Philippians 2:5-8
One of the most important factors in how believers live begins with how believers think. When Paul told the Roman church not to be conformed to the world, but rather to be transformed, he said the way to do that was to renew their mind (Romans 12:2). Changing the way we think is key when it comes to living for Christ, because while our spirit is brand new, and He lives in our heart, we control our mind, with the lusts and the affections thereof.
Satan cannot read your mind, but he can certainly throw things across your path. If you dwell on them, they begin to plague you, and your entire emotional makeup can be affected. Your thoughts about who you are in Christ, either a filthy sinner that needs judged, or a redeemed child of God who is perfectly sanctified, affect how you live as well. It is for this cause that the Apostle Paul spent so much time reminding the believer, as to who they were in Christ.
When he is confronted with Christians suing Christians in 1 Corinthians 6, he asks them, “Don’t you know that you will judge angels?” He is appealing to what they know about who they are, in order to get their walk straightened out. Later in that chapter, he confronts fornication by asking, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” Again, he reminds them of who they are, appealing to their knowledge of the truth to bring righteousness out of them.
In Philippians 2:5, Paul tells the church to think like Jesus, and then in verse 6, he tells us what Jesus thought:
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”
Notice what Jesus thought; that it would not be wrong to consider himself equal with God. Now we know that Paul is not insinuating that we are little gods, but he is telling us to think of ourselves as Jesus thought of himself.
Jesus knew His position with His Father, and He was perfectly secure in what His Father thought of Him. Paul is encouraging the believer to be perfectly secure in their standing with God. You are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), thus, you are one of the sons of God (John 1:12). When you know that you are just as Jesus is (1 John 4:17), you begin to live up to that status.
As soon as you realize who that you are in Christ, your actions will begin to line up with your faith. The righteousness of God is revealed in us from faith to faith (Romans 1:17), meaning that His righteousness is already in us, but it awaits our daily faith in order to show itself in our day to day walk.
As I say to the people in my church, when you learn to think as Jesus thought and view yourself as He did, then sin will just feel stupid! You will view failure as an embarrassment to your position, as if the very thought of it is beneath someone of your stature. Christ in you will truly be showing up on you.
God is good, and God is your Father. View yourself today as His child, and rest in His goodness.
One of the most important factors in how believers live begins with how believers think. When Paul told the Roman church not to be conformed to the world, but rather to be transformed, he said the way to do that was to renew their mind (Romans 12:2). Changing the way we think is key when it comes to living for Christ, because while our spirit is brand new, and He lives in our heart, we control our mind, with the lusts and the affections thereof.
Satan cannot read your mind, but he can certainly throw things across your path. If you dwell on them, they begin to plague you, and your entire emotional makeup can be affected. Your thoughts about who you are in Christ, either a filthy sinner that needs judged, or a redeemed child of God who is perfectly sanctified, affect how you live as well. It is for this cause that the Apostle Paul spent so much time reminding the believer, as to who they were in Christ.
When he is confronted with Christians suing Christians in 1 Corinthians 6, he asks them, “Don’t you know that you will judge angels?” He is appealing to what they know about who they are, in order to get their walk straightened out. Later in that chapter, he confronts fornication by asking, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” Again, he reminds them of who they are, appealing to their knowledge of the truth to bring righteousness out of them.
In Philippians 2:5, Paul tells the church to think like Jesus, and then in verse 6, he tells us what Jesus thought:
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”
Notice what Jesus thought; that it would not be wrong to consider himself equal with God. Now we know that Paul is not insinuating that we are little gods, but he is telling us to think of ourselves as Jesus thought of himself.
Jesus knew His position with His Father, and He was perfectly secure in what His Father thought of Him. Paul is encouraging the believer to be perfectly secure in their standing with God. You are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), thus, you are one of the sons of God (John 1:12). When you know that you are just as Jesus is (1 John 4:17), you begin to live up to that status.
As soon as you realize who that you are in Christ, your actions will begin to line up with your faith. The righteousness of God is revealed in us from faith to faith (Romans 1:17), meaning that His righteousness is already in us, but it awaits our daily faith in order to show itself in our day to day walk.
As I say to the people in my church, when you learn to think as Jesus thought and view yourself as He did, then sin will just feel stupid! You will view failure as an embarrassment to your position, as if the very thought of it is beneath someone of your stature. Christ in you will truly be showing up on you.
God is good, and God is your Father. View yourself today as His child, and rest in His goodness.
