A GREETING, NOT A GUARANTEE: UNDERSTANDING 3 JOHN 1:2 IN ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT (PART II)

“When a Greeting Becomes a Gospel: Baba Adeboye’s Distortion of 3 John 1:2”

By Akin Ojumu

Regardless of a preacher’s oratorical flair or theatrical sermon delivery, no religious gathering can rightly be called a Church without the true Gospel. Fabulous stories, astonishing accounts of supernatural encounters, enormous congregations, imposing auditoriums, sophisticated branding, and aggressive marketing cannot transform a religious organization into a House of Worship of the God of the Universe.

A true Church is distinguished by the faithful proclamation of the Gospel and the sound teaching of God’s Word.

Contrary to what many modern-day preachers would have their followers believe, the knowledge of God is not an esoteric secret reserved for a select few who have attained some higher spiritual status through prolonged prayer and fasting. Scripture is God’s gracious gift to His Church. In it, He has revealed Himself and made known everything necessary for faith and godly living.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

God’s Word is the spiritual nourishment of every believer. It contains all the nutrients we need to grow in grace, mature in the faith, and live lives set apart unto God.

The Apostle Peter writes:

1 Peter 2:2

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”

Because Scripture is indispensable to our spiritual well-being, every believer must learn to study it carefully and understand it correctly. To derive its intended benefits, we must handle it accurately.

That is the primary purpose of this commentary series: to help readers rightly divide the Word of Truth so that they may arrive at a sound and accurate understanding of Scripture.

In the previous installment, we examined the widespread misunderstanding of 3 John 1:2. Many pastors and preachers present this verse as God’s universal promise of financial prosperity and perfect health to every Christian.

Churchgoers have been taught to “decree and declare” health, wealth, and success by repeatedly quoting the verse:

3 John 1:2

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

They are told that this passage guarantees material abundance and immunity from sickness. As we demonstrated previously, however, such an interpretation cannot be sustained by the historical, literary, or grammatical context of the passage.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, is one of the most prominent religious leaders in Nigeria. He regards himself as a special representative of God, and millions of his followers appear to regard him in much the same way.

One would therefore expect a man held in such high esteem to understand the meaning of 3 John 1:2 and teach it accurately.

Sadly, that is not the case.

In the video under consideration, the RCCG General Overseer gives the passage the same distorted interpretation commonly promoted by prosperity preachers. He presents it as God’s personal promise of health and material prosperity to every believer.

He declares:

“Third John. The only book of Third John – the only chapter, rather. Verse two. It is written, ‘Beloved…’ And that’s God talking about me. ‘Beloved, I wish above all things…’ I do what? I wish. How? Above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth. “God said, ‘Above all things.’ ‘Adeboye, I wish that you will prosper.’ It’s talking about me o. Is it talking about you too? ‘And be in health as your soul prospers.’ “And some people have the audacity to say that if you’re a Christian, you should die poor, when God says, ‘I wish above all things’ that you will prosper. “Tell your neighbor, ‘Me o, I’m not going to die poor, because that’s not the plan of God.’ He said, ‘Above all things.’ Above all other things that we may want to think about. As far as you are concerned, I wish above all things that you will be prosperous and healthy. “I want you to say it loud and clear: ‘Sickness, get out now! Because my God said in His Word that His wish concerning me is that I will prosper and be in health.’ Unless I don’t understand English.”

English is the least of Baba Adeboye’s problems. He has a perfectly adequate command of the English language. What is lacking is a sound understanding of the biblical text.

If he had interpreted the passage in its proper context, he would have understood that 3 John 1:2 is not God speaking directly to Adeboye. Nor is it God issuing a universal promise that every Christian will become rich and remain free from sickness.

The verse is part of a personal letter written by the Apostle John to a man named Gaius. It is John’s affectionate greeting and prayer for his friend.

It is not a divine guarantee that every believer will become wealthy. It is not a promise that Christians will never experience sickness. It is not a blank cheque for material success. It is John expressing his desire that Gaius would enjoy physical well-being comparable to the spiritual well-being for which he was already known.

To transform John’s personal greeting into a universal covenant of health and wealth is to impose a meaning upon the text that the writer never intended.

The error in Baba Adeboye’s interpretation becomes even more apparent when we examine the lives of Christ’s Apostles and other faithful believers in the New Testament.

The New Testament does not present the Apostles as men who enjoyed uninterrupted wealth, comfort, and perfect health. On the contrary, it repeatedly describes them as men who endured deprivation, persecution, hardship, sickness, hunger, and material need.

When Peter and John encountered the lame man at the temple gate, Peter said:

Acts 3:6

“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

Peter did not say, “I possess great wealth, but I choose not to give it to you.” He said plainly, “I have no silver and gold.”

Whatever else one may say about the financial condition of the Apostles, this passage certainly does not portray Peter as a man swimming in material abundance.

The Apostle Paul also testified repeatedly to the deprivation he endured in the course of his ministry.

2 Corinthians 11:27

“I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.”

A man who repeatedly endured hunger, thirst, cold, and inadequate clothing cannot reasonably be presented as the model of the prosperity preacher’s version of material abundance.

