Chapter 9 - Humility and Faith

 Humility and faith. 

 How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? John 5:44. 

In a message I recently heard, the speaker compared the blessings of the deeper Christian life to goods displayed in a shop window. You can see them clearly, but you can't reach out and take them. If someone told you to simply stretch out your hand and take them, you might answer, "I can't. there's a thick pane of glass in the way. 

In the same way, many Christians can clearly see the  promises of perfect peace and rest, of overflowing love and joy, of constant communion with God and a fruitful life. 

Yet, they feel as if something is blocking them from truly receiving these blessings. What is that barrier? 

Nothing but pride. 

The promises made to faith are completely free and absolutely certain. 

The invitations to believe and the encouragements are strong. 

The power of God which faith depends on is near and freely offered. 

So if we are not receiving the blessings, it must be something that is blocking faith itself.

According to Jesus Christ in this verse, that something is pride. 

How can you believe when you receive glory from one another? 

 When we realize that pride and faith are completely opposed in their very nature, we will understand that humility and faith are deeply connected. 

You cannot have more true faith than you have true humility. 

It's possible to have strong mental belief and confidence in spiritual truths while still holding on to pride in the heart. 

But that pride makes real living faith, faith that moves the heart of God, impossible. 

 Just think for a moment about what faith really is. 

Isn't it the confession of our own nothingness and helplessness?  

The surrender of ourselves and the waiting on God to act. 

Faith at its core is the most humbling of acts.

 It means accepting our place as those who have nothing, can do nothing, and can claim nothing except what grace gives. 

 Humility is simply the heart's readiness to live fully dependent on God. 

 Every trace of pride, whether it's self-seeking, self-will, self-confidence or self-exaltation, only strengthens the self-life. 

And the self-life cannot enter or receive the kingdom because it refuses to let God be everything. 

Faith is the spiritual sense by which we see and receive the blessings of heaven. 

It looks for the glory that comes only from God, which can only be found where God is all in all. 

As long as we accept praise from one another, as long as we love and seek and guard our own honor and reputation, we are not truly seeking and cannot receive the glory that comes from God. 

Pride makes faith impossible. 

Salvation comes through the cross, through Christ crucified. 

To be saved is to be joined with the crucified Christ in the spirit of his cross. 

It means delighting in and sharing in the humility of Jesus Christ. 

 Is it any wonder our faith is so weak when pride still rules in our hearts? 

And we have hardly even learned to desire or ask for humility as one of the most necessary and blessed parts of salvation. 

Humility and faith are more closely connected in scripture than many realize. Look at the life of Jesus Christ. 

 There are two times he spoke of someone having great faith. 

The first was the centurion about whom Jesus said, "I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel." Yet the centurion had said, "I am not worthy that you should come under my roof." 

The second was the Canaanite woman to whom Jesus said, "Oh woman, great is your faith." She had accepted being called a dog and replied, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs." In both cases, it was deep humility coming before Jesus Christ as nothing that cleared the way for great faith. 

 True humility removes every barrier to trust and fears only the possibility of dishonoring God by not trusting him completely. 

 Brother, sister, is this not the reason for failure in our pursuit of holiness? 

Could it be that without knowing it, pride and self still held ground in us, making our consecration and our faith shallow and short-lived? 

We didn't realize how deeply self was still at work, or how only God, by his presence and his power, could drive it out. 

We didn't understand that nothing but the new divine nature fully replacing the old self could make us truly humble. 

We failed to see that absolute constant, and all-encompassing humility must be the foundation of every prayer, every approach to God and every relationship with others. 

Without such humility, we might as well try to see without eyes or live without breathing as believe in God, come near to him, or dwell in his love without a deeply humble and lowly heart. 

Brother, sister, have we not made a mistake by striving so hard to believe while pride in our old self was still trying to take hold of God's blessings and riches for its own sake? 

No wonder we struggled to believe. 

Let us take a different path. 

Let us first humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. He will lift us up. The cross, the death, and the grave into which Jesus Christ humbled himself were the way to his glory with the Father. 

They are our way, too. Let our one desire and our earnest prayer be to be humbled with him and like him. 

Let us willingly accept whatever humbles us before God or before others. This alone is the path to the glory of God. 

You may feel inclined to ask a question. 

I have spoken of some who have rich spiritual experiences or are used to bring blessing to others and yet clearly lack humility.

Chapter 8 - Humility and Sin

 Chapter 8. Humility and sin. 

