Philippians 2:5
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
CONSIDER THIS
Imagine having the same mindset as Jesus, learning to see like he sees, listen like he listens, think like he thinks, imagine like he imagines, and do things like he does things.
This, Paul says, is the secret to life. It’s not as simple, though, as WWJD (What would Jesus do?), as though that were a simple thing in itself. The better question is HDJDI (How did Jesus do it?). Everything Jesus did, he did by the power of the indwelling person of the Holy Spirit. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, baptized by the Holy Spirit, anointed by the Holy Spirit, gifted by the Holy Spirit, inspired by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and infused with the Holy Spirit. He walked in the power of the Spirit, prayed in the language of the Spirit, healed in the power of the Spirit, loved in the way of the Spirit, and so on.
To “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” means to be filled by the same power that filled Jesus—who is the person of the Holy Spirit.
How does this work? How does one acquire the mind of Christ Jesus? If Paul is calling us to have this mindset of Jesus Christ, then we must be possessed of another mindset. Consider this instruction in Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2).
The pattern of this world is the mind of Adam. The pattern for our lives is the mind of Christ. Transformation happens as we willfully decide to turn away from the ingrained pattern of the broken and distorted mind of Adam (into which we are born) and place ourselves before God in a way that we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
How do we place ourselves before God? Let’s back up one verse: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Rom. 12:1).
Sound familiar? It begins with belonging to God. Remember this: “Jesus, I belong to you.” Are you staying with it? Jesus, I belong to you. Jesus, I belong to you. Say it until you mean it, and when you mean it, you will start to pray it.
Note something else here. Paul doesn’t say offer your body. It’s “bodies”—plural. And it’s “living sacrifice,” singular. And back to our text of the day, did you catch the opener that we are to have the mindset of Christ “in your relationships with one another”?
This is a team sport; it is not a solo flight. We are not transformed alone. I’m going to start pushing you harder and harder on this issue of banding together with a few other believers for the work of depth discipleship. The reason most of us are stuck is we do not have the kinds of relationships it takes to sustain the level of work the Holy Spirit wills to do in our lives.
At Seedbed we have created an online platform whereby you can read the Daily Text as a small band/group and interact around it every day. Let me know when you are ready to give it a test drive. For now you can explore it here.
THE PRAYER
Abba Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, who would bring us into his very mindset. Awaken us to the marvels of this truth and shake us from our satisfaction with thinking we’ve already got it. Come, Holy Spirit, and lead us in this way and into the kinds of relationships it will take to get there. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
- Do you see why WWJD will not work without HDJDI? Any experience with this?
- How do you think about the nature of the mindset of Christ? Are you actively pursuing this in a conscious fashion?
- Are you or have you ever been in a small enough group of people that you could really pursue depth discipleship together? What was that like? What has kept you from it?
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
2 Responses
In answer to your questions:
1: To attempt to live as a true disciple of Christ without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is like owning a car without an engine and expecting to use it as daily transportation.
2: From a Biblical perspective, the difference between having the mind of Christ and the mind of Adam is as different as night and day. One is living in light, the other, living in total darkness. I seek the light of day, a deeper experience of God’s presence through the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
3: I am currently participating in what may be described as a class meeting rather than a band. We are not separated by gender, but are few enough to share freely about our struggles in our faith walk. The main problem we experience is finding like minded individuals willing to participate at that level of intimacy. It’s like you have to already been pushed to the margins before you’re ready to commit to something more than merely fact sharing as in a typical Bible study. Perhaps our culture has to become a lot more hostile towards orthodox Christianity before more believers feel the need for something more.
“…before more believers feel the need for something more.” This is basically where I am stuck. I have stopped actively pursuing two long time friends from church and am waiting to see what evolves…