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Introduction
We read in the New Testament
that our heavenly Father highly
values a meek spirit in his children.
Contrary to the modem focus upon
asserting, vindicating, and glorify
ing the self, God calls
us
to a life
of
humble submission to him and
self
-abasement before men.
Because meekness is such an
important aspect
of
he godly
man's character, its development
must become a priority for all who
cail
upon
the name
of
Jesus Christ.
In order to ascertain the nature,
qualities, and rewards of meek
ness,
we
may turn to our
up offenses quite readily and
display fits
of
anger, bitterness, and
vindictiveness. We live for
'ourselves, are slow to help and
encourage others, are absorbed in
our own problems and needs, and
are overly sensitive to what others
think
or say about us. Yet self
absorption is the antithesis and
archenemy
of
meekness. The
meek man is one who sees himself
as a sinner, seeks to reorientation
of
his life around God and others,
and is seeking to overcome a self
centered life
by
the grace
of
the
Holy Spirit. We must face the
CHR ISTI N
Church will be victorious and
receive her inheritance in these
ways. She will be blessed with the
world only as she is broken before
God, submissive under his hand,
and gentle toward men. David
said it best. Your gentleness has
made me great. How utterly
contrary are the essential tenets
of
Christianity to the tenets
of
humanism, name it and claim it
churchism, and all forms
of
works
righteousness.
A Description of the
Meek
Man
Lord's famous statement in
Matthew 5:5: Blessed are
the meek, for they shail inherit
the earth.
Wha
t
is
meekness? Pink has
rightly said that there
is no
single term which is capable
offully expressing all that
is
MEE
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gentle dispositions, who are not
easily provoked
by
injuries, who
are not ready to take offense, bnt
are prepared to do anytiIing rather
than do the like actions to wicked
men (John Calvin,
CommentGlY
on the Hormony
o f
the Gospels
p.262).
The fundamental aspect
of
meekness in the Old Testament is
patience/endurance in bearing
adversity, esp
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himself
to whatever God brings
into his life. Like Job,
it
receives
the
bad
as well as the good (Job
2: 10).
More
relIlarkably, like the
Lord
Jesus
"he submits hiIl1selfto
the hand ofhis
Father
, and does
not hesitate to drink the cup of
suffering
the Lord may
hand to
him
(cf. Matt.
i6:39,42 .
The
meek man
does
not
grumble
against God's providences. When
God chastens
him
or brings him
into periodS
of
rials, testing, and
persecution, he gladly yields to
them.
He
does
not
complain that
God is
u fair
or
demand
that
he
deserves something better. He
knows
that however God is
pleased
to
deal with him at a
given
moment in his life, it is better than
he
deserves. Essentially, this is the
man who has
given
up the notion
of rights before God's tribunal.
He
stands before the mercy
of
God
amazed
and
rejoicing, over
whelmed
that
God
has
treated him
so bountifully. He therefore asks
God
for the grace to endure the
vicissitudes oflife with patience
and humility. n all circumstances,
he
seeks
to obey God's revealed
will,
even
though
he
is weak and
faces opposition
from
others .
Meekness is thus based upon a
filial
trust
in the goodness and
wisdom of God, and stems from a
faith in his sovereign control over
all things. Without such faith,
meekness before
God
is impos
sible. Without a biblical
view of
ourselves, we will never have
meekness. For we live
under
the
delusion that we always deserve
what
is best,
and
that whatever
evil
or
suffering
we
face is really
not our fault. Moreover, without
meekiless It ishiipossible to etijoy
a close walk
with the Lord of
glory.
For
it is the meek that God
teaches his ways and guides in
judgment(cf. Ps. 25:9). t is the
meek man who places himself
completely under the hand of the Meekness 'thus makes a man
Lord, whether in'good
or
ill, and willing to forgive all injuries and
who knows that his Godwill'cause insQlts, tiot
to
take into accounfa
all
tJifugs to work together for
good Wrobg
suffered, arid to bear with
in
the
lives
of
those who live for all things for the siikeofGod's '
him and are
calle
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Canaanites all the while displaying
meekness toward God and toward
each other. Rahab could justly lie
to the persecuting officials of
Jericho. Gideon could destroy the
altars to Baal. Jesus could purge
the temple. Knox could resist evil
Queen Mary. In these and all
similar cases, it is actually meek
ness toward God tllat produces
zeal for his canse, even at great
personal sacrifice and risk. We
cannot forget that meekness never
entails countenancing
an
enemy of
God and truth or allowing God's
Church to suffer injUly
by
OUI
neglect and indifference. t does
not allow us to refrain from giving
a rebuke when it is our responsibil
ity to
do
so.
