Humility - Andrew Murray

7/31/2019 Humility - Andrew Murray

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Preface: Why Focus on Humility? 1

1. Humility: The Glory of God’s Creation 2

2. Humility: The Secret of Redemption 4

3. Humility in the Life of Jesus 6

4. Humility in the Teaching of Jesus 8

5. Humility in the Disciples of Jesus 10

6. Humility in Daily Life 12

7. Humility and Holiness 14

8. Humility and Sin 16

9. Humility and Faith 18

10. Humility and Death to Self 20

11. Humility and Happiness 22

12. Humility and Exaltation 24

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By Andrew Murray(in contemporary English)



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Preface: Why Focus on Humility?

There are t hree things that should moti vat e me to be humble. Humil it y is the only normal way for me to li ve as a man. This healt hy desir e to take a ri ghtf ul pl ace under God moves t he angels in heaven, j ust as it did Adam andEve when they were freshly created and Jesus when he lived as the carpenter from Galilee. Humility also gives me hope as a sinner. It appeals to us humans in our fallen condition and points out the only way to return to our

right place in God’s creati on. Final ly, humil i t y st rengthens me as a saint . Grace t eaches us t hat as we loseourselves in the overwhelming greatness of God’s love, humili ty before Him is caught up in everlast ingblessedness and worship.

Sadly, Christ ians have focused almost all of their att ention on that second motive, on why sinners need to humblethemselves. Some people have even gone so far as t o say that it ’ s a good thing for Christ ians to keep on sinning,to keep them humble. How foolish, and how sad! Others have thought that the secret of humility is to walkaround with dark clouds of condemnat ion hanging over their heads. These misunderst andings have robbed God’ schildren of t heir inherit ance. Too many of us don’t realize how wonderful and natural it is to become nothing, sothat Jesus can be our All in All! We haven’ t been taught t hat i t isn’ t sin that humbles us t he most , but grace. Whoare those who wil l bow down the lowest at Jesus’ feet? It wil l be the men and women whom He has led out oftheir sinfulness and fi ll ed wit h awe at t heir glorious God as t heir Creator and Redeemer.

In the thoughts that follow I have chosen to focus attention almost exclusively on the humility that is fitting forredeemed people. I assume that most of you already understand that a sinner should be humble. But even moreimport antly, I believe that if you are t o experience Jesus in His Fullness, you need to underst and thoroughly yourown need for humility. If Jesus is your example, your pattern, then you need to know what motivated Him to behumble. If we are going to take our stand with Jesus, we need to be on the same ground He’s standing on. That’ swhere we’ ll grow to become more like Him. If we are going to become humble before God and our f ell ow man—ifhumility is to become our j oy— we can’ t t hink t hat humil it y is just a sense of shame for our sin. We also have tounderstand it separate and apart from all sin as a coveri ng wit h t he beauty and blessedness of heaven and of Jesus Himself .

Just as Jesus found His glory in t aking the form of a servant , He has also told us, “ The great est among you mustbe a servant” (Matt . 23:11). He simpl y was t eaching us the trut h. Nothing is so wonderful and godly as being theservant and helper of all! The faithful servant who recognizes his or her position finds a real pleasure in meetingthe needs and desir es of t he Master or His guests. When we see that humil it y is something far deeper t han justfeeling sorry for sin and accept it as taking part in the life and heart of Jesus, we will begin to see it as our truenobility. We will begin to see that being servants of all is the highest fulfillment of our destiny, as human beingscreated in the image of God.

When I look at my own experience, along with that of other Christians I have known throughout the world, I amamazed how lit t le humilit y is sought af t er as the dist inguishing feature of being Jesus’ discipl e. In the acti vit iesof daily life in the home and with others, and in the more special fellowship with Christians as we work for Jesus,there is far too much evidence that humility is not held up as the highest character trait to seek after. Peopledon’t seem to realize that humility is the only root out of which other good character traits can grow. It is theone indispensable condition of true fellowship with Jesus. Unfortunately, people looking for a deeper holinesshave not always pursued it with increased humility. Test your heart to see whether meekness and lowliness arethe main ways you are seeking to follow the meek, humble Lamb of God!



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supposed t o be leaders in God’ s House has never ref lected t he emphasis He gives humil it y. This truth has beenalmost forgotten: although sin is a powerful motive for humility, there is a stronger one. This motive makes theangels in heaven and the Son of God Himself so humble. Here it is: t he core of man’ s rel at ionship t o God, t hesecret to blessing, is the humil it y and nothingness t hat leaves God free t o be All.

Many Chri st ians are probably j ust like me. We knew the Lord a long t ime wi thout r ealizing that meekness andlowliness of heart should be the distinguishing feature of the disciple, as they were of the Master. Humilitydoesn’ t j ust “ happen.” We have to want i t . It requires fait h, prayer, and pract ice. As we lean int o God’s Word,

we will see that Jesus gave His disciples clear and frequent teaching on this point. We will also see how slow theywere to understand it.

From the st art , let ’ s admit t hat nothing comes quit e so naturall y t o us—and nothing is so hidden in our bli ndspots—as pride. That’ s why it is so dangerous. Let ’ s realize t hat not hing but a det ermined and perseveringseeking of God will open our eyes to see how lacking we are in humility and how feeble we are in obtaining it!Let ’ s f ix our eyes on Jesus unti l our souls are fil led wit h love and admirati on for His humil it y. And let’ s believethat, when we are broken down under a sense of our pride and realize our inability to get rid of it, that JesusChrist Himself wil l give us this grace as a part of His wonderful Lif e wit hin us.



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2. Humility: The Secret of RedemptionYour at t i t ude should be t he same that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not demand and cl ing to His ri ght s as God. He made Himself nothi ng; He t ook the humble posi t ion of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form He obedient ly humbled Himself even furt her by dying a criminal’ s death on a cross. Because of t his, God raised Him up to the height s of heaven and gave Him a name t hat is above every ot her name. (Phil . 2:5-9)

A tree grows from its own root. Through its whole existence, the tree lives with the same life that was in theseed that produced i t . This t rut h can help us see why we need to be redeemed and how God has met that need.

The devil was thrown down from heaven because of his pride. His whole character is pride. When he hissed hiswords of t emptat ion int o Eve’s ear, hi s words dripped wit h the venom of hell . And when she list ened and yieldedher heart and will to the desire to be like God, knowing good and evil for herself, that venom entered herspiritual bloodstream and poisoned her life. Gone forever was the wonderful humility and dependence on Godthat would have guaranteed the everl ast ing happiness of t he human race. Instead, human l if e became corruptedwit h the most t erri ble of all sin and curses, t he poison of t he devil’ s own pride.

All of the wret chedness the world has seen began wit h that curse. Hell ish pride—eit her our own or someoneelse’s—is responsibl e for all t he misery we’ ve experienced. All war and bloodshed among nations, all self ishnessand suff ering, all ambit ion and j ealousy, every broken heart and bit t er li fe, are the result s of t his same wickedpride.

It is because of pride that we need to be redeemed. If we are to grasp how desperately we need Jesus, we mustsee the t erri ble power t hat pride has over us.

The power t hat satan brought from hell and inj ected into human lif e is working daily—hourly—wit h incredibl eforce throughout the world. People suffer from it. They fear it, fight against it, and try to run away from it. Butthey st il l don’ t know where it comes from or why it is so st rong. No wonder t hey have no clue about how toovercome it!

Pride’ s power is in t he spir it ual realm, bot h inside and outside us. We need to confess it , hat e it , and realize itssatanic ori gin. Seeing pride for what it is may cause us to despair of ever overcoming it and removing it from ourheart s. But it wil l also drive us to discover t he supernatural power t hat i s our only hope—the redempt ion of t heLamb of God. Our hopel ess st ruggle against self and pride may seem even more hopeless when we t hink of thepower of darkness that is against us. But eventually we will better realize and accept the power and life that areoff ered to us—the humil it y of heaven, brought int o our heart s by the Lamb of God to cast out t he devil and hispride.

If we need to look at Adam and Eve’ s sin t o underst and the power of the sin t hat’ s inside us, how much more dowe need to know t he power of t he Second Adam, Jesus. He off ers us a li fe of humil ity that i s even more real andmore last ing and more powerful t han our pride. Our l if e is from and in Christ. We are to “ let our roots grow downint o Him,” for “ we grow only as we get our nourishment and st rength from God.” (Col. 2:7,19)

The life of God, which entered the human race when Jesus was born, is the root where we must stand and grow.The same power that worked in Jesus, from the manger to the empty tomb, can work daily in us. Do you knowwhat our main need is? It is to know and trust t hat t he li fe t hat has been revealed in Christ is now our life. Hislife is waiting only for our permission to gain possession and mastery over our whole being.

We need to know Christ! We must see Him clearly. We especially need a revelation of the root of His character asour Redeemer: His humility. What did Jesus’ bir th mean, except t hat wi th heavenly humil it y He was emptyingHimself and becoming one of us? What was His li fe on eart h about , if it wasn’ t t aking the form of a servant? Whatwas t he cross, other t han the most humble act the universe has ever wi tnessed? “ He obedient ly humbled Himselfeven further by dying a criminal’ s death on a cross.” And what was Jesus’ ascension t o God’ s throne, excepthumil it y crowned with glory? “ God raised Him up t o the heights of heaven and gave Him a name that i s aboveevery ot her name.”

In heaven, where Jesus was with the Father, in His birth, in His life, in His death, and on His throne, everythingwas and is humility. Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature. He is eternal love humbling itself,clot hing it self with meekness and gent leness, t o win and serve and save us. Love is what makes God the servantof all, and humility is what makes Jesus who He is. Even on the throne, He is the meek and lowly Lamb of God.



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Humility is the root of the tree. You can tell it by looking at every branch and leaf and fruit. If the secret ofJesus’ li fe and death is humil it y, t hen the health and st rength of our own spirit ual lives wil l completely dependon our making humility our top priority, too. We must make humility the thing we admire about Him most, themain thing we ask of Him, and the one thing we see that we can’ t li ve without .

Is it any wonder t hat t he so-called “ Christ ian lif e” is so oft en weak and fruit less, if the root of t he Christ -li fe i sneglect ed? Should we be surpri sed that t he j oy of salvation is so li t t le f elt , when the place where Jesus found it —the place of l owliness—is so li t t le searched for? We must seek a humil it y t hat wi ll set t le f or nothing less than

dying to self. We must decide to give up trying to get men to honor us and seek the honor that comes only fromGod. We must learn to count ourselves as nothing so that God may be everything, that Jesus alone will be liftedup. Until we make humility our main joy and welcome it at any price, there is very little hope of a faith that willovercome the world.

