earlier verse in the same chapter:

"I have learned to be content" — he did not say "God gave me contentment automatically." He said "I have learned" — a verb denoting a gradual process, successive experiences of hunger and fullness, of need and abundance. And the secret the apostle Paul learned was not the secret of "how to eliminate need and hunger from your life by faith" — but the secret of "how to stand firm in need and hunger by faith."

And this essential distinction is the dividing line between the biblical gospel and the prosperity gospel. The former gives you a faith that stands firm in hardship. The latter promises you the absence of hardship — and when hardship comes, accuses you of weak faith.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself — Was He Rich?

What is most striking about the prosperity gospel is that it declares **God** wants His children wealthy — while **the Lord Jesus Christ** Himself, the only Son of **God**, lived a materially austere life and died without money or possessions.

When a scribe wanted to follow Him, **the Lord Jesus** said to him:

And when He was crucified, soldiers cast lots for His garments — for they were His only possession. When He needed to pay the temple tax, He sent Peter to find coins in a fish's mouth — for He carried no money. When He was born, He was placed in a manger because there was no room in the inn. This is the "Son of **God**" — so how is it claimed that **God** wants all His children wealthy when His only natural Son lived in poverty?

The Scripture's answer is not that **God** wronged His **Son**, but that material wealth was never the divine promise for this life. And the apostle Paul declares this plainly:

"He became poor" — this describes the incarnation of **the Lord Jesus Christ**, His leaving behind the eternal glory and riches to take the form of a servant. And "that ye through his poverty might be rich" points to spiritual and eternal wealth — the riches of forgiveness, sonship, and eternal life — not material wealth in this life. And this is confirmed by the immediate context: 2 Corinthians chapter 8 speaks of giving, contribution, and almsgiving — the opposite of what prosperity teachers claim when they cite this verse.

The Wealthy in the Gospel — Money and the Kingdom in the Lord's Teaching

**The Lord Jesus Christ's** teaching about money is clear and consistent, and it contains serious warnings specifically about wealth rather than encouragement toward it:

When someone asked Him how to obtain eternal life, **the Lord Jesus** told him to sell everything and give it to the poor — and he went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. And **the Lord** commented:

"A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of **God**" — can these be the words of One who wants all His children to be wealthy? The biblical teaching does not say that wealth makes salvation impossible — but it says that wealth presents a serious danger to spiritual life. And the danger exists because money presents itself as a substitute for dependence upon **God**. The believer who is genuinely satisfied in **God** does not require material abundance to experience the fullness of the Christian life. And conversely, the believer who has been taught to expect guaranteed material prosperity will inevitably experience a crisis of faith when the prosperity does not arrive on the promised schedule. And this is precisely what the prosperity gospel does in a reversed manner: it teaches people to depend upon **God** in order to obtain money — so that money becomes the purpose of the dependence rather than its fruit.

Were Abraham, Job, and Solomon Proof of a "Wealth Promise"?

Prosperity gospel teachers regularly appeal to wealthy figures of the Old Testament as scriptural evidence for their teaching. This is an understandable apologetic move — after all, these figures are genuinely in the Scripture, they were genuinely wealthy, and their faith is genuinely commended. But the appeal rests on a fundamental error of biblical reasoning: the error of inferring a universal promise from particular historical instances. The Scripture records that Abraham, Job, and Solomon were wealthy; it does not record that their wealth was the result of a faith formula that all believers may replicate; and in two of the three cases it explicitly teaches the opposite of what the prosperity gospel infers. Prosperity gospel teachers point to wealthy figures of the Old Testament — especially Abraham, Job, and Solomon — as evidence that wealth is a divine promise for believers. But this is a distorted argument for three reasons.

**The first reason:** Abraham was indeed wealthy — but the Scripture never presented his wealth as the measure of divine sonship or deep faith. Scripture said that he "believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" — and that righteousness was counted before circumcision, before the giving of Isaac, and twenty-eight years before the promise was fulfilled. Faith — not wealth — was his defining characteristic.

**The second reason:** Job was wealthy and then lost everything — his family, his wealth, and his health — and this happened at the height of his faith, not in its weakness. **God** said of him: **"There is none like him in the earth"** — and He said this at the time the catastrophes were falling upon him. If material wealth is evidence of faith and blessing, how is Job to be explained?

**The third reason:** Solomon, the wealthiest man on earth, wrote about the emptiness of wealth in words no poor man could have written: **"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity"** (Ecclesiastes 1:2). And he wrote in the same book: **"He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver"** (Ecclesiastes 5:10). A wealthy man writing about the bankruptcy of wealth — this is a lesson no poor man can give. And if wealth were a divine promise that brings happiness and fulfilment, why did its possessor — the wealthiest man in history — spend his life writing about its emptiness and futility?

What Does Scripture Say to Those Who Are Genuinely Wealthy?

