IS GOD HUMBLE?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) 

Clearly Jesus lived a humble life on earth. 

He lived in glory as God the Son in heaven with the Father. 

• He never had a beginning. 

• He was uncreated and equal with the Father yet He chose to be born in a stable surrounded by farm animal. 

• He chose to work as a village carpenter and He chose to associate with people rejected by the elite of society.

Was Jesus humble because he was a man who needed to be humble in submission to God? 

• ...or was Jesus humble because humility is an essential aspect of the eternal nature of God?

There is some theology that emphasises the kingly honour and authority of God to such an extent, that it is difficult to see humility as an essential part of God’s heavenly character.

This theology emphasises the sovereignty and authority of God more than His love and compassion, yet John, the especially beloved apostle, tells us that “God IS love.”

• Some theology tells us that God seeks His own honour more than He loves men and women. 

It is clear in the Bible that God DOES seek to glorify His name, so how can this God seek His own glory and still be humble?

• The New Testament reveals that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• The Son seeks to glorify the Father and the Holy Spirit.

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. John 5:30 (NIV) "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, 

• "BUT I HONOUR MY FATHER AND YOU DISHONOUR ME. 
• I AM NOT SEEKING GLORY FOR MYSELF; BUT THERE IS ONE WHO SEEKS IT, AND HE IS THE JUDGE." John 8:49-50 (NIV) 

Jesus the Son seeks to honour the Father and the Father honours the Son. 

Paul teaches the Roman Christians to humble themselves by honouring one another in love.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 (NIV) 

Jesus demonstrates that God Himself is like that. The Son and the Father are devoted to one another in love, seeking to honour each other.

The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us and seeks to honour Jesus above himself, although the Holy Spirit is also God, in no way inferior to the Father or the Son.

• So as we reverently and thoughtfully read the New Testament, we see that God demonstrates perfect love and humility at the same time as seeking to glorify His name.

So much theology is contaminated with abstract Greek theology. 

Behind the rigid Reformed theory of Divine Sovereignty and Glory is Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, who was a disciple of Plotinus, who turned the philosophy of Plato into a mystical monotheistic religion.

• When Augustine became a Christian, he repented of his sins of the flesh but he never renounced his experience of being united with the mystical supreme deity through Platonic meditation.

I prefer the simple theology of Bill Johnson. His first principle is this: “JESUS IS PERFECT THEOLOGY.” 

Is humility an essential eternal characteristic of God?

• Firstly, humility is an attribute of LOVE.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) 

• Secondly, GOD IS LOVE.

And the final proof is this:

John 14:6-9 (NIV) 6  Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

7  IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME, YOU WOULD KNOW MY FATHER AS WELL. FROM NOW ON, YOU DO KNOW HIM AND HAVE SEEN HIM." 

8  Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 

9  Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? 

ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER. HOW CAN YOU SAY, 'SHOW US THE FATHER'? 

If Jesus is humble, the Father is also humble. Their character is the same.