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What an example of this spirit follows; nothing less than the humility of the Son of
God, Who made Himself of no reputation. Humility of mind, meekness, longsuffering
and forbearance should ever be the characteristics of God's elect:--
"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another" (Col. 3: 12, 13).
Just in passing we call the reader's attention to the parallel with Eph. 4: expressed in
the two passages of Col. 3: 10 and 12:--
"Put on the new man."
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"Put on . . . . . humility."
(See previous article for fuller detail).
We must not leave this theme without a word of warning. There is a true humility, but
there is also a false. The one draws from Christ, the other draws away from Christ. The
passage that gives the warning is Col. 2: 18-23, and we give Farrar's rendering in order
to stimulate thought and provoke attention:--
"Let no one then snatch your prize from you be delighting in abjectness, and service
of angels, treading the emptiness of his own visions in all the futile inflation of his mere
carnal understanding, and not keeping hold of Him who is `the Head' from Whom,
supplied and compacted by its junctures and ligaments, the whole body grows the growth
of God. If ye died with Christ from mundane rudiments, why, as though living in the
world, are ye ordinance-ridden with such rules as `Do not handle', `Do not taste', `Do
not even touch', referring to things all of which are perishable in the mere consumption,
according to the commandment and teachings of men? All these kinds of rules have a
credit for wisdom in volunteered supererogation and abasement--hard usage of the
body--but have no sort of value as a remedy as regards the indulgence of the flesh."
Humility of mind is in the original tapeinophrosune. Tapeinos, lowly, is wonderfully
illustrated in Matt. 11: 29, especially if we realize the point of the words "At that time"
of verse 25. Other references worth noticing are Rom. 12: 16 and Phil. 2: 8. Humility
of mind is closely associated with meekness. Because of the "meekness and gentleness
of Christ", Paul, the one in authority, can find it in his heart to condescend to "beseech"
(II Cor. 10: 1). See also I Cor. 4: 21. Meekness is no product of the flesh. When the
flesh attempts to bring forth humility and meekness it produces such creatures as
"Uriah Heep" who was very humble, who writhed and twisted in his excessive humility,
but who was nevertheless a monster of hypocrisy.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. 5: 22, 23).
Against such, continues the Scripture, there is no law. The "touch not, taste not,
handle not" of Col. 2: is a sure sign of the false humility. This spirit of meekness ever
looks back to our state by nature and our liability to fall.
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one
in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Gal. 6: 1).
Meekness must go hand in hand with authority and teaching.