True godliness starts in the mind, with a changed attitude towards self. It begins with a realisation that we are nothing in the sight of God, and we should be nothing in our own estimation also. We are servants to God – if he will have us to serve him – and we must be servants to men also. What we deserve is to be cast off forever into outer darkness. That is the reality. It is far from what we should expect that God should accept us as his servants, and we are unprofitable servants, at that. There has been a deep work of abasement in every believer’s heart, which has dealt a fatal blow to the Pharisee-mind within us. Even the definition of greatness has changed for us. Greatness is not to be a great master over others, but to be a great servant of others. The servant does not consider his own greatness – for that is lost from sight – but he considers the greatness of others and how he can serve them. By thinking in this way, self is put in a place where it can do no harm.
All who do not adopt this servant spirit will be opposed by God – ‘whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased’; he will be forcibly put down from the high position he has assigned to himself. It is a position to which he does not belong. How dare any assign themselves honours which the Lord has not given them? But ‘he that humbles himself shall be exalted.’ He has left unanswered the question of his greatness and busied himself with serving others. He has left it to the Lord to judge him. He has judged ‘nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God’ (1 Corinthians 4:5). Does this leave the leaders of the church with no authority? Certainly not. But their authority comes from the word of God, not from themselves.