Would you turn to the book of
Philippians? Chapter two, verse five. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus." I want to attempt to preach on
this subject, the mind of Christ, in you. Let this mind be in you. which was also in Christ Jesus. Is this hyperbole? Is this religious
speech that sounds good, but is in reality unattainable? To actually have the mind of
Jesus Christ in me. Is this possible? And this is not a higher plane
to attain and something that we are to strive for. If I'm a believer, it's something
I already possess. I just read that passage of scripture
from 1 Corinthians 2, verse 16, Paul said, we have the mind of
Christ. Now, he doesn't mean we think
like he does, although we do. He says, we have his mind. We have the mind of Christ. So, yes, when he says, let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, it's certainly
attainable. You already have it if you're
a believer. If we already have his mind,
why does Paul say, let this mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus? Is that not being redundant if
we already have his mind? No, it's the precise same thing
Paul meant. In Galatians, chapter five, verse
twenty five, when he said, if we live in the spirit, let us
also walk in the spirit, walk as though we live in the spirit. Walk as though we are men and
women who truly possess the mind of Jesus Christ. Now, I really
want to do that, don't you? I want to have the mind of Christ. I want to walk as one who has
the mind of Christ. Let's go back to verse 1 of Philippians
chapter 2 and see what led him to say this. And I sure want
this. I want to be somebody who walks
as one who has the mind of Jesus Christ, not just one who thinks
like him, but one who actually possesses his mind. And if I'm a believer, I do possess
his mind. Paul said we have. And when he
said we, he meant every believer. He wasn't talking just about
a select few. He was talking about every believer. We have
the mind of Christ. Now, look back up in verse 1.
Paul says, If there be therefore any consolation, comfort, encouragement. If there be, therefore, any consolation
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bowels and mercies. Now, another way to say this
is, if the Lord God really has done a work of grace in your
That's what he's talking about. If you know anything about consolation
in Christ, if this is real to you, if you know anything about
comfort from his love, if you know anything about genuine fellowship
in the Spirit, if you have any bowels of deep affection and
mercy, if that's really, if the Lord has in fact done a work
of grace in your heart. Now, let's consider these individually. If there be any consolation,
any true, genuine comfort and encouragement in Christ. First
thing that I've got to understand is what is he talking about?
We talked about in Christ. That's one of the most important
phrases in the scripture, in Christ. Turn back to Ephesians
chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now, do you hear what
he says? He hath blessed us. That means we already got it.
He's given us all spiritual blessings, every single one of them. He
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Now
he goes on to enumerate what these are. Look at verse 4. According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
Now he's talking about election. He chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Now do you find consolation in
that? Is that something that comforts you? I'm not talking
about something you can argue for or debate about, but is it
something you find comforting that God chose you? Not because
he foresaw any goodness in you or because he foresaw anything
that you do. He did it as an act of his will.
He chose you in Christ before time began. Now, do you find
consolation in that? If there be any consolation in
Christ, let's go and read it. According as he has chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy at sanctification. He chose me to be holy. And if He chose me to be holy,
I am holy. Do you find consolation in that?
Genuine encouragement. And next He says, and without
blame before Him. Being without blame. That's justification. Being justified before God. Being
not guilty before God. Right now, while I'm talking
to you, before the thrice holy God, I have no sin. I have no
blame. Now, as true of every believer,
do you find consolation in that? Did there be any consolation
in Christ? He goes on to say, in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Now, do
you find consolation in being predestinated to be conformed
to the image of Christ? It's all predestinated by God. And if God predestinates something,
is it going to happen? Beloved, it's already happened. His will is done. Are you comforted
by that? He says in verse 6, He's done
this to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath
made us, accepted, graced us in the Beloved. Do you find comfort
in that, that you are right now presently accepted by God? You know the question, won't
you accept Jesus? That's ridiculous. That's not
the issue in any way. Where do you find that in the
Bible? It's not, will you accept him? Will he accept you? Well,
he has made us accepted. Is that comforting to you? He's
accepted me. Without reference to my good
works, without reference to my bad works, he's made me accepted
in the beloved. He says in verse 7, In whom? Now remember, this is in Christ,
the fine consolation in Christ. in whom we have redemption through
His blood. I've been redeemed. My sins are
washed away. The forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace." Now, do you find that comforting?
