Studies in First Peter Part 28
“5You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (I Peter 5:5-7).
The original words here are gender neutral. So the admonition is for all of us to submit to our elders. And in doing so, we show ourselves “clothed with humility toward one another.” Humility in the body of Christ is a two-way street. Elders are to serve with humility as we learned last time, and we are to respect our elders with humility.
“For God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” takes us back to the words of Jesus. In answering the Pharisee’s charge of “friend of sinners,” Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
The “righteous” that were left out of Jesus’ mission were the self-righteous. High on their own perceived moral superiority, they were unable to see that they were sinners; sinners who needed to repent and believe the gospel message of Jesus, sinners who needed a Savior. They were left out in the cold, not because they are righteous, but because they see themselves as righteous with no need of a Savior.
To the “righteous”, Jesus gave the cold shoulder of the Law. To the “sinners”, He gave grace upon grace. Grace was the reward of their humility. Christ opposed the self-righteous. And He gave grace to the humble.
Now humility is not seeing ourselves as worthless. It is quite the opposite. Your worth is tremendous. Jesus, the God of the universe, came to redeem you; came to die for you! And when you believe in Him, you become a born-again child of the King of Kings, indwelt by God Himself, a partaker of His divine nature, proclaimed righteous, blameless, holy, perfected, and glorious. This is who you are! Your worth is off the charts!
So how do we keep our pride in check in the midst of all the beautiful that we now are? By recognizing that our worth is off the charts, and our merit is zero. Our merit is zero. We had nothing to contribute to our incredible worth. It all was a pure gift of grace. We did not earn any of it by our merit or good works. There is no pride in our new and righteous identity; only gratitude and thanksgiving for the gift of His grace.
And as we practice humility before the Lord, before the church, before the world, God raises us up at the proper time. It would be self-serving (especially in a post about humility) to share the numerous times when I have felt like I was in an obscure place and God swooped in to bring me to a situation where I could be a help to someone. I am sure you could share similar stories.
Finally, any anxiety you have around your place in His plans; around the topics and feelings of humility, selfish ambition, patience, pride, grace, and exaltation; give those over to the Lord. Literally, “cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
And it goes beyond just these topics. “Cast ALL your anxiety on Him.” God’s shoulders are broad enough. He will carry it for you. Your weight can be lifted. God cares about you. It is a consistent theme and promise throughout both the old covenant – “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you” (Psalm 55:2). And “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation” (Psalm 68:19) – and new – “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7). God cares and is caring for you!