Joy
in Having the Mind of Christ
Book
of Philippians 2:1-13
We
must understand that before we met the Lord Jesus Christ our minds
were depraved.
Rom
1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are
not convenient;
Our
minds were blinded by the lies of Satan.
2Co
4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Our
minds were dark and actually worthless and ignorant.
Eph
4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their
mind,
Eph
4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart:
Finding
the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ has changed these things for each
and every believer!
Rom
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
It
is this change that allows us to know the truth of God and show Him
the love that He deserves from us!
It
is this change that allows us to love ourselves and show that love to
others!
Mat
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat
22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself.
Mat
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
There
is truly a great love within the renewed mind of the Christian!
*****Php
2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort
of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Php
2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love,
being of one accord, of one mind.
Unity
is the state of being one!
The
modern-day Church is stumbling along like a feeble old man because
the Church has forgotten why the Lord Jesus Christ established the
Church!
The
Lord Jesus Christ has removed the penalty of sin from all believers
and many act like they can now do as they please making them no
different from this world who live by doing what they please!
What
is wrong with our world today, especially that young generation who
are misled by fools?
Pro_30:12
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is
not washed from their filthiness.
We
live in that generation today!
God
is not pleased with this generation at all!
Isa_5:21
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their
own sight!
These
are hard things to say but the truth can be harsh to those who can
see no further than their own nose and who listen to those who are
trying to make them irrelevant to society and pretty much have done
this now!
Whenever
young minds are corrupted, there will be a corresponding outward show
of corruption and this is a fact!
We
cannot judge the evilness of those who are lost but when it reflects
in the Church we can certainly see the outcome!
A
nation divided will cause the church to be divided, when it is the
job of the Church to cause unity!
If
we truly love Christ, if are comforted by His love, if we have
fellowship in the Holy Spirit, and love abounds, then why do we allow
this world to divide our congregations? There is too much of the
world getting inside the Church!
The
strength of the Church is in unity! We are not to condone those who
are unruly!
We
are to warn them and then cast them out if they cannot change their
ways! We are never to accept their doctrine!
1Th_5:14
Now we exhort you, brethren, "warn them that are unruly",
comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all
men.
1Co_5:5
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh,
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The
dividing of the Church must cease!
The
church does not exist to impress the world!
The
church exists to lead lost souls to Christ Jesus and be a force of
good to hold back the evil of this world!
We
fulfill the will of the Lord God Jehovah, when we are likeminded
toward the truth of God and not the false lies of this world.
This
Philippian church was a strong church. A strong church has a vision
to carry forth the Gospel.
There
should never be a vision of adapting to this world!
The
Lord Jesus Christ never condemned anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ
truly pointed out the only way to get to Heaven!
Everyone
can live as they wish but they must understand there are consequences
for doing so!
It
is the fool who expects God to bend His own rules to accommodate
those who go their own way ignoring the truth of God!
God
has never allowed sin to remain in His house. God has never changed
the rules to be there!
Jesus
Christ wants no murmuring, no grumbling, no disturbance and no
disunity in the church that bears His name.
All
other places of so-called worship, are just gatherings of people who
do as they wish and give the title "church" a bad name!
We
can grow close together only when we let the comfort of Jesus Christ
dwell within us! The comforter is the Holy Spirit, not some imaginary
world view!
Rom_8:9
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, 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.
How
did the church begin? The church separated itself from the world!
Act
2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness
and singleness of heart,
Act
2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the
Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Today
the church has allowed the world to enter into the church and so goes
the power of the church! Weak, and feeble, and for the most part
irrelevant in today's world!
The
Church can only be strong when we are all in unity but that unity
must be in the unchangeable Word of God.
Unity
can only begin when we are in harmony with God! (this unity comes
only by Jesus Christ)
Anything
else will cause strife in the church!
*****Php
2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Jesus
Christ is the head of the Church. It is only by Jesus Christ we can
be at harmony with God!
Those
that say differently have rejected the Word of God or rewritten the
Word of God to suit themselves!
When
the words of Jesus have been rejected then that group is no longer a
church!
If
we see that anything is causing strife in the church, then we must
get rid of it at all cost! The church must remain in unity!
We
of the church must do nothing that will cause contention! When we see
contention, we must stop it or remove it, even if it means removing
that person or persons!