Are you consoled by that? I am. I am. And he says, if there
be any consolation in Christ. Next, he says in our text, if
there be any comfort of His love. Now, that word comfort means
to speak closely. You can come into his very presence
and speak closely and have him hear you and you hear his words. Now, can you draw any comfort
from his love to where you can speak closely? I think of the
love of God to be. Nothing shall separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Does
that comfort you? I'm in true comfort. You can
draw near when you see the freeness of His love. His love to me. Now, understand this. Everybody
says, I want to be loved unconditionally. There's no such thing as unconditional
love. He doesn't love anybody unconditionally. He loves me
as I am in Christ. I deserve His love. I'm worthy
of His love. I'm lovely to Him in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He has to love me. He can't help
but love me because of what I am in Christ. Now, do you find comfort
in that? And look what he says again,
Philippians chapter 2, verse 1. If any fellowship of the Spirit. The word means literally a sharing
in common. You have that which is in common
with the Spirit of God. And if you've been born again,
you do have that which is in common with the spirit of God,
because you've been born of God. You have a new nature, a holy
nature, and you have it's not just thinking the way he does.
You do have something in common with the spirit of God. You've
been born of the spirit. Our Lord said that which is born
of the spirit is spirit. And that which is born of the
flesh is flesh. Now, every believer has something
in common, and that's where this fellowship is. Fellowship in
the spirit of God. And then he says, if any bowels
and mercies, the bowels are the affections deep within your heart,
that is affection for Christ and the things of Christ. There's
a deep affection. Mercy is compassion. It's sympathy
because of the affection you have for Christ. This word characterizes your
life, sympathy toward the things of the kingdom of heaven. Mercies,
compassion, compassion, knowing Christ. Now listen to me. This
is absolutely necessary that you and I understand this. If
I know Christ, I'm going to be a merciful person. I'm going
to be. You can't know His mercy and
not be a merciful person. If I'm a harsh Hardliner, holding
people's feet to the fire, holding them under the law. I've never
experienced anything of the grace of God. Vows, deep affection
and compassion and mercy. Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall obtain mercy. Now, what he's talking about
is a real work of grace. Now, if God's done this for you,
if He's made it to where you're actually consoled and find consolation
in Christ, if you're comforted by His love, If, if you have
fellowship in the Spirit, if you have bounds, deep affection
for the things of Christ and the things of God and compassion,
you're a merciful person. And if God's done something for
you, you are. Now, if this is real, if it's so, verse two,
fulfill ye my joy that you be like minded, having the same
love being of one accord and of one mind. Now, if these things
are real in you, and they are if you're a believer, they're
real in me if I'm a believer. Now, he says, if they are, here's
what I want you to do. Fulfill my joy that you be like-minded. Having the very mind of Christ,
having the same love, love to Him, that causes you to be of
one soul with one another, like-minded of the same soul, one mind. Now,
this is what true Christian unity is. You know, people talk about
unity. We all like to have unity. Now,
let me tell you this about unity. If you're a believer, it's there. It's not something you've got
to work for. And unity is not overlooking differences. Unity
is believing the same thing. That's what unity is. When I
say Christ is all in salvation, you say, amen. When I say His
blood completely purges our sins, you say, amen. You believe that.
We believe the same thing. If I say my only ground of acceptance
before God is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, you say, yep,
that's what I believe. That's what I rejoice in. If
I say the only purpose for living is the glory of Christ, you say,
yes, that's so. That's the only reason to live.
