Chapter 7 - Humility and Holiness

 Let us see every brother or sister who tests or troubles us as God's appointed means of grace. His tool for purifying  us. His way of drawing out the humility that Jesus Christ our life breathes within us. 

And let us put our faith in this that God is everything and we are nothing. 

Then counting ourselves as nothing in our own eyes, we will by God's power seek only to serve one another in love. 

Chapter 7 - Humility and Holiness 

Humility and Holiness, which say, "Stand by yourself, for I am holier than you." Isaiah 65:5. 

We speak much today of the movement toward holiness, and we rightly give thanks to God for it. 

We hear often of those seeking holiness, claiming holiness, teaching holiness, and gathering in meetings centered on  holiness.

The precious truths of holiness in Christ and holiness by faith are being proclaimed more clearly than ever. But the true test of whether the holiness we seek or claim is real, whether it is truly life and power will be seen in this. 

Does it produce deeper humility in us as creatures? 

Humility is the one essential condition for God's holiness to live in us and shine through us. 

In Jesus Christ, the holy one of God who makes us holy. 

It was divine humility that shaped his life, led him to the cross and lifted him to glory. In us, the one sure mark of real holiness will be humility before both God and man. 

Humility is the beauty and fragrance of holiness. The clearest sign of false holiness is the absence of humility. 

Every person seeking holiness must stay on guard, lest what began in the spirit be overtaken by the flesh and pride secretly enter where it is least expected. 

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a publican.

Chapter 6. Humility and daily life.

  Humility and daily life.

He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 1 John 4:20. 

 What a serious truth.

Our love for God is tested and measured by how we treat others in daily life. 

If that love does not show itself in how we deal with people, it is a false love. 

 The same is true of humility. It may seem easy to humble ourselves before God in prayer, but the real proof is in how we walk humbly with others. 

Only then can we know that humility has taken root in us that it has become our true nature just as Christ made himself of no reputation. 

 When we are truly lowly before God not just in outward form but in the deep spirit of our life. It will show in how we treat our brothers and sisters.

This is a vital lesson. The only humility that is truly ours is not what we display in moments of devotion but what we live out in ordinary daily interactions 

The small unnoticed parts of life are eternal tests. They reveal the true spirit that rules us. 

It is in the unguarded everyday moments that our real character is shown. 

If you want to know whether someone is truly humble, watch how they live in the normal routine of life, watch how they respond when not being watched, praised, or admired. 

That is where true humility is seen. 

Is this not exactly what Jesus Christ taught when the disciples argued about who was the greatest? 

When Jesus Christ saw how the Pharisees loved the places of honor at feasts and in the synagogues, when he knelt to wash his disciples feet. 

These were the moments He used to teach humility. 

He showed that humility before God means nothing unless it shows itself in humility toward others. 

Apostle Paul's teaching is the same. To the Romans, he writes, "Honor one another above yourselves. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be wise in your own eyes." 

To the Corinthians, Love, and love can only grow from humility. Love does not boast, is not proud, does not seek its own, is not easily provoked. 

To the Galatians, serve one another humbly in love. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 

To the Ephesians, right after writing of the riches of the heavenly life, walk with all humility and gentleness, with  patience, bearing with one another in love. And again, give thanks always. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ .

To the Philippians, do nothing out of selfish ambition or pride, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, and humbled himself. 

To the Colossians, "Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other, and forgive one another, just as the Lord forgave you." 

It is in our relationships, in how we treat one another, that real humility is seen. 

Our humility before God has no meaning unless it leads us to show the humility of Christ in how we live with others. 

Let us study what humility looks like in daily life in the light of these words. 

The humble person always seeks to live by this rule. 

Honor one another above yourselves. 

Serve one another. 

Count others better than yourselves.

Submit to one another. 

People often ask, "how we can truly count others better than ourselves when we clearly see they are less mature in wisdom, holiness, natural ability or spiritual growth?"

 But this question shows how little we understand real humility. 

True humility comes when we see ourselves in the light of God. 

When we realize we are nothing and we willingly let go of self so that God may be everything. A soul that has come to this place that can truly say, "I have lost myself in finding you," no longer compares itself with others. It has laid aside all thoughts of self in the presence of God. 

It approaches others as one who is nothing, who seeks  nothing for itself, but lives as God's servant and for His sake as the servant of all. 

A servant may be wiser than the master and still remain in the lowly posture of a servant. 

The humble person looks at every child of God, even the weakest or least worthy, and honors them as one dearly loved by the King Jesus Christ. 

The spirit of Christ, who knelt to wash his disciples feet, makes it our joy to take the lowest place, to gladly be servants to one another. 

The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are honored or blessed more than he is. He is content to hear others being praised while he is forgotten because in God's presence he has learned to say with apostle Paul, "I am nothing." He has received the spirit of Jesus, the one who did not please himself or seek his own glory. And that same spirit shapes his life. 

When faced with the usual temptations to impatience, irritation, harsh thoughts, or sharp words, especially in response to the weaknesses or sins of fellow believers, the humble man remembers and lives out the command. 

Bear with one another and forgive each other just as the Lord forgave you.

He knows that in putting on Christ, he has also put on the heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Lord Jesus Christ has taken the place of self. And because of that, it is no longer impossible to forgive as Jesus Christ forgave. 

His humility is not just in how he thinks or speaks about himself, but in what apostle Paul calls a heart of humility,  surrounded by mercy, kindness, meekness, and patience. 

This gentle and lowly spirit is the true mark of the Lamb of God. 

In seeking the higher experiences of the Christian life, believers are often tempted to focus on what may be called the more outward or manly virtues. Boldness, joy, separation from the world, zeal, self-sacrifice. 

