Man Is
Nothing
"If a
man thinketh himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth
himself." Gal_6:3 Mark those words, "when he is nothing."
It does
not say that we should not think ourselves to be something until we are
something. No; it is a statement of the fact that we are nothing. Not merely a
single individual, but all nations, are nothing before the Lord. If we ever at
any time think ourselves to be something, we deceive ourselves. And we often do
deceive ourselves, and thus mar the work of the Lord.
Remember
the law of Christ. Although He was everything, He emptied Himself. He
obliterated Himself, that the work of God might be done.
Philippians
2:7 (LITV) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, having become
in the likeness of men
"The
servant is not greater than his lord." God alone is great; "every man
at his best state is altogether vanity."
Joh_13:16
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord;
neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
Psa_39:5
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as
nothing
before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
God alone
is true, but every man a liar. When we acknowledge this, and live in
consciousness of it, then we are where the Spirit of God can fill us, and then
God can work through us. The "man of sin" is he that exalteth
himself. 2Thess.2:3,4.
2Th
2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition;
2Th
2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
The child
of God is the one who humbles himself.
Mat_18:4
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_23:12
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble
himself shall be exalted.
Jas_4:6
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but
giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas_4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
1Pe_5:5…
for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe_5:6
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you
in due time
The Glad
Tidings
By E. J.
WAGGONER
(Excerpt- To be continued)
'If we come to God, feeling our nothingness, feeling that we are
helpless without Christ, feeling that we must have the power that God alone can
give, we shall not be disappointed. Will God give us a stone if we ask for
bread? No; he will satisfy our wants from his abundant fullness. Jesus has brought
within our reach the power of earth and heaven. He has clothed his divinity
with humanity. He came to our earth as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief,
that we might know the blessing of endless joy in his everlasting kingdom.
Ought we not to give to God all that he requires of us? If you have tasted the
blessedness of peace and joy in believing, do your best to bring others to the
fountain of living waters from which you have drunk. Lift up Jesus. His blood
has bought us. He pleads in our behalf. It is Christ who will clothe us with
his righteousness.' {ST September 9, 1889, par. 9}
'Human agents are not able to read our hearts, but they can observe our
lives, watch our actions, scrutinize our manners, and weigh us in the scales of
human judgment. “We are made a spectacle unto the world, to angels, and to
men.” It may seem that we are to study our own hearts, and square our own
actions by some standard of our own; but this is not the case. This would but
work deform instead of reform. The work must begin in the heart and then the
spirit, the words, the expression of the countenance, and the actions of the
life, will make manifest that a change has taken place. In knowing Christ
through the grace that he has shed forth abundantly, we become changed, and the
character is sanctified through belief of the truth. The inward life grows strong,
and the entire conduct will be in conformity to the will of God.
Humility will be cultivated, because we shall feel our nothingness, and
realize our dependence upon God. We shall remember that we have been bought
with the price of the blood of the Son of God, and that every faculty of our
being must be brought into captivity to Christ, that we may glorify him. ' {YI
August 31, 1893, par. 7}
"Divine
grace is needed at the beginning, divine grace at every step of advance, and
divine grace alone can
complete the work." (TM,
p 508) It is time that we accepted the fact of our nothingness so that the Holy Spirit can do His work
for us and in us.
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