September 7, 2023

In My Name…

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14 (NASB)

      If you have heard the statement, “Name it and Claim it Gospel,” you might have a bad taste in your mouth by now. It also goes by the name, of the Prosperity Gospel movement. “Central to this teaching are the beliefs that salvation through Jesus Christ includes liberation from not only death and eternal damnation but also poverty, sickness, and other ills. Adherents believe that God wants believers to be richly blessed in this life and that physical well-being and material riches are always God’s will for the faithful. Illness and poverty are seen as curses that, through atonement, can be broken with faith in Jesus… Prosperity gospel burgeoned with the growth of televangelism and the rise of certain “megachurches” in the second half of the 20th century. In addition to Oral Roberts, televangelists in the U.S. such as Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker (later Messner), Paula White-Cain, Creflo Dollar, and Benny Hinn gained followers and significant wealth through their prosperity theology.”[1] And all became millionaires.

      “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” The works of the disciples were not going to be “greater,” in the sense of more powerful. None of the disciples would perform the extent of miracles Jesus performed, but would be “greater in extent.” The “greater extent” of miracles would be of salvation to a greater audience. The disciples would travel to differing countries to spread the gospel message. Jesus never preached outside of Palestine. The disciples would spread the gospel to the whole world. “Jesus had only a limited outreach to Gentiles (Mark 7:26), but the disciples (particularly Peter and later Paul) would reach the Gentile world with the gospel. The number of believers in Christ would also grow far beyond the hundreds (Acts 1:15; 1 Cor. 15:6) that were numbered during His lifetime.”[2] This outreach by the disciples would be empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit’s power in drawing men and women to salvation. Even though Jesus would depart, the Spirit of God would direct their lives and direction, and provide all the power they needed to extend God’s work. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” When Jesus left the earth, He knew the disciples would need everything to continue their mission. Jesus promised through the power of prayer, that the resources they needed would come from the endless bounty of God’s provision, “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Nowhere in this passage is mentioned for the individual’s edification or gain. It does not mean it is a way to add Jesus’s name to the end and get what is wanted for every selfish request. To pray in Jesus’ name is asking for provision to do God’s will.

      I wonder how those who preach this message sleep at night. The Prosperity Gospel lines the pockets of those who preach it. It is all cloaked in darkness for men who seek to exploit those who are emotionally needy or poor, wanting a fix to their situation. We have been given the Holy Spirit to help us as we share the good news of Jesus Christ, and we have prayer to fuel it.

[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/prosperity-gospel.

[2] (John MacArthur, 2006), 106-107.