RENEWED MIND – ORDERED LIFE

“And be RENEWED in the spirit of your MIND” – Ephesians 4:23

In the Journey of Destiny, the RENEWED MIND is the basis for the ORDERED LIFE: “And be RENEWED in the spirit of your MIND” (Eph. 4:23). God wants us to enjoy well-ordered, balanced, pure, progressive, and prosperous lives; but the chief determinant is the human mind, operating under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Mere mortals “walk, in the futility of their mind” (v.17). We are often too quick to offer suggestions, present options or proffer solutions to problems that we barely understand, leading to many disordered lives and misdirected steps. In these days of social media information overload in particular, virtually everyone has become an ‘expert’ on everything, with the attendant confusion, deception, and delusion.

In these seasons of superficiality, shallowness, fakery, and falsehood, our minds must be renewed to respond appropriately to God: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the RENEWING of the MIND, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom.12:2). Renewing the Mind is the process of shedding the old outer covering and putting on the new. This takes place in the “spirit of your mind” (v. 23). As we come to know God, our minds are renewed in accordance to that knowledge of Him, so that we can “prove” His good, acceptable and perfect will.

The Holy Spirit is absolutely realistic! He is never sentimental. He is never impressed by external packaging. He always sees right to the heart of every person, every matter, every situation, and every problem; and tells the exact truth about it. He never exaggerates. He never embellishes. He just tells it like it is. Meanwhile, real Life, as distinct from the cosmetic and superficial counterfeits, is essentially an Inside Matter; and the things of God often manifest from inside-out. We therefore need for our minds to always grasp the insight of the Holy Spirit on all matters of life and destiny.

Our minds must be transformed after being born-again, for us to manifest the Mind of Christ. As myopic human beings, we are extremely limited and perverted in our thinking and perception (vv.18-19). But, as the Redeemed of the Lord, we learn Christ and receive His Mind (v.20-24; 1Cor.2:16; Phil.2:5). We are able to “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (v.24). We are renewed in order to have the right judgment on all issues. God’s Word and His Spirit are the Renewing Agents for our minds, by which we can in turn transform our worlds. God’s Will is for us His children to experience real transformation, with eternal significance.

It is vital to note that it’s the Word and the Spirit that must renew the mind; not education, religion or psychology, as good as those are, but the supernatural operation of God’s Spirit. God renews us from within, especially how we think: when we think differently we live differently. Of course, education, morality and religion have their place; they reform from without – they are preoccupied with externals. The Holy Spirit will show us where our thinking is not in line with His, so we can yield to Him in all areas of life. We need to reflect and identify those areas in which we need to yield our minds to the Holy Spirit.

God’s Thoughts progressively become our thoughts as we rub mind with Him via His Word (Isa.55: 8-11). His Thoughts and Lifestyle are characterised by ‘FAITH’: God is always aiming for and working toward the best, seeing opportunities where they don’t exist, and creating ways where there seem to be none. Rather than being preoccupied with our own thoughts, renewing our mind will usher us into God’s Thoughts.

My mind is vital to my life and destiny. It directs my thoughts, values, actions, and lifestyle so that I live above all disorderly vices (vv.25-31). I choose to submit to God’s Word and Spirit, to be renewed in the spirit of my mind, and be liberated from mental bondages. My RENEWED MIND is the basis for my ORDERED LIFE – balanced, pure, progressive, and prosperous!