The Jealousy of God — Zac Poonen

God's Jealous Desire for the Human Spirit

I want to speak about the jealousy of God. I don't think I've ever spoken on that before. Where does the jealousy of God appear in scripture? Here it is, a verse that many people don't understand or haven't thought seriously about.

James chapter 4 and verse 5. James 4 verse 5 we read, do you think that the scripture speaks to no purpose? He jealously desires the spirit which he has made to dwell in us. Now in the Greek in which the New Testament is written, I understand everything was capital letters.

There are no small letters there, no lower caps. So when you read spirit, it's up to the translator into English to decide whether it's capital S or small s. And I think he made a mistake here because God doesn't have any jealousy towards the Holy Spirit.

What does he jealously desire? The spirit which he made to dwell in us when we were born. We were born like Adam with a spirit. Adam was like the animals in the beginning, just a pile of mud, the earth and water.

And when God breathed into him, he became different from the animals in the sense that he became a living soul. Animals have mind and emotions. Dogs have mind and emotions, but they don't have a spirit.

So they're not living souls. But when God breathed into Adam, it says he became a living soul. And the thing that made it living is he had a spirit. And so man is a trinity like his creator, spirit, soul and body.

And body we understand, our soul is our mind and emotions, etc. But the spirit is the deepest part of us. Or in the Gospels it's sometimes referred to as the heart, the spirit. And this spirit that God made to dwell in man, he jealously desires it.

Exclusive Devotion in the Bride of Christ

Jealously desires means he's very jealous that anybody else should have a part of that spirit. Just like a man, a good husband will be jealous, will jealously love his wife. That means he does not want his wife to have an interest, even a slight interest in any other man.

Zero interest in another man. I'm sure every good husband will want that and every good wife will ensure that she has no interest in any other man other than her husband. That is a godly jealousy. And that's what God desires.

Without our spirit in our heart we have no place for anyone or anything other than him. This is what it means to seek the kingdom of God first. A lot of people think when Jesus said you must seek the kingdom of God first it means doing missionary work or going preaching or something like that.

We always think in terms of activity. But a man who marries a wife only because he wants somebody to cook for him or wash his clothes or keep his house clean, he doesn't need a wife. He needs a housemaid.

A wife is not primarily for that purpose. A wife, a man, a good marriage, a man marries because he wants somebody he can love and who will love him in return. Whether she can cook or not, whether she can wash clothes properly or not is absolutely unimportant.

So in the same way we need to recognize that when the Bible speaks of this bridal relationship that Jesus has with us, he's not going to be satisfied with the fact that we work for him or give money to him.

What sort of husband would it be who's interested in how much money his wife can earn and give him? That's not a good marriage or how much work she can do or how efficient she is in the kitchen. And yet so much of Christendom, perhaps some of us who are listening, maybe thinking that we are pleasing God by something we do, some money we give him or some activity, going to the meetings or serving him in some way or witnessing to somebody, it's all work.

But that's not what he wants primarily. That's the activity of my body and my soul. What he desires is my spirit and if in my spirit I do not give him exclusive total authority and place in my life, I'm not a good bride.

I'm close to being a harlot. However much I may do for the Lord, however much I may serve him, even if I go for 10 ,000 meetings, he's not interested. It's just like, as I said, a wife whose heart does not belong to her husband but who does a lot of work at home.

She's like a maid, not a wife. And I'm sorry to say many Christians are like that. They are not the bride of Christ. They're just housemaids who are doing so many things for the Lord and probably giving money to the Lord, etc.

And so they miss the fundamental aspect of the new covenant. You know, we can think new covenant is well, old covenant we were defeated by sin, now we get victory over sin. That also can be a thing. Victory over sin can be a thing that we bring to God.

Love Rather Than Religious Performance

Okay, Lord, I did this. I did not get angry. I did not lust after women. It's something I offer. But that's not primary because I can do that with various motives. Do you know that you can overcome sin with many motives?

For example, you can overcome sin because you don't want to lose your testimony before other people. You don't want to get angry because you lose your testimony. That's not a good reason. Or I don't want to sin because I want God to use me.

If I sin, God will not use me. That's another totally selfish reason. Or it could be other reasons like that. God will bless me if I if I'm free from sin. That also is totally selfish. A brighter relationship with Christ means I'm not doing all these things to gain anything from God, not to try and impress God.

