Will you please turn to Philippians, chapter 3? Just one verse: Philippians 3:15.
Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you.
I was greatly impressed by this verse, and I would like to read it again:
Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, our hearts are ever thankful and grateful to Thee for how much Thou dost love us, and dost love us to the utmost. Truly, Lord, Thou art not only our Savior; Thou art our closest Friend.
We praise and thank Thee that we may gather around Thyself. Dear Lord, speak to us. Let us hear Thy voice, that we may be freed.
We commit this time into Thy hand and trust Thy Holy Spirit to do His work, to the praise of Thy glory. We ask in the name of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lately, I have been meditating on the letter to the Philippians, and I was greatly impressed by one thing in that letter: the matter of the mind.
It seems to me that in this very short letter, in every chapter, Paul mentions this matter of our mind, because our mind has much to do with our spiritual life and with our spiritual condition, both individually and corporately.
You know, the Philippians are noted for their love. When you read the history of the church in Philippi, you find that it began with love, and it is love all along. It is a church well known for its love to the Lord and for its love to one another.
We may say that the church in Philippi can be considered a very healthy church. From the very first day, they were united in one heart in the preaching of the gospel.
And yet, somehow, something happened in that church. A cloud covered that church. Now we know from this letter that it was because of the rivalry of two so-called spiritual leading sisters.
Because of that rivalry between these two sisters, a shadow began to be cast over the whole church. They lost their joy in the Lord, and we know that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So when people lose the joy of the Lord, the strength is gone.
Paul, in writing this letter to the church that he loved very much, tried to diagnose the case. They had enjoyed a very lovely relationship all along. He did not want merely to deal with the symptoms; he wanted to go to the very root and cause of the situation. He also gave the prescription for it.
Now, it is, in a sense, very interesting that Paul, in that letter, does not really come out and openly tell what the reason was for the situation that existed in the Philippian church. He vaguely shows the cause of it toward the very end of the letter, because of two sisters.
Love covers a multitude of sins. And yet, throughout the letter, he is trying to deal with the situation; he is trying to redeem the situation. In a sense, he tells us that the reason for it all is the mind.
You know, we are made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Of course, the most important part of our being is the spirit, because the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. The life of Christ is the life of our spirit.
When you think of spiritual life, of course it has to originate from the spirit; otherwise, you cannot say it is spiritual life. So the most important part of our being is the spirit.
But for the life in the spirit to be released, it has to go through our soul. The mind can either be the channel or the blockage to the release of the spirit.
That is the reason why you find that our mind is the battlefield in spiritual warfare.
In Romans 8:5-6, it is said:
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.
So here you find that it is the mind. What your mind is set on governs your walk on this earth.
Again, you find in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5:
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds;
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God,
and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
So, you know, in spiritual warfare the mind is very, very important.
In the very beginning of human history, in the garden of Eden, you find that the enemy injected something into the mind of Eve. He posed a question, and with that little thought injected into Eve’s mind, it grew. You find that sin entered into this world.
So we find that throughout the centuries, that is what the enemy has been doing and is still trying to do: working with our mind.
Reason is important to us. Of course, we pride ourselves as rational beings. But, brothers and sisters, think for a little while: to a fallen man with a deceived mind, can our reasoning really be rational?
Here in 2 Corinthians, we find that reasonings become strongholds of the enemy. They are built in our minds as strongholds, and these reasonings oppose the knowledge of God. Eve reasoned, and the result was that it opposed the knowledge of God.
Not that we should not be rational, but unfortunately we are irrational people trying to reason rationally. That is impossible. We think something is very reasonable and very acceptable, but is it reasonable and acceptable to God? Or is it opposite to God’s thought and God’s idea?
Everything that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God—human philosophy, humanism, self-centeredness—all these things are against the knowledge of God.
The apostle Paul says, “How are we going to fight against these strongholds?” It is not by arms of flesh. It is powerful according to God. In other words, it is power that comes through prayer, that these strongholds may be overthrown and every thought may be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
So, dear brothers and sisters, sometimes we neglect this matter of our mind in our spiritual life. We think that as long as we pay attention to our spirit, that is all that needs to be done. We do not know that for the spiritual life to be released, it must go with the cooperation of the mind.
Dear brothers and sisters, I do feel very deeply that this matter of our mind is very, very important.
You know, as a matter of fact, what is repentance? Repentance is a change of mind.
Something happens. The Holy Spirit touches our darkened mind. You know, our mind is so darkened. We think right is wrong, and wrong is right.
Somehow the Holy Spirit convicts us and brings us to our senses, as it were. We begin to realize our sinfulness, and there is a change of mind: turning away from sin and from death, and turning toward Christ and His life.
Now, repentance is a change of mind. But unfortunately, that change is not deep enough.
