Humility: Putting Yourself Last
Humility: Putting Yourself Last
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
C. S. Lewis
Put others before yourself, and God before others.
Let’s do a thought exercise for a moment. When was the last time you were, say, cut off in traffic? The chances are pretty high that it’s been within the last 7 days or so. Remember how you felt when that happened… did you immediately extol the virtues of the person who quite literally put themselves ahead of you, or did you do something a little more… base and primal? Perhaps a short yell, a prayer, or a fit of rage?
Jesus’ famous (and oft misappropriated) statement that we should turn the other cheek () is part of a much larger chunk of awesome that tells us how we are supposed to treat others who do, shall we say, unfortunate things against us. (). In it, he’s charging us to not retaliate in kind when someone wrongs us, but to be humble towards that person. (Please note that this is not telling you to allow someone to abuse you. There’s a big difference. Don’t ever think that’s OK).
We can’t know what’s going on in the minds and lives of other people. That person who cut you off may be going through a nasty divorce, they may be late for an appointment that’s potentially going to cost them their career, their mother could be dying in a hospital (or they could just be a jerk). We don’t know what’s causing them to be the way they are, and by getting upset and retaliating, you may even cause them to sin further! Instead approach them with humility () and with an air of grace.
It’s not an ichthys (…Jesus fish) on the back of your car as you cut that driver right back off that will prove your Christianity, rather, it’s your humility, grace, and mercy that mirrors the qualities of God. How can you demonstrate this in your life today?
Remember… “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” – , ESV
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39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (ESV)
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. (ESV)
3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (ESV)
12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (ESV)
Community: Do good.
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” –
Community is a good thing. We, as people, grow in maturity, responsibility, and spirituality when we are involved in community, and most important, through community, God’s word is most effectively spread.
Sure, there are evangelical television programs, radio shows, and tracts handed out to various people, but with the possible exception of the tracts, the primary audience of these things are existing believers! A non-believer is not going to turn on the radio with the thought “I think I’ll listen to a program about God today, as that is something that I care about greatly. I can’t wait to hear what songs they play worshiping their Lord!”
No – God’s kingdom grows through community.
In the thirteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author writes on sacrifices that are pleasing to God. I want to be pretty clear on one point here, real quick before we continue: These ‘sacrifices’ will not buy salvation, nor do they gain you any favor with God – they are indications of a saved individual, one who has come to know the Father.
So, in these passages, we find, toward the end, one that states “Do not neglect to do good and share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” [, ESV]. What does this mean? It’s a call to community. Be so involved with others that you’re sharing what you have. Maybe this means inviting people to your home for meals… or that you just leave the door open with the statement of “come by anytime! We’re here for you!” Loan Bob that hedge trimmer when he asks, and listen when the neighbor needs to talk about the fight he and his wife had, the way his grass is growing in patches, or just the weather. But be there for others. Be involved in their lives. It’s the best way to spread the Gospel – through loving and caring for others.
How can you grow in community today, or even this week?
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16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (ESV)
16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (ESV)
God is Eternal: What Does it Mean to Us?
Earlier this week, we discussed God’s eternity, and what Eternity, or more accurately, what His eternity means to us. Please visit that article if you haven’t done so already! This is part two of a two part series on the Eternity of God.
God is Eternal: What Does This Mean to Us?
Due to the manner in which God exists, that is, outside of time and space (perhaps it would be better to suggest that He is, in a sense, ‘above’ time and space), His ways are beyond our comprehensive abilities. We cannot truly begin to understand how God Himself operates within our plane of existence, as we have not frame of reference that is suitable to explain or demonstrate His abilities. By nature of His eternity, He is also eternally incomprehensible.
God knows everything that we do, though not in a voyeuristic manner, rather, He has an innate knowledge of us and our actions, just by the nature of who He is (His control and ordaining notwithstanding); it’s less of an observation of our actions as it is inherent knowledge. He’s not sitting on pins and needles, watching and waiting to see what we do next; He exists completely, He is all-powerful, and not in a sense that He’s the strongest, but that all power that exists is imparted through Him.
He is outside of time and eternal, and as such, we needn’t worry about tomorrow, or the next day – everything is within His control, and we can live without the fear of stepping outside of His will – we can’t even begin to ‘mess up’ His plan.
One final note to consider is that there exists the possibility that because of the manner in which Christ stepped down from His throne, the pain of experiencing time and His death on the cross is always. Not always there, or always with Him, or always on His mind… just always.
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God is Eternal: What Does Eternity Mean?
This is part one of a two part series on the eternity of God, and focuses on the meaning of His eternity. Next, we will explore the implications of His eternity, and how it effects us.
God is Eternal
He always was, is, and will forever be. Since before the beginning of time, He is. As the Psalmist says:
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. [, ESV]
The true meaning of eternity is rather difficult to convey; one who is eternal would be outside of time in such a way that attempting to describe their existence in strictly literal terms would be fraught with error. It’s more than just stating that “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” [, ESV, Partial], rather, one must attempt to grasp that all of time would appear to happen simultaneously to such an observer, while still maintaining separate and observable events. Perhaps it would be as if one were to ‘download’ a movie to their brain, suddenly possessing a complete recollection of the events that transpired within. This analogy still fails to convey the entire weight, due to the limitations of our own minds; the manner in which we would recall the film would still be somewhat linear.