 Even the ancient stoics taught and practiced these. But the gentler, deeper, more heavenly graces, those Jesus Christ brought from heaven and first revealed on earth, are often overlooked. 

 These are the graces most closely tied to his cross and to the death of self. 

Poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, and lowliness.

Let us then put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 

And let us show that we are like Christ, not only in our zeal to outreach the lost, but even more in how we relate to our fellow believers by bearing with one another and forgiving each other, just as the Lord forgave us.

 Fellow Christians, let us take time to study the Bible's   picture of the humble man. 

Then let us ask both our brothers and the world around us if they can see in us the likeness of that image. 

Let us not settle for anything less than taking each of these scriptures as God's promise, showing us what he is ready to work in us, revealing what the spirit of Jesus Christ will form within us as a living reality.

Every failure, every shortcoming should simply drive us back to the meek and lowly Lamb of God. 

Let us turn to Him in quiet surrender, confident that when he is truly enthroned in our hearts, his humility and gentleness will flow out from within us like streams of living water. 

I knew Jesus Christ, and He was very precious to my soul, but I found something in me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought Jesus Christ to do something for me. And when I gave Him my will, he came to my heart and took out all that would not be sweet, all that would not be kind,  all that would not be patient. And then he shut the door. George Fox .

 Once again, I repeat what I have said before. 

We scarcely grasp how much the church suffers from the absence of this divine humility, the nothingness that gives space for God to show His power. 

Not long ago, a humble and loving Christian familiar with various mission stations from different societies shared his sorrow over what he had seen. In some places, the spirit of love and patience was sadly missing. Men and women who in Europe had freedom to choose their friends, were now brought into close contact with others very different from themselves. And they  found it hard to bear with one another, to love and to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. 

Those who should have been sources of joy and strength to each other became burdens and disappointments. 

And all because of one thing, the lack of humility. 

The humility that sees itself as nothing. That rejoices in being counted the least and that seeks like Jesus Christ only to serve, to help, and to comfort others, even the lowest and most difficult. 

And why is it that men or women who have gladly given themselves to Christ find it so hard to give themselves up for their fellow believers? 

 Is the fault not with the church? It has done so little to teach its children that the humility of Christ is the first of virtues, the highest of all the graces and powers of the spirit. 

It has failed to show that true Christlike humility is what it must like Christ set first and preach as both essential and truly possible. Yet let us not be discouraged. 

Let the discovery of how lacking this grace is, lead us to expect more from God.

Let us see every brother or sister who tests or troubles us as God's appointed means of grace. His tool for purifying   us. His way of drawing out the humility that Jesus our life breathes within us. 

And let us put our faith in this that God is everything and we are nothing. 

 Then counting ourselves as nothing in our own eyes, we will by God's power seek only to serve one another in love. 

Chapter 7 - Humility and Holiness (continue here)

Chapter 5. Humility in the disciples of Jesus Christ.

 Humility in the disciples of Jesus Christ

Let him who is chief among you be as one who serves. Luke 22:26. 

We have looked at humility in the life and teaching of Jesus.

Now let us look for it in his closest followers, the twelve apostles. 

If we see how much they lacked it, the contrast between Jesus Christ and other men becomes even clearer. 

This will also help us understand the great change that came over them at Pentecost and show how real our own share can be in Christ's victory over the pride Satan introduced into humanity. 

From the verses already quoted, we've seen the times when the disciples clearly lacked the grace of humility. 

Once they argued on the road about which of them was the greatest. 

Another time James and John through their mother asked to sit at Jesus's right and left in His kingdom. 

Even during the last supper, they were still arguing about who should be considered the greatest. 

That's not to say they never showed humility. 

Apostle Peter once cried out "Depart from me, Lord, for l am a sinful man." 

The disciples also bowed down and worshiped Jesus Christ after he calmed the storm. 

But these moments were rare. 

They only make it clearer that their usual way of thinking was still focused on self, on their own place and importance. 

Looking closely at this contrast will teach us vital lessons. 

First, consider how much sincere and active religion there can be even while humility is still deeply lacking. 

Look at the disciples. They had a strong love for Jesus. They had left everything to follow him. 

God had shown them that He was the Christ. They believed in Him. 

They loved him and they kept his commands. 

When others turned away, they stayed with him. 

They were even willing to die with him. 

Yet beneath all this, there was a hidden power at work in them. A dark force they hardly recognized. 

It had to be broken and cast out before they could truly become witnesses to the saving power of Jesus Christ. 

The same is true today. 

There are pastors, missionaries, teachers, evangelists, and Christian workers who are clearly gifted and used by God to bless many. 

But when trials come, or when we get to know them more closely, it becomes sadly clear that true humility is not a constant trait in their lives. 

This only confirms the truth. 

Humility is one of the highest and most essential graces. It is also one of the hardest to attain. 

Humility should be the first goal we pursue and it only comes with power when the fullness of the spirit brings the living presence of Christ within us when he truly lives in us. 

 Second, see how powerless all outward teaching and personal effort are to defeat pride or produce a truly meek and lowly heart.

For 3 years, the disciples had been in Jesus's school. 

He had clearly told them what he most wanted to teach. Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart 

Again and again, he spoke to them, spoke to the Pharisees and spoke to the crowds about humility as the only path to God's glory. 

Jesus Christ did not just teach it. He lived it before them. 

As the Lamb of God, he walked in divine humility. 

Jesus Christ revealed the deep secret of his life. 

"The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and I am among you as one who serves." 

Jesus Christ washed their feet and told them to do the same. Yet all this had little effect.

 Even at the last supper, they were still arguing about who was the greatest. 

No doubt they had tried to take his lessons to heart. 

They had made firm decisions not to disappoint him again, but it was no use. 

This shows us the vital truth. 

