“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
“But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
These exhortations from the apostle Paul are telling the people of God, “Let the mind that is in Christ — the very thinking of Jesus — be your thinking, also. His mindset is the one we all are to seek.”
What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? Simply put, it means to think and act as Jesus did, making Christ-like decisions that determine how we are to live. Every time we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we are to ask ourselves, “Do I reflect the nature of Christ? Am I changing from image to image, conformed to Jesus’ likeness by every experience that God brings into my life?”
According to Paul, “[Christ] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). Jesus made a covenant with the Father to lay down his heavenly glory and come to earth as a man. For Christ, this meant saying, “I go to do your will, Father.” Indeed, Jesus determined ahead of time, “I am laying down my will in order to do yours, Father. Everything I say and do has to come from you and I will be totally dependent on you.”
In turn, the Father’s covenant agreement with the Son was to reveal his will to him. God was saying, in essence, “You will always know what I am doing and how I am doing it. You will have my mind.”
Many people today who claim to be followers of Jesus have never made a decision to live as the Lord did. Instead, they live comfortably with their flesh — their bad tempers, their character flaws, their bosom sins. And they have never wanted to change, explaining, “That’s just my nature; it’s the way I am.”
But when Paul boldly states, “I have the mind of Christ,” he is declaring, “Like Jesus, I have taken on the role of a servant.” And Paul asserts that the same holds true of every believer: “We can all have the mind of Christ” (see 1 Corinthians 2:16).