Our Humble Christ
5/18 Reading Portions: Numbers 27; Psalms 70-71; Isaiah 17-18; 1 Peter 5
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, 1 Peter 5:6
There was no one more humble than our Lord Jesus Christ. We recognize from God’s Word that the incarnation, God becoming a perfect, sinless, flesh and bone Man, was an act of humility (Phil 2:5-8). Jesus eternally existed with the Father and the Spirit, so when He came to earth as a Man, He laid aside His glory as God, and as a Servant, was obedient to the heavenly Father all the way to the cross. In His sufferings on Calvary’s tree, Jesus remained humble and obedient unto death. In Christ’s humility, obedience and sacrificial death, the name of Jesus was exalted above every name unto the Father’s greatest glory (Phil 2:9-11).
The Christian life is not holy because of some external, exalted piety seen of men. The true Christian life is holy because it is secured by brokenness and humility in the light of the eternal truth of Jesus Christ laying down His life by the utmost holiness and righteousness required to stand in the presence of a holy God. Certainly, external righteousness will be manifested in the true believer as a result of internal transformation; however, it comes by a broken spirit and a contrite heart (Psa 51:17). Exaltation is God’s work, and just as Jesus was exalted in due time, after sacrifice through humble obedience, the heavenly Father will exalt us in that Day, to the Son’s honor and the Father’s ultimate glory— likewise, by a living sacrifice of brokenness and contrition, and that, by God’s amazing grace (Rom 12:1). We should also be aware that there is a false humility practiced among sinners. It comes in two forms yet stems from the same disregard of the gospel and Christ’s cross. One seeks exaltation through false humility; the other boasts that the credit belongs to God— both caring nothing for the gospel. Be humble; keep at Christ’s cross.
Christ Jesus came to save the lost
Through humble sacrifice;
Christ’s holy death upon the cross
Is true, eternal life.