That is the reason why we find that after we are saved, during the first period of our salvation, it is as if we are completely changed. It is as if our mind has changed, because we begin to love the Lord, love the word of God, and love the fellowship of the saints. The things of this world do not mean to us what they meant before.
But unfortunately, after a short period, that old mind comes back. That old way of thinking comes back; that old estimation comes back; the old way of valuing things comes back. We still love the world as before. Why? Because our mind, even though it has gone through a little change, has not yet been renewed.
We need a renewing of our mind. That is what Romans 12:1-2 says:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
So, brothers and sisters, we who believe in the Lord Jesus have, at the time of repentance, a superficial change of mind. We need a more drastic change, and it comes by consecration.
After we have consecrated ourselves to the Lord, being constrained by His love, then you find the Holy Spirit renewing our mind. But remember: the renewing of our mind is a continuous thing. It is not because it has been renewed that there is no chance of reverting to the old.
You know, consecration is like the burnt offering. It has to be offered morning and evening. Whenever there is a crisis, it has to be enlarged and deepened.
When you study the offerings, you find that more was added to the daily burnt offering when it came to the new moon and when it came to the festivals. In other words, when you come to a crisis, there is a deepening of the renewing of the mind.
Unfortunately, God’s people neglect their mind. You know, people go to extremes. Some people say everything is in the mind—nothing but the mind. Others say, “Never mind. Do not use your mind.”
Both are extremes. Brothers and sisters, God created our mind, and it is to be used in cooperation with God.
This matter of the mind is of great importance, especially in spiritual warfare. How much the enemy has built up in our mind!
You know, in this world, you can brainwash. What is that? That is working on the mind. People’s minds can be so blinded by the enemy that they think they are doing the right thing, not knowing that they are completely deceived.
That is the work of the enemy. The enemy is deceiving the mind of the world, and we Christians are tempted too.
So I feel it is important for us to be reminded of the importance of a renewed and disciplined mind. Oftentimes our mind is not disciplined. We allow thoughts to come without checking every thought with the word of God and bringing it to the obedience of Christ.
By doing that, the thought begins to grow within us until it becomes a stronghold.
Now, with this introduction, we can go to the book of Philippians. In this small letter, you find that in every chapter the apostle Paul mentions the mind.
In Philippians 1:9-10, Paul says:
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment;
so that ye may approve the things that are excellent;
that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ.
You know, Paul prays for the believers in Philippi. What is his prayer? He says that their love may abound more and more in full knowledge and all discernment.
Brothers and sisters, the people in Philippi were noted for their love. But love is not everything. He says, “You have love, yes; but your love may abound more and more in full knowledge and all discernment.”
In other words, love has to be used intelligently and with full knowledge. It is when this happens that you may discern the things that differ and approve that which is more excellent.
It is not merely between good and bad. It is between good, better, and best. Then you may be pure and without offense in the day of Christ—that means when we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
You know, oftentimes we say love is blind. Is love blind? Yes, human love is blind. But God’s love is not blind. God loves with full knowledge and all discernment.
God loves sinners, but He hates sin. That is knowledge; that is discernment. He does not love indiscriminately—love, love, love, and therefore love everything, even love sin. No.
His love is exercised with full knowledge and all discernment.
Now, what is full knowledge? Epignosis. Full knowledge in Scripture speaks of the knowledge of the eternal purpose of God.
You read Ephesians 1:17-18, and you find Paul praying for the Ephesian believers that God may give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him, having the eyes of their heart enlightened.
So full knowledge has to do with the eternal purpose of God—knowing God’s heart, knowing God’s purpose. That is revelation, and it is revealed in our spirit.
But it has to be enlightened in our mind. The eyes of your heart are the mind. After we have received revelation in our spirit of the eternal purpose of God, then our minds need to be enlightened to understand it.
By doing that, we may know what is the hope of our calling, and so forth. So, brothers and sisters, you find that this full knowledge has something to do with our mind.
All discernment—now, what is all discernment? It is spiritual discernment.
Spiritual discernment comes from the spirit, that is true. But what the spirit discerns, the mind has to receive and accept. If we neglect what the spirit discerns, then you find that you still walk according to what you can see and hear.
So it too has something to do with our mind.
The Philippian believers had love, but when they were confronted with two so-called spiritual sisters rivaling one another, it became very confusing.
These two sisters were leading sisters, used by God, and they competed with each other—not for the things of this world, but as to who was more spiritual and who was more used by the Lord. They were still zealous for the gospel.
The Philippian believers, when they faced such a situation, did not know what to do. They were confused. Whom should they love? Should they love this sister and stand with her? Or should they love that sister and stand with her? Or should they love both? But where should they stand? Where is the truth?
Love and truth seemed to conflict. When you read 2 John and 3 John, you find that the elder John always mentions love and truth. Love and truth must be together.
