“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5
As Paul writes of the great principle of looking on others needs, his mind is led by the Holy Spirit to think about the example of Jesus. (When the Holy Spirit leads us, it will always be to glorify Jesus!) Having the mind of Jesus is an amazing thought yet it is part of God’s will for us. Paul begins to detail for the Philippian church the Lord’s
example they should follow.
Let The Greek word Paul uses means the way we think or the mindset we have. It indicates the way we are disposed to look at a situation. He uses it in Romans 6:5 when he states “For those who
live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” There are two mindsets a believer can have, the flesh or the spirit. Paul tells the Philippians which is best.
The word Paul uses does not indicate this is an optional activity. Instead he is suggesting this is God’s will for His children and we should allow His will to grow and flourish in our lives. It is such an important activity that Paul uses the present tense (calling for continuous action), the active voice (the individual believer yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit) and an imperative (command).
This mind The word comes from the diaphragm or the human organs parts around the heart. It reflects the inner-perspective that one has which governs the way they handle a situation. It describes the attitude a believer has when they confront a situation.
Every believer is in a battle that begins with our mind. The choices we make in our mind either bring us closer to Christ or push the believer to the flesh. Paul knows the battle starts in the mind so he directs them to allow the word of God to govern their every thought, emotion and moral reasoning. Yet Paul does not refer to just any thinking – there is one specific mindset we are to adopt.
Be in you Paul addresses the entire congregation. This applies to every believer and there are only three options. A believer can walk in the spirit, they can walk in the flesh or they can be doubleminded and try to walk on both paths simultaneously. (God sees the last option as walking in the flesh.) Once again we see that walking in the path God decrees is a narrow but straight path.
Which was also in Christ Jesus Where does a believer look to learn how to think Jesus thought? We read the word of God and study the life of Christ described in scripture to see how God’s word behaves in action. As believer is alleys to do we “look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith“.
What can we learn? Paul tells us how unbelievably important this concept is to believers. In Romans 12 he writes, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” This is the process of sanctification in which God takes a sinner saved by grace and transforms him into the image of His Son. It is not a rapid process, God matures us from babes in Christ to young men to (hopefully) fathers. Maturation in the faith is a spiritual battle for we face many enemies and trials intent on stopping us. Paul tells us “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ “.
We gain insight into what the mind of Christ means by the Lord’s rebuke of Satan in Matthew 16:23.
“Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Human concerns or the mind of Christ – there are two ways for a believer to live but only one pleases God.