Bible Study Notes
4-2-2016 work session

A. Murray, Humility

Chapter 3

Highlighted=quote from book

Italicized=quote from handout

Pray

Recap

God Created us to show & share His goodness

Pride interferes w/ the great blessings God wants to give us & empower us to give to others

Pride comes from the devil, entered the world at the fall

We must be restored to full humility to regain that connection to the full blessedness God offers

Jesus is the source of restored humility, we get it from and through Him.

What is Humility?

Humility is the “simple consent of the creature to let God be all, in virtue of which it surrenders itself to His working alone.”

Humility is being “a vessel, a channel, through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness.”

We are humble when we become “an empty vessel which God must fill”

Jesus Modeled it

His whole spirit was that of a life yielded to God to work in.

He never for a moment thought of seeking His honor, or asserting His power to vindicate Himself.

A.  Murray, Humility, chapter 3

Listen to the words in which our Lord speaks of His relation to the Father, and how unceasingly He uses the words not, and nothing, of Himself.

***

"The Son can do nothing of Himself" (John 5:19).

"I can of My own self do nothing; My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will" (John 5:30).

"I receive not glory from men" (John 5:41).

"I am come not to do Mine own will" (John 6:38).

"My teaching is not Mine" (John 7:16)

"I am not come of Myself" (John 7:28)

"I do nothing of Myself" (John 8:28)

"I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me" (John 8: 42).

"I seek not Mine own glory" (John 8:50)

"The words that I say, I speak not from Myself" (John 14:10).

"The word which ye hear is not Mine" (John 14:24).

These words open to us the deepest roots of Christ's life and work. They tell us how it was that the Almighty God was able to work His mighty redemptive work through Him.

***

It is this: He was nothing, that God might be all. He resigned Himself with His will and His powers entirely for the Father to work in Him. Of His own power, His own will, and His own glory, of His whole mission with all His works and His teaching, of all this He said, It is not I; I am nothing; I have given Myself to the Father to work…

That was not just talk, Jesus lived this out, sometimes at great cost:

Matthew 3:1-2, 5-6, 8, 11-4:3

1 In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea 2 saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

***

5 At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him 6 and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

***

8 Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.

***

11 I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” 15 Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. 3 The tempter approached …

Jesus had no sin to deal with via baptism, but He submitted to baptism in order to execute the mission given to Him

         Submitted to something beneath Himself for the sake of those

         God sent Him to reach

                  That selflessness manifested humility

Jesus did not need to prove himself to the Father via the temptations, but went through that very tough experience in order to provide us with and example/ instruction

Again, He submitted to something beneath Himself for the sake of those God sent Him to reach

                 

                  That selflessness very powerfully manifested humility

His life showed the fruits of Humility

         Peace in the midst of stress

This life of entire self-abnegation, of absolute submission and dependence upon the Father's will, Christ found to be one of perfect peace and joy.

Not freedom from stress/adversity, but the ability to deal w/ stress/adversity

                  The context of the vv. cited in the Murray quote

                  Jesus was in tense, contentious, situations, but had peace

         Humility before others

And because Christ had thus humbled Himself before God, and God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all.

He counted Himself the Servant of men, that through Him God might do His work of love.

         We see that in the Matthew passage, in connection with the temptation

Ratification, strengthening, honor from the Father

He lost nothing by giving all to God. God honored His trust, and did all for Him, and then exalted Him to His own right hand in glory.

And what He taught so often was made true to Himself: "He that humbleth him: shall be exalted."

Matthew 4:16-17

16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

We’re unlikely to see such dramatic affirmation, but God will ratify/honor our acts of humility

Example:                    Kids issue

We must therefore become more like Jesus         

We must learn of Jesus, how He is meek and lowly of heart.

He teaches us where true humility takes its rise and finds its strength-in the knowledge that it is God who worketh all in all, that our place is to yield to Him in perfect resignation and dependence, in full consent to be and to do nothing of ourselves.

This is the life Christ came to reveal and to impart

How do we do that?

Make it a priority

If we long for this, let us, meantime, above everything, seek the holy secret of the knowledge of the nature of God…

Sirach 14:22-27

22 Go after Wisdom like a hunter looking for game. 23 Look into her windows and listen at her doors. 24 Camp as close to her house as you can get, 25 and you will have a fine place to live. 26-27 Build your home there, safe beneath her protecting branches, and shaded from the heat.

Proverbs 2:2-5

2 Listen to what is wise and try to understand it. 3 Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. 4 Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. 5 If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God.

Ask for God’s help

If we feel that this life is too high for us and beyond our reach, it must but the more urge us to seek it in Him; it is the indwelling Christ who will live in us this life, meek and lowly.

Ask Jesus.

Luke 11:9

9 'So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

Proverbs 2:3

3 Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. *** 5 If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God.

James 1:5

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Look for it

study the humility of Jesus as the very essence of His redemption, as the very blessedness of the life of the Son of God, as the only true relation to the Father, and therefore as that which Jesus must give us if we are to have any part with Him,

Sirach 14:22-23

22 Go after Wisdom like a hunter looking for game. 23 Look into her windows and listen at her doors.

Proverbs 2:4

4 look for it as though for silver, search for it as though for buried treasure,

         We need to go where we are likely to find what we’re looking for

A hunter would go where game is most likely to be common,

A miner would go where silver is likely to be present

A treasure hunter would go where treasure is most likely to be

         We’re looking for examples of Jesus humility

The Gospels tell us the most about Jesus, therefore we should go to them

                  Mark’s gospel gets into it most directly

                  So go there

Homework:  Start reading the Gospel of mark, w/ an eye to seeing how Jesus modeled & taught humility