Joseph Prince Said WHAT?!

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 Joseph Prince.

Now Joseph is the pastor of New Creation Church in Singapore.

His YouTube channel has well over a million subscribers and his videos are watched regularly by

hundreds of thousands of people.

Given the fact that this is the case, it would be a great idea if we did a biblical analysis of the

teaching that Joseph Prince has to offer.

And that is precisely what we're going to do in this video.

The sermon clips you'll be seeing today come from his recent sermon entitled, quote, Seeing Jesus Can

Release Your Breakthrough.

And that title alone should already give you an idea of the ministry model being employed by New

Creation Church.

My initial observations regarding the church itself is that it is big, modern, and seeker -sensitive.

This simply means that the church was designed with a big emphasis on attracting unbelievers and casual

observers using modern methods.

This is a ministry model that we have been highly critical of on this channel.

If you're interested in that, take a look at virtually any of our videos on Stephen Furtick or Michael Todd, because

they are very much at the forefront of this movement.

That should give you a flavor of what we're talking about here.

But with all of that said, surface -level observations are useful, but they don't tell the whole story.

The most important thing is for us to listen to what Joseph Prince actually teaches.

And in this video, we will investigate his sermon in detail.

First off, I want to make it clear that if you listen to Joseph Prince, you will find that at least in this

particular sermon, the dangerous teaching that he offers is much less obvious, much less

pronounced, than someone, for example, like Joel Osteen.

In fact, I found myself regularly agreeing with many of the things Joseph had to say.

And yet, in Galatians 5 -9, Paul tells us that a little leaven, that is, false teaching, will work

its way through the whole lump.

That is to say, a little false teaching is still very dangerous in its effects.

So it is still very important, then, that if Joseph Prince has false teaching, we identify it and critique it.

And with that, let's move right into our first subject, Joseph's teaching about healing.

Watch this.

He says, your body is the temple of God.

Amen.

So the temple of God is holy.

Holy means beautiful, set apart, glorious.

Amen.

No blemish.

So if you honour God's body, the Bible says, glorify God in your spirit and in your

body, which are God's.

Amen.

That means you'll be healthy, not just peaceful inside, amen, at rest, but you'll be healthy.

Amen.

I think God will take care of His temple.

Amen.

I think God will take care of His temple.

Amen.

Amen.

So, the first thing you'll notice about this teaching is that it's subtle, right?

He's not like Benny Hinn or T .D. Jakes.

He's much more subtle than that.

Joseph doesn't come right out and say, follow God and you'll get your healing right here and right now.

Instead, he simply says something that sounds, well, really common sense.

As a Christian, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, according to 1 Corinthians 6, and, quote, God

will take care of His temple, Joseph says.

But make no mistake about it, this is just a more covert and deceptive version of what all the other

faith healers and prosperity gospel teachers are preaching.

Let's follow the logic here, shall we?

The first step is establishing that we are the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 6, 19 says, quote, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy

Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

And who is Paul speaking to here?

He's speaking to the church, to believers.

And how does one become a member of the biblical church, a believer?

By believing the gospel and being saved.

Romans 10, 9 says, quote, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God

raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, end quote.

Now all of this is basic Christian doctrine so far.

We all know this.

But then he adds another layer.

This is where the problem arises.

He then says that this means, quote, you will be healthy, God will take care of His temple,

end quote.

So now let's follow the logic again.

Believing the gospel means you receive the Spirit.

Receiving the Spirit means your body is God's temple, and being God's temple means that you will be

healthy.

To put it bluntly, if you believe the gospel, God will give you perfect health.

That is what Joseph Prince is preaching here.

And again, it is very subtle, very below the surface, but it's still there, and it's still dangerous.

First off, the passage Joseph is talking about has seemingly no relationship to divine healing and

health.

At least, not in the immediate context.

The verse just before the one that Joseph quotes is 1 Corinthians 6, 18, which says, quote, flee

from sexual immorality.

For every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins

against his own body, end quote.

So when we're speaking about the body, and the body being a temple, there's a clear context in which it is mentioned.

The passage is saying that you should not put God's temple, i .e., your body, to crooked and

sinful uses, specifically that of sexual immorality.

The passage is not guaranteeing your divine healing, nor is it meant to.

In other words, Joseph has taken the passage out of context in order to preach a popular message, one that he

believes will work.

And that is a serious problem.

But there's more to be concerned about with regard to Joseph's teaching than just this.

Just before the clip you're about to see, Joseph introduces a new text of Scripture, 2 Peter 1

-3, and it says the following, quote, May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge

of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the

knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, end quote.

Now let's see what Joseph Prince does with this text.

Watch this.

So notice what happens when you read the Bible and you see Jesus.

Grace, what's grace?

Unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor becomes yours.

It becomes yours.

So according to Joseph Prince, grace here refers to unmerited favor.

And that is certainly true in a sense.

