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May God Bless You and Prosper You

that now, having endurance, having its work of completion so that existing mature and whole, lacking in nothing (James 1:4)

The gospel is a gospel of prosperity, not earthly prosperity but one of your spirit, body, and soul. That you exist mature, coming into a fullness in the head who is Christ, into the full measure of the stature of him. What does it profit me if I gain the whole world and lose my soul? what does it profit me if I have religion but I am not whole? Oh, God bless us and prosper us, make us whole, lacking in nothing.

now, may the God of peace himself sanctify you complete and keep your spirit and soul and body, kept whole, blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

This word for "whole" is only found in these two verses, ὁλόκληρος (holoklēros), from hólos, "whole" and klḗros, "a lot, a portion assigned", so the meaning has more than just wholeness, it is a wholeness, a lot, that God has assigned as a portion for his people. Jesus came to make us whole. He came to restore. In this verse, we also see the word complete, ὁλοτελής (holotelēs), from hólos, "whole" and télos, "end-purpose." The word for maturity in James 1:4, τέλειος (teleios), means "having reached its end, complete, perfect." Maturity, completeness, is very much related to wholeness. James writes, as does Peter and Paul, that we should consider it joy when we come under a trial because the proving of our faith works out endurance and the purpose, intended work, the goal of endurance is maturity, completeness, wholeness.

for what profit [advantage, value] if a man gains [as a matter of profit] the whole world yet [forfeits] his life? or what gives a man in exchange for his life? (Mathew 16:26)

Can I give money in exchange for my life? Can I serve in exchange for my life? I have nothing of value that I can exchange for my life. But I saw a light, Jesus, "in him was life and that life exists a light to men" (John 1:4). The life Jesus offers is profitable, it is prosperous, it is wholeness and completeness. Think about that. People are attracted to someone who is confident, not arrogant or cocky, but someone who is whole, complete, sound in their identity. This is the kind of life, wholeness, completeness that is a light to the world. Oh, that we would see prosperity in this light.

who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that living away from the sin, living of righteousness. Of his wounds, healed. (1 Peter 2:24, ESV)

Jesus came to heal, make us whole, to prosper us. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you says Yahweh, thoughts of peace and not harm, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29;11). This verse is precious, God spoke it to me one night. I woke up with my heart racing and feeling like it was beating abnormally, which I learned later was a side effect of the medication the doctor had put me on. The verse brought comfort in affliction. To be at peace is to be whole and prospering, lacking in nothing. It is to be content. Paul writes he had learned to be content in all things, and he had experienced many hardships in this life, even going naked and hungry... 

I have learned to think of that which is "added to me" when I put first his kingdom and righteousness in a different way. Yes, our Father will provide for our earthly needs, but he will take away our earthly comfort to the extent that we prosper in our spirit and soul. This proving, as Peter calls it, a trial by fire, is working out of our salvation, working out endurance which has the intended purpose of producing maturity, wholeness, lacking in nothing. In the eyes of God, this is more precious than silver and gold. So if you go naked or hungry or get thrown in jail, or have health issues... consider it joy, that God is working out all things for your good.

for the one offering perfecting to the extent that continuous, the ones consecrated (Hebrews 10:14)

Bless is the man whom sin is not considered. In Christ, we are blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. We are adopted, redeemed, forgiven, favored, sealed... Far above any earthly blessings, we are blessed in Christ. And the promise of the blessing through Christ is to "all peoples and all nations." Abraham received the sign of circumcision, seal of the righteousness of faith among the uncircumcised so that he would be the father of those of faith, of the circumcised and uncircumcised (Romans 4:11-12). In the new covenant in which the one offering of Christ, His blood established eternally the covenant, the true Jew is one inwardly, and true circumcision is not one outwardly but inwardly, a circumcision of the heart by the Spirit (Romans 2:28-29). We see a shadow of the old in what was to come. Circumcision of the heart is a sign of our covenant, that we are consecrated unto God and Jesus is our high priest who is continuously interceding for the ones consecrated, to the extent of our perfection.

The word perfecting, τελειόω (teleioō), is related to the word we saw in James 1:4 translated as maturity, τέλειος (teleios). It means to execute fully; to reach the end of, run through, finish; to consummate, place in a condition of finality; to perfect a person, advance a person to final completeness of character; to perfect a person, advance a person to the completeness of its kind, which needs no further provision; pass. to receive fulfillment; to be brought to the goal, to reach the end of one's course.* This is the goal, the end, the finish line, why we run the race and fight the good fight because Christ has laid hold of us, he is making us whole, complete, so we are brought into the consumption of fullness in him. This is the meaning of perfection and even Paul states he has not obtained it but presses on to the upward call in Christ (Philippians 3:12-14). 

now we all with unveiled faces beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, being transformed to the same image from glory unto glory, just as from the Lord's Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

We have seen the glory of God, not in creation, but in the creator, the Word, for all things were created by him and through him (John 1:1-4). This glory of God we have seen in Christ. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6, KJ21). And we are being transformed from glory to glory into the image of Christ. We see similar words in that which Paul writes is purposed in the Church, that we grow up, truth in love, in faith and the knowledge of the son of God unto mature adulthood, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:10-16). 

There is a fullness in Christ in which God is working out all for our good, it is a maturity, completeness, a wholeness, where we are lacking in nothing. Oh for the soul, body, and spirit to be whole in Christ, this is the true definition of prosperity. We pray that God blesses us and prospers us. 



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