“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-16)
The Bible tells us we have the mind of Christ. “We” refers to the Body of Christ, both individually and collectively.
Meditate for a moment on the immensity of this statement. We have the mind of the Son of God, the one who is Truth, the Word made flesh who was in the beginning and through whom all things were made. (John 1:1-3, 3:16, 14:6)
The mind of Christ contains all the knowledge and wisdom of not just creation, but the Creator. It contains the “secret and hidden wisdom of God”, “the thoughts of God”, “the depths of God”, “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined”. (1 Corinthians 2:6-11)
Having the mind of Christ means there is no limit to the truth and wisdom available to God’s people because we have the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding and the Spirit of Truth. (Isaiah 11:2; John 16:13) This, coupled with the love and power of God that also emanates from the Holy Spirit, means nothing can prevail against us! (Acts 1:8; Romans 5:5, 8:31; Matthew 16:18)
Unfortunately, “having” the mind of Christ does not mean the Body of Christ is using the mind of Christ. It simply means we have access. When it comes to using the mind of Christ, the vast majority of the Church has experienced, at best, the tip of the tip of the iceberg.
The first thing to understand is the natural mind, or what Paul would call the mind of the “natural person”. Proverbs 28:26 says that everyone who trusts in his own mind is a fool. We are not to walk “in the futility” of our own minds. (Ephesians 4:17) Our natural minds (and hearts) are untrustworthy, being saturated with our self-centeredness and with the lies of the evil one who rules and deceives the world. (Jeremiah 17:9; John 8:44; 1 John 5:19)
Second, we must understand that “spiritual person” does not mean a person who thinks about spiritual or religious matters. It refers to a person who has accepted Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. (John 1:12-13, 3:3-8) Only God’s Spirit knows the thoughts of God. All other spirits will lead us astray. (Matthew 16:23; 1 John 4:1)
Third, we must realize that after we are born again, the war in our mind doesn’t end. It begins!
Prior to salvation, our mind is in bondage to Satan’s lies. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) After we are saved, an ongoing battle begins for our minds between our spirit and God’s Spirit, on the one hand, and the teachings of this world and habits of our flesh, on the other hand. (Galatians 5:13-25; Romans 8:5-14). There is divine power for the Spirit to overcome the flesh, but it must be utilized. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Hebrews 8:10-11)
In this war, beware of the false teachers and doctrines that constantly infiltrate the Church. (Matthew 24:24; 1 Timothy 4:1; Colossians 2:16-23) They attractively say what our “itchy ears” want to hear, but they preach a gospel other than what Jesus, Paul and the other apostles preached. (2 Corinthians 11:14; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Galatians 1:8-9)
This warning particularly applies to “wise” teachers who use their natural minds to pick out what parts of the Bible should still be believed. (Matthew 11:25-26) My friends, if the whole of God-breathed scripture does not have authority over your lives, then Jesus is not your Lord because you, and not He, are choosing what is right and true. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Deuteronomy 12:8)
I close with three keys to accessing the mind of Christ.
Key #1: Humbly and reverently ask the Lord daily to impart His truth and wisdom to you. (Matthew 11:25-26, 18:1-4; Psalm 111:10, 119:130)
Key #2: Keep your mind focused on your loving Lord, His Spirit within you, and “the things that are above”. (Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 16:8-11; John 15:4-11; Colossians 3:1-4)
Key #3: Continuously study, trust and obey God’s written Word. The Holy Spirit will empower you to understand it both in your conscious mind and the depths of your soul. (Hebrews 4:12) God’s promises for those who do this are incredible! (Psalm 1:1-3, 119:105; John 8:30-32; Romans 12:2)
Please read all the scriptures I cited. The Body of Christ desperately needs the mind of Christ. The Body must be rightly attached to the Head! (Ephesians 4:15-16, 20-24) Then the world will truly see Christ in us!
God bless you, and God bless our community.