t
would not forbid us
from engaging
in
lawful resistance
to unlawful or abusive authority,
when the proper occasion and .
conditions supported by Scripture
arise. It does, however, produce
within us great forbearauce,
patience, and lowliness
when
dealing with our brothers aod
sisters in Christ. t leads us to
place love above the enjoyment of
our own personal liberties in
Christ. t demands that we not
take into account a wrong suf
fered, entertain evil or malicious
thoughts against someone who has
wronged us, or hold grudges. t
forbids all malice, sinful anger,
hatred, envy, desire for revenge,
and excessive passion. In short, it
calls for and produces a radical
change
in
how
we
interact with
the family
of
God. Our goal is the
lowliness and meelmess
of
David,
Joseph, and preeminently, the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Meekness
and Standing
for the
Truth
Meekness in the body of Christ
requires that we seek the glory
of
God and endeavor to live by his
word in all circumstances. Sub-
mission to God is the fruit
of
spiritual poverty and brokenness
over sin. Accordingly,
we
will find
it necessary at times to confront a
member of the body who has
sinned and resist the truth against
error. Faithfulness in these
confrontational duties is not
forbidden by meekness,
but
meekness must
be
exercised when
engaged in them. Paul teaches
this in 2 Tim. 2:25 when he says:
in meekness correcting those who
are in opposition, ifGod perhaps
will grant them repentance, so tl,at
they may know the truth. Again,
in Galatians 6:
1,
he commands:
Brothers,
if
a man is overtaken in
any trespass,
you
who 'are spiritUal
restore such a one in a spirit
of
gentleness, considering yourself
lest you also he tempted.
In
both
verses, meekness describes the
manner
or
the attitude with which
the Christian stands for the truth or
confronts a sinning brother. We
cannot
be
harsh, unloving, meao
spirited, aogry, or hostile. When
defending God's truth,
we
must
display godly character. Yes,
some brothers commit terrible sins
and even refuse to deal
with
them.
Some elTors against the faith are
so pernicious tl,at they require an
immediate, strong, and uncompro
mising censure from the Church.
However,
we
must always re
member that the wrath of
man
does accomplish the rigllteousness
of God (James I :20). It is
possible to have sinful zeal. t is
possible to
be
unwise
in our
defense
of
truth and to exhibit
such a harsh spirit that men reject
our pleas because onr demeanor is
so unChristian. Accordingly, we
must establish it as a settled
principle in our healts to demon
strate mee mess in standing for the
truth. We must be swift to hear
the other side. We must not be
quick to believe evil, even of 0 l I
enemies. We
must remember that
the goal
of
our debates and
confrontations is not the vindica
tion
of
ourselves but
of
God
and
his trqth. Accordingly, he will use
our sweetness, lowliness, alld
gentleness to gain his victory far
more thall om- wrath, hotlleaded
ness, and desire to squash an
opponent in debate. Here I am
reminded
of
tl,e patience of the
martyrs of all ages.
They
resisted
evil. They spoke against errOr.
They refused to embrace
here
s
y
pluralism, and humanism. They
appealed to
the
courts. They
called npon their persecutors to
repent. Yet,
when
all these
channels were exhausted, they
humbly submitted
to
a higher court,
God 's heavenly tribunal, and
meekly endured tlle malice of
men. This is love aod meekness
that will overcome the world.
Beloved, this is the fruit of meek
ness. t makes one zealous and
loving,
bold and
patient. t is the
fruit
of
wholehCalted consecration
to God, faith in his presence, plans,
and providence, and
submissionto
his will.
Meekness
as
a
Command
in Scripture
Jesus
description
of
the
Christian as meek is a command
ment in other portions
of
Scripture.
Not
only does the Spirit ofholiness
produce meekness in the hearts
of
God's people by the power
of
their
union with the living Clllist, but
they also are commanded to seek
meekness. Zephaniah, a prophet
in the soutl,em kingdom ofJUdall
during the reign
of
godly Josiah,
c lmnands
us
to
seek meekness
as an integral part of our seeking
of
tl,e Lord. We really cannot
seek the Lord and his glory in
our
lives unless we are also seeking a
teachable spilit before his throne
(cf. Zeph. 2:3). The context in
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which
Zephaniah prophesied, being
one of
approaching
judgment
, ,
against Judah for her apostasy,
enforces the seriousness of this
command.'
The
only
way
to avoid
impending judgmentfrom the most
high
is to
have
a broken spirit
and
teachable heart before him, We
must
repent
of
all forwardness
and
self-dol)linated living. We rimst '
repent
of
humanism. The ,
churches
in our
day are similariy
under the
judgment of the Lord
because
of
our
haughty 'arrogance
toward God
and
one another.
