Grace and the Gift of Humility in Philippians
“I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,” (Matt 11.29). The humility of our Lord exhibited here is likely one of the most appealing and challenging of his traits. That it is appealing is of course fairly evident; generally a person who expresses humility today is thought to be warm, friendly, and inviting. But the challenge persists, because we know that we have been called (not 10 words prior) to follow in this way, and the way of humility is invariably the way of the cross. What we need, then, is the grace of God in us “both to will and to work” (Phil 2.13) toward this way — which is indeed what we receive in Christ: “thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Cor 9.15). What follows will attempt an exploration of the theme of grace and gift in Philippians and its application in ministry. As we investigate this theme biblically, historically, and theologically, we will see that in Philippians Pa...