Jesus Examplifies the 2 Drivers of Humility from Philippians 2:5-11

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Philippians 2:5‭-‬8 NKJV

-God the Son existed in the beginning as the second person of deity (John 1:1)
-He was the Word through which all things were created (John 1:3).
-However, in order to redeem man, the Son of God became man- took the form of man (John 1:14, Colossians 2:9), found in appearance as man (Philippians 2:8)
-Even though Jesus was born with flesh and blood, He was intrinsically God. God bypassed the sinful human nature in Jesus by virtue of His birth to a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25).

-Philippians 2:5-11 clearly tells us that Jesus Layed Aside His Godly rights, took the form of a man in order to save man. He did that to meet the Father’s requirement for man’s redemption.

He submitted to God to the point of death.

-He ran His earthly ministry not as God but as a Man anointed with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:38).

-He identified as Man. He was tempted just as we are, yet He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Likewise us:
We are born of God.
We have the nature of God.
However to stay humble before God, we must submit totally to God and His Word
And we must not think ourselves higher than other people- we identify as men as well. This by no means doesn’t mean we don’t know who we are or what we are made of. We are Born of God! I am proudly Born of God! ?

And just like Jesus, we too though having the form of man boldly witness of Christ and do Kingdom exploits by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

And we can live victoriously by faith in Christ, helped by the Holy Spirit.

A consciousness that we are human just like any other man. So that we do not overvalue or overestimate people OR undervalue or underestimate people.

Dear friend, strife is not your friend. It distracts you and steals your focus. Every time you respond to strife, you let someone else determine the course of your life. By living a life of strife, you unintentionally ‘follow’ someone steadily without even realizing it.

The Gates of Brass are Broken

The prison of addiction has been destroyed.

The bondage of poverty was taken away

The cage of fear was removed. 

Walk right on

You’re a free man. 

Seize your victory through your thanksgiving 

Halleluyah! 

As children of God, we have the God nature and we can positively impact our world and the Kingdom of God with the force of God’s love. In this video I share some thoughts on how we can do this

One way to avoid judging anyone is to sometimes choose to be a fool for Christ’ sake. If someone creates room to receive feedback or constructive criticism of their actions or lifestyle, take it and deliver your opinion in a most respectful manner. If no such system exists, trust Jesus to handle it.

This is Part 9 of the study series; The Road to Financial Sufficiency In Christ. In this part, we consider what Jesus said about money. What Exactly were Jesus’ stand on money? Find links to previous part at the end of this article.

First let’s do an overview of scriptural view on money………..

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ I Timothy 6:10 NKJV

“As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labour—this is the gift of God. ‘ Ecclesiastes 5:19 NKJV.

• Money is not evil, it is the love of money that leads to evil
• Money is not the only root of evil, it is ‘A’ root of evil
• Excessive craving for money derails a believer and steals his faith
• Greediness for money leads to self-destruction
• God gives riches and wealth for someone to enjoy and have a good life.

What Jesus Thought About Money

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24 NKJV

“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:9-11,13 NKJV

From Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:9-11, we can deduce some of Jesus’ thoughts on money…….

1. Money Is A Master

In some Bible translations, the word ‘mammon‘ is used interchangeably with money, deceitful riches, possessions. In both verses of Matthew and Luke shared above, Jesus uses the Word mammon in a personified sense; He attributes a personal or human character to it. In both accounts, ‘mammon’ is described as a master and Jesus mentions 2 masters in our texts- God and mammon.

A master is someone who has servants or slaves working for him. According to Jesus, a master demands to be ‘served’ in love and loyalty.

Child of God, here’s the good news; Jesus gave 2 options- God or Money. Meaning, you have a choice. God doesn’t impose Himself on anyone, money doesn’t either. However if you choose to serve God, then you must reduce money to what it is- a tool for intermediating the exchange of goods of services. Don’t let the love of money drive you to ruin.

