Humble Body

Christians form a body. The Bible calls this the body of Christ or in simple terms, the Church. The body of Christ is not a building and neither is the church, it is believers of Christ. So anything that is good for the Body is good for the church and what is good for the church, is good for the Body.

Compare this now to the human body. The human body has many parts. However if these parts do not work together, nothing can be accompished to its fill potential or at all. In fact if body parts dont work together, serious injury and even death can occur. The same is true if we in the body of Christ dont work together with each other, but that is not what I am talking about today.

What happens to a persons physical body if they do not live a humble life? What happens to people's health when they live a life of pride? Illness, injury, drug abuse, obesity, weakness, tiredness, depression, jobless, no quality relationships with other people, suicide and even death just to name a few. The same things occure in the body of Christ (The Church) without humility.

Philippians 2:1-4

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

A church cannot grow, cannot be effective, and cannot bring glory to God unless it is full of humble believers. So how should we think?

5-11

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Even thought Jesus was equal with God in all ways (and we, not in any way) He still was humble and put everyone else in front of Him. He cared more about our needs than his own. However it can be argued that Jesus' most powerful need is to love us and He certainly showed that on the cross. If Jesus is our Saviour, and the Holy Spirit is in us, then shouldn't that be our most basic and strongest need, to please God and love others the way He loves us?

Ultimately, our motivation to be humble should not come from reward, but when we are humble, God is exalted and being the giving and loving God that He is, He will always lift us up and bless us beyond belief for putting Him and putting others before us.

J O Y ......Jesus Others Yourself

If you want JOY, put Jesus first in your life, then other people, and lastly.. yourself

The Bible says that if you put yourself last, He will put you first. This promise is not just for the church, but for as as individuals.