Unity Series

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.