“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)
The past two weeks we have been looking at meekness which is an aspect of love for those that abuse us. Meekness flows from love for the people that speak against us and perhaps even do bodily harm. It comes from the character of Christ being worked in His people. It is from Christ because this is not the natural man’s response which is always a protection of his own perceived honor and selfish approach to life. Christ endured reproach, physical beatings and the crucifixion with sorrow, concern, and even love for those who executed Him. That is a true Divine power and something that is beyond any natural man apart from the indwelling Christ.
This week we will be looking at God as the basis and source for meekness. If people are like me, they see the impossibility of meekness as coming from themselves and know that it must come from another source. As all true love and actions that flow from it are beyond the ability of the natural person in all ways and the saved person apart from the work of the Spirit, so meekness appears to be even harder than other acts of love. In reality it is the heart of love for God’s glory in fallen humanity and is expressed when fallen humanity is at its worst.
Meekness is founded securely in the character of God and specifically on the self-existence of God. God loves because He is love within Himself and no other cause or reason. Another way to say that is that He loves from within Himself. Believers should grow to the point where they are free from a controlling self-love and so are able to love because God is love and not because of how other human beings treat them. The self-existence of God teaches us that all that God does is from Himself since He needs nothing other than Himself to exist or act. So for God to love all that is needed is for God to choose to express Himself since He is love. What man needs to love is to share in the love of God for Himself so that man’s love is moved from and by God rather than other things.
We need to think this through for a few moments. People think of love as niceness and doing good things to other people. Some people think of love as the good feeling one gets when something nice is done for others. Others think of love as simply actions that benefit other people. But those types of things are usually caused or motivated by things within the selfish nature of man. If I don’t want to see someone suffer, I might help them just because I don’t want to see them suffer. I might help people to soothe my conscience and so I won’t feel bad. On the other hand, I might help them in order to feel good about myself. In all of those situations I am doing things that benefit others but I am really doing them for myself in terms of the motives. That is not love but in reality is self-love.
If a man operates or works according to self-love, then when other people do things that are harmful or hurtful to him then the desire to do good to the person doing the harmful or hurtful things is gone. But love is something different than that and meekness which flows from love is far different than that. Love is taking joy and even pleasure in the true good of others even when it is hurtful to self. Meekness is love expressed when harm and hurt are done. But this love has its source in God and so is able to be expressed because the nature of love is from God and God needs no cause outside of Himself to love. God does not need good in others to show love, so those who share in His love are able to show love even when harm and hurt are done to them. This is what we learn when we see the meekness of Stephen and Jesus. The harm and hurt done to them produced a real love and so they were and are seen as meek.
Meekness is found in those who live before God and have the life of God in them. It is found in one who understands that all things ultimately come from a sovereign God. In fact, it is a response to a sovereign God from the life of God in the soul. As with all things, meekness comes from a biblical view of God. All that man does is a response to what man thinks of God and His sovereignty. If a person knows that all things that happen to him or her will be turned for good by the sovereign hand of God, then the harm and hurt that another does will be viewed differently than if one did not believe that truth.
We must also understand and fight to see past the present world of the senses to know that God is in control of all things and to be content with what God brings to pass. We see an example of this in Eli as given I Sam 3:18. “So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.” What Samuel told Eli was that his (Eli’s) house was cursed and nothing could atone for it. Eli’s sons had sinned greatly against the Lord and judgment was about to come down on them and Eli. I Samuel 3:18 was his response. He submitted to the Lord meekly because God does what is truly best in all situations.
Meekness comes from a spiritually poor person and one who mourns over his own sins and the sins of others. It comes from a heart that loves God’s glory more than all other things, even one’s own honor and name. This meekness comes when one loves the glory of God through the welfare of another person more than obtaining revenge and returning evil for evil. We see this so clearly in the following text: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:14-21).
The text in the previous paragraph displays the true spirit or heart of meekness. The meek person returns blessings instead of curses to those that persecute him. The meek person does not pay back evil for evil but tries to be at peace with all men and that includes his enemies. The meek person is not wise in his own estimation because his own reason and heart would tell him to get even with the other person. The meek person never takes his own revenge but leaves room for the wrath of God. It is God’s work to carry out the work of vengeance and His alone. So the meek person is to feed his enemy and give him drink if he is thirsty. In doing this the meek person is not overcome by evil but overcomes evil with good. This text stands out with vivid clarity against the way of the world today. It teaches the way of love and meekness and not returning evil for evil. It shows that the biblical life can only be carried out by God working His life in the soul of man. It is truly a work of God in the human heart when a human being responds to insult and harm by love. That is meekness and its only real source is God Himself.
Meekness requires a broken heart and humility as it is this heart that the Spirit works in. A proud heart is not the heart that receives the work of the Spirit in working the character of God in the soul. A proud heart wants to do things by self for the sake of self. A proud heart is too concerned about his own honor and reputation to have true meekness. So the heart that has the work of the Spirit must be a humble heart and a heart that is broken from selfishness and self-love. In other words, it is a heart that is poor in spirit. It does not have any righteousness of its own to defend and has been broken from its selfishness and self-love. It is empty of self and so pliable to the work of the Spirit in working the character of Christ in the heart. This is the soul that is more concerned with the glory of God than what happens to self. This is the soul that has stopped caring about self-righteousness in the sight of others and is now concerned that the life and glory of God would be expressed through it.
As long as the churches remain full of the psychology of the world whether in the name of Christ or not, it will stress self-esteem over Christ-esteem. People in the churches will remain sensitive about how they feel about things rather than sensitive to the love and glory of God. As long as people focus on themselves rather than the glory of God, true meekness and poverty of spirit will be lost. When people take pride in their humility rather than a humility hating their pride, meekness will not be seen. In other words, the churches will be more interested in programs and self-fulfillment than they will be in expressing the love of God that comes in hard things and times. The churches will be more interested in a form of love that is showy and makes them feel good rather than a true love that is expressed in the midst of suffering and sometimes even the love is met with disdain by those who see it. The churches must repent of the thinking of the world that has come into it even though it has been baptized by a few verses and big names. True love as expressed in meekness is not glamorous and showy. But it is true love and it is true love that sets the disciples of Jesus apart from those that think they are.
God Loves... Himself 
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