But here, love and truth became a problem. They wanted to love all, but where was the truth? Where could they stand? A confusion came upon them.
So the apostle Paul said, “The problem is not with your love. The problem is that you are lacking in full knowledge and all discernment. Therefore, you cannot discern the things that differ. You cannot approve that which is more excellent.”
And that will affect your life.
Brothers and sisters, how we need to know the full knowledge of God. We often say a little knowledge is dangerous; full knowledge is safe.
How important it is for God’s people to see the eternal purpose of God. When you see the eternal purpose of God, you have a guiding light. And how important it is that we have spiritual discernment.
You know, sometimes we can love to the hurt of people. Not because there is anything wrong with love, but love can hurt instead of help. Love must be exercised with full knowledge and all discernment.
If they can see this, then they will be delivered from all confusion. It does not mean that because of that they do not love anymore. But they love with the love of Christ, with the love of God—discerning, understanding, helping.
So it is very important. In the first chapter, the apostle Paul speaks of the enlightening of our mind. Our mind needs to be enlightened with the light of the truth of the eternal purpose of God, and with the light of the discernment of the spirit. Then we are delivered from all confusion.
Then, in the second chapter, in verse 5:
Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Again, you find the apostle Paul talking about this matter of comfort in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, and encouragement. He says that if you want this, you have to be of one mind.
But how can we have one mind? He says, “Let the mind of Christ be your mind.”
So, in the second chapter, the apostle Paul puts his emphasis on the attitude of the mind. You know, our mind needs to have an attitude. Some modern versions translate it, “Let the attitude of Christ be your attitude.”
Our mind should have a certain attitude. What is that attitude? It is the mind of Christ.
What is the mind of Christ? He says that, being equal with God, He did not count it a thing to be grasped, because it was His right. He had the form of God.
Now, the word “form” in the original Greek is morphe. In other words, it speaks of the image. He has the image; He is the exact image of God. It is a form that is not derived from outside; it is a form that comes out from within. It is His character, His essence.
So we find that our Lord Jesus had the form of God. In other words, He is essentially God. He has all the characteristics of God. He is God. That is what He originally is, and therefore it comes out as a form. That form never changes.
It is unchangeable, permanent, forever. He is equal with God. It is not something that He tried to seize.
You know, one day in prehistoric time, an angel tried to seize that position. In doing that, he turned himself into the adversary of God, Satan. But with our Lord Jesus, that is what He is. He is equal with God.
But look at His mind, the attitude of His mind: He emptied Himself.
Now, of course, He could not empty Himself of His deity, because that is what He is. Even when He was on earth, He was still God.
But He emptied Himself of all the honor, glory, position, worship, and all these things that belonged to Him as God.
He emptied Himself for one reason: because without emptying these things, He could not come into this world to be a man. He emptied all the glory and honor that were His, and the Word became flesh.
But the Bible says that He took upon Himself the form of a bondservant. It is the same word: morphe. He was in the form of God, and that never changes. Now He took upon Himself a form that was not originally His.
What was it? The form of a bondservant. In other words, when He came to become a man, His heart attitude was that of a bondservant.
A bondservant to whom? To God, His Father. He gave up His own right and let His Father be His Master.
That is the way our Lord Jesus lived when He was on earth: “Not My will, but Thy will, be done.” “I can do nothing of Myself.” “I can say nothing of Myself.” Whatever the Father says, I say; whatever the Father does, I do. My time is not My own; it is up to the Father.
That was the heart attitude of our Lord Jesus when He was on earth.
But outwardly, He took up the fashion of a man—schema. A fashion is also a form, but it is a form put on from outside, a form that can be changed. He took upon Himself the fashion, the likeness, of a man. So outwardly He was a man, but inwardly His attitude was that of a bondservant.
That is how He lived on this earth. Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross, in obedience to the Father.
Brothers and sisters, this is the mind of Christ. Let this mind be in us.
The attitude of our mind should be one of humility—selfless, self-giving, sacrificial, empty, in obedience to God, in absolute abandonment to God.
Only with that kind of mind are you able to look upon others as more excellent than yourself. You are able to be of one mind and one thought. How important it is that we have this attitude.
Brothers and sisters, what can we empty ourselves of? Nothing worthy. All we can empty ourselves of is our sin, our flesh, ourselves—our sinful flesh.
That is all we can empty ourselves of, so that we may be filled with His mind. With His mind, we will be able, as the second chapter says, to think the same thing and to be all of one mind.
Now that is chapter 2. Then, when you come to chapter 3, I would say it concerns the direction of the mind, or the mindset. Where does your mind settle?
You know, formerly the apostle Paul, when he was Saul the Pharisee, had his mind set upon Judaism. How could he be at the top in Judaism? His mind was set there.
Where your mind is set, that is where your direction is. That is the direction of your life.
