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Paul was a person who continually experienced Christ in His inward parts—Phil. 2:5; 1 Cor. 2:16b; Rom. 8:6:
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Paul was one with Christ even in His inward parts—in His affection, tender mercy, and sympathy—Phil. 1:8.
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Paul did not keep his own inward parts but took Christ's inward parts as his:
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Paul took not only Christ's mind but also His entire inner being.
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Paul's inner being was changed, rearranged, and remodeled.
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His inner being was reconstituted with the inward parts of Christ.
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What was in Christ as truthfulness—honesty, faithfulness, and trustworthiness—was also in Paul—2 Cor. 11:10.
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Paul's love for the saints was not his natural love but the love in Christ, which is Christ's love; thus, Paul loved the saints not by his natural love but by the love of Christ—1 Cor. 16:24.
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To live Christ requires that we remain in the inward parts of Christ Jesus—Phil. 1:21a, 8:
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Paul experienced the inward parts of Christ; he was one with Christ in His inward parts in longing after the saints—v. 8.
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Paul did not live a life in his natural inner being; he lived a life in the inward parts of Christ—Col. 3:12.
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If we would be those who are in Christ, we must be in His inward parts, in His tender and delicate feelings—John 15:4a.
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To live Christ is to abide in His inward parts and there to enjoy Him as grace—Phil. 1:7; 4:23.
Morning Nourishment
Phil. 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.1 Cor. 16:24 My love in Christ Jesus be with you all.
Christ's inward parts denote all the inward parts of His being, including His mind, emotion, will, and heart with all their functions.
The leading part...of our inner being...is the mind....The mind which was in Christ should be in us today [cf. Phil. 2:5]. This means that we should take His mind as our mind. We should be those not with our own, natural mind but with the mind of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 2:16b Paul says, "We have the mind of Christ." Because we are organically one with Christ, we have all the faculties He has. The mind is the intelligence faculty, the understanding organ. We have such an organ of Christ so we can know what He knows. Therefore, we may have not only the life but also the mind of Christ. Christ must saturate our mind from our spirit, making our mind one with His. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 84)
Today's Reading
In Romans 8:6 Paul speaks of setting the mind on the spirit. This word is not as strong as his word concerning the mind of Christ. We should not merely set our mind on the spirit but have the very mind of Christ."I long after you all in the inward parts of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:8). The Greek word translated inward parts literally means "bowels," signifying inward affection, then tender mercy and sympathy. Paul was one with Christ even in the bowels, the tender inward parts of Christ, in longing after the saints. This indicates that Paul did not keep his own inward parts but took Christ's inward parts as his. He took not only Christ's mind but also His entire inward being. Paul's inner being, therefore, was changed, rearranged, remodeled, reconstituted. His inner being was reconstituted with the inward parts of Christ. Paul did not live a life in his natural inner being; he lived a life in the inward parts of Christ.
"The truthfulness of Christ is in me" (2 Cor. 11:10). "Truthfulness" here means "honesty, faithfulness, trustworthiness." What was in Christ as truthfulness, that is, as honesty, faithfulness, trustworthiness, was also in the apostle Paul.
"My love in Christ Jesus be with you all" (1 Cor. 16:24). Paul's love for the Corinthians was not his love but the love in Christ, which is Christ's love. Paul loved the saints not by his natural love but by the love of Christ.
[By putting] these verses together, we...see that Paul was a man who continually experienced Christ's inward parts. Because he experienced Christ in this way, he surely was able to offer Christ according to his experience of Him. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 84-85)
Paul was one with Christ even in His bowels, the tender inward parts, in longing after the saints. Philippians 1:7 and 8 belong together and should not be separated. Notice that verse 8 begins with the conjunction for. This indicates that grace is related to the inward parts of Christ. Paul partook of grace, for he longed after all the saints in the inward parts of Christ. To enjoy Christ is to be one in Christ's inward parts. This refers not only to enjoyment, but also to living Christ. To live Christ is to abide in His inward parts and there to enjoy Him as grace.
Elsewhere in this chapter Paul speaks of magnifying Christ and living Christ. Experientially, to magnify Christ and to live Christ require that we remain in the inward parts of Christ. In simple words, this is to abide in Him. If we would be those in Christ, we must be in His inward parts. We need to be in His tender heart and delicate feelings. If we abide here, we shall enjoy Christ as grace and experience Him in a very practical way. As we experience Christ and enjoy Him as our grace, we shall be sustained in suffering for the gospel by caring for the accomplishment of God's economy on earth today. (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 29-30)
Further Reading: Life-study of Philippians, msg. 3; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, "The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord's Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure," chs. 3-4