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# "Divine Humility," with Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen
- URL: https://mereorthodoxy.com/divine-humility-dr-matthew-wilcoxen/
- Published: 2020-02-25T10:25:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-20T19:38:21.000Z
- Description: "Divine Humility," with Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen
- Author: Mere Orthodoxy
- Tags: Caleb Wait, Humility, Culture, Theology, Church, Karl Barth, systematic theology, Mere Fidelity

God is all-powerful. God is all-knowing. God is ever-present. But is God humble? [Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen](https://twitter.com/mattwilcoxen?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor&ref=mereorthodoxy.com) joins Derek and Alastair to discuss his recent book, [*Divine Humility: God's Morally Perfect Being*](https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Humility-Morally-Perfect-Being/dp/1481309986/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?keywords=divine+humility&qid=1582635159&s=books&sr=1-1&ref=mereorthodoxy.com). Listen in as he traces the theme of a doctrine of divine humility from Augustine to Karl Barth and relays the importance of this long lost attribute of God.

**Timestamps:**

Intro + Wilcoxen’s inspiration behind writing ‘Divine Humility’ \[0:00 - 5:50\]

What Wilcoxen means when he says God is humble \[5:50 - 11:20\]

How can we speak about God using such terms as ‘humility’ while still respecting his eternal being? \[11:20 - 14:03\]

Does God need the creation to be characterized by humility? \[14:03 - 16:25\]

What goes wrong in Barth’s argument on the humility of God? \[16:25 - 22:15\]

Implications on the Eternal Subordination of the Son debate \[22:15 - 25:08\]

Why Theology Proper matters when we read the Bible \[25:08 - 29:58\]

How humility affects morality \[29:58 - 32:45\]

Katherine Sonderegger’s contribution to the doctrine of God’s humility \[32:45 - 39:16\]

How can we have a more trinitarian understanding of the humility of God? \[39:16 - 41:03\]

How this doctrine affects our worship \[41:03 - 43:09\]

Conclusion \[43:09 - 43:52\]

**Resources mentioned:**

Book: [*Divine Humility: God's Morally Perfect Being*](https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Humility-Morally-Perfect-Being/dp/1481309986/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?keywords=divine+humility&qid=1582635159&s=books&sr=1-1&ref=mereorthodoxy.com)

Book: [*City of God*, Augustine](https://www.amazon.com/City-Penguin-Classics-Augustine-Hippo/dp/0140448942/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=60ODE8R9G2WC&keywords=city+of+god+penguin+classics&qid=1582634829&s=books&sprefix=city+of+God+peng%2Cstripbooks%2C279&sr=1-1&ref=mereorthodoxy.com)

Article: [Perichoresis and Projection: Problems with Social Doctrines of the Trinity](https://www.jstor.org/stable/43250486?seq=1&ref=mereorthodoxy.com) \- Karen Kilby

Book: [*Systematic Theology: The Doctrine of God, Volume 1*](https://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Doctrine-God-1/dp/1451482841/ref=sr%5F1%5F2?crid=3VGG2157NITTJ&keywords=katherine+sonderegger&qid=1582635838&s=books&sprefix=katherine+so%2Cstripbooks%2C1054&sr=1-2&ref=mereorthodoxy.com) by Katherine Sonderegger

If you’re interested in supporting the show financially, you can check out our Patreon [here](https://www.patreon.com/merefidelity?ty=h&ref=mereorthodoxy.com).

Finally, as always, follow [Derek](https://twitter.com/dzrishmawy?ref=mereorthodoxy.com), [Andrew](https://twitter.com/ajwtheology?ref=mereorthodoxy.com), and [Alastair](https://twitter.com/zugzwanged?ref=mereorthodoxy.com) for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to [Timothy Motte](https://twitter.com/biotrom?ref=mereorthodoxy.com) for his sound editing work. [And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.](http://www.noisetrade.com/thejoyeternal/a-sweet-and-bitter-providence-single?ref=mereorthodoxy.com)