Chapter Four--Earnest, Envy

Lesson Four

EARNEST, ENVY

Earnest The Greek word rendered as "earnest" in the New Testament is arrabon probably, introduced into Greece from Phoenicia. It designates earnest-money deposited by the purchaser and forfeited if the purchase is not completed. It is also used to designate a pledge or earnest of any kind. In modern Greek arrabona is an engagement ring.

A reference to the use of arrabon in classical Greek is in Aristotle, Politics 1259, where it is said of Thales the Milesian that "having a little money, he gave deposits for the use of all the olive presses in Chios and Miletus."

The meaning of arrabon as "earnest-money" is well illustrated in the papyri. A document of the second century B. C. describes a woman who sells a cow and receives 1, 000 drachmae as arabona. A document of A. D. 97 is in the form of a receipt for 160 drachmae, being the residue of earnest-money (200 drachmae) for 2 1/10 arourae of land. A docu-ment of A. D. 99 reads, "16 drachmae of silver as unexceptionable earnest-money." In a papyrus of the late first century A. D. a certain party writes another, "Regarding Lampon the mouse-catcher I paid him for you as earnest-money 8 drachmae in order that he may catch the mice while they are with young." A papyrus of A. D. 237 refers to the en-gagement of certain dancing girls for a village festival where provision is made that they are to receive so many drachmae "by way of earnest-money to be reckoned in the price."

In the Septuagint of Genesis 38:17-18; Genesis 38:20 rendered as arrabonis "pledge": "And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. . . . And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not." The pledge arrabon,designated here was given by Judah to his daughter-in-law Tamar , who deceived him into believing that she was a harlot, as a guarantee that he would give her a kid of the goats as payment in full for her acquiescence in having carnal relations with him.

The references to the use of arrabon in secular Greek and in the Septuagint confirm the New Testament sense of an "earnest," a part given in advance of what will be bestowed afterwards. Carefully consider the following passages in which arrabon is used:

1. "Now he that established us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God; who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Although this passage does not tell us what the earnest it designates is a pledge or guarantee of, it does plainly affirm that this earnest is the Holy Spirit Himself sent by God into the hearts of Christians to dwell in them, corresponding to such passages as Galatians 4:6, "And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying , Abba, Father."

2. "For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dis-solved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands , eternal, in the heavens. For verily in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may he swallowed up of life. Now he that wrought us for this very thing is God, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). In the foregoing citation Paul tells us what the Spirit is an earnest of: "a building from God, a house, not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens . . . that what is mortal may be swallowed up in life." God has promised His children that He will eventually give them an eternal, immortal house in which to live, which will take the place of the physical, mortal body in which they live in this world. His solemn, irrevocable pledge or guarantee of this promise is the Holy Spirit which He has given them.

3. ". . . ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own posses-sion, unto the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14). This passage expressly affirms that the Holy Spirit, who is God's seal or stamp of approval on His children, is the earnest of their spiritual inheritance, being God's pledge or guarantee that they will eventually come into the possession of their heavenly inheritance when the work of redemption is finally completed.

Concerning the earnest of the Spirit, Henry J. Foster wrote, "It is the shilling given to the recruit as the first money of his future pay. It is the deposit payed on account toward the fuller payment of a completed bargain. It is, more exactly in the analogy with the fact illustrated, the maintenance paid the minor under his father's will, until he comes of age , and the whole estate is at his disposal and enjoyment. The life and grace and work of the Spirit now within the Christian man, are the sample , the first taste, the beginnings of the fuller life of the inheritance when it comes. That life hereafter and this life here are not two, but one. This is eternal life. The division line between the old and new is not before the Christian, located at death or judgment; it is behind him, located at con-version. Then began one life which has become his true life, the natural life having become a subsidiary one, which soon drops off and then leaves the eternal life with unbroken continuity. Further, the fact of this life binds the Divine Giver of it to complete His gift hereafter. 'Our hope' does not leave us by-and-by befooled, deceived, ashamed 'because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts [so here] by the Holy Spirit given unto us' (Romans 5:5). If on the Christian's own part there be faithfulness kept up in the grace which is itself part of the 'earnest,' there will also be, there is pledged, a faithfulness on the part of God. Having given the Spirit, He cannot go back and withhold the 'inheritance.' The sample binds Him."

It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that makes possible the new life in Christ, the antithesis of the old carnal life of sin. "For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:5-9). Carefully read Romans 8:10-25. It is plainly evident that he who does not have the Spirit does not possess the new life in Christ; thus he is without hope of receiving the heavenly inheri-tance. He has received no pledge or guarantee from God of a future life with Him. Having no life with God now, he will have no life with Him in the hereafter.

Envy The word "envy" in the New Testament is translated from the Greek phthonos, basically meaning "the feeling of displeasure produced by wit-nessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others." Confirming this definition is the use of phthonos and its verb counterpart phthoneo in secular Greek. Aristotle said, "Emulation is therefore a good feeling felt by good persons, whereas envy (phthonos) is a bad feeling felt by bad persons. Emulation makes us take steps to secure the good things in question, envy makes us take steps to stop our neighbor from having them" (Rhetoric 1387). In Euripides, Medea 312, Medea says to Creon , "Now I grudge (phthoneo) not thy prosperity."

Phthonos, envy, is used in the following New Testament passages: Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10; Romans 1:29; Galatians 5:21; Php 1:15; 1 Timothy 6:4; Titus 3:3; James 4:5; 1 Peter 2:1. The verb phthoneo, to envy, is used in Galatians 5:26. The word "envy" in the phrase "does not envy" (1 Corinthians 13:4) is from the verb zeloo, rendered as "jealous" in the Revised Standard Version. The noun selos is translated as "jealousy" in such passages of the American Standard Version as Acts 13:45; 1 Corinthians 3:3; James 3:14.

