The mind of Christ is a truth and philosophy that undergirds our Christian
faith and understanding is critical to our being the last man standing in the spiritual warfare that we are engaged in daily.
“But the spiritual man has insight into everything and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can’t understand him at all. How could he? For certainly he has never been one to know the Lord’s thoughts, or to discuss them with him, or to move the hands of God by prayer. But strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ” 1 Corinthians 2.15 – 16. Living Bible (emphasis mine)
IN CHRIST, we have been given unlimited access to that manifold wisdom of God but it is only through the mind of Christ that we can experience it. This mind is a position of submission to God – to be led by the Holy Spirit and therefore producing an all rounded extraordinary life. It is a mind beyond that is beyond the realm of intellect and it is what makes us distinct from others who are relying on their wisdom.
The best of man without the Spirit of God is ordinary and devoid of divine manifestation: the unexplainable. Jesus spoke of this
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I don’t speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. “John 14.10 NKJV
A mind that is obedient to hear our Father and act on His will and thereby producing an – out- of- this world result. A mind that is courageous, bold, fearless doing the impossible and subject to the authority of the Holy Spirit through whom the influence of God is brought to bear on any situation. It is the mind that is of the spiritual and not the carnal – living a sense led life. Jesus said of this mind.
“It is the Spirit who gives life (He is the Life giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life” John 6.63. Amplified Bible.
Again, this was emphasized by Paul when he described the mind of Christ
“Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death, because the old nature within us is against God. It never did obey God’s laws and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their old sinfulselves, bent on following their old evil desires, can never please God.” Romans 8.6-8. Living Bible
The mind of reason- the carnally minded can never understand the ways of God. Recently, I was listening to Piers Morgan in his interview of Joel Osteen of the Lakewood Church, Texas. Piers asked Joel Osteen if he was ready to change his position about homosexuality as a sin because of five states in America have legalized it. In his opinion, Christianity should be brought kicking and screaming into the twenty first century. In other words, he believed that the Word of God was outdated. Pastor Osteen affirmed that he wasn’t against people but the practice of homosexuality and his position will never change because it is based on the Word of God.
Now, you can see the way the ‘intellectual’ man reasons. I don’t know Piers’ spiritual leaning but it is clear he doesn’t know and understand that God’s Word is unchangeable and not shifting like the belief systems of the world. This is the mind that does not subject itself to the Holy Spirit but seeks its own ways.
To get a broader picture of this divinely inspired mind, let’s go back to creation and seek to understand the purpose of God for man.
“Then God said “Let us make a man – someone like ourselves, to be the master of all life upon the earth and in skies and in the seas”. So God made man like his Maker. Like God did God make man: men and maid did he make them” Genesis 1.26 – 28. Living Bible.
Man is created in the likeness and image of God. So how can creation contradict itself by acting out of the character of God? For God does not live by the senses but the by the Spirit that reveals his astounding, creative and intelligent works that we see on the earth and experience in our lives. God gave us five sensory organs for use in alignment with and not exclusive of Him. He wanted a representation of Him (another spirit being) in a physical form on the earth – a synergy type of relationship: an extension of His ruler ship. Man wasn’t filled with the life of God in order to live as a natural being.
“And the LORD GOD formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being Genesis 2.7NKJV
It is this breath of life that gives us the true fellowship with God, otherwise we are disconnected. From the scriptures, you can deduce that God’s plan for man was partnership and fellowship – working together to show forth His glory. That plan hasn’t changed but it is the choices that man makes that is the issue. You must understand that a mind created to be influenced by God will suffer various consequences if it chooses to walk independently of its creator.
Similarly, a manufacturer has the right instructions for the correct use of its product and not the consumer. It is really a surprise how we are so careful to follow the instructions of products we buy and yet choose to act independently of God’s laws. In such flagrant abuse lie the errors, deceptions and dangers that create unpleasant consequences for us. In one way or the other, we are affected by the decisions of “carnally minded” men whether Christians or not.
A man living by his senses is very limited in scope, depth, ability and is easily affected by wrong influences that we feel their consequences today. Ponder on this truth – if the wisdom of this world was right, we would not be experiencing the economic, social, political and spiritual challenges existing today. Consider these facts. America is on an economic meltdown and loosing political influence while struggling spiritually.
Her western partners – the European Union is in crisis. The Middle East is raging and Asia is not any better despite a few countries like China, Singapore still surviving. Africa as always in its usual form is a continent of a never ending tale of woes and bad leadership. All of these happening at a time of increased intellectualism and humanism as a philosophy of life (the latter belief is enshrined in the mind as a deity devoid of genuine spiritual experience)
For without the mind of Christ, even the best intentions can get bogged down in controversies and failure. Why didn’t Daniel with his growing influence in Babylon and with the king seek to sever his relationship with God? No! He continued to seek refuge with God, always obedient to His call, humbling himself before His maker and acknowledging the Creator of all things. That is what made him a remarkable wise man that had outstanding results in his life.
It seems as though the more we acquire knowledge we, seem to think that they is no place for God in our lives. A good example of this is seen in American policies in Iraq and Afghanistan. No one can find fault with the fact that the war on terrorism is a good intention but events in these two countries have shown that the process was flawed and devoid of true wisdom – God’s wisdom and that led to one result – FAILURE.
Ten years after Americans invaded Afghanistan and also Iraq, both countries are more dangerously radicalised in their beliefs. In both countries, the structure of government is weak and so is the economy. Rather suicide bombs have become the order of the day as in Pakistan and yet they are no closer to dislodging the Taliban.
What is the effect of this decision? A decade of a wasted 2-4 TRILLION dollars without achieving even the objective. As they set to leave in 2014, you ask why they came in the first place? A flawed decision making devoid of the intelligence of God. The American economy has taken a big hit because of the cost of these two wars. Its citizens have taken to the streets in protest just like the Greeks. A new image of a nation that seem so impossible some years back.
How did they get to this breaking point? Not rocket science – clearly a complete dependence on the intellectual wisdom without the genuine spiritual guidance (for there are many false beliefs). A good intention gone bad, the consequences of a nation that was once built on Christian principles turning its back on God and vehemently choosing to uphold the separation of God and state policy. It is no longer in God they trust but in self they act.
I listened to a documentary on the 9/11 decade with a focus on American policies in Islamic nations. I was shocked to hear from former top level CIA employees that America was actually drawn into Afghanistan through a deliberate and well executed plan of Osama Bin Laden to humiliate America for what he considered her unfair treatment of Muslims. In the end, Osama succeeded where the Americans with all their intellectual wisdom failed. Not because he was right but because he was able to deceive the Americans into coming to his territorial area which enhanced his plan.
Consider our spiritual ancestors and how they lived with a mind that was committed to God. The Bible reveals the exploits of Joseph, Abraham, Daniel, Paul, Moses, Deborah, Gideon, Samuel. They walked with God and achieved great things. I cannot forget the twosome power force – Elijah and Elisha whose actions caused kings to cower. (There is a funny commentary on them from my school days when I took a class in Christian religious knowledge. I often had their names and deeds mixed up – back then I was not spiritually inclined only interested in cramming to pass Waec)
Their testimonies should stir up our faith to not ever give in to subduing our ‘creative form’ in the likeness and image of God to intellectualism and new age fallacies as humanism ( in whatever attractive form and anyone that it is taught). Beware, so that your soul – the core of life; the breath of God is not extinguished by these attractive errors clothed as ‘wisdom’.
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