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. 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, 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 which is above every name:
Though Jesus was in the form of God, He did not feel that He was being robbed when He had to relinquish His position to become man. Most people would argue with the fact that why they would have to leave their place of glory to become man. Jesus did not hold on tightly to His position as God. He was not position-minded. All He wanted was to fulfill the desire of God the Father. This is selflessness!
Walking with the mind of Christ is walking with a selfless attitude. God wants you to be selfless. Most fights and conflicts are a result of selfishness. Let nothing be done out of strife or vain glory. Vain glory is pride on display. It is self-exaltation. Most people always want to appear superior and always want to be noticed. Do not always seek your own advantage. If there is nothing to gain, selfish people would not want to be a part of whatever may be happening.
Christ made Himself of no reputation. As believers, we must walk with the same attitude. Do not try to display your knowledge or achievements even if you have a reason to do so. Christ accepted to be made inferior to other members of the God-head in suffering death for humanity. He accepted the Father as His leader and accepted to be guided by the Holy Spirit. These are all equal members of the God-head of which He was a part of. He learnt what it meant to obey and do the pleasure of someone who He was equal with as God Himself.
Have you ever thought about this? Would you be willing to take instructions from someone who in your opinion you feel equal to, someone who is your age mate, a colleague, if such a person is suddenly made your leader?
In God’s kingdom, the way up, is down. Make a decision to walk with this mind as the Holy Spirit strengthens you in Jesus’ name, amen.
Mathew 20:25-28 says “But Jesus called unto him, and said, ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.
Jesus walked in humility giving us a lesson of how to humble ourselves. He called God His Father and accepted to be called His Son when the Bible reveals the deity of Jesus in the following scripture;
The Bible records in the book of John 1:1-3, In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
The deity of Jesus was unquestionable, however in humility he humbled himself to be referred to as a Son of One who He was equal to. He did not feel robbed to relinquish His equality. He took instructions from Him, became obedient even unto the shameful death of the cross. He learnt to be submissive even when he was not fully in agreement. He said, ‘if it be thy will, let this cup pass over me, nevertheless not my will but your will be done.
The conflicts between children and their parents, followers and leaders, wives and their husbands, staffs and bosses is because many children, followers, wives, staffs have not yet received the mind of Christ and seen the magnitude of what Christ did with respect to his relationship with His Father. Wherefore God also has highly exalted him and given Him a name which is above every name. If you want your parents, your leaders, your husbands, your bosses to highly exalt you, the key is to humble yourself and be obedient unto their instructions.
In Philippians 2: 9-10, the Bible says “wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given him a 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.”
The authority vested in the name of Jesus was a reward of His submission to His heavenly father. He did the will of His Father; as a result His Father highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name. This reveals to us that authority is a reward of submission. Any believer who desires to walk in authority must pay attention to the subject of submission. Many people desire to walk in the power of God without being submissive to God. We submit to God by submitting to doing what God’s word says and submitting to the people God has placed over our lives to govern us.
The seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19:4, were described as vagabond Jews. They took it upon themselves to call the name of Jesus over a demon-possessed person. These Jews were vagabond in their lifestyle. The dictionary meaning of a vagabond is someone who wonders from place to place, one who lives a carefree life without any control. Spiritual vagabonds are unruly people; that is they resist being controlled or being told what to do. They live their lives as they please and do not take instructions from anyone. They hate people who try to correct them.
A vagabond Jew or a vagabond believer is that Christian who does whatsoever he likes. He does not listen to anyone and is not under anyone’s control. He goes to any church he likes at anytime. He is not under any form of spiritual governance. He has no one who he can say, ‘this is my Pastor’, even though he may be attending a church. When you try to get close to such people to know about their lives, they run away because they do not want anyone to tell them what to do.
The vagabond Jews in Acts 19:4 tried to use the authority which is in the name of Jesus to cast out a demon. The demon said to them; ‘Jesus, I know, Paul, I know but who are ye?’ The demon-possessed man leaped on them, beat them to nakedness and they ran out of the house bleeding. Why did these men go through this horrifying experience? They did not understand that the authority to use the name of Jesus is only given to those who walk in submission.
Last Line: Have you ever wondered what it means to give your life to Christ and be saved? Are you born again? God sent Jesus to die for all your sins so that you will not have to be punished for the same. To be saved means to simply accept Christ Jesus as your substitutionary sacrifice for your sins and to make him lord over your life. Surrender your life to Christ today by asking Jesus to forgive you your sins; ask Him to come into your life and to make you a new person. If you are facing challenges and require counseling/prayers do not hesitate to contact me. I will be willing to assist as much as I can.