There's a true union of soul, a union of spirit. We are like-minded,
aren't we? I'm looking at some people that
believe the same thing I do. Believe the Word of God. Believe
the Gospel. Believe Jesus Christ. And that
produces a true like-mindedness, doesn't it? And that's why this
thing of fellowship with a believer, grace is thicker than blood. Really is. I mean, there's a
like-mind. You believe the gospel. You rejoice
in the gospel. Now, let's go on reading. He
says, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the
same love, love for Christ, love for His gospel, being of one
accord, one soul, of one mind. Verse 3, Let nothing be done
through strife, or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let
each esteem other better than themselves." Now, strife is personal
ambition that creates competition and rivalry. That's not the mind
of Christ. If I'm competing with you, if
I'm trying to get one up on you, I don't have the mind of Christ.
That kind of thinking is absolute. We're all. That's Ezekiel's fellowship.
We're one. We're brethren in Christ. Not
one trying to get up over the other one. Not one trying to
be competitive about whether I'm the nearest to the Lord or
I'm the one he uses the most and so on. That kind of thinking.
Strike it out. Your flesh will think that way.
But he says, no, let this mind be in you which is in Christ
Jesus. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. I like
that word vain glory. There's the glory of Christ.
And what's everything else? Vain glory. I mean, that just
puts glory of Christ and vainglory. He says, let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind and
humility, let each esteem other as better than themselves. Lowliness of mind. Now, here's
the mind of Christ. This is, to me, this is There's
a lot of things that are amazing in Scripture, but one of the
things that's amazing to me about the Lord Jesus Christ is He's
lowly in mind. He's God. He's the God-man. He's the creator
of the universe. Yet, listen to how He describes
His own heart. He says, Come unto me, all ye
that are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me, not learn about me. Learn
of me, for I am me, and lowly in heart. And you'll find rest
for your souls. You know, there's nobody like
the Lord Jesus Christ. If you came up to me and disclosed
to me what was really in your heart, I'd be disgusted. Now, is that hypocritical? Absolutely. Absolutely. It's amazing. We
can really be hard on somebody what's in them that we can kind
of, you know, be easy on ourselves. Of course it would be, but there's
nobody that you can come into their presence and really disclose
what you really are and they'll turn away from you, but not the
Lord. Isn't that amazing? He's meek and lowly in heart.
Sinners felt comfortable around him. They didn't feel threatened. They didn't feel judged. And
he's the only truly holy man to ever live. And yet, sinners
like me, like you, could come into his very presence and not
feel threatened, not feel judged, not feel like he's looking you
over with his microscope. That's his character. Now, he
says to all these people, let nothing be done through strife
or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other
better than themselves. Now, let's be honest. Is it hard
to esteem the other as better than you? I don't care who it is. I don't
care how bad they've been. You know your own heart. You
know a little bit about your heart. And has there ever been
a heart as black and evil as yours? Is it hard? Is it difficult for you to esteem
that other person? You know, you've not seen it
in their heart. You've seen a little bit in your own, but you've not
seen it in their heart. But is it difficult? I can look at you. As God is my witness, and I say
that very carefully. I say that fearfully. But I esteem
you better than me. I know what's in me. And if you
all, well, I'm glad you all know. I'm glad you don't. Don't want
you to. Don't want you to. But it's easy for any believer
to esteem the other person, not as equal, but as better. Better than themselves. You know, Paul, the apostle,
could say at the same time, he could say, I'm not a wit behind
the chiefest apostle. And mean it and not say with
arrogance, but he could also say, I'm less than the least
of all the saints. And he can go on to say right
before he died, I'm the very chief of sinners. Paul, the apostle,
would have looked at you and he would have said, you're better
than me. And he would have meant it. You wouldn't just be using
the language you knew he ought to use. He would have meant it.
Now, in lowliness of mind, let each esteem the other as better
than themselves. Verse 4, let not every man on
his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Now, as long as being happy is my goal, I'm going to be miserable. But he said, don't look on your
own things. That's a recipe for disaster for yourself. Don't
look on your own things. But look every man on the things
of others. You want to find a happy person? It's a giving person.