How much that is call ed by Jesus’ name really demonst rat es t his humilit y? Think about t he lack of l ove, t heindif ference t owards others’ needs, t he sharp and cri t ical j udgment of others that we are so quick to excuse.Think of the temper and irritation, the bitterness and loneliness that have their root in pride. Pride only seeksitself.

Devili sh pride creeps in almost everywhere. What would happen if believers were t o become permanently guidedby the humil it y of Jesus? Oh, for t he meekness of Jesus in myself and in everyone around me! We must honest lyset our heart s on Jesus’ humili ty, and how far we fall short of i t . Only t hen wil l we begin to feel what Christ andHis salvation really are.

Do you beli eve in Jesus? Then study His humil it y! It is the secret , t he hidden root of your redemption. Sink downint o it more deeply day by day. Beli eve with your whole heart t hat Christ—God’s gift t o us—wil l work in us,making us what the Father wants us to be.



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3. Humili t y in t he Lif e of JesusNormall y t he mast er sit s at t he table and is served by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant . (Luke 22:27)

John’s gospel opens a window t o the inner l if e of Jesus. Often Jesus spoke of His relat ionship with His Father . Herevealed t he mot ives that guided Him. He shared the heart behind what He did. Alt hough the word “ humble”doesn’ t appear in John, Jesus’ humili t y is revealed t here li ke nowhere else in Scripture.

We have already defined humilit y as a person’ s simpl e consent t o let God be everything—a surrender t o Hispurposes. In Jesus we will see the perfect example of humility. Both as the Son of God in heaven and the Son ofMan on earth, He took the place of complete submission. He gave God the honor and the glory that are due Him.He li ved what He taught : “ The humble wi ll be honored.” As the Scriptures say, “ He obedient ly humbledHimself …because of t his, God raised Him up t o t he heights of heaven.”

List en to these words from John’ s gospel where Jesus speaks of His relationship wit h His Father. Notice how oft enHe uses the words “ not” and “ nothing” of Himself . The “ not I” that Paul uses t o speak of his own relat ionship t oChrist is the same heart Jesus expresses when He speaks of His rel ationship with t he Father.

o “ The Son can do nothing by Himself .” (John 5:19)o “ I do nothing wit hout consult ing the Father. I j udge as I am told. And My j udgment i s absolut ely j ust , because

it is according to the will of God who sent Me; it is not merely My own.” (John 5:30)o “ For I have come down from heaven to do the wi ll of God who sent Me, not to do what I want. ” (John 6:38)o “I ’m not t eaching My own ideas, but those of God who sent Me.” (John 7:16)o “ I do nothing on My own, but I speak what t he Father has taught Me.” (John 8:28)o “ I am not here on My own, but He sent Me.” (John 8:42)o “ I have no wish to glorif y Myself .” (John 8:50)o “ The words I say are not My own, but the Father who l ives in Me does His work t hrough Me.” (John 14:10)o “ And remember, My words are not My own. This message is from t he Father who sent Me.” (John 14:24)

These words expose t he deepest root s of Chri st ’ s li fe and work. They show why Almi ghty God could perf orm Hismighty work of redemption through Him. They demonstrate how important it was to Jesus to have the right heart

towards His Father. And they teach us the inner character of that Life that came to save us and now can live inus.

Jesus became nothing, so that the Father could be everything. He submitted His strength and will completely sothat the Father could work in Him. What did Jesus have to say about His own power, His own will, and His ownglory, about His whole mission wi th all His works and teaching? “ It is not I; I am nothing; I have given Myself tothe Father t o work. I am nothing. The Father i s everyt hing.”

Christ found t his lif e of complet e self -surrender, of absolut e submission and dependence on God’s wil l, t o beperfect peace and j oy. He lost nothing by giving everything to God! The Father honored Jesus’ t rust and dideverything for Him, then raised Him up to His own right hand in glory. And because Christ humbled Himselfbefore God in that way, and because God was always near Him, He found it possible to humble Himself beforemen, t oo. He was able t o be the Servant of al l. Jesus’ humil it y was simply surrender of Himself t o God. He let t heFather do in Him whatever He wanted. It didn’ t matt er what people around Him said of Him or did t o Him.

It is with t his heart and att it ude that Christ ’ s redemption is powerful and eff ect ive. It is so that we will have thissame Spirit that we have been allowed to share in Christ. When Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and follow Him,this is what He means: that we admit that self has no value except as an empty vessel for God to fill. The claimof self to be or do anything must not be allowed for one moment. More than anything else, humility is whatbecoming li ke Jesus is all about. We are t o be and do nothi ng by ourselves so that God may be All .

In Jesus we discover what humil it y means. It is because we don’ t underst and or seek aft er i t that our ownhumility is so shallow and feeble. We need to learn from Jesus how He is so meek and humble in heart. Heteaches us where t rue humilit y f inds it s st rength—in t he knowledge t hat only God is good, and that our place is to



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yield to Him in perfect submission and dependence. We must agree to be and do nothing of ourselves. This Life iswhat Jesus came to show us and give us—a Life in God that comes from deat h to sin and self .

Are you feeling that t his Life i s t oo far beyond you, t hat you could never reach it ? Then let t hat reali zat ion driveyou to seek the answer in Him. Only Jesus, living inside of us, can live this life of humility in us. If we long for it,let us ask Jesus for His secret . That secret —which is meant for every chil d of God to know—is that Jesus li ved Hislife as a vessel, a channel through whom the Living God could show the riches of His wisdom, power, andgoodness. The energy behind all spiritual growth and all faith and genuine worship comes from a conviction that

all that we have comes from God. Then we will bow in deepest humility to wait on Him for it.For Jesus, humili ty wasn’ t j ust some temporary emoti on that He fel t when He thought about His Father. It wasthe very Spirit of His whole l if e. That’ s why He could be j ust as humble wit h people as He was wit h His Father. Heconsidered Himself only a Servant of God, sent for God’ s purposes t o the men and women He had created andloved. It was very natural, then, that He thought of Himself as a servant through whom the Father could do Hiswork of love. Jesus never thought for a moment of seeking His own honor or asserting His own power to proveanything about Himself. His whole Spirit was that of a life yielded to God so that God could work through it. It isnot until we Christians open our hearts to this revelation of Jesus’ humility that we will start feeling the emptyspace in our own heart s—the space that humil it y was meant t o fi ll . When we realize that humil it y is t he only t ruerelationship to the Father, we will hurt over our lack of reality with God. Whatever we may be satisfied withabout our “ Christi an li fe” must be set aside as nothing unt il we fi nd Jesus’ humili ty.

Brot her or sister, are you clot hed wit h humilit y? Ask your daily li fe. Ask Jesus. Ask your fr iends. Ask the world.And begin to praise God that in Jesus you have a Way to a heavenly humility that you have barely understood anda blessing that you’ve never reall y tast ed before.



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4. Humili t y in t he Teaching of JesusLet Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you wil l f ind rest for your souls. (Mat t .11:29)

Whoever wants t o be fi rst must become your slave. For even I, t he Son of Man, came here not t o be served but t o serve others, and to give My l if e as a ransom for many. (Matt . 20:27-28)

Jesus opened His heart t o us, and when we looked inside, we found a wonderful humil it y there. Now let ’ s li stento His teaching. Let ’ s learn what He has t o say about humili ty and what His expect ati ons are of His discipl es. Iam going to do l it t le more t han quote some of His t eachings, but I t rust you to discover what they should mean toyou and to press the seeds down deeply in your own heart .

1. Look at how Jesus st art ed His season of publi c t eaching. When He call ed His disciples to Him on themountainside, He began: “ God blesses t hose who reali ze thei r need f or Him, for t he Kingdom of Heaven is given to t hem…God blesses t hose who are gentle and lowl y, f or t he whole eart h wil l belong t o them” (Matt.5:3,5). The very fi rst words of Jesus’ proclamat ion of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth were meant to revealthe open gate where we can enter in. The poor in spirit, who have nothing in themselves, can receive theKingdom. The meek, who seek nothing for themselves, can inherit the whole planet. The blessings of heavenand earth are for the lowly. For a li fe of blessing in both the seen and unseen realms, humili t y is the secret .

2. “ Let Me t each you, because I am humble and gentle, and you wil l f ind r est for your souls” (Matt. 11:29).

Jesus off ers Himself as our Teacher. He t ell s us the Spir it we will f ind in Him as Teacher, and offers us theamazing privil ege of l earning and receiving that Spir it from Him! Meekness and lowliness are what He offers;in t hem, we wi ll fi nd perf ect rest for our souls. Humilit y is to be our deliverance.

3. The disciples had been arguing about who would be greatest in the Kingdom. To settle the matter once andfor all, they agreed to go to the Master (Luke 9:46; Matt. 18:3). How startled they must have felt when He seta child in their midst and said, “ Anyone who becomes as humble as t his li t t l e chil d is the greatest in t he Kingdom of Heaven.” It is a question with far-reaching implications. What will be the most valued personalcharacteri st ic in God’ s holy nation on earth? No one but Jesus would have guessed t he answer. The highestglory of heaven, the genuine mark of having heaven in your heart, is humility. God esteems it above all else.“ Whoever i s least among you is t he great est .” (Luke 9:48).

4. The sons of Zebedee had asked Jesus for t he most import ant places in t he Kingdom, at His right and His left .Jesus said t hat they were not His to give, but the Father’ s, who would give them to t hose for whom He hadprepared them. They must not look or ask for those places. Instead, they should think about the cup andbaptism of humiliation that He would face. Then He added, “ Whoever wants t o be fi rst must become your slave. For even I, t he Son of Man, came here not t o be served but t o serve ot hers, and to give My lif e as a ransom for many.” Humility was the character of Jesus in the heavenlies. It will also be the one standard ofglory in Heaven. The place nearest to God is also the lowliest. Jesus promises the prime position in HisKingdom to the humblest.

5. Once Jesus spoke to the crowds and to the disciples about the Pharisees and their love of positions of honor.He said again, “ The great est among you must be a servant ” (Matt. 23:11). Genuine humble service, withoutthought of r eward, is the only “ ladder t o success” in God’ s Kingdom.

6. At a Phari see’s house, Jesus t old t he parable of t he guest who would be invit ed to t ake a bett er place at t hebanquet and added, “ For t he proud wil l be humbled, but t he humble wil l be honored” (Luke 14:11). His

demand is unchangeable; there is no other way. Only people who choose to humble themselves will behonored.

