THE
MIND OF CHRIST
Pastor
Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made
Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant,
and was Made in the likeness of men:
“And
being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every
name:
“That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth: and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father.” (Phil. 2: 5-11).
Hanging
on the Cross of Shame as a common criminal, hearing the jeers and
taunts of His accusers, our Saviour prayed: “Father forgive them
for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast
lots. And the people stood there beholding. And the rulers also with
them derided Him, saying He saved others: let Him save Himself, if He
be Christ, the Chosen of God.
“And
it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the
earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of
the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a
loud voice, He said, Father, into Thine hands I commend My spirit;
and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.
IT
IS FINISHED, FULFILLED AND PAID!
“And
when the Centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying,
Certainly, this was a righteous man.” (Luke 23: 34). St. John
reports: “When Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, It is
finished; and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:
30)
Jesus
cried out in a loud voice, 'tet-el-estai'. That word is taken from
the Greek verb, teleo, which has three essential meanings; 'to finish
something, to bring something to an end; to fulfill something; to pay
that which is owed.'
Jesus
had finished His work. He had brought to an end Satan's power over
those who believe. He had fulfilled all the Scriptures concerning
Himself. He had paid the ransom price for the salvation of the entire
world; past, present and future!
The
Bible says: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, But by His
OWN BLOOD, He entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained
Eternal Redemption for us. How much more shall the Blood of Christ,
Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God.
“By
the which will we are Sanctified through the offering of the BODY of
Jesus Christ Once For All. But this Man after He had offered One
Sacrifice for SINS forever, sat down on the right hand of God. For by
one Offering He hath perfected FOR EVER them that are Sanctified.
“Whereof
the Holy Ghost also is a Witness to us: for after that He had said
before, This is the Covenant that I will make with them after those
days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in
their minds will I write them: And their sins and their iniquities
will I Remember No More. Now where remission of these is, there is no
more offering for sin.
“Having
therefore, brethren, BOLDNESS to enter into the Holiest by the BLOOD
of Jesus. By a new
and Living Way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the VEIL,
that is to say, His flesh; and having an High Priest over the house
of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full Assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled (Jesus' Blood) from an evil
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb.9: 12, 14;
10: 12:10,12, 14-22)
The
holy blood of Jesus that was shed on the Cross at Golgotha is ALIVE.
It is so powerful that when a guilty person cries out for mercy and
forgiveness, he is instantly pardoned by God and made perfect in
Christ Jesus. The shed Blood of Jesus has cleansed and washed them
away. They are gone forever, never to be remembered anymore!
ACCEPTED IN THE
BELOVED!
He had
come down from Heaven to do His Father's will; to atone for the sins
of His creation, which had gone astray. He had come to earth to bring
us back to the Father; to die on that cursed TREE as God's Eternal
paschal Lamb and to give us Eternal Life.
By
God's grace alone, all who trust in His shed blood are forgiven,
cleansed and made partakers of His nature!
St.
Paul stated: “According as He hath Chosen us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and without blame
before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure
of His will. To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath
made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Eph. 1: 4-6)
Jesus
of Nazareth said to His disciples: “Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12: 24).
Jesus
was that corn of wheat and we are the FRUIT of that death – the
Fruit of 'that corn of wheat'. And billions of blood washed souls
across the world today, are the fruit of that historic death; when
God became a man! When the Saviour died in the place of the sinner!
St.
Peter stated: “For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation (empty lifestyle) received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious BLOOD of Christ as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1: 18, 19)
The
Bible says: “For ye know the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that,
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye
through His poverty might be rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9); “For He hath
made Him (Jesus Christ) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we
might be made the Righteousness of God through Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21)
AS MOSES LIFTED UP THE
SERPENT!
Jesus
of Nazareth stated: “And no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but He
that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man which is in Heaven.
(He was still in the Bosom of His Father). And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so MUST the Son of man be lifted up
(on the Cross).
Several
Truths are here revealed: First, when Jesus was incarnated (God in
human flesh) and took upon Himself the specially created body which
the Holy Spirit placed in Mary's womb, He did not cease being God.
