Philippians 3:21 He will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed
to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even
to subject all things to himself.
He gives grace to the humbled.
James 4:
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain,
The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.
Conformed to His image.
Acts 8:
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer
is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.
When the Holy Spirit leads us to a place where the carnal nature
is humiliated, to crucify the flesh, we are becoming the better for it.
He gives more grace, when humbled to receive.
Dear one,
This is what we have heard:
they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. -John 8:4
Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" -John 8:5
This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. -John 8:6
Didn’t the scribes and Pharisees try to humiliate our Lord? Yes, they did.
What our Lord did ? We heard that Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
Then:
And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." -John 8:7
Why did the scribes and Pharisees continue to ask the Lord ?
For our Lord held His peace. He was silent for our own good. In His silence, He has loved us and given His grace.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. -John 3:17
Did our Lord condemn the woman caught in adultery? Did our Lord condemn the scribes and Pharisees who try to humiliate Him and test Him ?
In our Lord’s silence, He has held His peace.
So when we are humiliated or prosecuted ! Will we hold peace ? Will we be still or silent, trusting in the Lord ?
Didn’t the woman caught in adultery perceived the Lord’s grace in His silent ?
Didn’t in His silence, the Lord won the soul of the woman caught in adultery ?
This is what we have heard:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. -Isaiah 53:7
When our Lord opened not his mouth, our Lord— the Lamb of God bore that woman’s sins who was caught adultery and also our sins.
So let us remember in our Lord’s silence, He bore our iniquities — that He loved us.
So when we are humiliated, let us hold our peace. Let us ask the Lord to strengthen us that we may hold this peace. Let us not open our mouths to speak evil or deceit. Let us be silent, trusting in the Lord; That the battle is not ours but the Lord’s.
For we heard:
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.-James 1:2-4 NKJV
So when we are humiliated, let the testing of our faith produces the patience of Christ. Let the patience of Christ formed in us, have its perfect work, that we may be perfect, complete, lacking in nothing.
Why apostle James said that we can be joyful ? Didn’t our Lord find joy when one sinner repented of his/her sins?
Can we not enter the joy of the Lord? Yes, we can. Let us be joyful when a sinner repent, for we bring great delight to our Lord. We did what please Him, that one has found salvation in the house of the Lord.
Let us also be joyful that we have trusted the Lord who goes before us to fight for us against our enemies and give us victory. So when we held our peace when we were humiliated, we were joyful for the Lord fought the battle and gave us the victory. For we in our silence, we waited for our Lord’s steadfast love, and that we waited for Him — we will not be put to shame.
For we who hold our peace when we are humiliated; we suffer with Christ, in order to be glorified with Christ.
To God be the glory. Amen.