Sinners of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15. 

 Humility is often thought to be the same as sorrow for sin, penitence, and contrition. 

As a result, many believe the only way to grow in humility is to keep the soul continually focused on its sin. 

But we have come to see that humility is something deeper, something more.

 In the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and throughout the epistles, humility is often commanded without any direct mention of sin. 

 By its very nature, by the truth of what we are as creatures before our Creator, humility is the foundation of holiness  and of joy. 

In the life of Jesus Christ, both in how he lived and in what he gives to us, humility is central. 

Humility is the removal of self to make room for God. 

Where God is all, self becomes nothing.

Though this deeper aspect of humility, as the soul's lowliness before God apart from sin, has been my main focus, I must also say how greatly the reality of man's sin and God's grace deepens and strengthens the humility of the saints. 

 We need only look at the apostle Paul to see this clearly. 

Throughout his life as a redeemed and holy man, the awareness that he had been a sinner never left him. 

We remember his own words. "I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. Yet I labored more abundantly than they all. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me; to me who am less than the least of all saints. This grace was given to me to preach to the Gentiles. I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. But I obtained mercy. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. "

God's grace had fully forgiven and forever removed his sins. God remembered them no more. But Paul could never forget how deeply he had sinned. 

 The more he rejoiced in salvation, the more he was filled with joy in God's grace, the more deeply he knew himself to be a sinner saved. 

The sweetness of salvation was made real to him only as the memory of his sin made it precious. He never forgot. 

It was a sinner whom God had lifted up and crowned with love. 

The verses we have just looked at are often used to suggest  that apostle Paul was speaking of his ongoing daily sin. 

But a careful reading in their context shows this is not the case. 

These words carry a far deeper meaning. 

They point to something eternal, something that will forever shape the worship of the redeemed. 

They speak of the unending wonder and adoration with which the ransomed will bow before God's throne as those who have been washed from their sins in the blood of the Lamb. 

Even in glory, they will never cease to be redeemed sinners. 

Even now in this life, no child of God can walk in the full light of divine love without the deep sense that his / her only claim to grace is the sin from which he /she has been saved. 

The humility with which we first came to God as sinners gains a deeper meaning when we learn that such lowliness also belongs to us as creatures before the Creator. 

And then in return the humility that belongs to us as creatures takes on its fullest beauty and depth when it is filled with the memory of redemption. 

When we remember that we are living monuments of God's astonishing saving love. The true meaning of apostle Paul's expressions about being the chief of sinners becomes even clearer when we consider a striking fact. 

Throughout his entire Christian life, even in the letters where he opens his heart most personally, we never find him making any confession of ongoing sin. 

Nowhere does he speak of present shortcomings or failures. 

He never suggests to his readers that he has failed in duty or fallen short of the law of perfect love. 

Instead, there are several places where he openly defends the blamelessness of his life, using language that would be empty if it were not the simple truth of how he had actually lived. 

"You are witnesses and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you. Our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially toward you with godly sincerity and purity. "

These are not dreams or ideals. They are appeals to his real lived experience.

However we choose to explain this absence of personal confession, one thing is certain. 

It points to a life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

A life of holiness and integrity rarely seen or even expected in our day.

The point I want to underline is this. 

The very absence of any confession of present sin in apostle Paul's writings strengthens the truth that the deepest humility does not come from daily sinning but from holding without interruption the position of one who never forgets that is only standing before God is that of a sinner saved by grace. 

The more grace is known, the more this position is embraced, not as a passing feeling, but as a permanent and joyful reality, that our one true place, the only ground of blessing, is to live every moment confessing, I am a sinner, saved by grace. It IS NO LONGER i THAT LIVING, BUT CHRIST LIVING N ME, HERE AD NOW. 

Apostle Paul carried with him the memory of how terribly he had sinned, before grace met him. 

Alongside that, he lived with the present awareness of being kept from sin.

 Not by his own strength, but by the continual presence of Christ within.

And still deeper, he never lost sight of the fact that sin's power remained in the flesh, always ready to reappear,  held back only by the Zoe , Life of the indwelling Christ. 

"In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." 

This is true of the flesh to the very end. 

The glorious declaration of Romans 8, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death , is not the destruction or improvement of the flesh. 

It is a continuing victory worked moment by moment by the spirit who puts to death the deeds of the body. 

Just as health pushes out disease and light overcomes   darkness and life defeats death, so the life of Christ through the spirit is health, light and life in the soul. 