Jesus emptied Himself, but He was still in the “Bosom of the
Father.” (John 1: 18)
The
Bible says: “Wherefore when He (Christ) cometh into the world, He
sayeth, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a BODY Thou
hast prepared for Me.” (Heb.10: 5)
“Christ’s
existence as true God and true man, as well as the reality of the
transcendent Lord of glory entering into history to save His people,
are both profound mysteries. What we do know is that the Son did not
give up any of the attributes that are essential to deity in the
incarnation.” - anon
His
incarnation manifested the form of God in the likeness of sinful
flesh, yet was absolutely pure and sinless. Augustine wrote, “He is
said to have ‘emptied himself’ in no other way than by taking the
form of a servant, not by losing the form of God. For that nature by
which He is equal to the Father in the form of God remained immutable
while He took our mutable nature.” (ACCNT 8, p. 231).
John
Calvin said: “Christ, indeed, could not divest himself of Godhead;
but He kept it concealed for a time, that it might not be seen, under
the weakness of the flesh. Hence He laid aside His glory in the view
of men, not by lessening it, but by concealing it.”
Our
Lord Jesus used the incident of Moses in the wilderness bringing
divine healing to the snake–bitten Israelites, in prophesying His
own death on the cross. They sinned and murmured against the Lord and
Moses, which brought His judgment against them. The Lord allowed
dangerous snakes to bite them, after which they repented and cried
out for forgiveness and healing.
LOOK
UNTO JESUS AND LIVE!
God
hears prayers of repentance and instructed Moses to construct a
serpent of brass, attach it to a very high pole and lift it up for
everyone to see. All who had been bitten were invited to look at the
serpent of brass for healing. Anyone who had been bitten in that vast
crowd of several millions would be healed if they followed Moses'
instructions. If they ignored or refused his invitation they would
die.
The
Bible says, “And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a
pole, and it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when
he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Num. 21: 9): “Christ
Jesus hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on the
tree.” (Gal.3: 13)
This
was a type of Jesus who would bear the curse because of our sins. As
the serpent of brass spoke of God's judgment because of sin, it also
spoke of His judgment against Satan who would be destroyed by the
sacrificial death of His Son on our behalf. The vicarious death of
Jesus Christ would liberate those who by faith looked at Christ our
Saviour. All they had to do was to look at the dead serpent which
spoke of the Crucified Jesus who died to bring us life. A defeated
Satan cannot harm anyone!
“For
as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He
also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through DEATH He
might DESTROY him that had the power of death, that is the DEVIL: And
DELIVER them who through the fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14, 15)
Jesus
said: “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of
this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men
unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.” (John
12:31-33)
Salvation
is the work of God alone. We cannot save ourselves. He alone has paid
the penalty for our sins. All we have to do is to LOOK to Jesus: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the SIN which doth
so easily beset us , and let us run with patience the race that is
set before us.
“Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher (perfecter) of our faith: Who for
the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the
shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Heb. 12:1,2)
The
Bible says: “For by grace are ye SAVED through faith; and that not
of yourselves: not is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them.” (Eph. 2:8-10)
JESUS'
DEATH: A GREAT VICTORY!
Some
ignorant theologians have said that Jesus failed in His mission by
being crucified before He could complete His ministry. How totally
wrong they are and out of touch with Biblical reality!
Speaking
at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on September 24, 2015, Pope
Francis made this false statement: The
cross shows us a different way of measuring success. Ours is to plant
the seeds. God sees to the fruits of our labors. And if at times our
efforts and works seem to fail and not produce fruit, we need to
remember that we are followers of Jesus Christ and his life, humanly
speaking, ended in failure, the failure of the cross.”
Does
He not know the Holy Scriptures that prophesied His death and
resurrection hundreds of years before his birth in Bethlehem? And
that the death of Christ on Golgotha was a glorious Victory? Our
Saviour had come to die! Did Jesus Christ fail? A thousand time NO!
Jesus
said: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so MUST the Son of God be lifted up.” (John 3: 14): “But for us
also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised
up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offenses,
and was raised again for our justification.” (Rom. 4: 24, 25)
St.
Paul stated: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein
ye stand. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor.15: 1-4)
“Looking
for that Blessed Hope, and glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us, that He might
redeem us from all iniquity... (Titus 2: 13, 14). Jesus Christ's
Death was a glorious Victory because He arose from the dead, having
conqoured death, Hell (Hades) and the Grave!
