Category: Bible Characters

  • Paul’s Path to Humility: What His Letters Reveal

    open bible with arrown suggestion the growth in Paul's humility

    In most circumstances, I am a generally confident man. Often, that confidence has stepped over the line into arrogance. That’s not a trait I’m proud of, especially since we are called to humility and meekness.

    So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:1-8 ESV

    We often think of Peter as being brash and arrogant at times, for good reason. Yet there is someone else whom we might not think of that way: the Apostle Paul. It’s not something that leaps out to most people, possibly because the epistles don’t appear in chronological order, but are arranged by size (largest to shortest). If we read them in the order they were written, we see it more clearly.

    Chronologically, they read Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Romans. Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy.

    Let’s look at how Paul identifies himself in his letters.

    Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Galatians 1:1 ESV

    Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God Romans 1:1 ESV

    I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 1 Timothy 1:12-15 ESV

    Everything Paul claims is true, but he moves from seeing himself as an exalted apostle to a servant (more properly translated as a slave). By the end, he fully acknowledges that he is a sinner saved by grace, undeserving of the role God has placed on Him.

    The more he knew Christ, the longer He knew Him, the less Paul exalted himself and the more he magnified Jesus. He grew in humility.

    It’s a lesson I’m working on. What about you?

    Be blessed today,

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I’ve always been a confident man, sometimes too confident, tipping over into arrogance. Tracing Paul’s letters in the order he actually wrote them shows me something convicting: the longer he walked with Christ, the more his self-description shrank from apostle to servant to the foremost of sinners.

    TAKEAWAY

    Reading Paul’s epistles in chronological order (not the order they appear in Scripture) reveals a clear pattern in how he identifies himself

    Paul moves from calling himself an apostle, to a servant (slave) of Christ, to the foremost of sinners saved by grace

    The more Paul knew Christ, the less he exalted himself and the more he magnified Jesus — he grew in humility

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  • The Rainbow’s True Meaning

    God’s Covenant Promise

    A piece of rainbow obsidian

    This gorgeous stone is a piece of rainbow obsidian, a type of volcanic glass. It comes in a wide range of colors and patterns. I suspect it was a piece my father had in his lapidary stuff, but I don’t recall for sure. 

    If you are churched at all, you are familiar with the story of the flood during the days of Noah, as God’s righteous judgment on a sin-filled world. You will know the sign of His covenant.

    I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13 ESV

    We see the rainbow and remember God’s promise. Yet do we understand what the rainbow actually symbolizes and the depth of that promise?

    The Hebrew word for rainbow is קֶשֶׁת (Qeshet). This term also means a war bow, reflecting the connection between the rainbow and God’s promise after the flood.

    In ancient times, a covenant was typically a solemn agreement between two parties, with the consequences for breaking it clearly laid out. If one party made the covenant alone, the consequences were still laid out.

    In Genesis 15, God made a covenant with Abraham. It seems strange to us, with figures walking between the remains of bloody carcasses while Abraham slept. The people of the day would clearly have understood that God alone was making the covenant and was alone responsible for keeping it. If he failed, the consequences for Himself would have been grave.

    So it is with the Noahic Covenant. The rainbow, really a Qeshet, a war bow, is pointed, curved side up. The ancient Hebrews would have understood the symbolism of a bow with an arrow pointed straight up at the heart of God. If he broke the covenant, his very heart was to be pierced.

    Only God made the covenant and put up the symbol. Only God is responsible for keeping it. We can see the Qeshet bow and remember God’s promises.

    God is faithful to keep His promises. When He promises to redeem by faith and hold us fast against everything, it is better than money in the bank. He will not fail us.

    Hold fast to your faith no matter what comes. God has us in his hands.

    Be blessed today,

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I explore what the rainbow really meant to the ancient Hebrews, a Qeshet, a war bow pointed at the heart of God Himself, and how the Noahic Covenant shows that God alone is responsible for keeping His promises to us. God is faithful to keep His promises, so hold fast to your faith no matter what comes, knowing God has us in his hands.

     

    TAKEAWAY

    The Hebrew word for rainbow, Qeshet, also means “war bow,” tying the sign directly to God’s covenant after the flood. 

    Ancient covenants normally bound two parties, yet God made both the Abrahamic and Noahic covenants alone and bore the risk alone. 

    The bow’s upward curve symbolized that if God ever broke His promise, the consequences would fall on His own heart, not ours.

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