At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 18:1-6

And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

Mark 9:33-37

Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

Luke 9:46-48

Jesus had just taught Peter to humble himself and pay tribute even though it was not a fair tax. He did this because the peace and advancement of the kingdom of Christ is more important than pride or money. Now, the disciples are once again arguing about position. This is a problem that will continue until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost not only anoints these men with great powers, He gives them wisdom in humility.

Earthly kingdoms require power in order to advance and grow. This comes in the form of military might or vocal coercion. The kingdom of Christ is not an earthly kingdom. Therefore, its advancement is not achieved in the same way. Meekness and humility are the keys to the promotion of the true kingdom of Christ.

Jesus teaches us that meekness is a fruit of the Spirit. The disciples are taught to look for this character trait in those they preach to. A person who is prideful does not understand how sinful he truly is. That type of person will not readily receive a message about salvation being complete in Jesus. However, a person that knows how bad he is will be humbled by that and be seeking a gospel message that truly helps his need. A preacher who looks for those types of people is looking for Christ in them.

On the other side of the equation, we can see that a humble preacher is what a child of God ought to be looking for. A man who must have the position of power over others is not one who is acting like Christ. These kinds of men are not true preachers of the gospel or they are at least not fulfilling their calling properly. A true preacher is bold in his message about Christ but should always have the same attitude as John the Baptist.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

John 3:30

The Kingdom of Christ is the most powerful thing there is. It can and does prevail against the very gates of hell! But this is accomplished by its soldiers being humble, and seeking fellowship with other humble saints of God. The citizens of this kingdom know that they are powerless without their King. Therefore, they pray to their King, wait patiently for Him to respond, do good in the meantime, and then rejoice when He defeats His foes!

When we are humble and the kingdom advances, it is clear that only God should receive the glory!