Have This in Your Mind, Which Was Also in Christ Jesus

1If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, 2make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. 5Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The apostle Paul taught that believers should take it as a matter of course that they will suffer with Jesus Christ, and that they must contend for the gospel. To do this, they need to know the virtues the church must keep and live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Paul, who had kept to praise throughout the opening of his letter, now rebuked the faults that needed correcting and the divisions in the church, telling the Philippians to have the mind of Christ and turn back. He wanted them to grow into a more mature faith. When pastors and parents give counsel, they must set up the word as their standard of what is good; only then can they exhort as the apostle Paul did, consistently and without narrowness. Without a good standard, people become their own standard and cannot give right counsel or exhortation, and so the word must be at the center of every relationship. We must lay aside the human notion that we are superior to the other person, and deal with them in humility and sincerity, like Jesus Christ, who emptied himself and took the form of a servant. Exhortation should be given in love, longing for a brother or sister to stand firm and whole; and if those who receive it listen to the counsel of those further along in the spirit and are willing to turn back, the church will grow through people like these. The apostle Paul asks that whenever they exhort, comfort, or share fellowship, they do it in love and compassion within the faith, as Christ loved the church.

For our salvation Christ became flesh, suffered the agony of the cross, and passed through the hours of suffering in which he overcame death and rose again. Now we who believe ought to have a faith that gives itself up through the love of the Lord. We must live lives that set the best example we can, so that those who are weak in faith may receive the gospel with joy.

Scripture tells God’s people to put away human righteousness. If I judge the world and other people by my own standards, I may drift away from the will of Christ; so we must have an honest faith that humbles itself.

Philippians 2:2-3

2make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;

The church in Philippi had problems, large and small. Some of the members, once they owned more than the others and held office in the church, began to think of themselves as powerful and wise. In their conceit they exalted themselves and set out to teach everyone else. But the church is made up of the members of Jesus Christ; in Christ, therefore, there is no high seat and no low one. If Christ, who is the head, has told us to serve our brothers and sisters, then true faith means helping and serving them from the lowest place, however much we may possess and however much honor and power we may hold in the world. That is because God the Son showed us this example when he became flesh.

Yet people think, “I work harder than that person, I give larger offerings, and I hold a higher office, so I ought to be served.” Even when the head commands people like this to help the other members, the whole body cannot become one. However wise people may be, they cannot surpass the wisdom of God; however much they possess, they cannot surpass the power of the Creator. So only when we honor God as our Father and have an obedient faith can we fulfill our mission as God’s people.

In the world, people are recognized only when they defeat others and climb on top of them. Whatever the process, as long as the result is good, their ability is acknowledged. That is why people, knowing full well that it is sin, think little of other people’s lives and seize what they own, all to gain worldly power. But as believers, even when your opinion seems right by worldly judgment, you must know how to cast it aside without hesitation if it is not right in the light of the word. The church is where people with many shortcomings come together, lean on one another, and hold high the lamp God has entrusted to them to light up the world. So whatever mission you take on and whatever office you have received, do not forget that you are a member of Christ, and do not act selfishly. When you humbly respect the opinions of your brothers and sisters and count it a joy to give yourselves to the church, which is his body, the Holy Spirit will make the church stronger still and bless you so that you can live lives free of shame.

1 Peter 5:5-6

5Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;

Peter commands God’s people to be subject to the elders who teach them the word, that is, to their pastors, and to act with humility. If those who are taught by pastors teaching the word behave proudly, God will rebuke them severely. Those who humbly submit to elders who carry the authority of the word, God will exalt in due time. Peter is speaking of pastors, of course; but by that he means those established in the truth, those who are examples in faith, those who live by the will of God, and those who overcome the world by the word.

If you live such a humble life, God himself will rebuke those who criticize and judge you, and he will protect you as you live in obedience. It is just as he told Abraham that he would bless those who bless Abraham and would himself curse those who curse Abraham. Since God protects his holy people in this way, you have no need to complain that others are not living by the word, nor any need to take revenge when you are wronged.