No outward teaching, not even from Christ himself, no matter how clear or powerful, no strong desire for humility, no deep admiration for its beauty, no honest and determined effort can drive out the pride within us. 

When pride tries to fight itself, it may seem to lessen, but it only returns in a stronger, more hidden form. 

The only answer is this.

 The new nature, Christ's nature, must come in power. 

His divine humility must replace the old nature and become as real and natural to us as pride once was. 

Third, it is only through the indwelling of Christ in His divine humility that we can truly become humble. 

Just as we inherited pride from Adam, we must receive humility from another, Jesus Christ. 

Pride is so powerful in us because it is part of who we are, our very nature. 

In the same way, humility must become our nature, too. 

It must be as natural and effortless to be humble as it once was to be proud. 

The promise is this. Where sin increased, grace increased even more, even in the heart. 

All of Christ's teaching and all the disciples failed efforts were necessary steps to prepare them for what was to come. 

Christ himself entering into them with divine power to give them what he had taught and stirred them to long for. 

By his death, Jesus Christ destroyed the devil's power, removed sin, and secured eternal redemption. 

In his resurrection, he received from the Father a new kind of life. 

Human life filled with divine power, able to be shared with others, able to enter and transform their lives. 

In his ascension, he received the Spirit from the Father so he could do what he could not do while on earth. 

He join himself to those he loved and actually live his life in them. 

This meant they could walk before the Father in true humility because it was Christ himself living and breathing in them. 

At Pentecost, He came and took possession. 

The teaching that had awakened desire and hope was now fulfilled by the power of His Spirit. 

The change was real. The lives and letters of James, Peter, and John clearly show that everything was made new. 

The spirit of the humble and suffering Jesus Christ had truly taken hold of them. 

What shall we say to these things? 

Among those reading this, there are likely several different kinds of people. 

Some may never have thought much about this subject and may not yet see how deeply important it is as a central issue for every Christian and for the church as a whole. 

Others may have felt convicted over their lack of humility and tried hard to grow in it only to fail and feel   discouraged. 

Still others may be able to speak of real spiritual blessing and power but have never fully realized that others around them still see this grace as missing in their lives. 

And there may be those people who can testify that the Lord has given them victory in this area as well, while also showing them how much more they still need and can receive from the fullness of Christ. 

No matter which group we belong to, let us recognize how urgent it is that we all seek a deeper understanding of the special place humility holds in the Christian life. 

Without it, neither the church nor the believer can be what Christ intends. 

Jesus Christ's humility is his greatest glory, his first command to us, and our highest joy.

 Let us seriously reflect on how far the disciples had come, even while this grace was still so lacking in them. 

And let us ask God to keep us from being so satisfied with other gifts that we fail to see that the lack of humility is the  very thing holding back the power of God among us. 

Only when we like Jesus Christ truly know and confess that we can do nothing by ourselves will God be free to do all. 

 It is when the truth of Christ living in us takes its rightful place in our lives that the church will wear her garments of beauty. 

And humility will be seen in her leaders and members as the true beauty of holiness. 

Chapter 6 - Humility in Daily Life (continue here) 

Chapter 4 - Humility in the teaching of Jesus.

 Chapter 4. Humility in the teaching of Jesus Christ. 

Learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart. Matthew 11:29. 

Whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of Man came to serve. Matthew 20:27.

We have seen humility in the life of  Jesus Christ as he revealed his heart to us. 

Now, let us listen to his teaching. 

We will hear how he speaks of humility and how fully he expects it of men, especially of his disciples. 

 Let us take time to reflect on these passages though we can only briefly mention them to see how often and how  earnestly Jesus Christ taught this grace. 

It will help us understand what he truly asks of us. 

 First at the beginning of his ministry in the beatitudes which open the sermon on the mount. 

Jesus Christ says, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

With his very first words, he shows the door through which we enter his kingdom. 

Those who know they have nothing in themselves, the poor in spirit, are the ones to whom the kingdom belongs. 

Those who do not seek anything in themselves. 

The meek will inherit the earth.

 The blessings of both heaven and earth are for the lowly. In both the heavenly and earthly life. 

Humility is the key to blessing. 

Second, learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest for your souls. 

Here Jesus Christ presents himself as our teacher and points to the spirit in which he teaches and which we are to learn from him. 

Meekness and loneliness of heart. 

This is the one thing he offers to teach us humility. 

And through this, he promises rest for our souls.

Third, humility is not only a virtue, it is a part of our salvation. 

The disciples had been arguing about who would be greatest in the kingdom. 

They brought their question to Jesus Christ.

 In response, he placed a child before them and said, "Whoever shall humble himself as this little child shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 

Who is the greatest? This is a deep and searching question. 

What will be the highest honor in God's kingdom? 

Only Jesus Christ could have given this answer. 

The chief beauty of heaven, the true mark of a heavenly mind, the highest of all graces is humility. 

He that is least among you, the same shall be great. 

Fourth, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked for the highest places in Christ's kingdom at his right and left hand. 

 Jesus Christ answered that those places were not his to give, but the Father's, to be given to those for whom they are  prepared. 

But more than that, he taught them not to desire such honor at all. 

Their focus must be on drinking the cup of suffering and sharing in his baptism of humility. 

Then he said, "Whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of Man came to serve." 

In heaven, humility is the standard of glory. The one who is lowest is closest to God. 

In Christ's kingdom, the highest position belongs to the humblest heart. 

The first place in the church is reserved for the servant of all. 

Fifth, when speaking to the crowds and his disciples about the Pharisees and their love of prominence, Jesus Christ once again declared, "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant." 

In the kingdom of God, humiliation is the only ladder to honor. 

Greatness is measured not by status but by service. 

 Sixth, in the house of a Pharisee, Jesus told the parable of the guest who chose the lowest seat. He concluded with these words. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. 