Every Christian receives the unmerited favor of being justified before a holy God, receiving the Spirit

and His fruit, receiving sanctification, receiving beautiful fellowship among the saints, receiving joy

and peace that transcend understanding, and so much more.

There is no doubt that Christians receive tons of unmerited favor from God through Jesus Christ.

But what is the nature of this favor specifically?

Is it the favor of material wealthiness, success, and a constant state of perfect health?

With these questions in mind, let's see what Joseph Prince is talking about, and whether or not it's the same thing that the

Bible is talking about.

Watch this.

But how many like a multiplication of grace in your life?

You can do a multiplication.

I mean, when favor comes on you, you don't know why good things happen to you, it's just that you're favored.

It's not because you're smart, you're that smart, you have the know -it -alls to the wherewithals

to function in that project successfully.

It's just that things happen, what you need to know, you get to know.

So pay attention here, because Joseph's idea of favor in the Christian life, the favor that goes

automatically to everyone who believes in Jesus, for him, this means a specific thing.

Quote, good things happening to you.

And the specific example he gives here is when you succeed in a particular project.

So we're talking about material and physical success.

Once again, we can see that hidden beneath the surface here is the prosperity gospel.

And additionally, we can see that this is a misappropriation of the text that he quoted.

In context, in the beginning of 2 Peter 1, Peter gives a list of Christian virtues or qualities.

In verse 10, he says this, quote,.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election.

For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.

End quote.

So this passage, like the previous one, is specifically talking about living a life that is glorifying to God

by His grace.

Fundamentally, it is not about gaining wealth or getting a promotion at your job or succeeding at a project.

Now, I want to be clear.

Should Christians be praying that they would be able to work hard and succeed and do well in their career

or schooling or what have you?

Absolutely.

The Bible has plenty to say about working hard in all of your endeavors for the glory of God.

Colossians 3 .23 says this, quote,.

Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men.

End quote.

And I believe that normatively, that is, in most situations within reason, this hard work can

and often will result in practical benefits.

And this can include money, promotions, opportunities, etc.

But keep in mind, there's also the rewards of fulfillment, peace, discipline, and basic provisions being

met.

So where do we find this principle in Scripture, one of reaping and sowing?

Well, in many places.

But for one example, Proverbs 14 .23 says this, quote,.

In all toil, work, there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

End quote.

So here's the issue.

Money and promotion and success do not come about as a result of naming and claiming it with your

magical faith power, nor do these things come about simply as a result of believing the Gospel.

That's a bridge too far.

Joseph Prince is not simply encouraging his audience to work hard unto the Lord and trust in His providence,

no, he is saying that when you believe in Jesus, you will automatically find yourself falling into

heaps of physical prosperity, success, and opportunity.

And that is not sober -minded, common -sense teaching of Biblical finances, no, that is the

prosperity Gospel.

And much like Joseph's teaching on healing, it is dangerously rooted in a passage taken out of context.

But in the next clip, Joseph seems to change his tune.

In this one, he'll be talking about 2 Peter 1 .3, which says, quote, His divine power has granted to us

all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory

and excellence.

End quote.

Let's see what Joseph has to say about this passage.

Watch this.

But the promise is not just, His power has given unto us how many things?

All things that pertain not just to godliness, but to life!

Let me ask you a question, do provisions, supply, matter to

life?

Yes.

So Joseph makes an important claim here.

He says that 2 Peter 1 .3, when it talks about life, it is speaking about giving us provision

and healing.

First off, we need to notice that there has been a bait and switch.

Joseph has changed what he's talking about fundamentally.

You see, he went from talking about guaranteed prosperity, that is, over -abundance, to now talking

about provision, which simply refers to having enough.

But why does the word grace refer to physical blessing and favor in verse 2, but the word

life, just one verse later in verse 3, refers only to provision?

Again, we need to recognize that there's been a very important change in Joseph's language here.

God has assured us of His sovereignty over our provision in texts like Matthew 6 .26, quote,.

Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

End quote.

But this is not the message of Joseph Prince and the prosperity gospel.

Provision is not the same thing as guaranteed wealth and immense success.

You see, the passage doesn't say that He has given us all things pertaining to incredible prosperity and financial

gain.

Rather, it says that we have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness.

More than this, the passage's language implies that He has given us that which is necessary for life and

godliness.

In fact, the Lexham English Bible translates it that way, saying, quote,.

His divine power has bestowed on us all things that are necessary for life and godliness.

End quote.

Also, some biblical commentators have interpreted that word life as being purely spiritual life,

and others have interpreted this in a slightly more physical way.

Regardless, if you understand this passage in connection with the New Testament assurances of God's provision

of food and clothing, you get a very different idea as opposed to the prosperity gospel, and that needs to be understood.

First Timothy 6 .8 says, quote,.

But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

End quote.

This idea is very different from what Joseph Prince and other prosperity teachers have to offer, as you can

plainly see.

And again, we need to recognize that Joseph has ever so conveniently switched from talking about prosperity

and wealth to now talking about so -called basic provision and supply.