Scripture does not prohibit wealth and does not require everyone to give it up. But it places it in a framework entirely different from the prosperity gospel's framework. The apostle Paul says at the end of the same passage:

Notice the contrast with the prosperity gospel: Scripture warns the wealthy against "highmindedness" and "trusting in uncertain riches" — and the prosperity gospel encourages everyone to **"claim"** wealth as a faith-right. Scripture directs wealth toward "doing good and being generous" — and the prosperity gospel directs faith toward obtaining wealth. And Scripture defines the "good foundation for the future" as trusting in **God** and generous giving — not in the bank balance or in real estate.

And Scripture speaks of spiritual contentment as the true wealth that cannot be taken:

The True Treasure: "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"

If material wealth were the divine promise for every believer, how are we to interpret this direct command from **the Lord Jesus Christ** to His disciples?

"Take no thought" — and the word for "thought" here means anxious, consuming preoccupation. **The Lord Jesus** liberates His disciples from material obsession; He does not release it. And He says "all these things shall be added unto you" — but they "shall be added" to the owners of **God's** kingdom, meaning that **God** cares for them and provides for them. It is not a promise that you will become wealthy — it is an assurance that you will not be neglected.

The subtle but essential distinction: the prosperity gospel makes "seeking the kingdom" a means of obtaining "all these things" (wealth and health). But **the Lord Jesus** makes "all these things" an incidental fruit that **God** guarantees for those who honestly seek the kingdom — not a goal to be pursued by the route of faith.

The difference is something like the difference between a student who studies because he loves knowledge — and consequently obtains a good position — and a student who studies only for the position. Both may obtain the position, but the heart is different — and that is what matters.

Tools of Discernment: How to Know God's True Promises from the False Ones

There are two scriptural principles that help you distinguish **God's** genuine promises from the promises added by the culture of prosperity.

**The first principle — read the full context:** The majority of verses used in the prosperity gospel were clear in their immediate context before they were trimmed to suit the purpose. "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7) came in the context of asking for wisdom and guidance, not in the context of asking for money. **"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly"** (John 10:10) came in the context of **the Lord Jesus'** contrast of Himself with a thief who destroys the sheep — and the more abundant life is life in **Christ**, not a materially comfortable existence.

**The second principle — look for the explicit promise:** There is not a single verse in the entire Scripture that explicitly says: **"every believer will be wealthy in this life."** Every verse used as evidence for this promise requires an added interpretation. The explicit promises in the Scripture are consistent and they do not require interpretive additions to be understood: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5); "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Corinthians 12:9); "My God shall supply all your need" (Philippians 4:19) — and this last one says "your need," not "your desires" or "your treasures."

The prosperity gospel has no serious answer to this pattern of faithful suffering in the New Testament. It may attempt to argue that these apostles lacked correct faith, or that the era of guaranteed prosperity had not yet arrived, or that the Kingdom promises were not yet fully operational. But these arguments require more interpretive invention than any honest reading of the text permits. The Scripture presents the apostle Paul's poverty and suffering not as temporary deficiencies to be corrected by better faith, but as authentic marks of apostolic ministry — "As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things" (2 Corinthians 6:10). This is the apostolic model. It is not the prosperity gospel's model.

And the greatest promise in all of Scripture — the promise repeated from its first page to its last — is not a promise of money. It is a promise of the continuous divine presence: **"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world"** (Matthew 28:20). This promise does not change with the change of your material circumstances.

A Question the Believer Asks: "Does God Not Want What Is Good for Us?"

This is the most common and most emotionally compelling objection: *"I am not arguing that money is dangerous. But **God** loves me and wants what is good for me — does this love not mean He wants to give me health and money?"*

The answer: yes, **God** loves you and wants what is good for you — but His definition of the good does not necessarily match ours. **God** wants for you what is deeper than physical health and more lasting than a bank balance. He may give you money, or He may not — but He gives you His presence, His grace, His Word, and eternal life in which there is no sickness or death. And these things — not money — are the great promises to His children.

And one scriptural example settles the question: the apostle Paul asked **God** three times to remove "a thorn in the flesh" — a painful illness or disability. And **God** did not remove it. And His response was:

"My grace is sufficient for thee" — not "I will remove the thorn." This is **God's** answer to the finest of His apostles when he asked for the removal of his affliction. This is not abandonment — it is a declaration that the grace of **God** is more sufficient in affliction than perfect health without **God** would be. And the prosperity gospel says this answer is evidence of the apostle's weak faith — while the Scripture says it is a lesson learned by the most faithful of all.

A Prayer: "O God, Teach Us to Be Content"

Our generous heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of **the Lord Jesus Christ** and by the power of the **Holy Ghost**. We thank You for having given us in Your written Word not only promises about the future but wisdom for the present — wisdom that teaches us to distinguish between the true wealth and the fleeting wealth.

