Let This Mind Be in You

Paul exhorted the people of God, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, NKJV). The apostle was saying, “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. It means making Christ-like decisions that determine how we are to live. It means bringing every faculty of our mind to bear on how we actually can have the mind of Christ. Every time we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we’re to ask ourselves, “Does what I see about myself reflect the nature and thinking of Christ? Am I changing from image to image, conformed to Jesus’ very likeness by every experience that God brings into my life?”

According to Paul, here is the mindset of Christ. “[He] made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). Jesus made the decision while he was still in heaven. He made an agreement with the Father to lay down his heavenly glory and come to earth as a man. He was going to descend to the world as a humble servant. Rather than be ministered to, Christ sought to minister to others.

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. I subjugate my will so that I may embrace yours. Everything I say and do has to come from you. I’m laying down everything to be totally dependent upon you.” In turn, the Father’s agreement with the Son was to reveal his will to him. God said to him, in essence, “My will won’t ever be hidden from you. You will always know what I am doing. You will have my mind.”

When Paul boldly stated, “I have the mind of Christ,” he was declaring, “I too have made myself of no reputation. Like Jesus, I have taken on the role of a servant.” Paul asserted that the same can hold true for every believer when he said, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).