How to Repent

 

Jesus came preaching a message of repentance. Since all of us have sinned, we all need to repent. But what does it mean to repent? Here’s how to repent.

The topic of repentance is found throughout the pages of the Bible. When Jesus spoke, He often said that His audience needed to repent. He said that He came to call “sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

That message is just as much for us today as it was for people living 2,000 years ago. Everyone needs to learn how to repent of sin because God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). For no one can receive the gift of eternal life without first repenting of sin.

Yet repentance is often misunderstood in the religious world. Many see it as an emotional reaction to guilt, feeling remorseful for our sins, or simply asking God for forgiveness. True repentance includes these things—but the Bible shows there’s more to it.  

True repentance is much more than a momentary emotional reaction; it is actually a lifelong process! Many people see a need to change something in their lives, but what exactly needs to be changed? What must one do to be in a continued repentant attitude?

What does the Bible say about how to repent?

This article will explore five basic steps of the repentance process. Those steps are:

Step 1: Recognize that God’s thoughts are higher and better than ours.

Step 2: Acknowledge our personal guilt of sin.

Step 3: Turn from our sinful thoughts and ways.

Step 4: Seek to live by every word of God.

Step 5: Continue to seek repentance and rely on Christ’s sacrifice.

Step 1: Recognize that God’s thoughts are higher and better than ours.

The first step to true repentance is changing how we think. We need to come to recognize that God’s mind and thoughts are truly higher (and better) than ours.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. … For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We don’t naturally think like this. The apostle Paul identified how human beings typically think: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” (Romans 8:5).

The human mind does not think like God does. The human mind thinks carnally. Paul also wrote that “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Enmity means that we naturally resist and oppose what God’s law tells us to do.

But what does carnal mean?

The basic meaning of carnal is being driven by fleshly and worldly motivations—in other words, thinking and doing what we want to do and what feels good, without regard to God’s law and guidance.

Jesus Christ identified the kind of carnal thoughts that come from our minds: “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:20-23, emphasis added throughout).

Our fleshly, carnal mind produces thoughts and actions that are sinful according to God. The natural “works of the flesh are … adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).

All these evil things are sin; they break God’s law (1 John 3:4). To learn more about sin, read our article “What Is Sin?”

So, in order to repent and please God, we must first recognize where our thinking and habits are out of line with God’s thoughts and laws. But we can’t do that until we recognize that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours and are right. 

And we need to recognize that God Himself leads us to this understanding. As Paul wrote, “The goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4).

Step 2: Acknowledge our personal guilt of sin.

The second step to true repentance is to humbly acknowledge our personal guilt to God—which means confessing our sins and realizing how far we fall short of God’s thoughts and ways in our lives.

The apostle Peter’s stirring sermon on the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem struck the conscience of his audience. Thousands of people were “cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37).

They internally recognized their guilt and openly acknowledged it. Their guilt demanded that they find out how to repent and begin changing their lives.

Repentance must go deeper than merely recognizing what is right or wrong or feeling bad about our sins. We must admit our personal guilt to God for breaking His holy law.Repentance must go deeper than merely recognizing what is right or wrong or feeling bad about our sins. We must admit our personal guilt to God for breaking His holy law. Christian repentance is a godly sorrow that is so deep and profound that it leads to a diligent pursuit of changing our lives (2 Corinthians 7:9-10).

Repentance is an acknowledgement that our entire way of life is at odds with God—and needs to change. We must understand that our sins separated us from God and required the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Our desire to be forgiven and obey God from now on must be motivated from the heart.

King David fell victim to the very strong pulls of his carnality. When confronted with his sins, he did not excuse himself. He immediately recognized how offensive his sins were to God and that he had “sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 51:4). We must always remember that we repent to God (Acts 20:21)—not to a human being.

David understood what Isaiah wrote later, that “your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). David understood the severity of his sins and did not want to destroy his relationship with God. He confessed those sins openly and repented bitterly to God (Psalm 51).

