The Mind of Christ
Changing Our Reality Through Service
There is a remarkable scene in the fourth chapter of Revelation. John is caught up into heaven, and immediately his attention is drawn to a throne: “and one sat on the throne” (Revelation 4:2). Around that throne is all the majesty and worship of heaven. The four and twenty elders fall before Him. The four beasts continually proclaim His holiness. Yet there is something about the scene that deserves our attention.
Where is the Son?
The Holy Spirit is represented there in “the seven Spirits of God” before the throne (Revelation 4:5). But where is the Lord Jesus Christ?
The answer comes in the next chapter.
John sees “a Lamb as it had been slain” standing in the midst of the throne (Revelation 5:6). A question has gone forth throughout heaven: Who is worthy to open the book and loose its seals? No man in heaven, in earth, or under the earth is found worthy. John weeps.
Then the Lamb appears.
He alone is worthy.
Why?
Because He was slain. Because He is the Redeemer.
The song of heaven declares it:
“Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed…”
— Revelation 5:9
But there is something even larger taking place in these chapters. Revelation 4 takes us back to the purpose of creation itself:
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
— Revelation 4:11
Everything exists because God chose that it should exist. Creation was His idea. He was under no obligation to make a universe, a world, angels, or mankind. As Creator, He could have created anything He pleased, in any manner He pleased.
That raises an intriguing question: Why create beings with minds and wills of their own?
Why create a world capable of rebellion? What pleasure could God possibly derive from a creation that could become wayward, fallen, sinful, and hostile toward its own Creator?
The answer to those questions is deeply rooted in understanding the mind of the Creator—and particularly the mind of Christ.
The Creator Who Became the Servant
Who is the Creator—the Father or the Son?
The biblical answer is: Yes.
Paul writes in Ephesians 3:9 of “God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” John says concerning Christ, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Later he writes, “the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (John 1:10).
Paul says:
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible… all things were created by him, and for him.”
— Colossians 1:16
First Corinthians 8:6 gives us an important distinction:
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”
The Father is the One of whom are all things. The Lord Jesus Christ is the One by whom are all things.
This relationship is important because the Son consistently does the will of His Father. He serves the Father in all things. That truth becomes essential when we come to Philippians 2 and Paul’s command:
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 2:5
There is a mind—a way of thinking—that characterized the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul does not merely want us to admire it. He wants us to recognize it, understand it, and allow that same way of thinking to become ours.
Paul tells the Corinthians, “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). That does not mean that God mysteriously replaces our thinking with Christ’s thinking so that we automatically begin thinking as He thinks. We possess the mind of Christ because God has revealed it to us. Through His Word we can know how Christ thinks, what He values, what motivates Him, and what He considers worthy of pursuit.
Then we must choose whether we will think the same way.
It Is Not Beneath Deity to Serve
Before going further, we need to be careful that we do not turn Philippians 2 into something Paul was not trying to write.
Much theological discussion of Philippians 2:5-8 centers on questions concerning the person and nature of Christ: His deity, His humanity, what it means that He “made himself of no reputation,” and the relationship between the two natures in the incarnation. Those are important theological questions, and this passage certainly contributes to our understanding of them.
But they are not Paul’s primary point.
Paul tells us exactly why he introduces Christ:
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 2:5
Paul’s subject is the mind of Christ.
He is not merely telling us what Christ was or what Christ became. He is showing us how Christ thought.
That distinction matters enormously.
Paul has just commanded the Philippians:
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
— Philippians 2:3-4
Then comes verse 5:
“Let this mind be in you…”
What mind?
The mind that looks upon “the things of others.”
And Paul’s supreme example is Jesus Christ.
Here is what makes the passage so extraordinary. Paul does not begin with Christ in Bethlehem. He begins with Christ “in the form of God.”
Why?
Because Paul wants us to understand just how far Christ was willing to stoop in order to serve another.
The One who humbled Himself was not merely a great man.
He was the Creator.
The One who took “the form of a servant” was the One by whom “all things were created” (Colossians 1:16).
Therefore, one of the great lessons of Philippians 2 is this:
It is not beneath deity to serve the needs of another.
That truth overturns our human conception of greatness.
We tend to associate greatness with being served. The greater the position, the more people attend to us. The more important we become, the less we expect to perform menial tasks.
Christ reverses the entire equation.
His deity did not make service beneath Him.
His greatness did not prevent Him from stooping.
His position did not cause Him to look only upon “his own things.”
The Creator looked upon the things of His creation.
That is Paul’s argument.
Christ did not cease to be who He was in order to serve. Rather, knowing who He was makes His willingness to serve all the more astonishing.
John 13 gives us the picture.
The hands holding the towel were the hands of the Creator.
The One kneeling before those men was the One John said “made” the world.
And He washed their feet.
Later Christ expressed the principle plainly:
“For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.”
