OUR DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

 

We are to humble ourselves, according to James the brother of Jesus. James could have written, “God is my brother,” and he would have made a great name for himself! Rather, James wrote, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (Jas 4:10).

The brother of Jesus was not God, and he knew that he had no power to lift anyone up, down, or even sideways. James was a humble man! James, after the death of Jesus, was the head of the Council of Jerusalem who decided the Law. However, James was not an apostle, and as such, his significance in the Bible is secondary to Peter and even Paul. He was even okay with be less than Paul in stature.

Jesus also seemed to deny His own family: 

The multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers without seek for you.” And he answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brethren? (Mark 3:32-33) 

James was the brother of Jesus, albeit he was the son of Mary and Joseph. (Catolics say that the brothers and sisters of Jesus were cousins because to believe otherwise would be cause for Mary not to be venerated.) However, in this case, Jesus even denied that Mary was His mother.

Jospeh was the supposed father of Jesus (Luke 3:23). I go one step further… Yahweh was not the “Father” of Jesus in a biological sense. Jesus IS God! He was without father or mother as was said about Melchizedek (Heb 7:3). (Melchizedek may have been the identity of “The Word” in scripture.)

James knew his place; he knew the real Jesus; that He is God in the flesh. James could have had bragging rights: My brother is God and expect reverence. However, James humbled himself. He literally abased himself by admitting that there is no basis for distinction. He knew that he was not the brother of God, so he did not seek favoritism nor veneration. (Neither did Mary who was a humble woman.)

A key characteristic of a true Christian is humility. Humility is knowing that you cannot lift yourselves up, but like James, only the Lord can lift you up.

Lifting up can have two meanings: (1) hypsoo and (2) hypsoo in the Greek… “lift” and “up.” Perhaps it was not meant to be redundant. Jesus can lift you from both sin and beyond. He can raise you from the dead at the resurrection. Jesus can change who you are and where you are to go. Lift would mean elevate your existence from sinful man to righteous man, and up would be from this world to another realm. Jesus can do both of those things; He was not redundant.

James insinuated that you cannot elevate your own selves, and neither can you take yourselves to heaven. You, just like him, have no special powers to be God or even a god.

James had a clear understanding that sharing the household of Christ did not make him a Christ. He was merely James.

In the Greek of that time, both James and Jacob were of the same Hebrew root — Yaaqob (Jacob in the English). What is so peculiar about the name, Jacob? He was renamed “Israel” by the phantom man whom Jacob wrestled. Jesus was “Israel” in a symbolic way. James was not!

James was in a sense, “the servant of the Lord” according to naming conventions. Jesus (aka “Joshua”) was “THE SERVANT OF THE LORD.”

James could have made a name for himself as the servant of the Lord. However, that was the role of Jesus who was born to serve the Lord by being the Lord God.

I have a problem, and you might as well — we serve ourselves. We come short of the Glory of Jesus like James who could have been born the Christ.

The problem with almost everyone is that we are essentially our own gods… not really, but in our own minds and activities. Anytime even Christians sin, it is self-exalting; that you know better than God!

We look at God’s Law’s as restrictive; that we cannot do what we really want to do. Like Lucifer, that idea is making oneself out to be God. The Law of God — The Ten Commandments — are basically ways of preserving ourselves from self-destruction. (Satan never destroys anyone as the situation of Job proves; Satan can only influence us by promising things and when we deny them, he can harm our bodies.) Sin is essentially each person shooting themselves with the “fiery darts” that the forces of evil provide for our destruction. We kill ourselves by sinning.

Indeed, lying can kill you. Indeed, envy can kill you. Indeed, adultery can get you killed! You get the point. Satan need not kill you because lawbreakers essentially kill themselves!

Sinners exalt themselves by believing that they are beyond sin. Sinners diminish God in deference to themselves when they ignore the will of God.

So, you think that you are humble and beyond pride? That is what Satan would want you to think. The fact is that we all are born debased. King David, who most people exalted, admitted that he too was debased… He wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). We may think that we are not base, but we all are as sons of Cain who was of the Wicked One (1 John 3:12).

That notion should humble you; it did me. I was not born a “son of God,” I was born the “son of Satan” by the blood of Cain. Only Jesus can regen you to make you a “son of God.”

James knew that he could not lift you up because he too was “shapen in iniquity.” Mary and Joseph did have carnal knowledge with each other after Jesus was born in a pure womb that was clean from sin.

James knew what it meant to be humble as he stood by his supposed brother. He lifted no one up in stature nor elevation. He died a humble man. Annas the high priest, Josephus wrote, had James stoned to death. The priest debased James, making him as uninteresting as the harlot who had sinned.

On the other hand, Peter requested that Nero crucify him upside down because he was humble enough not to be martyred in the same manner as Jesus. Crucifixion was for important people and stoning for the riff-raff. James was humbled even in death, yet every time a Christian sins, he or she is exalting themselves, and let down, down.

