Let us read from Philippians 2:5-16, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.” From verse 5 to 14 we see that Paul talks about what has to happen inwardly. And verse 15 shows how our outward life should be and finally verse 16 talks of an upward relationship.
Inside us we should have the attitude of Jesus. When we read these verses, we see the Christ like nature of emptying ourselves and being humble. Jesus was tempted in every way, yet He didn’t sin. That is the example for us to follow. God wants us to be transformed from our inner man. Inconsistency in our Christian life is because we don’t have this attitude of Jesus. In Job 42:5,6 we read, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.” We all know about the trials that Job faced and at the end of all this, these are the words he says. Inwardly he has been transformed and these words he speaks from the heart. As we grow in our spiritual life, our inner man should have more of the attitude of Jesus. We should be careful that we shouldn’t be filled with only knowledge but we should be careful to see if we are being transformed to the image of Christ. A daily repentance and humbling oneself should happen. We know of how in Isaiah 6, Isaiah understands that he is unclean when he sees God. When we see our uncleanliness and the holiness of God, we will put our faces in the dust and be humble. Even as we listen to many truths, we should be careful not to have an attitude of pride thinking we have achieved it all, rather be keen to have a Christ-like attitude within. We should be eager to repent and keep our conscience clear. As God gives us light; we have to repent in those areas in order for God to give more light in other dark areas of our life. We should be continually working out our salvation as we go into this world. All grumbling and disputing comes because of the lack of humility. If we come to the presence of God and repent, God will open our hearts because we are in a humble state.
When we set right our inward attitude, our outward nature will be transformed also. We don’t have to prove that we are blameless and innocent, but when we are eager to set our inward nature as the nature of Jesus, God will show that we are blameless and innocent. We read that we have to offer our lives as a living sacrifice. And then, the nature that is on the side will also be reflected onto the outside. We read in Philippians 2 that we are to be lights in this world. Our calling is to be a blessing to others. We read in Luke 10 about the good Samaritan. In verse 33 we read that, “he felt compassion”. Jesus said that we have to be like this Samaritan and show mercy. We know how the Samaritan took care of the man he found on the road. This man was not a friend or brother. We should also have this character of the Samaritan to bless those around us, to tend to their wounds and take of them. We can bless others with a word of encouragement or with some help. Our God is concerned of the fallen humans – we see this nature of God in the parable of the lost sheep. We should have this nature within us too. In Acts 10:38 we read, “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” This is how we will be too, if God is within us. He will give us a heart to do good things and help those who are oppressed by the devil. We shouldn’t be selfish, but have this attitude of Jesus within us. When we have humility, we will regard others as important than us.
Lastly, in verse 16 we read of what has to happen upwardly, that at the day of Christ we will have reason to glory. This can happen only when our inward and outward nature is like that of Jesus. In Philippians 3:13 we read what Paul says, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” And in verse 8 he says, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ”. This is the upward call that should have too. We have to be free from all these earthly things in order to put our hope completely in Jesus. Whatever earthly gains a person has will not be important for a spiritual person. We know all of these things as knowledge, but let us check if it is a reality.
In Romans 12:1 we read, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” An eagerness to present ourselves pleasing to God shows an upward hope that we have. The second verse reads, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” In relation to our outward life, this verse will help us to have the Christ like nature.
Jesus came as a man and has shown us the way to live. He lived only 33 years and showed us how to live and asks us to follow his example. Let me read to you a write up about the life of Jesus.
“He was born in an obscure village, the son of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he became a wandering preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of those things one usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through a mockery of a trial. He was executed by the state. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.”
This simple man has asked us to follow Him. We can also be like Jesus each day – inwardly, outwardly and upwardly. And these 3 will start with the transformation inwardly and then our outward life will be transformed and the crown of life will be waiting for us. May God help us all!
