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

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)

Doctrine of Christ #4: The Glory of The Lord

 Doctrine of Christ #4: The Glory of The Lord

"I am the LORD; that is My Name! I will not yield My Glory to another. Isaiah 42:8 

And the earth was without form, and void.. The Spirit of God moved upon face of the waters. Genesis 1:1 

For all have sinned, and come short of The Glory of God.  Romans 3:23 

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of The Glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14 

All the earth shall be filled with The glory of the LORD. Numbers 14:21, Psalm 72:19 

"Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth" [Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Judah, David) Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 12:3, 22:18, 26:3, 35:11, 49:10, Exodus 40:34, Jeremiah 33:1. 4, Psalm 89:4, Acts 1:8,9:31 

The Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle [Moses, Arron] filled the house [Solomon] witness Me to the end of the earth. .... with The Holy Ghost, churches edified, multiplied. [Apostles] 

righteousness remain in the fruitful field...The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: Isaiah 32:16, 40:5-8 

Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to The Glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11 

Hath in these last days, God spoken unto us by His Son.. Who being the brightness of His Glory, and The express image of His Person. Hebrews 1:3 

 To whom God would make known what is the   riches of the glory of this mystery among the   Gentiles; which is Christ in you, The Hope of   Glory... When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,   then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.   Colossians 1:27, 3:4 

The Power Of The Third Pull

 The Power Of The Third Pull 

Now he says, now this I'm just rehearsing a lot of things, so just bear with me. Hey, and while I'm rehearsing and reviewing, keep pulling. Amen. Don't stop. I was telling the brother today, I got so much stuff plugged up. I feel like I got all this stuff and there's a just a little bitty final shoot to get it out of and I don't know which to cram down to shoot first. So, what I need is I need someone on the other end pulling it out and it will come right in the right sequence. Amen. 

So, we're reviewing these things, but these things we're reviewing are not details. They're not facts. Amen. This is our life. This is where we're at. This is the revelation of the hour. This is actually what is changing us. Amen. 

He says now in the third seal, he says now that's what's the reason today the revivals that we're supposed to have. 

Remember he's preaching the third seal right in the week of seals. We've had denominational revivals. We haven't had a real stirring. No, no, no, no, no, sir. Don't think we got revival. We haven't. Oh, they've got millions and millions and millions of church members, but not a revival nowhere. The bride hasn't had a revival yet. He's here in the third seal. He's preaching the seals. The bride hasn't had a revival. But brother Branham already told us that he went out with a healing ministry by a commission of the  angels. And he said it started revival fires everywhere. It did. It started a massive revival. It started healing campaigns and a revival that brought many souls to Christ. And it had a a huge effect worldwide. 

But he said the bride hasn't had a revival yet. It wasn't that, that wasn't a revival. The church was having a revival, but there's got to be a bride's revival. 

 The bride hasn't had a revival yet. There's been no revival there. 

 No, listen. Oh my goodness. This we know this sentence, but listen to it. No manifestation of God to stir the bride yet. He's here in 1963 in March. Think of the manifestations of God that have taken place to this point. Raising the dead, opening blinded eyes, healing the deaf, mute speaking, Amen. cripples walking. There's been massive amounts of manifestation. Is that right? But he says there's been no manifestation of God to stir the bride yet. Amen. Remember? Amen. Praise be to God. 

Remember those big rainbow trout were just laying out there in the deep water and they were just sitting there and he was trying to attract them with the first and second pull to get their attention. Amen. Amen. But he was going to catch them on the third pull because the first and second pul weren't going to catch the rainbow trout. Amen. They started a church revival but not a bride revival. The bride revival is going to come under the third pull. Amen. No manifestation of God to stir the bride. That's why. Amen. I  believe so many things, but I got to be careful that I say things the right way because I don't want to bring the wrong idea. I don't want to bring the wrong  misunderstanding in any way. 

But that's why you can't go back to first and second pull and catch the rainbow trout. Now, you can catch their attention. Amen. 

That's why you didn't realize that the first pull and second pull never went anywhere. It's still there. Brother Branham till the day he died could take somebody by the hand and discern what their sickness was. He had a gift of discernment that he would manifest. He would show it. Amen. Through the services all the way to the end. The first pull and second pull didn't disappear. The third pull contains the first pull and second pull. 

