THIS IS A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM PASTOR KYLE DURING THIS TIME WITHOUT CHURCH SERVICES BEING HELD DUE TO COVID19.

FOR PRINTABLE PDF OF THIS MESSAGE, CLICK HERE.

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CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH HUMILITY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER

Hello Church Family,

In 1 Peter 5:1-4, Peter gives clear guidelines as to how the elders of the church should lead by example, with love and pure motives. Then, in the first part of verse 5, the message moves over to the congregation, in particular the younger men, to be subject to the elders. When we get to the second half of verse 5 through verse 6, Peter gives all of us an important lesson on humility. 1 Peter 5:5b-6—and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.

The word “clothe” in the Greek (egkomboomai) literally means “to tie something on oneself.” The picture that’s being painted here is a humble servant tying on an apron, willfully ready to serve. I can’t help but wonder if when Peter was writing this, he was thinking of the time when Jesus tied a towel on Himself and washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:3-17). The word picture here implies that we must put off our sinful attitude of selfishness, and put on a Christlike attitude of humility in order to serve one another with love.

As we see in the last part of verse 5, this Biblical humility is essential to godly living, and must be applied not only to God, but also to one another, as they are inseparable. The greatest commandment, as Jesus so clearly communicated, is to love God and to love others. We cannot do either of these without humility. In other words, to love without humility is not love at all, because true agape love is self-sacrificial and unconditional.

Those who live a life of pride, spend their efforts looking out for themselves in a vain attempt to exalt themselves. However, as believers, we should know better than anyone that God is not only sovereignly in control, but all that He causes and allows is for the good of those who know Him. If we will fully and humbly submit to God, verse 6 promises that “He” will exalt us when the time is right. This is not to be something that we work towards, as that may come as a result of pride, but it is something that we look forward to as we serve God and each other with love and humility towards one another.

Looking forward to being together again,

- Pastor Kyle