 This is God's unchanging rule. 

There is no other way. 

Only those who lower themselves will be lifted up. 

Seventh, after the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus Christ repeated this same truth. 

Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. 

 In God's presence, in prayer, in worship, in all spiritual life, nothing has value unless it is filled with true deep humility before God and others. 

Eighth. After he had washed his disciples feet, Jesus said,"If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." 

By his command, by his example, by every call to obedience and likeness to him, Jesus shows that humility is the first and most essential mark of a true disciple. 

 Ninth. At the last supper, even as Jesus prepared to give his life, the disciples were still arguing over who was the greatest. 

Jesus Christ answered, "He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that serves. For I am among you as one who serves." 

This is the path Jesus Christ walked. 

This is the power and spirit in which he accomplished salvation. 

And this is the life into which he saves us. 

A life of humility that makes us the servant of all. 

Yet how rarely this is preached, how seldom it is practiced, how little its absence is noticed or confessed. 

The issue is not only how few resemble Jesus Christ in his humility, even in part. 

The deeper issue is how few even think of making humility a clear and constant aim. 

How few people desire it, pray for it, pursue it, how little the world has seen it, how little it has been seen even in the innermost circle of the church. 

Whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. 

Would to God that we truly believe Jesus Christ means this. 

We all understand what defines a faithful servant. Complete devotion to the master's interests, careful thought and effort to please him. 

Joy in his success, his honor, and his happiness. 

There have been servants on earth who showed these qualities so fully that to be called a servant was their glory. 

 Many of us have discovered a new joy in the Christian life through yielding ourselves as servants. 

Yes, even slaves of God. 

And learning that His service is our highest freedom, freedom from sin and self. Now, we must learn a further  lesson. 

Jesus calls us to be servants of one another.

 And as we accept this calling from the heart, we will discover that it too brings deep blessing, a new and fuller liberty from self and sin. 

At first, such service may seem difficult. But that is only because pride still lives in us, still believes it is something. 

When we learn that to be nothing before God is the very glory of the creature, the spirit of Jesus Christ, the joy of heaven, we will welcome every opportunity to be made low, even in serving those who wrong or trouble us. 

When our hearts are set on this as true sanctification, we will begin to study every word of Jesus on humility with eagerness. 

No place will seem too low, no task too humble, no length of service too long, if only we may share in the fellowship of him who said,"I am among you as one who serves."

 Brethren, this is the path to the higher life, down, lower down. 

This is what Jesus always taught his disciples when they were thinking about greatness in the kingdom or asking to sit at his right hand and his left. 

Do not seek or ask for exaltation. That is God's work. 

Your work is to humble yourselves to take the lowest place before God in man, the place of a servant. 

Let this be your single aim and prayer. God is faithful.

Just as water always seeks and fills the lowest place, so God, the moment He finds a soul truly low and empty, will pour in His glory and power to lift up and bless. 

He that humbleth himself, that is our part, our one concern, shall be exalted, that is God's part, and He will surely do it by His mighty power and great love. 

People sometimes think that humility and meekness take away what is noble, courageous or manly. 

But oh that we would truly believe this is the nobility of the kingdom of heaven. 

This is the royal spirit shown by the King of heaven Himself. 

This is what it means to be like God, to humble oneself, to become the servant of all. 

This is the way into the joy and glory of Christ's continual presence within us and of His power resting upon us. Jesus, the meek and lowly one, calls us to learn from Him the way to God. 

Let us take these words we've read and study them until one truth fills our heart. 

My one great need is humility. 

And let us believe this, too. 

What Jesus shows, he gives. 

What he is, he imparts. as the meek and lowly one. 

He will come and dwell in the heart that longs for him. 

Chapter 5 - Humility in the Disciples of Jesus (continue here) 

Chapter 3 - The Humility of Jesus Christ

 Chapter 3 - The Humility of Jesus Christ

The humility of Jesus. 

I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:26. 

Luke 22:26 is a verse in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus redefines leadership by contrasting worldly authority with servant humility.  In this passage, Jesus instructs His disciples that unlike Gentile rulers who exercise dominance, the greatest among them should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.

The phrase "I am among you as one who serves" is a direct quote from Luke 22:27, spoken by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper to address the disciples' dispute over who was the greatest.  In this context, Jesus Christ subverts traditional hierarchies by asserting that true greatness is defined by humility and service rather than authority or status. 

He uses a rhetorical question to highlight the cultural norm that the person reclining at the table eating and drinking is greater than the one serving the table, then contrasts this with His own example. This statement establishes the principle of servant leadership, indicating that His leadership style—and the expected behavior of His followers—is characterized by selfless service, culminating in His sacrificial death. 

In the Gospel of Luke, we are given a glimpse into the inner life of our Lord. 

 Jesus Christ often speaks of His relationship to His Father God, the motives that guide Him, and the spirit and power in which He acts. 

Though the word humble is not directly used, nowhere else in scripture do we see more clearly what His humility truly was. 

As we've already seen, humility is simply the willing surrender of the creature to let God be all, to yield   completely to HIS working. 

In Jesus' life, we see this perfectly. 

Whether as the Son of God in heaven or as man on earth, Jesus Christ fully submitted Himself to His Father God, giving God all the glory and honor that belongs to HIM. 

And what Jesus Christ so often taught, he lived, "Whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." 

The phrase "Whoever humbles himself shall be exalted" is a central biblical principle found in Matthew 23:12, Luke 14:11, and Luke 18:14.  It teaches that God opposes pride and honors humility, creating a "kingdom economy" where those who seek to elevate themselves are humbled, while those who serve others with a modest spirit are raised up by God

It was fulfilled in Him. Jesus humbled himself. 

Therefore, God highly exalted Him. 

