A simple (New Testament) definition of prosperity

Last time, we only got to the first part of the first section of 2 Corinthians. Let’s talk about the second part. In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul begins by talking about raising money to support the church in Jerusalem. Why did this church need support? In a Jewish city like Jerusalem, Christians faced severe persecution from religious leaders and society. They were ostracized, lost jobs, business opportunities and their social standing (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 12:1-5). About 10 years before the writing of 2 Corinthians, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, there was a severe famine in and around Jerusalem that continued to create issues for the local economy (Acts 11:27-30). The top 1% of the population of Jerusalem – Roman elites – controlled the most fertile land, and the non-elite bore the heavy burdens of rent and taxes. In addition, the majority of the church were already impoverished before joining the church and relied on the church for support (Source). Finally, unlike most of the churches in Gentile cities like Corinth and Phlippi, Jerusalem lacked wealthy patrons, benefactors and givers, which made them reliant on outside aid (Source). 

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is talking to a mostly wealthy church who has stopped giving. He starts by talking to them about the church in Macedonia, who is “being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8:2, NLT). Paul goes on to remind them that they had made a commitment to give over a year ago and lovingly encourages them to complete what they had started (2 Corinthians 8:10-11). I encourage you to take some time to read 2 Corinthians 8-9 for yourself to understand exactly what Paul says, and the context in which he says it. Last time, I gave a 30,000 foot view of all the Bible’s definitions of prosperity. I want to zoom into the definition that Paul gives in 2 Corinthians 9:8-11:

“8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:8-11, ESV)

First, Paul doesn’t say that God gives seed to the Christian. Nor does he say that God gives seed to the good person. Paul makes it clear that God gives seed to sowers. Sowing and reaping is a law that governs the universe. It’s like gravity. It just works. You can jump off a building and say you don’t believe in gravity, but gravity believes in you. A person can attempt to reap where they haven’t sown, but that doesn’t change the truth that reaping only comes after you sow first. That’s not what I want to focus on today. We’ll come back to it later, but it’s worth thinking about. 

Paul gives us this simple definition of prosperity in verse 8: “all sufficiency in all things at all times, (so that) you may abound in every good work.” The Greek word for sufficiency that Paul uses here is the word αὐτάρκεια (autarkeia). αὐτάρκεια means “having enough of everything, not requiring support.” To prosper according to Paul means that you have your needs met, and that you also have everything you need to meet other people’s needs. 

New Testament Prosperity – I have everything I need, and I have enough to meet other people’s needs. 

Emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually and financially. The definition of sufficiency (αὐτάρκεια) is clear; having enough of everything. No exception. Period. Its not just having enough for you. It’s having enough for you and the needs of others. 

What does it mean to have a need? Let’s look specifically at money. If you have $1 billion, but you need $2 billion, are you sufficient? No. The problem with our thinking about money is that we primarily look at financial wealth through the lens of comparison. We tend to define prosperity as someone having more than us. Think about it in terms of median income. According to the most recent statistics, the annual median income in the United States of America, where I live, is $80,610 per year, and the average household size is 2.54 people (Source). If a household makes the median American household income, they are in the top 22% of income earners in the entire world (Source). In the part of Texas where I live, the median household income is almost double what it is for the rest of America, $145,914 per year (Source). If you live in Frisco, Texas and make the median American income, it may not feel sufficient. Yet, you are in the top 20% of the entire world, and are a part of controlling 90% of the world’s wealth. Nearly half of the global population, 3 billion people –  live on less than $7 per day (Source). If you make the median American household income, you make more than 31x what these people make per day. Where I live, the average coffee snob will spend more than the daily income of these 3 billion people on a pour-over without batting an eye. 

These stats may shift or alter your perspective. Human beings tend to see wealth in a human way. Comparison. God doesn’t see things through the lens of a dollar amount. He sees things through the lens of sufficiency. This leads to another question for us. If you feel that what you have is insufficient for you, where does that lack of sufficiency come from? Mostly from our thinking which leads to our decisions. We’ll get to that. 

A simple (Old Testament) definition of prosperity

In Proverbs 10:22 (ESV), the Bible gives us this perspective: “The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.” Does God really bless us with riches? The Hebrew word that is used here in Proverbs 10 is only used 17 times in the Old Testament, so it doesn’t make my “best of” list from last time. It is the Hebrew word עָשַׁר (oh-sher) which means “to become wealthy in money, possessions, or influence.” It only describes material wealth. If, at this point, you’re still asking the question, “does God want me to be rich?” I think we just got our answer. 

Proverbs 13:22 (ESV) says this: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.” The Hebrew word used here חַ֫יִל (hayil) is in the list I provided last time. It means: “physical wealth, strength and influence to have and grow your dominion.”

