Keeping God’s Word in Lowliness

The knowledge of God had not made the Romans “great”; it had rather matured them to the point where they could receive the teach­ings pertaining to the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:18. Therefore it was not by chance that this letter with its deep subject matter was written to the Romans. They had become obedient from the heart to that form of doctrine to which they had been delivered. Romans 6:17. They lived a life that was on a high spiritual level; they could understand Paul when he explained the laws of the Spirit of life and the mysteries of the gospel.

This is also the case in our days. It is not by chance that you—by God’s grace—hear about salvation by the life of Jesus (Romans 5:10), and about being conformed to the image of His Son. Romans 8:29. If you understand it, and if you have a desire for it, then you share in the election to “so great a salvation.” Hebrews 2:3.

By coming to the end of the law—the death of Christ—we have been freed from the law of sin and death. This can be the beginning of being conformed to the image of Christ; nevertheless, we have not thereby come to wisdom and the full understanding of our own cor­ruption. To come to that knowledge we need to know another law. Everything goes according to laws. We must be set free from some laws, yet we must always be bound to some other laws. We shall be set free from the law of sin and death for all time, but we must always be bound to the law that “evil is present with me” even while doing the good. Romans 7:21. Paul found this law for himself, and there will be no sanctification in our lives if we do not find this law for our­selves.

When Paul came, he came not only in the fullness of the blessing of Christ (Romans 15:29), but he also had lowly thoughts about him­self. We can only please God by being humble and meek.

There are several examples of how very badly it can go if one does not abide in lowliness. Saul lost his kingdom for this very rea­son. Joshua gave the Gibeonites liberty—which was wrong because they were supposed to be utterly destroyed. What we read about it is very significant: “. . . but they did not ask counsel of the Lord.” Joshua 9:14. They would have done that if they had had lowly thoughts about their own powers of discernment. David was a man according to God’s heart, but the evil was present with him, so he let God’s people be numbered—against God’s will—even in his old age.

If we “know the law” and if God’s word has been implanted in us, we are still not out of danger until the Word has become flesh in us. The only way in which we can receive wisdom is by exercising ourselves in the fear of God so we can stay in the lowly places and do what is right.

Our senses are exercised if our interest is in the word of God. Then we grow according to the effective working by which every part does its share. This is why the word about “knowing the law” is given to us for our testing.

Receiving the form of doctrine and being conformed to the image of Christ can only become reality in my life if I—in spite of much knowledge—can abide in lowliness and have lowly thoughts about myself. Paul was bound to the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21), set free from the laws of sin, and bound to the laws of the Spirit of life. His exhortation is: Follow me!