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I am awed – amazed – by the fact that Jesus left Heaven to come to earth in the form of man. Even more, He came to earth and lived a life of perfect devotion and perfect obedience to the Father. Jesus did all that the Father asked Him to do.
Philippians 2:5 (NKJV) states: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
What does having the mind of Christ look like in our daily lives?
Well, when we have the mind of Christ, we willingly lay our will aside to carry out God’s Will. In John 6:38Jesus said: For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (NKJV).
When we have the mind of Christ, we are obedient to God. Philippians 2:8 tells us the extent of Jesus’ obedience. The verse states: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (NKJV).
When we have the mind of Christ, we are fully committed to doing the things that God wants us to do. In John 17:4 Jesus said: I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do(NKJV).
Matthew 4:1-2 (NKJV) states: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
As we read the full account of the temptation of Christ as recorded in Matthew 4, we see that though Jesus was hungry – in a physically weakened state – he did not fall to the devil’s temptation. Here are just two reasons how Jesus was able to have victory over the enemy.
First, Jesus was spiritually prepared. Jesus knew God’s Word. The same applies to our lives. In order for us to be spiritually prepared, we must spend time reading, meditating, and studying God’s Word daily. We must also understand God’s Word so that we can apply it to our lives. Psalm 119:130 (NKJV) states: The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
Second, Jesus was fully submitted and surrendered to the Father. James 4:7 (NKJV) states: Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. We have a clear instruction that we are to submit to God. When God is the sovereign authority over our lives, we will not yield to the authority of the devil, no matter the temptation.
Jesus came to earth to do God’s Will. And He did not allow anything to get in the way of fulfilling what He was called to do. We too can have this kind of spiritual fortitude.
When we know, or God reveals to us, that we are not giving our all as we follow Jesus, let us not delay in making a change. Let us ask God for help so we can be fully committed to a life of following Jesus. Let us ask God for help so that the way we live our lives bears witness that we have the mind of Christ.
Except where indicated, scripture references are from the American Standard Version (ASV), Darby Translation (DARBY), or King James Version (KJV) – all public domains.
