Clothed with Humility

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to 1 Peter 5. If you are able and willing, please stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word:

1 Peter 5:5–7 NIV

5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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This is the 19th sermon in 1 Peter. We’ve been going a few verses at a time through this letter. What Peter writes here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has taught me so much. It’s been incredibly helpful for me, convicting, challenging.

Though these verses—1 Peter 5:5-7—connect back to what Peter wrote about the elders/shepherds of the church, they’re also in keeping with the rest of this letter.

Submission is a theme we’ve seen thrice before. That’s right. Thrice. Twice in chapter 2 and once more in chapter 3.

Here, Peter addresses those who aren’t elders in the church. He utters that dreaded word: submit.

This is referring to those who are younger, those who are younger being more likely to be headstrong.

Those who are younger believe they know best. And for every older person nodding their head, remember you were there not that long ago. Or a very long time ago, depending on where you’re at.

Really, the message of 1 Peter is that all of us should submit. None of us are exempt. We all owe our submission to one another. And most importantly, to the LORD.

“Submission is doing what others think best. It is humbly setting aside our own ideas as supreme and our own will as ultimate, totally eliminating self-promotion. It is the highest level of fellowship. It applies the cross in our own lives, freeing us of the burden of having our own way and being all wise in our own eyes.” -Dallas Willard

Submission, as Peter would have us think about it here, is a form of humility. Those who are humble will submit. To be subject to another requires humility. A humble spirit. Being clothed with humility.

Be Humble

I kept writing down these two words this week. Be humble. That seems to be the message of these verses. Three verses, three uses of the word “humble.”

Be humble.

To be humble is to be brought low. To be humble is to realize your place. To think rightly about yourself. Not to place yourself above another. Not to think more highly of yourself than you ought. To be humble is to adopt the same mindset as Jesus had.

Be humble.

For those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the second, humility is the third. -Augustine of Hippo

Humility is not a feeling of worthlessness. It is that attitude which allows us to serve one another in ordinary and down-to-earth ways.

Be Humble Toward One Another

This is for all of us. Peter has just been addressing the elders. Then he moved to addressing those who are younger.

Lest anyone think this instruction toward humility was meant just for one group of people, Peter tosses in these words: all of you.

All of you.

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.

Peter’s call to humility is not just for the young. We are all to “tie on humility” in our relations to one another. Whether leader or laity, old or young, Christians are to develop a deferential and humble attitude toward one another.

The verb clothe yourself is another word unique to Peter. It’s only here in the NT. The verb suggests the tying on a servant’s apron.

Peter would have remembered the towel Jesus tied around His waist and the basin He filled with water that night He began to wash the feet of His disciples.

John 13:3–7 NIV

3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

That’s humility. Jesus clothing Himself in humility. Peter didn’t get it then; Jesus knew he wouldn’t understand what was going on as it happened. Peter, writing here, understands what Jesus was doing. And what He was calling His followers (those who carry His name) to do.

Peter uses this metaphor of clothing or fastening on a garment to speak about humility within the Christian community.

The term humility speaks of an attitude which puts others first; an attitude which thinks of the desires, needs, and ideas of others as more worthy of attention than one’s own.

Jesus, of course, is the great example. He was humble in serving His disciples. He Himself said He was gentle and humble in heart as He welcomed people to come to Him. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross!

Jesus is our example in humility.

Be humble. One to another.

It is most important for believers to acknowledge the fact that because Christ Jesus came to the world clothed in humility, He will always be found among those who are clothed with humility. He will be found among the humble people. - A. W. Tozer

The reason for humility is that “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.”

This is a quote from the book of Proverbs. James, the brother of Jesus, also quotes this Proverb.

The present-tense verbs give the Proverb the sense, “God is continually opposing the proud but continually giving grace to the humble.”

Those who are proud trust in themselves, not God. The humble are those who know better than to trust in themselves, and put their trust in God.

If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. - C. S. Lewis

You realize your default position is pride, right? The original sin? Pride. All our defiance and idolatry and sin is rooted in pride. Pride decides I know better than the Creator. Pride chooses to take the fruit from the tree and eat because I want to, because God didn’t really mean what He said.

We’re called to be humble toward one another. Humility places oneself under God’s authority and sovereignty. We’re to be humble because God lavishes His grace upon the humble.

“Grace demands a response: humility.”

And humility plays itself out in our relationships with one another. Smooth relationships in the church will be preserved if the entire congregation adorns itself with humility.

Be humble. Put on humility. Wrap humility around yourself. Clothe yourself with humility. Be humble.

Be Humble Toward One Another; Be Humble Before God

1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

If God opposes the proud, it’s only wise to humble yourself before Him.

What’s this look like?

Bowing to God’s wisdom

Accepting the twists and turns of His providence

Entrusting our concerns to Him

Giving our lives to Him (which may put us at a disadvantage in this life).

Trusting Him to lift us up in His time.

By humbling yourself, you will experience God’s grace in the day-to-day moments of life. Grace to be strong in the midst of suffering. Grace to deal with the pressures of this life. Grace in light of whatever circumstances you might face.

We humble ourselves before God, and under His mighty hand.

Do you recognize that phrase? God’s mighty hand.

In the Bible, it’s almost always used to refer to the LORD’s deliverance of His people out of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 5:15 (NIV)

15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm...

Deuteronomy 7:19 (NIV)

19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.

Psalm 136:10–12 (NIV)

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever. 11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever. 12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.

The same LORD who delivered His people from slavery in Egypt; the same LORD who, with a mighty hand, parted the Red Sea; the same LORD will lift up His people who are suffering in the time Peter’s writing.