7. After telling the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus said again, “ For t he proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored” (Luke 18:14). In the temple in the presence and worship of God,everything is wort hless t hat isn’ t full of a deep, t rue humil it y toward God and men.

8. When Jesus washed the disciples feet , He said, “ And since I, t he Lord and Teacher, have washed your f eet,you ought t o wash each other’ s f eet” (John 13:14). The authorit y of Jesus’ command, example, and thoughtmakes humility the first and most essential condition of true discipleship.



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9. At their last Passover meal with their Master, the disciples were still arguing among themselves about whowas the greatest. Jesus cut the debate short: “ In thi s world t he kings and great men order t heir people around, and yet t hey are call ed ‘ f ri ends of t he people.’ But among you, those who are the great est should t ake the l owest rank, and the leader should be l ike a servant…For I am your servant” (Luke 22:25-27). Thepath where Jesus walked—and opened a way for us to walk—is the way of humil it y t hat always makes me theservant of all . That humil it y was t he power and Spirit in which He brought salvation, and the same humil it y iswhat He saves us for.

How lit t le t his humilit y is taught. How lit tl e it is lived! How lit t le t he lack of i t is felt or confessed. I’ m not sayingthat no one ever makes any progress towards Christ-likeness in this area. But I am saying that too few peoplethink to make humility a goal that they desire and pray for. How little the world has seen it! How little it hasbeen seen even in t he “ inner circles” of Christi anity.

“ Whoever wants to be f ir st must become your slave.” God wants us to believe that Jesus meant what He said! Wecan imagine what i t would t ake t o be a fai t hful servant or slave in t he li teral sense—devot ion to the mast er’ sinterests, thoughtful efforts to please him, delight in his prosperity and honor and happiness. A few men andwomen have had that att it ude, and to t hem the name of “ servant” has been something to glory in.

To many of us it has been a new j oy in our walk wi th Jesus to know that we can yield ourselves as servants, asslaves t o God. We have discovered that service to Him i s t rue f reedom—the freedom from sin and self. We neednow to learn another lesson. Jesus also calls us to be servants of one another. If we accept this commandwillingly it, too, will be delight to obey. It will mean a new and fuller freedom from sin and self. At first thisservice may seem hard, but that’ s only because of l ingering pride that sti ll considers it self t o be something.

We can learn that to be nothing before God is our glory, Jesus’ Spirit , and Heaven’s j oy. Then we wil l welcomewith our whole hearts the discipline that comes our way when serving the unlovable. When our own hearts are seton this kind of service, every word Jesus spoke about humility will take on new life for us. No position will seemtoo low. No stooping will be too deep and no service too humble or too hard to endure, if only we can know thefel lowship of the One who said, “ For I am your servant .”

Brothers and sisters, t he path to the “ higher l if e” is down, lower down! Jesus was always fait hful to remind Hisdisciples of that fact whenever they were thinking about greatness in the Kingdom, of sitting at His right or lefthand. Don’t seek or ask for honor; t hat ’ s God’s responsibi li ty. See to it t hat you humble yourself and take noplace before God or man except that of a servant . Your responsibi li ty is humble service. Let that also be your onegoal and prayer. God is faithful. Just as water always runs to the lowest place, so the moment God finds people

humble and empty, His Glory and Power will flow into them to lift them up and bless them. Humble yourself.That ’ s your part . Honoring us—that’ s God’ s part . By His mighty power and great love He wil l do it .

People sometimes talk as if humility and meekness will rob us of everything bold and admirable and worthwhile.Oh, that all would believe that humility is what God admires! If only we would understand that humility is theroyal attitude of the King of Heaven, that it is Godlike to humble yourself and become the servant of all! Thatpath is the only one leading to t he j oy and glory of Christ ’ s presence inside us and His power resting on us.

Jesus, the meek and lowly One, calls us to learn from Him the path to God. Let us absorb the words we havebeen reading until our hearts are filled with the thought: My one need is humility. And let us believe that whatJesus shows, He also gives. What He is, He can impart . As the meek and lowl y One, He will come in and live i nthe longing heart.



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5. Humil it y in t he Disciples of JesusBut among you, t hose who are the great est should t ake the l owest rank, and t he leader should be l ike a servant. (Luke 22:26)

We have looked at humil it y in t he person and t eaching of Jesus. Let ’ s now see if we can find evidence for it inthe circle of His hand-picked companions—the twelve. If we instead discover a lack of humili t y in them, t hen thecont rast between Christ and men wil l be t hat much clearer. We’ ll appreciat e even more t he dramati c change

that Pentecost produced in them. It will prove how real our participation can be in the perfect victory of Jesus’humili t y over t he pride that the devil inj ect ed into man.

From the words of Jesus, we have already seen that the disciples demonstrated how spiritually bankrupt theywere when it came to humility. Early on, it seems, they began a long running argument about which of them wasthe greatest. This dispute seems to have reached a new low when James and John put their mother up torequest ing the places of honor—at the lef t and right hands of t he throne—for her sons. Finally, during their lastmeal wit h Jesus before t he cross, the squabble about which of t hem was “ number one” erupted again.

Of course the disciples had their moments when one of them would genuinely humble himself before his Master.When he fi rst met Jesus, Peter had enough sense t o cry out , “ Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’ m too much of asinner to be around You.” All of t he discipl es had fall en to thei r knees and worshipped Jesus when He calmed thestorm. But those sporadic moments of humility only serve to make their habitual pride that much more obvious.Their true colors were shown in the natural and spontaneous outbreaks of self-life in them. If we consider thesemen, t hey can t each us several cri t icall y important lessons.First , we can see how much there can be of a very zealous and act ive Chri st ianit y whil e humil i t y is st i l l sadly lacking. Surely t he twelve are “ exhibit A.” They had a sincere, passionate at tachment t o Jesus. They hadforsaken everything for Him. The Father had revealed to them that Jesus was the Christ of God. They believed inHim, loved Him, and obeyed Him. When others turned away, t hey clung to Him. They were ready to die wit h Him.But deeper down than all their sincerity and good intentions lay a dark power. They were hardly aware of howhideous it was or that it even existed. But this power had to be killed and thrown out before they could serve aswitnesses t hat Jesus is able to save sinners.

Things haven’ t changed much in 2000 years. We f ind many professing Chri st ians—including t hose who wouldconsider t hemselves “ minist ers,” “ evangelist s,” “ missionaries,” “ t eachers,” or “ ful l-t ime workers” —who seem topossess many Spiritual gifts, yet lack humility. There are people who seemingly are channels of blessing to

millions, but who demonstrate, when the time of testing comes or when light shines on their lives that humility ishardly to be found in their characters. These sad examples confirm the fact that humility is the greatest andhighest characteristi c a person can have. It is dif f icult t o at t ain, and we can’t be sati sfi ed wit h any less t han adiligent effort to seek it. Humility is a grace that only comes with power, when the Christ is formed in us.

Secondly, we can see how weak al l external t eaching and personal st riving is t o overcome pride and produce a meek, lowly heart . For three years the disciples had been under apprenticeship to Jesus Christ. He let them knowHis main curri culum: “ Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentl e” (Matt hew 11:29). Time aft er t ime Hehad spoken to them, to the Pharisees, and to the crowds that humility was the only path to the glory of God. Hehad not only li ved His li fe before t hem as t he Lamb of God in divine humili ty, He had openly shared His “ secretambit ion” wit h them. “ For even I, t he Son of Man, came here not t o be served but t o serve others, and to give Mylif e as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). “ For I am your servant” (Luke 22:27).

Jesus had washed their feet and told them they were to follow His example. And yet, every last one of them hadlearned so little. At their last meal with Him, that argument was still brewing. No doubt they had tried to learnHis lessons and had made up their minds that t hey wouldn’ t disappoint Him again. But i t was no use! Like them,we must learn that much-needed lesson that outward teaching, even from Jesus Himself, cannot cast out thedevil of pride. No arguments can convince pride away. No appreciat ion of humil it y can create i t where it doesn’ texist. No resolve i s sincere enough to change a person’ s heart . When satan cast s out satan, i t is only t o enteragain in a stronger but more hidden power! Nothing can make a lasting difference, unless a new heart, withChrist-like humility, takes the place of the old. It takes a miracle.

Thir dly, it is only by the indwel l ing of Chri st in His humil it y t hat we can become humble. We didn’ t creat e pride. We can’ t create humil it y, ei ther. Pride belongs to us, and we belong to i t , because it is who we are—ourvery nature. Humilit y must be ours in the same way. It must be our very self , our very nature. The promise is, “ as



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people sinned more and more, God’ s wonderf ul kindness became more abundant” (Romans 5:20). All Jesus’teaching of the twelve, and all their effort, were the necessary preparation for His entering into them withpower. He had taught them to desire something. Now He had to give it to them and be it for them.

In His death, Jesus destroyed the power of the devil. He put away sin and accomplished an eternal redemption. InHis resurrection, He received from the Father a completely new Life. It was the life of a man in the power ofGod, able t o touch men’ s heart s, to enter and renew and fi ll t heir l ives wit h power. In His ascension, Jesusreceived the Spir it of t he Father, through whom He could accomplish what He could not have done had He stayed

physically present on earth. He was able to make Himself one with those He loved, and actually live their livesfor them. Then they could live before the Father in humility like His, because it was He Himself who lived andbreathed in them. And on Pentecost, He came and took possession of them. The work of getting them ready, ofawakening a desire and hope in them through His teaching, was completed with a powerful transformationthrough the Spirit. The lives and letters of James and Peter and John testify that everything had changed forthem. The Spirit of the meek and humble Jesus truly had possession of them.

I am sure t hat t hose who hear t hese words f ind t hemselves in many dif ferent places spir it uall y. Some may nothave given their pr ide much thought . The immense import ance of t his subject j ust may now be st art ing to sink in.Others may be living in condemnation. They have tried to change their pride with sincere striving, but havesuff ered one discouraging failure after another. St il l ot hers may t est if y j oyfull y of t he spir it ual blessing andpower t hey have received in many areas, but t he people close t o them can t est if y wit h a good deal l ess j oy thatthe power t o be humble isn’t one of t hose areas. And others may be able t o say that t he Lord has given them

deliverance and victory here, too. He has taught them how much they still need and may expect out of thefullness of Christ.

Wherever you are personally, I urge you to seek a deeper conviction of the unique place humility holds inbecoming like Jesus. We have to understand the utter impossibility of the church or of the individual believer tobecome what Jesus wants them to be, as long as His humility is not recognized as His greatest glory, Hisunchanging command, and our deepest blessing. Let ’ s deeply consider how “ mature” the discipl es seemed to bewhen humili ty was lacking from their characters. Let ’ s pray to God that other gif t s won’ t sati sfy us. May we neverforget that the absence of humility is the secret reason why the power of God cannot work in us. It is only whenwe, l ike t he Son, t ruly know and show that we can do nothing of ourselves, that God wil l do all.