It's someone who's seeking to look out for the things of others. And then he says in verse 5,
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Now, this was and is the mind
of Christ. And Paul, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, gives us the very mind of Jesus Christ. There is not a more awesome passage
in all the Word of God than the one we're getting ready to look
at, where Christ's heart is opened up to us, and we're enabled to
peek in and see just exactly what His mind is. And remember, He says, let this
mind that we're getting ready to look at be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus. Now, look at this description
of the mind of Christ, verse 6. 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. Now, the nature and essence
of deity was and is His. He thought it not robbery. He
didn't think it to be a thing to grasp for. He didn't think
it would be a rip-off for him to be equal with God. Now, what if I stood up before
you and said, I'm equal with God. I have the same power He
does. I have the same nature. I'm equal
with God. I'm right there with Him. That
would be, oh, it would be so evil. It would be so arrogant.
It would be so presumptuous. It would be wicked for me to
say something like that. Be wicked for you to say something
like that. But He can say, I'm equal with God. How can He say that? He is God. The Father said to Him in Hebrews
1, Thy throne, O God, is forever. A sector of righteousness is
the sector of Thy kingdom. Remember what our Lord said?
He that has seen Me hath what? hath seen the Father. His name
shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace." That's who he is. Now, he thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. It was not a thing to be
grasped for. He knew himself to be equal with
God, but look what... Now, before we go on, You've all heard that saying,
power corrupts. And haven't you found it's true?
Everybody, give somebody, somebody who might be a pretty nice person,
give them a little authority to see what they do. I mean,
they can turn into monsters real quick. Power corrupts. And you know that's so. You've
seen it happen. Maybe it's happened to you. Power
corrupts. Now, here's the one who truly
has power, but look what he does. He doesn't start throwing his
weight around. Here's what he did, this one who was equal with
God. And remember, let this mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus. What did he do? He made himself of no reputation. He emptied himself. And he took upon him the form
of a servant. And he was made in the likeness
of men. Now he, instead of using this
equality to be served, and that's what I do, you give me that power,
oh boy, this place would be a mess. I do, I just, who knows what. And if you had the power, it'd
be even worse. So, it'd be just saying, you know what I'm saying.
But the point I'm making is, He had this equality with God,
this power, and He didn't use it to be served. He became a
servant. He took upon Himself the nature
and essence of a servant. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered to, but to minister and to give His life a ransom
for many. And when He took upon Him the
form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men, you think
of the stoop He made. God in His infinite fullness
became a man. He took upon Him all the limitations
of being a man. What a stoop! Verse 8, And being
found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself. Oh, this thing
of humility. The Lord humbled himself. Let's
go on reading. He humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Now, what
he was in the eyes of men, his fashion, was nothing more than
a man. And he knew this all the time,
and yet he humbled himself The humbleness, the humility of the
incarnation when he became man. But here it says he became obedient
to death. This is his humility. This is
how he humbled himself before his father. He became obedient
to death, even the death of the cross. The father said, my son, obey
me and your obedience will kill you. And he said, yes. He became obedient to death,
and that's not really so much talking just about stopping breathing.
The death of the cross was eternal death. All of the sins of his
people became his. That's why he died. He was made
sin. Now, I was thinking about this
scripture and I don't know how much I know I don't understand
a whole lot about it, but it says, You know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. You know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich. And
you think of the riches of Jesus Christ. Rich in righteousness. Rich in the love of His Father. Rich in the praise of angels.
I could go on talking about His riches. Though He were rich,
yet for your sakes, He became poor. Now what's this thing of
Him becoming poor? He was rich in righteousness,
but no more. He's made sin. He was rich in love, but now
He feels nothing but the awful frown of His Father. He was rich
in praise, Now, all he can say is, my God, my God. He wouldn't
even call him father at this time. He didn't feel like he
could. My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? He was made
to be seen in all of his riches. What does scripture say? He became
poor. He didn't have those things. Who understands this? Nobody
does. You know, I can't explain this. I just believe it. I can't
give you all the mechanics behind it, I just believe it. He became
poor that you, through his poverty, might be rich. He humbled himself and he became
obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, verse 9, Philippians
chapter 2, Now, if you want to have the
mind of Christ, you know what you're going to do? You know what I'm going to do?