It's because I love Him. There's no place in my heart for anybody else but Him. Even in the Old Testament, the first commandment that God gave the Jews, which they could never keep, was love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.

With your heart. With all your heart. Your total spirit must belong to God. That's the meaning of God jealously desires our spirit. There must be absolutely no place in my heart for any other interest.

Everything else is something I do on the side. Even my job, my home, everything. Jesus said if I love even my parents or my wife or children more than Him, I can't be His disciple. So it's a very jealous love that God requires from us.

Spiritual Growth and Fervent Love for Christ

And the reason why many Christians do not grow spiritually, let me tell you this. I've observed in so many churches and it's quite likely that with some of you in RLCF as well, you may be happy with a good testimony.

You believe all that RLCF believes and so you get acceptance there. It's worth nothing. If God doesn't see that you love Him with all your heart, that there's no place in your heart for anyone, anything other than Him.

I want to say you've completely missed the bus. You're not understood the New Covenant at all. Because victory over sin, people talk about that even in Buddhism and yoga, overcoming anger and being free from the love of money and things like that.

You can concentrate on all these things which look very nice and give you a good testimony before others. Here's a brother who never loses his temper. Here's a brother who seems to be free from materialism.

He's very generous with his money. There are non-Christians like that. But the thing that distinguishes the bride of Christ is a fervent love for Jesus Christ, where there is no place in his heart even for his wife.

He loves his wife through Christ. His job is not primary for him. Christ is primary and he does a job as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Everything is related to Christ being central and occupying his heart.

You love the Lord your God with all your heart and every true servant of God will seek to bring his flock to this place. See, Paul uses that word jealousy again. The same word that God is jealous for our spirit.

Paul uses it in 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 2. He's writing to the Corinthians. They were believers. In fact, they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. They were speaking in tongues. They had so many gifts.

1 Corinthians 1 says they did not lack a single gift of the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine a church which did not lack a single gift of the Holy Spirit? That's what he says in 1 Corinthians 1. You're not lacking in any gift.

But they were terribly lacking in their spirit being devoted to Christ. And so Paul says in 11 verse 2, I'm jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I betrothed you to one husband, to Christ. And I want to present you to him as a pure virgin, you know, a true servant of God.

The reason why he preaches God's word to God's people is for no other reason but ultimately and primarily that one day he might present those people whom he has ministered to to the Lord Jesus and say, Lord, here is a virgin who never fooled around with others.

No harlotry here. They love you with all their heart. That's been my burden in all the churches I preach. I say, Lord, I wish everybody in this church, I don't care whether they're gifted preachers. I don't care if they can't preach for nuts.

I am not interested one bit in how much money they put in the offering box or how many people they bring to Christ or how active they are in witnessing. All this can bring honor before men. But I say, Lord, I want a church where every single person will love you fervently, where there is no question in their mind that Christ is the one they love with all their heart.

And the voice of parents and the voice of wife and children has no influence on them. Christ is Lord. And if they have heard Christ, they don't need to hear anybody else. They are willing to say no to everybody else.

They are willing to offend their parents left, right, and center. They are willing to offend their wives and offend everybody else because Christ is everything. This is what it means when God says, when it says, God says, I'm jealous for your spirit.

And this is the type of ministry that Paul had to, he wanted everyone, he was so jealous that nobody in this church in Corinth should have any other interest but Christ. And I believe, you may think though, if a person is occupied like that, how will he do his earthly work?

Christ-Centered Excellence in Daily Work

He'll do his earthly work much better than anybody else. I believe Jesus was the best carpenter in Nazareth. Not the richest because he didn't work to earn money. But I have no doubt of it that his work was the best.

Any table he made was the best table anybody could make. Any chair he made was the best he could make because he loved his father with all his heart. So everything that such a person does will be efficient in his work, whether he's working in an office or a factory on computers or a machine or anything.

Whether he's a taxi driver or a teacher or a nurse, he will do everything perfectly because he's in in line with the plan God had for man. The plan God has for man, he's in line with that. And when a man is in line with God's plan for man, everything he does will be perfect.

