Humble in Spirit

1 Peter 5:5–7

The disciples had gathered with Jesus for supper.

They'd been with Him through crowded streets, long days of ministry, and moments when His power left them speechless.

They'd seen Him calm the sea.

They'd heard Him teach with an authority unlike anything they'd known.

And now, as they shared this meal, Jesus did something they weren't expecting.

John tells us …

John 13:3 KJV

3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

Jesus didn't have to discover who He was.

He wasn't trying to prove Himself to those men.

He knew His authority, His relationship with the Father, and where He was going.

Then He got up from supper, laid aside His garments, took a towel, and began washing the disciples' feet.

Those were the hands that had touched lepers and opened blind eyes.

He had every right to be served, yet there He was, doing the work of a servant.

When He came to Peter, Peter couldn't make sense of it.

John 13:6 KJV

6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

“Lord, dost thou wash my feet?”

He knew Jesus was his Lord. Why was his Lord kneeling before him?

Jesus was teaching them something they would need long after that evening.

He later said,

John 13:14 KJV

14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

The Lord who possessed all authority wasn't too important to serve.

Years later, Peter wrote to believers who were facing difficult days.

He told them to be “clothed with humility.”

I wonder whether that scene in the upper room came to his mind as he wrote.

We aren't told that it did, but Peter certainly knew what it looked like when the Lord Himself took the servant's place.

We tend to recognize pride when it's loud.

We notice the person who brags, who always wants attention, or who treats other people as though they don't matter.

The more difficult pride to recognize may be our own.

It can appear when I won't accept correction, when I need someone to notice what I've done, or when a decision doesn't go my way.

Sometimes it shows up in the way I carry responsibilities.

I keep turning a problem over in my mind because somewhere along the way I've started acting as though the entire outcome rests on me.

Our trait for tonight is humble.

Humble: Recognizing my weakness and showing awareness, as a little child, that God and others are responsible for the accomplishments in my life

The definition in our series reminds us to recognize our weakness and acknowledge what God and others have contributed to our lives.

Peter takes us further into what that looks like.

A humble spirit recognizes God's authority, accepts our dependence upon Him, and trusts Him with the outcomes of our lives.

In 1 Peter 5:5–7, we find three expressions of humility that belong in the life of every believer.

I. Humility Changes How We Serve

Look at verse 5: “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”

Peter has just spoken to the elders who shepherd the church.

They're to care for God's people willingly and be examples to the flock, rather than acting as lords over them.

Then he addresses the younger believers and calls them to submit to the elder.

But notice how he broadens the instruction: “all of you.”

No one gets to set humility aside because of age, experience, or position.

A. Willing to Serve

Peter says to be clothed with humility.

Clothing is something we put on, and other people can see it.

Humility begins in the heart, but it ought to show up in the way we treat the people around us.

Think again about Jesus with that towel.

He didn't stop being Lord when He knelt to wash their feet.

His position made the act all the more remarkable.

In the same way, whatever ability or responsibility God has given us can become an opportunity to serve.

A parent has authority in the home and can still speak gently.

A teacher may know more than the student and still be patient.

Someone who has served in the church for forty years can still do the small, unnoticed job without feeling that it's beneath him.

Most of our opportunities to be humble won't come with an audience.

They'll come when the chairs need putting away, when someone needs another ten minutes of our time, or when a family member needs help at the end of a long day.

We can do those things because they're worth doing, even if nobody tells us how much they appreciate us.

B. Willing to Receive

Serving is only part of it.

Sometimes humility means letting somebody else serve us.

You may be quick to take a meal to someone who's sick, then feel uncomfortable when you're the one who needs a meal.

You're glad to give advice, but you don't enjoy hearing, “Have you thought about doing this differently?”

It's hard to admit, “I missed that,” or, “You were right, and I was wrong.”

Sometimes we add five minutes of explanation to an apology because we want the other person to know we had good reasons for what we did.

There may be a time for explanation, but there is also a time simply to own the mistake.

Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 4:7

1 Corinthians 4:7 KJV

7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

We've received our abilities, opportunities, and strength from God.

