Humility is one of the greatest of all Christian virtues. So important is this virtue that Andrew Murray wrote a very famous book by the simple title: HUMILITY, with the added subscript “The most overlooked, yet essential, teaching of Jesus Christ.”
The Apostle Paul exhorted the Christians in Colossae to put on a new set of clothes, and that wardrobe included the following:
As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience… (Col 3:12).
And, in Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, he exhorted the congregation to have the “same mindset as that found in Christ Jesus.” Paul then provided the perfect illustration of humility found in Jesus. Let’s unpack just a few verses so that we can get the point of Paul’s illustration.
Who (Jesus), being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used to his own advantage (Phil 2:6).
Jesus possessed the very “nature” of God, and yet, He did not consider using that to His own advantage during His sojourn on earth. As we say, Jesus was 100% God. And yet,
…he made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant (slave), being made in human likeness (Phil 2:7).
Jesus “emptied” himself of divine privileges (not his divine nature) and took upon himself the very nature (essence) of a “slave.” Unfortunately, most modern translations don’t like to use the word “slave,” and prefer to use the word “servant.” The problem is that the Greek word for “servant” is “diakonos” from which we get the word “deacon” or “servant,” and “diakonos” is not the word used in the original Greek in this passage. Not wanting to offend anyone is why most translations have made a conscious choice to not use the word “slave,” even though “doulos” (“slave”) is the correct word that Paul used in this passage. What Paul wanted to point out is that Jesus, when He became a man, became one of the “lowest” of the “low” in Roman society. And so, Paul was saying that in addition to being 100% God, Jesus was also 100% man. That’s what I call “theological math!”
It should be noted that Paul often referred to himself as a “slave of Jesus Christ,” as he wanted everyone to know that he was the property of his Master, Jesus Christ, who “bought him with a price” when He died on the cross. And Paul goes on, saying,
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross (Phil 2:8)!
And here we see why Paul used Jesus as his primary example of humility, not just because He became a man by emptying Himself of divine privileges, but also because he humbled himself to the point of dying on the cross for our sins. But that’s not the end of the story, because,
God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:9-11).
I’d like us all to be clear about something – One day every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The question is: “Who will bow before Him now?” And “Who will confess Him as Lord now?” Friends, let’s acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, and then humbly kneel before Him, thanking Him for His salvation paid for us at the cross, and allowing Him to guide our lives in the paths of righteousness.
