Peter says that God not only resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Strictly speaking, this grace refers to the Triune God Himself as the life supply being multiplied in the humble believer. We have seen that the multiplied grace (1:2) corresponds to the varied grace (4:10) and all grace (5:10). The believers have received the initial grace, yet this grace needs to be multiplied in them that they may participate in all grace. The varied grace of God, as the all grace in 5:10, is the rich supply of life, which is the Triune God ministered into us in many aspects (2 Cor. 13:14; 12:9). God gives Himself as grace, as life supply, to humble believers.
The Greek word for “humble” in 5:5 also means lowly, as in Matthew 11:29, where the Lord Jesus says, “I am meek and lowly in heart.” To be proud is to be high, but to be humble is to be low. If we would humble ourselves in the church life, we need to become lowly. Instead of uplifting ourselves, we should always keep ourselves low. Then we shall be in a position to receive the Triune God as our life supply. We shall receive the grace God gives to humble believers.
In verse 6 Peter says, “Therefore, be humbled under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” The words “be humbled” here are passive voice, indicating to be made humble by God, mostly through the sufferings of persecutions (v. 10). This, however, needs our cooperation with God’s operation. We must be willing to be made humble, lowly, under the mighty hand of God. Hence, be humbled. We may say that “humbled” is passive, but “be” is active. While God is acting to operate on us, we need to take the initiative to be operated on by Him. To take the initiative is active; to be operated on is passive. This is our willingness to be under the hand of God, which is mighty to do everything for us.
Persecution may be used by God to humble us. Actually, any kind of suffering may be used by God for this purpose. When good things happen to us, we may become proud. But suffering or persecution may help us to be humble. For example, a brother may be humbled as a result of losing his job. A student may be humbled by receiving a lower grade than he expected. If this student receives a high grade, he may be somewhat uplifted. But if he receives a lower grade, he may be humbled.
We may also experience being humbled in our family life. If the children of a certain brother and sister are outstanding, the parents may become proud. But if the children cause them problems or difficulty, this will make the parents lowly. Likewise, if a young brother’s father has a very high position in his work, this brother may be proud. Suppose his father is the president of a corporation or the chancellor of a great university. Surely this brother would be proud of his father’s position. But suppose his father were a janitor with a very limited education. Knowing that his father had such a lowly position may cause this young brother to be lowly. He is humbled by the fact that his father does not have a high position.
I would like to emphasize the fact that in verse 6 Peter tells us to “be humbled.” We cannot make ourselves humble. Rather, we need to be made humble by God. Nevertheless, God’s humbling of us requires our cooperation with God’s operation. This means that we must be willing to be made humble, lowly, under the mighty hand of God.
We may say that “be humbled” is active-passive: “be” is active, pointing to our initiative to be humbled, and “humbled” is passive, pointing to God’s operation to humble us. Although God’s hand is mighty to do whatever is necessary for us, His hand still needs our cooperation. God’s operation needs our cooperation. Therefore, we need to be humbled.
Peter says that if we are humbled under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt us in due time. To be submissive to God’s mighty hand, willing to be made lowly, is to take the God-honoring way that gives Him the ground to exalt us in His time. Willing to be made low by God’s humbling hand in His discipline is a prerequisite to being made high by God’s exalting hand in His glorification. Here we have the God-honoring way, God’s humbling hand, and God’s exalting hand. Whether God will humble us or exalt us depends on our attitude. We may take a way that forces God to humble us, or we may take another way, the God-honoring way, that helps God to exalt us in due time. The words “due time” in verse 6 refer to the time God considers right to exalt us.