Jesus
promised: “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in
Me; or else believe Me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall ye
do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto
My Father.
“And
whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I
will do it. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of
Truth;
“Whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not neither knoweth
Him; but ye know Him for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I
will not leave you comfortless. I will come unto you. But the
Comforter Which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My
name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
“Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.” (John 14:11-14; 16-18; 26,27)
HE
PROMISED TO GIVE US POWER!
Before
Jesus could pour out His Holy Spirit upon the church, He had to pour
out His precious blood on Golgotha to ransom and redeem us! He met
the demands of Divine Justice in the Courts of Heaven to pay the sin
debt of Adam's High Treason against Almighty God!
JESUS
said: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you
that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is
come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of
judgment:
“Howbeit,
when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all
truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall
hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He
shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it
unto you.” (John 16: 7-11).
“Of
Sin, because they believe not on Me; of Righteousness because I go
unto My Father, and ye see Me no more; of Judgment, because the
prince of this world is Judged.”
Rejecting
Christ is the greatest Sin. Christ's Righteousness purchased our
Redemption. Jesus the Righteous One gave Himself through His
vicarious Death and Resurrection, so that we could be born again and
become righteous through Him. The Holy Spirit was sent to Demonstrate
Christ's Victory over the Devil!
After
His resurrection the glorified Christ appeared to His disciples. More
than 500 men at one time saw Him and head Him speak of the things
pertaining to the Kingdom of God: “And, being assembled together
with them, commanded them that they should not leave Jerusalem, but
wait for the promise of the Father, which saith He, ye have heard of
Me.
“For
John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence. But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto
Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1: 4,5,8)
Regarding
the Holy Spirit, D.L.MOODY stated: “God has a good many children
who just barely got life but no power for service. The Holy Spirit
coming upon them in power is distinct and separate from conversion. I
believe we should accomplish more in one week than we should in years
if we had only His fresh Baptism.
“A
great many think that because they have been filled once, they are
going to be full for all time after. But my friends, we are leaky
vessels and have to be kept under the fountain all the time in order
to keep full. Let us keep near Him.”
J.B.
PHILLPS said: “Every time we say, 'I believe in the Holy Spirit' we
believe that there is a listening God able and willing to to enter
human personality and change it.”
ANDREW
BONAR stated: “Let us put ourselves under the Spirit's teaching
anew, to be taught the Word and how to preach the Word, not our own
thoughts upon it. One spark of lightning is worth a thousand tame
candle flames, so one sentence given by the Holy Spirit is worth
volumes of any other.
“I
long more and more to be filled with the Spirit and to see my
congregation moved and melted under the Word as in great revival
times. The place was shaken where they were assembled because the
Lord had come in power.”
JESUS
GAVE US THE GREAT COMMISSION!
“And
He said unto them, GO YE into all the world, and Preach the Gospel
unto every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these SIGNS
shall follow them that believe;
"In My Name shall they cast out
devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpents (St. Paul in Malta); and if they drink any deadly thing
(pastors in some Soviet Camps) it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the SICK, and they shall RECOVER.” (Mark 16:15-18)
DID
JESUS KEEP HIS WORD? He most certainly did! The Book of Acts gives
attestation to that fact: “So then after the Lord had spoken unto
them, He was received up into Heaven, and sat on the right hand of
God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working
with them, and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen.”
(Mark 16: 19, 20)
St.
Paul stated: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened,
that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches
of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
“And
what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe
according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in
Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him on His own right
hand in the Heavenly Places, far above all principality and power,
and might, and dominion, and EVERY name that is named in this world,
but also in that which is to come.
“And
hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the HEAD over
all things to the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him
which filleth all in all.” (Eph. 1:17-22)
AND
THERE IS MUCH MORE!
It
is no wonder then, that MARTIN LUTHER who brought the church out of
the Great Apostasy, stated: “It will take all eternity for us to
understand such things as Grace and Gospel!” Noted historian PHILIP
SCHAFF, said of Martin Luther: “He lived and moved in the heart of
the Scriptures and this was the secret of his strength.”
There
is nothing as profound, gracious and amazing as the love of God for
us and His great Gift of Eternal Life wrought by the Sacrifice of His
own dear Son to REDEEM us from sin, fear, sickness and eternal
damnation! All glory to His Name for evermore!