It i s when the t rut h of “ Christ i n you, t he hope of glory” becomes t rue in the experi ence of beli evers t hat t heChurch wil l put on her beautif ul garments and humil it y will be seen in her members as t he beauty of holiness.



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6. Humili t y in Daily Lif eIf someone says, ‘ I love God,’ but hates a Chri st ian brot her or sist er, t hat person is a li ar; f or i f we don’ t love people we can see, how can we l ove God, whom we have not seen? (1 John 4:20)

Here’ s a sobering thought: God measures our l ove for Him by the love we show our brothers and sisters in everyday fell owship wit h them. It is a serious t hing to reali ze that our l ove for God just isn’ t genuine if it fail s t he testof daily life with our fellow human beings.

The same thing is true with humility. It is easy to think we humble ourselves before God. But humility beforepeople is the only real proof t hat our humili ty before God is more than just a figment of our imaginat ion. It is theonly true evidence that humility has made a home in our hearts and become our nature. How can we know thatwe, l ike Christ , have made ourselves of no reput ation? By the reali t y check of daily li fe. When in God’ s presencehumili ty has become more t han j ust a feeli ng we have when we think about Him or pray, but i nstead the verySpirit of our l ives, i t wil l show it self in t he way we treat our brothers and sisters.

This lesson is crucial. The only humilit y t hat r eall y belongs t o us is not what we t ry t o show before God in prayer,but what we carry with us and live out when we get up off our knees. The insignificance of daily life is the test ofeterni ty. It proves what Spir it real ly possesses us. It is in our unguarded moments when we show who we reall yare. To know t he humble man, you have to f ollow him around and watch his dail y li fe.

Isn’ t that lesson exact ly what Jesus taught? His great t eachings about humilit y came when He saw the disciples

arguing about who was greatest or t he Pharisees competi ng for the place of honor at banquets and in synagogues.He taught again after He had given them an example by washing their feet. Humility before God is nothing if itisn’ t proved by humili ty before men.

Paul of course taught t he same pract ical lesson. To the Romans, he wrote: “ Love each other wit h genuineaffect ion and t ake delight in honoring each other.. .Live in harmony with each other. Don’ t t ry t o act important,but enj oy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all !” (Romans 12:10,16). To theCorint hians, he said: “ Love is not j ealous or boast ful or proud or rude. Love does not demand it s own way” (1Corinthians 13:4-5). There is no love except what grows from the root of humility! To the Galatians, Paul wrote:“ For you have been call ed to f reedom... fr eedom to serve one another i n love.. .Let us not become conceit ed, orir ri t ate one another, or be j ealous of one another” (Galat ians 5:13,26). To the Ephesians, right aft er t hose threewonderful chapters about li ving in Heavenly Realms, he said, “ Be humble and gentl e. Be pati ent wit h each other”(Ephesians 4:2). “ And further, you will submit t o one another out of r everence for Christ ” (Ephesians 5:21). To

the Phil ippians, Paul wrot e: “ Make me t ruly happy by agreeing wholeheart edly wi th each other, loving oneanother, and working together with one heart and purpose. Don’ t be self ish; don’t li ve to make a good impressionon others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself...Your attitude should be the same as that ChristJesus had...He made Himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. Andin human form He obedientl y humbled Himself even furt her by dying a criminal’ s death on the cross” (Phil ippians2:3, 5, 7-8). Finall y, t o t he Colossians, Paul said, “ You must clothe yourselves with t ender-heart ed mercy,kindness, humil it y, gentl eness, and pat ience” (Colossians 3:12). It is in our relat ionships, in t he way we tr eateach other, that our true meekness of mind and humility of heart are visible. Our humility before God has novalue unless it prepares us to show the humility of Jesus to our fellow men. Let us be diligent about humility inour daily l ives in l ight of these words!

The humble person tries at all times to follow the rule, “ Take del ight in honoring each ot her, serve one anot her in l ove, t hink of ot hers as bett er t han yourself , and submit t o one anot her. ” Maybe you are wondering, "How can

I count others better than myself if I see them far below me in wisdom or holiness, in natural ability or spiritualgift s?" The quest ion j ust shows how li t t le we underst and what humili t y of mind reall y means. True meeknesscomes when we see, in the light of God, that we are nothing and agree that our lives must not be our own - soGod can be all . When you can say, “ I have lost myself in f inding You, Lord,” you won’ t be comparing yourself toothers at all . You wil l have given up thinking about yourself in God’s presence. You wil l greet your f ell ow humanbeing wit h the realizat ion that you yourself are nothing. You won’ t be trying to get anything out of i t for yourself .You wil l be God’ s servant and for His sake the servant of al l. A fait hful servant may be wiser than his mast er andst il l keep to t he true spir it and posit ion of a servant. The humble man looks at every chil d of God—even theweakest and unwort hiest - and honors him as the King’ s son. The Spir it of t he One who washes feet will make it a

j oy for us to be t he least , t o serve ot hers in love.



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The humble man or woman feels no j ealousy or envy. Humble people can praise God when others are bl essedinstead of t hem. They are unshaken when others are praised and they themselves are forgott en. In God’ spresence they have learned, l ike Paul, t o say, “ I am nothing at all ” (2 Corint hians 12:11). They have received theSpir it of Jesus, who ref used to chase aft er recognit ion or honor.

Life on earth means that we will experience temptations to be impatient or irritable, to think resentfully orspeak harshly. People around us will make mistakes. They will even sin against us. When humble people face thatkind of test , t hey wil l bri ng up from their hearts a law that is writ t en there: “ You must bear wi th each other’s

faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”(Colossians 3:13). They have learned that i n putt ing on the Lord Jesus t hey have “ clot hed themselves withtenderheart ed mercy, kindness, humilit y, gentleness, and pati ence” (Colossians 3:12). Jesus has taken the placethat self used to have in their l ives, so they don’t f ind i t impossibl e to forgive as Jesus forgave. His humili ty isn’ ta matter of constantly putting Himself down in His words or thoughts. He is tender hearted. His heart is full ofcompassion and kindness, meekness and patience - t he sweet Spir it recognized as t he heart of the Lamb of God.

Discipl es want t o grow, and they should. But t heir aim shouldn’ t be just for more boldness, j oy, contempt f or theworld, zeal, or self-sacrifice. Even pagan philosophers who write self-help books and preach self-improvementwould embrace those goals! What set Jesus apart f rom all t he good int enti ons on eart h was t he way He took up His cross daily. Death to self - becoming poor i n Spirit , meek, humble and lowly - was Jesus’ aim. That heart iswhat He brought t o earth from Heaven. And that heart is how we show our Christ-l ikeness. We must die t o self inour dealings wit h t he lost , for sure. But most of al l we must pick up our cross in our deali ngs wit h God’s people—

denying ourselves for t hem, as Jesus did for us.Fellow Christian, please take a good, hard look at what the Bible says a humble person is like. And please askthose walking wit h you whether they recognize in you a reproducti on of t he Original. Let ’ s not set t le for anythingless than believing that each of the scriptures we have looked at is a promise of what God can and will do in ourli ves! Let ’ s t ake t hose script ures as a descript ion in words of what t he Spirit of Jesus wil l bi rt h inside of us. Let ’ sallow our failures and shortcomings drive us to the arms of the humble Lamb of God. Believe completely thatwhere He is enthroned in the heart, His humility and gentleness will be one of the streams of living water thatfl ow from within us.

Let me repeat : I feel deeply that we don’ t even realize how much God’s people are suffering because theyhaven’ t emptied themselves t o make room for His power. When people t ry t o serve Jesus together, all t oo oftenthey f ind it impossibl e to be pat ient wit h one another, t o love one another, t o keep the unit y of t he Spiritthrough the bond of peace. People who should have experienced the deep j oy of working as part ners instead area hindrance and burden to each other. All for one reason - the lack of the humility that considers self as nothingand rejoices in being the least , and only wants, l ike Jesus, t o be the servant and helper of ot hers, even of t heleast deserving.

Why do people who j oyfull y commit t hemselves t o the cause of Christ f ind i t so hard t o commit themselves t otheir brothers and sisters? Isn’ t it because we have so li t t le t aught that t he humil it y of Christ i s the mostimport ant vi rt ue and highest goal we can aim for by God’ s Spirit ? But let ’ s not be discouraged. Let the discoverythat we l ack humili ty mot ivate us t o expect more f rom God than we’ve experienced. Let us look at everydif fi cult , t est ing sit uation as an opport unity to grow. Let us look at dif f icul t people as God’s inst rument for ourpurif icat ion. The Lif e of Jesus is breathing inside our heart s! And let ’ s t ruly believe that God is everything and weare nothing, so that we may - by God’ s power - seek only to serve one another in love.

I knew Jesus, and He was very precious t o my soul; but I found something in me t hat would not

keep sweet and pat ient and kind. I did what I could t o keep it down, but i t was t here. I besought Jesus t o do somet hing for me, and when I gave Him my wil l , He came to my heart , and t ook out all that would not be sweet, all that would not be kind, all that would not be patient, and then He shut t he door. - George Foxe



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7. Humil it y and Holiness…Yet t hey say t o each other, ‘ Don’t come too close or you wil l defi le me! I am holier t han you!’ They are a st ench in My nost ri l s…(Isaiah 65:5)

We somet imes t alk about “ the Holiness Movement .” We sing “ I want t o be holy, set apart for You, my Master,ready to do Your wi ll .” We hear about holiness t eachings and meet ings. The t rut hs of hol iness in Christ andholiness by faith can be found in countless books. But is the holiness we claim to have and seek alive and true in

us? If you want t o know the answer, ask yourself whether i t produces an increasing humil i t y in us. Humilit y is t heone thing needed to allow God’ s holiness to li ve inside you and shine t hrough you. Jesus, the Holy One of God, i sthe only One who can make us holy, too. Divine humility was the secret of His life, death, and resurrection. Theonly genuine proof of our holiness is humility before God and man. Humility is the bloom and beauty of holiness.

Counterfeit holiness can be recognized by its lack of genuine humility. Every one who seeks holiness should be onguard so that he or she doesn’ t carelessly stumble int o thi s t rap. “ Aft er st art ing your Christ ian li ves in t he Spirit ,”you can lapse into “ t rying to become perfect by your own human eff ort” (Galat ians 3:3). Pride can creep inwhere it is least expected. Two men went into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The“ Phari see” can worm his way into any place, no mat ter how sacred, if we let him. Pride can rear it s head in t hevery temple of God, and can degrade the worship of God into a showcase for self-life.

