Up, is down.
How you think of yourself is how you grow.
Paul’s understanding of himself holds lessons for Christians.
“Getting ahead” is not a biblical concept.
Listen to our Truth in Two to find out why (full text below).
John the Baptist had it right: He must increase, I must decrease (John 3:30).
Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaches at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).
Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
One of the earliest lessons I taught my students in the 1980’s is that personal growth is a matter of growing down, not up. Here’s what I mean.
The apostle Paul wrote about himself in First Corinthians 15 that he was “the least of all the apostles.” Paul’s view was that he stood lower in leadership than those who walked with Jesus. First Corinthians was written around A.D. 55
Then, in Ephesians 3 Paul wrote that he was “the least of the saints.” A few years earlier he was comparing himself to Church leadership. Now Paul was comparing himself to all Christians. He did not think he was better than anyone else. Ephesians was written around A. D. 62.
Finally, in 1 Timothy 1, just before Paul was killed for his faith, he said, “Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Paul is saying all people, believers and unbelievers, sinners all, can stand in line behind him, because he is the worst of sinners. 1 Timothy was written about A. D. 64.
The timeline goes from A.D. 55 to 62 to 64, Paul’s estimation of himself decreased over time. Paul no longer ranked himself with apostles or Christians but with all sinners; he, being the worst. From the earliest days of my teaching I think about how as a Christian, my personal growth is “down” toward humility.
I stand with Paul, grateful for the mercy found in the payment for my sin through Jesus’ sacrifice. But then I think about Paul’s “worst of sinners” comment about himself. And I want to add, “Paul, you can get in line behind me.”
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.