The prosperity gospel is a controversial theological belief that God rewards faith, generosity and positive speech with material wealth and physical well-being. This belief is primarily based on interpretations of certain Bible verses that seem to promise health and wealth as rewards for faithfulness. One such verse is 3 John 1:2, in which the apostle John writes to his friend Gaius: “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.” Does this verse endorse the central claims of the prosperity gospel?
When examining this issue, it is important first to understand the context of 3 John. This brief New Testament letter was written by the apostle John to his friend Gaius, commending him for his hospitality towards travelling preachers and missionaries. The prosperity gospel tends to pull verses like 3 John 1:2 out of their original context to make broad claims linking faith with health and wealth.
However, 3 John was a personal letter rather than a doctrinal treatise. John was simply expressing his personal wish for the wellbeing of his friend. This does not necessarily amount to a definitive theological claim that God rewards faith with universal health and prosperity. There are several reasons why 3 John 1:2 cannot reasonably be used as a full endorsement of the prosperity gospel:
- The blessing was addressed to an individual, not universalized as a promise to all believers.
- John wished or prayed this blessing, but did not prophesy or guarantee it as an assured result of faith.
- The blessing concerned normal human flourishing, not lavish wealth or miraculous health.
- The letter emphasized spiritual riches, not material wealth.
- The Bible contains many examples of faithful believers who suffered rather than prospered.
With the original context in mind, let us explore these reasons in more detail:
1. The blessing was addressed to an individual, not universalized as a promise to all believers.
John was writing a personal letter to his friend Gaius, not making a doctrinal pronouncement for all Christians in all times and places. This verse was about John’s specific wish for one particular person he knew and cared about. The prosperity gospel takes verses like this, wrests them from their original context, and applies them as sweeping promises that God will grant health and wealth to every believer who has enough faith.
However, since 3 John 1:2 was addressed strictly to Gaius, it cannot reasonably be universalized as a guarantee that God will unfailingly reward all Christians with prosperity. The original context matters greatly when interpreting biblical verses correctly rather than twisting them to say what we want them to say. This verse was about John’s personal desire for his friend – not an ironclad promise to all Christians throughout history.
2. John wished or prayed this blessing, but did not prophesy or guarantee it as an assured result of faith.
John did not definitively declare that Gaius certainly would prosper because of his faith. Rather, John expressed his personal prayer or wish that his friend would prosper and be in good health. The verse reads more as a prayerful desire than an unconditional prophecy promising wealth and health.
Prayers and well-wishes are much different than guaranteed promises. Christians pray blessings for each other all the time without implying that God is obligated to grant these desires as an automatic result of saving faith. So this verse cannot be used to claim that God absolutely owes every believer health and wealth because they have faith. John was praying for his friend, not prophesying that prosperity inevitably results from faith.
3. The blessing concerned normal human flourishing, not lavish wealth or miraculous health.
A careful reading of 3 John 1:2 in context shows that the blessings John wished for Gaius were quite modest – that his friend would generally prosper and be in good health. John was praying that Gaius would flourish in normal ways, not promising him miraculous wealth or supernatural healing.
In contrast, the prosperity gospel teaches that God will reward faith with abundant riches, lavish lifestyles, and often even perfect health with no sickness at all. This distorts the moderate, common-sense meaning of 3 John 1:2, which was simply well-wishes for Gaius to prosper in usual ways and enjoy decent health for a first-century Christian. The original context does not support using this verse to guarantee incredible wealth or flawless health as rewards for faith.
4. The letter emphasized spiritual riches, not material wealth.
While prosperity preachers isolate 3 John 1:2 from its context, the overall letter reveals John’s main concerns were spiritual, not material. For instance, just a few verses later John commended Gaius for demonstrating faithfulness to the truth (v. 3-4). And he condemned Diotrephes for pridefully desiring preeminence in the church (v. 9).
These themes reveal John’s central focus in writing 3 John was on spiritual truths, faithful discipleship, humility, sound doctrine, and the health of the church. He was not holding out gilded mansions and huge bank accounts as rewards for Christians who prove their faith. The letter’s overall tone and topics relate to spiritual riches, not material wealth. So prosperity gospel teachers rip this verse from its actual emphasis when using it to guarantee financial rewards.
5. The Bible contains many examples of faithful believers who suffered rather than prospered.
If God universally grants wealth and health to every Christian of true faith, then the Bible’s examples would uniformly reflect this prosperity. Yet faithful believers throughout Scripture often suffered intense poverty, persecution, sickness, torture, and martyrdom.
For instance, Hebrews 11 praises heroes of the faith like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and others (Heb. 11:4-40). Though highly commended for their faith, many nonetheless experienced poverty, violence, imprisonment, exile, and other hardships rather than wealth and comfort. The Gospels record Jesus Christ himself, certainly the greatest example of perfect faith, suffering intensely and dying brutally despite being completely innocent.
If the prosperity gospel claim is true, these examples make no sense. The Bible routinely shows godly people who trusted in God, yet still experienced very difficult lives. So again, isolated verses like 3 John 1:2 cannot overturn this broader biblical theme and guarantee wealth, ease, and perfect health to every properly believing Christian.
Conclusion
In summary, 3 John 1:2 cannot reasonably be used as a full theological endorsement of the prosperity gospel. This verse was John’s personal wish for the wellbeing of his friend Gaius, not a blanket promise of lavish wealth and perfect health to all Christians in all times and places based on their faithfulness. When interpreted correctly in its original context, this verse does not definitively prove that God grants all believers miraculous prosperity.
The prosperity gospel often twists isolated Bible verses like this by pulling them out of context. But understanding verses in their original, intended meaning is crucial for proper biblical interpretation. And the overall theological teaching of Scripture does not support using 3 John 1:2 to guarantee health and wealth as automatic results of faith. While God may bless Christians in various ways, the Bible does not teach a universal prosperity gospel that all believers will inevitably gain material riches and total physical health through their faith.