“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.” (Philippians 2:5-11 NASB1995)
Jesus Christ, when he lived on the earth, was fully God and fully human (God incarnate), but without sin. He who is the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and was born as a human baby to a virgin woman of God, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, and thus he was not born with a sin nature as we are. He grew to manhood, and in the last few years of his life he, along with his 12 disciples, spread the message of the gospel of our salvation to the people.
But he was hated by many of his people, many of whom were people of importance, prestige, and/or authority in the temple of God. A group of them followed him around, continually accusing him of things he did not do, looking for ways to trip him up with his words in order to accuse him, so that the people would not listen to him. For they were jealous of him and of his temporary popularity among the people, and they were threatened by him, worried that their own positions of authority might be compromised.
His opponents, though, were so bent on destroying his life that they did not give up, but they continued to accuse him falsely and to try to do everything they could to discredit him and his ministry. And eventually they plotted and carried out his death on a cross, hoping to get rid of him for good. But that backfired on them, for in Jesus’ death, he put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die to sin and obey our Lord. And then Jesus rose from the dead, ascended back to heaven, and sent us the Holy Spirit to continue his work in the hearts of those who believed on the Lord.
And so the gospel of our salvation continued to spread among the people. And many people came to faith in Jesus Christ whose lives were also committed to serving him with their lives, because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and because in his resurrection he conquered sin and death on our behalf so that, by faith in him, we will now live godly and holy lives, pleasing to our Lord, and so we will no longer walk in sin, living to please our flesh and not God. His enemies intended to destroy him and his messages, but God had another purpose in mind. And many people were saved.
Now, when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, to be Lord of our lives, and so we have died with him to sin, and we are now walking with him in obedience to his commands, in holy living, and so we are serving him with our lives in the areas of ministry to which he called us, we are going to be opposed as Jesus was. We will have people who will make it their aim to try to accuse us falsely of what we did not do, and to try to trip us up with our words, because they don’t want people to hear the truth of the gospel.
But despite how we are treated, we must continue in spreading the truth of the gospel and in sharing the truth of what the Scriptures teach about what it means to believe in Jesus. Because we love people with the love of God, we want to see them believe in Jesus, to die to their sins, and to now live for God in walks of obedience to his commands, that they might have salvation (deliverance from addiction to sin) and the hope of eternal life with God. In that way we are having the same attitude as Jesus had, out of love for us.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown
Music by American Melody
“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
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The Attitude of Christ
An Original Work / July 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love