Someti mes t he Pharisee can even disguise himself in t he clot hes of a tax collector! People who confess their deepsinf ulness need to be j ust as careful as those who claim a deep holiness. Right when you want your heart t obecome the temple of God, you wil l probably f ind those two men coming in t o pray. And the “ t ax collect or” wil lfind that the greatest danger is not from the Pharisee next to him, who despises him, but from the Phariseeinside him, who congratulat es himself on how well he repent s! In God’s t emple, when we think we are in t heMost Holy Place, let ’ s be on guard against pride. Remember, even the devil can enter God’ s presence. “ One daythe angels came to present t hemselves before the Lord, and satan the accuser came wit h them” (Job 1:6).

“ I thank you, God, t hat I am not a sinner li ke everyone else, especially like that t ax coll ector over there” (Luke28:11). Instead of being truly thankful to God, self uses His blessing as an excuse to be complacent. In the veryact of confessing that God has done it all, self finds a way to take credit. Yes, even in the temple, with the wordsof repentance and praise echoing off the walls, the Pharisee may chime right in, and in thanking God becongratulating himself. Pride can dress itself up in the clothing of religion.

We may laugh at someone who would be so blatant as to say, “ I thank you that I am not like everybody else.” But

that same at t it ude can oft en be found in our own feelings or words towards others. Do you want proof? Walk intoany reli gious assembly or Bible study or home group or “ men’s business meeting,” and simpl y watch and li st en fora while. How much of t he “ no beauty or majesty” of Jesus wil l you fi nd? Wil l deep humili t y be the keynote ofwhat t he servants of Jesus are saying of themselves or each other? Are there not many congregations,convent ions, “ missions,” commit t ees, schools, and “ ministr ies” where t he harmony has been disturbed and God’swork hindered? And isn’t it usually all because people who are considered fai thful Chri st ians have proved—bytouchiness and impat ience, by self -defense and self -assert ion, by sharp j udgments and unkind words—that theydo not consider others bett er t han themselves? Is it not because t he popular brand of “ holiness” doesn’ t includehumility as its main ingredient?

It is one thing to experience a season of great humbling and brokenness. It is another thing entirely to have ahumble spirit, to be clothed in humility, to have the mind of Christ that considers self to be the servant of all.

“ Don’t come to close or you wil l defi le me! I am holier than you!” That’ s not holiness - it ’ s a bad j oke. Jesus theHoly One is also the Humble One. The holiest will also be the humblest. There is no one holy but God. We have asmuch holiness as we have of Him. And what ’ s reall y of God wil l show it self in genuine humilit y. Humil it y is simplythe disappearance of self in t he vision of God’s holiness. We’ re t oo well mannered to boast openly l ike t he Jewsof Isaiah’ s day. But t he same spirit is oft en seen in professing Christi an’s t reatment of f ellow believers or of thelost. In the attitude in which they offer opinions or try to work for God, their clothing can be tax collector buttheir heart s t otal Pharisee: “ I thank you that I am not li ke everybody else.”

Is t here any remedy for t his false humil it y? There i s. “ Love is pat ient and kind. Love is not j ealous or boast ful orproud or rude. Love does not demand it s own way. Love is not ir ri t able, and it keeps no record of when it hasbeen wronged” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The power of agape love forgets itself and finds its blessedness in blessingothers. It bears wit h t hem and honors them. The power of t his love exists wherever t he Spirit of Love has been



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poured into a human heart, wherever the divine nature has been bir thed inside a person’s li fe, and whereverChrist, the humble Lamb of God, is formed within. When God comes in, He brings agape love with Him, for God islove. When God has entered in power and given a revelation of Himself, a man or woman becomes nothing. Andwhen a person becomes nothing before God, he or she cannot help but be humble before ot hers. God’ s presencebecomes more t han something a person feels during a special song, but a constant covering under which the soulcontinually lives . Its deep humil it y before God becomes a holy root from which all words and works come fort h.

May God teach us that our thoughts and words and feelings about other people are the true test of our humility

toward Him! May He teach us that our humility before Him is the only power that can enable us to be alwayshumble before others! Our humilit y must be the li fe of Christ , the Lamb of God, inside us.

Are you pl anning to teach others about holiness? Are you planning to seek it for yourself ? Then be on your guard.There is no pride so dangerous or subt le as rel igious pride. No one wil l ever say, “ Don’ t come too close or you wil ldefi le me.” Most people would never even form those exact words in t heir minds. But t here can grow in yourheart subconsciously a secret habit of patting yourself on your back for your accomplishments. You can findyourself addicted t o the drug of comparing yourself t o others. You’ll recognize this spir it ual disease, not alwaysby the presence of blatant words or actions, but by the presence of self dominating your thoughts. Those withdiscernment wil l det ect i t in your tone and countenance. Even the world won’t be too impressed—in fact, you’ llbe giving them one more excuse to harden themselves to spiritual things. Only you will find yourself such afascinating topic. When you’ve seen the glory of God for real, your at t it ude will be very, very different (Job 42:5-6; Isaiah 6:5).

Brothers and sisters, l et’ s do t ake this warning seriously. Unless an increase in humili t y is t ruly our heart ’ s desire,we may wake up one day to discover that we have been delighting in beautiful thoughts and feelings, in solemnwords and actions, whi le the t rue evidence of God’ s presence—the disappearance of self—is nowhere to be found.Let ’ s run t o Jesus and hide ourselves in Him until we are clot hed in His humil it y. There is no other way to fi ndholiness.



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8. Humil it y and SinThis is a t rue saying, and everyone should bel ieve i t : Chri st Jesus came int o t he worl d t o save sinners - and I was t he worst of t hem al l . (1 Timot hy 1:15.

In our minds, we oft en link the word “ humili ty” wit h cert ain bad feeli ngs about ourselves that we are suchterr ibl e sinners. So we have a hard t ime imagini ng any other way to keep humble but t o focus our thoughts on oursins. By now, I hope, we all real ize t hat humilit y means much, much more. We have seen that Jesus’ t eachings

and the apostolic writings strongly emphasize humility, often without mentioning sin at all. Long before sinentered i nto the picture, God created t he universe t o run on submission and surrender. Jesus Himself li ved a li feof perfect humility, and He never sinned. And the humility He imparts to us is not to make us think about sinmore, but to practice sin much less. Humility has less to do with sin than with holiness and blessing. It is aboutself moving out of the way so t hat God can take the throne. When God is everything, self is nothing.

That aspect of the truth is what I’ ve most ly wanted to stress. But having said all of t hat , I do want to emphasizethat God’s grace in the face of our sin really should create a new depth and int ensit y to humil it y for every childof His. We only need to look at a man like Paul to see how, throughout his life as a blood-bought man of God, henever forgot the sinner he had been.

We all know the passages where Paul refer s t o his lif e as a persecutor and blasphemer. “ For I am the l east of al lthe apost les, and I am not worthy to be called an apost le aft er t he way I persecuted the church of God” (1Corint hians 15:9-10). “ Just t hink! Though I did nothing t o deserve it , and though I am the least deservingChrist ian t here is, I was chosen for this special j oy of t ell ing t he Genti les about t he endless t reasures available t othem in Christ” (Ephesians 3:9). “ How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord f or considering me t rustwort hy andappointing me to serve Him, even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down His people,harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief” (1Timothy 1:12-13).

God’ s grace had saved Paul. He remembered Paul’ s sin no more. But never, never could Paul f orget how t err ibl yhe had sinned. The more he rej oiced in God’ s salvat ion and the more his experience of God’ s grace f il led himwith an unspeakable j oy, t he clearer his awareness became that he was a saved sinner. He reali zed that salvat ionwould have no meaning or sweetness unless t he sense of his being a sinner made it precious and real to him. Notfor a single moment could Paul forget that it was a sinner whom God had taken up in His arms and crowned withHis love.

The passages we quoted weren’ t a confession of sin t hat Paul was st il l pr acti cing daily—j ust read them caref ull yin their context and that much should be obvious. But they have a far deeper meaning. They refer to somethingthat wi ll last forever, not j ust for a day. This awareness of our sin wil l give a deep, r ich awe and wonder t o ourhumility when we bow before the throne. We will take the position of those who have been washed from our sinsby the blood of the Lamb. Never, never, even in glory, can we be anything but ransomed sinners. Not for amoment in this li fe can God’s children live in t he full li ght of His love without underst anding that t he sin t heywere saved from is their only qualif icat ion for all t hat God’s grace has promised to do in t hem.

It takes humility for us to come to Christ as sinners. That humility takes on new meaning when we realize howfitting it is for us as new creations. Yet even then, the humility birthed in us has its deepest, richest notes ofpraise when we remember what it is to be a monument of God’ s wondrous, redeeming love.

The ful l impact of Paul’ s teachings about humili ty hit s us when we reali ze how nearly sinless a li fe he l ived aft erhis rebirth. In the book of Acts and in the letters, we read of great disciples who fell into one sin or another. EvenPeter sinned. But what sin could we charge Paul wit h? It’ s not t hat he wasn’ t vulnerable, eit her. In his let t ers helaid bare his heart in intensely personal ways. But where can we detect any short coming or defect? Where can wesay he failed i n his duty, or sinned against the perfect law of love?

Paul could writ e some amazing statement s in his let t ers. “ You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—thatwe are pure and honest and fault less t oward all of you beli evers” (1 Thessalonians 2:10). “ We can say wit hconfidence and a clear conscience t hat we have been honest and sincere in all our dealings” (2 Corinthians 1:12).Paul wasn’ t speaking of how he aspired to live. He was saying quite matter-of-factly that these statementsdescribed how he had lived. Whatever else we may say about these passages, we have to admit Paul must haveli ved in t he Power of t he Holy Spir it to a degree that has seldom if ever been matched.



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My point is this: t he secret t o Paul’ s humili t y simply couldn’ t have been that he was obsessed wit h t hinking abouthis daily sin. Instead, his secret can be found in how he posi t ioned himself continually in his heart, a position henever forgot for a moment. And the more God’s provision abounded to him, the more ali ve that posit ion becamein him. That posit ion is our only t rue place—the only place of blessing. We must t ake the place of t hose whose highest j oy is to confess t hat t hey are sinners saved by grace.

