PART 17
By
Pastor Roger Anghis
April 24, 2011
NewsWithViews.com
The next verse is 2 Corinthians 8:14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: This comment by Paul, “your abundance may be a supply for their want” is important because the way that most people believe how wealthy a believer is supposed to be, there should NOT be any abundance to share. The Greek word used for “abundance” is perisseuma (per-is-syoo-mah) and means superabundance. Superabundance is not having a little bit left over after you have paid all your bills.
Superabundance is having very large amounts left over to the point where you can pay off a church’s mortgage and it doesn’t even dent your balance. As an example of how God really intends for the body of Christ to operate all we have to do is look at ORU. One businessman gave ORU $70 million dollars to get it out of debt. This businessman still has plenty of money left to operate his businesses and I’m sure that God blessed him mightily for that donation. That is what Paul was talking about when he said “your abundance may be a supply for their want”. This is a perfect example of how God intended kings and priests to operate. In today’s market, even the gospel requires massive amounts of money to spread the gospel around the world. The body of Christ is to fund that and it takes very large amounts of money daily.
Our next verse gives us a very definitive description of how God wants His children to prosper. 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
The Greek word used for ‘grace’ is charis (khar-ece) and in this verse it has a direct meaning of material possessions. It means all earthly blessings, wealth, etc., which are due to divine goodness. The Greek word for ‘abound’ is perisseuo (per-is-syoo-o) and in this verse it means to furnish one richly so that he has abundance, to make a thing abound unto one, to confer a thing abundantly, to superabound in quantity, exceed. The indication here is something physical. The Greek word used for ‘sufficiency’ is autarkeia (ow-tar-ki-ah) and in this verse means a sufficiency of the necessities of life. This is understood to be what is necessary for this life on earth which are physical things, clothes, food and other material possessions. The phrase ‘in all things’ is the Greek word pas and it means any and every, of every kind, all manner of, blessings of every kind. This literally means that every area of your life is covered in superabundance.
This covers physical things, material possessions, wealth, property, all things that are needed for our life on this earth. Again we see the Greek word perisseuo (per-is-syoo-o) for abound which means to furnish one richly so that he has abundance, to make a thing abound unto one, to confer a thing abundantly, to superabound in quantity, exceed. The last two words that we will look at is the Greek word used for good and the word work. The word used for good is agathos and it means benefit, good, act rightly, doing well, distinguished, excelling in any respect, honorable, what is upright, honorable and acceptable to God.
The word works is ergon which means an act or deed but specifically speaks of a benefaction. Benefaction is defined by Webster’s 1828 dictionary as benefit conferred, especially a charitable donation. We live on this earth and need physical things food, clothes, homes, transportation. God wants us to be in a position where we are able to assist those less fortunate. In extreme cases this assistance needs to be very large amounts. Case in point is the example given in the explanation of 2 Corinthians 9:8. That is the position that God wants his people to be in. The Amplified Bible gives an excellent breakdown of just what this verse means: And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation]. This verse leaves no doubt as to Gods intent for the Body of Christ, to be in a position to help someone no matter what the need is.
Our next verse is Galatians 3:7-9 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (8)And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. (9) So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. This is an important group of verses because Paul clearly states that as believers we are the children of Abraham and as his children we are empowered to prosper just as Abraham was.
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We have to remember that Abraham was very rich in silver and gold and in cattle, Genesis 13:2. Galatians 3:14 again states that Abrahams blessings, which were material blessings, would come upon the believer: “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. ” In verse 29 we see again that we are, as believers, Abraham’s seed and the promises that were given to him are ours as well: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ”. Everything he promised Abraham is a promise to us as his seed. God promised Abraham riches and He delivered.
That promise is ours too!
The next verse is one that many Christians either ignore or do not believe; Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. This is a verse that most Christians don’t really understand. They don’t fully understand what a seed is. They think that it is just money. They don’t know that even their actions can be and are a seed. If you sow discord, you will reap discord. If you sow strife, you will reap strife. If you sow love, you will reap love. If you sow hate, you will reap hate. If you sow money, you will reap money. If you sow a lot of money, you’ll reap a lot of money. This is a spiritual law. There is no limit set on this. You can’t out sow God.
The next verse is Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. The Greek word used for “exceeding” is huperballo (hooper-bal-lo) and it means exceeding, excel, surpass. This gives an indication of above and beyond. It is the same word used in 2 Corinthians 9:14 when Paul was speaking about God’s grace; exceeding grace of God in you. And in Ephesians 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. There is no limit to His greatness towards us and there is no limit to the riches of His grace either.
