Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14) Though we believe we are saved by grace and not works, it is very obvious here that we are told to strive for holiness. There is a type of true holiness that marks out believers. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. (1 John 5:18) Being saved and born again will inevitably result in sin-killing fruit. One of the marks of the child of God is that he is at war and knows it.
We have some gloriously Good News in the pursuit of this holiness and in the pursuit of true humility before God. We have a uniquely triune God who, for his name's sake, has chosen to be for us in these things. Praise be to the God who is three-in-one! And let's look at some reasons why, taking the Trinity one person at a time.
First, God the Father. Though all the persons of the Trinity are fully God and bear all of the same attributes, we do see a willing submission and headship within the Trinity. Jesus prays to the Father and teaches us to do so as well. He submits to the Father's will. We see this in the Garden of Gethsemane: Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. (Mark 14:36) Also, concerning the hour of Christ's return... no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (Matthew 24:36)
The Father is sovereign. He reigns. He rules. The Holy Spirit proceeds from him. He is the Author of all life and all history. He is supremely good, supremely powerful, supremely loving. He planned our salvation from eternity past, and he delights himself in his Son. Another way that we can look at our salvation is this: From eternity past, the Father loved his Son and designed to give him a Bride. Let us look at how the design of God the Father in our salvation is calculated to make us holy and humble.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-14)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8: 29-32)
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)
Observations: 1) The Father planned history to be summed up in Christ, of which our salvation is a part. 2) We were predestined, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. 3) We were not chosen for our works. We were not chosen because we were inherently good. God chose us first. 4) Therefore, being saved by God's unexplainable loving grace towards me, a dead rebel, I have absolutely nothing to boast about. This indeed is deepest ground of humility. 5) God's grace is central to the point of history because we will spend eternity praising him for the glory of that grace. Thankfulness and praise for God's grace, the apex of which is the substitutionary death of the Lamb on the Cross, will drive out pride and provide humility. Therefore, we ought to keep ourselves before the Cross, bringing ourselves low in order to get the best view of God's glory.
We are also not just saved from something, but we are saved to something. Salvation in Christ is far from mere fire insurance. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places! And what seems pervasive to me about these passages is that we are very clearly saved to a holiness, which is completely consistent with God the Father's loving and good design. We are saved to be holy and blameless, saved for good works that we should walk in, and we are predestined to be made like Christ. We are saved unto abiding humility.
For me, the Gospel is so beautifully present in these passages, and I derive great comfort from God's sovereignty and grace. Romans 8 shows such a powerful chain from foreknowledge to glorification, and the Gospel is that I am not the one who guarantees that chain, but rather it is guaranteed by the One who bought that chain with his blood! And while I must strive for sanctification, it is not ultimately in my hands - it is in the hands of the Potter... For we are his workmanship. From eternity past God planned our holiness and humility. May the beauty and greatness of this salvation floor us! May the majesty and dominion and sovereignty of our God floor us. May God floor us! Here lies true humility.
Second, God the Son. The most obvious way in which Jesus makes us holy is that without new birth no real holiness is possible. Without Jesus' substitutionary death and resurrection, we would not be able to be born again. We would not be able to exercise true faith. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17) But Christ is raised, and our faith is not futile, and payment has been made for our sins. We were born into Adam, and by faith we are found now in Christ, his life becoming ours, his death becoming ours, his resurrection becoming ours.
For all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:23-25)
If because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
The grace that we have received in Jesus Christ is unsurpassed. Christ Jesus, God the Son, worthy of all worship and praise, becoming a curse on our behalf in order to absorb the full wrath of God against all our sins, past, present, and future. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) I rejoice with John Bunyan who received unspeakable comfort when he realized that the Gospel meant that Jesus was his righteousness, in heaven at the right hand of the Father, and nothing we ever do can mess up that righteousness (Jesus) or improve upon that righteousness (Jesus). And is this demotivating to holiness since our holiness is not what saves us? No! What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! (Romans 6:15) So what do we do in light of all of this grace and mercy? I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. (Romans 12:1) God's mercy is the ground for our exhortation to holiness.
