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From the book “HUMILITY” by Andrew Murray - Chapter 9 - HUMILITY AND FAITH
(Words in italics have been added to the original text)
Our inability to trust God is due to our lack of Christ’s humble nature of God dependence
John 5: 44. Jesus “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from Him who alone is God?” NKJV/AMP
Murray: “In an address I recently heard, the speaker said that the blessings of the higher Christian life were often like the objects displayed in a shop window - one could see them clearly and yet could not reach them. If told to stretch out his hand and take, a man would answer, I cannot; there is a thick pane of plate-glass between me and them. And even so Christians may see clearly the blessed promises of perfect peace and rest, of overflowing love and joy, of abiding communion and fruitfulness, and yet feel that there is something between hindering the true possession. And what might that be? Nothing but pride.
“The promises made to faith are so free and sure; the invitations and encouragements so strong; the mighty power of God on which it may count is so near and free - that it can only be something that hinders faith that hinders the blessing being ours. In our text Jesus discovers to us that it is indeed pride that makes faith impossible. "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another?" As we see how in their very nature pride and faith are irreconcilably at variance, we shall learn that faith and humility are at root one, and that we never can have more of true faith than we have of true humility. We shall see that we may indeed have strong intellectual conviction and assurance of the truth while pride is still kept in the heart, but that it makes the living faith, which has power with God, an impossibility.
“We need only think for a moment what faith is. Is it not the confession of nothingness and helplessness, the surrender and the waiting to let God work? Is it not in itself the most humbling thing there can be, the acceptance of our place as dependents (on God), who can claim or get or do nothing but what grace bestows? Humility is simply the disposition which prepares the soul for living on trust. And every, even the most secret breathing of pride, in self-seeking, self-will, self-confidence, or self-exaltation, is just the strengthening of that self which cannot enter the kingdom, or possess the things of the kingdom, because it refuses to allow God to be what He is and must be there -- the All in All.
“Faith is the organ or sense for the perception and apprehension of the heavenly world and its blessings. Faith seeks the glory that comes from God, that only comes where God is All. As long as we take glory from one another, as long as ever we seek and love and jealously guard the glory of this life, the honor and reputation that comes from men, we do not seek, and cannot receive the glory that comes from God. Pride renders faith impossible. Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ. Salvation is the fellowship with the crucified Christ in the Spirit of His cross. Salvation is union with and delight in, salvation is participation in, the humility of Jesus. Is it any wonder that our faith is so feeble when pride still reigns so much, and we have scarce learnt even to long or pray for humility as the most needful and blessed part of salvation?
“Humility and faith are more closely allied in Scripture than many know. See it in the life of
Christ. There are two cases in which He spoke of a great faith. Had not the centurion, at
whose faith He marveled, saying, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel!" spoken, "I am not worthy that You should come under my roof"? And had not the mother to whom He spoke, "O woman, great is your faith!" accepted the name of dog, and said, "Yes, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs'? It is the humility that brings a soul to be nothing before God, that also removes every hindrance to faith, and makes it only fear lest it should dishonor Him by not trusting Him wholly.
“Brother, have we not here the cause of failure in the pursuit of holiness? Is it not this, though we knew it not, that made our consecration and our faith so superficial and so short-lived? We had no idea to what an extent pride and self were still secretly working within us, and how alone God by His incoming and His mighty power could cast them out. We understood not how nothing but the new and divine nature, taking entirely the place of the old self, could make us really humble.
Most people think of pride in the very narrow sense of self-promotion and self-boasting. But when God in the Bible speaks of “The pride of life”, He means the universal trait of human nature to trust in and depend on itself and not on Him. This unchanging refusal of human nature to give up its right to itself, and, always to crave the praise and approval of others, Jesus says, nullifies a person’s ability to believe God. That’s why this pride in its broader sense, Billy Graham says, keeps more people out of Heaven than anything else. Murray highlights from the scriptures that God’s solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem is to replace human nature with a new non-prideful, God dependant nature - the actual nature of Christ. This is done by the ongoing engrafting of God’s living words (which impart the nature of Christ), by the Holy Spirit, into the re-born human spirit of anyone who is yielded and willing to be changed. By this continuing process self-dependant (proud) human nature is replaced with a God dependant (humble) Christ nature.