With the possibility of one exception, phthonos is always used in a bad sense in the New Testament, as is true also of the single use of phthoneo. The one possible exception is in James 4:5, "Or think ye that the scrip-ture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" W. E. Vine believes that phthonos is used here in a bad sense: "The question is rhetorical and strongly remonstrative, signifying the Spirit (or spirit) which God made to dwell in us was certainly not so bestowed that we should be guilty of envy." Other scholars, such as Dean Alford, take the opposite view: "The Spirit jealously desires us for his own." Be that as it may, in all the other passages where phthonos is used an evil meaning is unquestionably conveyed. The reader is asked to carefully study each of these passages.

The discussion of Richard Trench concerning phthonos, envy, in connection with zelos, jealousy, is worthy of our consideration here and will throw light on the meaning of both of these words as they are used in the sacred scriptures: "These words are often joined together; they are so by St. Paul (Galatians 5:20-21); by Clement of Rome; by classical writers as well; by Plato; by Plutarch; and by others. Still, there are differences between them; and this first that zelos is sometimes used in a good (as John 2:17; Romans 10:2; 2 Corinthians 9:2), sometimes, and in Scripture oftener, in some evil sense (as Acts 5:17; Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:20; James 3:14); while phthonos, incapable of good, is used always and only in an evil signification. When zelos is taken in good part, it signifies the honorable emulation, with the consequent imitation, of that which presents itself as excellent (Lucian, Adv. Indoct. 17; Philo, de Praem. et Poen; Plutarch; De Alex. Fort. Or. An Seni Resp. Ger. 25; Herodian 2:4; 6:8)....South here, as always, expresses himself well: 'We ought by all means to note the difference between envy and emulation; which latter is a brave and noble thing, and quite of another nature, as consisting only in a generous imitation of something excellent; and that such an imitation as scorns to fall short of its copy, but strives, if possible, to outdo it. The emulator is impatient of a superior, not by depressing or maligning another, but by perfecting himself. So that while that sottish thing envy sometimes fills the whole soul, as a great dull fog does the air; this , on the contrary, inspires it with a new life and vigour, whets and stirs up all the powers of it to action. And surely that which does so (if we also abstract it from those heats and sharpness that sometimes by accident may attend it), must needs be in the same degree lawful and laudable too, that it is for a man to make himself as useful and as accomplished as he can.'

"By Aristotle zelos is employed exclusively in this noble sense, as that active emulation which grieves, not that another has the good, but that itself has it not; and which, not pausing here, seeks to supply the deficiencies which it finds in itself. From this point of view he contrasts it with envy.

"But it is only too easy for this zeal and honorable rivalry to degenerate into a meaner passion, . . . those who together aim at the same object, who are thus competitors, being in danger of being enemies as well. . . . These degeneracies which wait so near upon emulation, and which sometimes cause the word itself to be used for that which it degenerates, may assume two shapes: either that of a desire to make war upon the good which it beholds in another, and thus to trouble that good, and make it less; therefore we find zelos and epis (contention, strife, wrangling) continually joined together (Romans 13:13; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20 . . .): or where there is not vigour and energy enough to attempt the making of it less, there may be at least the wishing of it less; with such petty carping and fault-finding as it may dare indulge in. . . . Phthonos is the meaner sin, being merely displeasure at another's good, with the desire that this good or this felicity may be less; and this, quite apart from any hope that thereby its own will be more; so that it is no wonder that Solomon long ago could describe it as 'rottenness of the bones' (Proverbs 14:30). He that is conscious of it is conscious of no impulse or longing to raise himself to the level of him whom he envies only to depress the envied to his own."

The idea of the foregoing discussion is that zelos in the bad sense and phthonos are synonymous in that they both express the feeling of displeasure concerning the advantage or prosperity of others, with the desire that it be lessened; they are different, however, in that zelos can be used in the good sense of desiring to emulate the good it sees in others, whereas phthonos has only the desire to lessen and not to emulate the good it represents in others. Thus we can see that although phthonos is always evil, zelos is not bad as such if the desire to emulate the good it sees in others is not coupled with resentment toward them because of their felicity.

Why do people envy others? Because of malice and hate. Cf. Titus 3:3. No loving father and mother resent any good enjoyed by their children. No loving son and daughter resent any good enjoyed by their parents. No loving husband or wife resents any good the other enjoys. No loving member of the body of Christ, the family of God, resents any good the other members enjoy. Indeed, when we love someone we always exult in his every success and attainment, always desiring for him the best things in life. See 1 Corinthians 12:14-26.

Questions

• What does the word arrabon mean in secular Greek? How is it specifically used in the Septuagint?

• What is the earnest God has given us in our hearts?

• Discuss the context of the phrase "earnest of the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 5:5).

• Discuss the Holy Spirit as the "earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:14).

• Why cannot one in whom the Holy Spirit does not dwell have a genuine hope of receiving the heavenly inheritance?

• Does the Holy Spirit dwell in you; thus to give you the blessed assurance that God will give you full, perfect, and unending life with Him in heaven?

• What is the basic meaning of phthonos?

• What is the difference in meaning between phthonos and zelos?

• Discuss the reason why people are envious of others.

• To what extent do you envy others? Has any envy you have ever had in any way contributed to your happiness, to your sense of personal well-being? What are you doing to eradicate this evil from your life?