The Example of Christ’s Humility (Part 2)

By Anthony Wood. Read Part 1.

His Humility Will Protect Us

For those of us who serve in a leadership capacity, the world demands that we show strength. Who among us, in the flesh, has not been lured by more power? A larger church building? An organizational structure without checks and balances?

Deeper still, which among us has not been tempted to think that “he” is the reason for a church’s effectiveness? Business success? Money saved? Children well raised? How quickly our hearts turn from the truth as we erode into self-sufficiency.

Of course, erosion requires zero effort. Unless one builds a dam, erosion occurs. If one does not plant grass, the rains make mud. Likewise, if even a day goes by without knees bent in prayer and chins up in praise, the sand of the soul will be slightly more polished by the world, flesh, and devil.

Do we remember the reason Peter fell into denial? The Lord had warned Peter and the other disciples about their weakness, saying, “You will all fall away because of me…” We may have expected all the disciples to immediately fall to their knees, crying out for help from the Lord. However, like we often do, Peter spoke confidently, saying, “I will never fall away!” Peter’s self-dependence was corrosive to his faith, leading him towards his downfall into denial.

Andrew Murray’s words ring in our ears, “Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.”³ If even a moment goes by where we think, “I am strong!” or “I am valuable,” we have moved away from safety and far from God’s maximum blessing or strengthening power, assuming we know our hearts better than God and incurring alongside Peter, the Lord’s stern rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan!”

The answer? All wisdom of faith is found in the cross of Christ (2Ti 3:15). It is the cross of Christ that informs us against such a momentous fall, reminding us of our initial dependence, as God chose to breathe life into dead men and redeem us from the slave-trading block of sin.

As we contemplate such grace, all we hold dear dies, and an exchange takes place; we exchange our reputation for His glory, our expectations for the joy of His ministry, and our human gain for the glory of His perfect plan. The old Puritan Thomas Hooker offers,

Just as a wise individual chooses a residence that upholds his reputation and meets all his need, so Christ finds His dwelling in a humble heart, the most suitable place to manifest his glory.⁴

Dear brothers, have we not discovered that our lack of holiness is directly linked to our pride? Is not pride what makes our joy fleeting, our ministry heavy, and our relations strained? We have no idea how much pride is still at work in us, secretly sabotaging every nook and cranny. The answer is kneeling again in the shadow of Calvary.

His Humility Will Perfect Us

Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death. From the cross, He showcased the most convincing evidence that He had abandoned His will to the Father’s will. By dying, He submitted Himself By giving up the life He had taken on as man, He died to all temptation and sin, meaning that for the first time, and as the first fruit, a man entered into the perfect life of God.

How marvelous to dwell on Peter’s words, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time” (1Pe 5:6). Jesus is the second Adam. Jesus is the first of many. All who follow after Him, humbling themselves in Him, will receive the joy of being like Him.

Jesus is the only evidence we need that Peter’s words are true. He is the promise that God will keep His word. So, we want to take His yoke, the thralldom of humility and kindness, lowering ourselves for His sake, the way He lowered Himself for ours.

How rarely do we reflect on the preserving realities associated with Christ’s sacrifice? Flavel contends:

What evidence of tenderness, even when a world of sorrow encompassed him; a cup of wrath mixed, and ready to be delivered into his hand; at the very time when the clouds of wrath grew black, a storm coming…if this be so, that Christ so eminently [showed] his care and love for his people, in this parting hour. Do you hear how he pleads? How he begs! How he fills his mouth with arguments! How he chooses his words and sets them in order…Can such a Father deny the importunity, strong reasoning, and pleasing of such a Son? 0, it can never be…The cause of Christ manageth in heaven for us is just and righteous. The manner in which He pleads is powerful, and therefore, the success of his suit is unquestioned.⁵

Thus, we lose ourselves when we meet Christ, especially at the Cross of Calvary. Have we not looked at the stars to realize our smallness? Have we not stared at the ocean, contemplating our powerlessness? Yet, a hundred times more, when we stare at the picture of Calvary, our life issues all begin to fade, the want of heaven and eternal glorification grow, and the marvelous nature of our triune God glows in fullest color.

So, may Christ’s humility permeate, protect, and purify us. May God teach us to be humble and to be nothing in His presence, knowing therein resides the highest achievement and most incredible blessing of the Christian life. To the slighter, lower, meeker, unnoticed, and unknown, to Christ a vessel more holy, all for His glory alone.