Paul remembered vividly his ter rible sins in t he past , before he knew God’s grace. He knew j ust as vividly t hatonly God’s t ransforming power kept him f rom sinning now. And he never forgot t hat t he dark, hidden monster of

self was always lurking nearby, ready to burst back in, but held back by the presence and power of Jesus living inhis heart . “ I know that I am rot t en through and through as far as my old sinful nature is concerned” (Romans7:18). These words wil l describe the f lesh to the end of our l ives. “ For the power of t he lif e-giving Spirit hasfreed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin t hat l eads t o death” (Romans 8:2). This glorious freedomdoesn’ t mean that the flesh is annihilated. It also doesn’ t mean that t he flesh is somehow rehabil it ated. Instead,it means t hat t he Spir it conti nuously gives us vict ory as He puts t o death the misdeeds of t he fl esh.

A healthy body kills germs. Light swallows up darkness. Life conquers death. And Jesus, living in us through HisSpirit , is the health and li ght and lif e of our souls. But with t his convict ion comes another, t hat our helplessness isonly overcome as we t rust t he continual worki ng of t he Holy Spir it . We have a humble sense of our dependenceon Him. Faith and joy are t he companions of humil it y. This humili t y li ves only by the grace of God.

The three scriptures we quoted above all show that i t was t he wonderful grace given Paul—a grace he knew heneeded every moment—that humbled him so deeply. God’s provision enabled him to work harder t han the rest. Itis the nature of grace that i t enables the saved sinner t o declare t o unbeli evers the unsearchable riches of Christ .Wit h t his extravagant grace come fait h in and love for t he Lord Jesus. It was this grace that kept Paul’ sconsciousness of having once sinned, and being st il l capable of sin, so int ensely al ive. “ As people sinned more andmore, God’ s wonderf ul kindness became more abundant” (Romans 5:20). Grace demoli shes sin. The great er ourexperience of grace, t he more intense wil l be our awareness that we are sinners. It isn’ t sin that keeps us trulyhumble, but God’s grace . Sin doesn’t make us realize I we are sinners; grace does. Grace makes t he our posit ionof deep humility a place we will never leave.

I’ m afraid t hat t here are many people who have t ried to humble t hemselves by condemning themselves st ronglyand putting themselves down, but who still would have to admit that a humble spirit, together with kindness,compassion, meekness, and forbearance, are as far off as ever. Focusing on yourself—even wit h self -hat red—willnever f ree you from yourself . You need God’s revelat ion, not only t hrough His law condemning you, but alsothrough his grace delivering you. Then you will be humble. The law may break your heart with fear. But onlygrace can work into your heart the sweet humil it y that becomes it s nature and it s j oy. It was t he revelat ion ofGod in His holi ness, drawing near t o make Himself known in His grace, t hat made Abraham and Jacob, Job andIsaiah, bow so low before Him. There will be no room for self in the soul that waits for, trusts, worships, and isfilled with the presence of God the Creator as everything for man in his nothingness, and God the Redeemer aseveryt hing for man in his sinfulness. In only t his way can the promise be fulf il led: “ The arrogance of all peoplewil l be brought low. Their pri de will li e in t he dust . The Lord alone wil l be exalted!” (Isaiah 2:17).

It is the sinner, st epping int o the full li ght of God’s holy, redeeming love, who will experience God’s love livinginside him through Christ and the Holy Spirit . That person cannot help but be humble. Not t o focus on sin, but t ofocus on Jesus, will bring you deliverance from self.



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9. Humil it y and Fait hNo wonder you can’t beli eve! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about t he honor t hat comes f rom God alone. (John 5:44)

Recentl y I heard someone say that t he blessings of discipleship are l ike the goods displayed in a shop window—youcan see them clearly, but you can’t t ouch them. If someone told a window shopper t o reach out and pick up oneof t he it ems for sale, he or she would answer, “ I can’ t . There is a thick pane of glass between me and that

thing.” In the same way, Christ ians can admire God’ s awesome promises. “ You wil l experience God’ s peace,which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds asyou live in Chri st Jesus” (Phil ippi ans 4:7). “ Come to Me, al l of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and Iwil l give you rest” (Matt hew 11:28). “ He has given us t he Holy Spir it to fi ll our heart s wit h His love” (Romans5:5). “ Even now you are happy with a glori ous, inexpressibl e j oy” (1 Peter 1:8). Yet very many people f eel t hatthere is an invisible something standing between them and those promises, so that they can see them but nott ruly possess t hem. And what is that barrier? Pride .

The promises made to the believing heart are so free and certain, the invitation and encouragement to receivethose promises are so st rong, and God’ s mighty power to make good on t hose promises is so available. Onlysomething capable of hindering our hearts from believing could stand in the way of those promises becoming realto us. Jesus t ell s us what t hat hindrance is: “ No wonder you can’ t believe! For you gladly honor each other, butyou don’t care about t he honor t hat comes from God alone.” Faith and pride are enemies. Fait h and humili t y are

allies. We can never have more of genuine faith than we have of genuine humility. True, we can still have strongconvictions in our minds while there is pride in our hearts , but a living faith, bursting with the power of God, isimpossible.

What i s fait h, anyway? Doesn’ t it mean confessing that we are nothing and helpl ess on our own, and surrenderingto God and allowing Him t o work? What could be more humbling than to accept t hat we are dependent onSomeone else, and that we have no rights t o claim or r eceive anything except what He’ s gracious enough to giveus? Humilit y is simply the at t it ude of heart that prepares you to l ive by t rust ing God. Cli nging to a scrap of pride,even in secret—by self ishness or stubbornness or arrogance or grabbing aft er att ent ion—strengthens your f lesh.And remember, flesh cannot i nherit t he Kingdom or receive Kingdom blessings. Self-l if e refuses to allow God tobe what He is and must always be—your Everything!

Faith is a spiritual organ. As the eyes enable you to perceive the physical world, faith allows you to see theunseen. Through fait h you see “ Him who is invisible.” Wit h fait h, you aren’ t li mit ed to walking by sight. Prideseeks—and jealously guards—the att ent ion and praise and reputation available i n the seen realm t o those whochase aft er it . Fait h, on the other hand, rej ects self ish ambit ion and contents it self wit h whatever honor Godoff ers from His throne. As long as we’ re chasing aft er t he seen realm’ s blessings, we can’ t be seeking blessings inthe unseen realm. Pri de makes f ait h i mpossible. Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ. Salvationmeans having fel lowship wi th a crucifi ed Christ in t he Spir it of His cross. Salvation is union wit h, del ight in, andparticipation in the humility of Jesus. No wonder our faith is so feeble if pride still controls us so much! Are wewilling to long and pray for humility as the most critical and blessed part of salvation?

Humili t y and fait h are j oined in t he Script ures more t han many people reali ze. Twice Jesus praised someone forhaving great fait h. The centurion said, “ I am not wort hy for You to come into my home.” He then acknowledgedJesus’ authorit y. Jesus was amazed and replied, “ I haven’ t seen fai t h like this in all the land of Israel! ” (Matt hew8:8,20). The genti le woman threw herself at Jesus’ feet and said, “ Yes, Lord, but even dogs are permit t ed to eatthe crumbs that fall beneath their master’ s table.” Jesus answered, “ Woman, your fait h is great” (Matt hew15:27-28). The humility that brings a man or a woman to the point of being nothing before God at the same timeremoves every obstacle to faith. Humility makes the soul fear that it would dishonor Him by not trusting Himcompletely.

Brot hers and sister s, haven’ t we discovered here t he real reason for our f ailures in pursuing holiness? Isn’ t it pri dethat has made our consecration and faith so superficial and short-lived? We had no idea how much pride and selfwere still secretly working in us. We were not aware of how God alone, by coming in with His mighty power,could cast them out. We did not understand how only a new heart, created to be like God, could really make ushumble. We did not know that total, constant, complete humility must be the foundation for every prayer andapproach to God and for all our dealings with people. We did not realize that we might as well try to see withouteyes or breathe wit hout lungs as t o believe and draw near to God wit hout humili t y and lowl iness of heart .



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It makes no sense to strive and strive to have faith, when all the time our prideful old self-life is working behindthe scenes, t rying to manipulate God to gain bl essings. No wonder some people j ust can’t seem to bel ieve. Whatwe need is a total change of directi on. First , let ’ s seek to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. Hewill lift us up. The cross, the death, and the tomb where Jesus humbled Himself were His path to the glory ofGod. Our path lies there, too. Let our one desire and fervent prayer be to humble ourselves like Jesus. Let usgladly accept whatever can humble us before God or others—this alone is the path to His glory.

Maybe you are wondering about people who seem blessed and who even seem able t o bless others, but who have

little apparent humility. Does that prove that God has honored their faith, even though they clearly are seekingthe honor t hat comes from men? If such people do have even a measure of fait h, and if God has bestowed onthem special spiritual gifts, then to the measure they do believe they will be able to bless others. But even inthat bl essing, t heir f ait h—and therefore their impact—are stunted by their pr ide. The blessing that could haveresult ed in eternal f ruit is actually superfi cial or t emporary, j ust because they refuse to become nothing to openthe way for God to be All. A deeper humility would have brought a deeper and fuller blessing. If these men hadallowed God’s Holy Spirit t o li ve in t hem in t he ful lness of His grace—not j ust t o gif t t hem wit h some specialabili t y—He would have produced in t hem a lif e of power, holiness, and perseverance that i s all too rare in ourday.

“ No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about t he honor that comesfrom God alone.” Only one thing can cure you from t he desir e to receive honor f rom others. Only one thing canfree you fr om the hypersensit ivi t y and pain and anger t hat enslave you when you don’t get t hat honor. Give

yourself to seek only the honor that comes from God. Let the glory of the all-glorious God be everything to you.You will be delivered from slavery to self, and you will be content and glad to get nothing for yourself out ofwhat you do. Out of this nothingness you will grow strong in faith, giving glory to God. You will make a wonderfuldiscovery: the deeper you sink in humility before Him, the nearer He is to fulfill every desire of your faith.



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10. Humil it y and Death t o SelfIn human form He obedient ly humbled Himself even fur t her by dying a cri minal’ s deat h on t he cross. (Philippians 2:8)

Humilit y wil l t ake you down a path leading to death. Death t o self is humil it y’ s dest inat ion. When Jesus humbledHimself to the point of death, He blazed a new trail for us to walk in. There was only one way for Jesus to proveHis utter surrender to His Father. There was only one way for Him to rise beyond His humanness and return to His

Father—the cross. The cross is our only way, t oo.Humility must lead us to die to self. We have no other way to become real. It is the only way we can die to ourfal len nature and be alive t o God. Only t hrough our own cross can we have Christ formed in us. Humilit y wil l bethe air He breathes inside us. Humili ty wil l be His joy.

Jesus gave His disciples Resurrection Life. The glorified and enthroned Lamb actually came down from heaven tolive inside them through His Spirit. Jesus won the power to accomplish these things by His death. The Life Hegives is a lif e born out of death. Jesus’ Life was surrendered to death and won back from death. The One whocame to li ve inside of t hem was the One who could say: “ I am the Living One who died. Look, I am alive foreverand ever! And I hold t he keys of death and the grave” (Revelat ion 1:18). His Lif e and Person and Presence bearthe marks of being born out of death.

In His disciples, that Life bears the death-marks, t oo. When the Spirit of t he Crucif ied One li ves and works in t he

heart , t he power of His Life can be known. The most import ant mark of Jesus’ death is humili ty. Only humili tyleads to the cross, and only the cross can perfect humility. Humility and death to self are two ways of describingthe same thing. Humil it y is the bud; i n death t o self, t he fruit is ripened to perfecti on.

Humility will cause you to die to self. Humility means giving up self and coming to a place of completenothingness before God. Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death. On the cross He gavethe most convincing proof possibl e t hat He had abandoned His wil l t o the God’s wil l. In dying, He let go ofHimself , wi th all of His natural r eluctance to “ drink the cup.” He gave up the li fe He had taken on when Hebecame a man. He died to self and to all temptations to sin. For the first time, a Man entered into the perfectLife of God. If it had not been for His inf ini t e humil it y, considering Himself merely a servant t o do God’s wil l andto suff er f or i t , He would never have embraced the cross.

How can you and I di e t o ourselves? What does t hat phrase even mean, pract ical ly? Look t o Jesus for the answer.Death t o self is not your work; it is God’s work. In Christ you are dead to sin. The Lif e inside you, i f you belong toHim, has gone through death and resurrection. You can be certain you are in truth dead to sin. But if you wantthe power of t his “ union with Christ in His death” t o explode in your charact er and conduct, you must allow theHoly Spiri t t o work it into you. You need Him t o t each you. If you really want to ent er int o full fell owship wit hJesus in His death and experience total deliverance from self, then humble yourself . Voluntary humility is yourone responsibi li ty.

Fall on your face before God in your utter helplessness. Face the facts squarely: you are unable to put your oldli fe t o death, and you are unable t o make yourself li ve again. Sink down into your own nothingness. Take theattitude of meek, patient, and trusting surrender to God. Embrace what humbles you. Look on every frustrationas a tool to humble you. Take full advantage of every opportunity to humble yourself before others so you canst ay humble before God. God can reveal Chri st in you only t hrough the mighty strengthening of His Spiri t . Christwill be truly formed in you in His form as a servant. He will fill your heart. God will honor each deliberate choiceyou make to humble yourself, accepting it as a sacrifice, and using it to clear the way for His Son to revealHimself in you. The path of humility leads to the death of self-life and the full and perfect experience of thewonderful truth that you are dead in Christ.

This deat h t o self wil l, in t urn, l ead t o complete humil it y. Some have wanted t o be humble, but were afraid t obe t oo humble. Don’t make that mistake! Don’t place stipulations and limitations on your humility. Don’t add fineprint t o the covenant you make with God! Don’t t ry to figure it all out —abandon your heart f ir st , t hen you’ ll knowhow to live it out. Humble yourself to the point of death. It is in death to self that humility reaches completion.Know for certain that at the root of all genuine experience of growth in grace and consecration andt ransformation, t here must be a death t o self —something real, t hat demonst rat es it self to God and men in ourcharacter and habits.



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It is sadly possibl e for us to talk on and on about t he crucifi ed li fe and the Spirit -walk, when those who love usbest would still have to admit that they see much self-life in us. Physical life is pronounced dead when the heartstops beat ing and the brain waves stop functioning. Self -l if e is pronounced dead when there is a humil it y presentthat doesn’ t cling t o reputat ion that empti es it self and t akes t he form of a servant . It is possibl e to speak muchand speak sincerely of fell owship wit h a despised and rej ected Jesus, and of bearing His cross, while the meek,lowly, kind, and gentl e humili t y of t he Lamb of God is not seen—or even truly sought . The t it le “ Lamb of God”means humil it y and death. Let us receive the Lamb in both forms. You can’ t separate them in Jesus; t hey shouldbe joined in us, t oo.

If dying to self depended on us, how hopeless we would be! Flesh can’ t overcome fl esh, even with grace’ s help.Self can never cast out self , even in someone who is born again. Praise God! The work has been f ini shed forever.The death of Jesus, who offered Himself once for all, is our death to self. And the ascension of Jesus, who onceand for all sat down at the right hand of God, has made it possibl e for Him t o pour His Spirit int o our heart s.

“ His divine power gives us everything we need for l iving a godly l if e. He has call ed us to receive His own glory andgoodness! And by t hat same mighty power, He has given us all of His rich and wonderful promises. He haspromised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in Hisdivine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

As the disciple follows in the steps of Jesus in the pursuit and practice of humility, his or her hunger forsomething more is awakened. A desire and hope spring to life. Faith begins to grow stronger. It learns to look upand claim and receive t rue full ness in t he Spir it of Jesus. That full ness has the power t o put sin and self t o deathdaily. For true disciples, humility is the fragrance and nature of their lives together.

“ Have you forgot ten that when we became Chri st ians and were bapti zed to become one wit h Chri st Jesus, wedied wi th Him?.. .So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to li ve for t he glory of God through Chri stJesus.. .Give yourselves completely t o God since you have been given a new l if e. And use your whole body as atool t o do what is right f or t he glory of God” (Romans 6:3,11,13). The whole t hought process of a disciple is to besaturated by the Spirit that led Jesus to the cross. Disciples present themselves to God as those who have died inChrist and in Him risen from the dead, bearing in their hearts the nail prints of His cross. Both death to self andresurrection power are visible in their genuine, practical, moment-by-moment humility before God and men.

Believer, claim in fait h the death and the l if e of Jesus as yours. Enter into His rest . Jesus commit t ed His Spir itint o the Father’ s hands. So must you, as you humble yourself and descend each day int o total, helpl essdependence on God. He will raise you up and honor you. Each morning, sink into the tomb of Jesus by making a

concrete choice before Him that your life will not be your own this day. As you live the rest of the day, keepreaffirming that choice, and the Life of Jesus will be seen in you. Let a willing, loving, peaceful, and happyhumil it y be the evidence that you have indeed claimed your birt hright—bapt ism into t he death of Christ . “ By thatone offering He has perfected f orever t hose who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14). The heart s t hat enterint o His humil it y wil l f ind in Him t he power to consider self as dead and—as those who have received and learnedof Him—to li ve in yiel dedness and servanthood, support ing one another in love. Death t o self i s seen in a humil it ylike Jesus had.



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11. Humility and HappinessEach t ime he said, ‘ My gracious f avor i s all you need. My power works best in your weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that t he power of Christ may work t hrough me.Since I know i t is al l for Chri st 's good, I am quit e content wit h my weaknesses and wi t h insult s,hardships, persecuti ons, and calamit ies. For when I am weak, t hen I am st rong.” (2 Cori nthians 12:9-10)

God had given Paul an awesome revelat ion. To keep him f rom becoming proud, God also gave him “ a thorn in thefl esh.” Paul’ s f ir st reaction was t o ask God to remove the t horn—in f act, t hat was his second and t hird reaction,too! But Jesus answered that the trial was really a blessing, that in the weakness it brought, His grace andst rength could become more real. So Paul immediately t ook a new at t it ude towards his thorn. Instead of simplyenduring it , he became “ glad to boast about i t .” Inst ead of asking for deliverance, he rejoiced in it . Paul hadlearned that the place of humilit y is the place of blessing, power, and joy.

Most Christians who pursue humility go through those same two stages. At first, they fear and recoil and ask fordeliverance from the humbling sit uation. They have to learn t o seek humil it y at any cost . They have accepted thecommand to be humble and are trying to obey it, but they keep finding themselves failing miserably. They prayfor humili ty, sometimes very int ensely. But i n their secret heart s they pray even harder—in t hought , i f not inactual words—to be prot ected f rom the very t hings that wi ll make them humble. They aren’ t yet t o the pointwhere they love humili ty as t he beauty of t he Lamb of God and the joy of heaven, and so they aren’ t ready to

sell everything to have it . In t heir pursuit of humil it y and prayer for i t , t here is a feeling that somehow humil it y isst il l a burden and a bondage, af t er all . Humbling themselves hasn’ t yet become the spontaneous expression of ali fe and character that is humble f rom the inside out. Humili t y is not yet t heir pleasure and joy. They can’ t say,“ I am glad t o boast about my weaknesses; I am grateful for everyt hing that humbles me.”

Can we ever hope to reach that point? Definit ely! What wil l get us t here? The same thing that brought Paul t here- a new r evelat ion of t he Lord Jesus. When more of Jesus can move in, more of self will move out. Paul got amuch clearer insight into the deep truth that the presence of Jesus will banish our every desire to seek anythingfor ourselves. The more we see of Jesus, the more we will be willing to embrace whatever humbles us, to makean even larger place for Him in our hearts. Our trials will teach us, as we experience the power and presence ofJesus, to choose humilit y as our highest blessing. Let’ s learn from Paul’ s example.

There are many people who are looked to f or l eadership, who have experienced God’ s blessings, who havebecome teachers of others, who have yet to learn humility. Paul knew this danger. He realized the potential hehad to become puffed up with self-importance. Yet he needed to learn more fully what it meant to becomenothing—to die that Christ might li ve in him. It was st il l hard for him to be glad for his t ri als. The next stage in hisgrowth was to learn to be more like Jesus in emptying himself, to boast in his weaknesses so that Jesus could best rong.

The highest lesson a believer has to learn is humility. Do you want to grow in holiness? Then remember: the roadto holiness passes through humbling experiences. You could have intense consecration, fervent zeal, and deepexperiences, but unless you receive God’ s special dealings to humble you, you could grow pridef ul and self -import ant . Let ’ s never forget t hat t he highest holiness is the deepest humili t y. And humil it y only comes if wegive God permission to lead us through whatever discipline He requires to train us. He is our Faithful Lord.

Let ’ s look at our li ves in l ight of Paul’ s experience and see if we, t oo, gladly boast in our weaknesses, if weconsider i t pure j oy when we experience t rial, need, and trouble. Have we learned to regard a crit icism, whether

fair or not , as an opport unit y to draw near t o Jesus in qui etness and peace? What about when someone brings usint o a sit uation of t rouble or diff icul ty that we didn’ t ask for? Wil l we accept t hat our own pleasure and honorare worthless? Wil l we be grat eful for t he humbli ng? It is a great blessing—the deep happiness of heaven—to be sofree from self that whatever is said about us or done to us is lost and swallowed up in the thought that Jesus isour inheritance.

