160612 The Mind of Christ

Philippians 2:5-11 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

One of the greatest promises in Scripture is found at the very end of the gospel of Matthew. The last words that Matthew recounted from Jesus were, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The promise of His presence gives us assurance of His day-to-day guidance and protection. After speaking those words Jesus’ human body ascended into heaven. He left the Holy Spirit with his disciples (John 20:22) and poured out that Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). His promise of continual presence with us should inspire us to take positive steps towards expanding the light of the gospel and pushing back the darkness of sin.

Being Christian is not just a matter of attending church on Sunday. Neither is it a matter of being faithful in prayer and Bible reading. Being Christian is having a personal relationship with Jesus Himself. The Bible tells us, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) Jesus is our Lord and when we come to faith in Him by God’s grace…

We have entered into a special relationship. Let’s look at Hebrews 12:22-24. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

We have not come to a legalistic religion. That legalism was witnessed to by Mount Sinai. We have not come to a rulebook instead we have come to be ruled by the love of God. The writer of Hebrews shows us that our special relationship is not with Sinai but instead with Zion. Having come to faith in Christ we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem! We have come to be part of the assembly enrolled in heaven. We have come to God who is the judge of all. We have come to a gathering of innumerable angels and all the spirits of the righteous at the end of the age. We are not looking back to Moses and the law we are looking forward with Jesus who has offered His own blood on the heavenly altar as a sacrifice for our sin. Since he has given so much for us…

We should live as He lived. Let’s look at 1 John 2:4-6.  Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

I am constantly amazed at the number of people who have no active evidence in their life of knowing Christ yet say that they know Him. They are often very adamant that they know Christ! They have been deceived into thinking that church membership or some other legalistic affiliation makes them Christian. Often people are deceived into thinking they are Christian because their parents were certainly Christian. “God has no grandchildren” is a saying that arose a few years back. Each generation must be won apart from their family or their fellowship. Alongside this quote from John we have the words of Peter, “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21) This is not some kind of “works salvation” it is a reminder that we are to live as Jesus did. It is not a matter of saying, “What would Jesus do?” It is a matter of saying, “What will Jesus do?” You see, when a person comes to faith in Christ they come to a special relationship with Him. He said he would never leave us and therefore we should not wonder what He would do if He were present! We should simply ask what He will do since he is present with us. And since we have such a special relationship…

We must learn from Him. Let’s turn to Matthew 11:28-30. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Thomas Chisholm wrote a song about this and it goes:

Living for Jesus, a life that is true, Striving to please Him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne; My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

Living for Jesus Who died in my place, Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call, Follow His leading and give Him my all.

This is not a matter of earning our salvation it’s a matter of working it out on a day-to-day basis with Jesus’ as an example, teacher and guide.

Again, I’m not talking about any kind of “works” that will save us. Let me quote from

Martin Luther, “Faith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing.” Taken from, “An introduction to St. Paul’s letter to the Romans,”

Real faith always results in good works guided by the indwelling Spirit. Not works that give salvation but instead works that are done because we are saved.

Having learned from Him…

We should work together with Jesus. Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 3:7-9. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

When we find ourselves in the position of doing a difficult job it is always good to have someone with experience, strength and commitment to work alongside us. The matter of living out the Christian life is certainly a difficult job. Often a person is presented with the gospel and encouraged to pray a simple prayer. Then they are given some kind of assurance that they’re saved. Well, let’s give this the benefit of the doubt and believe that they might be saved. This seems to be a simple process and a person might say, “Wow, that was easy!” After some period of time passes and temptations are faced, and fallen to, the person might then say, “Wow, this Christian living is really hard!” The truth is the Christian life, apart from the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit, is impossible.

Praise God we are able to see his hand in our work and know that we are being assisted by God to live the Christian life. We are not only his fellow workers but we are also God’s field where He works and His building where He lives. Instead of trying to live out the Christian life alone we should work together with Christ because

He has planned our work for us. Let’s turn to the familiar verses found in Ephesians 2:8-10.  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Verses eight and nine are often quoted in the process of presenting the gospel to the person. We are saved by grace through faith and not by our good works. But, the verse that is often left out, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God has done the work through Christ to give us salvation but he has also planned our work for us. The good works we were created to do will be shown to us as we walk through this life. We must remember that God has a plan and as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ…

We live in fellowship with each other and with God. Let’s turn to 1 John 1:2-4. The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

The life of Christ that has been revealed to us gives us fellowship with each other. The life of Christ in each of us is the same as it is in all of us. I’m sure that at one time or another you have met someone and immediately you felt a kinship with them. That kinship is often recognized as a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, we have come to Mount Zion… and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. Today we may be gathered in a small fellowship of believers, or a relatively large one, however some day — not too far off — we will be gathered together with the multitude of believers from all the ages and all the families of the earth before the throne in heaven. Praise God…

Jesus has planned our eternal home. Let’s turn to John 14:1-3. “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

As Jesus was coming to the end of His life John recalled many significant teachings that he recorded in his Gospel, chapters 14-17. He began by saying, “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” The book of Revelation presents a picture of the New Jerusalem and it is a massive structure! I find it very hard to imagine the image described in Revelation 21. Yet, we have Jesus’ promise, “I will come again and will take you to myself,”. Jesus said that He is preparing a place for us! His going into heaven in bodily form should give us assurance that He will one day bring us to be with Him. Those of us who are alive when He returns will be caught up to be with Him in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:17). We will ascend into our final home to be with Him. In fact, in writing to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul asserts that we are raised up with Him and are seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6) What a wonderful boost to our assurance! Jesus has already seated us with Him in heaven!

We have the witness of His disciples that they saw him physically ascended into the clouds. (Acts 1:9) We have the witness of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, who saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God in heaven. (Acts 7:56) We do not know where heaven is but one thing we can be sure it is where Jesus is today!

As we serve the Lord, out of love for Him, the world we live in will change for the better. Let me remind you that God does not need us in the same way that we need Him. Remember, we can do nothing without Him just as a branch has no life without the vine we only have life as we draw it from Him. Have you surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Today can be your day of salvation!

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.