The Mind of Christ, Philippians 2:5-11, 17
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ... Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me."
Verse 5 tells us that our attitudes should be the same as that of Jesus Christ (NIV). What a wonderous thing the mind of our Lord and Savior is! The mind of Christ is one of complete and utter humility, of servitude. Although He is God, and is completely equal with God, He made Himself of no reputation for our sake. He lowered Himself and took on the form of sinful flesh, though He, being the perfect and holy God, had no sin. He lived a pure and sinless life, and then was slain on the cross, His blood shed, for our sin. He was the perfect Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
But how can we hope to attain and maintain such an attitude, such honest humility? We know that it is possible for a man to have such an attitude, for Paul models it for us in verse 17. He tells us that he rejoiced in being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of the faith of his brethren. But this attitude did not come through Paul's goodness, effort, or achievement. It came only through the working of the Holy Spirit in his life.
Though it is the work of the Holy Spirit in us that molds us and shapes us into the likeness of Christ, to have and maintain His attitude, we have to be willing and open to the Spirit's work in our hearts. We have to consciously make a decision to follow Christ, and to allow His Spirit to have free reign in our souls and our minds.
When we do this, we are giving Him the freedom to come in and search our hearts and try our thoughts. And as He searches, He will inevitably find things that are contrary to His mind and His nature, and He will bring them to our attention.
It is then that we have yet another decision to make. Will we brush off the Spirit's conviction, or will we humble ourselves and repent, turning away from that which He has shown us to be impure and unclean, that which hinders our spiritual growth? All too often the Lord will speak to us in the still, small voice, gently pointing out that which is displeasing to Him. We may easily ignore this little voice, brushing it off as paranoia, or as a legalistic thought, justifying and rationalizing why it is that we shouldn't have to give it up.
But let me give you-- but primarily myself-- some advice: STOP IGNORING IT! The Lord doesn't always speak to us in a strinkingly powerful way. He often times will only speak to us in the quiet of our own hearts, almost imperceptibly. 1 Kings 19:11-12 gives us a vivid picture of this awesome truth:
Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
It is imperative that we are open and willing to listen, that we not just casually shrug off anything that might come our way that says what we're doing may not be God's perfect plan for us. It is God who works in us to will and to act according to His good purposes (Philippians 2:13), but it is up to us whether or not we will let God in and give Him access to our hearts and our minds so that He can work in us. Open your heart to Jesus-- You'll never be sorry!