Is Your Understanding of God’s Kingdom Defective?

Is your understanding of God’s Kingdom defective? In the things of God and the teachings of Christ, there are truths so foundational that they form the very bedrock of our understanding of God. Yet, for many, a great divide exists in the body of Christ over a word that is at the heart of God’s good intentions for His children: prosperity.

Many believers, when asked, will quickly declare, “I don’t believe in prosperity.” They reject it with a fervor, often associating it with excess, greed, and a focus on worldly gain. But what if, in their rejection, they are not only misinterpreting God’s heart but are actually denying a fundamental truth of the Kingdom of God itself?

Let us turn our attention to the Apostle Paul’s powerful words in Romans 14:17 (KJV):

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Paul gives us three non-negotiable components of the Kingdom of God: righteousness, peace, and joy. It is a package deal; you can’t have one without the others. Yet, it is the word “peace” that holds a key to unlocking a deeper, and often misunderstood, truth.

The English word “peace” here is a translation of the Greek word eirēnē, which corresponds to Strong’s Concordance number G1515. Far from a mere absence of conflict, the definition of eirēnē is rich and expansive, including: “security, safety, prosperity.“

Do you see it? Embedded within the very Greek word for “peace” is the concept of prosperity.

This changes everything. If the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace (eirēnē), and joy, and peace (eirēnē) inherently includes prosperity, then prosperity is an indivisible, inseparable part of the Kingdom of God.

To say you don’t believe in prosperity is to say you don’t believe in peace (eirēnē) as God defines it. It is to say you don’t believe in a kingdom that brings security, safety, and prosperity. If you don’t believe that the believer is meant to inherit and experience these things—including prosperity—then your belief in the Kingdom of God is, by definition, partial and defective. You have picked and chosen which parts of the kingdom you will accept, and which you will reject based on personal bias or religious tradition.

God wants us to prosper. The thought that He doesn’t is a lie rooted in a religious spirit that seeks to keep us in lack. If God doesn’t want you to prosper, then why are you working to provide a better life for your family? Why don’t you pack up the kids and go down to the intersection with a cardboard sign and beg for just a subsistence living? Why, if God doesn’t want you to prosper, are you acting out of God’s will to provide more than a meager supply for your loved ones? This reveals a hidden hypocrisy among those who insist that prosperity is not what God wants for His children, yet they pursue it all their lives with all that is within them. They grieve when bills go unmet, needs go unfulfilled for themselves or their family. Why aren’t they rejoicing that poverty is their portion if they don’t believe in prosperity?

Furthermore, if God doesn’t want us to prosper or to believe in prosperity, then He must not want us to believe in heaven, because every biblical depiction of heaven is one of unimaginable wealth, abundance, and glory. Heaven is the ultimate depiction of God’s prosperity.

It is time to let go of the religious bigotry and offense that has caused so many to reject God’s message of abundance. It is time to align our beliefs with the unadulterated truth of the Bible. The Kingdom of God is coming to earth as it is in heaven, and with it comes the very prosperity, security, and joy that God desires for His children.

I challenge you today to change your mind. Let go of the poverty mindset and embrace the full, whole, and complete Kingdom of God—a kingdom of righteousness, joy, and yes, even prosperity.

Summary

• The Kingdom of God, according to Romans 14:17, is righteousness, peace, and joy.
• The Greek word for “peace,” eirēnē, includes the meaning of “prosperity, security, and safety.”
• This means prosperity is an inherent and inseparable part of the Kingdom of God.
• Rejecting prosperity is a partial and defective belief, as it denies a core component of God’s kingdom.
• Our actions (working to provide for family) and the biblical depiction of Heaven as a place of unimaginable wealth both testify to God’s desire for us to prosper.

Call to Action

• Read Romans 14:17 and meditate on the full meaning of the word eirēnē.
• Examine your own beliefs: do you have a defective or partial view of God’s Kingdom?
• Reject the religious mindset that rejects God’s abundance for His people.
• Pray for a heart that is aligned with God’s will for your life, which includes safety, security, and prosperity.
• Act on your faith by embracing and believing that you are meant to live a life of abundance as a child of the King.