In Philippians 2 the apostle sets up Christ as our pattern, our example. Here, the most important factor is our mind. Verse 5 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” In Greek the first phrase literally means “think this in you.” We have to think things as Christ did. The real human life is bound to the mind. Whatever we think, we will do. The kind of life we live depends on what we have in our mind. According to the New Testament the mind has an important position in our being. It is the leading part of the soul. After we are regenerated in our spirit, the next step is that we are transformed by the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2). This means our mind has to be changed. Even to repent means to turn, to change, the mind. We need to repent by turning our mind to the Lord, but that is only the beginning. After we have repented and been regenerated, from that time onward we need to have our mind constantly renewed. How is our mind renewed? On the one hand, it is to take Christ as the pattern, the example, and on the other hand, it is to have Christ spread Himself within us, permeating and saturating all our inward parts. Then we will truly have the mind which was in Christ Jesus.
The example of Christ set up in Philippians 2 actually refers to the record of the four Gospels. This is why we have to read the Gospels many times. We have to take Christ as our example. However, this is not merely to follow Him by imitating Him. Just as a donkey or a monkey cannot truly imitate a man, we cannot imitate Christ. We are as stupid as a donkey and as naughty as a monkey. If we could get into a monkey, however, the monkey could live our life. In the same way, how can we imitate Christ unless we have Him living within us? Christ has to live in us; then we can follow Him. Among the Catholic writings there is the book The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. It may be a good book, but strictly speaking I do not like the title. Without Christ living in us, we can never imitate Him. In Philippians, however, we have Christ set up as a pattern based on the fact that Christ is now living within us.
In Philippians 3 we have Christ as the goal, the mark, the aim, and even the prize. We should not be frustrated by all the other things. As we said before, God gave us many material items in order for us to exist and live. Without food, drink, and other things, we could not exist. How then could we live for Christ? In order to keep us alive, God created the material things and gave them all to us. However, there is too much of a possibility that we will be distracted by these material things, and attracted to the material things, away from Christ as the mark of God’s economy. God created these things for Christ, and God provides for us so we can live for Christ. God’s purpose in giving us so many material things that we may exist is that we may live with Christ and for Christ. The worldly people, the unbelievers, however, have been and still are distracted from Christ by these material things.
Not only so, but the religious things are also distracting, as mentioned in Philippians 3. In Galatians 1 the apostle Paul tells us that when he was religious, he was distracted from Christ. He was not distracted by the worldly things but by fundamental religion, not the heathen religion but by Judaism. Judaism was something given and ordained by God. Even something ordained by God can be a factor utilized by the enemy to distract people from Christ. God ordained the Jewish religion for the purpose of keeping people for Christ and bringing people to Christ, but the enemy of God utilized this God-ordained religion to distract the religious people from Christ. Paul indicates this in Galatians 1 and again in Philippians 3. In Philippians 3:5 and 6 he says that he was “circumcised the eighth day; of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, become blameless.” How much he was distracted from Christ by the religious things and to the religious things!
Today even Christianity distracts people from Christ. Christianity should be something for Christ, but today’s Christianity distracts people from Christ to itself. Not only can the worldly things distract us, even the religious things can distract us from the goal, the mark, the prize of God, which is Christ Himself.
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