Peter is saying that God blesses believers who help in the ministry of pastors who proclaim the truth. Pastors who are served by their congregations, if they understand this will of God, ought to live with fear and all the more care. Just as Jesus went down so low as to wash his disciples’ feet, pastors must serve their people from the lowest place. Just as Jesus gave up his rights as God the Son and gave his own body, pastors must offer themselves for the gospel. When they live such a life, the service they receive will not be put to shame.

The church is where people who once lived in the world, each proud in their own way, gathered one day after receiving the gospel. Until they are born again through the word, they act no differently from the people of the world, so if they do not humble themselves, conflict is bound to arise. Even a husband and wife who married for love need a long time to become one; and since the church gathers people who have each lived in the world by whatever they thought right, problems are only to be expected. The church must teach doctrine along with the truth, and believers must obey the word they have learned.

In a church where the Holy Spirit is at work, worldly knowledge and ability have no use. If people do not obey the words of their spiritual leaders, there will be strife, and those who have torn the church down will be rebuked by God. The church is entirely unlike the world, yet strife breaks out in it because people who have not been born again as believers try to lead it by the world’s methods.

When you look at how Jesus went about his ministry, you can see how utterly different it was from the church today. Jesus called twelve disciples, taught them the word for three years, and caused them to experience for themselves how every problem in the world is solved by the word. He did this because, without acting in faith, no one comes to understand the truth deeply or grows in wisdom. It is when we meet the events of life by acting in faith that we gain an unshakable faith. In other words, if you have learned the word, you must try living by it before you can have true faith.

What you must clearly understand is this: the world and the church are different. The world and the kingdom of God are different; their rulers are different; their laws are different. You who believe are citizens of the kingdom of God; God is your ruler, and God is your law. Even if you have lived a successful life in the world, you cannot use those methods in the church, and human righteousness and knowledge have no place there.

Peter said plainly that they must be subject to the elders. He told them to treat one another with humility and to be faithful for the sake of the kingdom of God. When we lay down our own righteousness and humbly submit to pastors who teach God’s will and providence, God will help us to work together for good.

At the Red Sea, Moses saw the Israelites complaining, asking why he had brought them out of Egypt to die. But Moses, who trusted God, never gave up, and at God’s command he divided the sea and made a path through the middle of it. The Israelites, who had complained because they could not trust God, were saved, absurdly enough, because they crossed by the very path Moses had opened.

This is how heavy the responsibility of a leader who knows God’s will is. Even if some in the congregation complain, asking why a matter is being handled this way, there are times when a leader cannot explain everything, because they must act according to God’s will and his command. Once time has passed, people will understand why it was handled that way. Because it is a grave matter, a soul hearing the word they preach and entering the eternal world, leaders who fail to preach the truth rightly will instead face a terrible judgment from God. Pastors must live rightly in order to preach nothing but the truth, and when believers help their pastors so that the word of truth can be proclaimed in full, they are working together for good.

Philippians 2:5

5Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,

If we are to have the mind of Jesus in us, we must first know with what mind Christ came into the world. Jesus is God the Son, and so he had no need to come into the world at all.

But when people were bound by sin and sank into slavery to Satan, he himself took on the flesh of sinners to save them. To carry Christ in our hearts means this: that we who believe in Jesus, who gave himself in this way, think and act as he did.

For the Philippians, who believed in so humble a Christ, to criticize and condemn one another was utterly wrong. So the apostle Paul said that if they thought and acted as Jesus did, they would be believers whom God approves. Yet many who attend church today have not been born again. They have received the love of Jesus, who gave his life, and still they are not thankful; to take the higher seats, they speak and act wickedly without a second thought. Criticizing and condemning others is sin, because it springs from an evil heart that wants to exalt itself.

If, because of your unworthy conduct, souls whom Christ gave his life to save turn away from God, that is a grievous sin beyond forgiveness, and you must repent with fear. A heart that has no pity for souls, a heart that cannot give up its own righteousness, a heart that wants to be waited on by others: such hearts God will surely rebuke and judge. To restore the work of creation that had been marred, Christ left his throne, willingly carried the cross, and rose again. If those who have received such love stir up quarrels in the church, they must not forget that the one they are criticizing is not a person or the church, but God.

