Having an Attitude like Christ Jesus’
December 22, 2009 by WitnessMark
Filed under Sanctification, Will of God
Having an Attitude like Christ Jesus’
With all of my recent talk on the need to sanctify and strive to obtain that of which Paul talks about in Philippians 3:9-11, it is very important that I talk about how to obtain with having a heart of humility. As we obtain a greater understanding, knowledge, and wisdom of God, it becomes very easy to think of ourselves as being “closer” to God than others. Even more so is this true within a church setting or as the wheat is separated by the chaff.
In Philippians 2:1-11, Paul talks about how through our unification with Christ, our joy (a quality of the fruit of the Spirit; Galatians 5:22) is only made complete when we are one in spirit and in purpose by not looking at our own interests, but rather the interests of others.
Then we are told how our attitudes should be in order to achieve this calling. Paul describes Christ’s attitude in verses 5-11:
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Readers, equality with God is something that cannot be grasped, no matter how sanctified we become. It becomes easy to look upon ourselves as being more “called” than others. But this is foolish and a direct violation of Galatians 6:4. Therefore, as we become more sanctified and attain greater truths about God, we should also develop more humility in the sense that we are showing more agape (self-sacrificing) love to others, no matter where they may be in their walks with God.
“No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval” (1 Corinthians 11:19), but let us be sure that in all circumstances, our attitudes remain aligned with that of Christ Jesus.
-M
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] Haughty eyes – “Haughty” in Hebrew can be translated as “to lift up”. An example of haughty eyes is in Isaiah 10:12, where God punishes Assyria because of the haughty look in its eyes. Assyria saw the destruction of Israel as an opportunity to bring wealth and power to its kingdom through looting, plundering, and expanding its kingdom. For us, haughty eyes can be thought of as the opposite of humility. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul talks about how Christ did not raise himself high, rather he made himself nothing and became a servant. When we allow pride to creep in and compare ourselves to others with the mindset that we are greater, this allows us an opportunity to act in a haughty manner. (See Having an Attitude Like Christ Jesus.) [...]