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Paul tells us, We
have the mind of Christ. In Philippians he says, Let
this mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures show you that the only thing
you can control is your mind. Setting your mind is your only task, thus, let
us labour therefore to enter into that rest by setting
our minds on who we are in
Him. For to be carnally
minded is death; but to be spiritually minded (that is, having
His mind by His Spirit within us) is life and
peace. So if we Set our minds
on things above, we will have His feelings, desires, purposes,
and plans. When we have the mind of Christ
we have His views, His feelings, and His temperament because we are
influenced by His Spirit within us.
If you stay in the Word, you
can confirm that what you feel, desire, purpose and plan is according to His
mind. He tells us, Then said I, Lo,
I come
(in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do thy will, O
God. As you learn
of Him from the Scriptures, you see He was leaving
you an example, that you should
follow in His steps and thus, He
that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He
walked. It is the Word that confirms what you feel, desire,
purpose and plan is His mind in you.
This example
in the volume of the book
either confirms or brings into question whatever we feel, desire, purpose or
plan at any given time. We must remain in the Word and His words remain in
us. We are admonished, Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one
another. Then If anyone
speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God
because we have the mind of Christ
and we can confirm it by the Scriptures.
What does Philippians 2:5-8
tell us about the mind of Christ regarding self? These verses show us how
Jesus dealt with His self-image and we who have the mind of Christ will walk
even as He walked and manifest His Spirit within us.
Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion
as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.
Make no mistake; JESUS CHRIST IS
EQUAL WITH GOD. He was clear about
this when He would refer to Himself as the
Son of God. Therefore the Jews
sought the more to kill him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but
said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
The religious of that day hated Him for such a shocking reference to Who He
is.
But our text tells us He took
upon Him the form of a servant. When He walked on this earth,
He did not walk as God. He walked as man. He refers to Himself as the
Son of man more than 80 times in the Gospels. About 40 times
others refer to Him as the Son of God,
but He only refers to Himself as the Son of
God a couple of times. What does that indicate? It indicates
His identification with His mission and His tremendous humility in
fulfilling the task for which He was sent. For
ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.
The first man Adam, was a
self-for-self, but the last Adam
was the true SELF-FOR-OTHERS. (And
so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam
was made a quickening spirit.)
When Jesus walked on this earth, He
walked as you and I should walk. He walked the way the Adam should have
walked. He walked with the same attitude about SELF that will be
manifested in those who have His Spirit indwelling them, i.e., those who have
the mind of Christ. His Spirit living in us will manifest a
certain attitude about SELF that will be a SELF-FOR-OTHERS.
What did Jesus think about Himself,
His ability to do anything, His rights, His reputation? Since He did not
walk as God on the earth (or else, how could we walk in His steps or
follow His example - leaving us an
example, that ye should follow His steps He
that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as He
walked.), what was His mind or attitude about Himself?
Jesus said, The
Son can do nothing of Himself, but
what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also
doeth the Son likewise. And in the same chapter of John He
said, I can of Mine Own Self do nothing.
Jesus walked in union with Father. We will see His view of Father in our
next article, but there was no independent action on the part of Jesus. He
did only that which His Father wanted Him to do, because
I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.
He, living as God intended man to live, operated completely in a dependence
upon the Spirit of His Father working in Him doing His Fathers will. Jesus
said, The Father that dwelleth in Me, He
doeth the works.
That is how you and I are to live.
Jesus gave you an example,
that ye should follow His steps and so
to walk, even as He walked. Even when He performed
miracles, He did so as a man empowered by the indwelling Spirit of
His Father, for the Son can do nothing
of Himself and, of course, neither can you. But I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. That
is why Paul admonishes us to be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of His might and says of
himself, Whereof I was made a minister,
according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of His power. He said he prayed that we would know
what is the exceeding greatness of His
power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty
power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead.
For Paul also said, If the Spirit of Him
that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that
dwelleth in you. The same power that raised Jesus from the
dead dwells in you. With His mind
and His power in you, you will
stand in all circumstances and situations.
