A Sunday School Lesson On Humility

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study on the subject of humility

Humility before Honor

Proverbs 22:4 “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.”

God is said to resist or be opposed to the proud and will give His grace only to those who are humble (James 4:6) but this isn’t only a New Testament belief because Solomon wrong long ago that “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor” (Prov 15:33) and just “Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor” (Prov 18:12). This is why Zephaniah the Prophet urged the readers to “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord” (Zeph 2:3) and don’t we want to “be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord?” We will be if we’ve repented and trusted in Christ because then “your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3b).

What type of reward will the humble person receive?

What are these “riches and honor and life” speaking about?

Why does God resist the proud (James 4:6)?

Esteeming Others

Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

Part of being a believer is that we consider others more important than ourselves and we esteem or count others more valuable than ourselves. This is contrary to the way the world operates so the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:5-7) because even Jesus, “being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). If Jesus humbled Himself, even to the point of “death on a cross” should we not also humble ourselves before God and before others?

What does it mean to you that we should count others more significant than ourselves?

Why didn’t Jesus count equality of God as something “to be grasped?”

Have you humbled yourself before others?

Called to Humility

Ephesians 4:1-2 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.”

What Paul is saying is that if we are walking in a manner worthy of our calling, we’ll be walking in humility, gentleness, patience and this will allow us to bear “with one another in love.” Just before Paul’s tearful departure from the Ephesian elders he said “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:18-21). Part of humility is doing what God commands us to do despite the trails we’ll have to endure for that but also, part of that is to make disciples of all nations by teaching them what Jesus commanded the disciples (Matt 28:19-20).

Does Paul’s statement of “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trails” make you think of his beatings, imprisonment, and sufferings?

What does Paul mean by saying “I did not shrink from declaring anything that was profitable” to them?

Why does Paul use the phrase “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called?”

Humbly Forgiving Others

Colossians 3:12-13 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

God has chosen us from before the earth was created (Eph 1), so knowing this, we must have hearts that exude compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience so that we can bear “with one another” and if a complaint comes up, we should “forgive each other” just “as the Lord has forgiven” us. That forgiveness by God should make us feel compelled to also forgive others. That is why the Apostle Peter tells the “younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1st Pet 5:5). If we are clothed in humility, that must mean that this is what people will see us as when the look at us.

Why does Paul tie in humility with forgiving others?

Is humility a fruit of our conversion?

Does humility help our ability to forgive others?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of these lessons and part of the purpose of this lesson on humility is to be “imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:1-2) so “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:31-32).

Can you see humility as having increased in your life?

It is hard to be around some Christians who are not humble?

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about humility?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.