The mind of Christ by examining four key examples from Philippians chapter 2: Jesus Christ himself, the Apostle Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. It details Christ's voluntary descent from divine equality to humble service and death, highlighting his deity, decision, determination, descent, degradation, and ultimate exaltation. The sermon then presents Paul's willingness to be poured out as a drink offering, Timothy's obedient and unique care for others, and Epaphroditus's selfless devotion to the work of Christ, even to the point of near death. The core lesson is that embodying the mind of Christ involves selfless service, humility, and a focus on others' needs, leading to a call to esteem others as better than oneself and to live in accordance with the gospel.
Restored with Diffio
Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Speech quality score (model-estimated, SCOREQ): before 2.64 → restored 4.34
Philippians chapter two and I wonder how many of you have read this chapter already in preparation for the evening session. We've talked about the evidences of the mind of Christ and tonight we're going to read and talk about the examples of the mind of Christ just as there are four evidences and I'm sure you remember what they are, spiritual affection, spiritual discernment, spiritual reality, and spiritual fruit. These four evidences of the mind of Christ. A man cannot have the mind of Christ without evidencing it in these four things.
Now we have four examples of the mind of Christ, and let's begin at verse five, shall we? For our portion is going to take us from verse five to through to the end of the chapter, that is verse thirty. Perhaps we'll not read it all at this time, but we'll make reference to verse after verse as we go through. The portion begins with the last of four exhortations, beginning with that little three-letter word, L-E-T. Now I'd like to finish our session tonight.
with these four exhortations. The last one is this one. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, or as man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, now that should read and given him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now here, of course, is example number one, the Lord Jesus himself. If we are going to obey the exhortation to let this mind be in us, then we must know something about it.
and the apostle goes into detail as he brings the prime example of the mind of Christ before us, even the Lord Jesus himself. Now the second example is found in the verses seventeen and eighteen, and it is the apostle Paul himself. Now I'm sure that when he was writing this epistle, he didn't have in mind at all. holding himself up as an example of the mind of Christ. But this is precisely what he becomes. He says, verse seventeen, yea. And if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.
For the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me. And it was because of the Apostle Paul's willingness to be offered up that he becomes an example of the mind of Christ. Now verse nineteen. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. But I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state, for all seek their own, and not the things which are Jesus Christ. But she know the proof of him, that as has done with the Father, he has served with me in the gospel, him, therefore, I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
So Timothy becomes example number three, and example number four is Epaphroditus, verse twenty-five, yet. I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death. but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
I sent him, therefore, the more carefully, that when ye see him again you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him, therefore, in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in reputation, because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life to supply your lack of service toward me. For beautiful examples of the mind of Christ. Now we did read almost the whole of the portion because there were very few verses that I could leave out. And in any case, what the Word of God says is more important than anything I might have to say about it.
Now the first example of the mind of Christ is the Lord Jesus himself. I want you to notice the order of the name here. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. I don't know whether you ever study the usage of the names of the Lord Jesus, but sometimes he's called Jesus, sometimes he's called Christ. sometimes he's called Jesus Christ sometimes he's called Christ Jesus sometimes he's called the Lord Jesus Christ sometimes he's called our Lord Jesus Christ every one of these has a special significance and when we read here the title Christ Jesus it is the thought Of the one up here coming down here.
The anointed one, Christ, becoming human, Jesus. And the thought is the stoop. And this is what is detailed for us in these verses. We're also going to notice the meaning of the name Timothy, the meaning of the name Paul, and the meaning of the name Epaphroditus. For I think they all have significance. in connection with exemplifying the mind of Christ. Let us look at the stoop of the Lord Jesus here. Verse six, who being in the form of God. Now this is where we begin.
And that word form is a very interesting word in the Greek. You'll notice it again, I'll go further down in verse seven. He took upon him the form of a servant, who being in the form of God, took upon him the form of a servant. It's the same word in the Greek, and it's a word that actually means the divine nature, when it's used in the first place here, the form of God, the divine nature actually and inseparably subsisting in the person of Christ, the form of God.
a little simpler what the writer is saying here, he was in the form of God. He was in reality what he appeared to be, God. That's the meaning of that word form. Just as we have the servant, he was in reality what he appeared to be, a servant. He said the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. He was in actuality God, and he became in actuality a servant. So the word form there is very important.