Some years ago I was accused of
atrocities that enraged me. The accusation was made public and became the
lead story on the 6:00 and 10:00 news. My heart melted within me as I saw my
picture and my name flashed on the television screen. I was weak to my
knees with a combination of fear and rage. Because my attorney told me not
to be interviewed unless the station would give me an unedited copy of the
interview, which they would NOT agree to do, I couldnt defend myself.
I agonized in prayer and poured over
the Word. Suddenly a peace came over me when the Lord spoke in my spirit,
Who was the only One Who had the right to defend Himself?
Jesus, I answered.
And did He?
No, He never defended Himself. He
even said, If I bear witness of myself, my
witness is not true. He always placed Himself in Fathers hands
in complete humility and trusted in Fathers protection. He knew that
Father could be trusted to bring about His will. He knew that Fathers will
was all He wanted, because I seek not Mine
own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.
Adam Clarke says of this, Christ
labored to promote no separate interest; as man he studied to promote the
glory of God, and the welfare and salvation of the human race. See then
that ye have the same disposition that was in Jesus: he was ever humble,
loving, patient, and laborious; his meat and drink was to do the will of his
Father, and to finish his work.
Albert Barnes tell us, Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
The object of this reference to
the example of the Saviour is particularly to enforce the duty of humility.
This was the highest example which could be furnished, and it would
illustrate and confirm all the apostle had said of this virtue. The
principle in the case is that we are to make the Lord Jesus our model,
and are in all respects to frame our lives, as far as possible, in
accordance with this great example. The point here is, that he left a
state of inexpressible glory, and took upon him the most humble form of
humanity, and performed the most lowly offices, that he might benefit us.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown: made
himself of no reputation - In the Greek, "emptied
Himself, taking upon him the form of a servant, being made in the likeness
of men."
The two latter clauses expresses
in what Christ's "emptying of Himself"
consists, namely, in "taking the form of a
servant" proving that it was at the time when He assumed a body, He
took "the form of a servant", and in
order to explain how He took "the form of a
servant," there is added, by "being made
in the likeness of men."
His subjection to the law (Lu
2:21; Gal 4:4) and to His parents (Lu 2:51), His low state as a carpenter,
and carpenter's reputed son (Mt 13:55; Mr 6:3), His betrayal for the price
of a bond-servant (Ex 21:32), and slave-like death to relieve us from the
slavery of sin and death, finally and chiefly, His servant-like
dependence as man on God, while His divinity was not outwardly manifested
(Isa 49:3,7), are all marks of His "form as a
servant." His emptying Himself presupposes His previous plenitude of
Godhead (Joh 1:14; Col 1:19; 2:9). He remained full of this; yet He bore
Himself as if He were empty.
Whatever honor He would receive was
ultimately for His Father. He said, That
all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that
honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.
He lived by His Father even as we live by Him. As
the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that
eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. Jesus said, I
do always those things that please Him. And If
I honour Myself, My honour is nothing: it is My Father that honoureth Me.
I and my Father are one.
Did Jesus have the Mind of God?
Yes. His Father gave Him everything and Jesus tells us for
all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
To this day Jesus lives to hear from Father and then He gives from Father
that Word we need to hear. Father gave even the Revelation of Jesus Christ
to Christ. The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly
come to pass; and He sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant
John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus
Christ, and of all things that he saw. The Father told Jesus.
Jesus told the angel. The angel told John and John told us. Jesus still
tells us Fathers will. It is not what would Jesus do but what WILL
Jesus do in us. My sheep hear My voice and
they follow Me.
So, for you to Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus you will have His views,
His feelings, and His temperament. You will be a SELF-FOR-OTHERS
instead of a self-for-self. You can walk
in His steps and follow His example
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in
you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
As Jesus said of Himself and Father, so it is of Jesus and us: the
Father is in Me, and I in Him.
Be who you are IN
HIM and HIM
IN YOU.
When you fail, confess and move on. One study tells us a child will fall
300 times learning to stand. His parents wont be angry or disown him for
falling and he wont be disappointed in himself for failing to stand. As
your mind is
set on Him
and you dwell
in Him, you
will become more like Him. For
whom He did foreknow,
He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Being
confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
He tells us, As
my Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.
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