Friday, April 06, 2012

"Let this mind be in you...


.. which was also in Christ Jesus."

Today is Good Friday, and for Christians a most meaningful day.  As we think upon Christ's sacrifice for us, we can't help but think about how we are to live once we have accepted His unspeakable gift of salvation.  An old gospel chorus asks, "How can I do less than give Him my best and live for Him completely, after all He's done for me?"

Part of living for Him completely involves letting "this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).  Some months ago, our church bulletin contained a list of ways we can do this.  I thought that this might be a thought-provoking post to share.  The mind of Christ is a mind that is ...

HUMBLE 
 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
"But made Himself  of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
"And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."  (Philippians 2:6-8)

MEEK
"All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
"Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee ... meek, and sitting upon ... a colt."  (Matthew 21:4-5)

SELFLESS
"Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father" (Galatians 1:4)

OBEDIENT
"He ... became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."  (Philippians 2:8)

LOVING
"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
"Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:38-39)

RESOLVED 
"And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from Me: nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt."  (Mark 14:36)

COMPASSIONATE
"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them. because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."  (Matthew 9:36)

ENDURING 
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."  (Hebrews 12:2)

CARING
"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep."  (John 10:11)

These are just a few of the characteristics of the mind of Christ.  For each of those I've listed, many more Scripture references could be found.  

Guy King, in the book Joy Way (published in 1954) well described the mind of Christ as: 1) The selfless mind; 2) The sacrificial mind; 3) The serving mind.  The Lord Jesus consistently thought of others.

How are we doing today? Are we letting His mind be in us?

3 comments:

  1. This is a great Bible study! I love that you simply used Scripture for your points - that's all that's necessary!

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  2. Happy Easter Mrs. T!!! Wonderful post! I enjoyed reading it and I am going to add it to my journal to be sure that I stay mindful of it. Hope you and Mr. T have a great Easter Sunday!

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  3. Hi ladies!

    Thank you both for visiting and for leaving such thoughtful, sweet comments.

    Mrs. Smith, I am thrilled that you plan on adding this to your journal for future reference. I should do the very same thing!

    Hope you both had a blessed Resurrection Day!

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