Phil. 2:5-11 is known as the Christ hymn. These words were sung as a hymn in early Christian worship. And rightly so – they’re powerful and full of the gospel truth. These words give me goosebumps every time I read or hear them. They fill me with joy and hope for who and what I believe in. I know that no matter what’s happening in my life or the word around me, the assurance I receive in the message of these words let me know it’s gonna be alright. Jesus, the Lord and Savior of the world, is in control! Hallelujah! I pray they give you peace, too.
Usually these are the words focused on in sermons and in Bible studies for Phil. 2:1-13. But not so much today. Instead, I want to take us in a different direction with the hope that if we can do more of what Paul writes about in the first verses of this passage and maybe the closing two, not only will we be more aligned with our faith in Jesus, but the words of the Christ hymn itself might become even more powerful.
First, a little about this letter to the Philippians. It’s the apostle Paul’s joy letter. He had a good experience and relationship with the church at Philippi. After he was in prison, he wrote this letter to hopefully keep that good relationship going, so that his joy may be complete in them and their continued witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now he had lots of time to think, pray, and study. So, he wrote to encourage them and keep the joy going and flowing.
He realized from his own experience one of the main ways to do that is to have the same mind, or attitude, as Christ. It’s like if we can keep our eyes always on Jesus, we’re less apt to go astray or fall to all the temptations around us. Jesus encouraged this in John 15: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a person remains in me, they will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (or not much of the good that really matters).
Then he said: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I’ve obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” Next he described the joy that’s ours when we remain in Jesus, as he always remains in us as the Spirit lives in us.
Remember when Jesus was born as God incarnate (in the flesh) and lived as a human man on this earth, he wasn’t like: “Woohoo! God sent me here and now because I am the promised Messiah that everybody’s been waiting for, I can do as I darned well please, coz who’ll stop me?” No, he didn’t live to show off or exert his authority and “lord it over” everyone or act all “holier than thou.”
Jesus came to be a humble servant with love, mercy, and compassion for all people. He came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many so we could receive the love of God, be forgiven and saved, to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. And at the name of Jesus, then every knee should bow and every tongue confess, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord, not for his glory, but for God’s glory, just as the Christ hymn and the rest of this passage conveys.
All this is possible for each and every one of us when we have the same mind or attitude of Christ, as Paul prays we will. It doesn’t mean we’ll all think and do and be exactly like Jesus all of the time, which would make us 100% the same all the time. No! Wouldn’t that be boring and crazy?
What it does mean is we’ll have spiritual unity. We’d have the same goals as Jesus lived, taught and, continues to pray for so justice, love, and harmony will reign all over this earth. We’d take on more of Jesus’ characteristics as we’re confronted with the various people and situations God puts in our lives.
Having the same mind of Christ means we’d be less about putting our own interests first and start putting those of others first; seek the good for them and not always be focusing on our own good and our wants. We’d strive for their comfort and peace to equal the comfort and peace we want for ourselves. Life would be less about wanting to make a good impression and having our own needs met to please us, and more about reaching out to care for friends and neighbors so we could live in unity and harmony, like Jesus tried to do.
Yes, we can still strive for our own interests and goals in life, but we should consider if they line up with Jesus in how he lived and what he taught. Does what we do give glory to God or glory to ourself? Instead of a humble, caring, Christ-like lifestyle, selfish ambition is the devil’s scheme to tempt us away from Jesus and move us toward disaster. I often say we are the masters of our own disasters.
But Jesus doesn’t want that for us and neither did Paul. Having the same attitude as Christ is a really good way to avoid that. So how can a massive, diverse, uniquely and wonderfully made group of people with different experiences, backgrounds, and abilities achieve such an amazing and wonderful thing as having the same mind of Jesus? For starters, remember to focus on today. Jesus tells us not to worry about the future or what’s past. “Yesterday’s history, tomorrow’s a mystery, today is present – that’s why it’s a gift!”
While working on this message, I found an African-American spiritual “Woke Up This Morning.” (We’ll sing a version of it in response to the sermon) Consider the title: “woke up this morning.” Much better than the alternative, right? Makes me think of Ps. 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” Or Lam. 3: “God’s mercies are made new every morning. Great is his faithfulness!” God has great plans for us each day. Those plans should align with how Jesus lived. Let’s have the same mind as Christ!
The song begins “woke up this morning with my mind…stayed on Jesus.” It’s not a song about mental or physical health, per se. It’s about spiritual health, inviting us to think as Christ does. It’s an early morning act of faith that hopefully stays with us to keep be more like Jesus throughout the day. It’s like we’re claiming that no matter what lies ahead in the day before us, we’re gonna choose to focus on Jesus and live like he’d live; love like he’d love; do what he’d do.
Imagine, if what we start right here this morning would catch on, and more and more people would take Paul’s words to heart and we’d all wake up each morning with our minds “stayed on Jesus”? What a difference as a church, as a community, as a nation, and as a world that would make! If we could set aside our need to have things “our way,” whether in family life, business, politics, even the church to keep our minds set on Christ, living with humility, self-sacrifice, and service to others as we embrace unity, hope, and love, what a good difference that would make!
The same mind, stayed on Jesus, is about same goals where love wins over prejudice, sacrifice wins over selfishness, giving wins over hoarding. We’d not only be seeking the same Christ, but the same kingdom, the same new life – now and eternally, the same salvation. We’d be living in one accord; thinking, acting, being more like Jesus, day in and day out, not forced or coerced, but because it’s what we chose to do. It would be the natural, loving, Spirit-inspired, Christ-like response living each day with minds “stayed on Jesus.” Like Paul, I believe we’d be singing, too! Thanks be to God! Amen.