Thereby we
demonstrate
our
'
selves to
know
little experientially
of
the gospel of Christ, the glories
of
God
's mercy, and
the
depthS,
of
our own
sins.
Panllikewise
commands us to "put
on
meek
ness"
(cf. Col. 3: 12 . We
must
'
seek
meekness "as the elect of
God, holy and
beloved," Without
meekness, a
man
cannot live as
one
of God's elect. He cannot be
holy.
He
shows himself devoid of
any
sense of the love of
God in
'
Jesus Christ. Verses such as '
these emphasize the seriousness
of
meekness.
t
is
not
optional:
Those
without
it
cannot
be
one
6['
musician Sting wrote in a popular
ballad, one
in which he
treats this
verse
with
cynicism,
"What
good
is a used up world and
how
could
it be
worth having?" (from
The
Soul Cages, "All This Time;"
A&M
Records, 1991). '
In
arriving at a biblical under
standing of this promise,
we
will do
well to remember that the prpmise '
of a land in whichtri serve God is
a central aspect' of
God's
covenant
dealings with his people. God
promised Abraham and his seed a
land ofpromise:
his
promise was
not exhausted in Palestirie.
Abra-
ham
understood Palestine to be
a
downpayment for
the
entire earth
(cf. Rom. 4:13). What
God
did
in
a limited fashion
in
Israel,
he
promised to do throughout the
earth
in
the days
of
he Messiah
(c f
. Deut. 4:5,6). Moreover,
nothing in Jesus' teaching would
lead us away from the biblical
emphasis on the physical earth.
t
belongs to
the
faithful people of
God. Those
who
serve
him
faithfully and give up everything to
serve
him
will receive lands
and
farms
in this lifo
(cf.
Mark
10:29,30).
Accordingly,
I
t ink
we
God's
elect. should interpret Jesus' promise to
mean that
Christians
will be
I The Promise to the Meek
rewarded with their promisoo
Jesus attaches a glorious inheritance of
the
earth as
the
promise to
meekness. Though t lawful descendants of Abraham,
will undoubtedly appear irortic t6 heirs ofllll his promises (c f. Gal.
many
believers and laughable to ,_ 3:27-29), and coheirs with
him
.
the
world, those; who put God first This promise begins to be fulfilled
and
themselves' last, whO are ' ' in this life, as the gospel goes out
broken of
their self-centeredness, with success, and the nations are
will
inherit
the
earth. They are
the
discipled to Jesus Christ. Therein
ones
whom God
will bless
with
'a
we
see
God
's people blessed
glorious inheritance.
How
shall physically with prosperity
and
.
we take Jesus' words? poes he peace. Christiaos enjoyed this sort
mean that
the
meek
will 'one day of covenant possession
of
the land'
inherit the earth? Does hemean in this country for
the
first two
that they
already possess the centuries of
our
national existence.
world spiritually? Is he speaJruig Over the course of world history,
allegorically?
Why
woUld anyone
as the
kingdom of
God
grows as a
want the earth? As .the popular' II ustard Seed, I believe
we
will see
8-TBECOUNSELofChalcedon:FehruarylMarch,tQOO '
Christians and the Church
of
Christ more and more blessed, not
only spiritually but also with great
tnaterial prosperity, As me
e
k
broken; nd teachable sons of
'God, they will
be
able to handle
this victoiy, They will not, as their
Old Testament counterparts did,
forget God
and
focus
on
the
blessings
of
he covenant rather
than the
God of
the 'covenant.
They
will
enjoy his blessings
lawfully, using them as incentives
and gifts with which they will
zealously pursue the
work
of
Christ's kingdom, thereby bringing
in thefulness of
he Gentiles into
the Church
of
Christ. At the same
lime, th,e complete enjoyment of
this earth and all good things in it
awaits the consummation
of
the
, .new heavens and
new
earth at the
Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
For as
fully as future generations
may
enjoy the inheritance of the
earth,
it
will always pale in com
parison to the fullness ofblessing
that will
be
ours when sin is
eradicated and righteousness rules
perfectly over all.
What
a tremendous promise
our
LOrd attached to meekness
How shall Christians finally
win in
h i s ~ o r y
How
shall
we
see
Christendom rallied and extended
over the force of the entire earth?
.
How
shall
we
enjoy the'peace,
security, and prosperity essential to
the happiness of any people?
Through meekness
and
self-denial.
Thro\Jgh brokenness over our sins
that leads to teachableness before
God and humili ty before man.
