Joseph Prince’s Teaching About “Peace” DEBUNKED!

Joseph Prince’s Prosperity Gospel Background

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to Fight For Truth, the channel where we bring you Christian commentary about the things that matter. In today's video, we're going to be talking about a message from Joseph Prince, and this is our first review of his teaching on this channel, therefore it may be a good idea to give a little background.

You see, Joseph is the pastor of New Creation Church based in Singapore. His teaching is absolutely riddled with the prosperity gospel. One of his books is entitled, quote, Destined to Reign, The Secret to Effortless Success.

One of his other books is entitled, quote, Unmerited Favor, Your Supernatural Advantage for a Successful Life. It is clear that material wealth, health, and success is a huge part of his teaching. In fact, it may even be accurately called the main hallmark of his ministry.

And as such, Joseph Prince is a false teacher, who cannot resist bringing the topic of material success into pretty much any and every conversation. In the following clip, you will see an interview that is no exception.

Posted by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, it takes place between Joseph Prince and Matt and Laurie Crouch.

Watch this. Joseph Prince, our guest, what do you want people to let go of? What are we talking about here?

Joseph Prince’s Use of John 14:27 and “Shalom”

Let go of their stress, worry, and anxiety. And I think that that's a Christian life. Of all the blessings that the Lord left behind, he says on the night that he was betrayed, peace, I live with you.

My peace, I bequeath unto you. That peace that you saw me operating in, when I was asleep in the boat in the midst of the storm, that peace, I live with you. But the amazing thing is that we would understand that he's speaking to his fellow Jews.

So he's speaking in Hebrew, Aramaic, he'd probably say, shalom, I live with you. And shalom is not just peace of mind. Shalom is health, welfare, the health you saw me operating in, for three and a half years you never saw me sick.

That shalom, that soundness, mental soundness, that wholeness, I live with you.

Why the Context of John 14 Means Spiritual Peace, Not Prosperity

So here we are going to analyze this clip as we compare it to Scripture. As a result, you will see a demonstration in real time of how deceptive and unbiblical the teaching of Joseph Prince really is.

So Joseph makes the case that when Jesus says, quote, peace I leave with you, the word he might have used is shalom. This would not just mean mental peace, but also the peace that comes with health and complete welfare.

And we should note, it seems fair to assume that Joseph Prince is referring to some level of financial welfare, given his track record. But the point is this, we need to ask the all-important question, is this truly what Jesus is saying in the passage he's talking about?

That's all that really matters. Well, let's see. It seems that he's quoting John 14, 27, in which Jesus says this, quote, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Now, in my research for this video, I read no less than eight Bible commentaries on this verse alone, several of which will be linked in the description.

The word for peace given here in Greek is airene, which has several potential meanings. One meaning certainly carries the connotation of, quote, security, safety, prosperity, felicity. But there are many other potential meanings, including, quote, the Messiah's peace, and the peace of Christian salvation in general.

In fact, there are no less than six potential meanings of this word according to Strong's outline of Biblical usage. But what does this word mean in this passage specifically? That's what we're asking.

Well, in order to answer that, we need to study the context to find out. And in the plethora of commentaries I found on this passage, several of which were very technical and went into the original language in depth, not even one of them shared the view of Joseph Prince here.

Not a single commentary agreed that the peace Christ gave in this passage was mentioning the peace of prosperity and the peace of healing. And by contrast, every single commentary, to one degree or another, believed that this pointed to some level of internal or spiritual peace that came with putting your faith in Christ.

Indeed, Ellicott's commentary puts it quite simply when it says this, quote, He gives them not land or houses or possessions but peace, and that his own peace, the peace of God which passes all understanding.

This is made clear by what Jesus says in verse 27, just after, quote, Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. So it is obvious what kind of peace Jesus is talking about in John chapter 14.

It is the spiritual and ultimate peace that comes with being united to Him by faith. The very same peace that frees us from the law because Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly. The peace that frees us from our own consciences because Jesus cleanses us from our sin.

You see, Joseph Prince, on the other hand, he wants to interpret the passage and make it all about health and welfare, as per usual. And this brings us to the second part of the clip. Watch this.

Why Joseph Prince’s “No Sickness” Argument Fails

Health, welfare, the health you saw me operating in for three and a half years, you never saw me sick. That shalom, that soundness, mental soundness, that wholeness, I live with you. I bequeath to you.

So if that is true, then pray tell me how come we have not received it, you know, if you bequeath it to us.

So in that part of the video, Joseph Prince does at least two things. First, he makes another fallacious point with regard to John chapter 14. And then he immediately refutes his own point, accidentally, mind you, using sound reasoning, albeit again, accidentally.

Let me explain. The false and unbiblical point he made was that Jesus was leaving his disciples with the quote, peace of constant health, because for three years, they never saw Jesus get sick. Therefore, that must be the peace that Jesus is talking about.

Again, this is a ridiculously absurd point to make. First off, a careful consideration of the context of the passage shows us that Jesus is not talking about health, wealth, or prosperity here. There is absolutely no reason to think otherwise, unless, of course, you're coming to the text with a preconceived commitment to the prosperity gospel, which is, of course, exactly what happened.

And secondly, there is no text that tells us that Jesus was sick during His ministry. That's true enough. Yet, there is also no text explicitly telling us that Jesus could not have been sick. So effectively, this is nothing but an argument from silence, and a pretty poor one at that.

And more than this, Jesus experienced consistent persecution. Beyond that, false witness, torture, and even death on the cross. To suggest that the peace of Jesus refers to a lack of physical suffering in the Christian life is absurd.

For one example, Jesus was rejected by His own kinsmen in His own hometown of Nazareth. In Mark 6, verse 4, He says, quote,. A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown among his own relatives and his own household.

For another example, Jesus experienced tremendous anxiety in the Garden of Gethsemane before His death. Luke 22, verse 44 says that Jesus, quote,. Being in agony, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.

So while it is true that we have no record of Jesus being sick, we do have plenty of evidence that He suffered throughout His ministry, and especially at the end of His life. So to suggest that the peace Christ gave us is taking away all physical suffering in our lives, well that's quite simply nonsense.

Paul’s Counsel to Timothy Shows Christians Still Experience Sickness

And moving forward, this is where Joseph Prince's perspective falls apart entirely. He immediately follows up this comment about Jesus not being sick with a question. He asked, quote,. So if that is true, then pray tell me, how come we have not received it?

End quote. And the answer is right there in front of him. It is self-evident, abundantly obvious to anyone who's looking that Christians can and do experience sickness. In 1 Timothy 5 .23, Paul tells Timothy to, quote,.

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. End quote. So here's a question. If the peace Jesus gave us removes all sickness, then why on earth would Paul tell Timothy to do this?

Why not simply tell him to receive the peace of Christ, and then his sickness would go away? Well, because that's not what the Bible says. You see, there is simply no way to consistently hold to the teaching of Joseph Prince and that of the Bible.

He manipulates John chapter 14 regarding the peace of Christ, he twists what the Bible says about healing, and ultimately, he points out his own false teaching and inconsistency without even realizing it.

Joseph Prince is a prosperity gospel preacher who is not doctrinally sound. Flee from his teaching and avoid it. It is dangerously unbiblical. I pray that this has been a blessing to you, and please know that this video isn't meant as a sinful attack, but rather as a Biblical critique.

And let's pray for Joseph Prince, that he would stop this false teaching by God's grace and turn to the truth of God's Word. Thank you so much for watching that video. Please give us a like and subscribe so that you don't miss any content.

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