I'm going to humble myself. And when I think I've got low
enough, I'm going to have to go a little further down and
I'll get a little bit closer to where I ought to be. And when
I get there, it's a whole lot further down than I thought.
Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt
you in due time. The Lord Jesus Christ humbled
himself. That's the mind of Christ. He
humbled himself. And because of that, verse 9,
wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow. For things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. to the glory of God
the Father. Now, if I have the mind of Christ,
I'm rejoicing in this. Aren't you glad that God has
given him a name which is above everything? Isn't it wonderful
to think that in His name, the name of Jesus, every knee is
going to bow and every tongue is going to confess, whether
they like it or not, that He is Lord. to the glory of God
the Father, and beloved, I'm one of those folks who likes
it. I love it. I love thinking of the Lord exalting
Him at the mind of Christ. You know, Christ loves His own
glory, and it's well that He should. He's the only one who
should love His own glory. If I love my own glory, it'd
be wrong. It'd be evil. But He loves His own glory. I
love His glory. I have the mind of Christ. Now,
verse 12, Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not
as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and with trembling. Anything
you see in your mind that's contrary to the mind of Christ, address
that. Work out your salvation. And
do so with fear and trembling. I remember one time hearing a
preacher preach, and he used this verse of Scripture, and
he used it to prove that salvation is at least partially by works.
Said, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Well,
it does say that. And you give attention to everything that
is contrary to the mind of Christ. Humble yourself. Be a servant
to others. Let this mind be in you which
was in Christ Jesus. Look what he says next. He says,
for it's God which worketh in you, both to will and to do his
good pleasure. Don't anybody say this is impossible
for me to have the mind of Christ. It's impossible for me to work
out my salvation the way I do. No, here's why. It's God that
works in you. Both to will. Do you have a will? Do you have a will to know the
Lord? Is that what you want? I know
exactly what Paul meant when he said, to will is present with
me. I want to be perfectly obedient. I want to be without sin. I want
to be exactly like the Lord Jesus Christ. To will is present with
me. It's right there with me. Now,
how to perform, I find not. The will's there. Where'd that
will come from? It's God that worketh in you,
both to will and to do His good pleasure. Do you want to do God's
will? Who put that in? He worked in you, both to will
and to do His good pleasure. Verse 14, so do all things without
murmurings and disputings. That's the way the mind of Christ
is, true humility. Yes, Lord. Whatever He brings
my way, I'm not to murmur about it. It kills me because When
I read a passage of scripture like this, because I know how
much murmuring I do. I mean, if you could see some of the
thoughts I've had this week about my hard life. And all the difficulty
the Lord brings me through and all the, just the... Do all things without murmurings
and disputings. You see, the Lord sent it. It's
best. It's best. Be thankful for everything. The
scripture says, for this is. The will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you, that thing you're having a hard time being thankful
with, is God's will. It's best, isn't it? It's best
to be thankful for it. This is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you, so do all things without murmurings and
disputings, that you may be, verse 15, blameless and harmless,
guileless, not deceitful. that you may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked
and a perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world. Don't you want to be just that? in this crooked and perverse
nation and world that we live in, to hold forth the word of
life, the gospel, to give myself totally to that. Verse 16, holding
forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Having
the mind of Christ, my one and only purpose in this life is
to hold forth the word of Christ. shining as a light in this world. His obedience to this is my message.
His obedience to death gave me life. And that's the message
I preach. Now, let this mind be in you. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. And beloved, if God said, let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, let this
mind be in you. which was also in Christ Jesus. Let's pray.