We must also go to God directly, acknowledging our sins, and asking Him to intervene in our lives and forgive us.

Step 3: Turn from our sinful thoughts and ways.

The third step to true repentance is turning away (or giving up) the sins in our life.

The prophet Isaiah stated: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).

No one is immune to sinning: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Even after baptism and conversion, John tells Christians, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. … If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10).

The end result of sinning is death—everlasting death. The Bible makes this very clear: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Jesus stated, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5).

Many believe the consequence of sin is torment in hell, but these verses (and many others) make it clear that death is the ultimate consequence and punishment for sin.

God does not want us to pay this ultimate price. His desire is for each of us to learn how to repent, to be forgiven of our sins and to have the death penalty removed. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Repenting requires that we turn from our sins—both actions and thoughts—and turn to God. We must confess our sins to God and stop sinning. For those who sincerely want to please God, this process requires a lifelong commitment. We make that commitment through water baptism.

Baptism is a big subject that we can’t cover in this article. To learn more about this important topic, read “What Is Baptism?”

Step 4: Seek to live by every word of God.

The fourth step to true repentance is changing our lives to bring ourselves into alignment with God. God’s laws define what we must change. We must take God’s instructions seriously. This is what the Bible calls being converted.

Peter said that conversion (changing our lives) is linked to repentance: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).

Seeking to change our lives to align them with God’s ways requires humility: “On this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:2). A repentant person will respect God’s Word and seek to live by what it teaches.

When we respect God’s Word, we’ll seek to fulfill Jesus’ words in Matthew 4:4: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

A person who is learning how to repent will begin to obey God by keeping His commandments. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3). The last book of the Bible focuses on those end-time Christians “who keep the commandments of God” (Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12; Revelation 22:14).

Looking for the church behind Life, Hope & Truth? See our “Who We Are” page.

God promises to provide us with the determination and strength to face our sins and overcome them without becoming discouraged. This spiritual battle requires more than human determination. Regardless of how long it takes us to succeed in this process, God must be involved. He provides us with the extra strength “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

To learn more about what it means to be converted and live by God’s words, read “What Is Conversion?”

Step 5: Continue to seek repentance and rely on Christ’s sacrifice.

The fifth step to true repentance is having “faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). We confess our sins to God, and He forgives us because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. We need to have faith that Christ not only sacrificed Himself for our sins, but also that His sacrifice does remove our sins.

Jesus Christ is our Savior. His death paid the penalty for our sins. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Our faith toward Christ, in what He did for us, continues for the rest of our lives. Every time we sin, we must go to God the Father and ask for forgiveness, which is made possible through the sacrifice of our Savior. We must have full faith and confidence that Christ’s sacrifice will be applied to us each time we repent.

Christ fulfills the role of our spiritual High Priest in heaven at God’s right hand. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession” (Hebrews 4:14).

In this exalted position, He functions not only as our Savior but also as our Mediator between God and man.

By Christ’s death, we are reconciled to God by forgiveness of sins. We must exercise faith daily toward the living Christ as He guides us down the road of salvation. We “shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). We grow in righteous character by Jesus Christ living His life in us (Romans 8:10; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27). 

To learn more about having faith in Christ and His sacrifice, read “What Does It Mean to Believe in Jesus Christ?”

We must have a repentant mind for the rest of our lives

Our human nature is affected by the carnal mind, and it will never go away in this life. We will spend the remainder of our lives struggling against the pulls of our nature. We will win some battles; we will lose others. But so long as God sees we sincerely desire not to sin, that we hate sin and struggle against it, that we continually repent, He is merciful.

“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:11-13). He understands that we are flesh and is quick to forgive us when we repent.

The apostle John summarized both how to repent and God’s merciful response to our repentance: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. … If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7-9; see also Psalm 51:2, 7).

It’s vitally important to understand and act on the process of repentance and conversion outlined in the Bible.

This is a big topic, and we only skimmed the surface in this article. If you would like to learn more about how to repent and align your life with God, please download our free booklet Change Your Life.