Let’ s t rust t he same Jesus who took charge of Paul t o take charge of us, t oo. Paul needed special discipl ine andteaching to learn something even more precious t han the “ things so astounding they can’t be told” t hat he hadheard in t he third heaven. He needed to learn how to boast in weakness! We need that lesson too—oh, so much.Jesus, who cared for Paul, wil l care for us, too. He watches over us wit h a j ealous, loving care, to keep us fromgetting puffed up by our revelations of Him. If we start becoming proud or pompous, He shows us our evil and



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brings us experiences to deliver us from it. In trial and weakness and trouble, He seeks to bring us low, until welearn t hat His grace is enough for us and t ake pleasure i n what makes and keeps us humble. His power workingthrough weakness, His presence filling and satisfying our emptiness, becomes the secret of a humility that willnever fail . In view of God’ s mercies, we can learn to say wit h Paul, “ I am not at all inferior to these ‘ superapost les,’ even t hough I am not hing at all ” (2 Corint hians 12:11). Paul’ s t rials had led him to true humilit y. Wit hhumil it y, he had received a wonderf ul j oy and pleasure and “ boast ing” about hi s dif fi cult ies.

“ Since I know it is all f or Christ 's good, I am quit e content wit h my weaknesses and wit h insult s, hardships,

persecut ions, and calamit ies.” The humble man has learned the secret of contentment. The more pressed hefeels, the more difficult life becomes, and the more he experiences the presence and power of Jesus. As headmit s he is nothing, t he Word of God comes wit h deepening j oy: “ My gracious favor i s all you need” (2Corinthians 12:9).

To sum it up: t he danger of pride is greater and nearer t han we reali ze—and the grace for humil it y is, t oo.

The danger of pride is greater and nearer than we realize, especially at the time of our richest blessings. WhenGod’s provision is present wit h powerful eff ect, when miracles are happening, when others take notice, t here arehidden, subconscious dangers t here. Paul was in danger without knowing it . What Jesus did for him is recordedfor our learning so that we could recognize our own dangers and realize our only Place of safet y. Let ’ s not give asingle person the excuse to say that someone who proclaims Jesus is full of self and that Chri st ians don’ t pract icewhat they preach. Jesus, in whom we trust, can make us humble.

But yes, t he grace for humil it y is greater t han we think, t oo. The humilit y of Jesus is our salvati on. Jesus Himselfis our humility. Our humility is His concern and His work. His grace is more than enough for us to meet thetemptat ion of pr ide, t oo. His st rength wil l work best in our weakness. Let ’ s choose to admit our weakness, t o below, to be nothing. Let humil it y become our j oy.

Let us be glad to boast about our own weaknesses, about everything that can humble us and keep us low. Thepower of Christ will rest upon us. Christ humbled Himself, and so God honored Him. Christ will humble us, andkeep us humble. Let ’ s j oin our hearts full y to His work! Let’ s t rust ingly and joyfull y accept everyt hing thathumbles us. We will discover t hat t he deepest humil it y is t he secret of t he truest happiness, of a j oy that no onecan take away.



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12. Humility and Exaltation

For t he proud wil l be humbled, but t he humble wil l be honored.” (Luke 14:11; 18:14)

When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on Him, He wil l l i f t you up and give you honor. ” (James 4:10)

So humble yourselves under t he mighty power of God, and in His good ti me He wil l honor you.” (1Peter 5:6)

Just yesterday someone asked me, “ How can I conquer thi s pri de?” The answer is simpl e. Two things areneeded. Do what God says is your work—humble yourself . Trust God for what He says is His work—He wil l l if t youup.

The command is clear: humble yourself . That doesn’ t mean you have the abili ty t o conquer and cast out t hepride of your heart and to form wit hin yourself the lowl iness of t he Holy Jesus. No, t hat’ s God’s work. When Hesays He wil l “ honor you” and “ li ft you up,” He means t hat He wil l f orm that character of Jesus in you. Your partin t he process is to t ake every opport unity of humbling yourself before God and man. St and f irm. Don’ t let anyfailure convince you to quit. His command will never change. Persevere with faith in the grace that is alreadyworking in you and wit h ful l confidence in the grace God wil l give for t he vict ory that’ s coming. Look to t he lightGod provides, through your conscience within you and your brothers and sisters around you, to expose the prideof your heart and it s workings.Accept with gratitude everything that God allows from inside or outside, from friend or enemy, by seeminglynatural means or by miraculous ones, to remind you of your need of humbling, and to help you to it. Believe thathumility is indeed the mother of all godly character, your most important duty to God, and the best safeguard foryour heart . Set your heart on it , because it is the source of blessing. God’s promise is sure: “ the humble wi ll behonored.” See that you do the one thing God asks, and humble yourself . God wil l see that He does t he one t hingHe promised. He wil l give you more grace. When the t ime is right , He wil l honor you and li f t you up.

God’ s dealings with us usually come in t wo stages. Fir st there is a ti me of preparat ion. God’ s commands and Hispromises j oin forces t o tr ain and disciple us for something higher. We wil l experience eff ort and inabil it y, part ialsuccess followed by seeming failure, mingled with a holy hunger for more of Jesus. Then comes the time offulfillment, when faith inherits the promise and enjoys what it had so often struggled for in vain. All true

disciples wil l experi ence these t wo st ages oft en. Somehow, God created t he universe so t hat we’ d grow in t hatway.

In His effort s t o redeem us, God always makes t he first move. Then man’ s t urn comes. He st ruggles to obey andlive up to his calling, but he comes to realize his desperate weakness. In self-despair, he must learn to die tohimself , wit h his wil li ng cooperati on and ful l consent. In the end, man longs for God, not victory. That’ s whenfai th is ready to receive God’s promise. The Father wi ll fi nish the work t hat man didn’ t even underst and at t hest art . God began the process, and He will end it , even if man doesn’ t underst and Him or His purposes at f ir st .

That dynamic describes our pursuit of humility, too. To every Christian the command comes from the throne ofGod: humble yourself . When we respond wit h a serious att empt to li sten and obey, God wil l reward—yes,reward—us with a painf ul di scovery. We wil l f ind we have a shocking amount of pri de—an unwil lingness toconsider ourselves nothing and to let others to consider us nothing, too. We will also discover an utter weaknessto all our efforts, even in our prayers to God for help, to destroy the hideous monster of pride. Blessed is theperson who now learns to put hi s or her hope in God and perseveres, despit e all of t he fail ures, in acts of humil it ybefore God and men.

Sow an act , r eap a habit ; sow a habit , reap a character; sow a character, reap a dest iny. Grace works that way.God also has us repeat t he act of humbling ourselves t o produce a habit in us. “ For God is working in you, givingyou the desir e to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him” (Phil ippi ans 2:13). Come to God, humblingyour proud heart before Him, and He will reward you with more grace, and replace your pride with humility. TheSpirit of Jesus wil l conquer and bring a new nature to maturi t y inside you. He, t he meek and lowly One, will li veinside you forever.



“ When you bow down before t he Lord and admit your dependence on Him, He wil l li f t you up and give you honor”(James 4:10). What is this honor? The highest honor for any man or woman is to be a vessel, t o receive and enjoyand demonst rat e God’ s glory. We can be that vessel only if we are wil ling to be nothing in ourselves so that Godcan be Everything for us. Water always fills the lowest places first. The lower and emptier a man bows beforeGod, t he quicker and ful ler t he inflow of God’s glory wil l be.

The honor God promises isn’ t some external t hing. All t hat He has to give is more of Himself . What does anearthly trophy really mean, anyway? It’ s j ust hardware. It doesn’ t reall y have anything to do wit h the

achievement it ’ s supposed to reward. But God’s rewards are always genuine, meaningful, and the f ruit of whatwe’ ve sown. Sow a wil lingness t o humble yourself , r eap a divine humilit y inside you. That is God’ s highest honor—to be like His Son.

“ So humble yourselves under t he mighty power of God, and in His good ti me He wil l honor you.” Jesus Himself isall the proof we need that these words are true. He is the guarantee that God will make good on this promise.Let us t ake His yoke on us and learn f rom Him, for He is humble and gentle. If we are j ust wil li ng to lowerourselves for His sake, the way He lowered Himself for ours, He will bend down again, and we will find ourselvesequally yoked with Him. As we enter deeper into the fellowship of His humility, we can count on Him. Whetherwe are humbling ourselves before others or being humbled by them, t he Spir it of His honor, “ the Spir it of ourGlorious God,” wil l rest on us. The presence and power of the glorif ied Christ wil l come t o anyone who has ahumble spirit.

When God can take His rightful place inside us, He will lift us up. Make His glory priority number one as youhumble yourself. He will make your glory His priority as He perfects your humility. He will breathe into you, asyour abiding life, t he Spir it of His Son. As the Lif e of God saturat es and possesses you, t here wi ll be nothing sonatural and sweet as to be nothing. You won’t need to think about self at all, because all of your attention willbe focused on the One who is fi lli ng you. “ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that t he power ofChrist may work t hrough me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Brothers and sisters, what is the real reason that our consecration and faith have made so little progress in thepursuit of holiness? It is because self and its strength have been trying to work in the name of faith. We calledGod in to serve self and its happiness. Without realizing it, we were still trying to find life in improving ourselves.We never understood that humili ty—total , l ast ing, Christ -l ike humil it y, f il li ng all of our l if e with God and man—was the most essenti al i ngredient of t he li fe of holi ness we were seeking.

It is only i n f inding God that I lose myself . Have you ever looked in a sunbeam, wit h all it s beauty and brightness,

and seen a tiny speck of dust f loat ing and dancing in it ? That ’ s what humil it y is like. Self becomes a li t t le speck,bathed in t he sunlight of His love.

“ How great is God! How small am I!Lost , swallowed up in Love’s immensity!

God only there, not I.”

May God teach us to believe that to be humble, to be nothing in His presence, is the highest achievement andgreatest blessing of t he Christi an lif e. “ The high and loft y One who inhabit s eternit y, t he Holy One, says t his: ‘ Ilive in that high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I refresh the humble and givenew courage to t hose wit h repentant heart s’ ” (Isaiah 57:15). May this dest iny be ours!

“ Oh, t o be emptier, lowlier,Mean, unnoticed, and unknown,

And to God a vessel holier,Filled with Christ, and Christ alone!”

Humility - Andrew Murray

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