Gospel Self-Image
- David Fairchild
- Dec 31, 2006
- Series: Galatians
TEXT
Galatians 5:26-6:5: “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.”
INTRODUCTION
As we have studied Galatians, we’ve been looking at what it is all about. We’ve said that the centerpiece of the letter is the Gospel. It is the core of Paul’s concern and the answer to all problems facing these Christians in Galatians.
We also have learned that this letter is written to Christians in four different towns in the land of Galatia. When you put these two observations together, you realize that this is a very important letter telling us about what the Gospel is and what it isn’t, and essentially cutting through all the opinions about Christianity and getting right to its heart. This is perhaps the clearest letter in the whole Bible on the Gospel and it is written to Christians.
Galatians teaches us that Christians are prone to not get the Gospel. Paul is teaching us that Christians need to make sure they are continually understanding and applying the Gospel to their lives so that they live in line with the Gospel. Paul tells Peter that he’s not walking in step with the Gospel. We are like Peter, we confuse the Gospel as something other than what it is, and we look for something other than the Gospel to motivate us to change or to do good to others, and even to secure our standing with God. Because of this we become riddled with confusion and guilt. We become duplicitous and hypocritical, and find ourselves years into the faith wondering why our hearts haven’t changed and why we are still in many ways the same as before we believed.
This letter is our way out because it is the Gospel, which is set forth the answer to our social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual problems. Paul’s attempt in this letter is to get the Christians in Galatia to align their lives and world-view with the Gospel, and so this has been our goal for the last six months as well.
Today, we are only going to look at one thing, which I believe we need to dive into before we unpack this passage next week. We are going to look at our self-image. This is obviously a popular subject since bookstores are filled with advice on how to view yourself, or in other words, books on self-esteem. Most of it is pop-psychology and will blow away in the next few years as another guru breaks onto the scene to offer the latest cutting edge way to see yourself. We spend billions on ways to develop a better self-esteem, only to find that we’re typically worse off after the journey to self-enlightenment that when we started.
The truth of the matter is that we’re all trying to shape and create our self-image, even if we may not be all that conscious of it. This is why we go on diets. This is why we say what we say in boast of self or put-down of self. This is why we pursue the relationships that we do, and this is often why we play the religious role with others. It gives us an identity; it gives us a self-image and causes us to feel a sense of esteem. This pursuit can so enslave us that we find we’re trying to secure it at work, with our neighbors, at home with our spouse and children, or parents.
As I’ve mentioned before, God has created this world with an intention in mind. He made us as individuals placed into a world which He created for a purpose. To truly know God, you will learn and know about the world He made and yourself. To truly know yourself, you must know God and the world in which He’s placed you. Any attempt to know yourself or this world without God will only end in futility and frustration. God is our foundation for understanding our self-image because He’s created us as a people who are made in His image, and has fashioned us in such a way that we need to know Him to know ourselves. Unfortunately, sin has cut us off from God, from this world, from each other and from ourselves so that we are like an untethered kite being driven by whatever wind blows us without really knowing why or how to have any bearing or compass.
As you know, if you’re a Christian, grace restores this severed relationship with God, with the world He made, with each other and with ourselves. Because of the truth that we are sinners and saints at the very same time, this takes time.
When it comes to self-image, if you have a good theology and desire to see God glorified, you might gag at a discussion on self-image because you feel it is to self-focused. I would agree—in as much as any discussion about the self which doesn’t come from Scripture and doesn’t take into consideration God’s glory—that this is pointless. But, Scripture does have much to say about ourselves, and therefore, we should listen and learn.
What I’d like to show is the unique paradox of the Gospel self-image. The definition of paradox is simply this: a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses truth.
We shouldn’t be afraid of paradoxes. The Bible has many of them:
Die to live
Lose all to have everything
Last are first
Lose your life and find it
Poor are rich
Strength through weakness
The humble are exalted
Free as a slave
Deny yourself and be given everything
You are a sinner and saint simultaneously
These all seem a little odd when you read them or consider them in Scripture, but they have a truth to them that is far greater than just a simple proposition. Paradoxes carry weight to them because in Scripture they are deep and multi-faceted.
So it is when it comes to the passage we’re looking at in verses 3 and 4. They seem to contradict one another, yet upon examination we see there is a fullness of meaning to this thought that is better understood when they appear contradictory. They have to both be held together at the same time or you end in a truncated version of the truth.
Christianity brings you to a way of looking at yourself that is so different than anything else. Look at this passage and think about what Paul is saying.