St.
Paul, former persecutor of Christians, wrote: “For the love of God
constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one judge, that if
One died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that
they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
Him which died for them, and rose again.
“Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: all things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new. All things are of God, Who
hath reconciled us to Himself by Christ Jesus, and hath given to us
the ministry of reconciliation.
“That
is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation.
“Now
then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by
us, we pray you be reconciled to God. For He hath made Him (Jesus
Christ) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5: 17-21)
TO
CONSTRAIN MEANS TO PREVENT!
To
constrain means to prevent by force. It means to restrain. It implies
that a power is exercised in our behalf. The love of God in Christ
prevents us from falling, being overcome by Satan and the evil powers
of this world and our own selves. The love of God constrains us,
protects us from the devil, the world and our flesh. It retrains us
from leaving the Ministry to greener fields of endeavor or
opportunity!
It
was said about JOHNATHON EDWARDS: “When he found that his own soul
needed Jesus Christ, it became a passion with him to take Jesus
Christ to every soul.”
And JOHN CALVIN testified: “I gave up all
for Christ and what have I found? I have found everything in Christ.”
HUDSON TAYLOR wrote in 'Go Forward on Your Knees': “We are asked
to do an impossible task, lest we work with Him Who can do the
impossible.”
Here
is a great truth often overlooked by many Christians: “That no
flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ
Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1: 29, 30).
Through
the REDEMPTIVE work of Jesus Christ for us on the Cross, God the
Father has made us ONE with Himself through Christ. This is made
possible by the power of God alone and cannot be achieved otherwise.
Only by the precious blood of the Crucified and Resurrected Jesus
Christ are we accepted in the Beloved and adopted into the Family of
God!
Through
His Holy Spirit, believers in Christ receive His wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification and redemption. What does that mean? Through His mercy and grace ALONE we have become the Wisdom of God,
the Righteousness of God, the Sanctification of God and Redemption of
God in Christ. Praise God forever!
FOR
HIS GLORY ALONE!
Not
only are we born again by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, but we
receive His nature, power, life, love and peace. We have heart
fellowship with God. He imparts to us His very life. He gives us His
nature. He is in us and we are in Him. (Col.1: 10-15).
We receive the
mind of Christ and think like He thinks, speak like He speaks and in
His name we do the works of God. (John 14: 11-14)
“Blessed
be the God and Father of out Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places in Christ.
According
as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
“Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. To the praise of
the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
The
Bible declares: “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in
the world.” (1 John 4: 4). The very righteousness, life and power
that is in the Father has been given to us by the Holy Spirit!
He
transforms us and we are changed from glory to glory. His words are
Spirit, light, life, hope and peace. God's Word declares: “For in
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and ye are
complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
(Col.2: 9 10)
WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!
WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!
St.
Paul declared: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world,
but the spirit which is of God; that we might know things that are
freely given to us of God. But the natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can the know them, because they are spiritually concerned...
For
who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we
have the mind of Christ.”
(1 Cor. 16: 12-16)
He
quotes Isaiah the prophet: “Who hath directed the Spirit of the
Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught Him?” (Is. 40:13).
Concerning the Messiah, the prophet declared: “And there shall come
forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch
shall grow out of his roots.
“And
the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”
(Is. 11: 1,2). This is a deep study, but we know that Jesus Christ
exhibited all those gifts and fruits. And it humbles us immensely,
that we can by His grace alone, be a partaker with Him!
No
one else, except Jesus Christ, has ever been or ever will be righteous,
perfect, holy, sinless, good, kind, merciful, honest, powerful and
compassionate! Only through His atoning blood, are we able to be
joined to Him and be a partaker of His great love, mercy and grace!
We
can boldly confess:
I am God's property, purchased by the shed BLOOD of my Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. By His sacrificial, vicarious death for me on
the Cross, I am saved and healed. And by His glorious resurrection
from the dead I am justified and made one with God!
Hallelujah!
My sins are all washed away in Calvary's Flow. All my sicknesses,
pains, diseases and weaknesses have been put on Jesus Christ, my
Substitute, and I have been REDEEMED from the curse of the Law!
(Gal.3:13; Ex.15: 26; Ex. 23:25; Ps. 103: 1-3). .Amen.
