1CO 13:4 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."

We are told that God is love. We are also told that He so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son into this world to die for the penalty of our sin. If it is love that characterizes who our God is and what He did for us, then we ought to take the time to look at each aspect of the love or agape that Paul writes for us here.

Last week we considered that love is patient and kind. This week we want to look at what love is not. And sometimes we can get a better picture of what something is by looking at what it is not as we eliminate the possibilities.

For example, try describing what gator tail tastes like. You can’t say it tastes like gator tail to someone who’s never tasted it. What do you compare it to? Well, let me first say that gator tail does not taste like chicken. And so, we immediately eliminate that. It doesn’t taste like fish. It has a different taste. In fact, it has a similar taste and texture to scallops.

And in a similar way Paul is saying to these Corinthian believers that the fruit of their lives may have a certain taste to people around them, but it appears that the taste it leaves in the mouths of people is not that of agape, but something else. That something else is what Paul addresses here in our text.

Love is something other than jealousy. If the fruit of our lives is tasted as jealousy then Paul says, our life at that moment is not demonstrating a true agape love.

Well, if love is something other than jealousy it would be good to know what jealousy is. Now, as we see in our text, Paul doesn’t take the time to define jealousy because he assumes his readers have an idea of what it is.

And I dare say that all of us have an idea as to what jealousy is. But for the sake of our study it’s worth noting this fruit of the flesh which is the opposite of love. Now keep in mind that in the context here jealousy is seen as something negative, and yet jealousy is not always a bad thing.

As one commentator put it, "jealousy can have a positive connotation in the sense of guarding one’s honor. For instance, God is a jealous God who commands His people to worship Him only." (Simon J. Kistemaker)

EXO 34:14 "Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."

The word used to identify our God in Exodus is the word in Hebrew which means to burn with zeal. God burns with a zeal to love us and to have us love Him only. That’s a good thing that His zeal for us is to love us. Paul speaks of this same kind of jealousy with these very Corinthians in his second letter to them.

2CO 11:2 "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him."

Again, the idea here of jealousy is seen in a positive light as this word for jealous is the Greek word zeloo, and like the Hebrew it means to burn with zeal. Paul is saying that since he has brought them to Christ he has dedicated their lives to only one God who deserves their full allegiance and love.

And in that sense he is jealous with a godly jealousy and a zeal to see them walk in the ways of their Lord and Savior. This is why there is nothing wrong with a husband or wife being jealous for their spouse’s love. Your zeal to guard the love of your mate, who has promised to love you alone, is a godly principle.

Unfortunately, many of these Christians at Corinth were not having a zeal to guard their love for Christ. Their zeal was to be selfish and zealous to desire the things of others, be it spiritual gifts or whatever. And in this sense, jealousy turns to a bad thing.

This is one reason the NIV and the NKJV uses the word envy and the KJV uses the word envieth. In fact, this kind of jealousy which involves envy even has its own color. Green. "Green with envy." It conjures up all sorts of negative ideas.

And so, Paul says, this kind of jealousy which envies is not love, it is not from God. You’ll remember, that in the beginning of this letter to the Corinthians Paul accuses them of such jealousy and defines it rather clearly as to what it is and where it was coming from.

1CO 3:3 "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"

JAM 3:14 "But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."

This is what envy produces. But, there are actually two types of envy. One type of envy looks at what someone else has and says I want it. In the case at Corinth, those who did not have the gift of tongues or prophecy saw that others did and said, I want it, I deserve it.

We might look at the lifestyle of people in this world and conclude that we can’t be happy unless we have what they have. And so, we spend our lives pining over such things, all the while missing out on what life in Christ is really all about; a relationship with the living God.

Why do you think people used to tune in to the T.V. program, "The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?" It wasn’t because they were in the market to spend their money in the same way. It was because they couldn’t afford such luxury and they longed to know what it would be like.

Years ago, I was an AMWAY distributor and my up-line exhorted me to go down to the Cadillac dealership, not because I could afford a Cadillac, but to go down there and feel what it was like to sit in one and to acquire a zeal to want to get one. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Cadillac’s or people who can afford them. Praise God for such blessings.

But to plant a thought in a person’s mind that simply because you don’t have something that you should envy someone who does is not the way we should live. This by the way, is why many politicians are so successful. They play one group against the other and taunt the less fortunate group to envy what the more fortunate group has.

In the process they conclude that the "have’s" need to give up what they have so the "have not’s" can get a share of it. This is a principle known as the forcible redistribution of wealth which many socialist countries practice, including the United States to a degree.

This legal theft can only be accomplished by fueling the fires of envy. Thus, we have "class envy", where one class of people are told that they deserve what others have, "and as your legal representative I will do everything in my power to wrestle it out of the hands of those greedy wealthy and I will put what you deserve from them into your hands."

And as bad as that kind of envy may be it can get even uglier, because there is a second kind of envy. This kind of envy not only wants what others may have, it will actually take a vindictive attitude if they can’t get it. It hates what others have so much that they will want to destroy whatever it is they have.