TI)rough lifewide and lifelong
obedience to God despite the
Sacrifice it entails pr
the
persecu
ipn it
brings. How contrary are
Jesus' promise and its reward to
the
modem
priorities and expecta
tions' of many Christians. The
future belongs to the faithfnl
people ofGod, thoul\h
not
through
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the methods usually endorsed by
church growth leaders today. The
emth will
not
be obtained tlu'ough
creative new progrmns or alterna
tive worship styles but through the
Spirit ofJesus Christ producing
meekness in the people of God.
Then and only then will we know
the true blessings
of
God. May
God pour out his Spiritupon us and
work in us the meekness which his
Word demands and his gospel
produces
Some Additional Incentives to
Meekness in the Christian Life
(I) Meekness
is
of great value
in the eyes of God (I Pet. 3:4).
God highly values holiness in his
people, and meekness
is
pmticu
larJy held up to us as an aspect of
Christian character that he highly
values. Fear and love
of
the Lord
will stir his people to seek meek
ness in all their relationships and
activities.
(2) Meekness will enable us to
bear up under trials and hardships
without complaining. Because
meekness entails an ability to
suhmitto all God's dealings with
us, good and bad, it will enable us
to
bear patiently with adversity,
endure hardships, and sUlTender
ourselves to God's will. The meek
heart knows and believes that all
things work together for good
(Rom. 8:28), and therefore calmly
waits on the Lord without glUm
bling and complaining.
(3) Meelmess is necessary to
curb
an
angry, bitter spirit toward
God and mml. James contrasts
meekness to anger (James
1:20,21), and many other passages
wmn against an angry counte
nance mId attitude. The only way
to overcome anger is through
snbmission to God's will. Toward
men, anger is tbe exact antithesis
of meekness. We becoine angry
when we expect that others should
act toward us in such a way, and
we become frustrated .and bitter
when they do not. Meekness
teaches us to give all our expecta
tions to God and to love even our
enemies.
(4) Meekness diffuses strife
among brothers.
A
soft answer
turns away wrath" (Prov. 15:1).
We
m e prone, however, to answer
in like kind. The ability to malce
and enjoy peace requires meek
ness toward others, in that we do
not reproach, abuse, or slander
those who treat us badl
y.
t
w ll
enable us to overcome evil with
good in all our personal relation-
ships (Rom. 12:21). .
(5) Meelmess enables us to
enjoy a close wal\c with God (Ps.
25:9). Close communion with God
demands our submission to his
word and will. t is the meek man
whom God teaches his way. Only
the meek man will experience the
joyS ofwalking with the Lord, for
only he has the necessary heart to
love, obey, and submit
to
God in all
things. Rememher, God resists the
proud.
(6) Meekness is evidence
of
the Spirit's life-giving presence and
thereby gives assurmlce of salva
tion. Every believer desires
greater assurance of salvation.
Meekness according to Paul is one
aspect of the COOstian fruit that
God works in all his people (Gal.
5 :22). Its presence gives us
reason to rejoice in God's work in
us and gives us confidence that we
are indeed the sons of God.
The
Development
of
Meek
ness in the Christian Life
A God-centered life is essential
to meekness. We will never
progress in meekness unless we
are taught by God's Spirit to look
at life from God's perspective .
That is,
we
must remember that
God does all things for his own
glory, not our convenience, ease,
and comfort. Knowing, moreover,
that we are sinners, we learn to
accept all trials and trib\llations as
loving chastisement from his
hand
without becoming bitter and
profane as Esau (Heb. 12:3-17).
We
gladly yield ourselves
to
him
to
work in, through, by, with, and for
us whatsoever his holy will has
determined reveals his glory and
brings good to his people.
We must not lose sight ofour
brokenand sinful condition before
God. Only broken and contrite
men will have meekness. Ifwe
ever begin to see something of our
sinfulness before God, we will
never question the wisdom or
justice ofhis dealings with us, nor
will
we
expect others to serve us
and meet all
om
expectations. t is
the man who has been emptied of
himself, or as Calvin said, who is
tamed by God, whose life will be
marked by true humility and
meekness.
. Meekness requires the sincere
display ofCOOstian love to those
around us, There is no greater
way
to
display and encourage
meekness than by demonstrating
biblical love to all men. Service
must characterize our lives. The
human heart must be trained to
live in a hnmble, submissive
maDller toward all. This cml be
eucouraged by cheerfully serving
odlers through hospitality, prayer,
and encouragement.
The exmnple ofCOOst must
be
continually before us. The great
est display
ofmeekne
,ss is the life
ofChrist. We mns leam ofhim.
Cluistiml1l1eekness is esseiltially
Clnist-like submission to the
Father and Cluist-like love and
patience toward men.
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