And that gets the attention of the rainbow trout, right? 

But that's not what hooks the rainbow trout. 

So if we try to use a first pull and second pull or those kind of manifestations that were under the first pull and second pull to hook the rainbow trout, they won't get hooked. They may get uh , you may catch their attention, but the angel said it's the third pull that will hook them. And that's why we say it, brother. We must emphasize, we must put the most emphasis on the proper part of the message. 

Brother said, we don't major on a minor. 

The part of the message that we should emphasize is the part that brother Branham emphasized, right? 

The part of the message that has the greatest impact for the bride is the part that he was told will catch the rainbow trout. 

And if there's anything to emphasize, we should emphasize what brother Brandham emphasized and what his whole ministry was building to and what his message actually was and what the whole point of everything leading up to it was. It came to a point. Amen. 

There came a manifestation of the seventh angel. There came a seventh angel's ministry. And all of that was the fulfillment of Revelation 10:7. {But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as He proclaimed to His servants the prophets.}

Amen. And under that, that is the emphasis. That is the third pull that will hook the rainbow trout. And you can see there's a temptation, amen, to go to things that are a little more apparent and a little more obvious and seem to be more supernatural. But I'm telling you, they're not more supernatural because Pentecostal babies can be taught those things. But the rainbow trout can understand, receive, know what the Pentecostal babies can't know. And that is the thing that will hook them. 

That's right. 

So you have to be careful. I have to be careful in the way I say this because if I say this wrong, then all of a sudden we have an adversion to manifestations of God which are a fulfillment of the Word. [Adversion is a rare or nonstandard variant of the word aversion, which means a strong feeling of dislike, opposition, or turning away from something.] 

Healing is a fulfillment of the Word. Discernment is a fulfillment of the Word. Laying hands on the sick is a fulfillment of the Word. Those are the children's bread. This should always be present at all times. 

 It should never leave. That's right. Amen. If we don't have healings in our midst, if we don't have manifestations of the Spirit in our midst, then there's a problem that should always be there. But if you, if we say this and this I believe I've been too guilty of it in the past, but if I say this too  harshly, in such a harsh way, then all a sudden we have an inversion, amen, to laying hands on the sick and saying, "We should never have an inversion to that." Amen. That that's part of the shoe that goes with it. Amen. That's part of Christ. That's part of the Word. Amen. 

Amen. So we never do away with the Word. Amen. That's why I would also say it's not wrong. There's nothing wrong with the prayer line. If you make a prayer line evil, then we got a problem with the prophet. 

He had them all the way up to the end of his ministry. And even though he was having prayer lines, he was still trying to get the people to grab a higher faith. He's trying to get them to have true gentile faith and take it at the Word. But he was not denying, amen, a prayer line for those who needed it, those who could benefit from it to bless others. So you can't make a prayer line evil. The prayer line itself is not evil. Or else you got a problem with the prophet. That's right. You can't make an altar call evil. That's right or else you got a problem with the prophet.

Now, can you use all these things in an evil way? Absolutely, you can use any gift in an evil way. You can use anything. But you got to be careful that we don't deny things that are still part of God. Make things evil that aren't evil. Yeah. 

Coming to the altar and praying is never out of style. That's right.  It'll never be evil. It'll never be wrong. Is that right? 

 That's right. What some people do with it sometimes is wrong, but it's never wrong. In fact, Brother Branham told the people that when they come to church, you should, you could come if you want to come to the altar and pray quietly and go to your seat and the altar was never diminished in any way. Coming and praying at an altar, asking somebody to lay hands on you has never been taken away from the church. 

 It's still there. to be anointed with oil is never taken away. It's still there. But when brother Branham was still operating in all that showing that it's not evil. Amen. It is you can't make that in itself evil. It's part of the Word. Amen. But what happens is Amen. If we overemphasize and hold everybody there. Amen. We got to go to where  brother Branham was pointing us to and he was trying to get us to realize you don't need somebody to lay hands on you. You don't need any physical contact. Amen. That you can receive it the way the Gentiles receive it. You hear the Word and take him at his word. Amen. 