Here we find in Christ our greatest teacher. Jesus is the incarnate Word who is eternal and is the very embodiment of the wisdom of God. Christ teaches us to pray to God the Father. He teaches about who he is. He teaches us about how great God is. He warns. He exhorts. He encourages. He gives a wisdom and guidance for living well in his Kingdom. See the Sermon on the Mount. Dallas Willard has written about how we rarely view Jesus as brilliant, as a giver of insider knowledge on the way the world works. But who better to know than the one through whom it was all created and in whom it all will be summed up?! The Great Commission keeps the teachings and commandments (and obedience to the teachings) of Jesus central. We make obedient disciples, not just converts.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)
And we also find in Jesus the only person who has ever lived and truly backed up what he taught. He was and is the only man who was not a hypocrite. There is no disjunction between the Word and his words. Jesus, God-become-man, is the only person who has ever lived in complete humility. He is our standard for humility. He is our teacher of humility. He defines it! While I have gone a long way around to get back to the original question, I think this is perhaps the most essential place to look in order to actually answer it. Philippians 2:1-11 sets the stage for a correct interpretation of Christ's humility:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This passage defines humility and seats it in the actions flowing from the heart and mind of Jesus. And then we are told to have that mind in us. We will return to this passage at the end of the blog entry, but for now, let us soak ourselves in the wonder of what Jesus has done! Jesus, who could claim any right, who is sovereign, who is LORD, who has all freedom, whom angels worship... this God for a time chose not to avail himself of all his rights for the sake of others. He willingly lowered himself to be among those who were on that level. He took on our aches and pains and temptations and sorrows and griefs. He did not grasp at worldly dignity in his birth as he became a real human baby, born in a manger, first worshipped by shepherds. He chose to became a servant and even stooped to wash the feet of his betrayer. In his life and death, Jesus experienced abandonment, betrayal, mockery, and crucifixion. To save others, he gave himself. By his blood, he proved his love. This is humility. True exaltation and honor for us must be sought in this mold. As Jesus lowered himself and allowed the Father to give him the name above every name, so we must lower ourselves and not worry about when and how God might lift us up.
Jesus frees from our guilt to pursue holiness and humility. He commands and teaches to be humble. Finally, he shows us how to do it. Thank you, Jesus.
Finally, God the Holy Spirit. I need more than just an example because I know from experience that I can never emulate Jesus in my own strength, and frankly, that would be exhausting. I need more than just a role model to look up to from afar. We all do. We need help! I think every honest Christian feels this. We will not make it a single step in the Christian life without divine help. Let's look at some things the Holy Spirit does according to Jesus:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)
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. (John 14:26)
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. (John 15:26)
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do no go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. (John 16:7-8)
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:14)
All of these passages come from the same section where Jesus is teaching his disciples in the last week before the crucifixion. At this point in time, he knows it will not be long before he must go, and he has the concern of a Shepherd for his sheep, and he does not mean to leave them alone. How amazing is his gift to the Church! He gives his very Spirit. God himself lives in the believer, and as counterintuitive as it may seem, it is better this way than if Christ was bodily here with us. The Spirit of Christ is in far more places than his Jesus' physical body could be. We learn that the Spirit helps, loves truth and brings it to mind, and gives us the presence of God.
The Holy Spirit is our great ally in the search for humility. Humility is learned as we lean on him. His very identity is as Helper. Therefore, we only relate to him as we ought to as we are accepting help. This is completely a one way relationship. God never needs our help. The Holy Spirit is never improved by the shabby living quarters of my heart. His help is completely a grace, and it is in the Spirit that I will grow, as I train myself into a posture of dependency.
The Holy Spirit also teaches me humility before the Word. My natural reaction is to trust in myself. It is not my natural reaction to trust Scripture. My own sin blinds me to Scripture and would keep me from it. But it is the Holy Spirit, the one who breathed Scripture, that brings me in humility before Scripture.
The Holy Spirit is God. Our sin can grieve the Holy Spirit. Our bodies really do become the temple of God, and by our sin, we defile the temple of God. The Holy Spirit works humility in us through conviction of sin. We need godly sorrow over sin. We do not naturally gravitate towards repentance, and our consciences are easily seared and misshapen. But God remains God, and no matter how far gone our conscience is, if we belong to God, he will not let us go. He will bring us back to conviction and repentance through the Holy Spirit, praying from the heart prayers like Psalm 51.
The Holy Spirit as God also has perfect humility. The way that we see him relate to Jesus and the Father attests to this. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father to do his will in the world and bring about his purposes, and the Holy Spirit loves to make much of Jesus. He delights to glorify Jesus in our hearts. The Holy Spirit loves to use the Gospel to open our eyes to the glory of God. The Holy Spirit is exceedingly happy when we are happy in Jesus, when we exercise faith, when we lean on the Father in prayer. He helps us in all these things. Let us declare our need before him and thereby grow in true humility.
Thank you, Holy Spirit! How amazing to see that God, all three persons working in perfect harmony, is so incredibly for us and for our sanctification because his pursuit of our conformity to Christ is simultaneously a pursuit of his glory. If we question whether he is for us, we need only to look at the cross. And if we question whether he can pull us through to holiness and humility, we need only to look at the power of the resurrection and realize that the Spirit who made that happen now lives in us.
What can I say, but soli Deo gloria?!
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