The Word of Faith movement, also known as the prosperity gospel or health and wealth gospel, is a controversial religious movement that teaches that Christians can access health, wealth, and success through their faith. Some key teachings of the Word of Faith movement include:
- Positive confession – The teaching that believers can claim whatever they desire by speaking it into existence. If they speak words of faith, God is obligated to deliver what they confess.
- Prosperity – The teaching that God desires all Christians to be materially wealthy and physically healthy.
- Faith as a force – The teaching that faith is a tangible force that can be used to manipulate circumstances and influence physical reality.
- Health and healing – The teaching that physical healing and health is provided for all in Christ’s atonement and is available to all believers who have enough faith.
- Dominion theology – The teaching that Christians are destined to take dominion over the earth now through the presence of Christ and their declarations of faith.
The Word of Faith movement emerged within the broader Charismatic movement in the late 19th and early 20th century through the ministries of preachers like E.W. Kenyon. Prominent Word of Faith teachers today include Kenneth Copeland, Gloria Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar.
There has been extensive debate within Christianity regarding whether the Word of Faith movement aligns with the Bible’s teachings or significantly diverges from orthodox biblical doctrine. Here are some key considerations in evaluating the biblical accuracy of Word of Faith teachings:
Positive Confession
The Word of Faith emphasis on positive confession does not seem to align with biblical precedent or commands. Nowhere in Scripture are believers instructed or encouraged to “speak things into existence” or manipulate realities with their words. While speech and the tongue are emphasized in James 3 as powerful and needing to be bridled, this passage is focused on avoiding sinful speech like curses, lies, boasting, and slander.
Jesus spoke repeatedly about the power of prayer offered in faith (Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24), but focused on prayer as depending on God’s will in submission rather than declarations that obligate God. Jesus himself prayed “not my will but yours be done” in Luke 22:42, modeling alignment of human will with God’s purposes rather than demanding God follow the believer’s will.
The biblical precedent for positive confession seems limited to a strained interpretation of Mark 11:23 which says “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 that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” This was not framed as a binding spiritual law, and the broader context emphasizes forgiving others (Mark 11:25) and persistent prayer (Luke 18:1-8) rather than demanding things from God.
Prosperity
The prosperity gospel emphasis on God desiring financial prosperity for all believers does not seem to match Jesus’ teachings or example. Jesus consistently warned against seeking wealth (Luke 12:15), taught that life does not consist in an abundance of possessions (Luke 12:15), and emphasized storing up treasure in heaven rather than on earth (Matthew 6:19-21). He owned no property (Luke 9:58) and instructed his disciples to give generously to the poor (Matthew 19:21).
The early disciples seemed to experience significant persecution, poverty, and suffering rather than wealth (Acts 14:22; 1 Corinthians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Paul often taught contentment in all circumstances like rejoicing in need (Philippians 4:10-13), finding gain in godliness with contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-8), and finding strength through weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). The prosperity gospel’s material emphasis is hard to reconcile with repeated biblical warnings against love of money (Luke 16:13; 1 Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5) and Paul’s example of living humbly focused on spiritual rather than material gain (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
Faith as a Force
The Word of Faith concept of faith as a tangible force that can control things does not reflect biblical teaching on faith. In Scripture, faith is confidence and trust in God and Christ (Hebrews 11:1) that expresses itself through obedience (James 2:14-26). Faith is God’s gracious gift for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), not a power humans gin up and wield according to their will. Faith rests on God’s promises and ability rather than the believer’s techniques.
While Jesus emphasized faith for healings and miracles, these things were petitioned from God based on His compassion and will rather than channeled from believers themselves. Even Jesus himself regularly prayed to and depended on the Father for the working of miracles (John 11:41-42; Matthew 14:19). Biblically, faith trusts God who acts by His power rather than controls outcomes through human belief.
Health and Healing
The Word of Faith emphasis on guaranteed healing can’t be easily reconciled with Scripture or experience. Paul speaks of leaving Trophimus sick at Miletus in 2 Timothy 4:20, mentions Timothy’s frequent illnesses that Paul did not heal (1 Timothy 5:23), and says God denied his request for healing from a physical trial (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Many godly saints throughout church history were not healed or spared suffering.
While healing is provided in Christ’s atonement and many mighty healings marked the early church, physical restoration was never promised or experienced universally. In God’s wisdom and sovereignty, He sometimes chooses not to heal for purposes like displaying His comfort in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), driving dependence on grace rather than physical blessing (2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 12:7-10), and showing that His grace is sufficient amid thorns in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Suffering is promised and expected in this world (John 16:33; Acts 14:2; Philippians 1:29; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 3:12).
Dominion Theology
The Word of Faith emphasis on imminent, total earthly dominion does not reflect many key biblical teachings on the end times. Scripture repeatedly warns of coming apostasy, persecution, tribulation, and significant judgments to precede Christ’s return (Matthew 24:21-31; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Revelation 6-19). The notion of Christians conquering and cleansing the earth now through declarations of dominion is hard to reconcile with Jesus’ own statement that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).
Christ’s present and coming kingdom is spiritual rather than carnal (Romans 14:17). It advances through humble service and witness empowered by the Spirit (Acts 1:8) rather than militant or political imposition of power. While creation will ultimately be restored under Christ’s reign (Romans 8:21; Revelation 21:1), present suffering is expected (Romans 8:18-25) amid spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12). The timeline and nature of God’s kingdom in Word of Faith theology seems dubious in light of broader biblical eschatology.
Conclusion
In summary, upon examining central teachings of the Word of Faith movement in light of Scripture, there seem to be significant discontinuities from biblical theology and precedent. The Word of Faith emphasis on believers wielding faith as a power to actualize health and wealth through positive confessions does not clearly reflect biblical examples or commands. Neither does the notion that Christians will soon take dominion over the earth primarily through declarative decrees. The movement in general seems to diverge from the biblical portrait of faith as humble trust in God amid suffering and trial.
There are aspects of Word of Faith teaching that likely have contributed to its popularity like its upbeat emphasis on victorious Christian living and reliance on faith. However, in elevating those secondary themes over the larger biblical narrative, core doctrines like suffering and the cross (Philippians 1:29; Colossians 1:24) seem undermined. Based on current evidence, the Word of Faith movement as expressed by most prominent teachers appears to promote ideas that lack sufficient biblical justification even if containing some valid concerns and insights.