He come and preach perfect faith. Yes, sir. Is that right? 

He come and preach perfect faith and he said, "If you have perfect faith, you don't need anybody to lay hands on you. You don't need to come through the prayer line if you got perfect faith." Amen. You know, you're just as sure it's going to happen as anything. Amen. Is that right? 

 He says,"So then, Brother Branham, at the end of perfect faith has a prayer line. 

 But it's interesting what he does in the prayer line. In that prayer line, he just has people go quickly through and he just lays hands on them. Amen. 

According to the Word and prays for them and sends them on their way. Then at the end of the prayer, at the end of all of that, he's talking to the congregation. 

 He said, "Now notice what I did. I did that in a certain way because we've got to come to perfect faith. Now I've laid hands on you. Can you accept it according to the Word?" What was Brother Branham trying to do? He was trying to get them to accept their healing based of the Word. Not him, not what he said, not his hands. But the Word says if they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover. And at the end of perfect faith, he's not, he's not preaching perfect faith, then having a prayer line to take away what he just preached. He's having a prayer line, but the way he's conducting the prayer line is pointing the people back to the Bible, to the scriptures, and say, "Now, every one of you can be healed if you'll take it that way. Yes. 

What's the goal? To receive the Word. 

What's the whole point? To believe the Word. 

Amen. You see that if you do not have healings and manifestations and these things, how will you attract the rainbow trout? How will you even get their attention? 

If you can't pray for your co-workers and them be healed, if you can't give a testimony of what God's done for you, how will you even get them to look your way?

We notice this in the mission field all the time. That's why being in mission sometimes is so exciting because God is demonstrating Himself to get the attention of the rainbow trout and He's confirming His Word and He is confirming the ministry and He's trying to get the attention. But what's always the goal? The goal is always to hook them and catch them on the third pull. 

But you'll see the first and second pull in operation, in the mission field , in a new ground and amongst new believers all the time. Amen. I don't know how many of you come from outside the message with no exposure to it but come to it. And I tell you, we had a glorious time when we come to the Word. 

Amen. Manifestation after manifestation, healing after healing, demonstration after demonstration. Amen. Why? Because God was pulling in His rainbow trout, right? 

 But the thing that hooked us, was the third pull, the thing that actually caught us. There was something that attracted us, but the thing that caught us was the third pool. Praise be to God. 

  So, I'm going to read this last part of this quote. And remember, we're in the third seal. The bride hasn't had a revival yet. There's been no revival there. No manifestation of God to stir the bride yet. So, the bride needs stirred. She is kind of like asleep. She is kind of like those big, beautiful rainbow trout just sitting in the deep waiting to be caught. 

We're looking for it. Listen, it'll take those seven unknown thunders back there to wake her up again. 

He will send it. He promised it. 

 So what will it take? There's been no revival yet to stir the bride. There's been no manifestation of God yet to stir the bride. Amen. But it'll take those seven unknown thunders back there to wake her up again. What is that? It's the seventh seal. 

It's Revelation 8:1 and Revelation 10:1-7 tied together. 

It's the secret that's laying in the Bible. It's the sealed part of the Word. 

Brother comes to the Laodicean church age and he says, "Now this messenger Malachi 4 in Revelation 10:7 is going to do two things. 

One, according to Malachi 4, he will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers. 

Two, he will reveal the mysteries of the seven thunders in Revelation 10, which are the revelations contained in the seven seals." 

What is it? It's the revelation. What is the mystery of the seven thunders in Revelation 10? It's the revelation   contained in the seven seals. That's why when brother Branham comes to preach the seven seals, it was the pinnacle of his ministry.

 It was the it was the point where everything broke forth. Amen. It was the point he was building to. He was coming to everything, every vision, every every call was leading to this. Amen. Why? 

Because now he knows he's right in Revelations 10:7. Amen. And he's revealing, amen, the secret part, the quiet part, the unspoken part. He has God is bringing a revelation day by day of those seven thunders because they're the revelation contained in the seven seals. 

