Having The Mind Of Christ
Everything mentioned of Jesus in His preparation, and in the scriptures above, is a reducing of self, and increasing of God. Jesus did not seek fame, fortune, or glory, but … made himself of no reputation. He did not make Himself King or ruler, but … took upon him the form of a servant. While we were made in the likeness of God and can look up to the hope we have in God, Jesus, as a servant, … was made in the likeness of men. Though Jesus had given up His deity and was … found in fashion as a man, He made Himself even lower and … humbled himself. He did not walk in obedience to the desire of His flesh, but in hearing and doing … became obedient unto death. The spiritual truth is that we must be abased to be exalted. Because of these things that Jesus did He was exalted, or as the next scripture starts, “wherefore”;
Philippians 2:9, 10 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Due to Jesus obedience of mind He was made perfect (Hebrews 5:9 above), and the name of Jesus now has healing, salvation, deliverance, refuge, life, truth; He is King of kings and Lord of lords, the Almighty. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Jesus walked in the power of the Spirit to accomplish the things He did, but He also acknowledged being “in” the Father;
John 14:10, 11 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works sake.
Jesus acknowledged that it was the Father in Him that did the works! This also is the mind of Christ! Can we expect to do any of these things without being “in” Him? If we have the mind of Christ there will be no conflict in purpose, because God’s will has become our will; there will be complete unity. We will have the same mind. There are a number of scriptures that exhort us to be of one mind; some of them follow;
Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
I Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
II Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Philippians 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
We cannot find the same mind in our flesh, for it lusts against the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). We cannot strive to achieve His mind by ourselves, but we must yield and let Him give it to us. We are exhorted to; Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5 above). “Let” requires an action of yielding on our part. We will not find the full unity of God without the humbleness and obedience of yielding our all to God. The unity of God is noted in the following scriptures;
I John 5:7, 8 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
It was amazing to find that noted scholars have been arguing for centuries of the validity of the… three that bear record in heaven … of I John 5:7. They have argued so long it has been given a name, the Comma Johanneum. The apparent argument is in whether the phrase was added or omitted from early copying of scripture, to defend either a Unitarian or Trinitarian belief of God. The enemy has propagated an argument in the church to prevent unity and furtherance of the Gospel, to the saving of souls;
I Timothy 1:4 – 7 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
If these men had achieved the mind of Christ there would be no dispute, but in unity with Christ all would hear, and do, and edify. Having one mind is not something we can figure out, but in humbleness of mind we just yield to it. May the desire for the mind of Christ work this humbleness and obedience in you. Go to spiritual boot camp, so that you may yield completely, and be totally obedient to His will and His leading;
I Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
As we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and are obedient through and to Him, we will speak and do the things that glorify God. The more obedient and yielded you become, the more the words and purpose and plan of God can be shown in your life. The flesh and our purpose work against the things of God.
We know that the physical things God created often have or show a spiritual parallel. Let us consider the physical example of water pressure. Unless something has been implemented to correct or alter it, the water pressure is always lower on the upper floor of a two story house. Why? because gravity affects the pressure. This is similar spiritually; the lower you are humbled or abased, the higher the spiritual pressure or blessings. The higher you are exalted, the lower the spiritual blessings.
Have you considered water towers? They are not just for storage, but are engineered to be at an elevation to provide the proper pressure. That is why a water district in a flat area may have a high tank that looks like a giant golf ball on a tee, while a hilly area has a cylindrical tank at ground level on one of the high points. The towers are designed to provide a certain head pressure, or difference in elevation, to achieve the desired water pressure, all based on the use of gravity. When you open the valve at the base of the tower, water pressure is provided to the lines. When you open the faucet in your house you receive water under pressure. The physical things of the earth have a spiritual parallel, and there is a spiritual gravity and pressure to also consider;
Isaiah 55:8, 9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Do you get a different picture of God now as your High Tower?
II Samuel 22:2, 3 And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours that a fountain, a river of life, is available if we are humble and totally obedient. God is a limitless source if we prepare to receive. These thoughts are not immediately available to you, but, as in the physical example of a tower, you must open the valve and faucet to receive. Prayer, studying the Word, walking a holy life, yielding, and diligently seeking His face are how we open these things in the spiritual. This is what you are exhorted to do to begin having the mind of Christ!
God does not want us opening and closing the faucet as we feel we have a need, but to keep our spiritual water system ever open; He wants us to be a continual fountain of God. He desires rivers to flow from you;
John 7:38, 39 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
The level of our belief or faith determines the volume of flow of the Spirit. This is not just your level of belief that God can, but that God always works through a vessel. Brother Clendennen preached that In Exodus 3 Moses believed that God could deliver the children of Israel, but could not believe that God could deliver them through him. Moses had become so meek that he was already the empty possibility Brother Clendennen spoke of, but he had to believe that God could do it through him! Where are the servants today that have the rivers flowing out of them? Looking at this scripture, you must believe that Jesus can work through you for the Spirit to flow! Knowing this, and having humbleness, yieldedness, and total obedience can then allow you to find the mind of Christ, and allow the rivers of living water to flow from you.
Many today in the physical have become dependent on calculators or computers for any simple math computations. The electronic device is faster and more accurate than doing it in their own head. Why do we have such difficulty then being totally dependent on God, since; as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. God wants us to become dependent on Him! Let us look back at the scripture that we started with;
II Corinthians 10:3 – 6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Ours weapons are mighty … through God …, and not in ourselves; our bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ will bring us to dependence on Him, and humbleness of spirit will bring us to the mind of Christ;
I Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
We know from Isaiah 55:8, 9 above that we cannot know His mind that we might be instructed by Him, but in obedience we can have His mind. This is similar to the example of the body; your arm does not have a mind of its own, but moves and responds when the mind commands. That is why Jesus is called the Head of the body; we can have His mind without acquiring His knowledge. It is only by defeating our fleshly nature and mind, and obedience to Him, that we can have … the mind of Christ.