What Is Repentance?

 

Repentance is a major theme of the Bible and a requirement for sinful humans to approach the holy God. But what does repent mean? What is repentance?

Definition of repentance

The Greek word translated “repentance” in the New Testament means “to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness” (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, J.P. Louw and Eugene Nida, 1988).

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (W.E. Vine, 1985) points out that the Greek literally means “to perceive afterwards.”

Considering these definitions, what is repentance? It is looking at something that you did in the past, recognizing that it was sinful—that it broke God’s good and beneficial laws—and concluding you need to change for the better.

The initial steps of repentance

Since it is not natural for us to desire to make the changes necessary to obey God (Romans 8:7), He must lead us to understand the need for repentance (Romans 2:4), which is the starting point of a commitment to a new way of living and to the transformation of the human heart and mind from carnal to spiritual (Acts 3:19; Romans 12:2).

Some have been led to repentance by a significant emotional event called being “cut to the heart” in Acts 2:37. (See our article “Repentance: Being Cut to the Heart.”) Others have been smitten by a guilty conscience or brought to some other turning point in life.

The Bible shows that initial repentance is a significant, personal, life-changing decision that leads to baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37-39).

Repentance requires that we understand what sin is—the breaking of God’s law (1 John 3:4). John explains why keeping the commandments is important: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). God’s laws are beneficial, but we all have broken them (Romans 3:23). Sinning automatically brings curses and ultimately, eternal death (Romans 6:23).

True repentance is characterized by an understanding of the seriousness of sin (Ephesians 2:1-3), a deep desire to be forgiven (Hebrews 9:14) and a determined commitment to change behavior and thoughts in order to stop sinning (Matthew 3:8; Acts 26:19-20).

Godly sorrow leads to repentance

The apostle Paul emphasized that “godly sorrow” produces genuine repentance, which results in permanent changes that ultimately lead a person toward salvation, in contrast to “the sorrow of the world,” which does not result in permanent change and leads to death. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Verse 11 highlights the diligent effort and vehement desire to change that godly sorrow produces. “For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

Study the meaning of this important passage further in our article “Godly Sorrow.”

Repent and believe the gospel

Jesus’ gospel message includes a call to repentance. As Mark recorded, “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15; see “Messiah’s Message: Repent”).

Jesus was calling for a repentance that leads to a change in direction—turning from the natural pursuit of sinful human values to obedience and seeking the Kingdom of God. Jesus used current events of His time to emphasize that a person’s life is futile and random until he or she comes to repentance and begins to pursue the Kingdom of God (Luke 13:1-5).

After His death and resurrection Jesus instructed His disciples to teach about His sacrifice and also “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47; see also Matthew 28:18-20).

Jesus was willing to be beaten and die a horrible death to pay the penalty for our sins. That awesome sacrifice reinforces the seriousness of sin and the thankfulness we need to show to our merciful God.

Examples of true repentance in the Bible

One of the most memorable and detailed examples of repentance in the Bible is David’s repentance after his sin with Bathsheba and his attempted coverup that led to the murder of her husband Uriah.

The story is told in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, but the details of David’s repentance are found in Psalm 51.

“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

“For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:1-3).

Read the rest of Psalm 51 for further details of his prayers of repentance.

Other examples of repentance in the Bible include Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9 (see “What Can We Learn From Daniel’s Passionate Prayer?”) and Peter’s sorrow after denying Jesus three times (Mark 14:66-72; see “After Sin: Lessons From Judas and Peter”).

Learn more in our article “How to Repent.”

Looking for the church behind Life, Hope & Truth? See our “Who We Are” page.

Repentance is an ongoing frame of mind

What is repentance? Is it just a single decision that leads to baptism? No, it also must be an ongoing frame of mind, recognizing that overcoming sin is a lifetime effort. Whenever we fall short of full obedience, we need to be forgiven.

