Let This Mind Be in You

The passage is stunning. It appears in a letter full of warmth, written to a congregation with which the apostle Paul had a special relationship.

Paul’s direction for the church at Philippi includes the instruction for members to “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). How do we do that?

The sentences that follow this directive make it even more striking. Paul explained how Jesus, before He had become human, willingly gave up His position with God the Father to humble Himself and die a horrifying death (verses 6-8).

How do these words apply to Christians?

Adopting a mindset of humility

It’s not too difficult to recognize the thrust of Paul’s statement. He was instructing the members in Philippi, and us today, to adopt the same humility Christ demonstrated.

However, the fact that Jesus was humble raises another question. What is true humility? It cannot be a matter of seeing yourself as having little value, because Jesus was perfect and sinless, and He knew His immense value.

What these words show is the willingness of the Son of God to take the form of a bondservant and to die a painful death to save humanity.

The essence of true humility has as much to do with how we view others as it does with how we view ourselves. It is about the willingness to sacrifice, or to give up what we rightfully possess, on behalf of others.

This is an attitude all Christians must adopt, but there’s more to the story.

Diverse congregation at Philippi

Scholars believe the church at Philippi was particularly diverse. Greeks founded the city, which was later conquered by the Macedonians and then the Romans. In each case, new colonists arrived and blended into the population.

The cosmopolitan nature of the city is reflected in the original Christian converts—Lydia, a Jewish woman from Thyatira in Asia Minor (Acts 16:13-15), together with her family, and an unnamed jailer, possibly a Roman veteran (verses 27-34), with his household.

Diversity often means people don’t always see eye to eye. Apparently, that had become an issue between two women in Philippi (Philippians 4:2).

Paul was careful to note that “these women . . . labored with me in the gospel” (verse 3). They were not troublemakers, but leading members of the congregation.

Not a corrective letter

Paul wanted to see members of the congregation continue to work together, but this epistle was not primarily corrective. Instead, it is a warm message that reflects the apostle’s fondness for the church.

The church at Philippi cared enough for Paul to provide for his needs, even when other congregations had dropped the ball. It was the Philippian congregation that supplied his needs while he worked with the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:8-9).

Even so, the Philippians were human and flawed. Though not as deeply divided as the congregation at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10-13), the Philippians showed some signs of division.

“Let this mind be in you” in perspective

Paul’s admonition to the Philippians to “let this mind be in you” appears earlier in the letter than his personal appeal to Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2). Even so, their strife was likely in his mind as he wrote.

There were other issues in the church as well. Almost immediately after highlighting Christ’s willingness to sacrifice everything for our sakes, Paul directs the members of the congregation to “do all things without complaining and disputing” (Philippians 2:14).

The contrast is stark. Christ gave up so much, suffering unjustly on our behalf, and He did so without complaint.

When brought before the high priest, He remained silent. He was also mostly silent later when He appeared before the Roman governor Pilate. Jesus did not grumble or dispute, but refrained from arguing His case, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy (Matthew 26:62-63; 27:11-13; Isaiah 53:7).

Understanding what Christ sacrificed

To come to a deeper understanding of what Paul meant by “let this mind be in you,” we must consider what it was that Christ gave up on our behalf. The crucifixion, as crucial as it is for our justification, was not His sole sacrifice, or even what He first forfeited.

Long before He laid down His life, the Word set aside His glory. Paul wrote that Christ “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant” (Philippians 2:7).

If you truly want to emulate Christ, then you will live your life to serve rather than to be served—just as He did. This is where humility comes in. The Mediterranean world at that time treasured individual freedom such that their “concept of a free man led to contempt for any sort of subjection” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 11, p. 122). For Paul to identify Jesus as “taking the form of a bondservant” would have been shocking.

Barnes’ Notes on Philippians comments that Jesus Christ’s “consenting to become a man was the most remarkable of all possible acts of humiliation.” After all, the Word of God, who became Jesus, had been “in the form of God” (verse 6; John 1:1-3).

In prayer the night before His crucifixion, Jesus alluded to this glory He had temporarily relinquished: “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5).

The horror of crucifixion

Later that night, after Jesus had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed again. In a series of prayers, He focused on another impending sacrifice—the horrifying death that lay before Him. He was so passionate that “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

He had undoubtedly seen victims of Roman crucifixions, and He knew that in a few hours He would die in that painful way. The agony of a crucifixion was so intense that the English word excruciating, to describe the highest level of pain, is derived from the word crucify.

Rome understood this. The empire did not allow its citizens to be crucified. This form of execution was seen as a means of torture and disgrace “reserved for slaves and foreigners” (Expositor’s, Vol. 11, p. 124).

In His prayers, Jesus asked the Father three times to “take this cup away from Me” (Mark 14:36, 39, 41), yet each time He added, “nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Even as He faced a terrifying death, there was no hint of grumbling or resentment.

The motivation of Christ

There is no doubt that the sacrifices Jesus made were monumental. His humility made it possible for us to be justified and to enter into a relationship with Him and the Father.

It was this purpose that drove Christ. He made this clear in a lesson for His 12 core disciples after James and John had asked Jesus to give them the privilege of sitting on His right and left sides when He assumed His position as King of Kings.

What James and John had so audaciously requested were preeminent seats of power and honor. Their hearts were set on themselves.

In contrast, Jesus explained, true godly leadership means adopting the role of servant. Christ concluded by saying that “even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

How to “let this mind be in you”

Apart from Christ, no human is perfect, and no human has shared the glory of God. How, then, can you be expected to “let this mind be in you”?

If you truly want to emulate Christ, then you will live your life to serve rather than to be served—just as He did. This is where humility comes in.

It would be false humility to exclaim that you have no talents, skills or resources to share with others. God has richly blessed us all, but in different ways. Part of humility is having a realistic assessment of our own gifts in preparation for sharing what we have to offer.

Another aspect of humility is having a godly view of other people. God sees all of us as valuable! As John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Then we must have a willingness to sacrifice on behalf of others who need what we have to offer. That can mean giving money or material things to others, but it can also mean giving our time and attention.

Of course, we must be responsible with our resources, not recklessly giving so much that our own families suffer.

Finally, we must continually reassess our mindset. Expositor’s points out that the underlying Greek indicates continuing action, so Paul’s statement could be rendered: “Keep thinking this among you, which [attitude] was also in Christ Jesus” (Vol. 11, p. 123).

Study more about the mind of Christ in our online article “Christ in Us: How Does He Live in You?”