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Philippians 2:5 - Having the Mind of Jesus.Philippians 2:5 (NKJV) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,Philippians 2:5 (ESV) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2:5 (AMP) Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] Philippians 2:5 (CWR) You need to think and act like Jesus Christ. CONTEXT These verses probably come from a hymn sung by the early Christian church, and they form the central focus of sacrificial love and humility for Paul's entire letter. This passage holds many parallels to the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. As a hymn, it was not meant to be a complete statement about the nature and work of Christ. Several key characteristics of Jesus Christ, however, are praised in this passage: (1) Christ has always existed with God; (2) Christ is equal to God because he is God (John 1:1-51; Colossians 1:15-19); (3) though Christ is God, he became a man in order to fulfill God's plan of salvation for all people; (4) Christ did not just have the appearance of being a man - he actually became human in order to identify with us in our humanity; (5) Christ voluntarily laid aside his divine rights and privileges out of love for his Father; (6) Christ also loved us so much that he died on the cross for our sins so we wouldn't have to face eternal death; (7) God glorified Christ because of his obedience; and (8) God raised Christ to his original position at the Father's right hand, where he will reign forever as our Lord and judge. How can we do anything less than praise Jesus Christ as our Lord and dedicate ourselves to his service? [Life Application SB 2019] INTRODUCTION Jesus Christ was humble, willing to give up his rights in order to obey God and serve people. Like Christ, we should have a servant's attitude, serving out of love for God and for others, not out of guilt or fear. Remember, you can choose your attitude: You can approach life expecting to be served, or you can look for opportunities to serve others. People often excuse selfishness, pride, or evil by claiming their rights. They think, I can cheat on this test; after all, I deserve to pass this class. Or I can spend all this money on myself - I worked hard for it. Or My weekend belongs to me; I just don't have time to help others. But as believers, we should have a different attitude, one that enables us to lay aside our rights in order to serve others. If we say we follow Christ, we must also say we want to live as he lived. We should develop his attitude of humility as we serve, even when we are not likely to get recognition for our efforts. Are you selfishly clinging to your rights, or are you willing to serve? [Life Application SB 2019] COMMENTARY PEARL The Blueprint Of Humility If there is anything that's making you anxious, humble yourself before God. Humility doesn't outright abolish anxiety. Only the power of the blood of Jesus in your life can help you put an end to anxious thoughts. But humility is a key that opens the door to the place where we can cast our anxieties on God. Humility puts us under God's mighty hand and allows us to exchange our anxiety for Jesus' peace. We can make this exchange because Jesus Himself embraced humility. We see in Philippians 2 that though Jesus was God from the beginning of time, He humbled Himself to take on the form of humanity. He then went even further through His obedience to death, even to the cross. Because Jesus humbled Himself so completely, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. In doing this, Jesus' example has given us the blueprint of humility, and we are invited to live that out, both in our relationships with others and in our relationship with God. Dear Jesus, thank You for modeling humility so that I may follow in Your example. I surrender my pride in exchange for Your power. [Grace and Glory by Louie Giglio] COMMENTARY There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care because they seek to reach the world's standard. They have chosen its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs. Thus their character is marred, and their life made a weariness. In order to gratify ambition and worldly desires, they wound the conscience, and bring upon themselves an additional burden of remorse. The continual worry is wearing out the life forces. Our Lord desires them to lay aside this yoke of bondage. He invites them to accept His yoke; He says, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." He bids them seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and His promise is that all things needful to them for this life shall be added. Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet. We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.... It is the love of self that brings unrest. When we are born from above, the same mind will be in us that was in Jesus, the mind that led Him to humble Himself that we might be saved. Then we shall not be seeking the highest place. We shall desire to sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him. We shall understand that the value of our work does not consist in making a show and noise in the world, and in being active and zealous in our own strength. The value of our work is in proportion to the impartation of the Holy Spirit. DA 330 CLOSING THOUGHT It's Time to Change Your Mind Changing your life requires new thinking. The battle to change the defects in your life is always a mental battle. It starts in the mind - and that's where the battle is won or lost. Ephesians 4:23 says, "Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes" (NLT). You're not going to change until your thoughts and attitude change. This is why a daily quiet time is important. The time you spend intentionally studying God's Word and in conversation with him through prayer is the spiritual renewal in your mind. Even with the Holy Spirit, it takes spiritual discipline to have the power to change. You have to get to know God so you know what he expects from you and desires for you. Do you know what the theological term for "change of mind" is? It is the word "repentance." To repent literally means to change your mind. The word "repent" is actually a Greek word: metanoia. Metanoia means to change your mind - to turn from death to life, sin to forgiveness, guilt to peace of mind, hell to heaven. You turn from "my way" to God's way. The most positive change in your life will be when you repent of your sin and turn from regret to forgiveness and peace of mind. You have to learn to think in new ways about your defects. Defects are often strengths being misused. That's a new way of thinking. You probably never thought of that, but that's repentance! That's a change of mind. Your defects are often the strengths God gave you that are being misused. You have to change the way you think so you can make the most of your strengths instead. To do that, you "must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had" (Philippians 2:5 NLT). God wants you to learn to think like Jesus. How do you do that? Again, it's a choice. You've got to make a choice and say, "Lord, how would Jesus think about this?" The more you fill your mind with God's Word, the easier that's going to be. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY Philippians 2:5 - Having the Mind of Jesus. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220312-0934.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220129-0830.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20211201-0843.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210722-1130.html 1 Corinthians 2:16 - Having the Mind of Christ. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220207-1117.html Philippians 2:5 - Having the Mind of Jesus Requires Holy Spirit Power. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180618-2132.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2003/20030106-0646.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |