Grow in humility

In his final command to us, Peter tells us to:

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.[1]

And over the past few weeks, as we have looked at Peter's second letter, we have seen how he has continually challenged us to grow.

  • To grow in knowledge.

  • To grow in remembrance.

  • To grow in confidence, insight, and holiness.

However, as I was reading and thinking about the last few verses in Peter's letter, I noticed that he said this, in 2 Peter 3:15b-16:

So also, our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.

Now there are a couple of interesting things here:

First, we notice that Paul had also written to these churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, for Peter talked about how “Paul wrote to you”.

Further, while we know that Paul had gone to Galatia and Asia, Acts 16:7 tells us that, although Paul wanted to enter Bithynia to preach the Gospel, the Spirit of Jesus prevented him from doing so.

We know as well from Acts 2:9 that there were Jews from Cappadocia and Pontus in the crowds on the day of Pentecost, and Aquila was from Pontus so maybe Aquila himself was there, but we have no record of Paul going to Pontus. Just as, I might add, we have no record of Peter visiting any of these places either. Yet these two men, in their roles as Apostles, felt the obligation to write to these churches, in places they had never visited, to encourage them in the faith.

The second thing that we notice is that, even though Paul wrote to these churches, we don’t have those particular letters. That is, some of the letters that Paul wrote, and no doubt those of some of the other apostles, were lost. We know this from Paul’s letters to the Corinthians where he mentions four different letters that he has written.

In 1 Corinthians 5:9 Paul talks about a previous letter he had written, and in 1 Corinthians he clarifies something that he said in that letter, while in 2 Corinthians 7:8-13 he talks about a letter that had brought them grief, and brought them to repentance, which refers to a letter written sometime between our 1 and 2 Corinthians.

This shows us that, even though we don’t have everything that the Apostles wrote, just like we don’t have all of the histories of Jesus that Luke talked about in Luke 1, we do have what the Spirit of God inspired the writers to write, and we do have what the Spirit of God inspired the churches to keep, to preserve, and to share with other churches throughout the Empire. And this gives us the confidence to know that the New Testament contains what God wants us to know in order to teach us, to help us, and to guide us in our discipleship.

But getting back to what Peter says, notice what he says about Paul in this passage.

  • He calls Paul a “dear brother,” and he says that when Paul writes, he is writing with the wisdom of God.

In other words, when Paul writes, his writing is no different than the prophets who:

moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. [2]

And Peter is willing to acknowledge that even he sometimes struggled to understand the full implications of everything that Paul was saying, which should make all of us feel better as we try to understand Paul's letters. But this also means that Paul’s letters were being so widely distributed throughout the churches, that Peter himself was able to read them, and learn from them.

He then goes on to say that those who distort Paul's words are “ignorant,” which is another way of saying that Paul's words are “intelligent, well informed, and right.”

He also says that those who twist Paul’s words are “unstable,” like shifting sand which gives us no foundation for faith or life.

What is more, Peter places the words of Paul on the same level as the inspired writings of the Old Testament, for he calls them “the other Scriptures,” implying that what Paul has written is equally “Scripture.”

And as I was thinking through this passage, and as I began to think about the incident in Galatians 2:11-16, I realised that there is one final area that Peter is challenging us to grow in, and that is the need that we all have to grow in humility, and this is especially important when we stop and think about what was really going on in Galatians 2.

In Galatians 2 Paul talks about a time when he and Peter were both in Antioch. Of course, we know from Acts 11:19-30 that people who fled from the persecution that Paul himself had helped to start in Jerusalem went to Antioch, proclaimed the Gospel, won the lost, and founded what would become one of the most important churches in the first four or five centuries of the Church. The big three (after Jerusalem was destroyed) were Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch.

After a period of time Paul himself came to faith in Jesus, and, eventually, Barnabas brought Paul to work with him in Antioch, and while they were in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas represented the church in bringing gifts to the poor in Jerusalem.[3]

  • They also represented the church in Antioch on a visit to Jerusalem to discuss and debate the issue of circumcision and the Law.[4]

  • Further, it was from Antioch that Paul and Barnabas were sent out on their first missionary journey,[5] and, later on Paul was sent out on his second journey.[6]

But one day, Peter himself came to Antioch.

  • He met with the believers, both Jew and Gentile.

  • He fellowshipped with the believers, both Jew and Gentile.

  • And he ate with the believers, both Jew and Gentile.