Like it says in Psalm 1 verse 3, whatever he does will prosper. Whatever he does. It's an amazing verse and I often claim that verse for myself. I said, Lord, you said even in the Old Testament in Psalm 1 verse 3, whatever he does will prosper.

I want that to be true in my life. If I try to earn my living in some way, I must prosper there. I don't want to be the richest person in town, but I never want to be in debt. I never want to be struggling that I can't, that I have to borrow money from people.

I don't want to be dependent on others because whatever I do will prosper. And I'm not doing it for my own honor. And if I minister the word, I must prosper there. My ministry must prosper. I don't believe being a failure in the ministry.

I don't believe, I personally don't believe that even one message of mine must be a flop. Never. Not even one. Because if whatever I do will prosper means what? In my ministry, everything I do has to prosper.

I mean, people may oppose me. They oppose all the apostles. But make that your goal, my brothers and sisters, that everything in your life that will be, I don't mean financial prosperity. I mean the blessing of God upon whatever you do.

The blessing of God upon your home. The blessing of God upon your speech. The blessing of God in anything you seek to do for the Lord because your heart is completely His. But Paul says further in 2 Corinthians 11, he was speaking about this jealous desire, jealousy, a godly jealousy to preserve everyone in that church for the Lord alone exclusively.

The Holy Spirit's Mission to Prepare Christ's Bride

You know, I was thinking in that connection about you know, in the Old Testament there's a picture of the bride of Christ in Abraham sending his servant, probably Eliezer, to Mesopotamia to get a bride for his son Isaac.

And there Abraham is a picture of God the Father. Isaac is a picture of Christ. And the servant is a picture of the Holy Spirit. And not only of the Holy Spirit, but a servant of God filled with the Holy Spirit.

And he goes to Mesopotamia. In other words, the Holy Spirit has come into the world. What does he come for? What did Eliezer, the servant, go to Mesopotamia for? He went there only with one purpose, to get a good bride for Isaac.

And the Holy Spirit has come to the earth to find a bride for Christ. And if I'm filled with the Holy Spirit, I believe my primary passion will be not to be a good preacher, not at all. My primary passion will be to find a bride for my Savior.

I've been sent for that purpose. And if you're a child of God, that should be your passion in life, even if you're not a full-time Christian worker, that by your life and your witness in your office or wherever you are, Lord, I want to draw people to you.

I want to do something to build the body of Christ, the bride of Jesus Christ, just like Abraham went, Abraham's servant went. And how supernaturally, God led him. It's an amazing story. You read that in Genesis 24.

Supernaturally, God led him to the right person. Out of all those hundreds or probably thousands of women there, in a supernatural way, God led Eliezer to the right person, to Rebekah. And you know, if you are where you jealously love the Lord alone, you don't give place in your spirit for anyone other than Christ and for anything on earth other than Christ, it's amazing how God will supernaturally lead you.

I've had amazing experiences like this, even through emails and through personal contact. He'll lead you to people who are to become a part of his bride, part of his body. We must long for such a life.

This is not just a ministry for full-time workers. We're not in the old covenant where there are priests who do the job. We're not in a denominational church where a pastor or deacons do the job. No, we're part of the body of Christ where every one of you, you have as much a ministry as me.

In the sphere in which God has put you, to find the Rebekah or the Isaac, that the Lord will use you. I'm not talking about bringing so many souls to Christ, but say, Lord, I want to be an influence for you to find your bride.

Guarding the Church in Pure Devotion

And I was thinking on the way back when Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, was bringing Rebekah back on a camel all the way. It's a long journey from Mesopotamia all the way to Canaan. I imagine so many people that Rebekah was a very pretty woman and so many people would have tried to distract her along the way.

And what do you think Eliezer Abraham's servant was doing? He was guarding her jealously. He said, I can't afford you afford to let you fool around with anybody on the way. I have to preserve you from my master's son for Isaac.

And he would have been very strict not to allow her to talk to anybody or get friendly with anyone along that long journey. That is a picture of how Paul, as a servant of God, jealously wanted to protect the church and present.

Just like finally Eliezer presented Rebekah to Isaac one day and said, here is your bride. And they got married. Paul has that picture that I want to present. Every church I work in and every place where I minister, I want to present the people there as a pure virgin for Christ.

