UNITED ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE MIND AND FEELING OF CHRIST
By Pastor Paulus Budiono
Lemah Putro, Sunday, September 29, 2019
Shalom,
Truly we always long for the peace from God in Jesus Christ because all that we get from the world are just anxiety and uncertainty.
While he was in prison, Paul didn’t feel stressed, desperate or wanted to die although to die was gain for him because he could live with the Lord forever (Philippians 1:21). However, he had joy and peace and believed that he needed to live on in the flesh to bear fruit from his labor (v. 22). To give fruit means not to keep the fruit for ourselves but to share it to those who need it (those who are weak and sick) so that they can be helped. What kind of fruit was he referring to? It was explained in Galatians 5:22-23 that there are 9 kinds of fruit of the Spirit, namely: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Even Paul also needed these. In short, everyone needs fruit ready to be shared with one another.
The Apostle Paul’s movement in prison was constricted but through his writing he gave advice to the Philippians (and us), “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,“ (Philippians 2:1-5)
Question: Do we need to put others’ thought and feelings into our lives? To what extent do we let others’ thoughts and feelings influence us lest they take a full control of our lives and make us slaves who do not have the right on our own thoughts and feelings?
It is proven that there are consolation and comfort in Christ that we need so much because there is no one who is struggle-free and we often need the comfort and consolation from others as well.
The truth is, The Lord can do anything without our help, but He involves us by sharing His grace and blessings not to be kept alone. In other words, the Lord wants us to be active and not just leave everything done by Him. Illustration: When your foot is twisted, your head tells you to massage your foot. So, the head controls, the other parts of the body will carry out the command of the head (brain). Jesus is the Head of the churches and we are members of His body (Ephesians 5: 23, 30). As members of the body, we cannot stand on ourselves but need a fellowship and unity to be able to help each other. Paul knew that he could not get out of prison to have a fellowship with the congregation but he had the mind and heart of the Lord to help others through his writing.
Introspection: have we, in our social life, helped those who need consolation, attention, help and others?
The Apostle Paul said sternly to put Christ’s mind and heart in us. This must be our foundation so that we will never remove Jesus Christ from our lives because there are countries starting to erase the words “Jesus, God, Lord and Heaven”. Can we imagine reading spiritual books without the words “God, Jesus, Christ, Savior” in them? What will happen to our hope for the future? We must remember that destruction lies in wait outside Jesus. The Apostle Paul had a strong foundation when he wrote those verses because he had the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2: 11, 16).
We cannot deny that our parents have important roles in shaping and affecting our way of thinking as well as our behaviors. Doesn’t fruit fall from its tree and for every tree is known by its own fruit (Luke 6:44)? The upbringing of parents that keeps being practiced will shape our minds over the years.
What is mind here? In English: mind = thoughts, feelings, understanding. To be able to put the mind and feeling of Christ, we need to always practice with one another to nurture our spiritual growth. Hebrews 5:14 stated that solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Mind also means feeling. Do we put our emotion ahead of our clear mind? Beware, uncontrolled emotion often leads to silly action that destroys ourselves. The older we are, the more expert we should be in controlling our emotion by not getting offended easily. Getting offended easily could be the result of using our own mind more than Christ’s. Jesus is the perfect example when it comes to a controlled feeling; He does not get angry easily or act impulsively. He did so many good deeds but when He was mocked even crucified, He still gave His best and that was His life and forgiveness for every sinner and those who hated Him. Are we willing to learn from Him? Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29).
Clearly, only Jesus is the perfect example of gentleness and lowliness in heart because even Moses who was acknowledged in the Bible as the humblest person on earth (Numbers 12:3) could not control his anger in the end that caused him to be forbidden to enter Canaan because he did not respect the holiness of God in front of the Israelites (Number 20:8-12). So, how a person behaves relates to his faith. Our faith in the Lord is reflected in our action and behavior when facing struggles.
Let’s put our mind and feelings in Jesus (not in another man no matter how great he is) just like the confession of the Apostle Paul who said that he was just a wise master builder, having laid the foundation, Christ Jesus, another built on it (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). So, the church of the Lord is built on the foundation of Christ’s sacrifice.
The Apostle Paul said that Jesus was the only foundation of the buildings. He noticed that the Corinthians had been divided as they said, “I’m of Paul”, or “I’m of Apollos”, or “I’m of Cephas”, or “I’m of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:12). He reminds us to be careful in establishing a building, do we build it on top of the strong unity based on the mind and feeling of Christ or based on our own will?
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul explained about two buildings that were built on the same foundation – Jesus Christ, but the materials used were different (1 Corinthians 3:12). They are:
- Wood, hay, straw.
The Bible says all flesh is grass and it withers but the word of the Lord endures forever (1 Peter 1:24). Men are very fragile with their ever-changing minds; that is why we long for the Word of God that can change our weaknesses.
To build it from wood will not be strong enough too because wood will crumble and break. It is the same as hay that is empty inside causing it to be so lightweight. Wood, hay or straw are all combustible materials.
Introspection: Are we made from wood or dried grass – our emotion is easily burnt while mingling with the other members of the Body of Christ as a result of putting our foundation on our own minds.
- Gold, silver, precious stones.
Gold, silver, precious stones were taken from special mines (difficult places) to be tested by fire (cf. 1 Peter 1:7). Do you know the materials used in the New Jerusalem? The path is made of gold, the gates are of pearls, the wall is of jasper. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with all kinds of precious stones and the city is of pure gold (Revelation 21:9-21).
The bride of the Lord is pictured as the New Jerusalem. If we long to be His bride, we have to put the mind and feeling of Jesus Christ in us. That way, all disputes due to different opinions may still happen but we won’t easily abandon the fellowship just because of offence, anger and so forth.
How can we all be of one love, one soul and one purpose? There is no other way except surrender our diverse mind and feelings to the mind and feeling of the Lord through His Word. By loving His Word, we are transformed from time to time – we have to put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him so that there is no more difference in mind and feelings (the mind of the Greek is different from that of the Jews, the feeling of circumcised is not similar to that of uncircumcised etc.) because Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:9-11).
We have to admit that to be able to think like Christ needs a great sacrifice for our flesh – throwing away our old mind and feelings, forgiving those who hurt us, being humble, putting others ahead of ourselves. However, with determination and practice, we will be changed to be the same image as God the Trinity and will live in the New Jerusalem with Him forever. Amen.
Video ibadah ini dapat disimak di Ibadah Umum - Kesatuan yang berlandaskan Pikiran dan Perasaan Kristus - Pdt. Paulus Budiono.