Study 8 - The Meaning and Importance of Humility

Bible Study Lesson 8

The Meaning and Importance of Humility

In this lesson we discover how the Bible describes humility and the reasons for its importance.

1. Did Jesus humble Himself? Phil 2:5-8.

2. Was the humility of Jesus shown by His willingness to obey His Father in heaven and die with great suffering? Mat 26:2, 39; Phil 2:8.

3. Was the humility of Jesus shown by His willingness to give up His position of equality with God and become a man? Phil 2:5-8.

4. Did Jesus’ Father in heaven exalt Him after He humbled Himself in obedience? Phil 2:9-11.

5. Was Jesus’ example in humbling Himself, and afterward, being exalted by God, a biblical principle that God will exalt a person who humbles himself? Prov 18:12; 29:23; Mat 23:12; James 4:10.

Comment: Jesus’ example shows that humility is a willingness to give up authority, or prestige, or comfort, or possessions and accept less in order to show obedience to God, please Him, and be a servant.

6. Is the humble person the one who chooses the best place when among a group of other people? Luke 14:7-11.

7. Will a humble person have an attitude of willingness to learn and even to listen to criticism? Prov 15:31-33.

Comment: There are many other proverbs like this where humility is not in the context. Read Prov 1:5, 25-26, 30-31; 9:8-9; 10:17; 12:1, 15; 13:1, 18; 15:5; 17:10; 19:20, 25, 27; 21:11; 23:12.

8. Did Jesus teach that a person who has the humility of a little child shows who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Mat 18:1-6.

Comment: The humility of a little child in this setting would be a child whose parents taught proper principles of living, obedience to the commandments of God, and who disciplined the child, so the child would be teachable. Mat 18:6 says of the child, “one of these little ones who believe in Me”. This shows a child-like faith, not a mind that seeks for criticism and reasons to doubt. God expects us to use our mind and think deeply, but God also expects us to apply the principles that develop faith (review lesson 3). In Mat 18:2 this little child obeyed Jesus and sat in the midst of them without asking why or talking back to Jesus. This shows that even an adult who is in a position of authority in society needs to be teachable about spiritual matters and needs to have a full faith in order to be great in the kingdom of heaven.

9. If a person thinks that he or she is superior to most other people and does not want to be near other people who are imagined to somehow be inferior, can that person be humble? Prov 16:19; Rom 12:16; Phil 2:3.

Comment: The phrase “lowliness of mind” in Phil 2:3 is sometimes translated “humility of mind”. A humble person needs to think of others as equal and be willing to associate with such people.

10. Does God require that His children be humble? Isa 57:15; 66:2; Micah 6:8.

Comment: The word “contrite” in Isa 66:2 is a synonym for humble.

11. Did King David show humility in this circumstance when David’s own son Absalom had rebelled against David and tried to become king in place of David? II Sam 15:13-14; 16:5-13.

12. Were kings Ahab and Josiah given the prophecy that their kingdoms would not go into defeat and captivity in their lifetime because they were humble? I Kings 21:17-29; II Kings 22:14-20.

Comment: Even though King Ahab had done many wicked things and he allowed his wife to do much evil, after he humbled himself and fasted before God, God accepted his repentance and allowed him to finish his reign without defeat.

13. Does the example of what happened to Israel when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years teach us that if we are not humble, God will humble us? Deut 8:1-6; I Cor 10:11; 11:31-32.

14. Is humbling oneself before God sometimes shown by fasting? Ps 35:13; Isa 58:1-12; I Ki 21:27-29.

Comment: In Isa 58:3, 5 the word afflict is sometimes translated humble.