He's also placed people around us whose help and perspective we need.

Receiving that help doesn't make us less useful to Him.

C. Willing to Yield

Being subject one to another doesn't mean that truth is up for a vote.

There are convictions we must hold and responsibilities we must fulfill.

Yet many of the things we argue about aren't matters of biblical conviction.

They're preferences, habits, or the feeling that our way would be better.

Can someone else choose how the task is done?

Can another person be thanked without our quietly keeping score?

When someone disagrees with us, can we listen before preparing our defense?

These are ordinary places where humility becomes visible.

Proverbs 16:19 says,

Proverbs 16:19 KJV

19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

God says a humble spirit is worth more than the apparent rewards of pride.

That takes us beyond how we treat people and brings us to the One before whom every one of us must bow.

II. Humility Submits to God's Hand

Peter continues in verses 5 and 6: “for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

Those words give us the reason for humility.

We're dealing with more than good manners or a pleasant personality.

We're dealing with our relationship to God.

A. Recognizing His Authority

“God resisteth the proud.”

That's sobering.

Pride may look like confidence to us, but before God it's a refusal to take our proper place.

It says, in effect, “I know what's best. I want to decide how this turns out.”

Even when we're asking God to help us, we can be holding tightly to the plan we've already chosen.

Peter tells us to humble ourselves “under the mighty hand of God.”

His hand is mighty when He delivers, when He sustains, and when He leads us through a season we wouldn't have chosen.

He hasn't surrendered His authority because we don't understand what He's doing.

It's one thing to agree with that in a Bible study.

It's another thing when you've prayed about something for months and the answer still hasn't come.

You know what you would change if you could.

You can see a way that looks sensible and good, and you don't understand why the Lord hasn't opened it.

Humility doesn't require you to pretend the disappointment isn't real.

It means bringing even that disappointment under His authority: “Lord, I don't understand this, but I still belong to You. Show me what You want me to do today.”

B. Accepting Our Dependence

Peter says God “giveth grace to the humble.”

We needed His grace when we were saved, and we haven't outgrown our need for it.

We still need wisdom to make decisions,

we still need strength to obey,

We still need patience with people,

and we still need help in the responsibilities He's entrusted to us.

That is true even when we're capable.

Being experienced doesn't make us self-sufficient.

A pastor can study and prepare carefully, but he can't make someone receive the Word.

Parents can teach, pray, correct, and love, but they can't make every choice for their children.

We should do our work well; it's work the Lord gave us.

We simply have to remember that the results are not produced by our strength alone.

I don't want us to confuse humility with talking badly about ourselves.

You don't have to deny a skill God gave you or pretend you haven't learned anything in years of serving Him.

Give Him thanks for those things.

Use them.

And remember where they came from.

Jesus helps us see this clearly.

Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 KJV

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

His humility wasn't a confession of weakness or sin.

He willingly obeyed the Father and gave Himself for others.

As His followers, we ought to be willing to take the place of servants too.

C. Trusting His Timing

Peter adds, “that he may exalt you in due time.”

We may wish those last three words weren't there.

in due time!

We'd like God to make things right quickly, show everyone what happened, and let us see the result of our faithfulness.

But Peter gives no such timetable.

A person can serve for years and still be overlooked.

You can do right and meet resistance.

You can pray faithfully and have to wait.

God's promise isn't a guarantee of earthly applause or an immediate change in circumstances.

His timing belongs to Him.

So we keep doing what He's given us to do.

We don't serve in order to force His hand or earn recognition later.

We serve because He's worthy of our obedience.

And while we wait, we can trust Him with the part of the story we can't see.

That's a hard lesson when the matter is close to your heart.

Peter knows believers will have cares.

He doesn't tell them to become so humble that nothing troubles them.

Instead, he tells them what to do with those cares.

III. Humility Entrusts Our Cares to God

Verse 7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

I don't want us to miss the connection.

Peter has just told us to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand.

Now he shows us something that humble dependence looks like in practice.

We bring our burdens to the One whose hand is mighty and whose heart is full of care.

So we entrust our cares to God…

A. Acknowledging Our Limitations

A father and his son were building a small wooden shelf together.

