“Enemy of Our Soul”

ENVY

“Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
and Judah shall not trouble Ephraim”
Isaiah 11:11

The power and beauty of the Body of Christ is found in the unity of His heart beating within (Psalm 133). It suffers greatly when there is rivalry between its own members; in this instance the enemies are not so much from without but from the carnality within.

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these…Envying’s”
Galatians 5: 19-21

The works and deeds of the flesh mar the image and likeness of Christ in the earth. When men and women are filled with love of self they harbor envy and cling to this destructive work which prevents them from entering God’s Kingdom (Galatians 5:21). They withdraw from the union and fellowship of the Spirit with others. Where there is no vision of the Body of Christ there can be no comprehension of the devastation that is wrought by this enemy. In the seeds of this evil there is a deception which hides God’s face from the heart of the one who holds on to envy. It is an insidious work of the Devil himself. Gossip, evil speaking, lies, murder and darkness lurk and grow within its domain. Exclusion of the other members of the Body of Christ, causing schisms and divisions are the outcome of its curse. Envy was the primary motive for Cain to kill his brother because the sacrifice of Abel was accepted and Cain’s was rejected. Saul envied David and Joseph was envied of his brothers.

“But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts,
glory not, and lie not against the truth.
This wisdom descendeth not from above,
but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is,
there is confusion and every evil work”
James 3:14-16

Wherever there is envy and jealously within a heart darkness and deception are sure to overtake the light bringing damnation and judgement. Envy at its root grows from an ungrateful heart for the giftings and callings given of God. By envying another we are telling God that He is unrighteous in His giving. Traces of the sin of envy and the judgement thereof are found throughout the scriptures. Korah was a prime example of someone not content with the call of God upon His own life. It was and will continue to be the downfall of many.

Those who hold on to envy reveal the darkness in which they walk; to continue in its way one must hide themselves from the light and the fear of the Lord. What is the end of this work of the flesh and of the devil?

“envying’s…of the which I tell you before,
as I have also told you in time past,
that they which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God”
Galatians 5:22

ω

“Wherever God is — there is peace.
And the opposite is self-evident:
where there is envy, enmity, impatience,
self-love — there is the devil.
Wherever the devil is — there,
everything is ruinous, proud and hostile.”
St. Anatoly

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info