— Luke 22:27
There is no question about which One in that room was greatest.
Yet the greatest said:
“I am among you as he that serveth.”
That is the point we must carry back into Philippians 2.
Paul is not asking us to duplicate the incarnation. We cannot.
He is asking us to duplicate the mind that produced Christ’s willingness to humble Himself.
We cannot have the form of God.
We cannot become incarnate.
We cannot redeem mankind.
But we can look “on the things of others.”
We can make ourselves of no reputation.
We can take the servant’s place.
We can humble ourselves.
We can obey God when obedience costs us something.
And we can stop imagining that some act of service is beneath our dignity.
If service was not beneath the Lord Jesus Christ, upon what possible basis could it be beneath us?
This is why Paul’s argument begins with the heights of Christ’s position and carries us downward—to no reputation, to a servant, to humility, to obedience, and finally to the death of the cross.
Paul is showing us the distance that the mind of Christ was willing to travel for the good of another and in obedience to His Father.
And then he says:
“Let this mind be in you.”
Changing the Way We Think
If we want to change our reality, we must begin by changing the way we think.
Our thinking determines our perceptions. It shapes our passions and goals. It affects our choices. Most importantly, it determines how and whom we serve.
This is why Revelation 4 and 5 provide such a striking starting point. They allow us to catch a glimpse of how radically the Lord Jesus Christ changed His own reality.
Think about what He had before creation.
Think about what He became.
Think about what He experienced on earth.
Then think about what He accomplished: glory, honor, redemption, and above all, the pleasure of His Father.
Why would the Lord Jesus Christ exchange His heavenly reality for the reality described in Philippians 2?
He was “in the form of God,” yet He “made himself of no reputation.” He “took upon him the form of a servant.” He “humbled himself,” and ultimately “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).
That is the mind Paul tells us to have.
What the Mind of Christ Looks Like
Philippians 2 does more than describe the mind of Christ. The chapter shows us what that mind looks like when reproduced in the lives of others.
First there is Christ Himself in Philippians 2:5-11.
Then there is Paul in verses 12-18. Paul had learned to think as Christ thought, and his life became an example of that mind in action. His principle elsewhere was simple: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Then Paul points to Timothy in Philippians 2:19-22. Timothy had learned this mind from Paul, who had learned it from Christ. Paul says of Timothy:
“For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.”
That word state involves their condition, their walk, their spiritual welfare and edification. Timothy’s attention was not centered upon Timothy. He genuinely cared about what was happening in the lives of others.
Then comes Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25-30, another man willing to sacrifice himself in service.
Do you see the progression?
From Christ to Paul.
From Paul to Timothy.
From Paul to Epaphroditus.
And now, through the inspired Word, from Paul to us.
Paul transferred this paradigm of thinking to those who served alongside him, and through his epistles he seeks to transfer that same mind to us.
When we examine these examples, an answer begins to emerge to the question: How do we change our reality?
Perhaps the best way to change our reality is to change someone else’s.
That thought lies at the heart of the renewed mind. A life devoted to serving others is a life that begins to experience an entirely different reality.
Seeing the Mind of Christ in His Own Words
This is where I love to go to the Gospel accounts.
Paul tells us what the mind of Christ is. In the Gospels, however, we see that mind expressed in Christ’s own words and actions. Philippians 2 comes alive before our eyes.
In John 4, after speaking with the Samaritan woman, the disciples urge Jesus to eat. His response reveals His priorities:
“My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”
— John 4:34
That is the mind of Christ.
His satisfaction came from accomplishing the Father’s will.
Then we come to one of the most extraordinary scenes in all the Gospels: John 13.
Jesus rises from supper, lays aside His garments, takes a towel, girds Himself, pours water into a basin, and begins washing His disciples’ feet.
Consider who is holding that towel.
The One who made the world is kneeling before men washing dirt from their feet.
And Judas is there.
Jesus knows what Judas is about to do. He knows the betrayal that is coming. Yet there is no indication that Judas receives different treatment from the others.
Christ washes their feet.
All of them.
The Creator of all things is girded with a towel, performing the work of a servant.
What an exchange!
A crown for a cross—and a dirty towel.
When He finishes, Jesus asks:
“Know ye what I have done to you?”
— John 13:12
Then He explains:
“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”
— John 13:15
He is not merely teaching foot washing. He is demonstrating a mind.
A way of thinking.
A way of viewing ourselves and others.
Later, after Judas has departed, Christ tells the remaining eleven that their love for one another will become the identifying mark of their discipleship:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
— John 13:35
Love expressed through service is the evidence of Christ’s mind at work.
Unfortunately, it is not always the most obvious characteristic of professing Christianity today. One does not have to spend much time on social media to discover that.
The Fellowship of the Father and the Son
In John 17 we hear the Lord Jesus Christ praying shortly before His betrayal and arrest. Here we are allowed to listen to the fellowship between the Father and the Son.
