"Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses" (Ex. 39:1).
The garments of the priests were called the “clothes of service.” Those that wear robes of honor must look upon them as clothes of service, for those who are given the highest honor are expected to serve the most. It is written that those arrayed in white robes stand “before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple” (Rev. 7:13, 15). Matthew Henry comments, “Holy garments were not made for men to sleep in, or to strut in, but to do service in; and then they are indeed for glory and beauty.” The Son of Man, who veiled His majesty for a season, did not come to be served, but to serve. We can do no less as priests in the kingdom of grace. If we expect honor from the Lord, we must be willing to be the least, to come last, and to serve even the lowliest among us.
As New Testament believers, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we often take too much pride in ourselves. The church is filled with arrogance, with boastful ambition and pride, as we exalt our own greatness over the weakness of our brothers. Too often, we are more concerned about our own recognition than about the status of others. We want to be noticed, to be exalted, to be praised for our good deeds, for our God-given abilities and talents, and even for our own testimony of His grace. What folly this is! Paul reprimands such attitudes in his letter to the Ephesians in which he reminds us that we have nothing of which to boast. We only deserve judgment and condemnation. We are almost nothing, empty and bereft of nobility and honor. Anything that we have is given to us by God’s grace. We have done nothing to earn that favor. We have nothing about which to boast.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8–10). The robes we wear are the robes of Jesus Christ. The righteousness of which we boast is the righteousness of Christ. And the lives we are to live are to be consecrated unto God in holiness and in service to Him. There is no place for arrogance, ambition, or pride in the life of any Christian because we belong to Him. We are bought at a price for His glory and praise, not for our own.
Meditate on Ephesians 2:1–10. Think about the kind of person you were before you were saved. What do you really deserve? Of what do you have to boast? Confess your pride, your arrogance, and your selfish ambition today. Ask God to give you the grace to live humbly and to serve others.