Matt 11:29 Jesus: Take My yoke upon you (receive My Spirit to teach you God’s words)
and learn of Me (receive God’s words which impart My nature, that is
for I am meek (able to hear in the spirit God speaking His words to Me) and lowly in heart (humble and able to believe and to do God’s words)...
2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given to us exceedingly great and precious promises (that is, God’s words), that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature… the meek and humble nature of Christ.
2 Thes 2:13 ...Salvation (is) through sanctification (being made Holy) by the Spirit and (by) belief in the truth (of God’s words - only the humble can so believe)
“We knew not that absolute, unceasing, universal humility must be the root disposition of every prayer and every approach to God as well as of every dealing with man; and that we might as well attempt to see without eyes, or live without breath, as believe or draw nigh to God or dwell in His love, without an all-pervading humility and lowliness of heart.
1 Peter 5:5 …Be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace (more and more of His own nature) to the humble."
“Brother, have we not been making a mistake in taking so much trouble to believe, while all the time there was the old self in its pride seeking to possess itself of God's blessing and riches? No wonder we could not believe. Let us change our course. Let us seek first of all to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God: He will exalt us. The cross, and the death, and the grave, into which Jesus humbled Himself, were His path to the glory of God. And they are our path too. Let our one desire and our fervent prayer be, to be humbled with Him and like Him; let us accept gladly whatever can humble us before God or men - this alone is the path to the glory of God.
When the two natures (the pride of the flesh and the humility of the spirit) are allowed to coexist, they will compete for dominance of a person’s will (their soul).Often flesh wins and it will cause a Christian’s once strong faith to fail or even to die. This is why there must be an engrafting into a Christian’s heart of the truth of Christ’s death on the cross to the prideful human nature of man. When God’s words (the truth) on the crucifixion of Christ to the flash are engrafted into a person’s spirit or heart, that person becomes an actual participant in Christ’s death, meaning they are now dead to their own flesh. This is the death blow to the flesh with its prideful self-dependence. Faith, the ability to trust God in every area of life and to trust Him for others, can now grow and flourish like never before.
Phil 2:8 …He (Jesus) humbled Himself and became obedient unto death…
2 Tim 2:11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him (Jesus Christ), We shall also live with Him (both in this present life and in the life hereafter).
“You perhaps feel inclined to ask a question. Here I speak of some who have had blessed
experiences, or are the means of bringing blessing to others, and yet are lacking in humility. You ask whether these do not prove that they have true, even strong faith, though they show too clearly that they still seek too much the honor that comes from men. There is more than one answer that can be given. But the principal answer in our present context is this: They indeed have a measure of faith, in proportion to which, with the special gifts bestowed upon them, is the blessing they bring to others. But in that very blessing the work of their faith is hindered, through the lack of humility. The blessing is often superficial or transitory, just because they are not the nothing that opens the way for God to be all. A deeper humility would without doubt bring a deeper and fuller blessing. The Holy Spirit not only working in them as a Spirit of power, but dwelling in them in the fullness of His grace, and specially that of humility, would through them communicate Himself to these converts for a life of power and holiness and steadfastness now all too little seen.
Philem 6 That the communication of your faith may become effectual by the KJV acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
"How can you believe, who receive honor from one another?" Brother, nothing can cure you of the desire of receiving glory from men, or of the sensitiveness and pain and anger which come when it is not given, but giving yourself to seek only the glory that comes from God. Let the glory of the All-glorious God be everything to you. You will be freed from the glory of men and of self, and be content and glad to be nothing. Out of this you will grow strong in faith, giving glory to God, and you will find that the deeper you sink in humble nothingness before Him, the nearer He is to fulfill the every desire of your Faith”.
