In my last article, I described my journey of rediscovering God’s sovereignty while I was immersed in a full time pastoral position at a Word of Faith church. As I discussed, the two primary ingredients to the Word of Faith formula are promises and profession. Adherents search the scriptures vigorously for promises, latch onto those promises by faith, and boldly profess them in the face of their circumstances. The problem with this Word of Faith formula is not necessarily its emphasis on faith and scriptural promises, but rather its naive universalization of these. I demonstrated that “mountain moving” faith is actually a reference to a special, sovereignly endowed gift of faith. In this article I will demonstrate that many of the temporal promises claimed by Word of Faith advocates – health, wealth, protection and longevity – are not universal; a truth which became evident to me when I rediscovered Biblical context.
Rediscovering Context
If I were to tell you that my neighbor cut my throat with a blade last week, you would likely respond “oh no! that’s terrible!”. But what if I gave you more information, such as “My neighbor is a surgeon and he performed surgery on me last week, cutting my throat in order to perform a discectomy”. That additional information totally changes your perception of what happened to me. That additional information is called “context”!
Oxford Dictionary defines “context” as “the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed” [1]. As we saw in my example, statements removed from their context will quickly lead to misinformation, misconception, and misapplication. In this article, I will focus on four types of context that I believe the Word of Faith movement has missed: Event context, covenantal context, book context, and immediate context. In the end, I will offer some Middle Ground course corrections for the movement.
Event context
The first type of context that is often overlooked in the Word of Faith movement is “event context”. This simply means that an isolated event applied to one person, time, and location should not be expected for all people, times, and locations without any qualifications.
When I was in the Word of Faith movement, our church would claim to receive Moses’s non-deteriorating eyesight (Deut 34:7) even though chapters earlier we read about Isaac’s blindness (Gen 27:1). They would claim the fast, pain-free child bearing of the Israelite women in Egypt (Ex 1:19) even though those rapid childbirth reports were falsified by the midwives. They would claim the entirety of Psalm 91 over themselves, including deliverance from all sickness, calamity, lions, serpents, and destruction, even though even though rabbinic tradition assures us of its Mosaic authorship and likely application to God’s miraculous protection of Israel during the plagues of Egypt. Our preachers always preached sermons focused on applying historical victories, healings, and blessings to modern believers. Conveniently, we never universalized negative circumstances given to faithful historical believers – such as the battlefield death of the godly king Jehoshaphat, the many things Paul was chosen to suffer by God (Acts 9:16), or faithful Timothy’s “often infirmities” (1 Tim 5:23).
I have since learned that, whether good or bad outcomes are experienced by historical believers, I need to respect the specific circumstances of those events. One such critical circumstance to consider is the covenantal context.
Covenantal Context
As a Word of Faith teacher, my primary source for teaching health and wealth was the Old Testament. This was ingrained into me by Kenneth Hagin:
“I want you to know that Abraham’s blessing belongs to us. It doesn’t belong only to the physical descendants of Abraham; it belongs to us! … Abraham’s blessing was a threefold blessing. The first thing God promised Abraham was that He was going to make him Rich.” [2]
“We can readily see from these Scriptures [Deuteronomy 28:15-22,27-29,35,58-61] that sickness is a curse of the law. The dreadful diseases enumerated here … are part of the punishment for breaking God’s law.” [3]
“Healing belongs to you … It belongs to you because you are a spiritual child of Abraham. It belongs to you because sickness is a curse, and Christ has redeemed you from the curse of the law.” [4]
This logic of Kenneth Hagin is prevalent in all Word of Faith circles. Allegedly, the believer is a child of Abraham who has the same temporal promises of Abraham and his genealogical seed – Israel; particularly those found in Deuteronomy 28. Hagin claims that we are entitled to the inverse of the list of curses in verses 15-28 because we are now “redeemed from the curse of the Law” (Gal 3:13). In other words, we can walk in all the exact promises that Israel was given in the Land of Canaan. To address this we have to talk about covenants.
