Paul was directed by God to spend a fair amount of time dealing with the need to be likeminded. We see here again that this likemindedness is not based on compromise. It is based on the mind of Christ. All true saints need to humbly submit to the mind of Christ. When that happens, there is great blessing to be had. We know that this was true much more in the first century. God blessed the saints in that century in a great way. There were many who were saved and joined the local churches. We know as well that near the end of the first century this was not nearly as common among the saints. Jesus Christ had to address problems in seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3. The church that was the most faithful was the church in Philippi.
It is a shame that there is such a mixed message today coming from people who all claim to love the Lord. I was asked just recently about this matter. The person wanted to know if a person could talk of believing in God and in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit and still be lost. According to God’s Word this is possible. The question would be: which God do they believe in? It would also be important to know which Jesus they believed in. The Charismatics certainly do not believe in the Holy Spirit that the Bible teaches of. We need the mind of Christ Jesus today as much as in any other time.
In the next few verses we get a better look at the mind of Christ Jesus. He was in the form of God. We learn further that it was not robbery for Him to be equal with God. Jesus Christ did not diminish Who God is by declaring to be God. The Godhead is made up of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It would be robbery for Jesus Christ to deny that He was God.
Jesus did not assume to be something that He was not. He is the second person of the Godhead and in that capacity, He made Himself of no reputation. He was willing to come to this earth in the form of a man. Not only that, but He took on the form of a servant. A servant does not make the rules. A servant is submissive to his master and follows his rules. Jesus Christ was submissive to His Father. He was also in full agreement with His Father. He knew that He was coming to this earth to suffer and die on the cross. We read as well that He was made in the likeness of man. He looked just like any ordinary man. He did not have a halo over Him. His face did not shine except when He was on the mount of transfiguration. He did not have long hair either. He looked like any other respectable Jewish man of that time.
It is the Catholics that have painted pictures of Jesus with long hair and with a halo at times and with a face that glowed at other times. Even though they do that, they still claim that Jesus Christ was not capable of forgiving our sins without the help of His mother. They create great confusion. Sadly, too many people accept the Catholic version of Jesus Christ rather than the Biblical truth of Who Jesus was and is.
In verse 8 we read that Jesus humbled Himself as a man. Men tend to be the last ones to humble themselves. Men are to be the leaders. They are to be the head in their home. They are to be the pastors. They are to be the leaders in the community. All of that is possible while being a humble servant of the Lord. Jesus showed us that this is possible. He was not a father. He never married. However, He was a leader amongst the Jews. Most of them rejected His leadership, but He proved Himself to be a leader. He taught the truth with authority. The Jewish people witnessed that He spoke with authority, and not as the scribes.
Humility did not mean that He needed to be a push over. Humility meant that He was submissive to the will of His Father. It still means the same today. Humility does not mean that a man does not know how to lead and does not know how to make decisions. A humble man is one who submits to the will of God and who makes decisions under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He identifies with the true God regardless of what others may think or say.
Jesus Christ came to this earth to die on the cross. He knew that before He came to this earth. In fact He knew that before Creation. He knew that He would be rejected of man. He knew He would be spat upon and mocked. He knew He would be accused of blasphemy. He knew all things, and yet He submitted Himself to coming and facing the wickedness of evil men. He did that in order for you and I to be able to be forgiven. His blood needed to be shed on the cross of Calvary. He needed to lay down His life. He could not go to the cross kicking and screaming. He needed to lay down His life. That is exactly what He did. The Jews thought they needed to use force to break Him. The Romans also thought they needed to use force and they assisted the Jews in arresting Him. However, Jesus knew when His hour was come and He did not try to hide. He went to the Mount of Olives. Judas knew where Jesus was. Jesus had often taken the disciples to that place. Jesus did not put up a fight when they came to arrest Him. Peter tried to interfere with that arrest, but it did not help.
Judas could have come out to the Garden of Gethsemane all by Himself and brought Jesus to the chief priests and to Pilate. Jesus did not put up a fight. He proved His deity there again when He identified Himself before the soldiers and they all fell backwards just by Him identifying Himself before them. Jesus proved that He was all powerful. Yet, He willingly submitted to the will of His Father. That is important to note as well. Jesus did not submit to the will of man. He submitted to the will of His Father. He allowed wicked men to treat Him with great cruelty. He did not fight back. He did that because it was the will of His Father for Him to go to the cross.
Paul was pointing all of this out to show us what the mind of Christ Jesus is like. It is a selfless mind that seeks to glorify God in all things. We have mentioned before that born again Christians do not join unions. They do not associate with such corrupt organizations that defy the true and living God. True saints serve God faithfully and seek to help their bosses and co-workers to see the blessings of knowing the true God. True saints do not fight for their “rights”. True saints understand that in this world they will be hated. They understand that it is not unusual for the wicked to despise them. True saints pray for the lost and seek to help them to see the importance of knowing the truth.
As true saints walk with the Lord they learn how to respond to the wicked demands of the lost. They do not compromise the truth just to get along. Nor do they compromise the truth to try to gain a greater audience. They submit to the will of the Father and seek to glorify Him in all things. That is what the lost need to see and hear. That is how the apostles were able to turn their world upside-down. In these last days when we are seeing more and more countries embrace the communist mindset, people need to see the holiness and righteousness of God. More and more churches are embracing the emergent church philosophy. It is a very subtle change that is taking place. Most are not even aware it is happening. As His saints walk humbly with Him, we can show the world the blessing and the importance of knowing the true God. Let us pray for one another and let those of us who are saved, pray that we might have the mind of Christ in all things.
Pastor Bartel