At Joshua’s request, the sun and the moon stood still. At the command of Moses the ten plagues came upon Egypt and the Red Sea parted, with the stike of a rod water came out of a rock and He feed over 3 million people for over 40 years with nothing but manna. The Greek word used for “riches” is a word that we have seen several times already and it is ploutos and it means money, possessions, riches, wealth. All of this is referring to external material possessions. The Greek language is very descriptive and to the point and will usually leave no question as to what meaning they had. If Paul was talking about something other than wealth, he would have used a different word.
The next group of verses I want to look at is Ephesians 3:7-9 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. (8) Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; (9) And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: The only word I want to look at in these verses is “riches”. I wanted all the verses read so that this would not be taken out of context. The Greek word used is ploutos. We’ve seen this word before and it means money, possessions, richness, abundance, valuable bestowment. The lexicon defines it as riches, wealth, abundance of external possessions.
This is not to take away anything from Christ’s work on the cross, but define part of His work of the cross. If the ‘riches’ were something other than the abundance of external possessions, it would have been called something else. Again, the Greek language is very descriptive and to the point and will usually leave no question as to what meaning they had. He did not just shed His blood for our sins, which He did, or take the strips for our healing, which He did, but He bought abundant life for us while we are here on earth. He stated that He came to give us life and give it to us more abundantly, John 10:10. If He bought it for us, why do we shun it? Some parts of the church will shun healing, some will shun speaking in tongues, some will shun the gifts of the Spirit, and most shun the promise of prosperity. It is time, in these last days, to receive all that Christ did for us on the cross.
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The next verse is Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, The Amplified says it this way “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]” I want to talk about this verse because it brings out a point that is missed by most Christians.
In the Amplified translation is says that God can do superabundantly, far over and above what we may ask or think dealing with our prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams. Notice that this superabundance is not just a spiritual thing, but covers every area of our life? The Greek word used for “exceeding” is huper and it means superior, more than, exceeding, abundantly. The lexicon defines its use in this verse as more and greater than all. The word used for “abundantly” is perissos and it means excessive, beyond measure, superfluous, exceeding abundantly. The lexicon defines its use in this verse as supremely abundantly. Now this is dealing with all areas of our lives and would include God’s grace, favor and blessing. What if God called you to do some great thing for the kingdom and it required millions of dollars and favor with man at every turn. Paul is stating that God will give us the favor needed and the resources needed to accomplish what He has called us to do, no matter how much it costs! God is not hurting for money and He can get what you need to you when you need it. (Howard Carter) It is our responsibility to do what He tells us. It is His responsibility to bring you the resources.
Our next verse is Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. As joint heirs with Christ and God owning all the gold and all the silver (Haggai 2:8) then Jesus has an unlimited supply and whatever it is we need, He is able to supply. God’s wealth is our wealth.
The next verse I want to look at says more about what God has stated so many times concerning wealth. God has no problem with you having money, but He doesn’t want the money to have you. We are not to put our trust in uncertain riches, worldly wealth, but in Him. The verse is 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. This verse is one of the ones that many preachers use to prove that money is evil. If it is evil, why do they collect offerings? Money is not evil, but you can do evil with it. You can also do good with it as well. Instead of buying drugs or spending it on a prostitute you could fund a missionary, pay the bills for someone that is temporarily down and out. The key phrase that is neglected most of the time in this verse is “For the love of money.” It’s not the money, it is the love of money that is evil.
When
you put money before God, that is evil. Money can be very seductive.
The Greek word for “coveted” is oregomai (or-eg-om-ahee)
and it means to reach out after, long for, covet, desire. The lexicon
defines it as to give ones’ self up to the love of money. Correctly
Paul states that those that have made money their priority have erred.
The literal translation used the word seduced for the word erred. Webster
defines seduced as drawn or enticed from virtue; corrupted; depraved.
Paul states that many have been drawn away from the faith by the seducing
aspect of money.
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Money does not buy peace or there would be no millionaires committing suicide, no movie stars so despondent that they commit suicide. They believed that money would fill a void in their life that only God can fill. That mistake can be fatal. The Greek word for phrase “pierced themselves” is periperio and is defined by the lexicon as to torture one’s soul with sorrows. The mistake of placing money and possessions above what God has said to do has dangerous consequences.
Click here for part -----> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
� 2011 Roger Anghis - All Rights Reserved
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Pastor Roger Anghis is the Founder of RestoreFreeSpeech.org, an organization designed to draw attention to the need of returning free speech rights to churches that was restricted in 1954.
President of The Damascus Project, TheDamascusProject.org, which has a stated purpose of teaching pastors and lay people the need of the churches involvement in the political arena and to teach the historical role of Christianity in the politics of the United States. Married-37 years, 3 children, three grandchildren.
Web site: RestoreFreeSpeech.org
E-Mail: editor@restorefreespeech.org