The New Covenant and the Gentiles
A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties, normally consisting of promises and commands. The Bible is filled with such covenants, including the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Levitical, Davidic, and finally the New Covenant. While some promises and commands traverse these covenants, others vanish or change form. We reside in the New Covenant, a covenant which has the most radical changes from all prior covenants. For example, the ceremonial laws, including the various feast observances, are suspended at this time, being fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.
Though they may be more fully realized for Israel in a future millennial reign (Jer 31:31), some of the New Covenant’s benefits have now been granted to the largely Gentile church (Heb 8:6-13, 10:15-18). The church has been grafted into the Abrahamic olive tree (Rom 11:17) and its members have become children of Abraham in some sense (Gal 3:29). However, that does not equate the church with Israel any more than Esau (Edom) was equated with Israel. Even in the future millennial period, the saved Gentiles will be distinguished from saved or “spiritual” Israel. God will say, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance” (Isa 19:25). Knowing this distinction, we must be careful to avoid the universal application of all of Israel’s promises, laws, commandments, and feasts to the Gentile church.
New Covenant Promises in the Age of Grace
The temporal Jewish promises – prosperity, health, and protection in the Holy Land – were foretasted in various degrees with Israel’s obedient apprehension of Canaan during the reigns of Moses, Joshua, David, and beyond. However, their failure to embrace Christ resulted in their age-long spiritual blindness and a delay in the ultimate fulfillment of these promises (Rom 11:25). The Church, having an initial application of Israel’s New Covenant, shares in the spiritual aspects of the covenant, including forgiveness (Jer 31:4, Heb 10:18), the knowledge of God (Jer 31:34, 1 Jn 2:27), and the promise of the Spirit (Isa 44:3, Acts 2, Gal 3:14). To claim Israel’s temporal promises in this era results in an over-realized and disordered eschatology.
Reading the whole chapter of Deuteronomy 28 quickly demonstrates its Jewish-specific application, as it specifically entails promises of blessings “in the land [of Canaan]” which the Lord was giving them (v8), as well as a prophecy of the exile they would later experience (v36). In addition, many of the promises are contradictory to the promises that the Church is later given.
Contradictions between Israel’s Promises and Ours
With the above background established, let’s compare several of the directly stated or implied blessings of Deuteronomy 28 with New Testament teachings (When I say implied I mean as inverses from the curse warnings). This comparison will reveal stark differences:
| Deuteronomy 28 Blessings | New Testament |
| V7 Enemies won’t rise against you | “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12, c.f. Acts 14:22) “Some of you they will put to death … But not a hair of your head will perish. ” (Lk 21:16, 18) “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:16) “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony [martyrdom], for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Rev 12:11) Spiritual Promise: The Lord will bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom (2 Tim 4:18) |
| V8 Your barns will be filled | “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Mt 6:19) Focus is on needs being met, not prosperity (Mt 6:33, 1 Tim 6:8, Php 4:19) Parable – Don’t build bigger barns (Lk 12:16-21) Spiritual Promise: We are rich “in faith” (Jas 2:5) |
| V33, 51 You won’t be stolen from | “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” (Heb 10:34) Spiritual Promise: Our better possession is in Heaven |
| V48 No hunger, thirst, nakedness, lack | “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Php 4:11-12) For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Co 12:10 ESV) Spiritual Promise: Trials will perfect us (Jas 1:2-4) |
| V56 Mother won’t begrudge daughter | “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” (Mt 10:35-36) Spiritual Promise: We are part of the family of God (Mk 10:29-31) |
This small comparison should demonstrate that our primary promises revolve around attaining “every spiritual blessing in heavenly places” (Eph 1:3). These “precious and very great promises” are aimed at making us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4), not partakers of earthly prosperity. God’s goal is not our immediate comfort, but our character; our transformation into the image of Christ. This often entails suffering, pain, loss, and defeat by the world’s standards. Accordingly, our hope is not temporal gain, but that which is laid up for us in heaven (Mt 6:20, Col 1:15). Our victory is not in avoiding physical detriment, but in staying faithful through it, overcoming “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of [our] testimony”, even if it means loving not our lives “unto death” (Rev 12:11). Our blessing is not through financial prosperity, but through contentment and dependence on Christ in any circumstance – “if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tim 6:8, c.f. Php 4:11-13).