Verses 3-4: “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.”
Now, the passage we’re going to unpack next week has to do with Gospel relationships with one another and how to have them. This verse, however, shows us how to see ourselves first so that when it comes to our view of others we have an appropriate self-image and don’t distort our relationships with one another because it is in line with the Gospel.
But the passage seems confusing doesn’t it? Don’t think of yourself as something when you’re really nothing. In other words, don’t brag, but then the next verse says that we can boast in ourselves and in essence see ourselves as something. In one sense we’re nothing, but in another sense we’re something. In one sense we shouldn’t boast, but in another sense we’re called to boast.
Confusing? Well, only to us, not to Paul. To Paul this makes perfect sense because he has a Gospel world and life view. He sees everything through the lens of the Gospel and so when it comes to self-image and esteem it isn’t given in a nice little quick snippit, it must be thought through.
So what’s going on here? There are two things. Let’s look at them.
- Verse 3 says: “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
This is very blunt and can be misunderstood as saying that there are some people who think they’re something when they’re really nothing. But that isn’t really what Paul is saying.
English translations obscure the juxtaposition of this passage when coming to the something/nothing point Paul is making. The point isn’t that some people are something and others are nothing. What Paul is saying is that we’re all nothing. This isn’t the only place Paul talks about this nothing self-image. Look at a couple of other passages and we’ll use Paul as a case study:
Paul and his Apostleship
1 Corinthians 15:9: “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
Paul’s the least of all the Apostles?
Paul and the Saints
Ephesians 3:8: “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ”
Paul isn’t just saying that he’s the lowest raking Apostle and he’s on the bottom, which is itself and amazing statement considering he wrote two thirds of the New Testament. He’s saying here in Ephesians 3:8 that he’s the very least of the saints! He sees himself as the lowest of all of God’s people. But it gets even worse.
Paul and all Humanity
1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
In other words, he’s saying he’s the very worst of all sinners. Not just the lowest Apostle, not just he lowest of the people of God, but the lowest of all humanity as the worst of sinners. He is the most prominent of sinners, which isn’t a compliment to self.
From the outside it seems that these are unreal statements at best or pathological at worst. These seem like the only two options. Either Paul is not really telling the truth and he’s just inflating his words, or he is so psychologically twisted that there is some malady of his thinking that he has escaped reality and is in la-la land.
Let’s think about that. What if Paul is exaggerating his words and it’s nothing more that pious babble. Someone who is trying to be holy but its a false sense of humility. Perhaps its just word inflation. Maybe this is spiritual posturing.
Now, this is a problem in Christianity because you and I do this, which is why we think Paul is doing it as well.
Word Inflation
We inflate our words and use superlatives too much. In other words, we use “great” and “best” and “blessing” too much: “We are doing sooooooo great,” “We are soooo blessed,” “This is the besssst church.” All of these kinds of words are used a bit too much, so we’ve inflated them. Think about inflation: when too may dollars are printed you end up with devalued paper. Eventually it takes a truckload of money to buy a stick of gum.
This is how it is with our words. We inflate them so that it takes a truckload of words to make a point. “I am the worst, you’re the best, this is the most incredible…blah, blah, blah.” You get the point. Everything is so exaggerated that when we come to Paul making a point about being nothing or the least or worst, you think he’s just using word inflation. Is he?
Paul uses these terms very carefully. They are well thought out and constructed passages that have theological weight to them. Paul isn’t just flippantly conversing, he’s making important points. These are carefully chosen words.
Wretch Religion
Or, you might say that it isn’t word inflation but it is pathological. There is some psychological problem with Paul’s self-image and this is one of the reasons you’ve chosen not to become a Christian or the reason you left the church in the first place. You left because of the self-image the church was promoting and you hated it.
You think Christianity is a wretch religion, like in the song Amazing Grace: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” This is why you don’t like that song, because it gives you a negative self-image.
You might think this is the problem, that we’re such sinners and all so wicked. You might think this is damaging to yourself and confidence and destroys your ability to be courageous.
If it’s true that Paul is under some psychological malady and this wretch religion really does hurt your self-confidence and courage, let’s look at Paul’s life. If it’s true that the Christian self-image is one that has to stand upon the truth of being nothing, shouldn’t Paul’s career have been a failure? But what was it? It was incredible. Paul should have lacked in confidence and boldness, but when we see Paul’s life we see a man with great confidence and boldness. He was one of the most bold and courageous leaders in the history of the world. Talk about a man that seemed fearless. Think of his catalogue of his experiences:
2 Corinthians 11:23-29: “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one--I am talking like a madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”
Does Paul seem weak? Not at all! How many of us can claim such distinguished career accomplishments?
