Mind of Christ
Unity
Philippians 2:2-5
Intro:
Any Christian serious about growing in faith should want to know the Mind of Christ. Often we think that we cannot know the mind of Christ, but the reality is that we can; not through any special quest or journey to some secret temple, but by looking into the not so secret Bible!
See God wants us to know His mind, because by knowing His mind we can begin to mold our mind to be more like His! And in doing that, we can directly apply Biblical teachings to our hearts in order to better live out the Mind of Christ in our families, relationships, and in the Body of Christ.
Phil 2:5
Let this MIND…
Focus on that word – MIND. Paul used a very specific word here: the word used means attitude or thinking. Which means that the Mind of Christ is not a mere creed, theory, or formula – it is an ATTITUDE – or a WAY OF THINKING!
Think about it – if someone says you have a very negative attitude, what they mean is that your way of thinking is very negative, while on the opposite, a positive attitude is a reflection of positive thinking. Attitude and thought are one in the same.
Paul wrote 13 letters in the NT. He used this specific word only 23 times. About half of the usages are found in the 104 verses of the letter to the Philippians! Break that down, about 1 in every 10 verses found in this letter, are about the believer’s attitude!
Take it even further: a word can often be used as both a NOUN and a VERB. When Paul uses the word here: he uses it in the form of a VERB! This means that Paul was not saying that the Mind of Christ is some concept, but an ACTION! Living out the Mind of Christ is not something to be learned and understood; it is something that is to be acted upon, lived out, and demonstrated!
Phil 2:5 is telling us that we can actually LIVE out the Mind of Christ.
What good would it be to have the Mind of Christ and not live it? To not demonstrate it? It would be folly! You cannot be believed that you have the Mind of Christ if you do not demonstrate it every day in your life.
James 2:20 says it this way: But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without words is dead?
Just as good works have never saved a sinners soul, salvation WILL PRODUCE change in a person’s life.
The Book of Revelation has a strong warning for people: 2:2-4 – I know your works, but you left your first love!
Faith takes action – action comes from attitude – the best attitude to have is that of Christ!
No one is credible when they live a life contrary to what is professed! It is clear that the Mind of Christ is an ACTION!
So ATTITUDE is thinking
When Paul writes to let this mind be in you – it means to CHANGE YOUR THINKING – THINK LIKE CHRIST. Or to put it another way – to gain spirituality, renew your mind!
Let’s break this down:
Some people try to get closer to God by changing geographical location – away from old life, away from old sins, away form old temptations. Unfortunately, same thinking produces same results in a new location.
Changing circumstances will not change attitude!
Remember this principle: Circumstances can never change a heart. Circumstances can put great or little pressure on the decision maker, but they only provide the environment in which a change of heart takes place. But circumstances can never change a heart.
If you want to adopt the mind of Christ, you must do what the Bible says to do: confession, repentance, and meditations on God’s word, in order to live out the MOC with your spouse, family, and the Body of Christ.
Now lets look at the Scripture again:
Phil 2:2-4
You will notice that this ATTITUDE is interesting. It’s 3 fold.
Each verse teaches a new portion of the attitude.
So what we learn is that the Mind of Christ is an ALL OR NOTHING attitude. You cannot say that you are living the Mind of Christ if you only adopt 2/3! It’s ALL or NOTHING!
Seem difficult or new? It’s the same concept found in Galatians 5:22-23 in regards to the fruit of the spirit – the building blocks of life!
And the fruit of the spirit is listed as 9 things:
Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
So the 1st attitude to adopt in the 3 fold is: UNITY Phil2:2
Verse uses words: like, same, one, and again one.
If you want to live out the mind of Christ in your church, home, relationships, you must demonstrate Biblical Unity!
Now, the difficult part of saying that is that it leaves a HUGE new question: what does it mean to be in Biblical Unity, or HOW exactly do I do that?
If only there were somewhere we could turn to and find the answers that we seek….
Perhaps a Unity Checklist?
Having the same love, being united in spirit, and being intent on one purpose.
Hey wait… that’s Phil 2:2!
Action 1 – Unity of affection – having the same love
Having the same love is another way of saying that you have a deep commitment to love one another NO MATTER the personality or physical differences. The word LOVE used here by Paul is one that means TOTAL COMMITMENT!
This is demonstrated by: loving people for who they are and loving them on the days it is difficult to do so!
Makes sense doesn’t it? Loving people when it is difficult to do so seems hard, and no one said it was going to be easy. But we are called to become like Christ – which means to think like Christ.
Now think of this: Jesus on the cross…. did HE demonstrate love? Think it was easy?
What did Jesus say to His disciples about how they should love?
John 15:11-12 love each other as I have loved you – this will make my joy complete.
Romans 5:8 – God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
ACTION 2 – Unity in Spirit – being of one accord
This will sound strange, but it is another way of saying that your love for one another, your commitment, is to the level of being ‘soul-mates’. Interesting enough is this: some translations use ‘one accord’, 2 words. Yet the word Paul uses is 1 word. SPIRIT. The implication is ‘soul with soul’.
Best described is an intimate marriage. You know your spouse, care for and about your spouse. Want the best for them. Worry about them. Pray for them. When they hurt, you hurt. Their joy is your joy.
YOU BEAR BURDENS TOGETHER!
Action 3 – unity of purpose – intent on one purpose.
Amid the many diverse personalities and skill sets of the people within the churches and ministries, we need to remain committed to the purpose or reason that we are involved in the first place.
What does that mean? If it needs to be done, it gets done! Regardless of job description. If you truly believe in the purpose, mission, reason for the ministry, then what needs to be done is done.
Let me use this example:
LONG DAY of ministry. Purhaps travel ministry. The big event is over and now it time to clean up. Everyone is tired. You are exhausted. You are NOT a good people person. And someone walks up to YOU and asks about the message preached. You look around, perhaps a better qualified person can answer (which wouldn’t be terrible), but nope.
It is at this point that Unity of purpose is determined. WHY? Because you could say hang on, let me find someone. Everyone else could be on the bus ready to leave and go to bed. If you stay and answer, it could take an hour. People may get mad. Patience anyone?
Unity of purpose not only says you stay and answer, it also says if you are on the bus, you enjoy the opportunity the Gospel presentation has presented.
Putting this into practice:
Take time this week to interact with people different. Ask about their week, hobbies, family, passions – and really listen. Follow up a few days later and just check on them. Lift them up in prayer.
