“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who... humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:5,8

            The mind of Christ is a mind of uncompromising, wholehearted obedience unto God.  This too should be the mind of the Christian.  People in this world have died from many things.  Some accidental, some medical, some through wars, some through famine.  But until Jesus Christ came to earth no one had ever obeyed to death.  And now, through His obedience he has opened the doors for mankind, whoever desires, to obey God fully.  He has restored what Adam forfeited in the Garden- true uncompromising obedience to God.

            Notice the text says, “...this mind...which was also in Christ Jesus...”  This tells us the obedience of Jesus came from the mindset of Jesus.  Jesus was able to be obedient unto death because He first reckoned in His mind, as having come from God, that obedience to the Father was the most important thing.  It was more important to Him than His own life.  That is the mind of Christ.  This is a glimpse into the thinking of Jesus.  You may wonder, “what would Jesus do?”  He would obey God.  The answer is not difficult to find at all.  All of His thinking, all of His acts were done in obedience to God, there was not one exception.  Had there been one exception, we would still be in our sins! 

            In this view into the thinking of Christ, it shows us the value system of Christ.  Every decision is made for a reason, there is a value system behind it, a priority.  If a man works long hours, rising early and staying at work late, to the point that he neglects his family, it demonstrates that he values his work more than his family.  If a woman will spend 45 minutes putting make-up on and preparing in the morning, and only five minutes reading her Bible and praying, it demonstrates that she values how she looks to people, more than how she is viewed by God.  The decision to do these things is simply an acting out of what we hold most dear in our heart and our mind.  When a person forsakes this world and all it has to offer in order to follow Christ, then that decision is simply a reflection of what is valued in that persons heart- chiefly a desire to please God.  In the value system of Jesus, obedience to God was first- everything else was second.  He lived His entire life from one single motive. 

            When His disciples brought Him lunch, He refused it telling them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.” (Jn. 4:34) Obedience was His life bread.  He explained to the crowds that, “...I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”  (Jn. 6:38).  Obedience was His life’s purpose, it was why He was sent.  The prophets of long ago spoke of Him saying, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me.  I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart.”  (Ps. 40:7-8).  Obedience is what brought Him joy.  In the garden of Gethsamane being in agony, He prayed, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Obedience was the goal of His prayers.  When the Jews were questioning Him to see who He was He replied to them, “...I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things... I always do those things that please Him.” (Jn. 8:28-29).  His every word was spoken out of obedience.       

            Since it was the mind of Christ, it also tells us that obedience is worked from the inside out.  This mind led Christ to take the outward “form of a bondservant” and come in the outward “likeness of men.”  This tells us it is an obedience borne through the righteousness of Christ, not

the law.  As the scripture above says, “Your law is within My heart.”  Christ always obeyed God from the heart and now through His obedience and by faith in Him, we too are made righteous by God.  The obedience of Jesus began inwardly and worked until it was demonstrated in His life outwardly.  This is the righteousness that is from God, in Christ.  The obedience of the law begins outwardly and tries to work itself in- this cannot ever be done.  Because Christ has this mind it permeated every other area of His life.  As Paul said, “...if the root is holy, so are the branches.” (Ro. 11:16).

            Look at what the obedience of Jesus led to, “even the death of the cross...”  The obedience of Christ cost Him.  The obedience of Christ was a complete obedience, “...and became obedient unto death...”  Complete obedience is the only kind of obedience God will accept.  You remember King Saul, how God said to him to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15).  God told him to destroy everything and to leave nothing remaining but Saul spared the best of the sheep and the oxen and he also spared the Amalekite king.  Saul failed to do what the Lord asked, so the Lord sent His prophet Samuel and Samuel said to Saul, “...the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.  Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?  Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?’” Now notice what Saul says, “And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek, I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites...”  Saul tried to justify himself by doing almost all of God’s will.  He did destroy all the people, except the king.  He did destroy all the livestock, except the best of it, and even said he spared the best to sacrifice to God.  However he sinned because he did not obey completely.  What is the lesson learned from this?  Unless obedience is complete, it is not pleasing to God, and is in fact considered disobedience to Him.  Let us be warned by the example of Saul because his partial obedience cost him greatly, as God said to him, “...because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”  Too many Christians today are  bringing to God in a pretentious act of sacrifice the very things He’s asked them to destroy.  May God deliver us from this, because it is simply self-deception (like Saul, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord...”).  The obedience of our Lord was full and complete, all the way to death.  It was an act of obedience for Him because He could have delivered Himself from it.

