Comparing Ourselves
The Word of God tells us, “to be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love”. NIV
Ephesians 5:1,If we are to follow God and imitate him, then we must first see him, so we can compare
our selfs to him, so as to see where we need to change. In show business, people who imitate others
famous actors have to study the person they are trying to imitate, they study there every move, and try
to think how they would think, and how they would respond in certain situations. We are told not to
compare our selfs to one another, but only to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:12) For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some
that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.
There is a scripture in 2 Peter chapter one, where every time I read it, I always wondered why his
Word said that, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you....”
(2 Peter 1:1)Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
(2 Peter 1:2) Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and
of Jesus our Lord,
I never really sought the Lord about this. I always pondered in my heart, why would God give
me more,“grace and peace”,every time he reveals his word unto me?. Notice the word,“knowledge”,
its the Greek word, “epi-gnosis”, which means full complete knowledge It is the kind of knowledge we
receive from God, apart from our physical senses. This revelation knowledge comes unto us through
God, our Father, and Jesus Christ his son. The Father always reveals to us his Son, and Jesus always
reveals unto us his Father, and it always comes by the Holy Spirit (the anointing). When God reveals
his Word unto us, he is essentially revealing himself, as God is the Word, which is Jesus Christ, who is
the the Glory of the Father. Let's look at a few persons who have witnessed the Glory of God.
Job 42:5I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
(Isaiah 6:1) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted
up, and his train filled the temple.
(Isaiah 6:2)Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and
with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
(Isaiah 6:3)And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, isthe LORD of hosts: the whole
earth isfull of his glory.
(Isaiah 6:4)And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled
with smoke.
(Isaiah 6:5) Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the
King, the LORD of hosts.
The Apostle Paul said.
(2 Corinthians 12:1) It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and
revelations of the Lord.
(1 Timothy 1:15) This isa faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Notice, they all had the same reaction: they saw themselves as unworthy, unclean, a sinner,
come to ruin, and abhor themselves. The Apostle John just fell at Jesus' feet as a dead man in the book
of Revelations. We all, subconsciously are comparing ourselves to Christ, every time we behold the
Glory of God. That's just what we do, and when we see the purity, holiness, gentleness, and
awesomeness of God, we become overwhelmed, as we compare ourselves to Him who sits on the
throne. We know we are sinners, but our sinfulness is much much worse then we knew. I think the
words of Jesus give us a answer to why this a good thing.
(Luke 7:36) And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the
Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
(Luke 7:37) And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesussat at
meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
(Luke 7:38) And stood at his feet behind himweeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did
wipe themwith the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed themwith the ointment.
(Luke 7:39) Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it,he spake within himself, saying,
This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this isthat
toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
(Luke 7:40) And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he
saith, Master, say on.
(Luke 7:41) There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and
the other fifty.
(Luke 7:42) And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most?
(Luke 7:43) Simon answered and said, I suppose that he,to whom he forgave most. And he said unto
him, Thou hast rightly judged.
(Luke 7:44) And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into
thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped
themwith the hairs of her head.
(Luke 7:45) Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss
my feet.
(Luke 7:46) My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with
ointment.
(Luke 7:47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she
loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Jesus tells this Pharisee, he that is forgiven much, loveth much, but he that is forgiven little,
loveth little. When I see the Glory of God, I see myself a sinner, not worthy to receive anything from
the Lord. Apart from him we are in deep trouble, yet the Lord freely gives us all things richly to enjoy,
every thing he has; he gives unto us, and that causes me to fall on my face to worship him, because he
who is forgiven much, loveth much. The Lord said to me, that's why Grace, and peace is multiplied
unto me as he reveals His Words, because we need grace to supersede the sin that we see in ourselves.
(“Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound”), and peace is required, so we can process in our
hearts and minds what we have just received. Of course there are other things that are happening in us
as God reveals His Word, this is just one of them. For instance, His word brings conviction,
understanding, vision, life, joy, and spiritual growth.