2. Money Will Fail

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions), so that when it fails, they [those you have favoured] may receive and welcome you into the everlasting habitations (dwellings).” Luke 16:9 AMPC

“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” Luke 16:9 NLT

“I tell you, use the worldly things you have now to make ‘friends’ for later. Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed into a home that lasts forever.” Luke 16:9 ERV

Money/riches/possessions don’t last forever. Unfortunately, Luke 16:9 says ‘when’ your possessions are gone‘, not ‘if‘ your possessions are gone‘!

The security that money gives is transient. The list of ‘Top 10 Richest Persons in The World’ has never remained constant.

Money does not satisfy …….

“He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with gain. This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 AMPC

See what Proverbs 23:4-5 says…

“‘Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.’ Proverbs 23:4-5 NKJV

Riches CERTAINLY make themselves wings (and fly off).

Inspite of Luke 16:9 and Proverbs 23:4-5, Jesus tells us there is a way to give money an eternal security (see #4 below).

3. Money Can Buy Influence

“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’ “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. ‘ Luke 16:3-4,8 NLT

………..”I know how to ensure that I’ll have PLENTY OF FRIENDS who will give me a home when I am fired“……..

Jesus’ Parable of The Unjust Steward in Luke 16:1-12 which we have been referencing in this study, narrates the story of a manager who was mismanaging his master’s money. And when his master asked him to give an account of his stewardship, sensing he might be sacked, he decided to first settle himself. He bought influence for himself with his master’s money!

While this man’s action may not totally seem like a good thing, see what Jesus said in verses 8-9;

“So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.“
Luke 16:8‭-‬9 NKJV

……”make friends for yourself by the unrighteous mammon“…….

Money can buy Influence; use it to kingdom advantage.

Influence is about People.

4. Money Is Not TRUE Riches

“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” Luke 16:9-11 NLT

Money (in itself) has very low significance in Heaven. Jesus referred to money as ‘least’ or ‘little’.

Money is Not True Riches. Heaven’s True Riches are PEOPLE. If Jesus said we should invest money in people, then I choose to believe that people are Heaven’s True Riches.

Investing money in Kingdom work gives it eternal security. The more people we influence and win over to God the richer our heavenly treasure store (Luke 12:33, Matthew 6:19‭-‬20).

Little wonder God would give His Son to save PEOPLE.

Jesus put People above Money. Don’t reverse it!

5. You Are Worth Much More Than Money

“And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man’s life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs.”
Luke 12:15 AMPC

………..a man’s life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance………..

Don’t reduce your worth to money, riches and possessions. Your worth is not defined by money or your possessions… You were BOUGHT by the PRECIOUS blood of Jesus……

“knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” I Peter 1:18-19 NLT

Dear friends, we are stewards of God’s possessions in our care. Our possessions are gifts from God. We must learn to enjoy these gifts as well as put them to other good use-especially, Kingdom work.

Greed, Covetousness and the Love of Money are killers. Godliness with Contentment is great gain (Proverbs 1:18‭-‬19, 1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Praise God!

Well, thank you for joining me on this very enlightening study.

Remember you can access previous parts of this study as follows; 

I covered 9 key subtopics on biblical financial management in this series. You can start with the part that interests you most,

Part 1: The Road To Financial Sufficiency In Christ: Introduction

Part 2:The Purpose of Money from The Bible

Part 3 : We Have Been Delivered from Poverty. 

Part 4: Benefits of Being An Heir of the Father.

Part 5: Did Jesus Really Have Any Needs?  

Part 6: How Jesus Met Needs In The Bible.

Part 7: How Did Jesus Meet Needs?

Part 8: 5 Biblical Principles for Enjoying Financial Sufficiency In Christ.

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There are 2 other kinds of ONE mentioned in 1 Corinthuans 6- When someone confesses Jesus as Lord and Saviour, he  becomes One spirit with Christ (verse 17) and his body is becomes a member of Christ (verse 15). 

We are born of God, God is love and so we are love. Love is an enduring attribute of God (1 John 4:7-8). We are made of love! and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can love as God loves. We are born of God, we have His nature and Spirit within us and so we can express love as God does.

As a Christian, sometimes, people abhor your presence. They make it very clear that they don’t like you. And if you care to check, you wouldn’t find explanations for their stance. In this kind of scenario, it may be safe to keep your distance, but should you give back hate?