We see this played out in the lives of the great people of the Old Testament:

• Job – Job 42:10 // “The Lord restored his prosperity, and doubled his former possessions”
• Abraham – Genesis 13:2 // “Abraham had become very wealthy”
• Isaac – Genesis 26:12-14 // “the man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy”
• Jacob – Genesis 30:43 // “the man grew exceedingly prosperous”
• David – 1 Chronicles 29:3-5 // “Now with all my ability I have made provision for the house of my God…all in abundance.” 

David is also significant in that he gave what is estimated to be a $6.5 billion offering to begin the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 1 Kings 29. 

All of the Hebrew words used in these passages unmistakably mean physical and material wealth. In the Old Testament, financial and physical wealth are gifts from God and an expression of His personal blessing and favor on us and families generationally. God is absolutely clear, if a person does things His way, they will be rich. Not just rich in intangible ways, but rich in tangible ways. Deuteronomy 8:18 says it this way: “ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” This is the same word – חַ֫יִל (hayil) – used in Proverbs 13. Tangible wealth is a confirmation of God working in our lives. 

Does that mean that if we aren’t wealthy that God isn’t working in our lives? Again, let’s remind ourselves what it means to prosper. Its not a point of comparison, it is about sufficiency. But also, Deuteronomy 8 brings us some clarity. God gives us the power to get wealth. Prosperity doesn’t just show up. We have a responsibility to work for it. We have a part to play in the cultivation of prosperity. Don’t miss that part. חַ֫יִל (hayil) isn’t about being given something. It is about the power to create something. A “good man” leaves his children the power to create wealth and take dominion. The ability to take dominion and become prosperous is a learned skill. And in some families – including mine – it has become a lost art. In one of their last conversations, my dad’s dad said to him, “I just hope I don’t live long enough to see the money run out.” He left my dad and his siblings nothing. He was a police officer who had a pension that still supports my grandmother to this day. Which is more than what my mom’s dad was able to do. The “wealth” that my mom’s dad had at the end of his life was about $100,000 in home equity. A few years before he died, he cashed out all of that equity in a reverse mortgage and spent all the money. Leaving my grandmother with nothing. My mom and her sisters support my grandmother and take care of her needs themselves. If my mom’s dad could have found a way to pass down debt as an inheritance, he would have. 

I don’t say any of this to be harsh or critical. This is the reality for most families. But reality isn’t the same as God’s plan. What is God’s plan? For us to pass down to our children the power and ability to take dominion. That doesn’t always equate to millions of dollars, but let’s say it this way: “A good person wins in life and teaches their children’s children to win in life.” 

Old Testament prosperity is winning in life. It is the blessing and favor of God on you and your family generationally. I frequently refer to this thought from Plutarch: “Those who govern must first achieve governance of themselves, straighten out their souls, and set their character aright, and then they should assimilate their subjects to themselves. For the one who is tripping over cannot straighten up someone else, nor can the ignorant person teach, the disorderly establish order, the disorganized organize, the ungoverned govern.” (How to Be A Leader, Jeffery Beneker)

If we do not win in life, we will not help other people win. If we do not take dominion, we cannot pass down an inheritance of taking dominion. Are you winning emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually and financially? The way our children will learn to win is by watching us win. If your children never see you win, they will have a hard time winning themselves. I am grateful for my parents. They came from good families. But these families did not truly take dominion in my estimation. The power to create prosperity was not modeled or passed down. My parents didn’t allow that to limit their own lives. For my entire life, they have modeled taking dominion for me. My inheritance – my “prosperity” in the Old Testament sense – will not be something I am granted in a will. It is the thinking, being and doing that leads to winning in life. 

Remember, we have to escape the cultural definition of prosperity as comparison. Prosperity is not about being better than someone else. When you win God’s way, it doesn’t come at someone else’s expense. But the blessing of the Lord “makes rich” according to Proverbs 10. Throughout scripture, we don’t often see the people of the Old Testament as wealthy. We see them as if they are blue collar laborers in the modern world, living a subsistence life. Some of this is based in how they are traditionally viewed. Reality is much different than our traditional interpretation. All the main characters of the Old Testament were exceedingly wealthy except one that I could find. Elijah was a nomad his whole life, but God always took care of him. Sufficiency isn’t about comparison, its about having what you need, and being able to take care of others in need. Elijah still modeled Biblical prosperity, even with a nomadic existence.

We should strive to emulate everybody that God used. His hand was on them to prosper in every way, including financially. This adds an additional layer of challenge to our desire to follow God. You and I must take responsibility to pursue prosperity, just like the founders of our faith. What gets in our way? If you’re anything like me, it’s what Jesus talked about in Mark 7. My own thinking. Once we are willing to not allow God’s word to be limited by our thinking, we can see clearly the way God simply defines prosperity in both the Old and New Testaments:

Old Testament – The blessing of God to have and grow my assigned dominion for generations.

New Testament – I have everything I need, and I have enough to meet other people’s needs.