Paul gives us the following admonition in Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” We know full well that without “this mind,” we could not reach our future goal of partaking in the resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ. The mind Paul was referring to was none other than the mind of God the Father which was also in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit, which Christ had “without measure.”
This mind enters our minds when one of God’s true ministers lays hands upon us at baptism. We start off as mere “babes in Christ.” As we grow spiritually, we approach the maturity that God expects of us, by “growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
In due time the expansion of the mind of God and of Christ displaces our carnal mind, which is enmity against God. By its very nature, our carnal mind doesn’t want to be told what to do. Romans 8:7 tells us: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” It is impossible for our carnal mind to be subject to God and to even want to obey Him. That is precisely the reason why we should seek to be baptized once God is revealing His truth to us. It is only through proper baptism that we can receive the Godly mind, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which facilitates spiritual growth until we become more and more Christ-like. We know that this process will be completed at the resurrection. At that time, we will not be able to sin anymore.
Today, we need to concentrate on overcoming sin and developing the mind of Jesus Christ in our lives. As we approach the Passover in less than a month, we should take the opportunity to examine ourselves and put sin out of our lives, so that we will be able to take the Passover in a worthy manner. And as we continue to draw near to God the Father and to Christ, we can be assured that, as a result, “this mind” which was in Christ Jesus, will be truly in us.
