<p>2:5 <b>&nbsp;</b><i>Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus</i>- This is the &quot;one mind&quot; and 'like mind' which Paul has earlier asked us to have. The mind is the spirit; the gift of the Spirit of Christ enables us to have His mind or Spirit. And Paul now argues that the quintessence of the Lord's mind was seen in Him as He died. This is an extremely high calling- to have the mind which the Lord had as He died.&nbsp; The context of this passage must be carefully considered. Paul does not just start talking about Jesus &lsquo;out of the blue&rsquo;. He refers to the mind of Jesus in Phil. 2:5. Back in Phil. 1:27 Paul starts to speak of the importance of our state of mind. This is developed in the early verses of chapter 2: &ldquo;Being of one accord, of one mind... in lowliness of mind... look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus...&rdquo; (Phil. 2:2-5). Paul is therefore speaking of the importance of having a mind like that of Jesus, which is devoted to the humble service of others. The verses which follow are therefore commenting upon the humility of mind which Jesus demonstrated, rather than speaking of any change of nature. Just as Jesus was a servant, so earlier Paul had introduced himself with the same word (Phil. 1:1 cp. 2:7). The attitude of Jesus is set up as our example, and we are urged to join Paul in sharing it. We're not asked to change natures; we're asked to have the mind of Jesus- so that we may know the &quot;fellowship of sharing in his Christ's sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so to attain to the resurrection from the dead&quot; (Phil. 3:10,11).</p><p>Trinitarian theology sees God's salvation of humanity as being on account of His supposed 'incarnation' in Christ, and His sending of the supposedly pre-existent Christ into the world. But the New Testament emphasis is upon the <i>death</i> of Christ, His victory within Himself and subsequent resurrection, as the crucial means by which our redemption was enabled. And further, how He saved us through the cross and through His own self-debasement is held up as our very real example in passages like Phil. 2 and 2 Cor. 8:8-10. We are not pre-existent gods in Heaven awaiting an incarnation on earth. We are very real, human guys and gals. His pattern can mean nothing for us if it was all about saving others through submitting to some kind of 'incarnation'. But the Biblical emphasis makes His sufferings, death and victory in resurrection our very real pattern, so real that we are to be baptized into it (Rom. 6:3-5) and live according to this as a pattern for human life every moment.</p>