 Yet even in this victory there remains a constant sense of weakness, of danger, of complete dependence. 

This does not weaken faith. It purifies it. 

And so the highest faith and the fullest joy are joined to the humility of Christ that lives only by grace. 

A humility that knows itself kept by the moment-by-moment working of God's Spirit; to the praise of His glory.

The three passages already quoted, all reveal the same truth. It was the wonderful grace given to apostle Paul and his constant awareness of needing that grace that humbled him so deeply.

 The grace of God that was with him and enabled him to   labor more than all the others. 

The grace that called him to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

The grace that was exceedingly abundant with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 

This grace which by its very nature and glory as for sinners kept alive in apostle Paul a sharp and living sense of both his past sin and his ongoing need of God's keeping power. 

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. 

This shows us the heart of grace. 

Its purpose is to deal with sin and to take it away. 

And the more deeply one experiences grace, the more fully one becomes aware of what it means to be a sinner saved. 

It is not sin itself that keeps a man truly humble. It is grace.

Grace that reveals and reminds him what he was, what he is capable of, and what God has done. 

In all godly humbleness , I declare that I am what God says I am; I have what God says I have; and I can do what God says I can do. 

It is not sin but the power of grace that teaches me to know myself as a sinner and makes the sinner's place the place of deepest humility and self-emptying the place I never leave. 

I fear that many people by using strong words of self-blame and harsh judgment of themselves have tried to become humble yet must sadly admit that a truly humble heart marked by kindness, compassion, gentleness, and patience still feels far away. 

Focusing on ourselves, even in deep self-hatred, can never free us from self. 

True humility comes not just through God's law that condemns sin, but through his grace that saves from it. 

The law may break the heart with fear, but only grace can produce that gentle, joyful humility that becomes like second nature to the soul. 

It was when God came near in his holiness and revealed his grace that Abraham, Jacob, Job, and Isaiah were brought low in true humility. 

The heart that waits on God as the Creator, seeing itself as nothing and God as everything, and trusts in God as the Redeemer, all in all for the sinner, will be so filled with his presence that there will be no room left for self. 

Only then can the promise be fulfilled. 

The pride of man will be brought low and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. 

 It is the sinner who lives in the full light of God's holy saving love, experiencing the deep indwelling of that love through Christ and the Holy Spirit, who cannot help but be humble. 

Deliverance from self does not come by focusing on your sin, but by focusing on God. 

Chapter 9 - Humility and Faith (continue here)

Chapter nine. Humility and faith. 

How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

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.

There is no place so sacred that the Pharisee cannot enter. Pride can raise its head even in the very house of God,  turning worship into an opportunity for self-exaltation. 

Since Jesus Christ exposed the pride of the Pharisee, that same spirit has often disguised itself in the clothing of the publican. 

The one who confesses deep sin is just as much at risk as the one who claims high holiness. 

Even as we sincerely seek to make our heart a temple for God, we will often find both men, the Pharisee and the publican, coming to pray, the publican's real danger is not the proud man beside him, but the proud spirit within him, one who praises self instead of mourning sin. 

In God's temple, even when we feel nearest to His Presence, when we believe we stand in the holiest place, we must be on guard against pride. 

Scripture warns us that when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them. 

Even in the place of worship, the spirit of pride can intrude.

So it was with the Pharisee who in the very act of prayer  lifted himself up and said, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men or even like this publican." 

It is possible for self to find its comfort and pride even in what should lead us to the deepest humility. 

Even in thanksgiving to God, where we rightly confess that He has done all, self may quietly rejoice in itself. 

 Yes, even when we are in the temple speaking the language of repentance and trust in God's mercy, the Pharisee can rise within us, he gives thanks, but in that thanks, he's praising himself.

Pride can dress itself in the garments of praise or of penitence. 

Though we may reject the words, "I am not like other men," the spirit behind them can still be found in how we feel or speak about our fellow believers. 

Do you wonder if this is true? 

Just listen to how churches and Christians often speak about one another. 

How rare are the meekness and gentleness of Christ? 

How easily forgotten is the truth that deep humility must shape how the followers of Jesus Christ speak of themselves and others? 

Are there not many churches, gatherings of believers, missions, conventions, societies, committees, even remote  mission fields where the work of God has been hindered and unity broken simply because those known as saints have acted in pride, acted in touchiness, acted impatience,  acted defensiveness, with harsh words, and quick judgments. 

They have shown that they did not count others better than themselves. 