Listen to how our Lord speaks of His relationship to the Father God and how often He uses the words not and nothing about Himself. 

The not I that apostle Paul used to describe his own life in Christ is the same spirit Jesus Christ used to describe His life in relation to the Father. 

Hear these statements from John's gospel. 

The son can do nothing of himself. 

I can of my own self do nothing. 

My judgment is just because I seek not my own will.

 I receive not glory from men. 

I am come not to do my own will. 

My teaching is not mine. 

I am not come of myself. 

I do nothing of myself. 

I have not come of myself, but HE sent me. 

I seek not my own glory. 

The words that l say, I speak not from myself. 

The word which you hear is not mine.

These words (above) reveal the deepest foundation of Christ's life and work. 

They show how God was able to carry out His mighty work of redemption through Jesus Christ. 

They reveal what kind of heart Christ believed was fitting for him as the Son of the Father. 

And they teach us the true nature of the redemption Christ accomplished and now gives to us. 

Jesus made Himself nothing so that God could be everything.

He gave himself, his will, his power, his entire being completely to his Father so that the Father Alone would work in him. 

Concerning his power, his will, his glory, his mission, his teaching, his miracles. About all of it, Jesus said,"It is not I. I am nothing. I have surrendered all to the Father to work through me. I am nothing. The Father is all." 

This life of total self-denial, complete submission, and constant dependence on the Father's will was for  Jesus Christ a life of perfect peace and joy. He lost nothing by giving all to God. 

The Father honored his surrender, worked through him, and then exalted him to the highest glory. 

Because Jesus Christ humbled himself fully before God. 

Because God was always before him, he could also humble himself before people and become the servant of all. 

His humility was simply this. He gave himself to God, letting him do whatever God pleased, no matter what people thought of him or did to him.

It is this mindset, this spirit and attitude that gives Christ's redemption its power and effectiveness. 

 We are made partakers of Christ so that we may be brought into this same disposition. 

This is the true self-denial to which Jesus Christ calls us. 

The confession that self has no good in it except to be an empty vessel for God to fill. 

Self must never be allowed to claim the right to be anything or to do anything on its own. 

Above all else, this is what it means to be conformed to Lord Jesus Christ, to be and to do nothing of ourselves, so that God may be all. 

Here we see the root and true nature of humility. Because this is so little understood or sought after, our humility  remains shallow and weak. 

We must learn from Jesus Christ who is meek and lowly in heart. 

He shows us where real humility begins and where it draws its strength.  It is from knowing that God is the One who works all in all and that our place is to yield to HIM in full surrender and dependence, agreeing to be and do nothing apart from HIM. 

This is the life Christ came to reveal and to give us a life lived to God made possible through death to sin and death to self. 

If we feel this humbled life is too high or too far from our reach, let that feeling drive us to seek it in Him all the more. 

For it is Christ living in us who will live this meek and lowly life. 

If we long for such a life, then above all else, let us seek to know this holy truth about the nature of God that He is the One who works in all things at every moment ; to the praise of His glory. 

This is the secret that all creation is meant to declare.

 That every creature and especially every child of God is   nothing but a vessel, a channel through which the living God displays His wisdom, power, and goodness. 

The root of all grace and virtue, of all true faith and acceptable worship, is this to know that we have nothing except what we receive and to bow in deep humility as we wait on God to give it. 

Jesus Christ's humility was not just a passing feeling stirred up when he thought of God. It was the constant spirit of his entire life. Because of this, he was just as humble in his dealings with people as he was before God. 

He saw himself as God's servant sent for those whom God had made and loved. And so, as a natural result, he became the servant of men, so that through him, God could carry out His work of love. 

Jesus Christ never once sought his own honor or tried to defend or exalt himself. 

His whole mindset was one of total surrender to the Father, allowing God to work in and through him. 

It is only when Christians begin to see the humility of Jesus Christ as the very essence of his redeeming work, the joy of his life as the Son of God, the only proper relationship to the Father, and therefore the very thing he must give us if we are to share in him, that the painful reality of our lack of true heavenly humility will trouble us deeply.

Only then will we be willing to lay aside our ordinary religion in order to seek this humility. The first and most important mark of Christ living within us.

Brother, sister, are you clothed with humility? 

Ask your daily life. Ask Jesus Christ. Ask those around you. Ask the world. 

Then begin to thank God that in Jesus Christ, a heavenly humility has been open to you.

 A humility you may have never truly known through which a heavenly joy and blessing perhaps never yet tasted can enter your life. 

Chapter 4 - Humility in the Teaching of Jesus 

Learn of me for l am meek and lowly of heart. Matthew 11:29. 

Whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the son of man came to serve. Matthew 20:27.

( continue here )

Chapter 2 - Humility: The Secret of Redemption

 Chapter 2 - Humility: The Secret of Redemption 

Humility, the secret of redemption. 

 Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus who emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death. Therefore God also highly exalted Him. Philippians 2 : 5-7. 

 A tree can only grow from the root it comes from. Its entire life depends on the same life that was in the seed from  which it sprang. 

If we fully grasp this truth in relation to the first Adam and the second Adam Christ, it will greatly help us understand both our need for redemption and the nature of the redemption Jesus Christ brings. 

The need when Satan, the old serpent, who had been cast out of heaven for his pride and whose very nature is pride, tempted Eve, his words carried the poison of hell. When Eve listened and gave into the desire to be like God, knowing good and evil, that poison entered her soul, her body, and her life. It destroyed the humility and dependence on God that would have been her lasting joy. 

From that moment, her life and the life of the whole human race was corrupted at the root by pride, the very sin of Satan. 

Satan does not want to think with his Creator God. That is pride in its utmost level until it deceives itself. 

Whenever we are not thinking with God's mind, and His mind is in His written Word, the pride is taking over our being. 

