THINK LIKE CHRIST. 1st Peter 4:1 . Our Lord Jesus has been through whatever way we will pass. His life here proved that in His body, every lot was cast against Him, hoping He would endure enough of every form of human suffering, that He would not turn away from the cost of sin’s awful debt He alone could pay, so that we could be saved. To a lesser degree, we must share His sufferings when we represent our Lord to the world. The example of Christ's suffering and the inward reflection it invites teach us the value of patience in light of a faithful Creator [vs. 1, 12, 19].
Our minds must go beyond what we bear at the moment, so the banner of the cross can be unfurled. It will never be popular to suffer for Christ; sinful flesh avoids suffering if it can. But it is life’s highest privilege to identify with Him who suffered in His flesh as a man. The suffering may be physical; it may be short or long; it may attack emotions through the family and break your heart. The Lord, when down here, often had to suffer alone in poverty and hunger, in soul and physical pain. He remained true to the reason He was sent. Sin loses its hold on us when we do the same, following His example and the way He went. He gives the grace to meet every situation, every temptation, and every obligation that comes my way. We need His help to lay hold of His strength in our weakness.
It was anticipated, necessary, and unavoidable. He was not caught unaware by His suffering. In the flesh, as a man, He endured pain and anguish of body, soul, and spirit; all part of His suffering. In His mind, He was prepared because there was a reason for it: His suffering. It had to be; there was no other way. Human sin made it happen; His suffering. It was imposed by wicked men, supported by easily swayed people; His suffering. It was consistent with the will of God; it was known to Him before it happened; His suffering. He was just and was taking the place of the unjust ones in His suffering.
He knew the reason; He was willing to endure the consequences of His suffering. There was no other person, no one capable, no other substitute to take His suffering. His soul was troubled because He could not be saved from the hour of His suffering. He was troubled in His spirit as He anticipated the separation from God that His suffering would bring. His body was troubled by the pain, the abuse, and the weight of sin’s cost – when He suffered.
Yet He was armed in His mind, prepared in every way, for the time of His suffering led to the time of His glory in resurrection, ascension, and dominion in the future. His face was set as a flint, the mirror of His mental strength as He anticipated His suffering and the glory that should follow.
Yet He was armed in His mind as He tasted death for every man. The act of separation from God was a bitter taste, and His visage was marred more than any man’s, because of the high cost of bearing our sins in His own body as He endured the hours of His suffering.
Yet He was armed in His mind as He looked beyond the cross and death to the time when He would bring many sons to glory with Him. Then He and the children of faith in Him would share the new life of God without limitations.
The joy of presenting a finished work to God is that the bride of His love-gift would be presented as a chaste virgin to Him. Arming the mind gave Him the willingness to endure the cost of faith, the joy, and the life of God, to live with vigor, vision, and grace. Willingness means suffering will happen; arm yourself with the mind of Christ.
Godliness, Christ-likeness, and heavenly citizenship, with an eye on the future, will mean that suffering will happen. Arm yourself with the mind of Christ. Testimony, public and private, to the many and the few, whether accepted or not, will mean that suffering will happen. Arm yourself with the mind of Christ.
The daily walk against the tide of human opinion and the popularity we crave will mean suffering. Arm yourself with the mind of Christ. Opposition to the enticement of sin and the voice of natural human reasoning will mean suffering. Arm yourself with the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ was to be mentally prepared to endure suffering because of the nature and consequences of sin. We are no longer controlled by sin and stand up against it. We are not alone in this, so self-imposed suffering has no real use. Suffering for a high reason is valuable. Christ suffered at the hands of the wicked for righteousness' sake. We shall do the same. The believer who chooses to suffer rather than live a life of sin has “ceased from sin.”
It is not an easy choice to stand for righteousness and make a clean break from sin. When that decision is made, like Daniel and his friends, there will be testing times, opposition, envy, and malice because the committed Christian refuses to compromise with the world and resists its pressure to be like everyone else.
The mind of Christ in His people prepares us for the anticipated conflict. Our Lord intends us to be mentally prepared to endure unjust suffering because of the nature and consequences of sin. We, as believers, are no longer under the dominion of sin. We are not controlled by it; instead, we stand against it. Our focus should be on Christ, "Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame ..." We have died to sin and have risen to a new life in Christ. He is done with sin, and we will also be done with sin (ceased) literally and eternally. Presently, the believer who has the mind of Christ resolves to walk in newness of life and takes up his cross of identification with Christ each day in attitude and action. Suffering as a Christian should not make us ashamed when it is for doing good. Our sanctification (cease from sin) is advanced when we suffer for righteousness.
Our defense in these matters is to arm our minds by loving God, loving God’s people, and loving sinners. Then, with “the mind of Christ,” we will live a life of service, obedience, thankfulness, and gratitude for our Lord. Such submission leads us to lay aside personal ambition and self-centered living and to become like Christ. Then, with the mind of Christ, we will live among people in the world as He did.