The father had measured the boards and marked where the cuts needed to be made.

He handed the boy a piece of wood and showed him where to hold it while they fitted the pieces together.

The boy was glad to help.

He held the board carefully and watched the shelf begin to take shape.

Before long, though, he was trying to manage the whole project.

He wanted to know whether they had enough wood, whether every mark was in the right place, and what they'd do if the shelf didn't fit.

He kept leaving his job to check the next step.

Finally, frustrated, he put the board down.

There was too much to keep track of.

His father brought him back to the piece in front of him.

He still needed his son's help.

Holding that board steady mattered.

But his son didn't have to carry the plan for the entire project.

He could do the work he'd been given and trust his father with the rest.

God has given us real responsibilities.

We're to love our families, work honestly, care for people, and obey His Word.

Yet we can't control every decision another person makes.

We can't guarantee that every careful plan succeeds or that every problem is resolved on our timetable.

We can do our part faithfully without taking responsibility for what belongs to God.

B. Casting Our Cares

Notice Peter doesn't say, “You shouldn't have any cares.”

He's writing to believers who know suffering and uncertainty.

He doesn't minimize their burdens.

He says, “Casting all your care upon him.”

Bring Him the situation with your child that you can't fix.

Bring Him the medical concern and the question you still don't have an answer to.

Bring Him the pressure of making a decision when neither option looks easy.

Bring Him the person you're trying to help, whose heart you can't change.

Bring Him the ordinary worry that follows you into bed and waits for you when you wake up.

Then ask what faithfulness requires of you today.

Maybe you need to make a call, have an honest conversation, seek counsel, or take a practical step.

Do that.

Casting your care on God doesn't mean abandoning the duties He has given you.

It means you can take those steps without believing you must personally guarantee the outcome.

And sometimes we'll have to bring the same care to Him again.

We pray, then find ourselves mentally running through every possible scenario an hour later.

When that happens, we can pray again.

“Lord, I'm still concerned. You know why. Help me do what's mine to do, and help me leave the rest with You.”

Dependence is something we keep practicing.

Please hear the kindness in this passage.

A person who's overwhelmed isn't automatically proud.

Some of you are carrying genuinely heavy things, and you may be tired in ways other people can't see.

Peter isn't adding a new burden by telling you that you ought to feel nothing.

He's opening a door.

You can bring what is heavy to God.

C. Trusting His Loving Care

And why can we bring it? “For he careth for you.”

We know God has the power to handle what we cannot.

But Peter doesn't leave us with power alone.

He gives us the Father's care.

The One whose mighty hand is over us is not indifferent to the people beneath that hand.

He knows what concerns you, including the things you haven't found words to explain to anybody else.

Go back in your mind to that upper room.

Jesus knew that all things had been given into His hands, and those hands took a towel.

Soon He would go to the cross for sinners, and that hand would be nailed to that tree.

We can see His heart in the way He served and in the sacrifice He made.

We don't come to God trying to earn His attention by proving that we've become humble enough.

We come through Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us.

So when the Lord shows us pride, we can confess it.

When He shows us a responsibility we've been neglecting, we can take it up.

And when He shows us a burden we've been trying to control, we can place it before Him.

He's not asking us to be the savior of our families, the church, or anybody else. We already have a Savior.

Conclusion

Where might humility need to become more visible in your life this week?

Maybe it's in the way you respond when someone corrects you.

Maybe you've been faithful in a task but quietly disappointed that nobody noticed.

Maybe you've done what you know to do, and you're worn out trying to make everything else turn out right.

Remember Jesus with the towel.

He knew who He was, and He served.

Remember Peter's instruction to humble yourselves under God's mighty hand.

And don't stop before you reach verse 7: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

We can serve without demanding recognition.

We can obey without requiring God to follow our timetable.

We can acknowledge our limits and still be faithful in the responsibilities He's given us.

Tonight, if there's pride to confess, confess it.

If there's a step of obedience to take, take it.

And if there's a burden you've been carrying as though the entire outcome depends upon you, bring it to the Lord.

His hand is mighty, and He cares for you.