‘I am among you as one who serves.’—Luke 22:27 NLT.

In the Gospel of John, we see Jesus frequently speaking of His relation to the Father, presenting the spiritual motives that guided Him. His consciousness of the power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit linking Him to his Father’s mind — echoed by how He acted kindly and gently among men — proved the clearest picture of humility ever lived among humankind.

Though He is the Son of God in heaven, as a man upon earth, He took the place of entire subordination, giving God the honour and the glory which is due to Him. And what He taught so often was made true of Himself: ‘everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ (Luke 14:11; 18:14)

Listen to the words by which our Lord speaks of His relation to the Father — see how frequently He uses the words not, and nothing, of Himself. The not I, in which Paul expresses his relationship to Christ, is the very spirit of what Christ says of His relation to the Father: “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (see Galatians 2:20) Jesus taught self-abnegation by the way He lived. Hover over these texts to see each one of His statements relating how the Father led Jesus as He sought to reconcile humanity to God: (John 5:19, 30, 41; 6:38; 7:16, 28; 8:42, 50; 14:10, 24)

The above scriptures reveal insight into Christ’s life and work. They tell us how it was that the Almighty God was able to work His mighty redemption work through Jesus. They show what mindset Christ’s enlightened consciousness viewed His dependence as a man, respectfully reliant as the Son upon the Father. They teach us about Christ’s essential nature and life as a man while His work of redemption was accomplished. He was nothing, that God might be all. Jesus resigned Himself, His will and His powers entirely for the Father to work in and through Him — as He offered us reconciliation, mercy and grace. Of His own power, His own will, and His own glory, of His whole mission with all His works and His teaching,— of all this He said, It is not I; I am nothing; I have given Myself to the Father to work; I am nothing, the Father is all.

This life of entire self-abnegation, absolute submission and dependence upon the Father’s will, Christ found to be one of perfect peace and joy. He lost nothing by giving all to God. God honoured His trust, and manifested all for Him, and then exalted Him to His right hand to administer the kingdom, beside Him, reflecting the majestic glory of this fact: When God reaches out to us to bring us to Himself, by seeing Jesus, we recognize that the Father is waiting in love, to bind you to Him in love. And because Christ had thus humbled Himself before God, and God was ever before Him, Jesus also found it possible to humble Himself before men, and to be the Servant of all. His humility was simply the surrender of Himself to God, to allow Him to do in Him what He pleased, whatever men around might say of Him, or do to Him. The primary purpose of this demonstration of humility was to draw all men to Himself and thereby to the Father.

It is in this state of mind, in this spirit and disposition, that the redemption of Christ has its virtue and potent effectiveness. It is to bring us to this disposition of self-abnegation that we are perceptive to and taking on the mind of Christ. This is the true self-denial to which our Saviour calls each of us: the acknowledgement that self has nothing good in it, except as an empty vessel which God must fill, and that any claim to be or do anything self-warranting may not for a moment be allowed. It is in this, above and before everything, in which the conformity to Jesus consists, the being and doing nothing of ourselves, that God may be all.

Here we have the root and nature of true humility. It is because this is not understood or sought after, that our humility, individually and in the church is so superficial, and lacks vitality. We must learn of Jesus, how He is meek and lowly of heart. He teaches us where true humility rises to find its strength—in the knowledge that it is God who works all in all, that our place is to yield to Him in perfect resignation and dependence, in full consent to be and to do nothing of ourselves.

Christ came to reveal and to impart to us, by example—a life which fully honours God, that came through death to sin and self. If we feel that this life is too high for us and beyond our reach, let this felt inability, drive us to seek it in Him; it is the indwelling Christ via His Spirit who will live in us, this meek and lowly life. Without abiding in Christ, we can do nothing useful in His kingdom. (John 15:5)

If we long for this, let us, above everything, seek the secret of how God works on this earthly plane among humanity. Every moment God works all in all; the mystery, of which, every child of God, is to be the witness — that we are nothing but a vessel, a conduit of lovingkindness, through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness.

The root of all virtue and grace, of all faith and acceptable worship, is that we know that we have nothing but what we receive from our Creator, and bow in most profound humility to wait upon God for it.

Christ’s life manifested a pure conscience, an existential humility witnessed by the very spirit, demeanour and tone of His whole life. Jesus was just as humble in His intercourse with men as with God. He felt Himself the Servant of God for the women and men whom God made and loved. As a natural consequence, He counted Himself the Servant of men, that through Him God might do His work of love. He never for a moment thought of seeking His honour or asserting His power to vindicate Himself. His whole spirit was that of a life yielded to God to work. ¹

It is not until Christians study the humility of Jesus which he taught as the very essence of His redemption, as the very blessedness of the life of the Son of God, as the only true relation to the Father, that we will begin to understand the first and the chief of the marks of the Christ within us.

¹ Glen Jackman’s summary edit of Andrew Murray’s thinking. From chapter three of the book Humility: The Beauty of Holiness New York; London; Glasgow: Fleming H. Revell; in the public domain.

“If you are not born again you cannot enter the kingdom of God” Jesus (John 3:3–8).