Peter didn't question this. He didn't argue against it or complain about it. The way that Paul puts it, Peter was quite happy to share Christian fellowship with Gentile believers, and this was reasonable because, after all, Peter had received a vision from God to go and share the Gospel with Cornelius, the Gentile centurion.[7]

Peter was quite content with this situation in Antioch until some men arrived from Jerusalem who were representatives of James, the brother of Jesus, and we can assume from the way that Paul talks, that these men were much stricter in applying the Law of Moses in the churches than Paul was.

They, most probably, frowned upon such close fellowship between Jews and Gentiles as was happening in Antioch, and so when they arrived, Peter was afraid.

Just like back in the courtyard of the High Priest when he was afraid and denied Jesus.

Just as he was afraid of the response he would receive from people in Jerusalem after he shared the Gospel with Cornelius, because we read that he delayed going back up to Jerusalem to “face the music” over going to a Gentile's house.[8]

So also here in Antioch, Peter allowed his fear of others to pressure him into doing what he knew was not right, and he began to back off from having fellowship with Gentiles.

Maybe, having been raked over the coals once for doing this, he didn't want that kind of problem again. But whatever the reason, Peter began to draw back from fellowshipping with Gentile Christians, and his influence, his example, persuaded the other Jewish Christians in Antioch, including Barnabas himself, to begin to withdraw from having fellowship with Gentile Christians. (Which, by the way, should challenge us on how our conduct influences and impacts upon the attitudes and conduct of others!)

Then, beginning in Galatians 2:14-16, as Paul tells the story, he says:

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas [that is, Peter] in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So, we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

When Paul observes what Peter is doing, Paul, publicly and before the entire crowd, Paul tells Peter off for what was a very public action.

Now Paul doesn't tell us how Peter responded. He didn't need to, it wasn't necessary to the point he was trying to make, and so we can ask, “how did Peter respond”?

  • Did Peter realise that Paul was right?

  • Or did Peter reject what Paul said, fire back at Paul, and leave in a huff?

Even though Paul doesn’t tell us Peter’s response, we find the answer to “what happened next” in 2 Peter when Peter wrote:

Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.[9]

When I read this. When I read what Peter said about Paul, how he refers to Paul, to Paul's wisdom, and to Paul's writings, I see in what Peter says here in his letter how Peter responded to Paul's rebuke in Galatians 2.

  • Peter responded in humility.

  • He acknowledged that Paul was right, and that he, himself, was wrong.

  • He was willing to learn from the wisdom of Paul.

  • He was willing to learn from the insight that Paul had into the Gospel message.

  • And, most importantly, Peter was willing to change.

It takes great humility to be willing to do any of that. It takes great humility to listen, to learn, to grow, and to change. And that is what Peter showed.

We also see something of the impact of Paul upon Peter in how Peter stood up at the conference in Jerusalem and boldly proclaimed in Acts 15:9-11:

In cleansing [the Gentiles] hearts by faith [God] has made no distinction between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test

That same phrase that Jesus used when tempted in the wilderness, “you shall not put the Lord your God to the test”.[10]

why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.

And I can imagine Paul sitting back in that conference thinking,

Amen! Preach it brother!

I couldn't have put it better myself!

But to do that. For Peter to listen, to learn, to grow, to change; all of this required a growth in humility.

How easy would it have been for Peter to stand up in pride and say:

Paul, who do you think you are? Do you know who I am? Jesus himself gave me my new name, Cephas, (that is, Peter). I was with Jesus for three years. I was part of his inner circle. I walked on the water. I heard the voice of God on the mountain. I pulled a sword to defend Jesus when he was arrested. I saw the risen Jesus long before you did.

Or, to paraphrase an old Glen Campbell song, I can imagine that Peter could have said:

Hey Paul, I knew Jesus before he was a Superstar!

But, and surprisingly, Peter didn't.

We know from the Gospels that Peter was pretty boastful. He thought that he was pretty good. Like the rest of the Apostles, Peter wanted to be first, the most important,[11] and he seemed to always be the one to say something.

Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.[12]

Explain the parable to us.[13]

You are the Christ, the son of the living God.[14]

This thing, [that is Jesus' death], this thing will never happen to you.[15]

Let me put up three shelters, one for you, Moses, and Elijah.[16]

Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will. Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.[17]

Peter was quick to think that he should get wonderful things because, as he told Jesus:

We have left our homes and followed you.[18]

But when challenged by Paul about his faithfulness to the Gospel, we find that Peter had the humility to stop, to listen, to learn, and to apply everything that Paul said to himself.

Peter had the humility to change, and then, as he referred to Paul not as, “Paul that busy body, self-righteous upstart”, but as he referred to Paul as, “our beloved brother”, we find that Peter had the humility to not allow this situation to become a point of conflict or division between he and Paul. Instead, this situation became a time where Peter and Paul drew even closer together as fellow believers in Jesus Christ.

