Then he says in verse 11 of 3 John, "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God." If prosperity is evil, why would He want us to prosper?
You see, there is nothing wrong with prosperity in itself.
Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10), and there are people committing this sin who don't have a dime! I want you to realize, however, that prosperity covers much more than just finances.
When John said we should prosper and be in health, he added the phrase, "even as thy soul prospereth." Man is a spirit; he has a soul consisting of the mind, the will and the emotions; and he lives in a body. Thus, there is spiritual prosperity, mental prosperity and physical prosperity.
To prosper spiritually, you must be born again. When you accept Jesus as your Savior and make Him the Lord of your life, your spirit is reborn and brought into fellowship with your heavenly Father. This puts you in the position to receive from Him all that is promised in His Word.
To prosper in your soul, you must be able to control your mind, your will and your emotions. Just because you have accumulated a large amount of knowledge does not mean that your mind is prosperous.
Prosperity of the mind comes when you use the information that has been acquired - when you are controlling your mind instead of your mind controlling you. Second Corinthians 10:5 says, "we are to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (or against the Word of God), bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
The person who does this has control of his mind and is in position to prosper mentally. You cannot control your mind completely without the Word of God being alive and operating inside you. You must harness your will in the same way.
Controlling Your Will
Some people say, "Lord, help my will to crumble." God doesn't want a broken will that He can dominate. He wants your will whole and in submission to His so that the two of you can work together in unity.
When God made man, He gave him a will that has power. It is actually a god-like will because man has the right to choose his own eternal destiny. Only a god has that kind of choice! Man was made in God's image and given the will to make up his own mind.
You can go to hell if you want to and God will protect your right to go...you don't have to, but you can. On the other hand, you can choose Jesus Christ and the Word of God and experience eternity with your heavenly Father. What a privilege! The choice is yours!
When a man's soul is prosperous, his will is in line with God's will. How can you get in line with God's will? You can't until you know what His Word says. His Word and His will are the same! An honest man can't will one thing and say another. If you are in line with the Word of God, you are in line with His will.
Governing the Emotions
Let's discuss our feelings as part of the soul. First of all, God made you an emotional being. You are created in His image; therefore, He must experience emotions as well.
The Scriptures verify that Jesus wept (John 11:35) and that God laughs (Psalm 2:4). Expressing feelings is certainly not wrong. To remain prosperous in our soul, however, we should not be motivated by our feelings.
The Gospels reveal that Jesus was moved by compassion. He said that He only did what He saw His Father do; so compassion is a Person. It is the Father. Jesus expressed His feelings, but He was not moved by them. He maintained control at all times. He is our example. A prosperous soul must keep its emotions in line with the Word of God.
You will never be healthier or more prosperous than your soul. You can be born again, even filled with the Holy Spirit, and still not be prosperous in your soul.
For instance, an old saint of God, living in poverty, can pray revival down on a church, get everybody in town saved and be lying in bed sick the whole time - if she does not believe the Word of God for her own health!
True Prosperity
The world's definition of physical prosperity (prosperity of the senses) includes gold, silver, financial power, political power and social favor. The world's definition of mental prosperity (prosperity of the soul) is "knowing it all."
Put these two ideas together and you have a person who can use his mind to get financial and political power. This is the world's total concept of prosperity. You can easily see its drawbacks!
True prosperity is the ability to meet the needs of mankind in any realm of life. Wealth and power cannot answer every need.
Money makes a lousy god! It can't buy good health or prevent sickness and disease from taking over the human body. Yes, it can go toward buying it, but the world's system of healing just isn't good enough.
In the mental realm, a person can have all the facts in his head and not have the ability to use that knowledge to obtain the money or the health that he needs.
Only The Word
What produces spiritual, mental and physical prosperity? What brings all these areas together? The Word of God. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12 that the Word is alive, powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. It says that it divides the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow, and that it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
When you are walking in the Word of God, you will prosper and be in health. It is His will for us to be made whole - spirit, soul and body - and to be kept that way until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23). Praise God!
Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka: Kenneth Copeland Ministries