What is repentance? Is it just a single decision that leads to baptism? No, it also must be an ongoing frame of mind, recognizing that overcoming sin is a lifetime effort.In Colossians 3:1-10 Paul calls on those who, through repentance, have been baptized and have received the Holy Spirit to “put to death” the sinful ways of the “old man” and to “put on the new man.”

In Romans 7:13-25 he vividly describes our battle to overcome our nature and inclination to sin—and explains that our only hope is through Jesus Christ, by whom we can be forgiven (verses 24-25). After initial repentance and baptism, there is a continual need for repentance and the seeking of forgiveness:

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).

God wants all to come to repentance

Ultimately, it is God’s plan that everyone will have the opportunity to receive the gift of salvation, beginning with the experience of personal repentance. As Peter wrote, God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Learn more by downloading our free booklet Change Your Life!

Repentance: What Does Repent Mean?

 

According to the apostle Paul, God “now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30 ).

Repentance is not a popular subject in most of the religious community. Seldom is a modern-day religious audience exhorted to repent.

Yet Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, vigorously preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and told his audience to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:2, 8). Soon after John’s martyrdom, Jesus Christ continued the same theme by preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

Within weeks following Jesus’ crucifixion, the New Testament Church was founded. Peter’s inspired words to an audience of thousands of devout Jews were, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

What does repentance mean? Is it required for salvation? How important is this subject to you? Read more about what the Bible says about repentance in the related articles.

Let This Mind Be in You

 

In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul encouraged members to “let this mind be in you,” referring to the mind of Christ. What did he mean?

The passage is stunning. It appears in a letter full of warmth, written to a congregation with which the apostle Paul had a special relationship.

Paul’s direction for the church at Philippi includes the instruction for members to “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). How do we do that?

The sentences that follow this directive make it even more striking. Paul explained how Jesus, before He had become human, willingly gave up His position with God the Father to humble Himself and die a horrifying death (verses 6-8).

How do these words apply to Christians?

Adopting a mindset of humility

It’s not too difficult to recognize the thrust of Paul’s statement. He was instructing the members in Philippi, and us today, to adopt the same humility Christ demonstrated.

However, the fact that Jesus was humble raises another question. What is true humility? It cannot be a matter of seeing yourself as having little value, because Jesus was perfect and sinless, and He knew His immense value.

What these words show is the willingness of the Son of God to take the form of a bondservant and to die a painful death to save humanity.

The essence of true humility has as much to do with how we view others as it does with how we view ourselves. It is about the willingness to sacrifice, or to give up what we rightfully possess, on behalf of others.

This is an attitude all Christians must adopt, but there’s more to the story.

Diverse congregation at Philippi

Scholars believe the church at Philippi was particularly diverse. Greeks founded the city, which was later conquered by the Macedonians and then the Romans. In each case, new colonists arrived and blended into the population.

The cosmopolitan nature of the city is reflected in the original Christian converts—Lydia, a Jewish woman from Thyatira in Asia Minor (Acts 16:13-15), together with her family, and an unnamed jailer, possibly a Roman veteran (verse 27-34), with his household.

Diversity often means people don’t always see eye to eye. Apparently, that had become an issue between two women in Philippi (Philippians 4:2).

Paul was careful to note that “these women . . . labored with me in the gospel” (verse 3). They were not troublemakers, but leading members of the congregation.

Not a corrective letter

Paul wanted to see members of the congregation continue to work together, but this epistle was not primarily corrective. Instead, it is a warm message that reflects the apostle’s fondness for the church.

The church at Philippi cared enough for Paul to provide for his needs, even when other congregations had dropped the ball. It was the Philippian congregation that supplied his needs while he worked with the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:8-9).

Even so, the Philippians were human and flawed. Though not as deeply divided as the congregation at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10-13), the Philippians showed some signs of division.

“Let this mind be in you” in perspective

Paul’s admonition to the Philippians to “let this mind be in you” appears earlier in the letter than his personal appeal to Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2). Even so, their strife was likely in his mind as he wrote.

