An Infidel and Envy Versus Jealously

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Hi L____,
It is good to hear from you.
You make my day knowing that you were edified by that paper on God’s sovereignty. I have said it many times; accepting God’s total sovereignty is nothing more or less than dethroning the beast within. That gift is given to but very few.
You ask, “What is an infidel?”
The word ‘infidel’ appears in the King James Version only twice, but it appears in the Greek 23 times. It is most often translated in some form of the word ‘unbelief’ or ‘unbeliever.’ And that is what an infidel is; he is an unbeliever.
Here are those 23 verses containing the Greek word only twice translated infidel. I am cutting and pasting this from my e- sword.
G571
απιστος
apistos
Total KJV Occurrences: 23
unbelieving, 5
1Co_7:14-15 (3), Tit_1:15, Rev_21:8
believe, 4
1Co_10:27, 1Co_14:22 (2), 2Co_4:4
faithless, 4
Mat_17:17, Mar_9:19, Luk_9:41, Joh_20:27
unbelievers, 4
Luk_12:46, 1Co_6:6, 1Co_14:23, 2Co_6:14
believeth not, 3
1Co_7:12-13 (2), 1Co_14:24
infidel, 2
2Co_6:15, 1Ti_5:8
incredible, 1
Act_26:8 (2)
“faithless, unbelievers, believe not, infidel, or incredible, it is all the same. It means unbelievers or unbelief.
Your second question is:
“What is the difference between envy and jealousy?”
The answer is, very little. Both, in their negative application, are of the same spirit, and both, in their positive application, are of the same spirit.
There are two Greek words which are translated as envy. The first is ‘zeloo,’ which is translated with several different English words, including the word ‘jealous’. Here are the verses in which this Greek word is found.
G2206
ζηλοω
ze loo
Total KJV Occurrences: 17
affect, 2
Gal_4:17 (2)
covet, 2
1Co_12:31, 1Co_14:39
desire, 2
1Co_14:1, Jas_4:2
envy, 2
Act_7:9, Act_17:5
moved, 2
Act_7:9, Act_17:5
zealously, 2
Gal_4:17-18 (2)
affected, 1
Gal_4:18 (2)
earnestly, 1
1Co_12:31
envieth, 1
1Co_13:4
jealous, 1
2Co_11:2
zealous, 1
Rev_3:19
As you can see, this word is translated both as ‘jealous’ and as ‘envieth.’ But it is translated as jealous only one time:

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Here is how Strong’s defines this word:
G2206
ζηλοω
ze loo
dzay- lo’- o
From G2205; to have warmth of feeling for or against : – affect, covet (earnestly), (have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over, (be) zealous (- ly affect).
“Warmth of feeling for or agains t” demonstrates that, as always, there is both a positive and a negative application for every word of God’s Word. That is because “the cloud,” which is Christ, is dark on one side and bright on the other side, but it is all one cloud. I am accused of being blasphemous when I point to this Biblical Truth, but that Truth still stands on its own. The cloud which is Christ is ‘dark to them and light to these.’

Exo 14:20  And it [ the Cloud that led Israel in the wilderness] came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

So, depending upon your perspective, Christ is both light and darkness, good and evil, life and death:

2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

2Co 2:16  To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life . And who is sufficient for these things?

To the froward Christ shows Himself as froward :

Psa 18:26  With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

For example:

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, [ there] thou hast [ that is] thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Had the Lord ‘sown’ nothing with this man? Of course not. He had given all these men varying amounts of money to invest. That money had come out of His own pocket. But He answered this man “according to the idols of his own heart.”

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

I point this all out so you will understand why these words are used as they are. For example, look at these two, what appear to be contradictory statements about this Greek word ‘zeloo.’

1Co 13:4  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not [ Greek – zeloo]; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Here we are told that ‘charity’ or ‘love envies not.’ But then we have this:

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous [ Greek- – zeloo] therefore, and repent.

Those with whom God’s spirit, is not at this time working to drag them to Himself, will scream ‘Contradiction, contradiction!’ But those to whom it is given to see that Christ is both light and darkness, life and death, good and evil, it makes perfectly good sense to say that charity does not envy others, and at the same time tell us to be envious (zeloo – zealous) of repentence when we are envious of others. Here is how Paul explains this:

Gal 4:18  But it is good to be zealously affected [ zeloo] always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

The other Greek word which is also translated as envy is ‘phthonos.’ Here are the verses containing this Greek word:
G5355
φθονος
phthonos
Total KJV Occurrences: 9
envy, 7
Mat_27:18, Mar_15:10, Rom_1:29, Phi_1:15, 1Ti_6:4, Tit_3:3, Jas_4:5
envies, 1
1Pe_2:1
envyings, 1
Gal_5:21
And here is how Strong’s defines this word:
G5355
φθονος
phthonos
fthon’- os
Probably akin to the base of G5351; ill will (as detraction), that is, jealousy (spite): – envy.
Here is where this word first appears in the New Testament:

Mat 27:18  For he [ Pilate] knew that for envy [ phthonos – for ill will – because of their unfettered hatred] they had delivered him [ Christ].

Strong’s has the word ‘jealously’ in his definition, but I could find no examples of this word being translated as ‘jealous’ or ‘jealously.’
When we look at the word ‘jealously’ we find that it appears just four times in the New Testament, and its root is the same as the root for envy. Its root is the Greek word ‘zeloo,’ ” to have warmth of feeling for or against.”
Here is the Greek word for ‘jealousy’ with its definition:
G3863
παραζηλοω
paraze loo
par- ad- zay- lo’- o
From G3844 and G2206; to stimulate alongside, that is, excite to rivalry: – provoke to emulation (jealousy).
And here is where this word is used:
 G3863
παραζηλοω
paraze loo
Total KJV Occurrences: 5
provoke, 4
Rom_10:19, Rom_11:11, Rom_11:14, 1Co_10:22
emulation, 1
Rom_11:14
So the root of both words, the word ‘jealousy,’ and the word ‘envy,’ is the Greek word ‘zeloo,’ meaning ” to have warmth of feeling for or against.”
The Greek word ‘phthonos,’ which is also at times translated as ‘jealousy,’ is really better translated as ‘ill will.’
So, I hope this has all helped you to see that there really is very little difference between the Greek words which are translated as ‘envy’ and ‘jealousy,’ and I hope this has helped you to better understand that Christ and His words, depending on your standing with Christ and your perspective of Christ, have both a positive and a negative application, and that we all must live through seeing Christ from both perspectives:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things [“every word”] which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth [“every word”] the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Your brother in the Christ.
Mike

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