Paul also spoke of a “thorn in the flesh,” which he described as a messenger of Satan sent to harass him.

2 Corinthians 12:7

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.”

The precise nature of Paul’s thorn is not revealed. Some have suggested a physical ailment, while others have proposed persecution, emotional anguish, spiritual opposition, or some other persistent affliction.

Whatever it was, Paul pleaded three times for the Lord to remove it, and the Lord did not do so. Instead, Christ assured him:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul was not delivered from the affliction by repeatedly declaring that sickness or suffering had no right to exist in his body. He learned instead that God’s grace was sufficient to sustain him in his weakness.

The Bible also records the illness of Paul’s companion Trophimus:

2 Timothy 4:20

“Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.”

Timothy, Paul’s spiritual son in the faith, suffered from recurring stomach problems and other frequent ailments:

1 Timothy 5:23

“Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”

Epaphroditus, a trusted servant of the Philippian church, became so severely ill while ministering to Paul that he nearly died:

Philippians 2:25–27

“I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.”

These men were faithful believers. They loved Christ, served the Church, preached the Gospel, and suffered for the faith. Yet they experienced poverty, deprivation, weakness, and illness.

If Baba Adeboye’s interpretation of 3 John 1:2 were correct, we would be forced to conclude that these heroes of the faith failed to appropriate God’s promise of prosperity and health.

Such a conclusion would be absurd.

Their suffering was not evidence that they lacked faith. Their sickness was not proof that they had failed to confess the correct words. Their poverty was not the result of their inability to “decree and declare” financial abundance. They suffered because God has never promised that believers will be immune from the realities of life in a fallen world.

None of this means that God is incapable of healing the sick or providing materially for His people. God still heals. God still provides. God still blesses. He has not lost the power to prosper, restore, deliver, or make whole. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him.

Nevertheless, God’s ability to heal must not be confused with a promise that He will heal every sickness in this present life. His ability to provide must not be transformed into a guarantee that every Christian will become materially wealthy.

If you are sick and pray for healing but do not receive the answer you desire, do not conclude that God has abandoned you. Do not allow a prosperity preacher to persuade you that your continuing illness proves you lack faith.

If you are poor and pray for material provision but your circumstances do not immediately change, do not conclude that God’s Word has failed. Your financial condition is not an infallible measurement of your faithfulness to God.

A believer’s health and wealth are not reliable indicators of spiritual maturity or of God’s ability or faithfulness.

Some of the most faithful believers in Scripture suffered greatly. Some of the most wicked men in Scripture possessed enormous wealth. Material abundance is therefore not proof of divine approval, just as poverty is not necessarily proof of divine displeasure.

God is sovereign. He gives, withholds, heals, sustains, restores, and permits suffering according to His wisdom and purposes. Our confidence must rest not in the certainty of earthly comfort but in the sufficiency of His grace.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of God’s Word to the spiritual well-being of the believer. A Christian who neglects Scripture starves his own soul. He may remain physically active, attend church services, sing loudly, pray fervently, and participate enthusiastically in religious activities, yet remain spiritually malnourished.

Faith grows in the soil of God’s Word. When it is not rooted in sound doctrine, it gradually withers beneath the heat of error, suffering, temptation, and false teaching.

Much of the spiritual dryness and lethargy experienced by professing Christians results from souls that have not been watered at the fountain of divine truth.

Scripture repeatedly testifies to its own life-giving power.

Psalm 19:7

“The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the Testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

Psalm 119:9

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your Word.”

Psalm 119:130

“The unfolding of your Words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”

John 6:63

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The Words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

John 8:31–32

“If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.”

Romans 10:17

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.”

2 Timothy 3:16–17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

1 Peter 2:2

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.”

These passages categorically and consistently affirm that God’s Word is the lifeblood of the believer. It revives the soul, imparts wisdom, produces faith, exposes error, corrects wrongdoing, trains us in righteousness, and equips us for spiritual maturity.

Considering the centrality of Scripture to the Christian life, one would expect Churches to be led by men who are competent in handling the Word of God.

Sadly, that is often not the case.

Many Churches are presided over by men who possess little theological depth and even less skill in biblical interpretation. They may be gifted speakers, charismatic personalities, talented administrators, or influential religious celebrities, but they are novices in the Scriptures.

The disturbing social phenomenon sometimes described as “babies having babies” has found its counterpart in the Church. Spiritual infants are occupying pulpits and attempting to nurse spiritual newborns. 

Men who have not been properly grounded in the faith are presenting themselves as teachers of the faith. Those who cannot rightly interpret Scripture are shaping the beliefs of millions who do not know enough Scripture to recognize that they are being misled.

That is a dangerous condition for any church.

When the blind lead the blind, both eventually fall into a ditch. And when those who mishandle Scripture are treated as unquestionable representatives of God, entire congregations are left vulnerable to error.

This is why every believer must study the Bible personally, carefully, prayerfully, and contextually. 

No preacher – regardless of his title, popularity, wealth, age, influence, or size of congregation – must be permitted to stand above the authority of Scripture. The Word of God must judge the preacher. The preacher must never be allowed to judge, manipulate, or redefine the Word of God.