Humility has been a huge theme throughout 1 Corinthians. It is one of the things in which Paul wanted them to imitate him as he imitated Christ. The big difference between Christ’s humility and ours is that Christ did not need to humble himself but did so freely out of love. We have every reason to be humble ourselves because of our sinfulness and desperate need of grace. This was the source of Paul’s humility and we hear it in our passage for this Sunday (1 Corinthians 15:9-10).
“I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. BUT by the grace of God I am what I am.”
I was reminded of something I read years ago in a biographical piece on Charles Simeon, a pastor and professor in Cambridge in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He described the Christian life as “growing downward.”
“There are but two objects that I have ever desired for these forty years to behold; the one is my own vileness; and the other is the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ: and I have always thought that they should be viewed together; just as Aaron confessed all the sins of all Israel while he put them on the head of the scapegoat. The disease did not keep him from applying to the remedy, nor did the remedy keep him from feeling the disease. By this I seek to be, not only humble and thankful, but humbled in thankfulness, before my God and Savior continually.”
If ever there was a time in which Christ’s church needs to be “humbled in thankfulness,” it’s now. The remedy of the gospel can do this (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures… he was buried… [and] was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
Randall Gruendyke will be preaching this week and Walt Harrah will be leading our sung worship. Would you pray for each as they prepare?
Let’s pray that we would not let “the disease keep us from the remedy,” that our guilt would not hold us back from fully embracing and resting in the grace of God through Jesus Christ. And let’s also pray that we would not let “the remedy keep us from feeling the disease,” that the once for all finished work of redemption would not blunt our sorrow over our sin and cheapen God’s grace.
May God humble us in thankfulness this Sunday, helping us all grow more and more downward, because “a broken and contrite heart” He will not despise.
See you on livestream, Grace! Come hungry.
SONG OF THE WEEK
Lord Have Mercy by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa
For what we have done and left undone
We fall on Your countless mercies
For sins that are known and those unknown
We call on Your name so holy
For envy and pride, for closing our eyes
For scorning our very neighbor
In thought, word, and deed, we’ve failed You, our King
How deeply we need a Savior
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us
For what You have done, Your life of love
You perfectly lived, we praise You
Though tempted and tried, You fixed Your eyes
You finished the work God gave You
And there on the tree, a King among thieves
You bled for a world’s betrayal
You loved to the end, our merciful friend
How pure and forever faithful
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us
For hearts that are cold for seizing control
For scorning our very Maker
In thought, word, and deed, we’ve failed You, our King
How deeply we need a Savior
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us