The Wealth of God

The wealth of God has always been a controversial topic. There are those who believe that all wealth is worldly and evil, and that all money corrupts. There are churches that teach that a person must be poor to be holy and that poverty is a position of divine humility. These ideas have kept many people in financial bondage for a long time, sometimes their entire lives.

We will be studying today about the wealth of God – speaking purely of physical riches – and as we see the truth regarding this aspect of God, the chains of bondage will be broken in the area of finances for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Before we can have any respectable study of the wealth of God we must first have a solid foundation by answering one simple question: Is God wealthy?

This is important because if we were to believe some of the theories mentioned in the opening, then we must conclude that God is in poverty. If wealth is evil then God would have no communion with wealth – He would be poor. If money corrupts, then God would have nothing to do with it; because He can not be tempted nor does He tempt anyone.

So to answer the question of whether God is wealthy or not, let’s read a couple of scriptures which tell us the answer. Psalms 50:10-12:

“For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.”

From this verse, God does not waste words and states quite plainly that the entire world and everything in it belongs to Him. The world and the fullness thereof are His. However we can take this even further in Haggai 2:8:

“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, said the LORD of hosts.”

So between these two verses we see that all manner of wealth belongs to God and all-in-all is His. So really God has ownership of the entire earth, all Gold, all Silver, all produce, all livestock and everything in the earth (including all diamonds, sapphires, rubies, precious stones, oil, etc.) all are His. So in terms of purely physical wealth, God is totally wealthy and we can quite literally say that His fortune fills an entire planet!

So again, if we are to believe the statements of some church leaders today who say that wealth is evil or corrupt, then we must also therefore conclude that God is evil and corrupt because we have clearly seen from His own Word that He is wealthy to the utmost.

Now immediately there is another important point to see here, and that is to simply realize and digest in our own soul and spirit what we have just read… that all wealth belongs to God. This is important because we tend to get the idea that we own things, or that we work hard and we earn or deserve what we have. Yet this is not actually true at all. Let’s examine Psalms 139:13-18:

“For you have possessed my reins: you have covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well.

My substance was not hid from you, when I was made in secret, and curiously worked in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in your book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with you.”

Many people think that they have earned their wealth through hard-work, good looks, personal charm and wit, talent, knowledge or any combination of those things. However look at what is being said in these verses. God has created and formed every single person, including given to us every talent and ability. Verse 16 specifically mentioned our substance and members. Every hand and foot for skilled work and every thought for creativity, all was given by God and they are gifts. Since they are gifts from God we can not truthfully claim that we have earned anything that we receive.

Now there is another line of reasoning which says that we can pat ourselves on the back for being in the right place at the right time – that we just have excellent timing and business savvy. For this, let’s see what Acts 17:24-26 has to say:

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands;

Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things;

And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”

We can plainly see from verse 26 that it is God who has determined the times and places – when and where all things and people exist. Even our timing and placement is a gift from God.

Even so there are still some people who say “Sure. But it’s still me who has to get up in the morning and go to work, so I deserve my wealth because of that.”

To answer that, simply look at verse 25 again… It is God who gives everyone their life and breath; without which you would not be getting-up at all.

So now we have laid the foundation. We have learned that God is indeed wealthy. We have also learned that we actually do not truly own or earn any part of the wealth based on our own merit, for we have no merit of ourselves. All that we have in every respect is a gift from God. This is an important aspect to understand because before the truth of God’s wealth can set us free from bondage, our self and our pride must be done away with. We can not go into this with any ego or spirit of self-righteousness. Once we have recognized that wealth of God, and also the fact that we can not clench our fists and hang onto it by our own strength but that all of it is simply a gift from God, now we can proceed.

Let’s look at some scenarios of how God grants us His wealth. Turn now to Job 27:13-17:

“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.

If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;

He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.”

Now whether this is a good passage of scripture for you today is entirely dependent on your relationship with God. Verse 13 states that these are the recompenses that are due to the wicked and as we read through verses 16 and 17 we can see what is to become of the wicked persons’ wealth: he may amass silver, but all that will happen is that he will end up giving it all to the righteous person.
Now I know that some of you may be thinking that this is simply too good to be true; that these verses are some kind of misprint or that it has been mistranslated, but this very same thing is repeated in Ecclesiastes 2:26:

“For God gives to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”

So this is why we should not be jealous of evil men (Proverbs 24:19), because the Bible truth of the matter is that they are simply holding our God-given wealth for us. So how the do we receive this? Well now that you see that you already have God’s blessing, just do regular business with them… and I am not saying extort them or do anything unlawful. God will create opportunities for business with the world, just proceed with wisdom as He instructs and know that the favor is already upon you as a righteous person in Christ Jesus.

Another area that we need to address on this point is also the seed and harvest principle. There are some that teach tithing as a way to gain wealth. If you have heard any of my previous teachings on finances, you already know that tithing is not for today. Tithing is an Old Covenant ordinance that Jesus has done away with, and we are not able to sanctify our own fiances through law-keeping anyway.

Having said that we are told under Grace that God gives us seed as well as bread. Now the bread is for us to eat, but the seed is for us to plant and reap harvest. Let’s take a closer look at this in Isaiah 55:10-11:

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it”

Notice in verse 10 that God provides both seed to the sower and bread to the eater. This tells us that some provision that we receive is meant for us to eat (use for our own lives) while some is meant for us to sow (give to receive a future harvest).

You see my dear friends, not everything that we receive is for us to eat, and also not everything we receive is meant to sow – but there are some people who go to both extremes. Some people give everything away that God gives to them, and they find themselves in lack while waiting for the future blessing. Then there are others who use everything that God gives them on themselves and never share or give anything, and also end up in want because they never receive the future harvest blessing – in other words, they are eating their seed instead of the fruit from the harvest.

So how do we know which is which? How do we know when to give or when to eat? This requires wisdom and guidance from God, which we find in 2^nd Corinthians 9:6-7:

“But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Basically this is telling us to be generous freely, but we are under no obligation. Verse 6 simply reminds us that if we eat most of our seed, there won’t be many fruit trees later, and if we plant most of our seed, there will be a veritable forest of fruit trees later. The choice and planning however is ultimately up to us.

One final area that we need to study today is the growing idea that God is waiting to bless us financially “when the time is right.”

I have spoken with people who are desperately struggling in poverty, and they have been told by pastors and leaders that they just need to “wait longer for God’s perfect timing.”

Let me tell you my friends, that is very little comfort to a starving man and his family. And it paints a picture of a God that is negligent, uncaring or incompetent.

God is not withholding any good thing from you. All of these promises and principles are here for you to take advantage of and receive right now today. Can I prove this in scripture? Yes! Let’s read Proverbs 3:27-28:

“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.

Say not to your neighbor, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when you have it by you.”

This is the way that God instructs us to behave towards one-another. He says that it is wrong to withhold a good thing from someone to whom it is due; that it is wrong to tell them to come back later when we have the ability to give to them now.

So if that is the way that God expects us to behave to each-other, then surely it is the way which He behaves toward us – His beloved children.

God is not being stingy, He is not withholding any good thing or blessing from us; we have them all now, so let’s start believing and practicing these things in our lives. Let’s believe the Word of God and begin trusting Him for what He has said.

The wealth of God is ours, just as with every other blessing in Christ Jesus, it is a gift for us to simply receive.