If
we see those who seek their own vain glory then we need to remove
that person.
Jesus
Christ is the God of the Church and there is no glory beyond the
"Glory of God", all else is certainly vain!
We
attend church first to praise God and worship Him in Spirit and in
Truth!
The
Lord does not share His glory in the worship service, He only allows
us to witness it!
We
all know our own evil so it only makes sense to esteem all others
better than we are!
Lowliness
of mind is the freedom from "pride"!
Those
so full of pride are not seeking God at all, they are seeking
acceptance of their own evil!
Psa_10:4
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek
after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
Psa_59:12
For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even
be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
Today
we have the gay community seeking vainglory for themselves in the
church and they have no intention of being obedient to the Word of
God. There plan to deny being "Born Again" making the new
birth irrelevant!
Vain
glory is the exact opposite of the "Love of God"!
Many
so-called churches have forgotten these things. They have rejected
Jesus Christ. They have rejected the Word of God. They have rejected
the only way to Heaven and they are leading their congregation to the
doorway of Hell and they will shove them through that door, laughing
all the way. (Which is Satan's intent)
2Co
4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
2Co
4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
The
Lord has saved us as servants not His servants but servants to each
other!
*****Php
2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the
things of others.
We
that know the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal way, are only a cog in
the wheel of the "Gospel" and in the ministry of Jesus
Christ.
Those
lost souls are too valuable to God for anyone to concentrate on their
own selves.
Every
believer is needed, which means that the main requirement is to be a
"believer" in all the Word of God!
To
be a believer means we must give the credit of our salvation to our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!
If
we cannot submit ourselves to the Lord and walk in humility and
lowliness, we will be of no use to the Lord!
The
Lord does not teach us to seek anything from this world. We are to
seek rest for our souls!
Mat
11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
That
yoke of the Lord, is the Word of God and the work that Christ has
given us to do!
It
is a fact that self-centeredness weakens relationships and also
achievements. Humility requires courage to overcome our
self-centeredness!
We
must forget ourselves and look toward Jesus!
Heb_12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The
church is faltering because our minds are on satisfying the world and
not satisfying the Lord!
*****Php
2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Why
do we falter and fail every day? We do not allow the example that
Christ set upon this earth to be our example in the building up of
the Church!
We
simply cannot separate the mysteries of the Lord's Person and His
work from the greatness of His example for us to follow!
Jesus
Christ was the very picture of humility.
The
world may still try to reject it, but God humbled Himself and became
a man just so He could be the substitute for our death!
Jesus
Christ died for each and every sinner.
2Co
5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.
1Pe
3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
This
is not the action God requires of each of us but it is the "mind".
In a sense, the mind is the "spiritual part of man's nature".
The
mind that cannot see the works of Christ for salvation, will never be
at rest.
Isa_26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee.
Rom_8:7
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
You
see it was in the mind of God who designed His salvation plan. He
placed this plan in the mind if Jesus, who has placed this plan in
the mind of each believer!
God
did not place this plan "among us", He placed this plan
"within us" when He seals each believer with the Holy
Spirit!
Eph_1:13
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Those
that reject any part of the plan of God, or His Son cannot have the
mind of Christ!
Rom
15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be
likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom
15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The
"mind" of Christ is centered on the "will" of God
and the fulfillment of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation!
All
the Scriptures were written for and about the Lord Jesus Christ!
Psa
40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast
thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
Psa
40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is
written of me,
Psa
40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my
heart.
We
must accept what God is saying here to have any part of the Church
and why not, the truth will always be the truth!
*****Php
2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God:
Php
2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php
2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
We
should settle this one thing in our mind! Jesus Christ was not a
Theophany such described as in the Old Testament!
A
Theophany is a visible manifestation of God or the visible
manifestation of Second person of the Holy Trinity who appears in
human form.
1Ti
6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man
can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be
honour and power everlasting. Amen.
God
only truly revealed Himself in Christ Jesus!
Mat
11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man
knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
When
it came to the New Covenant, God exercised His divine attributes of
the Father, The Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit)!
1)
God has revealed Himself through the Scriptures:
Joh
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
Joh
1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh
1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing
made that was made.
2)
God has revealed Himself through and by, the Lord Jesus Christ!
