What Does It Mean to Have the Mind of Christ? (Part 1)
We as a people do not naturally think like God. This is referred to as the flesh. Jesus came to provide another way, truth and life through the Gospel which will allow all to obtain the mind of Christ through the born-again experience. This becomes a life time process of adjusting or exchanging our present thoughts, ideas, and concepts for those of the kingdom of God.
When Jesus entered the earth realm, he encountered many very strong willed leaders and citizens steeped in tradition, ritual and religion. Christ came to help us develop new mind sets which would allow us to have the faith of God and able to choose eternal life that was lost when Adam transferred our rights over to Satan in the Garden of Eden.
We now understand that through the lie and deception of Satan, we have been exposed to the mindset of the sin nature and the opposition to the ways of God. Thoughts not aligned with the word of God is called carnal or fleshy.
Isaiah 55:8 tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”.
Carnal fleshy mind versus a Spiritual mind.
We see in the scripture references below that there is a war going on inside of each of us, that we must conquer. Every born again person has become a new creation in Christ spiritually. However, once that occurs, Galatians 5:17 tells us, “ For the flesh lust against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
So then, Romans 8:6-8 confirms for us that “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are or remain in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
We cannot keep the same mind that we have and serve Christ with no compromise.
Purposefully Renewing the Mind - Ephesians 4:17-32 – Read to 32
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…
Concept - be renewed in the spirit of our minds – how we think towards God.
The Spirit of our minds
We are in a battle for our minds (consistent attack by the enemy) - As we live with God, we take on His thoughts, His principles, and His attitudes - We take on His heart, mind, and personality
We put off – the natural
We put on - the supernatural
The carnal mind will try to overtake us
carnal behind closed doors
will fall short of the plan of God for our lives
Mind of Christ is our victory - Word gives us strength
Walk with God to obey him
Doers and not just hearers
Choosing to obey the word of God and the will of God
We are to think and act by:
Casting down imaginations (the pressure) of [endif]the struggle in our mind against wrong thoughts and actions
[endif]Example: Anger
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be slow to speak, slow to anger and slow to wrath
the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding but he that is hasty of spirit exalts folly. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love in honor preferring one another.
Intentional Sin: James 4:17
So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin. Clearly, choosing to not obey the known will of God will cause us not to prosper by:
not obeying the leading of the Spirit of God
not repenting quickly
not leaning on God for help (prayer)
remaining in un-forgiveness (hinders our entire walk with God)
1 Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world] so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living for human appetites and desires, but [lives] for the will and purpose of God.
See Part 2 - Why we need the mind of Christ.