Luke 14:11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." And be able to trust God with ever increasing faith.
(Words in italics have been added to the original text)
Our inability to trust God is due to our lack of Christ’s humble nature of God dependence
John 5: 44. Jesus “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from Him who alone is God?” NKJV/AMP
Murray: “In an address I recently heard, the speaker said that the blessings of the higher Christian life were often like the objects displayed in a shop window - one could see them clearly and yet could not reach them. If told to stretch out his hand and take, a man would answer, I cannot; there is a thick pane of plate-glass between me and them. And even so Christians may see clearly the blessed promises of perfect peace and rest, of overflowing love and joy, of abiding communion and fruitfulness, and yet feel that there is something between hindering the true possession. And what might that be? Nothing but pride.
“The promises made to faith are so free and sure; the invitations and encouragements so strong; the mighty power of God on which it may count is so near and free - that it can only be something that hinders faith that hinders the blessing being ours. In our text Jesus discovers to us that it is indeed pride that makes faith impossible. "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another?" As we see how in their very nature pride and faith are irreconcilably at variance, we shall learn that faith and humility are at root one, and that we never can have more of true faith than we have of true humility. We shall see that we may indeed have strong intellectual conviction and assurance of the truth while pride is still kept in the heart, but that it makes the living faith, which has power with God, an impossibility.
“We need only think for a moment what faith is. Is it not the confession of nothingness and helplessness, the surrender and the waiting to let God work? Is it not in itself the most humbling thing there can be, the acceptance of our place as dependents (on God), who can claim or get or do nothing but what grace bestows? Humility is simply the disposition which prepares the soul for living on trust. And every, even the most secret breathing of pride, in self-seeking, self-will, self-confidence, or self-exaltation, is just the strengthening of that self which cannot enter the kingdom, or possess the things of the kingdom, because it refuses to allow God to be what He is and must be there -- the All in All.
“Faith is the organ or sense for the perception and apprehension of the heavenly world and its blessings. Faith seeks the glory that comes from God, that only comes where God is All. As long as we take glory from one another, as long as ever we seek and love and jealously guard the glory of this life, the honor and reputation that comes from men, we do not seek, and cannot receive the glory that comes from God. Pride renders faith impossible. Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ. Salvation is the fellowship with the crucified Christ in the Spirit of His cross. Salvation is union with and delight in, salvation is participation in, the humility of Jesus. Is it any wonder that our faith is so feeble when pride still reigns so much, and we have scarce learnt even to long or pray for humility as the most needful and blessed part of salvation?
“Humility and faith are more closely allied in Scripture than many know. See it in the life of
Christ. There are two cases in which He spoke of a great faith. Had not the centurion, at
whose faith He marveled, saying, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel!" spoken, "I am not worthy that You should come under my roof"? And had not the mother to whom He spoke, "O woman, great is your faith!" accepted the name of dog, and said, "Yes, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs'? It is the humility that brings a soul to be nothing before God, that also removes every hindrance to faith, and makes it only fear lest it should dishonor Him by not trusting Him wholly.
“Brother, have we not here the cause of failure in the pursuit of holiness? Is it not this, though we knew it not, that made our consecration and our faith so superficial and so short-lived? We had no idea to what an extent pride and self were still secretly working within us, and how alone God by His incoming and His mighty power could cast them out. We understood not how nothing but the new and divine nature, taking entirely the place of the old self, could make us really humble.
Most people think of pride in the very narrow sense of self-promotion and self-boasting. But when God in the Bible speaks of “The pride of life”, He means the universal trait of human nature to trust in and depend on itself and not on Him. This unchanging refusal of human nature to give up its right to itself, and, always to crave the praise and approval of others, Jesus says, nullifies a person’s ability to believe God. That’s why this pride in its broader sense, Billy Graham says, keeps more people out of Heaven than anything else. Murray highlights from the scriptures that God’s solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem is to replace human nature with a new non-prideful, God dependant nature - the actual nature of Christ. This is done by the ongoing engrafting of God’s living words (which impart the nature of Christ), by the Holy Spirit, into the re-born human spirit of anyone who is yielded and willing to be changed. By this continuing process self-dependant (proud) human nature is replaced with a God dependant (humble) Christ nature.