All the misery this world has known, its wars, bloodshed, selfishness, suffering, ambition, jealousy, broken hearts, and bitter lives can all be traced back to the pride of Satan working in us and others. 

Pride made redemption necessary. 

And above all else, it is from pride that we need to be redeemed. 

How deeply we understand our need for redemption will depend on how clearly we see the awful power of pride that has taken hold of our nature. 

No natural tree can grow except from the root it came from. 

The power that Satan brought from hell and planted into human life is still at work daily, hourly across the world with great force. 

People suffer because of it. They fear it, resist it, run from it. Yet they do not know where it comes from or why it has such power. And so they do not know how it can be overcome. 

 Pride has its root and strength in a spiritual power that is not only within us but also outside of us. 

As much as we must confess and grieve over pride as our own sin, we must also recognize its origin in Satan. 

 If this understanding leads us to feel hopeless about ever overcoming it, that very despair can drive us sooner to the only power that can save us, the redemption found in the Lamb of God. 

Our ongoing exhausting struggle against pride in ourselves may feel even more hopeless when we see the spiritual   darkness behind it. But this utter despair can prepare us to receive and depend on a power outside of ourselves, the heavenly humility that Jesus brought to earth. 

This humility through the Lamb of God has come near to us to destroy Satan and his pride. 

No tree can grow except from the root it came from. 

Just as we must look to the first Adam and his fall to understand the depth and power of sin in us, so we must also know the second Adam, Christ, and His power to produce in us a life of humility that is as real, constant, and strong as our pride once was. 

Our life is now in Christ, more truly than it ever was in Adam. 

We are called to walk rooted in Him, to hold fast to the Head from whom the whole body grows with the growth that comes from God. 

The Life of God which entered human nature through the incarnation is now the root in which we are to live and grow. 

The same mighty power that worked in Christ from His birth to His resurrection is at work in us every day. 

What we need is to study, understand, and believe in the Life that has been revealed in Christ as the Life that now belongs to us, and to surrender to it so it may take full control of our being. 

With this in mind, it is essential that we think rightly about who Christ is, about what defines Him most deeply, and what is the heart of His character as our Redeemer. 

There is only one answer, His humility. 

What is the incarnation except His heavenly humility? His emptying Himself to become man. 

What is His earthly life except humility? His taking the form of a servant. 

What is His atonement except humility? He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death. 

What is His ascension and glory except humility exalted to the highest place? Therefore, God highly exalted Him in heaven, in His birth, in His life, in His death, in His place on the throne. It is all humility.

 Christ is the humility of God made visible in human form. 

The Eternal Love lowering Itself, clothing Itself in  meekness and gentleness to win us, serve us, and save us. 

As God's love and condescension move Him to bless and serve all, so it was necessary that Jesus Christ be the humility of God in the flesh. 

And so He remains even now, the meek and lowly Lamb of God, reigning in the midst of the throne. 

If this is the root of the tree, then its nature must appear in every branch, every leaf, and every fruit. 

If humility is the first and all-encompassing grace in the life of Jesus Christ, if humility is the very secret of His atonement, then the health and strength of our spiritual lives will fully depend on putting this grace first as well. 

We must make humility the main thing we admire in Christ, the chief thing we ask from Him and the one thing for which we are willing to give up all else. 

We must understand two things. 

First, our salvation is nothing else but being saved from ourselves, that is from what we are by nature. 

Second, in the whole order of things, nothing could be our salvation except the humility of God, which is beyond all description. 

For this reason, the first unchanging condition Jesus Christ sets before fallen mankind is, "Unless a man denies   himself, he cannot be my disciple." 

The requirements of discipleship, found primarily in Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23, which state that a person must deny themselves, take up their cross (ready and willing to die), and follow Him to be His disciple

Self is the whole evil of our fallen nature. Self-denial is the way to be saved. 

Jesus Christ , God's Humility is our saviour. 

Self is the root, the branches, and the tree of all evil in our fallen state. 

Every sin of human beings and  fallen angels has its birth in the pride of self. 

In contrast, every virtue of the heavenly life is born of   humility. 

Humility alone forms the unbridgeable gulf between heaven and hell. 

What then is the great struggle for eternal life? 

It is the battle between pride and humility. 

These are the two ruling powers, the two kingdoms fighting for the eternal possession of man. 

There has only ever been one true humility, the humility of Christ. 

Pride and self, rule man completely until man receives all from Christ. 

Only he fights the good fight whose struggle is to see his self-worshiping nature from Adam put to death by the supernatural humility of Christ living in him. 

For sister in Christ, only she fights the good fight whose struggle is to see her self-worshiping nature from Eve put to death by the supernatural humility of Christ living in her. 

Is it any wonder that the Christian life is often weak and fruitless when the very root of Christ's life is neglected or even unknown? 

Is it any wonder that so few believers experience the joy of salvation when the very thing that gave Christ His joy and through which He brings joy to us is so rarely pursued until we seek a humility that is satisfied with nothing less than the death of self. 

That like Jesus gives up all human praise to seek only the honor that comes from God. 

That truly counts itself as nothing so that God may be everything and Christ alone be exalted. 

 Until then, there is little hope that our religion will have the power to overcome the world. 

I urge you with all my heart. If you have never seriously considered the great lack of humility in your own life or in the church around you, stop and ask yourself whether you truly see the spirit of the meek and lowly Lamb of God in those who bear His name. 

Think of how much unloving behavior, how much disregard for the needs, feelings, and weaknesses of others. 

How many harsh or hasty words so often excused as being merely honest or direct? 

How many displays of irritation, sensitivity, temper, bitterness, or distance in relationships. 

All of it comes from pride which always seeks self. 

Let your eyes be open to see how this dark, yes, even devilish pride creeps in everywhere, even among gatherings of God's people. 