There were other issues in the church as well. Almost immediately after highlighting Christ’s willingness to sacrifice everything for our sakes, Paul directs the members of the congregation to “do all things without complaining and disputing” (Philippians 2:14).

The contrast is stark. Christ gave up so much, suffering unjustly on our behalf, and He did so without complaint.

When brought before the high priest, He remained silent. He was also mostly silent later when He appeared before the Roman governor Pilate. Jesus did not grumble or dispute, but refrained from arguing His case, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy (Matthew 26:62-63; 27:11-13; Isaiah 53:7).

Understanding what Christ sacrificed

To come to a deeper understanding of what Paul meant by “let this mind be in you,” we must consider what it was that Christ gave up on our behalf. The crucifixion, as crucial as it is for our justification, was not His sole sacrifice, or even what He first forfeited.

Long before He laid down His life, the Word set aside His glory. Paul wrote that Christ “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant” (Philippians 2:7).

If you truly want to emulate Christ, then you will live your life to serve rather than to be served—just as He did. This is where humility comes in.The Mediterranean world at that time treasured individual freedom such that their “concept of a free man led to contempt for any sort of subjection” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 11, p. 122). For Paul to identify Jesus as “taking the form of a bondservant” would have been shocking.

Barnes’ Notes on Philippians comments that Jesus Christ’s “consenting to become a man was the most remarkable of all possible acts of humiliation.” After all, the Word of God, who became Jesus, had been “in the form of God” (verse 6; John 1:1-3).

In prayer the night before His crucifixion, Jesus alluded to this glory He had temporarily relinquished: “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5).

The horror of crucifixion

Later that night, after Jesus had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed again. In a series of prayers, He focused on another impending sacrifice—the horrifying death that lay before Him. He was so passionate that “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

He had undoubtedly seen victims of Roman crucifixions, and He knew that in a few hours He would die in that painful way. The agony of a crucifixion was so intense that the English word excruciating, to describe the highest level of pain, is derived from the word crucify.

Rome understood this. The empire did not allow its citizens to be crucified. This form of execution was seen as a means of torture and disgrace “reserved for slaves and foreigners” (Expositor’s, Vol. 11, p. 124).

In His prayers, Jesus asked the Father three times to “take this cup away from Me” (Mark 14:36, 39, 41), yet each time He added, “nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Even as He faced a terrifying death, there was no hint of grumbling or resentment.

The motivation of Christ

There is no doubt that the sacrifices Jesus made were monumental. His humility made it possible for us to be justified and to enter into a relationship with Him and the Father.

It was this purpose that drove Christ. He made this clear in a lesson for His 12 core disciples after James and John had asked Jesus to give them the privilege of sitting on His right and left sides when He assumed His position as King of Kings.

What James and John had so audaciously requested were preeminent seats of power and honor. Their hearts were set on themselves.

In contrast, Jesus explained, true godly leadership means adopting the role of servant. Christ concluded by saying that “even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

How to “let this mind be in you”

Apart from Christ, no human is perfect, and no human has shared the glory of God. How, then, can you be expected to “let this mind be in you”?

If you truly want to emulate Christ, then you will live your life to serve rather than to be served—just as He did. This is where humility comes in.

It would be false humility to exclaim that you have no talents, skills or resources to share with others. God has richly blessed us all, but in different ways. Part of humility is having a realistic assessment of our own gifts in preparation for sharing what we have to offer.

Another aspect of humility is having a godly view of other people. God sees all of us as valuable! As John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Then we must have a willingness to sacrifice on behalf of others who need what we have to offer. That can mean giving money or material things to others, but it can also mean giving our time and attention.

Of course, we must be responsible with our resources, not recklessly giving so much that our own families suffer.

Finally, we must continually reassess our mindset. Expositor’s points out that the underlying Greek indicates continuing action, so Paul’s statement could be rendered: “Keep thinking this among you, which [attitude] was also in Christ Jesus” (Vol. 11, p. 123).

Study more about the mind of Christ in our online article “Christ in Us: How Does He Live in You?”