Our prayers should focus on asking God to do whatever it takes, whether delightful or painful, to transform us and the world around us into Christ-likeness. We can expectantly pray for God to meet our needs (Mt 6:33); for Him to give us a way out of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13); for Him to be with us in our current trial (Heb. 13:5); for Him to work it for our ultimate “good” (Rom 8:28, Php 1:6); and for Him to grant us the wisdom to discern how it is perfecting us (Jas 1:2-6). We can pray these things, fully believing we will receive them because God has promised them unambiguously in a New Covenant context. However, presumptuously claiming health and wealth promises from the Old Covenant will lead to great disappointment and disillusionment.
Book Context
As I mentioned in my previous article, the Word of Faith movement highly emphasizes spoken words. Here are a couple excerpts from prevalent teachers:
“I turn my faith loose. I call those things in my body that be not as though they were. I call myself well. I call myself healed. I speak to every part of my body to function as it was designed to function.” [5]
“…you can come to the place where all your words will come to pass. When your words are words of faith, God will be able to trust you with His power in the words of your mouth. What you speak, good or bad, is what you will receive … The force of faith is released by words. Faith-filled words put the law of the spirit of life into operation.” [6]
This hyper-focus on words is rooted in their belief that words supernaturally release our faith according to metaphysical laws. A few New Testament texts are put forth to support this claim, including Mark 11:23, and Romans 4:17, 10:9. However, a vast majority of the verses put forth are from the book of Proverbs; particularly Proverbs 6:2, 12:6, 12:14, 12:18, 13:3, 16:24, 18:21, 21:23.
This heavy reliance on the Proverbs for rigid promises is problematic. The genre of the book of Proverbs is Ancient Near Eastern Wisdom literature. As such, it contains inspired wise sayings often pieced together with special literary devices, such as Hebrew parallelism. Many of these are simple nuggets of truth, or rules of thumb, passed down from a father (Solomon) to his son. Some may be correlated to Old Covenant promises (which admittedly are more temporal), but all are invariably conclusive from the author’s experiences and observations in life; patterns that he has witnessed.
Such sayings are nothing new for us in the 21st Century. We have many of our own:
- Actions speak louder than words
- Easy come easy go
- Better late than never
- Practice makes perfect
- Stay alive, don’t drink and drive
These are basic patterns that we see around us, but they are not rigid promises. I’m sure that we could find exceptions to every single one of them. Similarly, the Proverbs related to prosperity simply speak of the tendency to gain more wealth when you work hard (Prov 10:4); when you have a good work ethic; when you give generously (Prov 3:10, 11:25, 19:17); when you obey God’s commands, especially those related to business dealings (Prov 3:16). Proverbs about longevity (3:2, 3:16, 10:27) speak of the tendency for people to live longer when making good life choices. Surely following God’s rules would lead to avoiding drugs, hanging with criminals, participating in adulterous affairs, and stirring strife with dangerous people; and avoiding these things leads to a higher probability of longevity! Similar interpretations should be applied to the Proverbs that mention health (Prov 4:22) and physical protection (Prov 1:33). None of these are rigid promises and they all have clear exceptions in both Testaments, more so in the New Testament where the emphasis is on spiritual blessing. Yet, even within the temporal context of the Old Covenant, there are several Proverbs that value minimalism over prosperity when the circumstances of the latter are less godly (Prov 15:16, 16:8, 17:1). My favorite example is Proverbs 30:8-9:
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. (Pro 30:8-9 ESV)
Some Proverbs even suggest that Solomon’s understanding of wealth and longevity is spiritual, not material. For example, while many Proverbs mention God rewarding the faithful with “long life”, Proverbs 12:28 seems to equate such longevity with eternal life, where there is “no death”. As another example, Proverbs 8:18 states that, with Wisdom are “riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity”. Yet, Wisdom goes on to say that its fruit is better than gold and silver (v19), and that it should be sought instead of these (v10-11).
