Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
Scripture does not speak emptily but truly exposes the envious desire at work within people. The spirit that dwells in us and lusts to envy is the selfish, unregenerate human spirit, inclined toward envy and selfish desire and self-seeking and longing enviously for supremacy, opposed to God and not the Holy Spirit, who never leads anyone to envy. That envious inward tendency produces jealousy and ambition. That same inward tendency is a source of conflict among people. It makes self-gratification dangerous.
The verse applies to a person who puts self first, insists on control, and is dissatisfied when personal desires are not met, showing need for conversion and humility. It applies to faultfinding and accusing others, which reveal imperfection of character. It belongs with instruction on the use of the tongue and its lasting consequences, calling for confessing and correcting hasty, harsh conduct rather than defending it. The warning is immediately followed by the assurance that God gives more grace. He draws near to the humble. The remedy is humility before God, submission to Him, resistance to the devil, drawing near to God, stopping evil speech against one another, and cleansing hands and hearts from sin, double-mindedness and impurity.
Drawing near to God reveals personal defects and awakens desire to rise higher, and those who confess wrongs to others and come to God in humility and contrition receive His nearness. Grieving the Holy Spirit by wrongdoing should lead a person to draw near to God in humility rather than to withdraw from Him. The verse gives a lesson every church member must learn through close self-examination in the light of the Word. Complying with what it requires brings acceptance with God to be believed by faith even when feeling is different, and such compliance means yielding implicit obedience to every requirement of God's law and heeding the warnings of the Holy Spirit. The passage from verse 5 through verse 12 is to be read, every word studied as for life, and practiced in daily life in order to know the work the Lord has given to do, together with related Scriptures on practical faith, prayer and restoration, and right judgment in James 2, James 5:13-20, and Matthew 7. Though it remains a dead letter to the larger number of professed believers, this heart work must be done first in one's own heart before directions for reaching lost souls can be of use.
Scripture does not speak emptily but truly exposes the envious desire at work within people. The spirit that dwells in us and lusts to envy is the selfish, unregenerate human spirit, inclined toward envy and selfish desire and self-seeking and longing enviously for supremacy, opposed to God and not the Holy Spirit, who never leads anyone to envy. That envious inward tendency produces jealousy and ambition. That same inward tendency is a source of conflict among people. It makes self-gratification dangerous.
The verse applies to a person who puts self first, insists on control, and is dissatisfied when personal desires are not met, showing need for conversion and humility. It applies to faultfinding and accusing others, which reveal imperfection of character. It belongs with instruction on the use of the tongue and its lasting consequences, calling for confessing and correcting hasty, harsh conduct rather than defending it. The warning is immediately followed by the assurance that God gives more grace. He draws near to the humble. The remedy is humility before God, submission to Him, resistance to the devil, drawing near to God, stopping evil speech against one another, and cleansing hands and hearts from sin, double-mindedness and impurity.
Drawing near to God reveals personal defects and awakens desire to rise higher, and those who confess wrongs to others and come to God in humility and contrition receive His nearness. Grieving the Holy Spirit by wrongdoing should lead a person to draw near to God in humility rather than to withdraw from Him. The verse gives a lesson every church member must learn through close self-examination in the light of the Word. Complying with what it requires brings acceptance with God to be believed by faith even when feeling is different, and such compliance means yielding implicit obedience to every requirement of God's law and heeding the warnings of the Holy Spirit. The passage from verse 5 through verse 12 is to be read, every word studied as for life, and practiced in daily life in order to know the work the Lord has given to do, together with related Scriptures on practical faith, prayer and restoration, and right judgment in James 2, James 5:13-20, and Matthew 7. Though it remains a dead letter to the larger number of professed believers, this heart work must be done first in one's own heart before directions for reaching lost souls can be of use.