Ask yourself, what would happen in your heart, in your church, in the world, if believers were truly led by the humility of  Lord Jesus Christ in all their dealings with others? 

Would not it be right for our hearts to cry out day and   night, "Oh, for the humility of Jesus Christ in me and in all who follow Him." 

Fix your heart honestly on your own lack of this humility, the humility revealed in Christ's life and throughout His redeeming work, and you will begin to feel that you have never truly known Christ as He is or what His salvation really means. 

Believers, study the humility of Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is the secret, the hidden root of your redemption. 

Go deeper into it every day. Believe with all your heart that this same Jesus Christ whose divine humility heart that salvation for you now lives to dwell in you and work within you, making you into what the Father God has always desired you to be.

Chapter 3. The humility of Jesus. ( continue here )

Humility: The Beauty of Holiness [CHAPTER 1 , HUMILITY: THE GLORY OF THE CREATURE ]

 Written with piercing clarity and deep devotion, Humility: The Beauty of Holiness reminds us that the highest glory of the creature is to be nothing in itself, that God may be all. 

Let me show you humility is not an optional virtue, but the very foundation of the Christian life. Drawing from Scripture and the life of Christ, I shall demonstrate how true holiness flows from lowliness of heart, and how only the empty of self can be filled with the fullness of God. 

Whether you are seeking renewal in your walk with Christ or longing for a deeper experience of His presence, this timeless message will challenge, convict, and comfort you with one central truth: the way down is the way up.

Chapters  

Introduction 

 1 - Humility: The Glory of the Creature 

 2 - Humility: The Secret of Redemption 

 3 - The Humility of Jesus 

 4 - Humility in the Teaching of Jesus 

 5 - Humility in the Disciples of Jesus 

 6- Humility in Daily Life 

 7 - Humility and Holiness 

 8 - Humility and Sin 

 9 - Humility and Faith 

10 - Humility and Death to Self 

11 - Humility and Happiness 

12 - Humility and Exaltation 

13- A Secret of Secrets: Humility the Soul of True Prayer

LORD JESUS! MAY OUR HOLINESS BE PERFECT HUMILITY! LET THY PERFECT HUMILITY BE OUR HOLINESS!

LORD JESUS! MAY OUR HOLINESS BE PERFECT HUMILITY! LET THY PERFECT HUMILITY BE OUR HOLINESS!

Lord Jesus, may our holiness be perfect humility. Let thy perfect humility be our holiness.

There are three main reasons we should seek humility. Because we are created beings, because we are sinners, and because we are saints.

First, humility fits us as creatures. We see this in the angels, in Adam before the fall, and in Jesus as the son of man.

Second, as fallen sinners, humility is the only way to return to our proper place before God.

Third, as saints, humility is the result of grace. As we are overwhelmed by God's great love in saving us, humility  becomes the highest joy and worship we can offer. 

In much Christian teaching, the link between humility and sin has been overstressed. Overstressed means experiencing a level of mental, emotional, or physical stress that is too high to cope with comfortably. 

Some have even wrongly claimed that we must keep sinning to remain humble. 

Others think self-condemnation is the key to humility. This has harmed the Christian life.

Many believers have not been clearly shown that even apart from sin, it is natural, beautiful, and joyful to be nothing so that God may be everything.

We must see this. It is not sin that humbles us most, but grace. The soul that sees its sin and turns to God, fixing its gaze on His glory as Creator and Redeemer, will then find its true place in deep humility before Him.

Here, I have mainly spoken of the humility that is ours simply because we are God's creatures.

One reason is that the link between humility and sin is already well known in Christian teaching. But even more, I believe we cannot live the full Christian life unless we also learn this other side of humility. 

If Jesus is truly our example in loneliness, then we must understand the foundation of His humility, what it rested on. 

There we find the ground we share with Him and the path to grow into His likeness. 

If we are to be humble, not only before God, but also toward others. If humility is to be our joy, we must see that it is not merely a mark of shame because of sin.

Even without sin, humility is a robe of beauty and blessing, the very nature of heaven and the very nature of Jesus Christ Himself.

Just as Jesus Christ found His glory in becoming a servant. So when He told us, "Whoever wants to be first among you must be your servant," He was revealing a great truth. 

There is nothing more divine or heavenly than serving and helping others.

A faithful servant who knows his role takes joy in meeting the needs of his master or his master's guests. A faithful servant who knows her role takes joy in meeting the needs of her master or her master's guests.

In the same way, when we see that humility is far more than just feeling sorry for our sins and begin to live it as sharing in the life of  Lord Jesus Christ, we will understand that humility is our true greatness.

Living as servants of all is the highest purpose for those made in God's image.

As I look back on my own walk with God and on the church throughout the world, I'm struck by how seldom humility is seen as the true mark of a follower of Jesus Christ. 

In our preaching and daily life, in our homes and relationships, even in close fellowship with believers, and in the work of Christ, there is much to show that humility is not held as the highest virtue. 

It is not seen as the root of all other graces, nor as the one essential condition for real fellowship with Lord Jesus Christ. 

That it can be said of some who claim to seek deeper holiness that their pursuit has not led to deeper humility should be a solemn warning to every earnest Christian. 

Whether such criticism is fully deserved or not, our lives must plainly show that meekness and loneliness of heart are the chief marks of those who truly follow the meek and lowly Lamb of God.

CHAPTER 1 

 HUMILITY: THE GLORY OF THE CREATURE 

Humility, the glory of the creature. They shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, because You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created." Revelation 4:11.

When God created the universe, His purpose was to share His perfection and joy with His creatures.

Father God wanted to reveal His love, wisdom, and power by filling created beings with as much of His goodness and glory as they could receive. But this gift was never meant to make the creature independent, able to possess life or goodness apart from the Father God. Not at all. 