The
Son of God is truly the visible form of God!
He
is as glorious as His Father.
He
is equal to His Father in every way.
He
is the Creator.
He
is the upholder of the universe.
Being
equal with God did not hinder Christ setting aside His power, His
majesty, His praise, His accomplishments but not His divine nature,
not His divine person, not His purity, nor His holiness.
In
turn, the Lord Jesus Christ has introduced all the world to our
Heavenly Father, our Abba Father
Joh
1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
This
Scripture is not about the "Glory" of God!
This
Scripture is about the humbleness of our God!
It
brought no shame to our God to set some things aside and come to us
to be our substitute in the payment of our own sin debt.
This
is the thought behind these Scriptures!
Jesus
Christ is the very nature of God!
He
was not like God, He is God!
He
did not just achieve righteousness, He is the embodiment of
righteousness!
He
did not just walk more perfect than any man, He is the picture of
perfection!
He
did not just become God when He was on this earth, He has been God
throughout all eternity and He will continue to always be God!
As
these Scriptures teach us humility, God set aside His sovereign state
and His praise to live amongst His enemies!
We
have no means to measure just what God gave up to live as a human but
when we read the things that happened to Him in His "passion",
where He was beat on, whipped, spat on, the crown of thorns, the
plucking of the beard, the nails, the cross, it puts things in
perspective.
God
cannot cease to be who He is, so to be so humble to these things
shows more power that we can ever know or realize!
God
the Son became a man, without ceasing to be God!
Joh
1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth.
What
was the great mystery of the Old Testament fulfilled in the New
Testament?
1Ti
3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God
was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
into glory.
There
are no more mysteries of Jesus Christ, the Son of God the Father and
the salvation plan of God!
There
are no more mysteries in all the Scriptures! We have the complete
package and the complete truth!
God's
humility did not stop at being a man, God humbled Himself all the way
to the cross!
Heb_12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
To
say the God humbled Himself to endure the cross is a giant statement.
To
say that God despised the shame of the cross is even a greater
statement showing His great love for us all!
We
can only ask ourselves, why are we so special to our Father in
Heaven!
The
Lord Jesus Christ, the manifestation of God in the flesh, willing
gave His life so that we can live eternally with Him in the New
Heaven.
Jesus
Christ humbled Himself to be a servant to mankind and suffered the
ultimate degree of humiliation!
It
was not just a man that was hung of that cross, "it was ugly
nasty sin"!
With
outstretched arms Jesus Christ gathered all the sin of the world,
from the past and from the future, my sin and your sin and took it to
Hell where it belongs and left it there to rot!
So
we can only be a Christian when we allow the humility of Jesus flow
in and through us!
This
is the "Mind of Christ" (the humbleness of Christ), that we
must possess as we serve our brothers and sisters and reach out to
the lost of this world.
***All
those that reject the Lord Jesus and this truth will see the wrath of
God because they have rejected the humility of God!
Why
is Christ so exalted in this world and yet so hated by those who
reject Him?
*****Php
2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every name:
Php
2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php
2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Because
the Lord Jesus Christ volunteered for this humiliation and because He
was in total obedience to His Father in Heaven, He has been exalted
above any human upon this earth now, has ever been and will ever be!
God
emptied Himself of His glory to gain even more glory so He could come
with comfort to a world full of suffering!
God
emptied Himself of divine dignity and this points to our duty to
overcome our pride and give in to humility.
Jas
4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the
proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas
4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you.
Jas
4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your
hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas
4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned
to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas
4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift
you up.
BUT,
as the Father cannot be without the Son, the Son cannot be without
the Father. (Son of God and Son of Man)
The
name Jesus means "Savior"!
We
need to be saved from sin's penalty.(the wages of sin are death,
eternal separation from our Creator)
We
need to be saved from sin's guilt. (in the conscience, the threat of
punishment can be worse than the punishment)
We
need to be saved from sin' power. (Cleansed from the past and
protected from the future!)
Jesus
Christ came to save!
1Ti
1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
To
we as Christians, Christ Jesus is loved and reverenced.
To
much of this world, Christ Jesus is admired and wondered at.
To
most of this world, Christ Jesus is despised and hated.