For that, Paul was willing to give up everything. You know, as a young man seeking religious distinction, he sacrificed many things that young people usually seek. But he was willing to sacrifice everything because his mind was set on being at the top in Judaism.
He nearly succeeded. But then, on the road to Damascus, when he was met by the risen Lord, his mind was completely renewed.
He said, “I count all things as loss.” Not gain, but loss. What I considered as gain, I now look upon as loss. What I considered precious, I now consider as dross.
Why? It is because his mind was set upon the knowledge of the excellency of Christ Jesus. His mind was set upon Christ.
Because his mind was set upon Christ, that was the direction he went. He did not mind anything else. He did not mind whether it was fame or shame, whether it was popularity or persecution. He did not mind. He did not look at these things.
He did not mind whether it would be profitable to him or hurtful to him. He did not mind. He minded only one thing: Christ—to gain Christ.
Brothers and sisters, this should be our mindset.
Do not set your mind upon the things of this world. Do not even set your mind upon yourself. Do not set your mind upon your brothers and sisters. Set your mind upon Christ.
When you really see Christ, and Christ alone, nothing else matters. Never mind. You press on toward the goal to win Christ. You will not allow anything to distract you or anything to lead you astray.
You will press on to win that prize, the high calling of God. That is chapter 3.
When you come to chapter 4, again you find that Paul mentions this matter of the mind. In Philippians 4:8-9:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
In other words, he talks about the habit of our mind. You know, our thinking has a habit, and whatever your thinking habit is, that is where your walk will be.
This world today is bombarded with television, computers, radio, and advertisements. Our minds are bombarded with all these things.
Where your mind is captured, there you are found. Now think about it.
So what should be our habit of thinking? In other words, our mind cannot be blank. Our mind is not supposed to be blank or neutral. You cannot do that.
You know, in Eastern meditation, they try to blank the mind, and that is very dangerous. If the mind is blank, the enemy can come in.
Our mind has to be occupied. But what is your mind occupied with? What are you thinking about all the time? What you think about all the time is what you will become.
So the problem with this world, especially with young people in this world, is that they are bombarded by the enemy. Even the imagination becomes evil. No wonder, if the imagination is evil, how can we expect people to behave?
We as believers should have disciplined minds. Unfortunately, we sometimes allow our minds to wander. We are not careful to guard our mind.
If our mind is not guarded, it is open. Everything can come into our mind. Once something enters, it lodges there and begins to grow.
May the Lord guard our minds. We need to be very careful as to what we see and what we hear.
Whenever the enemy tries to throw something into our mind—a fiery dart—we need to have the shield of faith. We need to wear the helmet of salvation.
We need to discipline our mind to think always on things that are noble, acceptable to God, virtuous, glorifying to God, and according to the will of God. Brothers and sisters, we need to cultivate that habit.
Fill your mind with the things of God—righteous and holy—so that all these dirty things will not be able to register in our mind.
Brothers and sisters, how we need to pray the prayer of David in Psalm 139:23-24:
Search me, O God, and know my heart:
Try me, and know my thoughts;
And see if there be any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Brothers and sisters, we need to pray that prayer every day: “Search me. Prove my thoughts.” Do not allow thoughts just to come in.
Check every thought as it comes into your mind. Check it with the word of God. Check it with the full knowledge of God.
Whatever is not of God, reject it. Do not allow any thought to stay in your mind until it becomes a stronghold.
So we as believers need to cultivate a holy habit concerning our mind. That is why it is important, especially for young people, to consider what you read and what you look at.
You think it is casual, but when you are continuously being bombarded, you cannot help but be tempted. So may the Lord keep us.
Now, brothers and sisters, the problem with the Philippian believers was not love. The problem was with their mind.
Their mind was not disciplined; it was not renewed enough. Therefore, they were brought into confusion.
So, brothers and sisters, my prayer is that in these last perilous days, the enemy—who is so skillful in this attack upon the mind, and who has done this for six thousand years already, very successfully—will not bring us into confusion.
Especially as we are coming to the end of this age, his work becomes more subtle and more fierce.
He may not be able to touch our love, but he can twist our mind and bring us into confusion.
Only when our minds are enlightened, only when we take on the mind of Christ, only when we set our minds on nothing but Christ, and only when we cultivate the habit of thinking the things of God, can we really experience the consolation of love and the oneness of mind that Paul was looking for.
So may the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee that Thou dost not only renew our spirit and bring it into life, but Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit Thou art renewing and disciplining our mind all along, that our life may be released and Thy will may be done.
So, Lord, we just pray that if we are careless about our minds, Thou wilt have mercy upon us, that every thought will be brought into the obedience of Christ.
O Lord, break down any stronghold that the enemy may build in our minds, that in this spiritual warfare we may be powerful according to God.
May Thy will be done. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.