Not Mine, but the Saviour’s

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. PSALM 115:1

The Life of Antony is full of wonders. People are healed, spirits are cast out, water springs up in the desert. A modern reader may find some of these stories hard to credit, and should read them with discernment. But whatever one makes of the miracles, there is something in the way they are told that is unmistakably true and deeply Christian. Every time Antony is used to help someone, he turns the credit away from himself. Athanasius seems to have loved this about him more than any of the wonders, and it is the part of the book most worth imitating.

I also am a man

Once, when Antony had shut himself away to pray, an army officer named Martinian came to his door. His daughter was afflicted by an evil spirit, and he knocked and knocked, begging the hermit to come out and pray for her. Antony would not open the door. Instead he looked out from above and said: “Man, why dost thou call on me? I also am a man even as you.” If you believe in Christ whom I serve, he told him, go, and pray to God according to your faith, and it shall come to pass. The man went away believing, Athanasius says, and his daughter was delivered.

And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. ACTS 10:25–26

It is striking how exactly Antony echoes the apostles. When people at Lystra tried to worship Paul and Barnabas, they tore their clothes and cried out that they were only men.

Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God. ACTS 14:15

Antony knew the temptation of the holy man: to let people look to him instead of to God. He refused it.

Wretched man that I am

The same pattern appears again and again. When the parents of a sick girl brought her across the desert and begged that she be admitted to see him, Antony would not allow it. Go, he said, and if she is not dead, you will find her healed; “for the accomplishment of this is not mine, that she should come to me, wretched man that I am, but her healing is the work of the Saviour.” They went and found her well.

Athanasius draws the lesson himself. Antony, he says, healed not by commanding but by prayer and the name of Christ, so that it was clear to all that it was not he himself who worked, but the Lord. When his prayers were answered, he did not boast; when they were not, he did not complain. He taught sufferers that “healing belonged neither to him nor to man at all, but only to the Lord”, and those who were healed were taught to give thanks not to Antony but to God alone.

And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know. ACTS 3:16

That last point is the real test of humility in ministry. It is one thing not to claim credit. It is another to make sure that the people we help end up thanking God rather than us.

Rejoice not in this

In his address to the monks, Antony warned against the pride that spiritual gifts can breed. It is not fitting, he said, to boast in casting out demons or to be lifted up by healing diseases. Nor should the monk who works wonders be esteemed above the one who does not. “For the working of signs is not ours but the Saviour’s work.” And he quoted the words of Jesus.

Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. LUKE 10:20

The same humility made him flee from fame. When crowds pressed on him and the signs God worked through him began to draw attention, Athanasius says, Antony feared that he might be puffed up, or that others might think of him above what they ought. So he went deeper into the desert, to the inner mountain, among people who did not know him.

Bowing the head

Antony’s humility showed also in how he treated others. Though he was the most famous Christian in Egypt, Athanasius tells us, he kept the order of the church strictly and wished all the clergy to be honoured above himself; “he was not ashamed to bow his head to bishops and presbyters.” If a young deacon came to him, he gave him the first place in prayer. He asked questions, listened to others, and if anyone said something useful, he admitted that he had learned from it.

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 1 PETER 5:5

When the emperor Constantine and his sons wrote to him as to a father, the monks were amazed. Antony was not. “Do not be astonished if an emperor writes to us, for he is a man,” he told them; be astonished rather that God wrote the law for men and has spoken to us through His own Son. He answered the letters only when urged, and then counselled the emperors to think little of the present, remember the judgment, and care for justice and the poor.

Why it matters now

Our age is in love with celebrity, and the church has not escaped it. We build ministries around personalities, measure success by attention, and treat gifted leaders as though the gifts were theirs. Antony’s example is a rebuke and a relief. It is a rebuke because it shows how far we have drifted. It is a relief because it shows that we do not have to carry the weight of being impressive. The power is the Saviour’s. Our part is to pray, to obey, and to get out of the way.

FOR REFLECTION AND ACTION

1. Recall the last time you helped someone. Did you point them to God, or did you enjoy their gratitude a little too much?

2. When you are praised this week, practise turning it quietly to God, in words or at least in your heart.

3. If you lead or serve in any way, ask whether people are becoming more dependent on you or more dependent on Christ.

4. Find someone younger or less experienced than you, and ask them what they have learned about God. Listen to learn.

5. Pray for a Christian leader you admire, that God will keep them humble and keep the credit for Himself.

A PRAYER

Lord Jesus, every good thing that has ever come through me has come from You.

Forgive me for the times I have taken the credit, enjoyed the praise, and let others look to me instead of You.

Teach me to say with Your servant, I also am a man; the work is not mine, but the Saviour’s.

Let my name be forgotten if Yours is honoured, and let my joy be that my name is written in heaven. Amen.