seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Philippians 2:1 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, 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.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature 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 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.
I was reading these words from Paul, and I started to feel like Paul treated the Philippians differently than he did the Corinthians. The Corinthians had to learn to live a life outside of the whorehouses. The Corinthians had to deal with incest and other sexual issues in life. The Philippians, on the other hand, were an example of "good preaching". There was some quibbling over who the best preachers were, but really the Philippians had to deal with the fact, being a Christian was a Capital Offense. They couldn't afford to be quibbling amongst themselves or against churches, they had to stay strong while staying out of prison. Being a Christian was Capital Offense.Paul told the Philippians that Jesus could have come in any form He so desired. He could have appeared as "THE SON OF GOD" with all the power of His Father. He could have come here and executed anyone who didn't walk the straight and narrow. He could have destroyed everything that didn't please Him. He could have levitated Pilate and shoved him out the window instead of standing and listening to the human babble on about how "he washed his hands". He could have destroyed Rome and everyone in it. He could have destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and everyone in it.
Instead, Jesus took the form of a human. Jesus fed the humans, and healed them, and told them they had value.
Paul said we should be like Jesus.
Now, let me straighten this out.... works v faith.... We are not required to be like Jesus. It's not a task we can undertake and complete. Jesus is the only human who never did anything wrong. We CANNOT be perfect. It's just one of the drawbacks of having these human bodies. We cannot work our way to Heaven.
We cannot earn a place in Heaven.
What Paul is actually saying is.... Once you become a Christian... Once you accept Jesus as your personal Savior... You will just desire to do what is right. Once you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, you will feel love and you will desire to share it. Jesus shared His Love. When you become a brother or sister of Christ, you will be comfortable being kind. Paul said let the Love show.
Remember, if Christianity was a Capital Offense. BUT... if they killed you for being a Christian... you went to Heaven. Doesn't that put a better twist on "Stand up stand up for Jesus"!
Jesus didn't brag about who He is. He just showed us Love.
Christians desire to be like Jesus.
