This mind

What are you thinking and What are you excepting

Philippians 2:5 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,”

You need to have this mindset among yourselves

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 1. As God He Emptied Himself (2:5–7)

This must take place in the community, And must be responded to at the individual level

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 1. As God He Emptied Himself (2:5–7)

each” is responsible to apply the imperatives in the context of “one another

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 1. As God He Emptied Himself (2:5–7)

Thus, “within your community learn to develop attitudes of selflessness and humility, considering the needs of one another as top priority.”

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 1. As God He Emptied Himself (2:5–7)

This basic imperative is then qualified as that “which [was] also in Christ Jesus

it is stated this way because we must look backwards at what Christ did

Romans 15:3 “For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.””

Matthew 11:29 “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.”

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

The Epistles of John The Hope of God’s Children (2:28–3:3)

For the moment, however, we live in the period of “not yet,” and we must await a fuller revelation of our intended status.

But although we await this revelation, we can nevertheless have a good idea of what our future state will be. We know that when he appears, we shall be like him.

John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

The Epistles of John The Hope of God’s Children (2:28–3:3)

All this is a solid basis for Christian confidence and joy, and it is one of John’s aims to strengthen this aspect of his readers’ faith. Living in a hostile world, and perhaps with their confidence shaken by the secession of a sizable number of their fellow-church members who proclaimed that they possessed the truth, they needed to be encouraged. John does this by telling them of their privileges as Christians and developing the thought of their hope which rests on Christ

The Epistles of John The Hope of God’s Children (2:28–3:3)

But, as so often in Christian teaching, doctrine has moral implications. Although John has just told us that seeing Jesus will make us like him, it is also true that the condition for seeing Jesus is that we should be morally fit to come into his presence. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (

The Epistles of John The Hope of God’s Children (2:28–3:3)

John was aware that his readers needed to achieve this purity of heart, and therefore he encouraged them to seek to be pure, and so to be like Jesus. The word “pure” is found only here in the Epistle. It was used to denote the outward spotlessness of objects or persons involved in worship (