The same LORD will, with His mighty hand, lift you up. He will exalt you in His time. His mighty hand will uphold you and will never let you go.

The theme that those who humble themselves will be exalted can be traced back to Jesus. Peter is naturally teaching what Jesus taught him.

Matthew 23:12 NIV

12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Thus saith the LORD.

In due time the one who humbles himself/herself before the LORD will be lifted up.

The day of humiliation is limited to this world; those who belong to Jesus will be lifted on high by God’s grace forever.

There’s not a new sentence here at verse 7, contrary to what some translations do here.

Verse 7 is telling us how we humble ourselves before God. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time, casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Proper humility is attained by casting all your anxieties on Him, realizing He cares for you.

Believers humble themselves by casting their worries on God.

If you continue to worry, you’re caving in to pride. Worry is a form of pride; when you’re filled with anxiety, you’re convinced you must solve all the problems in your life in your own strength. The only god you’re trusting in at that moment is yourself.

When you throw your worries upon God, you are expressing your trust in His mighty hand. You are acknowledging that He is LORD and Sovereign of all of life (your life included).

It would be stupid to cast our cares on God if He was unable to help. And no one would tell their worries to someone who is mean or apathetic.

Giving our worries/anxieties to God makes excellent sense on two levels.

He is mighty (more than able to help).

He cares for us.

God is not indifferent. God is not cruel. He has compassion on His children and will sustain them in every distress.

Go sometime and read Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-34 about worry. Read about how much our Heavenly Father cares for the birds of the air. Read about how God clothes the flowers and grass of the field. And then read what Jesus says about our Heavenly Father’s care for you. He cares far more for you than He does for them.

Why should I humble myself before God?

Answer: Because God cares for me.

I think we’re far too individualized most of the time. We’re told, over and over again, to “do your thing”, or “you do you.” “Do what makes you happy.”

And all of that is terrible advice. Worldly advice. Just awful.

I don’t want any of us to become more inward-focused than we already naturally tend to be. But sometimes we need to hear the truth of the Bible personally.

Sometimes we need to feel what God is saying to us.

Peter writes: Because He cares for you.

I was encouraged by an article I read several months ago to hear these words personally. To hear them for myself. These words, directed at me. This truth isn’t true in a general sense; it’s true for me. It’s true for you, right where you’re at, right here today.

I want you, right now, to say (out loud to yourself) this phrase: “Because He cares for ME.”

He cares for me.

The following is an excerpt from an article I read several months ago, written by Alisdair Groves. I’ve been waiting to share this with you all, the church family I love:

“My question to you is this: How often do you remember that God cares for you? Do you ever say “because he cares for me”?

Simply take God’s words to heart for yourself. Consider these two aspects of his care.

First, he takes care of you. One aspect of what it means to care for someone is to take care of them. You serve them, watch out for them, and love them—in many different, tangible ways.

“He cares for you” is a reminder that God’s love for you is tangible. Every time he provides you with a meal, a restful night of sleep, a walk in the fresh air, an insight from a book, or an honest conversation, he’s taking care of you. Restoring your soul one bite, one page, one blessing at a time.

Look back at the last twenty-four hours: how is God taking care of you? I don’t simply mean “count your blessings” or even “be thankful for God’s good gifts,” though these are right and good.

I mean slow down and actually consider the personalness, the knowing-you-ness, the exact-fittingness of the particular ways he has cared for your body and soul.

First, He takes care of you.

Second, He feels care for you.

What does it look like to care about someone? Often it means your mind naturally drifts to thinking about them, perhaps looking forward to the next time you’ll see them. Whether it’s enjoying a shared hobby, eating a meal together, or just hearing how they are doing, you are eager to see them, to hear what is on their mind.

This sort of sentiment is difficult for most of us to imagine when we think of God. But that is exactly how God relates to you, sees you… He cares for you. He delights in you. This passage is speaking about God’s personal affection for you. The living God doesn’t just love you; He likes you.

Do you feel the reality of God’s personal affection for you?

“He cares for me.”

Even as I write this, I have to pause and let that sink in. The Good Shepherd, the One who knows the depths of my soul, cares for me. That is what it is to be a sheep in God’s fold.

If God truly does care for me, if He has a tender affection toward me, then He is trustworthy with what is on my heart. I can tell Him what I’m feeling, even when it’s unprocessed or ugly.

I can tell Him about my anxieties, my concerns for my own soul, and the places it is loveless, faithless, or hopeless. I can even pray about my temptations, my doubts, and my frustrations with His provision, knowing He will not pull back and change His smile to a scowl as I lay my discouragements in His lap.”

Because He cares for you.

I love those words. I’ve underlined them in my Bible and even drew a star next to this verse. The LORD often brings those words to my mind. I repeat to myself as often as I remember: He cares for me.

We humble ourselves, brothers and sisters, before a Mighty God who cares for us.

Be Humble Toward One Another; Be Humble Before God, the Mighty God Who Cares for You.

Casting all your anxieties on Him is the path to humility. It frees us from constant concern for ourselves, and enables us to be truly concerned for the needs of others.

That God cares is the distinguishing feature of Christianity over against every other religion in the world.

The One True God doesn’t need to be coaxed or coerced into caring by sacrifice or acts of ritual obedience.

He already cares.

He already cares.

In His love, Jesus came and died for us, in our place, the Righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God.

He cares for us. He cares for you—all of you.

Our response to this is humility.

Be humble.

Put on humility.

Clothe yourself with humility.

Church, be Humble Toward One Another; Be Humble Before God, the Mighty God Who Cares for You.