1If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, 2make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14Do all things without complaining and arguing, 15that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, 16holding up the word of life, that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain. 17Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18In the same way, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
19But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing. 20For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you. 21For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. 22But you know that he has proved himself. As a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News. 23Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me. 24But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
25But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need, 26since he longed for you all, and was very troubled because you had heard that he was sick. 27For indeed he was sick nearly to death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow. 28I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. 29Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such people in honor, 30because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
Having the Mind of Christ
Philippians 2 Part Two
Having The Mind of Christ
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.
Paul tells us to have “this in your mind which was also in Christ Jesus.” And then, he begins to explain just exactly what kind of mind Jesus had. We must remember that scripture teaches us that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. This doesn’t mean Jesus stopped being God for a time period or anything like that. I have heard Dr.H.Wayne House (creator of the House Visual Study Bible) say something like, “It is amazing to contemplate that while Jesus was lying in the cradle, looking up into Mary’s eyes, He was a human baby in every way. He would grow up and need to learn how to feed Himself, clothe Himself, etc., and yet, as He lay there, as God, He was holding the entire universe together.” So the human Jesus chose for a time period to lay aside all the benefits of being a deity. In doing so, He adopted the role of a servant. He adopted the form of a human being. And as a human, he submitted Himself to the cruelties of mankind, allowing Himself to be put to death on a cross.
Paul says we are to have that kind of mind as believers. This means that we, too, must be willing to give up ourselves for others. Jesus Himself stated it when He said, “13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 WEB) Paul is challenging each of us to do something that is not natural. We are interested in self above all else, but Paul tells us that to have the mind of Christ, we must get our eyes off of self and put them on Christ. In doing so, we will be able to “esteem others above self.” He says this in the verses right before the challenge of having the mind of Christ. “3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”(v.3-4 WEB) Reader, at this point, you might be thinking, “well, all of this sounds very ideal, but how can I really do this in my life.”
The key to it all is humility. James tells us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6). Ask the Lord today to help you get your eyes off of yourself. It begins with not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. That’s not a complete definition of humility, but it is a good start. We are born ego-centric. That means our minds default to a position that puts us in the middle of things, focusing on “me and mine.” Part of taking up our cross daily and following Jesus is asking Him, through the transformation of our minds, to give us true humility that looks out for the benefit of others. With a transformed mind, we can shift our focus away from every thought, concern, and effort about ourselves. When we put our own agenda on hold, even for a few minutes in our day, we are laying down our life for a friend. That’s a wonderful thing to do. In doing so, you are having the “mind of Christ.”