Not only did Peter listen to Paul's words, but he also read Paul's letters as they were shared among the churches. He, who had been an apostle from the beginning, became willing to learn from this former persecutor of the church.

He began to listen to what Paul was saying, to think about what Paul was saying, and to encourage other people to read, think about, and to act upon what Paul was saying.

Further, he began to tell others that, if they don't fully understand Paul, then they are in good company, because Peter himself sometimes struggled to fully understand what Paul wrote, but don't give up, and don't distort Paul's words. Instead, listen carefully to Paul, just as you listen carefully to the rest of the Scriptures.

That is the humility that Peter showed in his relationship with Paul, and that is the humility that he encourages us to grow in.

Of course, that type of humility doesn't come easy to us. Far too often we think and we act like the song:

O Lord it's hard to be humble,

when your perfect in every way.

We like to think that we are right. That we are the best. That we are superior. That we know better than everybody else. And sometimes maybe we are. But not all the time, or even most of the time.

And so, Peter encourages us all to grow in humility. To learn how to listen. To learn how to be corrected, to change our direction and our understanding, and that is hard, we all know that it is, because we all like to be right, to be the best, and yet this type of humility is something that we all need to keep in mind. It is something that we all need to follow, as Jesus warned us in Matthew 23:12:

All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

And Paul said to us in Ephesians 4:1-3:

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

And I think that it is important to notice the strong connection that Paul mentions when he connects  humility, gentleness, patience, and love with “maintaining the unity of the Spirit.” Without “humility,” there will be no “unity.”

James said in James 4:6b-7a, 10:

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. . . . Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

While Peter said in 1 Peter 3:8:

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

And we see here again the connection between humility and unity.

Peter also said in 1 Peter 5:5b-6:

And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.

Which is pretty much exactly what James had said.

And when we begin to read about “humility,” and what humility looks like, we find in Philippians 2:3-4 that we are to:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

And so “humility” is shown to be the opposite of selfish ambition. Vain conceit. Self-interest.

We read again in Colossians 3:12:

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

And this ongoing call to humility is a call to follow Jesus, learn from Jesus, and copy Jesus, who said to us in Matthew 11:28-29:

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Being humble doesn't mean that we don't think that we are right. It doesn't mean that we suddenly reject everything we have ever learned. It doesn't mean that we suddenly give in to everyone else, for Jesus most certainly didn't do any of that.

What it does mean is that we are not to be the focus of our own lives.

It means that we aren't trying to exalt ourselves, push ourselves forward, gain glory and honour for ourselves. Instead, our goal in life is to help, to encourage others to live for and to follow Jesus.

It means that we don't throw our weight around; be bossy, or a bully, or try to gain power for ourselves, and this is especially so if we happen to be in a position of authority. We are called upon to humbly use our position for the good of others.

This type of humility, which is the type of humility that Jesus had and that Jesus called us to, is a humility that cares solely about the glory of God and the good of others. It is the type of humility that Jesus showed when he said:

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.[19]

It is the type of humility that Jesus showed when:

Being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.[20]

It was the kind of humility that surrendered itself fully to the will of God and followed the will of God wherever God led.

It is the type of humility that gives of itself for the good of those around you. Giving itself for the welfare and benefit of others, and which isn't out to gain glory and honour for oneself.

That is the humility that Jesus has called us to.

That is the humility that Peter challenges us to grow in.

To listen. To learn. To change. To grow. To love others, and not just ourselves.

Easy, isn't it? No.

  • But it is the right way.

  • It is the Jesus way.

  • It is the way that we should each follow, every day of our lives.

And so, as we finish our look at Peter, and as we think about our own discipleship, our walk with Jesus, I encourage you to:

  • Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.[21]

  • Grow in remembrance.

  • Grow in confidence, insight, and holiness.

  • And grow in humility.

[1] 2 Peter 3:18a

[2] 2 Peter 1:21

[3] Acts 11:27-30

[4] Acts 15:1-22

[5] Acts 13:1-4

[6] Acts 15:36-41

[7] Acts 10:9-20

[8] Acts 11:1-3

[9] 2 Peter 3:15-16

[10] Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12. Quoting Deuteronomy 6:16

[11] Mark 9:34; Luke 9:46-48; 22:24-26

[12] Matthew 14:28

[13] Matthew 15:15

[14] Mathew 16:16

[15] Matthew 16:18

[16] Matthew 17:4

[17] Matthew 26:33, 35; Mark 14:31

[18] Luke 18:28

[19] Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45

[20] Philippians 2:7b-8

[21] 2 Peter 3:18