Matt 11:29 Jesus: Take My yoke upon you (receive My Spirit to teach you God’s words)
and learn of Me (receive God’s words which impart My nature, that is
for I am meek (able to hear in the spirit God speaking His words to Me) and lowly in heart (humble and able to believe and to do God’s words)...2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given to us exceedingly great and precious promises (that is, God’s words), that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature… the meek and humble nature of Christ.
2 Thes 2:13 ...Salvation (is) through sanctification (being made Holy) by the Spirit and (by) belief in the truth (of God’s words - only the humble can so believe)
“We knew not that absolute, unceasing, universal humility must be the root disposition of every prayer and every approach to God as well as of every dealing with man; and that we might as well attempt to see without eyes, or live without breath, as believe or draw nigh to God or dwell in His love, without an all-pervading humility and lowliness of heart.
1 Peter 5:5 …Be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace (more and more of His own nature) to the humble."
“Brother, have we not been making a mistake in taking so much trouble to believe, while all the time there was the old self in its pride seeking to possess itself of God's blessing and riches? No wonder we could not believe. Let us change our course. Let us seek first of all to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God: He will exalt us. The cross, and the death, and the grave, into which Jesus humbled Himself, were His path to the glory of God. And they are our path too. Let our one desire and our fervent prayer be, to be humbled with Him and like Him; let us accept gladly whatever can humble us before God or men - this alone is the path to the glory of God.
When the two natures (the pride of the flesh and the humility of the spirit) are allowed to coexist, they will compete for dominance of a person’s will (their soul).Often flesh wins and it will cause a Christian’s once strong faith to fail or even to die. This is why there must be an engrafting into a Christian’s heart of the truth of Christ’s death on the cross to the prideful human nature of man. When God’s words (the truth) on the crucifixion of Christ to the flash are engrafted into a person’s spirit or heart, that person becomes an actual participant in Christ’s death, meaning they are now dead to their own flesh. This is the death blow to the flesh with its prideful self-dependence. Faith, the ability to trust God in every area of life and to trust Him for others, can now grow and flourish like never before.
Phil 2:8 …He (Jesus) humbled Himself and became obedient unto death…
2 Tim 2:11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him (Jesus Christ), We shall also live with Him (both in this present life and in the life hereafter).
“You perhaps feel inclined to ask a question. Here I speak of some who have had blessed
experiences, or are the means of bringing blessing to others, and yet are lacking in humility. You ask whether these do not prove that they have true, even strong faith, though they show too clearly that they still seek too much the honor that comes from men. There is more than one answer that can be given. But the principal answer in our present context is this: They indeed have a measure of faith, in proportion to which, with the special gifts bestowed upon them, is the blessing they bring to others. But in that very blessing the work of their faith is hindered, through the lack of humility. The blessing is often superficial or transitory, just because they are not the nothing that opens the way for God to be all. A deeper humility would without doubt bring a deeper and fuller blessing. The Holy Spirit not only working in them as a Spirit of power, but dwelling in them in the fullness of His grace, and specially that of humility, would through them communicate Himself to these converts for a life of power and holiness and steadfastness now all too little seen.
Philem 6 That the communication of your faith may become effectual by the KJV acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
"How can you believe, who receive honor from one another?" Brother, nothing can cure you of the desire of receiving glory from men, or of the sensitiveness and pain and anger which come when it is not given, but giving yourself to seek only the glory that comes from God. Let the glory of the All-glorious God be everything to you. You will be freed from the glory of men and of self, and be content and glad to be nothing. Out of this you will grow strong in faith, giving glory to God, and you will find that the deeper you sink in humble nothingness before Him, the nearer He is to fulfill the every desire of your Faith”.
Luke 14:11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." And be able to trust God with ever increasing faith.