Given these nuances with the genre of the Proverbs, we must be careful not to claim its health and wealth principles as universal unqualified promises. Instead, we must apply each principle in a way that aligns with the promises, conditions and spirituality of the New Covenant.
Immediate Context
The final type of context I will deal with is “immediate context”. The immediate context encompasses the verses immediately preceding and following the verse being considered. As a Word of Faith teacher, a majority of my misinterpretations were due to my failure to carefully read the verses surrounding the verse at hand. In this section, we will address several use cases where immediate context is violated by the Word of Faith movement, beginning with where we left off – the Proverbs.
Use Case #1: Proverbs
Although the small snippets of wisdom in the Proverbs do not always contain a lot of context, there are many that do; and several of these are key texts in the Word of Faith movement.
Proverb 6:2 is typically invoked as evidence that “negative confessions”, especially expressions of fear and doubt, can trigger metaphysical laws that will harm us. Taken out of context, it reads “You are snared in the words of your mouth”. Nevertheless, when we read the whole context, it paints a drastically different picture. Verse 1 tells us that the subject put up security for a neighbor and gave a verbal “pledge”. That pledge became his snare. Verse 3 then warns him to urgently go to his neighbor and plead for a release from the pledge. Accordingly, this Proverb has nothing to do with “negative confessions” and everything to do with making promises that we can’t keep.
A second Proverb that is pulled out of context often, not only in Word of Faith circles, but in many evangelical circles, is Proverbs 23:7 – “As he thinks in his hearth, so is he”. This proverb is often invoked to inspire people to have right thoughts, which lead to right beliefs, which lead to right actions; because we become whatever we think. If we think sickness, we will be sick. If we think defeat, we will be defeated.
Now let’s read the context: “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies; For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you” (NASB). Within context, we see that this famous phrase is describing a selfish hypocrite who outwardly sounds generous, but in his heart is actually stingy. It has nothing to do with positive thinking or positive confession.
Arguably, the most popular Proverb purportedly supporting the power of verbal confession is Proverbs 18:21 – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits”. Kenneth Copeland refers to it here:
“Words bring things to pass. Whether they bring to pass things that work for you or against you depends on what you confess (Proverbs 18:21). That’s why it is so important to choose to say the same thing God says with your confession. Your faith-filled words can then put the law of the Spirit of life into operation in your health, finances and relationships!” [7]
Pulled out of context, Proverbs 18:21 could easily support Copeland’s contention that the tongue has innate supernatural powers to bring life and death. However, when reading the context we find something altogether different:
Good words (Life):
- v4 Words can be a wellspring of wisdom
Bad words (Death):
- v6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating
- v8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds
- v13 Answering a matter before you hear it is stupid and shameful
- v19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city
- V23 The poor use entreaties, but the rich answer roughly
Notice the context has nothing to do with health and finances, and everything to do with how our words affect other people. Accordingly, words are powerful, but not via the activation of abstract spiritual laws. They are powerful relationally, in how other people respond to them. They affect peoples’ feelings, self image, convictions, and attitudes. They cause offense or bring encouragement. They cause disputes or foster peace. They edify relationships or destroy them. Words can even make the difference between life and death in some situations. The resulting circumstances of these scenarios, whether good or bad, are fruits of the tongue.
Use Case #2: James 3
James is considered a modern day Proverb by some; an extended Sermon on the Mount by others. Of particular note is Chapter 3, which emphasizes the power of the tongue:
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (Jas 3:5b-8 ESV)
Word of Faith teachers often relate this chapter to healing, claiming that our tongue, through negative confessions, has the power to supress our body’s ability to heal. Notice Charles Capps’ comments:
“Now, the Word says that the tongue can stop those natural forces. The tongue can destroy the very course of nature that causes you to be healthy. If you begin to say, “I believe I’m coming down with something.” You probably will. “I believe I am taking a cold.” You’ll get it! … It says the tongue will set on fire the course of nature. It will destroy the life-giving flow in you that God put in you to heal you and make you whole. [8]
However, James is not saying anything about a magical force that prevents our healing. He is speaking of verbal sins in our relationships with others. Notice the context leading up to our passage:
- 1:19 – A general admonition to be “slow to speak”
- 2:12 – Don’t speak out as a holy ruler without being a doer of those rules yourself, or you will be judged.