Christ prays that His followers “may be one, as we are” (John 17:11). Later He prays:
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee…”
— John 17:21
And He concludes:
“That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
— John 17:26
Here we begin to understand something about God’s pleasure in His creation.
There can be genuine fellowship.
There can be love freely given and freely returned.
There can be willing service rather than mechanical obedience.
There can be oneness of purpose.
The relationship between the Father and the Son becomes the great pattern.
But that pattern soon leads Christ somewhere terrible.
It leads Him to Gethsemane.
“Shall I Not Drink It?”
Matthew 26 and Luke 22 allow us to see something of Christ’s agony as He approaches the cross. He prays concerning the cup before Him.
He knows what obedience will cost.
Luke tells us of the intensity of His agony. This was not casual obedience. The Lord Jesus Christ was facing suffering with full awareness of what lay ahead.
Then, when the soldiers arrive in John 18, something has changed. The struggle has given way to settled determination.
Peter draws his sword, but Jesus tells him to put it away:
“The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”
— John 18:11
There is tremendous power in a settled commitment to serve.
Hebrews 5 tells us that Christ, “in the days of his flesh,” offered prayers and supplications “with strong crying and tears.” Though He were a Son, “yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:7-8).
This is the mind Paul speaks about in Philippians 2.
It is the mind of willing obedience.
It is the mind of service.
It is the mind that considers the Father’s will greater than personal comfort.
And it is this obedience that helps us understand why the Lamb receives such extraordinary glory in Revelation.
Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look unto Jesus:
“Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The cross was not the end of the story.
There was joy on the other side.
There was the accomplishment of the Father’s purpose. There was redemption. There was resurrection. There was glory.
Philippians 2 therefore continues:
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.”
— Philippians 2:9
The One who humbled Himself is exalted.
The Servant is glorified.
The Lamb who was slain is worthy.
Working With Fear and Trembling
This helps us understand Paul’s words immediately afterward:
“Wherefore, my beloved… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
— Philippians 2:12
Why fear and trembling?
Because we have just seen that the mind of Christ can lead us into uncomfortable places.
Our Savior Himself faced His service with agony, strong crying, tears, and yet obedience.
Living according to the mind of Christ can be frightening because genuine service costs something.
Paul knew that personally.
He desired to know Christ, “and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10).
This was not theory to Paul.
He had experienced weakness and fear. He reminded the Corinthians:
“And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:3
Yet that was precisely where the power of God became evident.
The Christian life is not a quest to arrange circumstances so that nothing frightens us, inconveniences us, costs us, or causes us to suffer. The mind of Christ teaches us to see something greater than ourselves and then willingly give ourselves to it.
Paul continues:
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
— Philippians 2:13
There is that word again: pleasure.
Revelation 4 told us that all things were created for His pleasure.
Philippians 2 tells us that God works in us according to His good pleasure.
And the example immediately before us is Jesus Christ—the Son who humbled Himself, became a servant, obeyed the Father, and gave Himself for others.
Here is where the creature finds fellowship with the Creator.
We learn what pleases Him, and then we willingly participate in it.
The Joy of Changing Someone Else’s Reality
Paul takes the principle one step further:
“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.”
— Philippians 2:17-18
Notice the paradox.
Paul is being poured out for others—and he rejoices.
This is the renewed mind.
The world tells us that fulfillment comes from arranging life around ourselves: our comfort, our goals, our recognition, our possessions, our experiences, our happiness.
The mind of Christ turns that entire paradigm around.
Fulfillment is discovered in service.
Joy is discovered in giving.
Our reality changes when we begin changing the reality of someone else.
Paul expresses the principle simply in Galatians 6:10:
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
The opportunities are everywhere.
There are people who need encouragement. People who need help. People who need someone to care about their spiritual condition. People who need someone willing to sacrifice time, convenience, attention, resources, and perhaps even comfort on their behalf.
Martin Luther King Jr. famously described life’s “most persistent and urgent question” this way:
“What are you doing for others?”
That question is worth asking.
But for the believer, there is an even greater reason for asking it. Service is not merely a humanitarian ideal. It reflects the mind of our Savior.
If we ask that question honestly, and then answer it not merely with words but with conviction and action, it can transform our lives. It can transform the lives of those around us. And most importantly, it reflects something that pleases God our Father and honors our Savior.
If we ever lack motivation, perhaps we should return in our minds to that room in Jerusalem.
Look again at the Man kneeling before His disciples.
Remember who He is.
He is the One by whom the worlds were made.
He is the One who was in the beginning with God.
He is the One by whom all things were created, visible and invisible.
He is the express image of God and the brightness of His glory.
And there He is—
wearing a dirty towel.
That is the mind of Christ.
And Paul says:
“Let this mind be in you.”