I can think of some not exactly parallel words, but I remember in Second Corinthians four and four, I think it is, it speaks about the Lord Jesus being the image of God. Now that's another very interesting word in the Greek. It's a word that means a visible representation and manifestation of God, the image of God. We get the same word, image, and it's this time, with another word, the express image. It's the same word in the English, but it's not the same word in the Greek. And where we read in Hebrews chapter one is it, the express image...
of his person. It's a very beautiful word. It's a picture word. In a sense, a double-barreled word. It's a picture of a die. You know what a die is? That's a stamp. And the seal that's produced by the die, each of them dovetailing under one being exactly the same as the other, bearing the absolute imprint and being the same, being one and the same with. There can be no question at all about the deity of the Lord Jesus, who being in the form of God.
He was, in actuality, what he appeared to be, the God of heaven. So we begin with the deity that the Lord Jesus enjoyed. being in the form of God. And then we come to the decision that the Lord Jesus faced, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Now you know, of course, because others have reminded you of this, that actually what is being said by Paul here is this, the Lord Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not a thing to be hung on to at all hazards his equality with God.
He did not feel that he should hang on to his equality with God no matter what happened. He made a decision that he was not going to hang on to it. He was going to temporarily let it go. That was a definite decision on his part. I know that we read that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, but the Lord Jesus himself said, No man taketh my life from me. I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. The Father sent the Son, but the Son voluntarily and willingly and by choice came.
He made that decision. So we have not only the deity that he enjoyed, but the decision that he faced. We also have here the determination that he manifested. Having made his choice, it says, he made himself of no reputation. Literally, he emptied himself. Now there are those who suggest that what the Lord Jesus did was emptied himself of his Godhead so that he was no longer God. That is absolutely untrue. There are those who say that while he clung to his Godhead, he emptied himself of all of his divine attributes so that when he was a boy twelve, confounding the teachers in the temple, It was only because he had learned his catechism well, and it was not because he was any different from any other well-taught twelve-year-old.
He did not know many things, and he certainly couldn't be in several places at the same time. That's in spite of the fact that the Lord Jesus spoke of himself as being the Son of Man here, but at the same time there. didn't hesitate to claim omnipresence. What he did do was this, he emptied himself. He emptied himself by putting a limitation on all of these things so that he might have no advantage over you and me as human beings.
He was in all points tempted like as we are, and yet, without sin. This was the sense in which he emptied himself, and that indicated a very real determination on his part to go the whole way. He emptied himself. And then comes the descent that he made. He took upon him the form of a servant. He who was the Lord of Heaven, around whom all heaven revolved, came down and stooped so low that he became the servant of all.
Such a descent. How far did he descend as a servant he was made in the likeness of men? And man is spoken of as being lower than the angels. Here is the depth to which he stooped. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. Here is the degradation that he suffered, taking him as it did all the way to death, even the death.
of the cross. Oh, there's so much that could be said, so much more that could be said here. But you can see the Lord Jesus leaving the glory, though he was God coming down and down and down and down until we read these words, even the death of the cross. and it is written in the word of God, curse, and is every one that hangeth upon a tree. He stooped so low that he could stoop no lower, even the death of the cross.
But you know, after his deity, his decision, his determination, his descent, the depth to which he descended, his death and his degradation, comes the dignity that God bestowed upon him. Wherefore, and that has the same force as, therefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him not a name but the name, which is above every name, that at this name which belongs to Jesus, that's how it should read, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth.
Here then is the first example that the Spirit of God brings before us in this second chapter of the epistle to the Philippians, the Lord Jesus himself. And the exhortation is, let this mind be in you. Do you remember that little word with which we finished last night? Look not every man upon his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let each esteem other better than themselves. When we take a look at the Lord Jesus, we have to say, how can I do anything else?
If he was so high and stooped so low, nothing that is demanded of me can ever be regarded really and truly as sacrifice now we come to paul's example in the verses seventeen and eighteen now the name paul means little and it's very appropriate here because he says yea and if i be offered and if you look at your margin there it says poured forth upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I'm very happy about it. Do you know what Paul is saying here in effect?