And as I said before in the new covenant, we are all priests. Every one of us. You got as important a task in this as I have. Definitely you may not be called to preach like me, but you have a task to preserve the people you come in touch with in pure, pure devotion to Christ.

In simple, pure devotion to Jesus Christ. So that's what he says about here in verse 3, in 2 Corinthians 11 verse 3. He says, this is what I want to do. But you Corinthians, I'm afraid, 2 Corinthians 11 3, that just like the devil deceived Eve and led her astray, your mind also can be led astray from that simple, pure devotion to Christ where your spirit doesn't belong entirely to God.

You have other interests that take precedence over Christ. And I want to ask each of you listening to me right now, if you please be honest and tell yourself, ask yourself, is there anything on earth or anyone on earth who takes precedence over Christ in your life?

Does your job ever take precedence? I'm not talking about the number of hours you spend. It's not that I spend so many hours in prayer. I'm not talking, I don't care what you speak. Spend two minutes in prayer or 10 hours in prayer.

That's not the point. Who is number one in your life? What is the uppermost desire you have in your life? Is it to please the Lord Jesus Christ? Is it that in everything Christ must have the preeminence?

Christ's First Place in Everything

I remember many years ago when I was a young Christian and I was thinking of serving the Lord and I was in the Navy. The Lord gave me a verse from Colossians chapter 1. In Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18, it says in Colossians 1 .18 that Christ is the head of the body, the church, and he's the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.

And the purpose of this is, why is he the beginning? The beginning of creation, of course, in Genesis 1. He was there and he is the first person to rise from the dead. And the purpose of this is that he might have first place in everything.

God's purpose is that Christ might have first place in everything. And what the Lord said to me was, if you allow my son, Christ Jesus Christ, to have first place in your life, in everything, my power will back you till the end of your life.

But the day, if a day comes in your life when Christ does not have first place in every area of your life, my power will no longer be with you. That's what the Lord told me. It's very simple. I don't need to be a great Bible scholar.

In that time when the Lord spoke to me, I was not a great Bible scholar. I mean, I'm not even now. But it was not a question of being a Bible scholar. It's a question of giving Christ first place in everything.

It's not a question of how much memory you have to retain verses in the Bible. It's got nothing to do with these things that, or how well you can preach, or these things that in the Christian world they give importance to.

The question is one thing. Does Christ have first place in everything? God's ultimate purpose in this universe is described in that verse. Christ must have first place in everything. And we'll discover that when we get into eternity and we stand and you read in the book of Revelation that they all sing, worthy is the Lamb.

He alone is worthy. I picture that sometimes in my mind, in my imagination of being in heaven with thousands and thousands of people. I'm standing there and all I look around and I see heads, heads, heads, the heads of thousands of people as we're all standing there.

So many heads as I look around. I can't find where's Paul. I can't find where's Peter. I can't find John or I can't find any of the apostles. I can't find any of these famous preachers or even the godly men whom I've admired.

I can't find them. It's only Christ. It's only Christ. The Lamb alone is worthy. That's what they sing in heaven. And I picture that in my mind often and I say Lord that's the place I'm going to where no human being is important.

It's only Christ. And I want to be like that right now in my life too. That Christ has first place in everything I value. Every brother and sister. I value even the weaker brothers and sisters. But even the godly men I appreciate.

They're not going to have first any place in my heart. Christ is going to be first. And the only godly person I'll appreciate is someone who will lead me to give Christ the first place. Oh boy, I really would love to fellowship with such people whose influence and words can challenge me to give Christ first place in everything because that is God's purpose.

So I understood God's purpose then and I've tried to keep that in mind all these years since I heard the Lord speak that to me more than 55 years ago. I said Lord I want to give Christ first place in everything.

I've tried through the years to do that better and better and the Lord shows me more and more how maybe in some subtle way in some place I did not give Christ first place in everything. Then I must repent radically.

Very very important. You guys who are married make sure that you don't give your husband or your wife first place because you'll never never be able to love them the way God wants you to love them if you give them first place.

You give Christ the first place you will love your wife a million times better than if you give her the first place. You love your husband much better if you give Christ the first place. You love your children much better if you give Christ the first place above your children.

You do your job much better if you give Christ the first place and not your job or your profession or your anything. You know it's possible a person can worship his house, he can worship his car or his job.