Suffice it to say that to be outside of time would make one immune to time, able to move freely through what we perceive as time, and fully capable of interacting within any one period of existence while maintaining awareness of any and all other points of time simultaneously. Just as we can hold a transparent ball in our hands, mark a point within it, and see another area at the same time, so too can God do with time.
To God, time is of no consequence. There is no beginning, and there is no end – there is only existence. God is. He has neither beginning, nor end. While things of our plane, our existence, are ephemeral, God’s existence is without ages; as much as he is unchangeable and immutable, He is eternal, and of the things of the earth, he is “the beginning and the end.” [, ESV, Partial]
Join us on Friday for the conclusion to this series!
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2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (ESV)
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (ESV)
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (ESV)
The Trinity: What is Three in One? Part Two
This is part two of a two part series on the Trinity.
In my previous post, I talked about why it’s important for Christians to know the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity, for the idea that God is one in essence and three in person. I discussed what it means that God is three in person. Now, let’s look into what it means that God is one in essence—a more complex topic.
Dr. Scott Horrell’s research suggests three Biblical truths that teach us that the Trinity is one in essence. Each truth alone isn’t enough to justify the phrase “one in essence,” but taken together they make a good case.
First, one essence means that the members of the Trinity share the same attributes. In many passages throughout the New Testament, the Father, Son, and Spirit are described as omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, just, merciful, and all the other attributes of God. For many theologians, shared attributes is all that “oneness” is. But Dr. Horrell argues that this alone isn’t enough to distinguish Trinity from tritheism. For example, three separate gods could each hypothetically be perfectly omniscient.
Second, one essence means that the members of the Trinity “mutually indwell” one another. In , Jesus says that anyone who has seen him has seen the Father, because he is in the Father and the Father is in him. Furthermore, he says that when he acts, it’s not just him, but also the Father acting. A similar mutual indwelling is suggested by the theme of Jesus’ relationship to the Spirit throughout John. So mutual indwelling can be summarized as the members of the Trinity each indwelling the others, so that when one acts, all are in some sense acting.
Third, one essence means that the very existence of the members of the Trinity is connected. The Bible suggests that the Son is eternally begotten by the Father (), and that the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father ()—and, in some views, from the Son as well (). The nuances of what these terms mean have been explored by many theologians, but the upshot is that the members of the Trinity aren’t independent. The Son and Spirit’s existence is connected to the Father’s. It’s not that the Son and Spirit began existing at some moment in time; all of them existed from eternity past. But they did not exist in a disconnected way, but a connected way. We can’t fully understand this connection, because the Bible doesn’t go into it. We just have to affirm what the Bible does reveal: that there is a connection.
When added together, these three Biblical concepts seem to justify saying that God is “one in essence.” So the next time someone asks you to explain the Trinity, you can humbly say you don’t understand it fully, but you do know what the Bible teaches about it. You can say that God is three in the sense that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have real relationships with one another. And you can say that these three are one in the sense that they have a very close connection of essence: the same attributes, indwelling, and a connected existence.
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7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. (ESV)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:18
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (ESV)
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (ESV)
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. (ESV)
The Trinity: What is Three in One?
This is part one of a two part series on the Trinity.
Can you believe something without knowing anything about it? Some Christians seem to think so. Ask the average Christian if they believe in the Trinity, and they’ll say yes. But ask them what the Trinity means, and they’re likely to laugh at you: “Nobody can explain that!” If you ask them “so what do you believe about the Trinity, then?” you might just get a blank stare.
It’s true that we can’t fully understand God, but there’s a middle ground in between knowing everything about the Trinity and knowing nothing about it. That middle ground is to state just what the Bible says about the Trinity—no more, no less. When most theologians attempt this, they say that God is three in one sense and one in another sense: specifically, that He is three “persons” and one “essence.” The problem is that they usually don’t explain where these concepts of “person” and “essence” come from in the Bible. However, Dr. Scott Horrell, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, is currently doing research into the Biblical foundation and historical development of the doctrine of the Trinity. Based on his research, we can now have a clearer Biblical foundation for our understanding of person and essence.
First, what does it mean that God is three in person? It doesn’t mean they’re people in exactly the way we normally think about people: completely separate beings. If so, that would be tritheism: three different gods. Instead, the sense in which the members of the Trinity are three people is that they have real relationships with one another. The Father loves the Son (). The Son loves the Father (). The Father and Son both send the Spirit (, ). The Spirit hears from the Father and Son ().
This contrasts with the view of modalism, which says that there is only one God, and he just appears in three different forms. If this were true, the Father wouldn’t have a real relationship with the Son, because the Son would actually be the Father himself. Bruce Wayne can’t be friends with Batman, because the two are different forms of the same person.
In my next post, I’ll talk about the Biblical grounding for the concept of God’s oneness of essence.
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35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. (ESV)
31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. (ESV)
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (ESV)
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. (ESV)
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (ESV)