As individuals, brethren in Christ must be humble people. We must be humble before God, for He will only dwell with those who are “of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isa. 57:15). We are commanded to be humble with respect to unbelievers; we are “to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men” (Titus 3:1-2). And, in particular, we are to be humble in regard to other believers: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Phil. 2:3).
A new word
The quality of humility desired by Christ was not previously known to the Greek culture; a new word was invented to express it– tapeinophrosune, a compound word combining the words for “humble” and “mind” (Liddell-Scott Lexicon). This is the word rendered “lowliness of mind” in Philippians.
The uniqueness of this attitude will mark the disciples of Christ as a distinctive community of people, for “by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Love is not unknown among non-Christians. But the believer’s love is to have a particular quality to it, a deliberate humility of mind toward other people. Consider the command in context: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; [nothing new about that] as I have loved you, [there’s the new element] that ye also love one another” (John 13:34-35). This new kind of love had just been illustrated by Christ when he washed the disciple’s feet. Here is love which has as its outstanding aspect a lowliness of mind, particularly toward other brethren.
Humility, then, is to be an outstanding virtue of brethren in Christ.
One ecclesia to another
If that is the case, we would hardly expect any open expression of pride in the brotherhood. Yet such an attitude is not uncommon, not so much of one individual toward another but of one ecclesia toward others.
We see it expressed in a lack of confidence in the ability of other ecclesias to handle their local situations. For example, an unusual circumstance arises in a specific area which requires the local ecclesia to exercise spiritual wisdom. An ecclesia at a distance regards the local ecclesia as too inexperienced or incompetent to handle the matter, so they interfere, attempting to negate the local decision. They consider themselves wiser, more spiritual, more competent and more experienced than the other ecclesia — and they may be.
When the same situation exists on an individual level, we have to react in a humble manner. The principles do not change when ecclesias are involved.
Having respect
One prerequisite to practicing individual humility is having respect for other believers: “…Let each esteem other better than themselves.” That does not mean we must always consider the other person to be a better parent or speaker or preacher or attender than ourselves, for he may not be. It means we treat the other as our better, as being of a higher standing than ourselves.
If we do that, we will approach him with great deference. Even when we think he may be mishandling a situation, we will be careful how we draw this to his attention. We will respect his judgment and be very patient with his decisions. We will assume he is sincere and is wholly trying to live unto Christ.
As we are all the elect of God in Christ, this should not be hard to do. The other person has been chosen by God to be a king-priest in the age to come. He may be accepted and we may not.
These points are valid on an individual level; they are also valid on an ecclesial level. As ecclesias deal with each other, they should act with great deference toward one another, considering the other to be their better.
Not realistic
We may consider that to be unrealistic. How can one ecclesia ignore the weak attendance figures of another, or their inadequate preaching efforts or poor Bible classes or slow rate of growth or failure to convert their young people?
In a similar situation, how do we maintain humility on an individual level? By remembering our own weaknesses. The ecclesia that is full of “life” may also have more than its share of materialism, Sunday-only attendance or even immorality. If we face up to the log in our own ecclesial eye, we will be much more careful about criticizing the sliver in the eye of another.
And we don’t always know as much about other ecclesias as we think we do. Some have been very surprised to transfer to an ecclesia they thought was weak to find that the ecclesia had outstanding qualities of hospitality, mercy and compassion.
Paul respected others
We may think he did not respect others when we recall the sharp reproof in some epistles. He wrote cutting words to the Galatians, “0 foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…” And he sharply rebuked the Corinthians, “For ye are yet carnal…are ye not carnal and walk as men?” (Gal. 3:1; I Cor. 3:3).
While the words are bluntly critical, the circumstances need to be remembered. Paul was the spiritual father of these ecclesias; he bore a unique responsibility for their development in Christ. Furthermore, the issues involved were blatant and fundamental. The Galatians were openly forsaking grace for the law; they were turning from relying on God to relying on themselves for salvation. In Corinth, party factions were becoming entrenched as an integral part of ecclesial life. They were showing no awareness that such a practice was wrong. There is no disrespect in these words by Paul, only concern for the eternal life of his spiritual children.
In other than the most severe cases, Paul showed remarkable respect for other believers. “I long to see you…that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Rom. 1:11-12 NIV). The ecclesia at Rome was primarily made up of Gentiles (1:13) who could greatly benefit from Paul’s comprehensive exposition of great doctrinal principles. How could they help him? They could do so by their faithful determination not to be conformed to the world that was all around them and from which they had been called (Rom. 12:1-2).
He did not exclude himself from the exhortation we should all heed: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…Just as each of us…so in Christ we who are many form one body…honor one another above yourselves…” (Rom. 12:3-10 NIV).
Humility is a critical aspect of the disciple on an individual level. It is vital as well in the attitude of ecclesias toward one another that we might continue to share the benefits contributed by each part of the one body in Christ.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One