Idolatry, Provision, and Trusting God

It's amazing. If you read the Old Testament I've been reading some of the Old Testament prophets recently again and I see how God's tremendous hatred for idolatry. He keeps on condemning the Israelites through the prophets.

You worship idols. You worship these gods of brass and stone and gold and all that. God is against anyone taking the place he should have in the human heart. That's what I get from that condemnation of idolatry in the Old Testament.

Many Christians have got idols. Their idol is their job or their bank account or their shares or their house or car or possessions or whatever it is. Something and God will make sure that all these things get destroyed.

All these things will suffer when you we must come to the place where if my income increases or decreases is exactly the same to me. That's one of the things I prayed for many many years. I said Lord I never want to have any extra joy if I get a little more money and I never want to have any sadness if I lose some money.

I want to be in the place where I'm completely unmoved. Unmoved means I don't move one bit in my emotion or in my mind when I've got gained some money or lost some money. You got a promotion in your job.

You suddenly got a hike in your salary. It doesn't excite you or something happened and you lost a lot of money. It doesn't bother you because Christ is everything. Christ has first place. I'll tell you it's a wonderful life and you'll find that all the things necessary for you will be added to you.

We, you people, the world is full of people are so careful. I've got to get this. I've got to provide for my children. I agree you'll be able to provide for your children much better if you put Christ, give Christ first place in everything.

Is it possible that God the Father sees a man on earth trying to honor his son and put Christ first in everything? Do you think God would make that man lose anything on this earth? Impossible. The whole earth, God will make the whole earth serve that man's needs because he runs this universe.

So that's why Jesus said seek God's kingdom first and all these other things will be added to you. All the things the world is worried about. They're worried about this, that and the other and particularly at this time when it's amazing I was thinking of this coronavirus.

What I've never heard of anything that's paralyzed the world, the whole world like this. Not even a world war. World war affected certain countries. But here is something that's more than 140 countries have been paralyzed in a few days.

And when you look at it what it is that caused this paralysis, it's such a teeny weeny germ that you can hardly see under a microscope. It's almost as though God is saying you know what it takes for me to paralyze this world.

You don't need an atom bomb or anything. Atom bomb will paralyze one country, one city rather. Here's something that can paralyze the whole world. It shows us the mighty power of God and teaches us to humble ourselves and worship such a God who cares for us.

Who says in your case even the hairs on your head are numbered. He loves me. I mean his love for me is for you is such a jealous love. He cares for even the hairs on our head. Imagine a husband who's concerned about the number of hairs on his wife's head.

I don't think there's any husband like that in the world. But God does. He's a husband who cares for even the hair on my head. That's the smallest little thing that can hurt me. Doesn't even hurt me one hair lost.

But God's interested even in that. And it's this type of jealous love that he expects from me as well. That I should love him in the same way just like he's concerned that about even the hair on my head.

I must be so concerned that nothing comes between me and him. I want to encourage you my brothers and sisters pursue this. And the way to do it is I believe as we as I've often said there are two things that have helped me to increase in my love for Jesus Christ.

Receiving God's Love in Order to Love Christ

One is the well-known verse in 1 John 4 which says we love him because he first loved us. 1 John 4 19. Why do I love him? Because he first loved me. And I know in my own life from one of the almost one of the first things I began to understand when I got converted 60 years ago.

God gave me a revelation of his love. And that's increased through the years as I've understood more and more of how much he has loved me. And because I understood that I loved him in return. My love was a response to understanding his love.

And when I see Christians who don't love Christ much. They love other things in the world and they are willing to displease Christ for some small little thing. Think of people who watch pornography and filthy movies and all that.

For a small little thing. I mean they're Christians. They go to church. But their interest is somewhere else. They don't love the Lord at all. They're doing things which completely displease the Lord.

And then they say, oh Lord, I'm sorry and come back and continue to do the same thing next week, week after next. I say these people, they're not even bothered. That they are displeasing their bridegroom all the time.

I say they need to know how much Jesus loved them. That it's not whipping up somebody's love. It's meditating on how much Jesus loved me. I want to encourage all of you to do that. It's one of the things which God supernaturally led me from my earliest Christian life to meditate on the love of God for me on Calvary.

