The Uncomfortable Truth: Why Humility is Impossible for God

I am going to start with a statement that will offend and turn a lot of people off: God is not humble.

SELAH.

For those of you still reading, allow me to give you clarity. This statement isn't a devaluation of God; it is an exploration of His actual nature. We often use the word "humble" as a catch-all for "good" or "kind," but when we look at the mechanics of the Word, we see that humility is a requirement for us that is impossible for Him.

Defining the Human Requirement

According to the Dictionary of Bible Themes, humility is: "An attitude of lowliness and obedience, grounded in the recognition of one’s status before God as his creatures."

Noah Webster’s first dictionary adds that it is a "deep sense of one’s own unworthiness in the sight of God... and submission to the divine will."

Do you see the pattern? Humility is directly attached to our "humanness." It is the act of a created being recognizing their position in relation to the Creator. It is an understanding that without Christ, you are nothing. It is a posture of subjection.

The Supreme Cannot be Subordinate

We see in Micah 6:8 that we are commanded to "walk humbly with your God." In Colossians 3, we are told to "put on" humility like a garment. These are instructions for the created.

Now, let's look at the Attribute that completes the statement: God is not humble. He is Sovereign.

You cannot be humble if you are Supreme. Sovereignty describes absolute supremacy in power and authority. It is a logical contradiction to be both the Ultimate Authority and a subordinate at the same time.

God was not created. He has always existed. Being Sovereign means He has complete ownership of everything He made. Abraham acknowledged this in Genesis 14:22 when he called God the "Possessor of heaven and earth." Psalm 24:1 says the earth and its fullness belong to Him. You cannot be "lowly" in status when you own the status.

The Mystery of the God-Man

This brings us to the perfect paradox of Jesus. We know Jesus is 100% God and 100% Man. Often, we focus on one side and miss the totality of how these two natures work together.

1. Because He is 100% Man: He is able to walk in perfect humility. He fulfills the human calling of subjection to the Father. But because He is sinless, His humility isn't rooted in "unworthiness"—it is rooted in Obedience.
2. Because He is 100% God: His Sovereignty is what allowed Him to choose that submission while keeping His perfection.

Jesus could not be the perfectly humble man if He were not also the Sovereign God. He didn't become "lesser" in His nature to save us; He used His Supreme authority to take on a lowly posture.

The Takeaway

We are called to be humble because we are not the ones in control. We "put on" humility because it is the only appropriate response to a Sovereign King. God doesn't have to be humble because He is the standard that humility measures itself against.

He isn't looking for us to "act" like Him in His Sovereignty; He’s looking for us to respond to His Sovereignty with our humility.

The insights in this series are my own, with AI assisting in organization and presentation.