Let This Mind Be In You

“Let This Mind Be In You”

Philippians 2:5-11

Paul isn’t encouraging the church to have Christ’s intellect. He is encouraging them to have Christ’s attitude toward God’s will and toward people.

When the mind of Christ is in me …

I empty myself

Jesus was in the form of God

Had every right to demand service

But He made himself of no reputation

He emptied Himself

He subjected Himself to God’s authority

He subjected Himself to God’s providence

He took on the discipline of obedience

I become a servant

He took on the form of a bondservant

He appeared as a servant

He preformed the work of a servant

He was regarded as a servant

Jesus didn’t look after His own interests

Paul is illustrating the depths to which Jesus

descended to accomplish His redeeming work.

He came in the likeness as men

Jesus was fully God/man

Jesus was fully immersed into the human

condition

He shared the liabilities of misunderstanding, trials

and suffering

Karl Barth wrote, “What we see is a man, the form

of one exposed to all the dubiousness, ambiguity,

and darkness of the human existence, the form

not of a lord but of a servant.”

I humble myself

Jesus humbled Himself

Those who saw Him didn’t recognize Him (John 14:9)

Instead of commanding and ruling in majesty, He

allowed Himself to be humiliated and abused.

Jesus left no doubt of His obedience to God. He never

shirked from His duty

“I have come down from heaven, not to do My will but to

do the will of the Him who sent Me.” (John 6:38)

Following the will of God the to the cross was the

supreme obedience.

Jesus was never seen more plainly to be God than when

He gave up His life as a man.

A greater contrast has never been seen

omnipotence – helplessness

Throne in glory – cross

Why?

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him

given Him a name above every name

At His name every knee shall bow

At His name every tongue confess that Jesus

Christ is Lord

To the glory of the Father

“My dress,” the young girl murmured, her words slurred through swollen lips. “Please give me my dress. I want to hold it.” The Christians surrounding the girl’s bed were sad. Because of her extensive injuries, doctors could do nothing for her. Weeks ago, the believers had bought her a white dress to celebrate her new life and pure heart in Christ Jesus.

Her father had not been pleased with his daughter’s decision to follow Christ. One night, in a drunken rage, he attacked his daughter, beating her and kicking her. He left her lying in the muddy street to die.

When she didn’t show up for church, her Christian friends went looking for her. They found the girl unconscious, lying in a heap, her formerly snow-white dress now covered in blood and mud. She was brought to a doctor, but her injuries were severe.

Now she was asking for her dress.

“The dress is ruined,” her friends told her. They tried to talk her out of it, thinking that seeing the ruined dress would break down the girl’s spirit.

With the simple faith of a ten-year-old, she whispered, “Please, I want to show the dress to Jesus. He was willing to bleed for me. I just want Jesus to know that I was willing to bleed for Him.”

Shortly afterwards, the young girl died.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”