Since God is always living, always present, and always working, upholding everything by His power, creatures can only exist in a constant state of total dependence on Him. 

Just as God created everything by His power, so He must sustain everything at every moment by that same power. The creature must not only look back and say, "God made me." It must also live each moment as an empty vessel ready for God to fill and use, finding its purpose and joy in being nothing so that God may be all.

The life God gives is not a one-time gift. It flows constantly from Him by His power.

And so humility, a heart of complete dependence on God, is the first and highest duty of every created being. It is the root of every other virtue. 

And so pride, the loss of humility, is the root of all sin and evil. It was when the angels who later fell began to admire themselves with pride that they disobeyed and were cast out of heaven into darkness.

In the same way, when the serpent breathed his pride, the desire to be like God into the hearts of Adam and Eve, they also fell from their high place and brought all the misery into which humanity is now sunk. 

In both heaven and earth, pride and self-exaltation are the doorway, the beginning, and the curse of hell. 

All this is to show throughout eternity that pride can cast the highest angels down to become devils, while humility  can lift fallen flesh and blood up to the thrones of angels.

 This is the great purpose in God raising a new creation out of a fallen kingdom of angels. 

It exists in a conflict between the fire and pride of the fallen spirits and the humility of the Lamb of God until the last trumpet declares through all eternity that evil begins only in pride and ends only in humility.

Here is the truth. Pride must die in you or nothing of heaven can live in you. 

Under this banner, give yourself holy to the meek and humble spirit of Jesus Christ. 

Humility must be planted or there can be no harvest in heaven. 

Do not see pride as just an unworthy temper, nor humility as only a modest virtue. 

Pride is death. Humility is life. 

Pride is hell. Humility is heaven. 

The more pride you have, the more the life of fallen angels is in you. 

The more true humility you have, the more the Lamb of God dwells in you. 

If you could see what each stirring of pride does to your soul, you would beg everything around you to tear that viper out of you. Even if it cost you an eye or a hand. 

If you could see the sweet divine, transforming power of humility, how it drives out the poison of your nature and opens your soul for God's Spirit to live in you. You would rather choose to be the foot tool of all the world than be without the smallest measure of it. 

Therefore, the only possible redemption is through the restoration of humility, the original and rightful relationship of the creature to God. 

That is why Jesus Christ came to bring humility back to earth to make us share in it and to save us through it. 

In heaven, Jesus Christ humbled Himself to become a man. The humility we see in Him on earth was already His in heaven. He brought it with Him here. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. His humility gave His death its saving power. Through that humility, we are redeemed. 

The salvation Lord Jesus Christ gives is nothing less than sharing in His life and death. His heart, His spirit, His   \humility. 

That humility is the foundation of His relationship with the Father and of his saving work. 

Jesus Christ took the place of mankind and fulfilled man's calling as a creature by living in perfect humility. 

His humility is our salvation. 

His salvation is our humility. 

So the life of every believer must be marked by this same humility showing that we have been delivered from sin and restored to our true place before God. 

Only with humility can we remain in God's presence or enjoy His favour and power. 

Without humility, there can be no steady faith, no real love, no lasting joy or strength. 

Humility is the only soil where all other graces can grow. 

Without humility, every failure can be explained. 

Humility is not just one virtue among many. Humility is the root of all because it alone puts us in the right position before God and gives Him room to be all in us.

God has made us as rational beings so that the more clearly we understand the true nature and absolute need of a  command, the more willing and complete our obedience will be. 

The call to humility has often been overlooked in the church today because its true meaning and great importance have not been fully understood. 

Humility is not something we bring to God or something He simply gives to us. It is the deep awareness of our total nothingness that comes when we truly see that God is everything. In that awareness, we give God the space to be all in us. 

When a creature understands that this is true greatness, that with heart, mind, and will, he or she is to be a vessel in which God's life and glory can work, then he or she sees that humility is just accepting the truth of his or her place as a creature and giving God His rightful place. 

In the lives of sincere believers, especially those who seek and claim holiness, humility should be the clearest mark of their sincerity.

Yet, it is often said that this is not the case. One reason may be that the church members in both teaching and example has not given humility the central place it deserves. And this may go back to a deeper cause. 

Though sin is a strong reason for humility, there is a greater and more powerful reason still. 

The one that humbles angels, that humbled Jesus Christ, that humbles the holiest saints in heaven. It is this, the very nature and joy of the creature is found in the humility and nothingness that gives God the freedom to be all. 

This is the first and greatest truth about our relationship to God. 

I am certain many Christians would say their experience has been like mine. We have known the Lord Jesus Christ for years without truly realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart are meant to be the defining marks of a disciple just as they were of the master. Lowliness means the state or quality of being low in rank, status, or position, or having a humble and modest nature. 

And more than that, we have not understood that this humility does not come naturally. It must become a specific aim, something we desire, something we pray for, something we believe God for, and  something we actively practice. 

As we read the scriptures, we will see how often and how clearly Jesus Christ taught His disciples about humility and how slow they were to grasp His meaning. 

 So, let us begin our reflections by confessing that there is nothing more natural to mankind, nothing more hidden and deceitful, and nothing more difficult to overcome than pride. 

Let us acknowledge that only through patient, determined waiting on Father God and Jesus Christ will we begin to see how deeply we lack humility and how powerless we are to produce humility by ourselves. 

Let us fix our eyes on the character of  Jesus Christ until our hearts are moved with  His love and admiration for His lowliness. 

And let us believe this. When we are humbled by the discovery of our pride and our inability to remove it, Jesus Christ Himself will come to give us this grace as well. He will share His own humility with us as part of the life He lives within us. 

Chapter 2 - Humility: The Secret of Redemption (continue here)