The driver of the train had seen all of this happening, but
he couldn’t stop. He blew his
whistle. He stomped on the brakes, but
he couldn’t stop the train. Five cars
ran right over Autrey’s head before it stopped.
He said when the train came to a stop all he could hear were the screams
of the onlookers. So, he shouted at the
top of his lungs, “We’re ok down here, but I’ve got two little girls up there
that need to know their daddy’s alive.”
Suddenly screams turned to cheers.
The power was cut. The cars were
moved manually, and Cameron Hollopeter, the 20-year-old film student, was taken
to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York.
But Autrey refused medical attention saying, “There’s nothing wrong with
me that a little laundry detergent can’t fix.”
You see, the depth of the trench was 22”. Cameron and Wesley were at 21 ½”. The only thing Autrey suffered was some
grease on the top of his blue knit cap.
Now what would possess a man to lay down his life for a
stranger like that? According to Paul,
it’s a different kind of mind, it’s the mind of Christ.
If you were with us last week you know that Paul is
addressing a conflict that exists in the Philippian Church. Though the Christians at Philippi are
arguably the most well-adjusted collection of Christians Paul encounters in his
church planting, they nevertheless have conflicts. We see Paul referring to that at the end of
chapter one.
But in chapter two, verse 3, he expands his discussion by
citing the basic pattern and motive of the human mind. He says, “Do nothing from ‘selfish ambition’ eritheia or “conceit” kenadoxia (empty glory). And last week we detailed both the pattern or
methodology and the motive that the natural human mind always employs. Elsewhere Paul calls this “the mind of the
flesh”. But that’s not the only mind
Paul details. In Philippians 2:5-11 Paul
sets forth the elements of the mind of Christ.
He says in verse 5, “Have this mind among yourselves that is yours
in Christ Jesus.” So what is the nature
of this mind? How does the mind of
Christ differ from the natural human mind?
For an answer to these questions, and more, we turn to our text this
Sunday – Philippians 2:5-11.
As mentioned last week, this text is among the highest
points of all Scripture. The Christology
(the study of Christ) that is on display here is breathtaking. Anyone who struggles knowing who Christ is
and what He’s done need only pause at these seven verses to see a full detailed
description. As one commentator has
famously said, “To comment on these words is a high and holy privilege that no
one should take lightly. If the Bible
were a mountain range, this text would be among its one or two highest peaks.”
So, in preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the
following:
1. What
do scholars have to say about Philippians 2:5-11? Is it original with Paul?
2. In
Proverbs 3:5 we read about leaning on our own understanding. How is that different than trusting on the
Lord’s understanding?
3. What
does Paul mean in verse 6 when he says that Christ was “in the form of God”?
4. How
does the word “form” compare to the word form in verse 7?
5. What
is the relationship between the “conceit” of verse 3 and the emptying of verse
7?
6. How
are verses 7 and 8 the essence of the Gospel?
7. Why
does God exalt Jesus, bestowing on Him a name that is above every name? (see verse 9)
8. How
is it that a Christian can choose to operate by his/her human mind or the mind
of Christ? Do pagans have such a
choice? Why or why not?
9. How
is humility the antidote to every conflict, internal or external?
10. How
is true glory a gift to be celebrated rather than a thing to be grasped? And how does it breed love?
See you Sunday!