            Observe now that God expects the same kind of obedience from us.  “Let this mind be in you...”  It is a popular thing today to have just enough of Jesus to soothe your conscience, and not to much of Jesus to make you offensive to the world.  This was the case with king Saul.  He obeyed and killed everybody, except for just one king, and killed all livestock, except for the best of it.  But notice why he did not do all that God had asked of him, “Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord... because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”  One of the greatest hindrances to obedience in the Christian life is the fear of man.  Paul painted the fear of man in such a light that no Christian would misunderstand, “...do I seek to please men?  For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10).  It doesn’t get much more clear than that- If you live at all to please people, you are not a servant of Jesus Christ.

            After Christ ascended we have the example of the apostles’ obedience.  What did the world think of their obedience to God?  Let the Bible answer that: “I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men... We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.” (1 Cor. 4:9, 13).  And again, “...for whom [Jesus] I have suffered the loss of all things...” (Phil. 3:8).  Look how Peter’s preaching made people feel, “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our father raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree... When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.” (Acts 5:30-33).  Read the book of Acts and count how many cities Paul planted a church in, in which a riot wasn’t started.  There was no friendship evangelism with these men, they sought to reconcile a lost and rebellious world to a true and loving God, they were obedient to their call.  As a missionary friend of mine once told me, “I’m not out to win friends and I’m not out to win enemies, I’m out to win souls.”

            It is very possible to obey God just enough to look approved to those in the church, to even look like an example, and yet to still give enough obedience to the world to not be rejected by it.  The Bible has a long line of people who have followed this line of double minded thinking.  Cain offered sacrifices to God, and later killed his brother.  Lot walked with Abraham, the father of faith, and yet lived in Sodom and Gomorrah.  Nadab and Abihu went up the mountain with Moses where, “they saw the God of Israel,” and later gave such a profane offering to the Lord that they were struck dead for it.  Acts chapter five speaks of Ananias and Saphira who made themselves out to be ‘super spiritual’ Christians by the offering they gave, and later fell down dead at Peter’s feet because they had lied to God.  Jesus said it, “No one can serve two masters...” 

            No excuse will do when we give account to God.  God does not have any commandments that command us to try.  Never once in all of Scripture does God encourage someone to try hard, or to do their best.  It is always, do, or do not- so simple a child can understand and follow.  Some may say that this kind of complete obedience is impossible for us here on earth.  These people say that, ‘we’re still human, and we’re going to make mistakes...’  ‘Nobody’s perfect and we won’t be until we get to heaven...’  ‘Right now we’re under God’s grace.’  Yes, we are under God’s grace (and as James said, “...we all stumble in many things...”), but the Bible describes that grace not only as a grace that forgives, but a grace that empowers for holy living.  Grace for living means that, “having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”  God has reconciled us so our sins are forgiven by the blood, but this is how we are delivered from future sin- by the life of Jesus.  Jesus begins His work in us by giving us His mind, then that mind produces obedience from the heart which works itself outwardly.  The way to obey God is not by striving to do so, but by trusting Him who became obedient unto death to live out the same kind of obedience in you.  We shall be saved from future sin by His life, not ours- His.  The good news of the gospel is that it is God’s deliverance (not just forgiveness, but deliverance) from sin, past, present, and future.  Through the blood of Christ, we are delivered from the sins we committed in the past, they are passed over, and we are delivered from committing sin in the future, by faith in Him.  The law did not have the power to do this, it only comes through grace by faith in Jesus Christ.  Now that God has given us the mind of Christ, He simply expects that same mind to produce the same obedience- this should not surprise us at all, any of us would expect the same thing.  Let’s say  you have two radio’s and one of them does not work because the batteries in it are dead, but the other one works and has batteries that are fully charged.  If you remove the fully charged batteries from the second radio, and put them in the first radio in place of the dead batteries, then you will expect the first radio to work.  Why?  Because you know the batteries are good, they worked in the second radio and so you expect them to produce the same effect in the first radio that had the dead batteries.  The first radio had no life because the source of it’s life, the batteries,  was dead.  When you replace what was dead with what is alive, you have every right to expect it to work.  In the same way God has sent His Son Jesus, the second Adam, to replace what was not working in the first Adam.  He has replaced what was dead to Him with what is alive to Him.  He expects it to work now. 