More and more and later on, years later, I began to understand His love for me in Gethsemane. How He drank the cup for me, etc, etc. And the more I understood, I didn't have to create love for Christ.

It came automatically. When you see how much He loved me. We love Him because He first loved us. It's because. And if you don't understand how much He loved you, you won't love Him. So that's the number one thing.

I believe the main reason many people do not love Christ wholeheartedly is because they have not understood how much He loved them. And one day when Christ comes back and we stand before Him, the thing that will overwhelm us is when we see how much He loved us.

And say, wow. I say, Lord, I didn't know you loved me that much. And the second thing that enables us to love Him is when I realize how much He has forgiven me. One, how much He loved me. And second, how much He has forgiven me.

The Awareness of Sin and the Depth of Forgiveness

And that is from Luke chapter 7 and the words of Jesus. He who is forgiven much will love much. One John, sorry, Luke 7, 47. He who is forgiven little loves little. But he who is forgiven much loves much.

Now, I ask myself, is there any human being, any Christian in the world, in the history of Christianity, who's been forgiven little? Not at all. Every Christian that ever lived has been forgiven much.

Then what does Jesus mean when He says He who is forgiven little loves little? I think it's a question of awareness. Many people think they've been forgiven a little, little. Oh, I'm not such a bad person like that guy over there.

Oh, he, that guy was a murderer and God forgave him. I wasn't so bad. That's the reason you don't love Jesus much, because you think you've been forgiven very little. Every Christian has been forgiven much.

But the awareness of how much we've been forgiven varies. Many think they've been forgiven little. So if you find different degrees of love for Christ among Christians, it's not because some have been forgiven little.

They've all been forgiven much. But the awareness of how much they've been forgiven varies. And the one who's aware, who's asked the Lord to show me, Lord, how much you've forgiven me. In other words, show me the seriousness of sin.

We need to ask God to show us the seriousness of sin. For example, I believe that the same sin that I commit as a believer is a thousand times worse than if I said it as an unbeliever, a lie that I said as an unbeliever.

If I say the same lie as a believer, it's a thousand times worse. It's like telling a thousand lies. Because I've got more light. So when I see the gravity of sin and the seriousness of sin, when we commit sin as a believer, boy, we can say, Lord, there's no way I can fully understand Paul spontaneously saying, I'm the chief of sinners.

I want to ask you, have you ever felt like that? I don't mean reading that verse in 1 Timothy 1 15 and say, yeah, I'm the chief of sinners or in a false humility. You know, if you really seek to walk with the Lord, there'll be moments when you get a revelation where you'll feel there cannot be a sinner in the world worse than me.

I've had a few occasions like that in my own life. It's not out there all the time. I think God spares us making us feel like that all the time. We'd get discouraged. But Paul had a sudden revelation at a moment.

And I believe that if you really seek to understand how much God forgave you, there will be times when you spontaneously feel that you're the greatest sinner on the face of the earth. Because you see the enormity of sin, the seriousness of sin.

And you say, nobody could have sinned like me. So let's satisfy God's heart. He jealously desires our spirit. He jealously desires our heart. And let's give him our whole heart completely. That there'll be no place.

Simple, Total Devotion to Christ

And at least from today onwards, Lord, help us. We really need the power of the Holy Spirit for this because so many things are always trying to occupy heart. And now let me explain one more, say one more thing.

It's not a question of how much time you spend. You know, a person can spend a lot of time with his wife and yet may not love her more than others. Another person, because of circumstances, can't spend much time with his wife, but he loves her fervently.

It's just like that. It's not a question of how much time you can spend with the Lord. That depends on your circumstances. Your love for the Lord is not dependent on how many hours you spend with Christ or how much you read the Bible.

It's an attitude which in your heart where you say, no person, no thing, nothing in this world, no person in the world will ever have the slightest place in my heart. Christ is everything. And every person I love is through Christ.

And therefore I love them much more. It's easy for me to forgive. If you find it difficult to forgive somebody, I'll tell you it's because you don't love Christ supremely. If you did, you'd find it easy to forgive the great, the person who has done the maximum harm to you.

So many things happen when Christ becomes everything in our life. God bless you. I pray that these feeble words, the Holy Spirit will take to your heart and impress them to your heart the way he should.