Bible Study About Jealousy: The Good, the Bad, and the Holy

Contents show

WE WILL NOT BOW TO ENVY. WE WILL BELONG TO GOD. WE WILL BURN WITH HOLY ZEAL.

Brethren, Friends, Praise the Lord. Envy ruins the bones, but the love of God makes the heart whole. Today we renounce the green-eyed thief that steals joy, divides homes, and poisons churches, and we embrace the jealous love of the Lord who claims us as His own.

We will not compare. We will not compete. We will contend for faithfulness, rejoice in others’ blessing, and walk in the fire of holy zeal. Praise be to God. Thank You, Lord.

Jealousy: What Are We Really Talking About?

Jealousy in Scripture can be poison or power. In common life it often shows up as envy, coveting what is not ours, or fearing we will lose what is ours. Scripture uses words that also mean zeal, an intense, focused passion.

Context determines the heart. When the heart turns inward, jealousy rots. When the heart turns Godward, jealousy protects what is sacred.

“Thou shalt not covet.” That nails the selfish side of jealousy to the wall (Exodus 20:17, KJV).
Love refuses that path. “Charity envieth not” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Zeal is different. God Himself is “a consuming fire” who “is a jealous God,” burning with covenant love that guards His people from ruin (Deuteronomy 4:24; Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14).

Question: Which fire is burning in you today?

The Bad and the Ugly: Jealousy That Destroys

Jealousy kills, then it lies about why it did it. Cain’s envy lit the fuse. He rose up and slew his brother Abel when God respected Abel’s offering and not his (Genesis 4:3–8). Even in judgment, God marked Cain for protection, a strange mercy that exposes how dark envy had become (Genesis 4:13–15).

Joseph’s brothers “envied him,” sold him into slavery, and faked his death. God later flipped their sin into salvation, but the envy was real and cruel (Genesis 37; 50:20).

King Saul heard the song, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,” and something snapped. He eyed David from that day forward and hurled spears that never needed to be thrown (1 Samuel 18:7–12).

At the cross envy showed its fangs. Pilate knew “that for envy they had delivered him” (Mark 15:10). Yet God took their envy and made it the doorway of our redemption.

The apostles warn us plainly. “Where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:16). Envy sits in the works of the flesh list with sins we all recognize and none we should excuse (Galatians 5:19–21). No surprise Proverbs says, “Envy is the rottenness of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).

Warning. Suggestion. Alarm. Let the warning sober you. Let the suggestion correct you. Let the alarm wake you.

The Holy Side: God’s Jealous Love

A jealous God? Yes, holy and good. In covenant language God calls Himself “Jealous,” for He will not share His glory with idols and will not watch His beloved self-destruct without acting (Exodus 34:14; Exodus 20:5). He is the faithful Husband to His people, grieving their spiritual adultery yet pursuing them still (Jeremiah 3:14; Hosea 2:19–20). Praise be to God, His jealousy is not petty. It is protective love.

Paul felt this fire. “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy,” he told Corinth, guarding the church like a father keeping a betrothed daughter for one Husband, Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2–3).

Question: If God burns with zeal for your heart, why give your heart to lesser things?

Jealousy, Envy, Zeal: Clearing the Fog

Envy wants what is not mine and refuses to rejoice when others rise (Exodus 20:17; 1 Corinthians 13:4).
Jealous suspicion fears losing what I have and often imagines rivals where love should build trust.
Zeal aims passion toward God’s honor and others’ good. Christ “purified unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). We may even “covet earnestly the best gifts,” but never to outshine a brother, rather to edify the body (1 Corinthians 12:31).

Test: Does your desire serve love, or does it demand attention?