- 2:13 – Don’t speak about how much faith you have without having the aforementioned works
- 3:1-2 – Stop trying to teach everyone because you’re going to offend people
This shows us that James is addressing a bunch of know-it-alls who were acting like rabbis; hypocritically spewing out commands that they weren’t even keeping themselves. Their verbal chatter was offensive to many people. The context following our passage describes some of the fallout of their words:
- 3:9 – Not only were these people commanding others hypocritically, but they were apparently cursing them verbally as a result of non-compliance
- 4:1 – All of the above verbal abuse led to “wars and fightings” with others
- 4:11 – James’ closing argument for the conversation opened in 1:19. The moral of the story is “be slow to speak” if it results in speaking “evil of one another”.
Use Case #3: Quickening of the Mortal Body
Romans 8:11 was another text that I previously claimed for physical healing.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Rom 8:11 ESV)
I used to advocate that the giving of life (or quickening) of the mortal body was a direct reference to the healing and rejuvenation of our current body. Kenneth Hagin taught the same thing:
“The term “mortal bodies” in this text does not refer to our resurrected bodies in the future; it refers to our mortal bodies now. (“Mortal” means death-doomed.) Our bodies will not be mortal in the grave. They are mortal now. The Spirit will not dwell in them then. The Spirit of God dwells in them now. Now is when we need our mortal bodies quickened by God’s Spirit which indwells us.” [9]
Contrary to Hagin’s assertion, Paul elsewhere references a future time when “what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Cor 5:4). Additionally, reading the context of Romans 8:11 reveals that it has nothing to do with our current healing, and everything to do with our current sanctification leading to our future resurrection. Here is a contextual synopsis:
After describing his frustrations with law-keeping at the cusp of his conversion (Rom 7:14-23), Paul cries out for deliverance from his “body of death” (7:24). Unaided by the Spirit, his mortal body is continually defeated by temptation, bound by the “law of sin” (7:25). This orientation to sin is directly related to his mortality. His death-doomed body is inclined to sin. In fact, the “law of sin” is expanded in chapter 8 to the title “law of sin and death” (8:2). Thankfully, even at the present time, the law of the Spirit of life can release us from absolute bondage to the law of sin and death (8:3). The indwelling Spirit enables us to choose contrary to our fleshly, bodily, death-oriented nature and to set our mind on things of the Spirit (vv4-8). These two natures now coexist in the believer; the life-oriented indwelling Spirit within a death-oriented body (v10, cf. Gal 5:17). However, one day that very indwelling Spirit will vivify our mortal body in the resurrection (v11), resulting in a unified nature in body and Spirit. This future orientation of Romans 8:11 is solidified by Paul’s progression into an eschatology discussion (vv17-25), with a specific reference to the “redemption of our bodies” (v23).
Although it is true that any current healing is a foretaste of our future “quickened” body, the context of Romans 8:11 disallows its direct support for any promise of bodily healing.
