Romans 12:2 and Philippians 2:5

ROMANS 12:2: “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect."
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-7: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness."
 

Question:

I am trying to answer a question as to why man has not reached a greater degree of Christ perfection.

Comment:

ROMANS 12:2:  “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1-2).   COMMENT: We become "conformed to this world" when we allow the illusions of separation, lack and limitation to become the energy that motivates our choices and actions in this world. We believe in the reports of our five senses rather than our spiritual guidance. We are "transformed" when, in the midst of this human experience, we remember the truth of who we are—the Christ of God—and allow that truth to shape our choices. That transformation can only happen when we truly believe in our innate Oneness with God—when we realize that through our inner guidance, we can always "discern what is the will of God" and trust that discernment to always bring about our highest good.   What is the significance of the preceding verse? How—and why—are we to "present our bodies as a living sacrifice"? It seems to me that Paul is describing the process of getting to the point of transformation. We cannot transform to spiritual consciousness unless we first release ourselves from the “bondage of flesh”—the priorities of our human expressions and experiences. It's not that the things of the flesh—our bodies—are evil; they are "holy and acceptable to God." But they can no longer be our highest priority. We must allow our newfound discernment of the will of God to guide us to the proper balance that will allow our spiritual purpose to fully express in our human lives.  Jesus was quite clear that the process is not easy; this may help explain why we seem to have made little progress in the past. As more and more individuals awaken to this spiritual truth, our collective consciousness expands and deepens.    PHILIPPIANS 2:5-7: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness."   COMMENT: This passage, I think, offers a clear and forceful affirmation of the message and meaning of Jesus Christ. It begins my making it clear that Jesus was not unique. "The same mind" that was in Jesus is in us, and we are called to choose to express it as he did.   What is that mind -- that understanding? First, an innate Oneness with the divinity of God. Second, a willingness to bring that Oneness into this life experience—to become human so that our innate divinity can transform everything through the creative choices we make in full consciousness of our innate divinity. This is what Jesus did. This is what Jesus calls us to do. Not to worship him, but to follow his example so that we can become as fully creative of the kingdom as he was—and is.  I think perhaps the greatest obstacle preventing our own Christ expression is our deeply-rooted insistence on worshipping Jesus as being unique in his relationship to the divine, instead of following his example and claiming our own Christ identities.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed