John 10:10 (NKJV)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Eisegesis: 

If you trust in Jesus, you will have a prosperous and fulfilling life.

Exegesis:   

The abundant life is not a reference to an earthly abundant and fulfilled life but to our salvation. It is not an abundance of material goods, but rather the satisfaction of knowing that the Lord is our shepherd.

Many word of faith preachers use John 10:10 to explain how Jesus came to give us a prosperous life. The idea being that we are supposed to live in “abundance” having prosperity and blessings from God which includes an encounter with the Holy Spirit.

This is far from the biblical context.

Christ did promise that He would do anything we asked for, but something also implied within this promise is that whatever we ask for must be consistent with the will and nature of Christ. 

Using the name of Christ in prayer is both an endorsement (like a bank cheque) and a limitation (in that the request should be made in accordance with the character and nature of God). 

Your prayer is like a blank check in that it takes with it the power of the name of Christ. But at the same time it is also a limit in that it has to be Christ like.

There are those in the church who have come to the conclusion that these statements are absolute. They think that a Christian may ask for anything he would like to have, and as long as he adds “in Jesus’ name I pray” after his request, God will most certainly do what he asks Him to do. This interpretation is often used for is the basis for the “name it and claim it” movement .

The statements of Jesus must be understood in the context of all that our Lord taught regarding prayer. He never gave His people a blank check with the promise, “anything you ask for I will do.”

The assumption behind these words is this: “I will do for you anything you ask that is within the parameters of what is legitimate, according to My teaching.”

In Greek, abundantly (Perissos) means exceeding what is necessary or something that extends far beyond what is necessary. For believers, this represents the matchless gift of eternal life that exceeds all expectations.

The abundant life is a relationship with God. The abundant life is eternal life, which has no time because it is eternal. It is a way of life and a way of living.

Having eternal life simply means that we possess the life of God in our soul, which is eternal. It has components that we now enjoy such as “freedom from guilt- not pain,” and “freedom from judgment- not suffering.”

When compared to knowing Christ, the things of this world that prosperity preachers and new-age teachers focus on are simply a cheap imitation of the abundant life.

If we think that Jesus came to serve as a cosmic vending machine and will give us more stuff, more cars, better houses, and better health, we are missing the abundant life God has promised us through Christ. If we limit our faith to just these things in life, we have substituted the abundant life God has given us for a cheap imitation of it.

Christians now have a relationship with God which is more valuable than physical things. Knowing Christ is an eternal treasure that enables us to stand through the trials and sufferings that this temporal life may bring.

The Apostles, like Jesus, were not wealthy and suffered martyrdom and hardships of all kinds, but none of that mattered to them when compared with the glory of what is to come.

Indeed there is nothing beneficial in the temporal things of this world. All of them will eventually burn out, and be wiped out one day. In this present temporal world, the most comfortable and pleasant life can be found in service to God and communion with Him.

Additionally, Jesus’ name is not a magical formula. To ask in Jesus’ name does not mean adding the words “in Jesus’ name” in a carefree way onto the end of a prayer. It is not a magic formula that obligates God to grant every selfish request that people make.

Rather, prayer is the means by which we ask God to extend His kingdom and do His will on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10).

It is certainly appropriate to ask God to meet our needs, but the heart of our prayers should be, “Lord, accomplish Your will through Your people! Bring sinners to true repentance and genuine faith!”

The context of “whatever you ask” is tied into doing Jesus’ works.

So to think that you can pray, “Jesus, give me a nice mansion and while You’re at it, throw in a new Mercedes,” is to completely misapply Jesus’ promise.

John Piper argues that instead of using prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie to call in supplies for the battle, we have turned it into an intercom to ask for more comforts in the den.

Listeners today rarely realize the full impact of powerful passages like this; they are only interested in hearing a modern man who can make their lives a little easier.