Worship & Music

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.


Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Thoughts on the Scripture: Paul is probably quoting a hymn, perhaps a hymn the Philippian congregation would know. It is an amazing affirmation: Jesus, the one before whom every knee shall bow, is one who humbles himself to dwell and sacrifice for God’s children. Read again the note from yesterday … Jesus humbles himself not simply because Jesus is humble, but because of the value Jesus sees in you.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

Thoughts on the Scripture: Humility. We tend to think of humility as a personal virtue, something we possess. Humility is more complicated than that. Humility is one first something we perceive about ourselves; it lives in how we perceive others. Humility is the fruit of seeing the neighbor a little more like God sees the neighbor … as one of value.

Imitating Christ’s Humility

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Thoughts on the Scripture: Be of one mind, Paul says. The unity of the church is a core value for Paul. But we have a translation confusion in this verse. “One mind” sounds like Paul is asking us to think alike, maybe even think the same things. That’s not the point. It’s not even possible. A better way to think of this is “one attitude” or “one orientation” toward each other. You know that being divided from people you love is the hardest thing in the world. The way to reconciliation is not often by “thinking;” it’s by loving. That is the attitude Paul speaks of.

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing towards the Goal

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.