 It will be these divinely revealed mystery truths that literally turn the hearts of the children to the Pentecostal fathers. Why? Because it is the thing that's going to catch them. 

And when you begin to reel, you turn the head of the fish and start bringing it in. Amen. And what's going to turn there back to the Pentecostal fathers, it's going to be the mysteries laid under those seals. The mystery of the thunders is the revelation contained in the seven seals.   Praise God. Now he comes to the first seal. 

And in the first seal, he says, "And then there's coming forth seven mysterious thunders." That's not even written at all. That's right. And I believe that through these seven  thunders would be revealed in the last days, in order to get the bride together for rapturing faith. Because what we got right now, we wouldn't be able to do it. 

What did they have so far? They had healing. They had miracles. They had manifestations. They even had the tying together of the loose ends. Amen. Is that right? They had so much. Amen. And it's amazing that so I have to be careful. 

I just feel to be careful to walk softly because you can walk too hard here. 

But it's easy for those who claim to believe the message to stop with brother Branham when he comes to the seals and leave that mysterious and unsolved and untouched and just thoroughly enjoy what we had until the seals. 

It's true. the testimonies, the healings, the manifestations, the prophetic ministry, the discernment, and we keep talking about what brother Branham did and keep talking about how great God was and talking about the testimonies and talking about he healed this one and he opened blinded eyes and blinded eyes and 

1:04:27 how many people in the prayer line and keep talking and talking and talking about that. Amen. But brother Branham said is, it's going to take those seven  thunders, we'll reveal in the last days, in order to get the bride together for rapturing faith because what we got right now, we wouldn't be able to do it .

So what he had come up to wasn't enough. It needed that third pull. 

 He said there's something we've got to step farther. We can't have enough faith for divine healing. Hardly. 

We got to have enough faith to be changed in a moment and be swept out of this earth and we'll find that after a while, the Lord willing, find where it's written. Amen. 

He comes now to the message recognizing your day in its message in 1964 says what do they do that why do they do that? They want a great awakening. They were crying believing that there will be an awakening. They're good people. Why is it? What have they done? They have not recognized the awakening of the bride. 

Now, Brother Bennett's preaching this in July of' 64. In March of 63, in the the third seal, he was saying there's been no manifestation of God to stir the bride yet. It'll take those seven unknown thunders to wake her up. 

So, he's saying there's not been a revival. She's not been stirred. It' take the seven thunders to wake her up. 

Now, he comes a year and four months later. A year and four months later, he says standing in the middle of 1964 and he's saying they're calling for revival, calling for revival, revival in our nation. Why are they calling for it? He says they have not recognize the awakening of the bride. There has been something that happened in the previous one year and four months that'll wake up the bride, that'll stir her, that will be her revival. 

And it won't be a public show. Amen. And they have not recognized the awakening of the bride by being a Christian. They feel the pull of the hour, but they haven't recognized what's been done. 

That's what's making them feel that way. 

They know something is supposed to happen, but see, they're looking for it way off in the future to come, when it's already happened, right by you. Amen. Praise God. He can't say it any plainer. Whatever that was going to be the bride's revival to awake the which was the seven thunders the revelation of the seven thunders that was contained in the seven seals that was supposed to wake her up. Now he's saying that she's been awakened. Amen. And you you're looking for it a far off. You're looking for somebody to interpret the seals. You're he's saying they're calling for revival, calling for revival, revival in our

natural curiosity towards understanding life realities and incidents in a meaningful way.

    Human beings are born with natural curiosity towards understanding life, its origin, its purpose and ends, so that they can relate themselves to the surrounding realities and incidents in a meaningful way.

   In denial of enduring emptiness and dissolution, right from the age of infancy and childhood, human exhibits the desire to understand the nature, degrees and connections of existing physical and metaphysical realities, then generates an explanation about what the existence is all about.          Besides the nature and degrees of existing realities, human also seeks to understand the origins of life and where it all comes from, as well as the ends of life and what happens in the future. 

   On top of that, in an attempt to act with consistency and in a rational way, human seeks to understand the values of life, the meaning of the absolute truth and the ultimate happiness in life.          The answers we give to these concerns form the basis of our basic thoughts, the fundamental commitments, through which we view and judge given realities and circumstances in life. 