This is not a man with a death-wish or a man that has a martyr complex. At times he claims his Roman citizenship and keeps them from beating him and at times he allows it and doesn’t say a word. Why? Its whatever’s best for the church. Sometimes its best that his witness comes from tears in prison and sometimes it’s best that he’s there with them, teaching them. Whatever is going to serve others the best is what Paul chooses.
This is a man that says he’s the lowest, he’s nothing, he’s the worst of sinners. Yet don’t we just envy him? Is there anything about Paul’s life you wished you had? The courage, the conviction, the drive?
So what’s going on here if Paul actually believes he’s nothing? You can’t put at odds what the Bible says about us being such wretches with what the Bible says about us having dignity and inherent worth because we are God’s image bearers. Paul isn’t throwing away the value of human beings and going against Scripture.
Perhaps you’re thinking that maybe religion didn’t hurt Paul and his career, but it hurt your self-image and that’s why you can’t stand it. Paul would say that he tried religion too, and it definitely hurt him. You see, he was the most religious person as a Pharisee of Pharisees.
When Paul was in his religious phase and persecuting the church, and when he really was driven, his religion kept him from admitting his nothingness. When Paul was a religious person, trying to be righteous in his own strength, his religion wouldn’t allow him to be truthful and say he was really nothing. Religion hurt Paul because it kept him from being honest with himself and with God.
A religious person doesn’t say he’s nothing. He feels like he’s nothing, but tries to convince himself, God, and others that he’s really something and is the most hollow of people.
2- On the other side of Paul saying he’s nothing, what does he say in verse 4?
Verse 4: “But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself…”
Wherever Paul makes one of these “wretch” comments, the point he makes is that he’s something! Think about this.
Go back to 1 Cor. 15. After Paul says that he’s the lowest of the Apostles, he says that he worked harder than any of them and boasts in the work of God through him.
Paul says he’s the least of the saints and the worst of sinners, yet also says we are to imitate him! What? The Gospel is different than religion. And everyone is at some level a religious person. Every person is afraid they are nothing, and does they all they can to hide the fact they are nothing and this motivates them to do what they do. They work and work to find significance in their life. Whether it’s through our work, our relationships, the music we like, the clothes we wear, the team we cheer for, the looks we have, the skill we perform, or the books we read, we all do it. We all try to be something to hide the feeling of being nothing.
Paul knows he’s nothing, but he’s not only nothing. You see, for the person who doesn’t have the Gospel, they are really nothing. They aren’t a zero, and yes they have value because God made them, but all they are in their view is a nothing and nothing more.
Paul is out of “religion.” Paul knows he can not merit his own salvation and so he’s stopped trying and cried out for a savior.
What it means to be a Christian is to finally admit that you’re really nothing, and run to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him by faith. In doing so, you bring nothing to Him but receive everything from Him. You become something because of Him.
A Christian and only a Christian realizes they are nothing in them selves, yet in Him they have everything. You have nothing and greatness at the same time. Unless it’s God’s love, God’s eyes you’re seen through, God’s righteousness given to you, and God’s judgment that that’s been poured out upon His own Son, you’ll really never be more than nothing in your own view, no matter how much you chant the opposite. You’ll never really believe it, because you’ll never live up.
Only a Christian can be nothing and proud at the same time. Paul is saying he’s nothing, but he’s proud of himself. Paul says he’s the least of God’s people, but he’s successful. Paul says he’s the worst of sinners, but follow Him as he follows Christ. How can he do that!?
The world’s image would say that you shouldn’t admit you’re nothing. It’s too damaging, too harmful. Yet the world also says that if you say, “follow me,” that’s too arrogant, too boastful. Paul can do both at the same time, and so can you. Without the Gospel you won’t have the emotional strength to admit your weakness or the hope to see your greatness!
If you’re a Christian, don’t you find that you still feel locked between pride and despair? Don’t you find that you leak the Gospel?
You’ll never be able to rejoice unless you believe in this righteousness of Christ, developed and given to you, which now has given you everything and causes you to be great. Unless you believe in the truth of your need of a Savior, you’ll never admit your nothingness and you’ll always be touchy to criticism because you won’t have the strength to stand it when someone critiques you. Jesus was critiqued and scrutinized and was perfectly innocent and accepted by the Father.
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