He's saying, now your sacrifice and your service, this is the main offering. If I am just like the libation, the drink offering that's poured over the main offering, I'm perfectly happy about the situation. Paul was little in a real spiritual sense. He looked at what they were doing. He looked at their service. He looked at their contribution in the things of God. And he said, yours is the main. Mine is just that which is poured on or sort of added to. He had a very, very small opinion of himself.
The man who has the mind of Christ. has that self-same attitude. Paul certainly belongs among these four examples of the Christ mind. And you'll note it. Notice this word poured forth. It's a Greek word spendo, and it's only used twice in the New Testament and both times here in Philippians. Here's one, and if I be poured forth, Upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice. On the other occasion, he says, and this is, I'm sorry, in Second Timothy, his very last letter, you'll remember, he says, I am now ready to be offered.
Again, poured forth. Spendo, the same word in the Greek. the Apostle Paul was willing to be absolutely poured out. And he does it with joy, expending himself, and then regarding all that he did as little compared with all that had been done by the others. And yet it was costing him everything he had. That's why he was a prisoner. That's why he suffered bonds. That's why he had lost his freedom. But with all of that, he says, what I'm doing is but little, just like the drink offering poured over the main sacrifice.
Paul doesn't mean little for nothing. And that kind of littleness is a spiritual virtue that we all of us know very little about. Now the name Timothy means honored of God. And of course he was honored of God. why his association with the Apostle Paul was an honor from God himself. The influence of the Apostle Paul upon his life made him an honored individual. But you know, the kind of life that was developed by the Spirit of God in this man, Timothy, also made him an honored man.
What does Paul say about him as an example of the mind of Christ? Verse nineteen, I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you. Now Timothy couldn't be sent if he wasn't willing to go. So the very first thing that to me seems obvious about Timothy was that he was an obedient disciple. He was a man who was willing to be at the beck and call of the Apostle Paul. He's not going to argue when Paul wants him to go. I want, I trust, that I shall be able to send Timotheus unto you.
Why? Because, says Paul, I'm anxious to know how you're doing. and until I know how you are I'm not going to be very settled in my own mind. It matters to me how you're faring and so I'm going to send Timothy so that he might bring me news of you." Timothy was obedience. That's the first thing. I had a story to tell you about obedience but I don't have time to do it. Something else about Timothy in which he becomes a real example of the mind of Christ. And I hope, as we think about Paul here and his concern about the welfare of the Philippians, whether our soul's health is helped by good news of other people.
That's what Paul was saying. I want Timothy to bring back to me good news about you so that my soul's health... will be benefited. You know, there are some believers and good news about other believers makes them very jealous. There are lots of preachers, you know, and they don't like to hear about the success of other preachers because it makes their own work, it seems to belittle their own work. Isn't that tragic? That we cannot rejoice in the success of others. Paul says, my own soul's health is dependent upon hearing good news. about you. And I'm sure he meant spiritual success, among other things.
Here's something else about Timothy that makes him an example of the Christ mind. He was not only obviously obedient, but he was quite unique. Look at what Paul says. I have, this is verse twenty, no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state. unique. And Paul uses some strong Greek language here. When he says, I have no man like-minded, he is actually saying, I have no man, not even one, that he's like Timothy. Timothy stood out as absolutely unique in his care for other people.
He says he will naturally care for your state. Why he is not only obedient and unique, he is dependable. Dependable. That's a lovely virtue, you know, that's a wonderful virtue. And the man who has the mind of Christ is a man who can be depended upon. That's all too seldom true of so many of us. In fact, the hymn writer wrote... The arm of flesh will fail you. You dare not trust your own. Not only do we let other believers down, we let ourselves down.
Timothy stood out as a man who was unique because very naturally, and don't misunderstand that word, it actually means he couldn't help it. He was so sincere and so real that it just came second nature to him to care for your state. My, it must be lovely to know a person like that who, to whom it comes as second nature to care for other people. And along with being obedient and unique and dependable and genuine, naturally care for your state, he was approved. The Apostle Paul says, you know, for you know, Timothy, the proof of him...
that as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel why he says he served affectionately and wholeheartedly as a son he served with me there's the example of timothy now we have seven minutes let's take a look at epaphroditus now his name does not mean like paul's little It does not mean, like Timothy's, honored of God, it means lovely or charming. Now what was it that made Epaphroditus a charming man?