    Though human beings share the concerns and the tendency to seek answers for such concerns, yet the answers given in this regard vary, and as a result our conceptions about the reality of life also vary time and again. 

   This is evident from the fact that, in the process of answering these concerns, there are those who prefer logical speculations and argumentations over other means of understanding basic realities of life, and thus formulate their answers to basic questions of life on philosophical grounds.   

   Unlike those who take a philosophical approach, there are those whose conception of reality is constructed by scientism, which is the contention that limits obtaining true knowledge to the methods of natural science. 

   In contrast to philosophical and scientific worldviews, approaches which are marked by materialism and trust in human rationality, or humanism, there are approaches persuaded others whose beliefs about the fundamental realities of life are founded on divine revelations; a tendency that is observable, though at different levels, in major world religious traditions.   

  Hence, as priorities and approaches to answering the fundamental questions of life are varied, worldviews and conceptions about the reality of life too are varied. 

   For instance, there are some people whose belief systems are marked by monism; the doctrine that reality is one, one supreme existence, whereby everything that exists is a manifestation of that reality. 

  Some monists such as materialists have said that reality is one and it is material, while others contend for one real existence, which according to them is immaterial.  

  Some have argued for monism on religious grounds, while others have accepted monism on rational and philosophical grounds.  

   Likewise, there are those whose conception of life is marked by atheism; denial of the existence of God, while others have interpreted life through and within belief in the existence of God. 

    Those who denied the existence of God, did so for different reasons, while theistic belief systems also vary in their conceptions of God. 

  Among theists are polytheists, who based their worldview not on a belief in one God, but incorporate a multiplicity of lordships, in a way that entails belief in the existence of more than one God or more than one deity. 

   Closely related to this conception is pantheism, the doctrine that identifies God with nature, as if the universe and the divinity are the same and thus form only one entity; in this belief, God is nature and nature is God. 

  In short, both polytheism and pantheism hold a belief in the existence of God, however the former tends to a belief in a number of divinities, while the later fails to distinguish God from the natural world. 

  Polytheistic and pantheistic conceptions of life are contrasted to that of monotheism, the belief in the existence of one God, who is the Creator of everything and everyone; a position held, though in different ways, by major world religions. 

  In addition, although monotheism is generally held by major world religious traditions, there is diversity in their belief in the existence of one God, particularly in the area of the universality of God and divisibility of the essence of God. 

  Hence world religious faiths offer Ethno-centric, Trinitarian and Tawhidic conceptions of God, which primarily share belief in the existence of God, but differ in ways of conceiving God.' 

Ethno-centrism or monoletry, in which God is one, without denying other communities' right to worship other gods, is through and within belief in the existence of God.

( Definitions of the terminologies like "scientism", "materialism", "philosophical worldview","scientific worldview", "monism" are addressed in below 👇🏽 . )

 Those who denied the existence of God, did so for different reasons, while theistic belief systems also vary in thein conceptions of God. 

Among theists are polytheists, who based their worldview not on a belief in one God, but incorporatea multiplicity of lordships, in a way that entails belief in the existence of more than one God or more than one deity. 

Closely related to this conception is pantheism, the doctrine that identifies God with nature, as if the universe and the divinity are the same and thus form only one entity; in this belief, God is nature and nature is God.

 In short, both polytheism and pantheism hold a belief in the existence of God, however the former tends to a belief in a number of divinities, while the later fails to distinguish God from the natural world. 

Polytheistic and pantheistic conceptions of life are contrasted to that of monotheism, the belief in the existence of one God, who is the Creator of everything and everyone; a position held, though in different ways, by major world religions. 

In addition, although monotheism is generally held by major world religious traditions, there is diversity in their belief in the existence of one God, particularly in the area of the universality of God and divisibility of the essence of God. 

Hence world religious faiths offer Ethno-centric, Trinitarian and Tawhidic conceptions of God, which primarily share belief in the existence of God, but differ in ways of conceiving God.' 

Ethno-centrism or monoletry, in which God is one, without denying other communities' right to worship other gods, is