            On the next point notice that complete obedience cannot be wrought without humility.  For the Scripture says that Jesus, “...humbled Himself and became obedient unto death...”  Why did Jesus have to humble Himself?  Because as verse 6 says, He is equal with God.  God holds quite a reputation.  There is none like Him.  Look at the awestruck majesty with which Job spoke of the God he knew:

“The dead tremble, those under the waters and those inhabiting them. [The grave] is naked before Him, and Destruction has no covering.  He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.  He binds up the water in His thick clouds, yet the clouds are not broken under it.  He covers the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud over it.  He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness.  The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at His rebuke.  He stirs up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He breaks up the storm.  By His Spirit he adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him!  But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26:5-14)

To have a reputation like that (and remember, those are the mere edges of His ways) and to set all of that aside in order to fulfill the Father’s plan to redeem sinful men.  That is humility.  The humility of Christ was constantly tested.  As verses 6-8 in Philippians chapter 2 say, Christ is in very nature God, equal with God, and yet did not consider this something to be held on to.  He who at the last judgement will be the One to determine who is worthy of reputation and who is not, made Himself of no reputation.  The One who by very nature is enthroned in majesty choose to take the form of a bondservant.  He became obedient because He humbled Himself.  His obedience was never rivaled inwardly because He never was trying to make anything of Himself- He was simply walking in the plan the Father had for His life, which was to redeem men and women to Himself.  As a man He humbled Himself and esteemed in His heart the Fathers will above His own and was therefore able to obey it.  In His humility He bore our humiliation, and it is in seeing His humiliation that we are humbled.

            This is why we need to humble ourselves in order to be completely obedient.  If ever we desire to have a reputation for ourselves on this earth, it will always come at the cost of God’s will in our lives.  When humility leaves, obedience follows right behind her.  However, in this can be seen, to the eye that is searching, the beautiful simplicity in a life with God and it is this:  All God ever asks of us is to do what He says- nothing more, nothing less.  You don’t need to have all of the answers, you don’t need to impress Him, and you don’t need talent, just do what God asks you to do today and your life will be pleasing to God.  This is fresh water to weary souls.

            Finally, the conclusion of obedience is that it gives us a good testimony with God.  Notice the next phrase after Paul writes about the obedience of Christ and the death it led to, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...”  The obedient man exalts God and gives Him glory and God exalts the obedient man, as it is written, “he who honors Me, I will honor...”  The obedience of Jesus did not end in death, rather it led to Him being exalted to the right hand of God until He returns to take His own back and to judge the nations.  “Therefore” God exalted Jesus.  Why?  Because He humbled Himself and was obedient unto death. 

            I was with a group of Christians once who had gone up to the mountains to spend time seeking the Lord.  First we all spent time together in worship, then each person broke off individually to seek the Lord on their own in private.  I turned and saw a very high rock that overlooked everything- that was where I wanted to go.  As I began to take the path that led towards that rock, I had to maneuver around trees, through brush, and step aside cactus.  Because it was mountainous terrain, it was hilly.  At first I had to descend little inclines, here and there I had to climb down little hills.  However, every step seemed downward and it didn’t seem like I was climbing upward at all though I was still walking directly toward the rock.  Finally, I found myself in the middle of a little valley with a streambed in it.  I was at an even lower point than the one from which I had begun!  Here I wanted to go to the highest point that I could see, and now in my quest to get there I was at a point that was so low that I could not see out, nor could this valley be seen by others.  At that moment, the Lord taught me a very powerful lesson.  If I want to go higher in the Christian life, I can only do so by going lower.  The path that takes us to the heights in the Christian life leads us there through the valleys, and it is in the valleys where the streams with water flow.  I walked up the valley and it led me straight to the rock I wanted to go to.  Had I climbed out of the valley, I would never have been set on the high rock.  May God keep us in His will even when it means certain death to us, and may we be content to walk in it knowing that He is good and will not allow us to be overcome by evil (Ps. 37:39-40).