Envy by Bob Sorge

Author:Bob Sorge [Sorge, Bob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Envy—Religious aspects—Christianity, Jealousy—Religious aspects—Christianity
ISBN: 9781441268815
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2012-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Note

1. John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings, comp. Roberts Liardon (Tulsa, OK: Albury Publishing, 1999), pp. 97, 99.

CHAPTER 6

THE CROSS: DEATH OF ENVY

GOD DEALS WITH ENVY AT THE CROSS. As a work of the flesh it must be thrust through and killed. We have been crucified with Christ (see Galatians 2:20), which means we now have the power to live as though our flesh were dead. And every time the flesh attempts to resurrect itself, we once again count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (see Romans 6:11). The Cross is the answer to every work of the flesh. When the flesh has been crucified, it is dead to sin. Therefore, every time we repent and embrace the crucified life, we “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31) so that sins like envy might have no dominion over us.

However, the Cross also deals with envy in another way. Jesus’ cross was the implement that empowered Jesus’ brothers to overcome their envy. Up until His crucifixion, Jesus’ four natural half-brothers were simply incapable of rising above their envy and putting their faith in their older brother. His teachings, His miracles, His lifestyle, His supernatural birth as told to them by their mother—all were compelling, but they could never rise above the fact that this was their brother. Envy was literally keeping them from eternal life (see John 7:3-8). So God’s answer was the Cross.

There is good reason to suppose that Jesus’ brothers were present at His crucifixion. (It happened during the feast of Passover, a feast at which attendance for all Jewish males was mandatory; and it seems highly improbable they would be in the city but not present at the crucifixion.) When they beheld Jesus on the cross, everything changed for them. The torment of His suffering and the dignity with which He bore it made their mark in their hearts. They saw a suffering that surpassed comprehension. How could they gaze upon this crucified form, which didn’t even resemble a man because of its gruesomeness (see Isaiah 52:14), and continue to envy Him? As their envy melted at the foot of the Cross, the sprouting seeds of faith were finally given opportunity within their hearts to rise.

When they saw His supernatural death and resurrected body, they believed. (We know that at least one of Jesus’ brothers—James—saw Jesus in His resurrected body, according to 1 Corinthians 15:7.) The cross was the catalyst that empowered Jesus’ brothers to overcome their envy and transition over into faith, which is why they were present in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 disciples (see Acts 1:13—2:4).

The Cross dealt with the brothers’ envy.

This is still how God deals with envy among the brothers. He crucifies the brother whom He has selected for honor.

I said, “Lord, if my brother is envying me, then shouldn’t he be the one who gets crucified since it’s his problem?” The Lord says, “No, I’m going to deal with your brother’s envy by crucifying you.

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