Let your mind be……..
Philippians 2:1-5 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,(ESV)
Paul had laid out to the Philippians the principle of living a life of humility as a Christian disciple of Christ. He had laid out how they were to be united by love, humility, and the concerns for others before themselves. How they should be untied as a church in these things. Christ had set the example before them, and Paul was pointing to Whom they should follow in the coming verses, when he points to the deity of Christ. Paul begins to show how a great God could humble Himself to the point of becoming a man; to set the example of how to live; to pay the price for our mistakes; to die Himself as a man a painful death on the cross. Christ alone set the standard for humble, sacrificial love.
My study Bible puts it well in the notes of verse five. “Let this mind be: All godly action begins with the ‘renewing of the mind’. Right thinking produces right actions. Our actions are the fruit of our deepest thoughts.” You are what you believe another friend once told me. Once we pursue God and the things of God with a heartfelt desire, our thoughts and actions begin to change, begin to reflect Christ. This is God’s goal of the work of sanctification in you; to see less of you and more of His Son. Christ has told us it is easy to follow his example; he takes the loads we strain to bear alone from us. Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
If we are really wanting to change, really wanting to better our lives in the eyes of Christ, where would we begin? Would it begin with a twelve step program of what we could accomplish if we put our minds to the tasks? Wouldn’t that program mean that our pride is being puffed up in what we can do once we put our minds to it? It would start where the world says it will fail; removing the “I can do it” attitude and replacing it with the “I can’t do anything without Christ” mindset. To really make any change in your life, you must humble yourself and accept that only true change begins in Christ. Paul summarizes these changes that come with a true heart for Christ in Ephesians 4:21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.(ESV)
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