When church members quarrel with one another, it brings pain to the pastor. When a church becomes one where people serve one another in love and exalt Jesus Christ, pastor and congregation can faithfully fulfill their shared mission of working together for good. That is why Peter told them to submit, and why Paul commanded them to take the lower place and show one another a humble faith.

Philippians 2:9-10

9Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,

In this world no name but the name of Jesus can be a savior. God the Son would be God even without carrying the cross. But because he obeyed even to death, God the Father made the name of Jesus the name which is above every name. He made angels and Satan, those in heaven and those on earth, and even those in hell bow the knee and worship under the name of Christ. Jesus did not carry the cross expecting God to exalt him; he sacrificed himself of his own will so that God’s will might be fulfilled.

If you sacrifice yourself and serve God without any condition, God will exalt you and glorify you, just as he exalted the name of Jesus. The humility and sacrifice of Jesus Christ caused all people to give glory to God.

If you keep Jesus in your heart, you can know God’s holy will, and with the help of the Holy Spirit you can fulfill the great mission of saving souls. God, who watches over you as you give yourselves like this, will receive great glory and will bless you with peace and rest.

Philippians 2:3-4

3doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.

Paul’s joy is to see the Philippians living as saints should. Because they had done their utmost to support his mission, they fully deserved praise.

But zealous as they were for missions, they lacked the self-sacrifice to love and embrace the brothers and sisters with whom they shared their life of faith in the church. They gave themselves only to work that put them on display; they did not care for those in trouble right beside them, were not kind to them, and did not share with them. Seeing this, the apostle Paul rebuked them: helping him mattered, but if fellow believers could not share love among themselves, theirs was in the end a faith that failed to serve Christ fully.

To look after the needs of the brother or sister beside you in love is God’s work, the work that one who has received grace ought to do. Sharing love and service by faith like this is important. More important still is the heart of those who are on the receiving end. Those who give do so with a heart that obeys God and a faith that longs for weaker believers to grow. If those on the receiving end recognize that love, give thanks, and work alongside them to repay it, the faith of both will shine.

If anyone asks why the church and its people are not kind to them or do not show them love, that is proof that they themselves have not shown love, have not been kind, and have not given of themselves. Love, devotion, and faithfulness reveal their beauty more fully through relationships, so we need the wisdom to be mindful of one another’s hearts, and it matters that we never forget to give thanks.

We who believe must be diligent in the church, but we must also work hard in the world to gain knowledge and earn recognition; only then can we live lives free of shame. People who have not been born again live lazily and complacently, and when hardship comes they grow angry, asking why God has not blessed them when they served so diligently. But that anger is itself proof that they have not walked rightly with God.

Every great ability and every possession given to you was given to help you serve in your place as a believer. If you treat what has been entrusted to you as your own and harden your heart so that you cannot share it, then however much you possess, it will be of no help to the kingdom of God. As believers, you must resolve to devote to God the material things, abilities, and knowledge you have received from him. So the apostle Paul told the Philippians to look after their own lives diligently while also looking to the things of others. Paul said that if, after reading this letter, they regained a faith that intercedes for, shares with, and serves one another, he would be overjoyed to hear the news.

All of us, through the sacrifice of Jesus, are believers who will live together forever in the dwelling place Christ has prepared, enjoying the glory of God. Once we have been made one in Christ, that fact does not change. Judging and criticizing a weaker brother does not raise us up; instead it weakens the members of Christ’s body.

May the Philippians, and you as well, take Paul’s exhortation to heart, because if you can repent and turn back, your faith will grow in beauty. This is the way to receive the blessing of prospering in all things, even as your soul prospers.

Friends, I hope you will never put human righteousness at the center. We must live our lives in the world diligently, but we must also have a faith that looks after our brothers and sisters and humbly obeys.

And let us never do the work of the church by the world’s methods. The church is entirely unlike the world, so if we try to use worldly methods, God will stop us, even if he must send hardship to do it. God desires a good heart that shows mercy to souls more than he desires human judgment and ability, and he loves believers who depend on him like little children.

If you have the mind of Jesus Christ and walk by faith the very road that Jesus walked, your life will not be put to shame. I earnestly hope that you will always lay aside human righteousness and be wise believers who humble themselves as Jesus did.