Tiago 4
Andrew Murray · Citado em PreceptAustin
Tiago 4:4
Murray - The spirit of this world is devotion to the visible. Conformity to the world can be overcome by nothing but conformity to Jesus. Related Resources: The World by Bishop J C Ryle If you are at home in the world by J C Philpot 7. Any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort; collective aspect of an entity, totality, sum total (cf. English a world of curses - Shakespeare, etc.): James 3:6
Tiago 4:6
Murray explains why God is so opposed to the proud writing "All the sin of heathendom, all the sin of Christendom, is but the outgrowth of the one root—God dethroned, self enthroned in the heart of man. A W Tozer put it this way - When we take to ourselves the place that is God's, the whole course of our lives is out of joint. Kistemaker put it bluntly when he said "Pride shuts out grace." Martin Luther - Until a man is nothing, God can make nothing of him. PRIDE: THE PRIMAL EVIL John
Tiago 4:6
Murray asked a probing question that demands a right response… "Do you want to enter what people call 'the higher life'?" Then go a step lower down. Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds you abased and empty, His glory and power flow in. John Flavel had it right declaring They that know God, will be humble, and they that know themselves cannot be proud. (Woe, that hurts!) An unknown saint wrote Become nothing if you would become something. In His rules of success, you must stoop to rise, go down to get up, and shrink to grow. (cp John the Baptist's wise pattern for grace filled ["graceful"] living = Jn 3:30) John the Baptist said: A man can receive nothing (Greek = word meaning ABSOLUTELY nothing!), unless it have been given him from heaven. (Jn 3:27) The humble person realizes that all that he or she has comes from God and must be given back to God (cp Ro 11:36-note)
Tiago 4:6
Murray put it… Humility is that grace that, when you know you have it, you have lost it. Thomas Brooks wrote that… Humility is both a grace, and a vessel to receive grace. There are none that see so much need of grace as humble souls; there are none that prize grace like humble souls; there are none that improve grace like humble souls; therefore God singles out the humble soul to fill him to the brim with grace, while the proud are sent empty away. Humble (5011) (tapeinos) means low, not high, not rising far from the ground and speaks of one's attitude or condition as lowly or of low degree. In Scripture, the humble are those who know their insufficiency and depend wholly on God. In Greek culture tapeinos described that which was considered base, common, unfit, or having little value (see NIDNTT summary below). Scripture took the word tapeinos which was generally used in a despised sense by the Greeks and gave it a highly valued meaning, which is best illustrated by the attitude of Jesus Christ, Who although He was the Lord of lords, declared… Take (aorist imperative - command to do this now, do it effectively. This is necessary to fulfill the promise of true rest) My yoke upon you, and learn (aorist imperative - command. Related to Greek mathetes = disciple - speaks of intentional learning by inquiry and observation) from Me, for I am gentle and humble (tapeinos) in heart (kardia = the "control center" of a person = this is Who Jesus was in His essence); and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Mt 11:29) We get an interesting picture of the meaning of tapeinos from a secular Greek document which described the Nile River at its low stage stating that “It runs low (tapeinos).” Thus literally tapeinos is that which does not rise far from the ground. Considering that Jesus Christ was the epitome of humility (cp Mk 10:45), tapeinos describes believer (because an unbeliever would never trod this path) who follows in the humble and lowly steps of the Lord of lords. This helps us begin to understand how such an attitude is a prerequisite for the reception of God's unmerited favor. Hiebert writes that… The humble, deeply conscious of their sinfulness and need, gladly acknowledge their dependence on God and rest in His all-sufficiency. Like empty vessels, they are ready to receive His grace, and His help goes far beyond anything they deserve or can rightly expect. God's free grace is never intended to make men think lightly of sin. The promise of grace is the basis for the injunctions that follow (Jas 4:7-12). (Ibid) Puritan writer Thomas Manton writes that the humility advocated by James… does not mean a vile and abject condition, but a holy brokenness and contrition, just as by “proud,” in a spiritual sense, is meant stiff-necked and unhumbled sinners… God’s grace is given to the humble. We lay up the richest wine in the lowest cellars; in the same way God’s choicest mercies are laid in humble and lowly hearts. Christ did most for those who were most humble. There is enough excellence in God; He only requires a sense of emptiness in us. God loves to make all His works creations; and grace works most freely when it works upon nothing. It is not to God’s honor that the creatures should receive nothing from mercy until they are brought to their knees; the condition that He lays down is, “Only acknowledge your guilt” (Jer 3:13). The humble are vessels of a larger size, fit to receive what grace gives. From this you may learn why humble people are most gracious, and gracious people most humble. God delights to fill up such people. (A Practical Exposition of James) John