Love Envieth Not

Title: Love Envieth Not                                Text: I Corinthians 13:4

Introduction: When trying to understand what something is it is often helpful to know what it is not. God’s Word tells us what Love does and also what it does not do. Tonight we will consider what love does not do – Love envieth not!

I. Envy’s Definition: “Pain, uneasiness, mortification or discontent excited by the sight of another’s superiority or success, accompanied with some degree of hatred or malignity, and often or usually with a desire or an effort to depreciate the person, and with pleasure in seeing him depressed. Envy springs from pride, [and] ambition . . . mortified that another has obtained what one has a strong desire to possess.” (NW 1828).

“Envy is the desire to deprive others of what is rightfully theirs, to wish that they did not have it or had it to a lesser degree” (J.M. Philippians pg.64).

II. Envy’s Examples:

1. Cain of Able – Genesis 4:4-8 –

2. Sarah of Hagar – Genesis 16:5-6; 21:9-10 –

3. Philistines of Isaac – Genesis 26:14 “Philistines envied him”

4. Rachel of Leah – Genesis 30:1 “Rachel envied her sister”

5. Joseph’s brethren of Joseph – Acts 7:9 – Genesis 37-4-11, 19, 20 “And his brethren envied him;”

6. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, of Moses – Numbers 16:3, Psalm 106:16-18

7. Saul of David – I Samuel 18:8-9

8. Princes of Babylon of Daniel – Daniel 6:3-4 “sought to find occasion against Daniel”

9. Priest of Jesus – Mark 15:10 “delivered him for envy”

10. Jews of Paul – Acts 13:45, Acts 17:5

III. Envy’s consequences:

1. Confusion

2. Every evil work

James 3:16 “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”

Application: Is there someone you envy? Do you want help to stop envying other?

IV. Envy’s deliverance:

1. Obey God’s command and fear Him – Proverbs 23:7 “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long”

2. Acknowledge your sin of envy- James 3:14 “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth”

3. Lay your sin of envy aside – I Peter 2:1 “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby

4. Walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:25-26 “If we live in the Spirit , let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying on another.

Conclusion: To love as God wants us to love – it cannot be mixed with any envy – wanting to take from them something you want for yourself.

Next Study: Love is Not Proud