Philippians 2:5-11-5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Apostle Paul begins these verses by talking about our relationships with one another. He said in verse 5, “In your relationships with one another…” When you live in alignment with Jesus, it will impact your relationships with other people.
If it doesn’t, I would have to question if you are in alignment with Jesus or have truly been impacted by Him because life with Jesus changes everything.
Verse 5, about our relationships with others, is really the summation of verses 1-4 where Paul says, Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, (the same love as Jesus had) being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Alignment with Jesus should move us to becoming “others-centered.” Did you pick up that being aligned with Jesus will produce a Jesus-kind of love in you? A Jesus-kind-of-love is completely different from a worldly-kind-of-love. His, is a kind of love that goes out of its way for people who don’t deserve to be treated lovingly. Loving your enemies demonstrates that you are aligned with Jesus. Forgiving people who have hurt you is a way to express that you are aligned with Jesus. Going out of your way for others is a way to express that you are aligned with Jesus.
If you are properly aligned with Jesus, your life will demonstrate a willingness to love people the way He did. If you have made a commitment that you are “done” with someone you deem an enemy, if you can’t bring yourself to pray for them and want God’s best for them, you need to check your alignment with Jesus. If you have declared you will “never forgive someone for what they have done to you,” you aren’t properly aligned with Jesus. If you can’t be bothered or inconvenienced to help someone in need, you need to confess that you are out of alignment with Jesus.
Verse 5 again, In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Paul helps us understand that alignment with Jesus involves an “aligned mind.”
God not only wants to save your soul, to cover your sin, but He wants to transform your life. There is no transformed life without a transformed mind because until we think like Jesus, we won’t act like Him. We won’t change what we do until we change what we think. Our minds need to sync up with Him and with His desires. We need to think about sin and holiness the way He does. We need to view our trials and tribulations the way He does. We need to look at opportunities and challenges with His eyes. We can’t accomplish the things Paul challenges us to live out in Philippians 2 without a transformed mind. People are too difficult. Life is too hard. We need the mind of Christ in order to see beyond the circumstance and into the spiritual realm where God is at work.
So, alignment with Jesus will move us to becoming others-centered and it will also produce a transformation in our mind. Third, alignment with Jesus involves an “aligned identity.” Look again at verse 6 of our text.
Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Jesus made Himself nothing in the world’s estimation. He could have played the God-card on the daily, shutting down all kinds of difficulty and drama that came His way, but He only admitted or declared God-status on a handful of occasions. For our sake, He laid aside His divinity to possess and fully embrace a human status in order to bring rescue to all of humanity.
Let me be clear. Jesus always knew who He was. He didn’t have some-kind-of amnesia when He came to earth, forgetting what the halls of Heaven looked like, forgetting how He created everything from the beginning, forgetting how He and the Father and Spirit all had been working together to impact human history. Jesus was in very nature God, but He didn’t use His God-status for His advantage, rather He fully used His human status for our advantage.
Jesus became a servant of the very people He created. Jesus could serve, He could stoop, He could humble himself to help others because He knew WHO He was. I am just going to go ahead and connect the dots for you on this point. Here it is: When you are secure in your identity, you can do what God asks you to do no matter how lowly the ask might seem to the world. The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Mighty God became the servant of humanity. Jesus didn’t have to prove something or promote anything except the Father’s will. That was the result of a secure identity.
Believer, when you align yourself with Christ you will be given an identity that cannot be taken from you. You can serve securely knowing who you are and whose you are. Your value and worth aren’t diminished when you serve others. In fact, your humble service becomes proof of your royal identity. Do you understand that Christians are part of an upside-down kingdom? Those who are last become first, Matthew 20:16. Because of the way He served, Jesus was elevated to the highest place and was given the name above every name, Philippians 2:9.
Fourth and finally, alignment with Jesus involves an aligned purpose. Jesus came to die. The salvation of the world would not be accomplished had Jesus not fulfilled the purpose for which He had come to earth. Philippians 2:8, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
When you are others-centered, when you have the right mindset, when you know who you are, you can faithfully execute God’s plan for your life. Most of us aren’t called to die a physical death in order to serve the purpose of God for our life, but we were all created to fulfill a purpose. I truly believe the abundant life that Jesus promised us is tied to us discovering and fulfilling that purpose. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” John 4:34 Jesus lived to accomplish the Father’s will. Do we have that same focus? He didn’t want to do something half-way or half-hearted. He was going to fully complete the task.
Discovering the will of God takes intention and effort. When was the last time you prayed, “Show me Your will for my life, Lord?” My guess is that each of us knows something God would desire for us to be doing right now for Him that we aren’t accomplishing. What is that about? How can we come into alignment with Him in those areas?
If there is something you know to do because you know it is God’s will for you, don’t put it off. Discovering your purpose happens as you say “yes” to the will of God every day. Jesus lived for His purpose. That purpose was you. That purpose was me. Now we have the opportunity to live for our purpose which is Him.
I finish with Colossians 2:6- So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him. What a succinct way of saying, “Align yourselves with Christ.” Get others-centered. Align your mind with His. Align your identity in Him so that you can freely serve, and align your purpose with the will of God. Don’t delay. Do it today.
