⁵Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?

God is jealous for us. That may seem startling, since jealousy is usually considered a bad thing. How can God be jealous, when He is perfectly holy and without sin?

We must briefly consider some difficulties with this passage. First, commentators point out that no OT passage exists with these words. However, we understand that James is probably reflecting a general truth from the OT and not a specific quote (remember that punctuation like quotation marks in our English text are not found in the original Greek but reflect the translators’ judgment).

The second difficulty is found in the various ways the English translators render this verse. The NASB sees this as God jealously desiring the Holy Spirit in us. The NKJV sees it differently: “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously.” The ESV translates it this way, inferring that God is jealous for our spirit: “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us” (similarly NIV). Finally, the NET Bible translates it as our spirit being the one that is jealous: “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning.”

One might wonder, if the expert translators can’t agree on how to convey this verse in English, what do we make of the meaning for us? First of all, we should not fear the translations that implicate God with jealousy. Like many words in Scripture, the word “jealousy” has a broader field of meaning than at first glance. When it describes a sinful desire to have what God has not given us or causes us to hate or think badly of those who have what we want, that is sin because it focuses on my self-centeredness. Yet, since all of creation reflects God’s glory, He is preeminently self-centered in the proper and perfect sense. All belongs to Him. And if anyone takes anything away from Him, He is rightfully jealous of what is His, and desires it back.

Jealousy describes the feeling one has when a relationship that is rightfully his is threatened or taken away. This is particularly true in marriage, where the relationship is, by God’s design, exclusive and intimate. There is no more exclusive relation than that between God and His human creation. We are made in His image, and as believers, His Spirit dwells in us. He bought us with the price of Jesus’ blood (Acts 28:28). Whether God jealously desires us, the spirit He placed in us at our creation (Gen 2:7), or the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, He desires that which is His own. God is jealous for us, and that is a good thing!

Lord, because You desire me so greatly, I want to live faithfully for You.