Their holiness lacked the meekness that marks the saints. 

Mrs. Smith writes, "Me is a most exacting person, demanding the best seat and the highest place for itself, and feeling deeply offended if it's not recognized." 

Most quarrels among Christian workers come from the demands of this great meme. 

How few of us know the true secret of taking the lowest seat.

Many have experienced deep moments of conviction and brokenness before God. 

But how different that is from being clothed with humility, from having a spirit that walks in lowliness each day, counting oneself the servant of others, and showing the very mind of Christ Jesus. 

Lowliness means the state or quality of being low in rank, status, position, or worth.

Standby, for I am holier than thou. What a distortion of true holiness this is. 

Jesus Christ, the holy one, is the humble one. 

The holiest will always be the humblest. 

There is none holy but God. 

And we have no more holiness than we have of God Himself. 

And the measure of God's Presence in us will be the measure of our true humility. 

Because real humility is simply the disappearance of real self in the sight of God being all. 

The holiest will be the humblest. 

The phrase "Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou" originates from Isaiah 65:5 in the King James Version of the Bible.  In this context, the speaker is God, who is rebuking a rebellious people who engaged in idolatrous rituals (such as eating pork and consulting the dead) while simultaneously claiming superior spiritual status and excluding others. 

The idiom "holier-than-thou" describes a person who is self-righteously or sanctimoniously virtuous, often projecting a false sense of moral superiority over others.  The earliest recorded use of this phrase in English dates to 1834, alluding directly to this biblical verse.  The attitude is condemned in scripture as an unbearable irritant to God, likened to "smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day." 

Though the proud and boastful words of the Jew in prophet Isaiah's day are rarely spoken aloud today, our manners have taught us to avoid such speech. His spirit still lives on. 

 It can be seen in how believers treat one another, and even in their attitude toward the world, in how opinions are  expressed, how work is done, and how the faults of others are pointed out. 

We may hear the voice of the Pharisee, even when it wears the clothing of the publican. 

God, I thank thee that I am not as other men. But is there still a humility to be found so real and deep that men will truly count themselves less than the least of all saints and gladly be the servants of all? 

Yes, there is, love does not boast, love is not proud, love does not seek its own. 

Where the spirit of love fills the heart. 

Where the divine nature is fully formed.

Where Christ, the meek and lowly lamb of God is truly living within. 

There is power to love perfectly. 

That love forgets itself and finds joy in serving, in bearing with others, in honoring them even the weakest. 

Where love comes, God comes. 

And where God is present in power, He reveals Himself as all and the creature becomes nothing. 

And when a soul becomes nothing before God, it cannot help but be humble before others. 

The presence of God is no longer a thing of certain times or places. It becomes the atmosphere in which the soul dwells. 

And the soul's deep humility before God becomes the holy ground from which all its words and actions flow. 

1May God teach us this vital truth that our thoughts, words, and feelings toward others are his test of our humility  toward him. 

And that only our humility before him can give us the grace to walk humbly with others. 

Our humility must be the very life of Christ, the lamb of God living in us. 

Let every teacher of holiness, whether preaching from the pulpit or speaking from the platform, and every seeker of holiness, whether in secret prayer or in public gatherings, take this warning to heart. 

There is no pride more dangerous because none is more subtle than the pride of holiness. 

A man may never say or even consciously think, "Stand by, I am holier than you." The thought itself may be deeply offensive to him. 

And yet, without realizing it, a quiet habit of soul can form, a hidden sense of satisfaction in one's spiritual attainments, a quiet comparison that notices how far ahead one seems to be. 

This spirit may not show itself in open boasting or self-praise. 

It is often seen simply in the absence of deep self-abasement which must always be the mark of a soul that has truly seen the glory of God. 

It shows not just in thoughts or words but in tone, in attitude, in the way we speak of others. 

Those with spiritual discernment will sense the presence of self behind it. 

Even the world with its sharp eyes notices and points to it as evidence that those who claim a heavenly life show little of heaven's spirit. 

Oh brothers and sisters, let us be on guard. 

If each step forward in holiness is not marked by a greater depth of humility, we may be deceiving ourselves, enjoying beautiful thoughts, stirring emotions, and sincere acts of consecration and faith while missing the one certain sign of God's presence, the death of self. 

Let us flee to Lord Jesus Christ, right now. Let us hide ourselves in him until we are clothed with his humility. That alone is our holiness. 

Chapter 8 - Humility and Sin (continue here)

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 )