Is humility an attribute of God?

Question

Matthew 11:29 New International Version

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Humility is an attribute of Jesus but is it an attribute of God?

Answer 1

My understanding of 'humility' is that it is not self-deprecating, but is rather an attitude of being realistic about one's own person and being and place in regard to others.

Of Jesus, it is written :

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [Philippians 2:6 KJV]

This, to me, speaks of the Son of God, prior to his entry into the world, that is to say as John states in his first epistle :

that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. [1 John 1:2 KJV]

In Deity, the Son of God is seen to realistically assess his own being and person - 'being in the form of God'. And he realistically assesses that it is not 'robbery' (or, 'devaluing' as some translate it) to be 'equal to God' (YLT translation of the dative case).

Yet he also says, once manifested :

... the Father is greater than I. [John 14:28 KJV]

Here, is indicated the personal relationship, of Father and Son, and the filial respect and proper subordination from one begotten of the other.

Yet also, Jesus says to his disciples :

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. [John 13:13 KJV]

Here, Jesus is - yet again - being thoroughly realistic and logical about the relative status of himself and his disciples. There is no 'false' humility. No unrealistic self-deprecation.

I think this whole matter is edifying regarding the Deity who is righteous, divine, realistic, faithful and, yes, I would personally say 'humble' in the true sense of what that word ought to convey.

Answer 2

Humility is an attribute of Jesus but is it an attribute of God?

Yes, it is an attribute of God, and since Jesus was created in the image of God (Col.15:15-16 NASB), He also exhibits this attribute.

King David in a song appreciated God's humility.

David realized that God humbles himself in order to deal with mere mortals, to protect them, sustain them, and to provide them with his shield of salvation, and so stated the following.

Christian Standard Bible Psalm 18:35

You have given me the shield of your salvation; your right hand upholds me, and your humility exalts me.

King James Bible

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

God the creator of the universe has humble himself to such a degree in order to help sinful humans, and so the psalmist wrote:

Psalm 113:4-7 (NASB)

4 The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. 5 Who is like the Lord our God, Who is enthroned on high, 6 Who [a]humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,

Let us look at some Bible examples of God's humility.

Lot, Sodom, and Gomorrah.

Consider the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot received instructions from God's angels: “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay [b]anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” (Gen 19:17 NASB)

However this was not to Job's the liking, Lot replied to them.

Genesis 19:17-22 (NASB)

18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the [d]mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) [e]that my life may be saved.”

God's humility is also expressed by his patience, God did not get angry at Lot when he questioned his decision, instead, He said to him.

21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

Sarah laughed at God's promise. Genesis 18:10-14 NASB

God did not get offended when Sarah laughed at his promise but treated her with dignity Vs 12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

Answer 3

Is humility an attribute of God?

Three points come to mind when this question is asked:

1) Man is made in the image of God

"Then God said: 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness'" - Gen. 1:26 (NWT)

If man is able to exhibit the quality of humility, that is only because Jehovah God created man with what was reflected in himself.

2) Jesus was the perfect reflection of God

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;" - Col. 1:15 (NWT)

"He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact representation of his very being," - Heb. 1:3 (NWT)

Jesus was humble, as your quoted scripture points out, as the "exact representation" of Jehovah God, which means that God himself has humility.

3) God displays his humility in showing mercy and compassion to us as sinners

A Quality of God. Jehovah God himself includes humility among his qualities. This is not because there is any inferiority on his part or any submission to others. Rather, he shows humility in exercising mercy and great compassion upon lowly sinners. That he deals with sinners at all and has provided his Son as a sacrifice for mankind’s sins is an expression of his humility. Jehovah God has permitted evil for some 6,000 years and let mankind be brought forth, even though their father Adam had sinned. Through undeserved kindness, mercy was thereby shown to Adam’s offspring, giving them opportunity for everlasting life. (Ro 8:20, 21) All of this displays, along with other fine qualities of God, his humility. (Topic Humility in the Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1)

What greater expression of humility can there be but how Jehovah God deals with imperfect mankind. King David said it best in song:

"5 Who is like Jehovah our God, The one who dwells on high? 6 He stoops down to look on heaven and earth, 7 Raising the lowly from the dust. He lifts up the poor from the ash heap 8 In order to make him sit with nobles, With the nobles of his people." - Ps. 113:5-8 (NWT)

Answer 4

#Humility is an attribute associated with the inferiority of mortals. This question recognizes that Jesus is not God by recognizing Jesus' claim to be #humble in [Matthew 11:29].

Matthew 11:29 [NIV]

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Did Jesus claim to be Good? - No. Jesus references Tehillim 25:8 [MT] in his humble admission of Mark 10:18.

Mark 10:18 [NIV] “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone."

Psalm 25:9 [MT] "YHVH is good and upright; therefore, He leads sinners on the road." (ט֣וֹב וְיָשָׁ֥ר יְהֹוָ֑ה עַל־כֵּ֚ן יוֹרֶ֖ה חַטָּאִ֣ים בַּדָּֽרֶךְ )

What was the humble Jesus, if not The Good God?

• Can a Son reflect attributes of His Father without fully being His Father?

Salvation

Psalm 27:1 [MT] "The Lord is my light and my salvation" (יְהֹוָ֚ה אוֹרִ֣י וְ֖יִשְׁעִי ).

• YHVH is Salvation in Psalm 27:1. - The Hebrew name for Jesus is "Yeshua" meaning 'Salvation'. By atoning for our sins, Jesus becomes our Salvation reflecting an attribute of God.

Truth

Psalm 25:10 [MT] "All the Ways of YHVH are kindness and truth for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. (כָּל־אָרְח֣וֹת יְ֖הֹוָה חֶ֣סֶד וֶֽאֱמֶ֑ת לְנֹֽצְרֵ֥י בְ֜רִית֗וֹ וְעֵֽדֹתָֽיו )

As God's Word - Jesus is Truth to guide the humble, in order for the humble to recognize they are not YHVH and need His Yeshua.

Psalm 25:9 [MT] "He leads the humble with just rules and He teaches the humble His Way." ( יַדְרֵ֣ךְ עֲ֖נָוִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט וִֽילַמֵּ֖ד עֲנָוִ֣ים דַּרְכּֽוֹ)

Answer 5

The almighty God took the form of a fragile human baby in Jesus. Is there any act more humble than that? It was God who did it. Yes, humility is an attribute of God together with his mercy. It was the mercy of God and caused him to do it.

Philippians 2:5-8 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Psalm 113:6 King James Bible Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Humility and wisdom comes together. You cannot have one without the other.

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin …” Exodus 34:6-7.

Yes, the Lord God is humble, humble enough to suffer for our iniquities.