MIND

Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus – Philippians 2:5

Let’s dig a little deeper into that highly engaging organ of the Soul – the MIND. The Bible refers to the mind in three ways: “the mind of Christ” or “the mind of the LORD”, “the mind of the Spirit” and the “spirit of the mind”! 1Corinthians 2: 16 asks, “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” Philippians 2:5 adds: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:27 however says, “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the MIND OF THE SPIRIT is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” That is, because the Spirit of Christ that dwells in us has a “mind,” He who searches the hearts and knows what is the “mind of the Spirit” can make intercession according to the will of God, such that “all things work together for good” (Rom.8:28).

The Spirit of Christ that resides in us has the Mind of Christ. That’s why prayer in the Spirit will never contradict the will of God. The believer potentially has the Mind of Christ (Phil.2:5; 1Cor.3:16). But the natural man does not. He cannot understand spiritual things: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Cor.2:14). When such a person reads the Bible; it appears not to make sense. He may feel obligated to read it as a religious duty, feel that it is good to read it, but would rarely understand it, because spiritual realities are spiritually discerned. He may therefore attack the Word of God and label it myths and allegories. But the moment he finds Christ and receives the Spirit and Mind of Christ, then the Word is unveiled.

The Spirit of God resident in me lives Christ’s life in and through me (Gal.2:20). I live, yet it is not I but Christ that lives in me. The Mind of the Spirit directs my thoughts, walk, and life so that in every way they reflect the life and works of Christ on earth. The Mind of the Spirit aims for my total being to experience maturity into Christ’s stature (Eph.4:13). Everything else must align with this objective of Christ-likeness. My self and will must yield to the Mind of the Spirit. In essence, He has control over the “spirit of the mind”! As my mind, intellect, and emotions come under the control of the “Mind of the Spirit” my walk in the Spirit becomes practicable. However, not only the Holy Spirit has access to the spirit of my mind but evil spirits also. It is then up to me to yield and submit to either the Holy Spirit or to evil spirits. My advantage is that the Holy Spirit dwells within me and the unholy spirits have been cast out. But they can still try to attack from without!

The un-regenerated has a carnal mind, always seeking to fulfil the desires of the flesh (Eph.2:3; 1Pet.1:13-16). The stagnant believer also has a constant warring going on in the spirit of his mind (Rom.7:23). For the believer, Paul found the answer to this dilemma in Christ Jesus: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Rom.8:9). Therefore “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom.12:2a); “and be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph.4:23). God made us a new creation in Christ and gave us a mind that is free to choose, to walk after the Spirit or after the flesh (Rom.8:4). To be spiritually minded is to walk after the Spirit (Rom.8:5). To be carnally minded is to walk after the flesh, which results in death – separation from the life of God! We have the responsibility to choose between the Spirit and the flesh, and to walk after the Spirit!