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Last Sunday our bible study group continued our three month study on “Images of Christ.” This month in particular we have been looking at images of Christ in us as described in the letter of James in the New Testament. This week we dealt with an image of Christ that seems often to be most unattractive and undesirable for us. Yet the scriptures seem to place supreme importance upon it.

In the Old Testament Moses was known as the most humble person on earth (Numbers 12:3). The Apostle Paul wrote much of the content of the New Testament. He called himself the “least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9) and the “worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). The Apostle Paul described one of the great images of Christ that is to be in us. He wrote:

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name. (Philippians 2:3-9).

Thus, the great quality of Moses, Paul and Jesus, and the title of this post is

Looking at the lives of these great leaders, I would define humility as “strength under control.” Each had great power of personality and position, but chose to serve others humbly.

It was interesting to hear the reports of Rick Warren’s sermon the day after he hosted the “Civic Forum” with the presidential candidates. "Don't just look at issues, look at character," he said. "Look at the candidate and say, 'Does he live with integrity, service with humility, share with generosity, or not?' "

Our group’s study text last Sunday was the first ten verses of the fourth chapter of James. Pride and humility are contrasted. The symptoms of pride are cravings, wants, coveting, and desiring pleasure. The effects are conflicts and disputes that make you a murderer and adulterer (not literally). James explains that the disputes among you come from cravings at war within you.

In contrast, the path to humility is to:
Submit to God
Resist the devil
Draw near to God
Cleanse your hands (actions)
Purify your hearts (motives)
Lament, mourn and weep
Humble yourself before the Lord

Pride is being full of self and empty of the Spirit of God. Humility is being empty of self and full of the Holy Spirit.

Humility is yielding all my personal rights and possessions to God. It is a realization that everything that I have is on loan from God. When I yield my rights to God, He returns them for His glory. (“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:10) If He withholds the rights, God is developing in me that which could not be developed otherwise.

I have found, painfully so, that God jealously yearns for His Spirit to have full reign in my life (James 4:5). He will “pull the rug out from under me” if I get too full of myself. Indeed, the way up is down.

In short, the purpose of our study was to grasp that humility is the path that leads to fellowship with God and reconciliation with others.