“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset (attitude) as Christ Jesus:…”
It’s all about attitude!
Google AI’s definition of attitude helps us understand what Paul was saying.
“In the Bible, attitude means the inner mindset, spirit, and disposition of the heart that guides a person’s actions and words. Key biblical attitudes include humility, love, and a Christ-like mindset.”
What better example could Paul use than the one who was the model of humility in His earthly life…Jesus!
Let’s examine Jesus’ attitude more closely.
How could Jesus live like He lived, do what He did, die like He died? To whom was His attitude directed?
“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:6-8 NLT
Look at the key words used in this description…”He humbled Himself”…”He made Himself nothing “…” He took the humble position “… He stepped down to the lowest position on earth…a slave who had no rights.
We learn about Jesus’ attitude by the way He related to the Father. He chose to set aside His divine attributes…not to lose them but to veil them in a human person for the duration of His time on earth. He chose to subject Himself to the Father’s authority, fully and completely, in every detail of His existence on earth…to say and do only that which the Father authorised. He chose to obey the Father…even to the point of sacrificing His own life in the most humiliating, cruel, and agonising way.
Jesus’ submission to the Father was motivated by love and His obedience driven by purpose. He never moved outside of His predetermined goal, and the reward for obedience.
“…For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2 NIV
In his prophetic vision, Isaiah saw the outcome of Messiah’s obedience and suffering…
“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”
Isaiah 53:10-12 NLT
Jesus gave up everything He was to the Father for one purpose…to do the Father’s will… in that will and in His obedience to the Father was His reward.
Now, says Paul, this is the way, and the only way, to accomplish the Father’s will…to relinquish what we hold onto, however fiercely…our will…our self-determination. God gave us free will as our right but He asks us to give it to Him…
…motivated by love…driven by purpose…
…and in that will, blended with the will of God, is the only perfect way to live…to experience the love, joy, and peace, and the unity which mirrors the Trinity… that is the way of God’s kingdom and the atmosphere of heaven…
To be continued