Regeneration enables being born again

The doctrine of Regeneration is a Calvinistic term used by the reformers inspired by John Calvin, early Puritans, and today among many Baptists, Presbyterians, and Reformed churches. It refers to a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us. This is more often known by the biblical term used by Jesus: “being born again” of the Spirit’s motivating influence (John 3:3–8).

Regeneration Is the entire work of God

Though we play an active part in sanctification and perseverance; in the work of regeneration, we have no active role at all. Rather it is in entirety the work of God. John teaches that Christ calls people into His church at a specific time in their life to reconcile with God. He enables them with the power of the Spirit to become children of God (John 1:13). Those who are “born … of God” are not operating by “the will of man” to bring about this kind of birth.

Our passivity in regeneration is indicated in Scripture by referring to the occurrence as being “born” or being “born again” (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3; John 3:3–8). We did not choose to be made physically alive, and we did not choose to be born—it is something that happened to us; similarly, “these analogies in Scripture suggest that we are entirely passive in regeneration”. ¹

The necessity of regeneration by the Spirit

Jesus noted that the entrance to the kingdom, is opened by the Spirit’s power causing this effective experience (John 3:3, 5); there is an equipping of a new heart and new motive to serve God which circumvents death (Ezek. 18:31). Those who do not receive a new heart will die spiritually.

The Bible never reveals one saved person without being born again. Civility, knowledge, tact, living by the golden rule or being externally religious will not achieve it. Nicodemus who was taught about being born again by Jesus was a teacher in Israel without objection (John 3:3–8). Paul, blameless according to the law, experienced conversion pivoting his viewpoint from the hateful murdering of Christians to preaching Jesus with persuasive power. He wasn’t motivated to preach the gospel until he met the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:4) He was on the way to arrest and persecute Christians.

No one can have true heartfelt communion with God without regeneration by the Spirit. Initially, before being born again we are at enmity with God (Romans 8:7). God, resides in unapproachable light and holiness (1 Timothy 6:16; 1 John 1:5) while the ungodly cannot be in His presence (Psa. 5:5–7). Therefore, in order for a person to have fellowship with God, he or she must be born again and led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14).

¹ Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine – The Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith

You may go to church regularly, yet deep down you may not feel that you are saved or living as you ought to live.

This is not a strange thought to have. Occasionally, a Christian can feel that we are not where we would like to be spiritually. Generally this is a sign that the Holy Spirit is guiding you to engage mindfully in the process of responsible sanctification.

This has been the lament of even prophets like Isaiah who were very close to the Lord: “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). He felt just like you feel. He confessed he was a man of unclean lips (and lived in a world, home, workplace, or religious affiliation etc. abounding in worldliness and self-will). When contrasted with the revealed glory of the Lord, he said “I am ruined” or “I am unworthy – I’m not sure Lord how I measure up”.

As we read further: “See . . . your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7). Not only at the initial point of salvation do we need this assurance! The more Christ is presented in His righteousness as we grow in holiness, the more we need assurance that the perfect righteousness of Christ is in fact credited to us. Growing in holiness is the Holy Spirit’s work of making us aware of our need of holiness, the need to follow the example of Jesus.

Once we see this need, we must always keep in mind the righteousness of Jesus Christ on our behalf, as what He paid on the cross for you: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus, our attitude changes: “Now, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him”. (1 John 2:28 ) Practicing righteousness or being in the pursuit of righteousness, is our holy calling to enter this process day by day by faith. John Wesley felt that he must repent daily as he beheld the glory of the Lord.

Apostle John said, “everyone who has within him the hope of eternal life purifies himself just as Christ is pure”. (John 3:3) Just beware that in this process of allowing God to purify us, that Satan wants to leverage our awareness of the gap – the lack of our own righteousness in contrast with Christ’s pure righteousness, first when we see the difference and when we strive with the Spirit’s help applying the precious promises of the Word, to put away sin and “have this mindset, that was also in Christ” toward sin.

Bear in mind that the closer you get to Christ, the farther your righteousness will seem from His perfection. So when you are tempted to feel unworthy realize that “no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, and the Lord will give you a way of escape so that you can endure” these fears (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). Your fear of not being a Christian or not worthy, are common to all mankind.

When you begin to follow the example of Christ, and the command of God to “be holy as I am holy” in the light of being righteous by faith in Christ’s beauteous righteousness, Satan will try to convince you that you are not a genuine Christian after all, tempting with thoughts such as “No true born again Christian would yell at their spouse or think the lustful thoughts like you’ve have.”

Jesus spoke a parable to help us understand the need to not rely on our own sense of being righteous:

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14 ESV)

Take note that Jesus did not view the man who thought he was saved, thought he was an outstanding righteous man as the man with the right viewpoint. No. Christ looked at the man who was ashamed, confessing and concerned about his sin, as a righteous man, whom He justified (legally accounted) as saved.

Why does God bring us to these queries of assurance? Is it fear of the doctrine of election, that you are not chosen? Is it the fear of the unpardonable sin? Regardless of the questions that may haunt us due to regrets or simple misunderstandings, generally it is to bring us into a deeper understanding of the Righteousness of Christ, and our need as pilgrims to enter into the process – the journey – of sanctification (living obedient to Christ’s Word), in mind, motive, action and body.