O **our Lord**, preserve our brothers in the Arab churches from a teaching that makes them measure their faith by their bank balance and measure Your love for them by the health of their bodies. Grant them understanding of Your Word so they may know that the apostle Paul learned contentment in prison, and that **the Lord Jesus** had not where to lay His head — and yet both were at the highest level of joy in Your love.

Give us the contentment that sets free, the satisfaction that cannot be purchased, and the certainty that Your grace is sufficient for us in every state. And if You give us abundance, make it a means of giving and service rather than an end in itself. We pray all this to You, our heavenly Father, in the name of **the Lord Jesus Christ** alone. Amen.

Conclusion: What Remains When Everything Else Is Gone

**The Lord Jesus Christ** told us the story of a man whose land produced abundantly until he decided to tear down his barns and build larger ones. And he said to himself: *"Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry."* But **God** said to him:

And note what **God** does not say: He does not say the man lacked faith, or had insufficient spiritual practice, or failed to give enough seed money. He says he was a fool for building his security on the wrong foundation. "Thou fool" — not because he was productive, not because his production was abundant, but because his every plan was built on one false assumption: that money guarantees continuity. And the true divine promise is not "you will never be poor" — but "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). The presence of **God** — not the bank balance — is what cannot be taken.

This does not mean **God** forbids abundance. But it means that material wealth is not the central promise of the gospel. The biblical gospel announces something deeper: reconciliation with **God** who made us rich with an inexhaustible wealth when we **"believed on the Lord Jesus Christ"** (Acts 16:31). And this wealth is neither increased by a balance nor diminished by poverty.

The Testimony of Scripture in History: The Great Believers and Their Relationship with Money

The pattern of the greatest believers in the New Testament era is not a pattern of guaranteed material prosperity. It is a pattern of extraordinary faithfulness in the presence of material deprivation, persecution, and suffering — and the Scripture presents this faithfulness not as evidence of insufficient faith but as the highest expression of faith in the **Lord Jesus Christ**. If wealth were a mark of deep faith, how do we explain the greatest believers who have gone before us? We read in Hebrews 11 of people to whose faith the Scripture testifies while they suffered and were afflicted. And in the New Testament, the greatest apostle — the apostle Paul — died by the sword in the prison of Rome without having "discovered the seed" that would return his money multiplied. But he wrote from that prison something that the prosperity teachers in their private jets cannot say with the same honesty:

This verse is one of the most beloved promises in all of Scripture, and rightly so. But its meaning must be read in its context. "All your need" — not "all your desires." **"According to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus"** — the true giving is spiritual and eternal in its nature. This verse is frequently used as a promise of money — but its context is thanksgiving for a church that had sent the apostle assistance in prison. He promises them that **God** will supply their needs — he does not promise them prosperity.

And the book of Malachi reveals something profound: a people who saw the wicked prosper and the faithful suffer, and said: *"It is vain to serve God! And what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance?"* And **God's** answer was not "I will make you wealthy" — but a word about the day of final judgement. The present life is not always the place of material recompense — eternity is.

Conclusion: The True Treasure — "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"

**The Lord Jesus Christ** commanded His disciples not to worry about food and clothing as the nations do, and then said:

"Shall be added unto you" — not a promise of prosperity, but an assurance that **God** cares for the basic needs of those who seek the kingdom. And the essential distinction: the prosperity gospel makes "seeking the kingdom" a means of obtaining wealth. But **the Lord Jesus** makes wealth a secondary fruit that **God** provides — and the priority is the kingdom, not the bank.

The greatest promise in the Scripture — repeated from its first page to its last — is not a promise of money. It is a promise of the continuous divine presence: **"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world"** (Matthew 28:20). No economic crisis, no bodily illness, no earthly circumstance can wrench this promise from the hand of the believer. And this — not the bank account, not the prosperity formula, not the guaranteed health and wealth of this present age — is the inexhaustible, unloseable inheritance **God** desires for all His children in every generation and every circumstance.

What more can be added? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). The saving faith costs nothing in money, requires no seed gift, is withheld from no one who sincerely calls on the name of **the Lord Jesus Christ**. This is the true gospel — freely given, freely received, and producing riches no economic system can manufacture and no economic crisis can destroy.

Glory to God in our Lord Jesus Christ, for ever and ever and ever. Amen.

The Holy Scriptures address this question with the full authority of the one who inspired them — the living God who knows the human heart and understands every objection before it is raised. What He has said on this subject is not the product of human opinion or denominational tradition; it is the preserved and authoritative Word of God, which He has declared will never pass away. The reader who examines this testimony honestly and without a predetermined commitment to reject it will find it both intellectually satisfying and personally transforming.

The cumulative weight of the biblical evidence on this question is not easily dismissed. It draws on multiple independent witnesses across centuries — the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles all speak consistently to the same truth, each from its own vantage point and in its own manner, together forming a body of testimony whose coherence is itself one of the strongest arguments for its divine origin. The reader who reads these texts carefully will find not a collection of disconnected religious opinions but a unified revelation with a single coherent message.

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