Mindset of Christ in the Church of Christ - Philippians 1-2

 Philippians 2:1-2 (ESV)

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Chapter two of Philippians is known for what follows the above two verses.  This chapter contains what is often referred to as the kenosis of Christ - The emptying of Himself as the Son of God to become the Son of Man.  He set aside the full glories of some of His attributes (omnipresence for example) to take on the form of a servant and die on the cross for us.   

However, it is important to realize where Paul is going in this chapter when we read the above two verses.   Paul is not, in this chapter, simply writing a doctrinal thesis on Christ’s emptying Himself.  Paul is using Christ’s willingness to set aside Himself for others as the prime example of what makes the above verses real in the lives of the church.   He wants them to have the “same mind” and be of “one mind.”   In our society, in any organization, having the “same mind” and having “one mind” is a valuable commodity.   Business owners pay great amounts of money to have consultants help the teams be of the “same mind.”  We are typically divergent in mind. Our backgrounds, our training, our beliefs, our passions, our values all speak to us to have different minds than the world around us.   Yet, Paul is telling this church to have the same mind and be one-minded.   How?  He tells them that “in Christ” we have the necessary “comfort from love” (Christ’s love for us and His producing love in us for others) and we have the “participation of the Spirit” (being fully baptized in the Spirit) to be of one mind.   Through Christ’s work and example and the Spirit’s indwelling we can have all the “affection, sympathy and joy” necessary to be of the same mind.   The world cannot grasps this.   They fight and bicker over some of the smallest things.   Things that do not matter for eternity.   As believers we are come together in one mind and in a singleness of mind that is centered on Christ.  That approach brings us not only together but demonstrates the life others would want to emulate.   Paul later adds the following to this concept of being of “one mind:”

Philippians 2:5 (ESV)

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ...

Having the mind of Christ means we will set aside our preferences as He set aside the use of His divine attributes.   If Jesus can set aside the use of His omnipresence, we can set aside our simple preferences.