Well, because he had the mind of Christ, and here he is an example of the mind of Christ. Look at how he's described by the Apostle Paul. Verse twenty-five, I suppose it necessary. to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, they belong to a mutual family, and companion in labor or fellow worker, they engaged in a mutual work, and fellow soldier, they fought in a mutual conflict, But your messenger, now that word actually is, your ambassador.
Here they are, and they served a mutual sovereign. Paul made reference to himself as an ambassador. This man, Epaphroditus, came bearing ministry from the Philippians to the Apostle Paul there in his imprisonment. He was at the same time their ambassador. and an ambassador for the Lord Jesus. And he shared that ambassadorial responsibility with Paul himself. And then he says, he that ministered to my wants. So they shared a mutual trust.
They both were in the ministry and served the Lord and the Lord's people. Now I want you to notice an exhortation here. Why he says, describing Epaphroditus, having called him these five or six things, he says in verse twenty-six he was sick. And then he says in verse twenty-seven, his sickness was nigh unto death. He was very sick. Then in there he says in verse thirty, it was for the work of Christ that he became nigh unto death.
He was sick. He was very sick. He came to death's door and that for the work of Christ. And then he says he did it willingly. He had no regard for his own life. So very, very different from us. Certainly an example of the mind of Christ. Now, says Paul, he comes to you. Now I want you to be very practical as far as he is concerned, he says. Receive him, therefore, in the Lord.
They were to make sure that this man was properly received and properly cared for who had cared for others, though it brought him to death's door. Be practical, he says. And then says he, Be very glad that such a man should be among you. Receive him, therefore, in the Lord with all gladness. And finally, hold such in reputation. Do you know how Wust translates that? He translates it this way. He says, Deem them precious. Deem them precious. There are not too many people.
who are willing to so regard their lives as to willingly and gladly bring themselves to death-death door for the cause of Christ, serving the Church of God. Says the Apostle Paul, deem them precious, and God help us to appreciate those who are so willing to put themselves out for the Lord's sake that they will pay the price to the extreme, even readily laying down their lives. You know, John tells us that we ought to be prepared to lay down our lives. And it may well be that there are some of us who sincerely believe that if it came to the push and our circumstances became such that it was demanded of us to lay down our lives for the Lord Jesus, that we would be willing to do that.
And I believe that in this congregation here tonight, there are those who would, for the sake of the Lord Jesus, be willing to lay down their lives. I suppose none of us really knows it until the experience becomes ours. But even when we've gotten to the place where we are willing to lay down our lives for the Lord Jesus, we haven't gone far enough. John says we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now it's one thing to be willing to die for Christ, another thing to be willing to die for the sake of our fellow believers. The Romans were staggered in the days when Christians were being thrown to the lions and burned as torches to illuminate the arenas there in Rome.
How that they sought to protect each other so that they said with wonder, behold how these Christians love one another. Tragically today, I suppose in many, many instances it could be said, behold how they tear each other apart. As somebody said, these are they that rightly divide the word of truth and wrongly divide one another. Isn't that a sad thing? Isn't that an indictment? These examples of the Christ mind are brought before us in order that we might be challenged to follow them. So we have an exhortation at the end.
We also have an exhortation at the beginning, before the examples begin to unfold. Look back and let me just mention these four things at the end that I mentioned at the beginning. These let's, L-E-T. Verse twenty seven, let your manner of life be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Paul is saying, watch your testimony. Then he says, let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. That's verse three of chapter two.
Not only must we watch our testimonies, we must watch our motives. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. Then verse three again, let each... esteem other better than themselves here the thought is watch your balance make sure that you got your priorities in order first things first and then finally let this mind be in you watch your Lord turn your eyes upon Jesus look for in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
Shall we pray? And you might want to search chapter three for tomorrow night and see if you can discover the enemies of the mind of Christ. Our Heavenly Father, we commend to thee thy word as we have read it together and as we have thought about it together. We realize, O Lord, that it is one thing to hear about and read about and talk about the mind of Christ. It's another thing altogether to allow that mind to be in us and in control of us.
Oh, that we might learn to pray earnestly what we have sung as a prayer every night. May the mind of Christ my Savior dwell in me from day to day. We ask it in his name. Amen.