This tactic, while it is clever, does not remove or negate the unbiblical teaching that we've heard so

far.

But the issues in Joseph Prince's teaching do not just involve health and wealth.

You see, as I watched the sermon, it became more and more clear that Prince does not seem to understand the state

of the modern church.

In the next clip, he continues talking about the passage in 2 Peter.

Watch this.

That pertain to what?

Life and godliness.

A lot of people, they know about godliness.

A lot of preaching going on all over the world today, talking about godliness, godliness.

Now godliness, we all want, we all understand that there's an overabundance of preaching on that already.

But life is underpreached.

Healing is underpreached.

So according to Joseph, godliness is overpreached, and healing and life are

underpreached in the Church today.

And again, it's helpful to remember that life in this passage is not actually about wealth or prosperity, which is

what Joseph and his fellow Word of Faith pastors constantly talk about.

So already, we have a discrepancy between the text and the teaching that he's comparing the text to.

But secondly, it seems that Joseph Prince has virtually no clue about what's going on in the modern Church.

Health and wealth are not underpreached at all.

And I can prove it to you.

Look at all the largest churches in the United States and in the world at large.

What are those churches emphasizing more?

Godliness or health and wealth?

Well, let's see.

According to many sources, the biggest church in the United States is Lakewood Church led by Joel Osteen.

He puts virtually no emphasis on godliness, and puts almost all of it on health and wealth.

More than this, among the ten wealthiest pastors in the world, we find prosperity teachers like Kenneth Copeland,

David Oyedipo, the richest pastor in Nigeria, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis,

and T .D. Jakes.

So if health and wealth are being underpreached, where exactly is this money coming from?

And how is it exactly that these underrepresented churches also happen to be some of the most popular in the

entire world?

The fact is, prosperity and healing are most definitely not underpreached in the modern church.

And godliness is certainly not overpreached.

Anyone who has set foot in a modern megachurch within the last few decades could tell you that easily.

So it seems strange and concerning that Joseph Prince is not only unaware of this, but he preaches the exact

opposite of what happens to be the case.

But with that said, let's do a brief recap before we continue.

Joseph Prince absolutely preaches mainstream Word of Faith prosperity gospel doctrine.

Moreover, this doctrine oftentimes is hidden beneath the surface, which makes it even more subtle and effective.

We've also demonstrated that in this one sermon alone, he's taken clear Scriptures out of context

at least two, if not three times.

And on top of all of this, Joseph has seemingly no grasp on what the modern church is actually like.

But all of this begs the question, where exactly is his misunderstanding of Scripture coming from?

And as I watched the sermon, I found one statement that might answer that question.

Watch this.

I don't want a person to just play around with me and just give me a little depth of knowledge of the Bible here and there.

I want to see Jesus.

And that's why I can teach it the Bible way, and I can teach it the first law of people of Bible interpretation,

okay, hermeneutics, is this, this law.

Number two, next law.

Number three, this law.

No, I like to share with you what God taught me.

And I like to make it practical as well.

Now there's a bit of a language barrier, obviously, so that might have been hard to understand.

Let me explain a bit of what he just said.

Essentially, Joseph said that he does not like to preach Scripture through the lens of laws of

hermeneutics.

For those who don't know, hermeneutics is the discipline of interpreting biblical texts.

We're talking about laws of biblical interpretation, and Joseph says outright that he does not like to

teach Scripture in that way.

Instead, he says that he would prefer to, quote, share with you what God taught me, and I like to make it

practical as well, end quote.

Here's the issue.

It is good to teach people what God taught in Scripture.

It is also good to make it practical.

But these things should not be done separately from good, sound rules of interpreting Scripture, or

separately from hermeneutics.

And the proof of that has already been shown to you.

Joseph took Scriptures like 1 Corinthians 6, 2 Peter 1, and he tried to show the audience what he

learned in a practical way.

But he did this in a way that was completely separate from the context of the passage, or what the passage was

communicating to the original audience.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is rule number one when it comes to hermeneutics.

A pastor must understand the context of the passage in order to preach it without letting his own personal

preferences and modern agendas get in the way.

But the problem is, Joseph just told you that he doesn't want to use hermeneutics.

It seems that he's more interested in giving you a personal and practical message than he is in giving you an

accurate message.

And as a result, he's preaching these Scriptures improperly in order to advance his personal, seeker

-sensitive prosperity gospel agenda.

And I could go on and on, offering you example after example, but I think you get the picture.

The fact is, Joseph Prince is not a reliable source of biblical teaching.

Indeed, he is quite the opposite.

Intentionally or unintentionally, his doctrine is dangerous and concerning for all the reasons we've mentioned in this

video.

To put it simply, he's not a teacher that we would recommend to anyone.

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.

Please, pray for this channel and for anyone discussed in the video, and if you're looking for teaching resources or

trying to find a new church, check out the teaching ministries and church networks linked in the description.

And by God's grace, let's move forward joyfully, holding to the truth of God's Word.

Thank you so much for watching that video.

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