"If I can’t have it, no one will." Think back when you were a child and picture this scene. You’re all around a board game and one of the children is winning big time. The others are a little aggravated, but there’s one child who simply can’t stand the one winning, because they always win.

You’ve got all of these little plastic pieces of every color scattered strategically on the board. The dice are there as well. The one winning at the game picks up the dice and throws them down on the board and gets a 12. He moves his piece around the board and lands on a space which instructs him to take money from each player.

At this point the one kid who hates the idea that he isn’t winning does something which we’ve probably seen many times and may have felt like doing it ourselves. You know what’s coming. In a flash this arm comes sweeping across the board and pieces are flying everywhere. And the exclamation comes from the loser, games over, no one wins.

If I can’t win, or if I can’t have it, then no one will. Now, with a child we call that childish. But with an adult we call it a crime, because in the case of an adult the rage can turn to something which can hurt.

The very first time we see such jealousy, such envy in the bible is with Cain and Abel. We all know the story. Cain felt that his brother was the one always having favor placed on him. He always wanted what his brother had.

In his own mind he never could out-do his brother. His brother, Abel, always seemed to be the do-gooder and was always the one getting the praise. Cain wanted that attention, but he wasn’t willing to honor and obey God to get it. His envy turned into something horrible as he decided that if he couldn’t get such praise, Abel wouldn’t either.

His envy turned to murder. That didn’t come from God because God is love. We’ve been studying the book of Genesis and have now come to the end of Jacob’s life as he has now died in the land of Egypt where his son Joseph has saved them, being second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.

You might remember how Joseph got to Egypt. It was envy which got him there. Obviously, the Lord used those circumstances. But it was his brothers’ jealousy of Joseph’s relationship with his father and his insistence that God was going to use him in their lives which pushed them over the edge.

We can’t stand what you’ve got Joseph. And so we’ll destroy it and you. Paul says, love does not envy. We can’t look at others in the church and envy what they have in the way of material possessions or spiritual possessions. Ultimately all blessings come from God. To be jealous of such people or envious of what they have is to call into question God’s goodness.

And this is the point Paul is making. Take what you have and use it to the glory of God. It doesn’t matter what anyone else has. And it doesn’t make any difference how God might want to bless them. He has blessed each of us in various ways and He is personally working all things to our good and His glory.

I like what Jesus once told Peter regarding how the Lord was going to bless the apostle John. The discussion involved how they were going to die.

JOH 21:18 "I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."

1PE 2:1 "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

ROM 13:14 "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

GAL 5:25 "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

If we will simply seek the Lord and His truth, and walk in His ways by the power of His Spirit, we won’t have time to be envious of others because we’ll be too busy serving and loving others. This is love.

But love also doesn’t boast and it isn’t proud. Some translations say love doesn’t brag. The NKJV puts it this way. Love does not parade itself. Bragging is a rather interesting thing in that it is the "other side of jealousy. Jealousy is wanting what someone else has. Bragging is trying to make others jealous of what we have." (John MacArthur)

When we put this attitude back into our text we see that a number of the Corinthian believers were probably braggarts of the gifts they had from God, which means they were taking some sort of credit for what they had. They may have felt that since they were more spiritual they were deserving of such "special gifts" from God.

Unfortunately, this attitude is prevalent among some Charismatic or Pentecostal groups. If you don’t have the gift of tongues, for example, some of them will make you feel like a second-class Christian who hasn’t got enough faith and maturity to handle such a gift like them. This is a form of bragging or parading such gifts.

By the way, this is what Paul addressed earlier in this letter when he pointed out that none of the gifts are earned by anyone. In fact, if you could earn a gift, it would cease to be a gift and then become a wage. Here’s what Paul said.

1CO 4:7 "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"

For someone to have received a gift from God by grace and by inference boast that they didn’t get it as a gift, but that they deserved it or earned it, is to miss the point of grace and how God distributes His gifts.

1CO 12:11 "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."

To boast of such things is to demonstrate conceit. To brag of our accomplishments before the Lord is not to understand that God not only gives, He can also take away. And though He won’t take away the gifts of the Spirit He’s given He can certainly take away our ability to practice them in any meaning and spiritual way.

Consider what our Lord Jesus told the churches in the book of Revelation. For those churches which were not willing to repent of their evil deeds He promises them that, "I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."

That could include removing the church itself, but it doesn’t exclude the idea of allowing the facade of such a church to exist without Christ’s involvement in it. It has a form of godliness but has no power because the Lord has removed His light.

Just look at some of the mainline denominations today. At the recent pastor’s conference in Merritt Island Gail Erwin read a survey which was sent to some of these denominations. Questions included: do you believe that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh?

Gail went down the list and the numbers were staggering as in some cases 60% of a certain number of leaders within these denominations said, no he is not God.