Use Case #4: Good Gifts
My final use case related to context is Matthew 7:11, which is often touted as advocating God’s desire to give us good material things – health, wealth, long life, and protection from calamity:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Mat 7:11 ESV)
I selected this verse as a use case because it highlights the importance of looking at the near context in a different Gospel, i.e. a parallel account. Observe Luke’s version of the same promise:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luk 11:13 ESV)
Notice that Luke equates “good things” and the “Holy Spirit”. The ultimate “good thing” is more of the Holy Spirit’s transforming presence in our lives. If this presence is maximized through the circumstances of health and wealth, so be it. However, the Biblical narrative suggests that may not always be the case:
- Joseph being maliciously sold into Egypt was based on God’s “good” intentions (Gen 50:20)
- It was “good” for David to be afflicted because it taught him obedience (Psalm 119:71)
- God is working all things together for our ultimate “good”; our glorification (Rom 8:28-30)
In His sovereignty, God often ordains circumstances that are outwardly calamitous, but inwardly transformative. It is often in hindsight that we recognize the providential “goodness” of such circumstances. In eternity we will finally comprehend how our present sufferings have perfected us (Jas 1:2ff, Rom 8:18). We will ultimately thank our Heavenly Father for His gracious discipline that mirrors the discipline of an earthly father:
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Heb 12:5-7 ESV)
Given these concepts of “goodness” and “fatherly discipline”, which would be a “good thing”: The Heavenly Father unleashing abundant wealth on someone knowing it will drive them away from faith, or the Heavenly Father withholding such abundance knowing that it results in an increase in the Holy Spirit’s fruit in their life (e.g. endurance, faith, peace, etc.)? Surely the latter is the “good thing”, not the former. Now, I am not advocating that God doesn’t want us to eventually thrive in perfect health and wealth. That is His ultimate plan in the New Heaven and Earth. However, as mentioned in the Covenantal Context section, the church age is aimed at our spiritual transformation and readiness for that future world.
Consider how God brought afflictions on Job (42:11) through the malicious actions of Satan (1:12ff, 2:6ff) in anticipation of Job’s spiritual formation. Contrary to the Word of Faith claims that Job had expressed a “fear” that invited the devastation (3:25), there was no blatant sin in his life at that time that invited correction; neither doubt, unbelief, or self-justification. He was “blameless and upright” in his ways (1:1). Even in his initial response to the affliction, “Job did not sin or charge God with wrong” (1:22). Rather, he rightfully acknowledged God’s sovereignty in the situation – “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). It was only later after Chapter 2 that pride and presumption emerged in Job’s words. In the end, he repented for these self-justifying words and reaffirmed God’s sovereignty, acknowledging that He can do “all things” (42:1-6). The moral of the story is: Through unsolicited suffering, God better positioned Job for eternity. Is that not a good thing?
Conclusion
I am thankful for the bold faith advocated by the Word of Faith movement. I spent a decade in this movement and gained a stronger faith as a result. Yet, the following corrections must be made to align it more with evangelical orthodoxy:
- Identify promises that are unambiguously given to the Church as a distinct entity from Israel
- Stop generalizing promises that were exclusive to historical individuals and events
- Stop turning Proverbs into rigid promises
- Define the “power of our words” relationally rather than mechanistically
- Transition from a temporal and material prayer focus to an eternal and spiritual prayer focus
- Acknowledge God’s sovereign goal of conforming us into Christ’s image rather than always giving us immediate material comfort
If these corrections were made, the Word of Faith movement could still advocate a vibrant faith that confidently apprehends its identity in Christ, expectantly believes it will receive God’s present and future promises, and boldly confesses these truths in the face of any circumstances.
I’ll close with one of my favorite Biblical “positive confessions”; one that reflects several of the key points I have conveyed, even though it is from the Old Testament:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
(Hab 3:17-19 ESV)
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End Notes:
[1] Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Found online at: https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
[2] Kenneth E Hagin – Redeemed From Poverty, Sickness, and Spiritual Death, page 8-9
[3] Kenneth E Hagin – Redeemed From Poverty, Sickness, and Spiritual Death, page 16
[4] Kenneth E. Hagin, Don’t blame God, Chapter 3 – Redeemed From the Curse
[5] Health Food Devotions, Kenneth E. Hagin, July 20th devotion
[6] The-Force-Of-Faith-2012-Edition-Kenneth-Copeland, “Faith Filled Words”
[7] Kenneth Copeland, faith daily devotions, Question of the day, Feb 24, what is a confession? Found at https://www.kcm.org/read/question-of-the-day/what-confession?language_content_entity=en-US
[8] Charles Capps, The Tongue, A Creative Force, Page 36
[9] Kenneth E. Hagin, Faith Food Devotions
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