Fighting the Green-Eyed Monster: Seven Spirit-Powered Practices

Confess it, do not rename it. Say it plain before God. He already knows. “If we confess our sins,” He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse (1 John 1:9). Bring envy into the light.
Stand in the Father’s security. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee… The Lord is my helper; I will not fear” (Hebrews 13:5–6). Content souls do not claw at others’ blessings.
Choose gratitude on purpose. Contentment is not passive. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). Make the list. Thank Him out loud.
Celebrate others’ wins. “Rejoice with them that do rejoice” (Romans 12:15). Your Father’s table never runs out. Someone else eating well does not empty your plate.
Follow your assignment. Peter asked about John. Jesus answered, “What is that to thee? follow thou me” (John 21:21–22). Eyes on Jesus. Feet on your path.
Feed holy fire, starve unholy sparks. Turn energy into service. Be zealous for good works that bless others, not applause that feeds ego (Titus 2:14; Titus 3:8).
Walk in the Spirit. The Spirit’s fruit crushes envy at the root: love, joy, peace… and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). Ask, receive, and keep in step.

Short sentence. Make war. Long sentence. Make war by worship, gratitude, intercession, and the simple practice of cheering for people you once compared yourself to.

The Blessings When Envy Breaks and Zeal Burns

Peace in your bones. Where envy rots, peace heals (Proverbs 14:30).
Joy shared. Heaven’s math is simple. Shared laughter multiplies joy.
Relationships strengthened. Jonathan refused jealousy and gained a covenant friend in David; humility won what envy could never keep (1 Samuel 18–20; implied by contrast with Saul).
Favor with God. The humble are lifted in due time. You stop grasping and start receiving.
A steady soul. Whether abounding or abased, you are kept by the God who never leaves you (Hebrews 13:5–6).

Friends, Praise the Lord. This is not theory. This is the way of life.

Patterns, Symbols, and the Bigger Picture

From first murder to the cross: Jealousy opens and jealousy culminates. Cain kills Abel in envy (Genesis 4). Christ is delivered up “for envy” (Mark 15:10). God overrules both. Joseph says, “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20). The cross shouts the same.

The covenant story: Israel provokes God by idols, God disciplines, calls, restores. He is Husband still (Jeremiah 3:14; Hosea 2:19–20). The fire image matters. “Jealousy is cruel as the grave… the coals thereof are coals of fire” (Song of Solomon 8:6). God’s jealousy is a purifying blaze, not a temper flare (Deuteronomy 4:24).

Provoked to holy longing: “They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God… I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people” (Deuteronomy 32:21). Paul sees Gentile salvation stirring Israel to seek the Lord again, by God’s wise design (Romans 10:19; 11:11). Jealousy, redeemed, can awaken hunger for God.

Old and New tell one story. James warns that friendship with the world is enmity with God and points to the Spirit who yearns jealously for our undivided hearts (James 4:4–5, KJV reading). The church is Christ’s bride, called to faithful love and radiant holiness (Ephesians 5:25–27; Revelation 19:7).

Question: What idol is provoking God’s jealousy in you, and will you lay it down today?

Decision Time: Renounce Envy. Receive Love. Rekindle Zeal.

Bold truth: Envy is a liar. Bold invitation: God is a jealous Lover who will not let you go. Bold next step: Answer Him now.

Prayer:
Father, in Jesus’ name, I confess jealousy where I have compared, coveted, and resented. Wash me. Fill me with the Holy Ghost. Plant in me the fruit of love, joy, peace, and self-control. Teach me contentment. Teach me to rejoice with those who rejoice. Fix my eyes on Jesus. Kindle holy zeal for Your glory and for the good of others. Thank You, Lord. Praise be to God. Amen.

Brethren, Friends. When jealousy knocks, do not open the door. Open the Word. Open your mouth in thanksgiving. Open your hands to bless someone else. Follow Jesus. The fire that once burned to take will burn to give. The God who calls Himself Jealous will keep you as His own, and your life will sing, not with comparison, but with holy zeal.

Call to Action: The Question That Demands an Answer

In Acts 2:37 Peter and the Apostles were asked the question – What Shall We do?

And in Acts 2:38 Peter answered, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Do you understand this? After hearing the gospel and believing, they asked what should would do. The answer hasn’t changed friend, Peter clearly gave the answer. The question for you today is, Have you receieved the Holy Spirit Since you believed?

If you’re ready to take that step, or you want to learn more about what it means to be born again of water and Spirit, visit:
👉 revivalnsw.com.au

Come, and let the Spirit make you new.