1 Peter 1:25 ... the word of the
Lord endureth for ever...
Aurelius Baptist Church 4419 W. Barnes Rd.
(517) 628-2085 Mason, MI 48854
Bible Study . . . The Blessing of
Spiritual Submission
God’s love reaches out to you and when God’s love touches your need,
we call it Grace.
"For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God ... "
(Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.~~Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.~~Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.~~Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.~~Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.~~Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.~~Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:3-9 KJV)
Poor in Spirit: Spiritual Insufficiency
That Mourn: Spiritual Heartbrokenness
The Meek: Spiritual Submissiveness
Hunger & Thirst: Spiritual Fervor
The Merciful: Spiritual Compassion
Pure in Heart: Spiritual Perfection
The Peacemakers: Spiritual Posterity
The Persecuted: Spiritual Maturity
A boy was once asked, "Who are the meek?" He thought for a moment and then answered, "They are the people who give soft answers to hard questions."
The spiritual meaning of "meek" is often misinterpreted. For a believer in Jesus Christ it can be defined as freedom from pretension, gentleness, or patient endurance. Christians are called to patiently endure the inequality of living in this world while waiting with joyful expectation for the imminent return of Christ.
Webster defines meekness as being humble, modest, submissive, delicate, or passive. The world sees meekness as weakness. Such a concept has become a stumbling block for many believers since it seems to imply that, if you are a Christian, you should be the doormat of society. Actually, Jesus, in Matthew 5:5, was stating that happy are those who are meek — those who humble themselves before God, utterly dependent on Him for forgiveness of sin, guidance, and strength — for they shall possess (inherit) the earth now and during the 1000-years of Christ’s reign on the earth.
(Matthew 5:5; Zephaniah 3:12; 2:3; Psalm 25:12-14; 37:11; Revelation 12:7)
It isn’t easy to submit to God in a godless world. There are many difficulties in the life of faith. The blessing of happiness is the result of obedience to and confidence in Jesus Christ. Someone once said, "Perfect obedience would be perfect happiness; if only we had perfect confidence in the power we were obeying."
Obedience is a positive, active response to what a person hears. God calls His people to obedience to His Word. In the Old Testament covenant between God and man, obedience was the basis for receiving God's blessing and favor. Samuel emphasized that God's pleasure was not in sacrifice but in obedience. Jesus promised a new covenant of grace through obedience and love for God and others.
(Exodus 19:5; Isaiah 11:4; Jer 31:33; John 13:34-35)
In the New Testament, the obedience of Christ stands in contrast to the disobedience of Adam. The disobedience of Adam brought death, but the perfect obedience of Christ brought grace, righteousness, and eternal life.
(Rom 5:12-21)
Christ actively seeks the deepest of all personal relationship with those who are His. As we journey through life, we establish many types of relationships. Some relationships are very precious indeed. Others, though often pleasant, are more temporal and do not require more than a minimal investment of time and effort because of differing interests and goals. A long and lasting relationship requires an investment of time. The more time we spend together, the greater the possibility that a casual friendship will grow into a genuine love relationship. The marriage relationship, which parallels a Christian’s relationship with Christ, demands complete and total surrender to the needs and well-being of another person.
(Matthew 11:29; 1 Corinthians 4:21; Galatians 5:23-25; Ephesians 4:1-3;
Colossians 3:12-15; 1 Timothy 6:11, 12; 2 Timothy 2:24-26;
Titus 3:3-8; James 1:21; 3:13-18)
"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The depth of the love He has shown for us is beyond human understanding. The Bible speaks of many kinds of love: "philia"—fondness; hospitality; brotherly love; "fileoo" —love of impulse; "eros"—love of a man for a woman; "agape"—the overwhelming depth of God’s love for human beings. Jesus showed the extent of His agape love when he sacrificed His life as payment for our sins on Calvary. He, who has given the ultimate, has the right to expect our unconditional love — love that will suffer for His sake as He suffered for ours; love that will passionately abandon all others to know the joy of His smile; love that will gladly give up all the world has to offer in order to share the joy of unity with Him. He opens His arms wide to receive us, offering to us every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:31). To establish a love relationship with Christ, a person must humbly yield to His lordship through repentance, seeking forgiveness.
(Romans 5:8; John 3:16; 13:1; 1 John 4:8-11, 15-16; Ephesians 3:14-19)
Those who are meek, spiritually humble, realize that they are nothing aside from the grace of God; yielded to Christ in repentance, he comes to understand that meekness is not weakness, but rather and manifestation of the change Christ, through the Holy Spirit, has made in his heart, soul, and spirit.
The first beatitude, "blessed are the poor in spirit" (characterized by man’s humility before God) is a companion scripture to "those who are meek" (characterized by man’s humility toward men): "Blessed are the power in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.... Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:3, 5).
A person of meekness is at peace with his neighbors and he seldom has any quarrels and controversies with them; he has many friends; he is generally known for his good temperament and is known as a man of kindness and compassion; he enjoys a quiet, contented life.
A meek person seldom gains earthly honors or prestige. The world sees a meek person as one who is spineless and who permits themselves to be ill-used—at the mercy of any and everybody—and, unfit to inherit anything, especially the earth. Ultimately, however, it is the meek who prosper, for they are the ones who are sought out for their calmness, their wise counsel, and their fair dealings with others. God is on their side, as He promised, giving them wisdom and blessing.
"(Now the man Moses was very humble [meek], more than all the men who were on the face of the earth)", yet he brought the Egyptian Pharaoh to his knees. Even today he is admired for his leadership and courage. (Numbers 12:3)
Paul was a man of meekness who, having learned submission at the feet of Jesus on the road to Damascus, had no trouble yielding to the higher authority of Rome. (Acts 9:1-9) In humility of spirit, he endured great pain and persecution, declaring, "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" ( Phil. 1:21). Paul was totally changed. He was spiritually-renewed (born-again).
What are the characteristics of the spiritually-renewed person?
An inward peace that is beyond human understanding.
An outward, courteous, kind, and friendly attitude to others.
A person who is circumspect and careful in behavior, slow to anger;
ever seeking reconciliation and harmony.
A person of cheerful disposition and humility of spirit that is
expressed in love to God and man others.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.... And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. —I Corinthians 13:4-7, 13
Catherine Marshall gives an excellent picture of the peace and tranquility of those who are spiritually submissive to Christ Jesus.
Once a king held a contest and offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. One artist won recognition and praise for his picture of a calm lake mirroring a clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Least favored was an artist’s picture of rugged and bare mountains below an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest—in perfect peace. The king chose this picture as the perfect picture of peace. When asked why he selected this picture, he answered, "Because, peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."
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The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to his word and to his rod, who follow his directions, and comply with his designs, and are gentle towards all men; who can bear provocation without being inflamed by it; are either silent, or return a soft answer; and who can show their displeasure when there is occasion for it, without being transported into any indecencies; who can be cool when others are hot; and in their patience keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of any thing else. They are the meek, who are rarely and hardly provoked, but quickly and easily pacified; and who would rather forgive twenty injuries than revenge one, having the rule of their own spirits.
—Matthew Henry
Do all the good you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
as long as ever you can.
—John Wesley
~~End~~