KEY SCRIPTURE: Philippians 3:15-16
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
RELEVANCE
Well, we have one blog post to go, and we're at the big 500. I hope some of the messages have blessed you. Today's post is questioning our like-mindedness.
LIke-minded with whom?
Paul told the Philippians, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: I would have thought that if people were perfect, they would already be like-minded. Would you have thought that? But things are not what they seem.
As many as be perfect? How many? We are asked to look at ourselves—as be Perfect.
In Matthew 5:48, Jesus challenges the Sermon on the Mount multitude about this very subject, saying, Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father is perfect. We have this charge to Be Ye!
He's looking for a perfect heart, and we're looking for a time when our hearts and minds are the same—even as our Father in heaven is perfect. Do we take notice of our Father?
Many don't have a father figure or the right father figure, but the believer doesn't have that reason. Our Father is the perfect example—our example! Therefore, as harsh as it sounds, we are responsible for our problems. If our Father is perfect, all of our mistakes, etc, are our fault. They are our problems.
We don't want to fall far from the tree. Meaning we'd want the same characteristics as our Father. We grow from children to adults and then parents. We must live as we want our children to—with no hypocrisy.
1 Corinthians 2:6 says, Howbeit, we speak wisdom among them that are perfect. We must be like our Father. When we walk too far out of the Father's will into the cup of iniquity, it may be too late.
We see in 1 Corinthians 3:1 onwards Paul challenges them. They were not perfect. They were spiritual milk drinkers with envy, strife, and division. They had strife in their homes and churches with divisions over milk issues—carnal things. We must be careful when dealing with milk issues, as many arguments arise. Our world becomes full of them. Rather, be wise, not getting involved in trivialities, indignation, envy, strife and divisive things that separate the brethren.
1 Corinthians 4:15 states, For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: When we're teaching, are we pupils of the Father or merely instructors? Paul says he has many instructors—those who want to instruct in the Way but not commit to their own change of becoming Father-like. But alarmingly, he found few fathers.
Be thus like-minded. Do we know how to approach the Word? Strong's concordance G5426 says to be minded in a certain way, e.g. we follow the Father, not our own aims. The Holy Spirit never mentions Himself. God reveals that we can follow other-mindedness that isn't of the Father. Where are we with our minds? Are we swearing or filthy-minded, being conditioned by the world?
Philippians 3:16 states Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. We must learn to rule our minds—we don't move outside the Word of the Lord. Our authority stops at the Word. We don't go beyond the boundaries of what has been written. It's above our pay grade, beyond the terms of a teacher's commission. We don't get puffed up committing the sin of presumption.
Romans 8:5 warns us that they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. V6-14 goes on to say that to be carnally minded is death, but for the spiritually minded, there is life and peace. The flesh cannot please the Lord, but as many as are led by the Lord—by the Father—are the sons of God.
The Lord is trying to train our minds with His Word and Holy Spirit to guard the ways so we have a defence against evil. We are to exercise our minds so that we might possess the mind of the Father, extending our abilities and deepening our spirit by the grace and mind of our Lord Jesus Christ.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, I've found it easy to dismiss your intent of being like—to minimise it as a secondary requirement, sitting underneath other "more important" godly measures. Please help me become an exact model of your intentions.
Photo by Kenny Eliason
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