In
the end, every knee will bow just at the name of Jesus, which will
still be "Savior"!
1)
All the things in Heaven! Everything in Heaven know that Jesus is the
Messiah, God in the flesh.
2)
All the things in Earth! When the Lord returns everyone on earth will
know that Jesus is the Messiah, God in the flesh.
3)
All the things under the earth! Everyone in Hell now know the Jesus
is the Messiah, God in the flesh.
I
do not believe anyone is left out here.
When
the name "Savior" is mentioned the entire world knows who
this refers to!
When
the phrase "The Book" is mentioned around this world
everyone knows what this refers to!
Here
the Unitarian Church are in error.
Here
the Catholic Church are in error with the Virgin Mary who was the
chosen vessel of God but still not Divine as the Son.
The
greatness of the name of Jesus is that He stands alone in the
salvation plan of God!
There
is not a human being, including Mary the mother of Christ, that is
not in need of our Saviors work!
There
is still coming the day when all the world, all denominations, and
all false religion, will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
Jesus
Christ is God in His fleshy state! Jesus Christ is the meaning of
Light, Life, and Love above all humans and above all angels!
For
all the doubters of that day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead to
prove He was God!
For
all believers witnessed the fact that the Lord ascended back to
Heaven where the Savior has become the Intercessor for those who love
Him.
For
all those who trust in the promises of God are now filled with the
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ sent from above.
It
is Jesus Himself that teaches us not to be troubled about any of
these things because they are all true, Jesus Christ is God!
Joh
14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also
in me.
We
are not to be ashamed of the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus
Christ!
We
are not to fear what this world can do to us; this world cannot take
away our salvation!
And
Paul adds even more assurance.
*****Php
2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling.
Php
2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure.
To
work out our own salvation means to work until the finish, to work
until completion, to work until perfection.
There
is no half-way plan of salvation, we must be personally active,
remembering this activity is centered on our own salvation!
We
cannot take bits and pieces from the Word of God we must accept the
whole counsel of God!
We
must do the work of God when we are with other Christians but we must
also do the same when we are out on our own!
We
are never to quit being a Christian in any given situation!
Salvation
is the free, "yes I said the FREE" gift of God but a gift
must be accepted to be gift!
We
have a Savior who is self-existing and it is impossible for Him to
come under the control of anything foreign to His existence!
When
accept the "free gift of salvation" from our Living God it
becomes our own salvation plan! No one else can work out our plan for
us but us!
Once
God has saved us, we must first get busy obeying God! (This does not
mean works after salvation to keep salvation)(This simply means we
must get busy obeying the Word of God!)
This
is not works. Works are never involved in the salvation plan of God,
we cannot do enough work to be saved and there is no work required
after salvation.
Obedience
will come because of love and a desire to be like our Savior!
We
will remain in this sinful flesh but we are to have new goals and a
new purpose and always be in pursuit of the "will of God"!
God
does not interfere with the freedom He has given to us! We will
always have that freedom of choice!
God
does give us example after example of people who have made the wrong
choice and suffered the consequences of those choices.
God
gives us the standard of Jesus Christ as our mark of excellence to
reach for!
We
must still understand that even the Christian life will not be a bed
of roses but Christian life can still be beautiful and fulfilling and
only in the Christian life can we be at peace with God!
We
should understand that our flesh is weak but our strength will remain
in the Lord.
Php
4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
It
is God alone who goes with us through this Christian life.
It
is God alone who works out things for His own good pleasure!
God
will never supersede our thoughts but God will always encourage our
own efforts.
It
is our duty to work out our own salvation. It is God's duty to see
that we get all the help we need!
We
certainly need to maintain a certain fear and reverence of the Lord
but it will be the trials and temptations of this life that we be our
greatest fears!
When
we reject the help of the Lord, we will make things hard on our own
selves and then hard on those who are around us.
Without
the Holy Spirit, these things could cripple our testimony and cause
us to be an unreliable witness for the Lord!
Joh
14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Understanding
these things will bring God's peace to us!
Joh
14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the
world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.
Joh
14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again
unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto
the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Joh
14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it
is come to pass, ye might believe.
When
we feel the Holy Spirit, we need to go with Him at all times!
When
we do not feel the presence of the Holy Spirit we need to pray for
forgiveness!
Amen
