“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?” 1 Corinthians 3:5
Dear Ones:
Throughout Scripture we find that God chose very unlikely candidates through whom He would accomplish His purposes. It is true that He worked through prophets and kings, but just as significantly, and perhaps even more so, He worked through those who were, in the eyes of the world, “lowly,” and sometimes esteemed as nothing. God called Samuel as a boy, to eventually be the instrument by whom Israel would be introduced to David, their greatest king. It would be through Gideon, the “least in my father’s house,” who would deliver Israel miraculously from the Midianites. Jeremiah and Moses, though great men who accomplished great things, had a very low opinion of their ability to speak to the people, one saying “I am a child,” and the other, after spending forty years in the wilderness shepherding sheep, simply declared: “I am not eloquent…I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” (Ex. 94:10) The greatest example of those who had a lowly attitude toward themselves was the Lord Jesus. He declared, “…I am meek and lowly in heart.” (Matt. 11:29) He took the place of a servant, and did not “lord it over” men. Though He was Lord, the eternal “Word made flesh,” He did not wait for men to grasp the significance of this before He came. He deliberately humbled Himself under the mighty hand of His Father, that He might come as the suffering Servant, sacrificial Lamb of God, to “seek and to save” that which was lost. He not only stooped to dwell among men, but sought no reputation, only the pleasure of His Father by doing His will. What is the great truth, here revealed, by these examples, and how does God work in accordance with that truth?
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Cor. 1:27-29) God chooses ordinary, even less than ordinary, things and people, through and by whom to reveal His glory, His power, His love and goodness. The believer, whose honest attitude of being “ordinary,” is that one who knows his nothingness, in and of himself. He is certain that he cannot be, or accomplish anything good, apart from God. He is a person who knows that, though God has set an incalculable worth on his or her life, he is helpless to love and serve God in and of himself. To this one, the Lord says encouragingly: “…but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” (Is.66:2) The evidence of an individual who knows that they are but a vessel, ordinary, yet loved, is one who knows that he is only “rich” and blessed in the measure that God chooses, and is willing, to do so. He is “poor in spirit,” realizing the absolute need of God working in his heart and spirit. He also realizes that God is sovereign, Almighty, and the great Determiner of life and existence, yet, from whom ALL true blessings flow. The Apostle Paul, though among the twelve chosen apostles, would write: “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.” (1 Cor. 2:3) Was the Apostle afraid of the Corinthians? No, but He knew something of God’s greatness. Paul, though an Apostle, was only such by the grace of God. He trembled at the word of God.
In Joel’s prophesy concerning the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, he writes: “…and also upon the servants and upon the maidservants, in those days will I pour out My Spirit.” (2:29) God doesn’t uses the meek and lowly, good receivers of His grace.
Dear Father, Fill these vessels with Thyself. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad