Philippians 2:5–11

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ^`7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Harold O.J. Brown tells the following story:

In 1873, when the sport of mountain climbing was still in its infancy, an enterprising young Englishwoman climbed most of the way to the summit of Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc, to the place known as Les Grands Mulets. Her guide urged her to go on, as it seemed to him that she could easily attain the summit and incidentally become the first woman to do so. She demurred, stating that she had already accomplished what she intended, and that to go on would be nothing but vanity. That woman was Frances Ridley Havergal (b. 1836), one of the most gifted hymn writers in the English language.[1]

How fascinating. How unusual! A woman who did not have to attain the highest point, who did not covet ascendency, who did not have to hoard the heights. How unlike the overall bent and direction of our own culture!

It does not surprise me that Francis Ridley Havergal was such a great hymn writer. She clearly knew much of Jesus. For Jesus did not have to hoard the highest point, did not have to have constant ascent. In fact, Paul tells us in this most amazing passage, that Christ Jesus, above whom there is no other name, was willing to come down, down, down, to reach us in our despondency, to reach us in the deepest valley.

Our salvation depends upon Christ’s refusal to stay in constant ascendency, in Christ’s descent, in Christ’s willingness to come down to us where we are, to reach us in our lowliness.

We have an imperative to an example.

Philippians 2:5–11 is an absolutely beautiful and profound text and it begins with an imperative, with a command. The imperative is to an example, the example of Christ. We find it in verse 5.

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus

This verse has been much discussed and how exactly to translate it has proven difficult. Our text renders it, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” The idea here is that in Jesus we share a common mind, the mind of Christ. It is helpful to consider other significant English renderings.

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus (CSB)

Let the same mind be in you that was even in Christ Jesus (1599 Geneva Bible)

Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. (Phillips New Testament)

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. (The Message)

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. (New Living Translation)

One recent translator, David Bentley Hart, renders it, “Be of that mind in yourselves that was also in the Anointed One Jesus.”[2]

Clearly, our mind, as followers of Jesus, is to be (a) a shared mind and (b) a shared mind shaped by and looking like Jesus’ mind. This reference to the mind in verse 5 helps us understand what was said earlier, in verse 2 of Philippians 2.

² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do you remember that text? That was the “love sandwich” text, the verse in which love is bookended by unity of mind or, rather, the text in which love is the adhesive that makes unity of mind in the church possible. Verse 5 is therefore explaining what the shared mind of the church looks like. It looks like Jesus!

The mind is spoken of frequently in the New Testament, and it is abundantly clear in the Bible that the human mind is fallen and needs to be resurrected, transformed. So, in another of his letters, in Romans 12, Paul writes:

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

How are our minds transformed? They are transformed (a) by Christ and (b) into the image of Christ. His mind becomes our own. So, in our text, we see an imperative to have and live out of the mind of Christ.

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus

What does this mean? It means we must share the same mind and that mind is the mind of Christ. We must, as Christians, think as He thought and therefore, necessarily, live as He lived. Verses 6–11 flesh out what exactly it would look like to have a Christ-shaped mind.

Let us not seek to escape the jarring implication of our text. Let us make sure we understand: We must think like Jesus and do what Jesus did and does. The imperative to an example is an imperative to the example of Christ. We must become who Jesus is in our lives! Our minds must reflect His mind!

We have an imperative to an example that will cost you your life.

And when we realize that we have an imperative to an example we realize that we have an imperative to lay down our very lives. If we are to do and be what Jesus does and who Jesus is, that means laying down our lives. Consider verses 6–8.

⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

These verses—which many people consider to be an ancient hymn to Jesus, a hymn called the “Carmen Christi”—reveal that Christ did the following. He:

• did not “grasp” His deity in Heaven;
• “emptied himself” in His incarnation;
• took “the form of a servant”;
• was “born in the likeness of men”;
• “humbled Himself”;
• was “obedient”;
• “to the point of death…on a cross”

Again, we must do this. We must become this. To be sure, Jesus is God and we are not. But the example of Jesus calls us to a life…and to a death. We have an imperative to an example that will cost us our lives! For followers of Christ, this means we must:

• let loose of the desire to lord over others;
• embrace radical obedience to the Father;
• humble ourselves;
• lay down our lives for one another.

Salvatore Cordileone writes, “In humbling ourselves to serve others, we are not only doing what God asks of us: We are doing what God did for us.”[3] This is what it means to have the mind of Christ.

Our example is the one who went to the cross! Our example is the one who obeyed to the point of death on the cross! Our example is Jesus! And we are to have the mind of Christ. The implication is as unavoidable as it is clear.

In Matthew 16, Jesus said:

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

That is what it means to have the mind of Christ! In Galatians 2, Paul writes:

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

In Christ, we come to the end of ourselves. “When Christ calls a man,” writes Bonhoeffer in his Discipleship, “he bids him come and die.”

For this Christian, this means, first, repentance and death to the old self. It may also mean a literal laying down of our lives if Jesus calls us to it.

We have an imperative to an example that will cost you your life…and then raise it back up.

Yes, to have the mind of Christ is to take the cross of Christ and to die to self. But to take the cross of Christ is to come also to the empty of tomb of Christ where we rise with Him to new life. So Paul ends this amazing text:

⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Many have observed of our text that verses 6–8 show Christ’s humility and verses 9–11 show His exaltation.

Christ has died. Christ has risen.

So we must die to self and also rise with Christ! And the scriptures make this abundantly clear! The Christian life is one of death to self and resurrection. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul writes:

¹¹ The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him

Jesus, in John 12, says:

²³ And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Resurrection follows crucifixion.

Glorification follows the tomb.

“Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus.”

We must die to self through repentance and faith. This act is symbolized in the waters of baptism: death, burial, resurrection. Thus, in Romans 6, Paul writes:

³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his

Have this mind, church.

The mind that goes in obedience to the cross.

The mind that trusts in God to raise us up.

Do not cling to the heights. Lay down your life. Lay them down for God. Lay them down to love and serve one another. Lay them down so that you may live!

 

[1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1979/may-4/riddle.html

[2] Heart, David Bentley, Trans. The New Testament. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017), p.392.

[3] https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/01/my-people-need-christs-body-and-blood