We are to humble ourselves, according to James the brother of Jesus. James could have written, “God is my brother,” and he would have made a great name for himself! Rather, James wrote, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (Jas 4:10).

The brother of Jesus was not God, and he knew that he had no power to lift anyone up, down, or even sideways. James was a humble man! James, after the death of Jesus, was the head of the Council of Jerusalem who decided the Law. However, James was not an apostle, and as such, his significance in the Bible is secondary to Peter and even Paul. He was even okay with be less than Paul in stature.

Jesus also seemed to deny His own family:

 

The multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers without seek for you.” And he answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brethren? (Mark 3:32-33)

 

James was the brother of Jesus, albeit he was the son of Mary and Joseph. (Catholics say that the brothers and sisters of Jesus were cousins because to believe otherwise would be cause for Mary not to be venerated.) However, in this case, Jesus even denied that Mary was His mother.

Jospeh was the supposed father of Jesus (Luke 3:23). I go one step further… Yahweh was not the “Father” of Jesus in a biological sense. Jesus IS God! He was without father or mother as was said about Melchizedek (Heb 7:3). (Melchizedek may have been the identity of “The Word” in scripture.)

James knew his place; he knew the real Jesus; that He is God in the flesh. James could have had bragging rights: My brother is God and expect reverence. However, James humbled himself. He literally abased himself by admitting that there is no basis for distinction. He knew that he was not the brother of God, so he did not seek favoritism nor veneration. (Neither did Mary who was a humble woman.)

A key characteristic of a true Christian is humility. Humility is knowing that you cannot lift yourselves up, but like James, only the Lord can lift you up.

Lifting up can have two meanings: (1) hypsoo and (2) hypsoo in the Greek… “lift” and “up.” Perhaps it was not meant to be redundant. Jesus can lift you from both sin and beyond. He can raise you from the dead at the resurrection. Jesus can change who you are and where you are to go. Lift would mean elevate your existence from sinful man to righteous man, and up would be from this world to another realm. Jesus can do both of those things; He was not redundant.

James insinuated that you cannot elevate your own selves, and neither can you take yourselves to heaven. You, just like him, have no special powers to be God or even a god.

James had a clear understanding that sharing the household of Christ did not make him a Christ. He was merely James.

In the Greek of that time, both James and Jacob were of the same Hebrew root — Yaaqob (Jacob in the English). What is so peculiar about the name, Jacob? He was renamed “Israel” by the phantom man whom Jacob wrestled. Jesus was “Israel” in a symbolic way. James was not!

James was in a sense, “the servant of the Lord” according to naming conventions. Jesus (aka “Joshua”) was “THE SERVANT OF THE LORD.”

James could have made a name for himself as the servant of the Lord. However, that was the role of Jesus who was born to serve the Lord by being the Lord God.

I have a problem, and you might as well — we serve ourselves. We come short of the Glory of Jesus like James who could have been born the Christ.

The problem with almost everyone is that we are essentially our own gods… not really, but in our own minds and activities. Anytime even Christians sin, it is self-exalting; that you know better than God!

We look at God’s Law’s as restrictive; that we cannot do what we really want to do. Like Lucifer, that idea is making oneself out to be God. The Law of God — The Ten Commandments — are basically ways of preserving ourselves from self-destruction. (Satan never destroys anyone as the situation of Job proves; Satan can only influence us by promising things and when we deny them, he can harm our bodies.) Sin is essentially each person shooting themselves with the “fiery darts” that the forces of evil provide for our destruction. We kill ourselves by sinning.

Indeed, lying can kill you. Indeed, envy can kill you. Indeed, adultery can get you killed! You get the point. Satan need not kill you because lawbreakers essentially kill themselves!

Sinners exalt themselves by believing that they are beyond sin. Sinners diminish God in deference to themselves when they ignore the will of God.

So, you think that you are humble and beyond pride? That is what Satan would want you to think. The fact is that we all are born debased. King David, who most people exalted, admitted that he too was debased… He wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). We may think that we are not base, but we all are as sons of Cain who was of the Wicked One (1 John 3:12).

That notion should humble you; it did me. I was not born a “son of God,” I was born the “son of Satan” by the blood of Cain. Only Jesus can regen you to make you a “son of God.”

James knew that he could not lift you up because he too was “shapen in iniquity.” Mary and Joseph did have carnal knowledge with each other after Jesus was born in a pure womb that was clean from sin.

James knew what it meant to be humble as he stood by his supposed brother. He lifted no one up in stature nor elevation. He died a humble man. Annas the high priest, Josephus wrote, had James stoned to death. The priest debased James, making him as uninteresting as the harlot who had sinned.

On the other hand, Peter requested that Nero crucify him upside down because he was humble enough not to be martyred in the same manner as Jesus. Crucifixion was for important people and stoning for the riff-raff. James was humbled even in death, yet every time Christian sin, he or she is exalting themselves, and let down, down.

Water baptism is man letting down a person that lowers his own expectations. Baptism is humility that before you go up, up you must first go down, down to repent of who you have been.