Was Jesus born of a virgin? Again well over 50% of many of these leaders said no. Is the bible the only infallible word of God? The numbers climbed into the 80% mark with some of them as they answered no.

Is it any wonder the world looks at the church today as these types of denominations are viewed as true churches, and concludes we don’t need such an organization. There is no power there. There is no hope there. And they’re right. And yet, many of these "dead" churches boast of great things for the Lord.

The opposite of bragging and being boastful is humbleness. Love does not brag. Love is humble with the understanding that none of us deserve the love of God. None of us deserve eternal life. None of us deserve our sins forgiven. And yet love has done all of that for us who believe on Christ alone, who is love.

Consider our Lord Jesus. "He was God incarnate, yet never exalted Himself in any way. Although He existed in the form or God [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and .... being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself. (Phil.2:6-8)......

..... Jesus who had everything to boast of, never boasted. I total contrast, we who have nothing to boast of are prone to boast. Only the love that comes from Jesus Christ can save us from flaunting our knowledge, our abilities, our gifts, or our accomplishments, real or imagined." (John MacArthur)

If we’re going to boast in anything we ought to boast in the One who is Creator God and Savior.

1CO 1:30 "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

To boast in anything or anyone but our God is to make false boasts which can often turn to arrogance. And as Paul says, love is not arrogant, proud, or puffed up.

You ever hear the expression, "that person is full of himself"? That’s what Paul is talking about here. In the context of spirituality, it is false spirituality because it is not love.

Arrogance is one of those things which attempts to place ourselves on a higher level than others. It attempts to assume that we are better than others. Consider the sin of Lucifer. Here was an angel who had it all. He was a most favored angel of God, created to be a shining light for the Lord.

But being an angel of the Lord at His footstool was not enough for Lucifer. He assumed He could climb the ladder of success by taking it by force. In his arrogance he tried to climb to the position of God. But there is only one God who will not share His glory with another.

And by the way, this very act of God judging Lucifer and now declaring Lucifer to be an opposer of God gives us the name Satan which means just that. Satan is opposed to God and everything associated with God. He hates God and all associated with Him. And guess what? You and I in Christ are associated with God, and therefore are hated by the opposer, Satan.

But just as God judged Satan and with a word cast him to this earth, the Lord will one day throw him into the eternal lake of fire. Satan cannot oppose God in any real way. Satan is at best a powerful creature who is infinitely less powerful than our Almighty God. This is why we don’t need to fear Satan. Respect? Yes, to the degree that he is more powerful than us.

2TI 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of [fear], but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord..."

Arrogance got Satan where he is and where he will ultimately end up. And it is arrogance which can get us in trouble at times as well. Arrogance is often bred from pride, which is why the NIV uses the word proud at the end of verse 4.

And sometimes pride will result from what we know. But if we gain knowledge only for the purpose of flaunting it or making ourselves look good then that pride can rear its ugly head. That kind of pride is not love.

1CO 8:1 "...We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

Here Paul equates a love for God in his knowledge as one who is useful. One who simply takes knowledge and uses it for his own benefit does not build up, but actually ends up tearing down.

Those in Corinth who felt that they had a better knowledge concerning things sacrificed to idols were not using their liberties in a loving way, but were puffing themselves up with their knowledge and making the younger saints feel inferior.

And what these alleged seasoned saints actually ended up doing was putting the weaker brothers and sisters in Christ in a position of sinning. That’s not what our knowledge should be doing. That’s not what love accomplishes.

Don’t get me wrong, it is imperative to gain the knowledge of the Lord found in His word, but it’s how we use such knowledge which can keep us from appearing as arrogant.

This is why Peter exhorts us to seek both grace and knowledge as we come to the Lord.

2PE 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."

But our knowledge of Christ must result in a better knowing of Christ Himself. And again, this is where our knowledge of Christ turns into a relationship of love in our Lord. That’s what Paul was talking about when writing to the Philippians.

PHI 3:8 "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith."

When we know the Lord like this and appreciate what He has done for us, we could never live a life which is arrogant or boasts in itself. Love does not seek its own. Love is not jealous or envious. Love does not brag or boast in itself, and it is not puffed up with an attitude that we are better than others.

And let me add that even as Christians, we are not better than the people in this world who have not embraced Christ. Once we take the arrogant attitude that we are better than them we can only expect the refrain, "holier than thou" from people who then want nothing to do with us.

It’s true that in Christ we are new creatures in Him and that we are called out to be holy, even as our heavenly Father is holy. But that’s different from saying that because I was given a gift of life that somehow I deserved it and now because you’re not like me you are more lowly and less deserving. Someone once said a Christian is like one beggar passing on a gift of bread to another beggar.

We are not better. We are different because we are saved by grace and hopefully, out of gratitude, we desire to come along side people who need to know the truth, that they don’t have to die in their sins, but can understand what it means to receive the grace and love of Christ as they see this love in us. This love is an attitude of humbleness and service as unto the Lord.

PHI 2:1 "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:."

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