The Word of God tells us, “to be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love”. NIV
Ephesians 5:1,If we are to follow God and imitate him, then we must first see him, so we can compare
our selfs to him, so as to see where we need to change. In show business, people who imitate others
famous actors have to study the person they are trying to imitate, they study there every move, and try
to think how they would think, and how they would respond in certain situations. We are told not to
compare our selfs to one another, but only to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:12) For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some
that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.
There is a scripture in 2 Peter chapter one, where every time I read it, I always wondered why his
Word said that, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you....”
(2 Peter 1:1)Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
(2 Peter 1:2) Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and
of Jesus our Lord,
I never really sought the Lord about this. I always pondered in my heart, why would God give
me more,“grace and peace”,every time he reveals his word unto me?. Notice the word,“knowledge”,
its the Greek word, “epi-gnosis”, which means full complete knowledge It is the kind of knowledge we
receive from God, apart from our physical senses. This revelation knowledge comes unto us through
God, our Father, and Jesus Christ his son. The Father always reveals to us his Son, and Jesus always
reveals unto us his Father, and it always comes by the Holy Spirit (the anointing). When God reveals
his Word unto us, he is essentially revealing himself, as God is the Word, which is Jesus Christ, who is
the the Glory of the Father. Let's look at a few persons who have witnessed the Glory of God.
Job 42:5I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
(Isaiah 6:1) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted
up, and his train filled the temple.
(Isaiah 6:2)Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and
with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
(Isaiah 6:3)And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, isthe LORD of hosts: the whole
earth isfull of his glory.
(Isaiah 6:4)And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled
with smoke.
(Isaiah 6:5) Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the
King, the LORD of hosts.
The Apostle Paul said.
(2 Corinthians 12:1) It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and
revelations of the Lord.
(1 Timothy 1:15) This isa faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Notice, they all had the same reaction: they saw themselves as unworthy, unclean, a sinner,
come to ruin, and abhor themselves. The Apostle John just fell at Jesus' feet as a dead man in the book
of Revelations. We all, subconsciously are comparing ourselves to Christ, every time we behold the
Glory of God. That's just what we do, and when we see the purity, holiness, gentleness, and
awesomeness of God, we become overwhelmed, as we compare ourselves to Him who sits on the
throne. We know we are sinners, but our sinfulness is much much worse then we knew. I think the
words of Jesus give us a answer to why this a good thing.
(Luke 7:36) And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the
Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
(Luke 7:37) And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesussat at
meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
(Luke 7:38) And stood at his feet behind himweeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did
wipe themwith the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed themwith the ointment.
(Luke 7:39) Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it,he spake within himself, saying,
This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this isthat
toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
(Luke 7:40) And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he
saith, Master, say on.
(Luke 7:41) There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and
the other fifty.
(Luke 7:42) And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most?
(Luke 7:43) Simon answered and said, I suppose that he,to whom he forgave most. And he said unto
him, Thou hast rightly judged.
(Luke 7:44) And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into
thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped
themwith the hairs of her head.
(Luke 7:45) Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss
my feet.
(Luke 7:46) My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with
ointment.
(Luke 7:47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she
loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Jesus tells this Pharisee, he that is forgiven much, loveth much, but he that is forgiven little,
loveth little. When I see the Glory of God, I see myself a sinner, not worthy to receive anything from
the Lord. Apart from him we are in deep trouble, yet the Lord freely gives us all things richly to enjoy,
every thing he has; he gives unto us, and that causes me to fall on my face to worship him, because he
who is forgiven much, loveth much. The Lord said to me, that's why Grace, and peace is multiplied
unto me as he reveals His Words, because we need grace to supersede the sin that we see in ourselves.
(“Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound”), and peace is required, so we can process in our
hearts and minds what we have just received. Of course there are other things that are happening in us
as God reveals His Word, this is just one of them. For instance, His word brings conviction,
understanding, vision, life, joy, and spiritual growth.